Page 6445 – 105.7 WDNY

Hundreds of Americans still dying of COVID-19 each day ahead of the fall

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — It has been more than two and half years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite a return to a new form of normality for many people across the country, there are still hundreds of Americans dying from the virus every day, a grim reality of the pandemic’s continued destruction.

The U.S. is currently averaging just under 400 daily COVID-19 related deaths. Although the daily number of fatalities is far lower than it was at the nation’s peak — in January 2021, 3,400 Americans died of COVID-19 each day.

“The seven-day average daily deaths are still too high, about 375 per day — well above the around 200 deaths a day we saw earlier this spring and, in my mind, far too high for a vaccine-preventable disease,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House press briefing with the COVID-19 response team last week.

Over the last seven days, the U.S. has reported 2,500 deaths, and since the beginning of 2022, more than 221,000 Americans have died because of COVID-19.

The vast majority of Americans who are currently dying of COVID-19 are over the age of 75. Although more than 92% of Americans of the age of 65 have been fully vaccinated, many are not up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations, and are at a higher risk for severe disease due to the virus.

The persistently high death rate, alongside concerns over the potential threat of a COVID-19 resurgence, has reignited the call for all Americans to get vaccinated. It is particularly important for those older or more vulnerable to get vaccinated and boosted with the new bivalent shots, which target not only the original strain of the virus, but also the omicron variant, experts said.

“We’re calling on all Americans: Roll up your sleeve to get your COVID-19 vaccine shot,” White House COVID-19 Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said during a press briefing last week. “If you’re 12 and above and previously vaccinated, it’s time to go get an updated COVID-19 shot.”

As the vaccine rollout expands, Jha added the administration plans to put “special efforts” into reaching older Americans, people living in congregate care settings such as nursing homes, and others who may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.

Throughout the summer, COVID-19 case and hospitalization numbers have oscillated widely across the country. Numbers appeared to be on the decline, but in recent weeks, the number of U.S. wastewater sites reporting increases in the presence of COVID-19 in their samples appears to be back on the rise, after declines seen throughout the latter part of the summer.

In the U.S., about 50% of wastewater sites, which are currently providing data to the CDC, have reported an increase in the presence of the COVID-19 virus in their wastewater, over the last 15 days, up from the 40% of sites reporting increases, last month, according to federal data.

Several sites across the Northeast, in particular, appear to be seeing notable increases. In Boston, wastewater levels had plateaued, after a spring and summer surge, but in recent weeks, data indicates that COVID-19 sampling levels have increased again to their highest level in two months.

However, it is important to note that data is unavailable for many areas of the country, particularly across much of the South and the West.

The U.S. is currently reporting about 70,000 new cases a day. This comes as testing levels have plummeted in recent months, with now under 350,000 tests reported each day — the lowest total since the onset of the pandemic.

However, hospital admission levels continue to fall nationally. About 4,500 virus-positive Americans are entering the hospital each day, down by about 8.4% in the last week.

There are currently about 33,000 virus-positive Americans receiving care in the U.S., down from about 37,000 total patients receiving care, one week ago. Overall, the totals remain significantly lower than at the nation’s peak in January, when there were more than 160,000 patients hospitalized with the virus.

Indiana abortion ban goes into effect despite ongoing lawsuits

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(INDIANAPOLIS) — Indiana’s abortion ban went into effect Thursday.

The ban will limit access to more than 1.5 million people of reproductive age in Indiana, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.

Indiana was the first state to pass an abortion ban since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, removing federal protections for abortion rights.

This comes as a lawsuit filed by abortion providers challenge the legality of the law under the state’s constitution. The plaintiffs have asked the court to grant a preliminary injunction, temporarily keeping the ban from going into effect while litigation continues. A hearing for the injunction is scheduled for Sept. 19.

The lawsuit claims the abortion ban infringes on residents’ right to privacy, violating Indiana’s guarantee of equal privileges and immunities and violates the Constitution’s due course of law clause because of its unconstitutionally vague language.

The Indiana lawsuit filed against members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana and county prosecutors, was filed by Planned Parenthood, the Lawyering Project, the ACLU of Indiana and WilmerHale on behalf of abortion providers including Planned Parenthood, Women’s Med Group Professional Corp and All-Options.

While the lawsuit was filed on Aug. 31, two judges recused themselves from presiding over the case and a third judge only agreed to take up the case on Friday. The first two judges did not reveal why they recused themselves.

Plaintiffs had filed a request for a hold on the abortion ban since Aug. 31.

A second lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Indiana on behalf of Hoosier Jews for Choice and five women claims the abortion ban violates their religious freedom by limiting their ability to get an abortion under circumstances prohibited by the ban.

Indiana’s ban makes it a felony to provide abortion services and only allows for limited exceptions. It replaces a previous 22-week abortion ban with a near-total ban on abortion.

Abortions up to certain stages in pregnancy are permitted if the woman’s life is in danger, the fetus is diagnosed with a fatal anomaly or if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest, according to the lawsuit.

Providers who violate the ban will have their license revoked and could face between one to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Senators press Biden administration on ‘unacceptable’ monkeypox response; officials defend their work

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — At a congressional hearing on Wednesday with the nation’s leading public health officials, senators on both sides of the aisle criticized the Biden administration’s monkeypox response.

The strongest rebuke came from North Carolina’s Richard Burr, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), who labeled the government’s handling of monkeypox a “catastrophic failure” reminiscent of the onset of COVID-19 and implored officials to “do better.”

“You repeated each of the mistakes from the early days of the COVID response, and the cultural arrogance from public health officials who are supposed to be at the forefront of our response let this country down again,” Burr told the officials: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci; Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf and Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell.

Burr listed off delays on testing, therapeutics and vaccines — all of which were, and in some cases still are, challenging to access at the beginning of the monkeypox outbreak — and he criticized government health officials for not issuing stronger behavioral guidance during the many Pride parades nationwide for a disease that’s largely infecting the gay and bisexual male community.

“It isn’t a question of money. You’ve been given astonishing amounts of money. It’s a question of leadership. It’s a question of focus. It’s a question of squashing the typical bureaucratic roadblocks, arrogance and ineptitude. You need to do better,” Burr said.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, the committee chair, also had criticism of the overall monkeypox response — though she tempered hers with the news that access to vaccines, testing and therapeutics has increased while case growth has decreased.

Still, she called the response “unacceptable.”

“I know each of your agencies have worked relentlessly to respond first to COVID and now monkeypox. But I have to say, frankly, too many missteps were made early on in the response and a couple hundred cases turned into 21,000. It is unacceptable to communities who already experienced barriers to accessing health care, like the LGBTQ+ and the Black and Latino communities that are hardest hit by this outbreak,” Murray said.

For their part, members of the administration’s monkeypox response said that they had worked quickly to focus on key measures like testing and vaccines.

“On May 17, a case was reported in Massachusetts and was confirmed by CDC the following day. CDC immediately began its work searching for additional cases, educating clinicians and the public about this disease and supporting our state and local health public health partners in their response,” Walensky said.

“Over the last several weeks we’ve been pleased to see a decline in the growth of new cases here and abroad, though there are areas in the United States where the rate of rise in new cases is still increasing. We approach this news with cautious optimism, recognizing that we must continue to aggressively respond using our entire toolkit, including vaccination, testing and education about risk, to inform behavior change,” she said.

She said the U.S. has always had more testing capacity than testing being done and to date is still doing 14-20% of its total testing capacity. The underlying issue, she said, has been getting health care providers up to speed on a disease that’s not common domestically so that they quickly prescribe tests.

“There’s never been a shortage of tests, but there’s been a shortage of access to tests because of inefficiencies in the system,” said Califf, the FDA commissioner.

On vaccines, Burr pushed the officials on why vaccination rates aren’t higher — arguing that a lack of information on the new intradermal vaccination method, which is allowing the U.S. to increase its vaccine supply by up to fivefold, could be turning people off of the shots.

“We know that we have 13 to 15 million gay men in this country in the United States. … We have about 1.9 million HIV/AIDS positive gay men. There’s your immunocompromised population, 1.9 million; [and] your at-risk pool for sexually transmitted monkeypox [is] about 13 to 15 million. And somehow we’re cheering the fact that we put out 700,000 vaccines,” Burr said.

The administration has been doing some large-scale pop-up clinics at events like Atlanta Black Pride, Charlotte Pride, Boise Pride and Southern Decadence in New Orleans, Walensky said, and they had vaccinated around 7,200 people between the Atlanta and New Orleans events.

“What we need to do now is do those in smaller scale, and we’re actively doing that scale up … So rather than these big events, we need to meet people where they are with community-based organizations, trusted messengers,” she said.

O’Connell, who oversees the vaccine logistics within the Department of Health and Human Services, said the U.S. would be getting an additional 5.5 million vials of monkeypox vaccine in the coming months — which could be used as some 27 million doses, using the new intradermal approach — on top of the 1.1 million vials that have already been made available.

“Responses cannot be static. They must continue to evolve and calibrate to the current set of circumstances and regularly account for new information and evolving scientific understanding. This has been true of the monkeypox response thus far and will be true as it continues,” O’Connell said, defending the response.

But Walensky pointed out that there are holes in the administration’s work because of data hurdles.

The CDC does not have nearly the amount of information they need to design a more efficient testing and vaccination strategy, she said.

For example, “for monkeypox specifically, I can tell you that I don’t know the total number of people hospitalized with monkeypox,” Walensky said.

“It’s been hard, and it should not be this hard. And if we can’t make informed decisions, based on the best possible data coming into us, we’re not making the best decisions for the American people. The existing patchwork of data systems is not working. It’s not working to the best ability of the American people,” Walensky said.

She also said the CDC doesn’t know which people who are testing positive for monkeypox have been vaccinated or not.

While demographic data, such as race, ethnicity and gender, are reported in 91% of vaccinations, that data is only reported for 27% of tests and 47% of cases.

“We have been working closely, tirelessly, with state and local public health staff who have been doing the same to extract data on this outbreak specifically,” Walensky said.

Queen’s death prompts questions about Kohinoor, Great Star of Africa diamonds

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Questions around rare diamonds that are centerpieces of the British crown jewels have emerged in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

Two royal crowns and a scepter are adorned with some of the most famous diamonds in the world, obtained by the British empire over 100 years ago, and intertwined with its history of imperialism.

The 105.6-carat Kohinoor diamond — also spelled Koh-i-noor or Koh-i-Nûr — was mined in India thousands of years ago and is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world.

Rumored to be cursed for men, it was initially worn as a brooch by Queen Victoria and later mounted in the crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary. It is currently set in a crown that was created for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother for her coronation as queen consort in 1937. She wore it again at the coronation of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953. It is on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London and will reportedly be worn by Camilla, queen consort, at King Charles III’s coronation.

The Great Star of Africa is the biggest stone cut from the Cullinan diamond, which was discovered in South Africa in 1905 in a mine owned by its namesake, Thomas Cullinan, and is the largest gem-quality uncut diamond ever found. Also known as Cullinan I, the enormous, 530.2-carat drop-shaped diamond was added to the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, a sacred object that dates back to the 1600s used during coronation ceremonies, in 1910. It also is on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

The second-largest stone cut from the Cullinan is set in the Imperial State Crown, which was made for the coronation of King George VI in 1937 and is worn by the monarch upon leaving Westminster Abbey after the coronation. The 317-carat Second Star of Africa, also known as the Cullinan II, is the most valuable stone in the crown, which is currently set atop Queen Elizabeth’s coffin as she lies in state at Westminster Hall.

Among the intrigue of the jewels is their value, which is unclear. Though their rarity and history would inarguably make them worth a fortune.

Following the queen’s death last week, there have been renewed calls on social media for the diamonds to be returned to their respective countries of origin; #kohinoor was trending on Twitter.

“Would now be a bad time to ask for the Kohinoor back,” one person asked.

“RIP Queen. Send back the Kohinoor,” said another.

British-Indian author and political commentator Saurav Dutt tweeted that the British Empire is a “vestige of a bruised and thankfully desiccated past,” and that the Kohinoor diamond “should be dispatched back to Indian hands with haste and alacrity.”

Meanwhile, Snopes investigated the claim that the Great Star of Africa was stolen. It concluded that “would appear to be a matter of opinion.”

According to Brittanica, the Cullinan diamond was purchased by the government in Transvaal, South Africa, where it was found, and “presented (1907) to the reigning British monarch, King Edward VII.”

The Royal Collection Trust states that the diamond was presented to the king “as a symbolic gesture to heal the rift between Britain and South Africa after the Boer War.”

The Kohinoor diamond passed through many hands over centuries. India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have all claimed ownership and called for the British to surrender it. In 2016, the Indian Culture Ministry said it would make “all possible efforts” to have the diamond returned to India.

Historic Royal Palaces, which oversees the Tower of London, notes that the diamond has a “turbulent history” and is a “symbol of conquest.”

“The East India Company took the jewel from deposed Maharaja Duleep Singh in 1849, as a condition of the Treaty of Lahore,” it said. “The treaty specified that the jewel be surrendered to Queen Victoria.”

The British government has rejected pleas to return the Kohinoor; during a 2010 trip to India, former Prime Minister David Cameron said it was “staying put.”

While London institutions like the British Museum and Horniman Museum wrestle with contested artifacts, some experts, including Dutt, do not see the royal establishment relinquishing its jewels anytime soon.

The royals “would essentially be eviscerating themselves” if they turned over the Kohinoor, he told Time.

Late Rep. Elijah Cummings’ official portrait unveiled at the Capitol

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — With his widow and former colleagues looking on, the late Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings had his official portrait unveiled Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.

Cummings died in October 2019, at 68, after longstanding health challenges. He was first elected to the House in 1996 and served as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform until he died.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Majority Whip James Clyburn on Wednesday and delivered remarks honoring Cummings.

“He was a leader of towering integrity, everybody knows that. A man whose life embodied the American dream,” Pelosi, a Maryland native, said.

Cummings’ portrait was commissioned by his widow, Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, and was painted by Baltimore-based artist Jerrell Gibbs. It will hang in the Rayburn House Office Building Government Oversight and Reform Committee hearing room.

“This entire process has been a beautiful challenge,” Gibbs said Wednesday. “Being tasked with creating a painting of this magnitude for someone as important as the honorable Elijah Cummings to be permanently housed in a place of such significance as the United States Capitol building seemed like an insurmountable feat.”

Rockeymoore Cummings told ABC News that the portrait “is going to help keep his legacy alive, because that portrait is going to actually stand and look over the Government Oversight and Reform Committee members as they deliberate on all matters of issues.”

“And he’s going to be a reminder to them that we have to hold ourselves to the highest levels of integrity, that we have to hold ourselves to the truth,” she said.

US now urges away outside help while negotiating for Griner, Whelan’s release from Russia

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As a onetime ambassador to the U.N. and an international hostage negotiator, Bill Richardson has often been on the front lines of American diplomacy. But after his high-profile trip to Russia amid efforts to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, members of the Biden administration are now urging Richardson to take a back seat.

“Our message is that private citizens should not be in Moscow at all right now and that private citizens cannot negotiate on behalf of the United States government,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday.

But Richardson, a former New Mexico governor and energy secretary who now heads up an organization aimed at freeing Americans considered to be wrongfully held abroad, is not exactly an average citizen. When his plans to travel to Russia were first reported in July, Kirby said U.S. officials were in “constant communication” with him.

Richardson, for his part, told ABC News in August that he was “optimistic” about both Griner and Whelan, calling himself a “catalyst”: “I’ve been talking to the Russians. I talked to the White House.”

But the State Department’s receptiveness to help from outside the administration has chilled in recent weeks. Spokesperson Ned Price said Wednesday that anything other than government-to-government communication could be counterproductive.

“Our concern is that anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to hinder the efforts that we have undertaken to see the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” he said.

However, when Richardson first became involved in Griner’s case at the behest of her family in May, Price struck a different chord.

“We welcome all of those efforts that are coordinated closely with us that might help to seek the safe release of any American who’s unjustly detained around the world,” he said then.

Asked about the apparent shift, Price denied there had been a change in the government’s approach, saying the channel through which the Kremlin and Washington are currently communicating was established back in 2021 when President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Geneva.

It’s unclear if the State Department was informed of Richardson’s latest travel plans in advance, but Price said the trip was not coordinated through the U.S. embassy in Moscow. ABC News independently confirmed Richardson’s visit to Russia and reached out to the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, but a spokesperson declined to comment or answer questions.

“Of course, families are perfectly free to engage in to consult with outside voices, with outside entities,” Price said Wednesday. “But again, we want to make sure that any outside effort is fully and transparently coordinated with us and, in this case, we believe that any efforts that fall outside of that officially designated channel have the potential to complicate what is already an extraordinarily complicated challenge.”

The shifting tone from members of the administration comes as its push to free Griner and Whelan plods along at a slow — but not atypical — pace.

In late July, Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the rare step of announcing that the U.S. had put forth what he called a “substantial proposal” aimed at securing the release of both prisoners. Sources later confirmed it was a proposal for a prisoner swap involving so-called “merchant of death” Viktor Bout, a convicted arms trafficker who is currently serving out a 25-year sentence in an Illinois penitentiary.

Although officials within the department say direct engagement between the U.S. and Russia has continued on a regular basis since then, there is scant evidence that an agreement is any closer. Some, including Richardson, say they believe Moscow will require parity for an exchange, giving the White House the difficult task of identifying another prisoner that is tolerable to release but still a valuable enough asset for Moscow to go through with the trade.

Still, other sources have expressed doubt that Moscow is approaching the talks in good faith and question whether the Kremlin is truly willing to cut a deal in the near-term.

Richardson, who has carried out diplomatic missions in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and North Korea, played a role in freeing another former U.S. Marine detained in Russia: Trevor Reed. He was released as part of a prisoner exchange in April.

The administration’s position against outside help has sparked backlash from some advocates, who believe other avenues may yield results.

Griner, who pleaded guilty to drug charges in early July — though she said she had only inadvertently brought illegal hashish oil into Russia — has been detained since Feb. 17. She was sentenced to nine years behind bars but is currently appealing the ruling.

The Phoenix Mercury center and Olympic gold medalist’s wife, Cherelle Griner, said in July that she would “not be quiet anymore” and publicly urged the government to do everything in its power to help Griner.

Whelan has been detained in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that U.S. officials have called “trumped up.” His brother told ABC News the Whelan family is supportive of Richardson’s involvement in the case.

Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza TikTok musical — starring Dolly Parton — is finally nearly here

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The wait is over for the return of the Mexican Pizza to Taco Bell’s menu — and now the wait is nearly over for the Taco Bell TikTok musical.

That’s right: On Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, fans can watch the Mexican Pizza TikTok musical, starring Dolly Parton and other celebrities. Dolly teased the event on her social channels, posting snippets of the musical — and a poppy background score — in her Instagram Stories.

For the uninitiated, Mexican Pizza was discontinued from Taco Bell’s menu in 2020, leading to general uproar from superfans of the product, including rapper Doja Cat and Dolly herself.

They weren’t alone. A petition to bring back the Mexican Pizza netted 171,000 signatures, and Taco Bell listened, vowing to return the item to its menu and to launch a TikTok musical celebrating it.

Dolly announced her involvement in the musical — which was also inspired by a song Doja Cat wrote and posted on TikTok — in May.

Boy, 10, faces lawmakers to lobby for lower insulin prices

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A 10-year-old boy is on a mission to make life easier for the 37.7 million Americans who suffer from diabetes.

Jameson Wardle was 5 years old when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease in which the insulin-making cells in the pancreas are destroyed, forcing a person to be dependent on insulin, delivered via shots or an insulin pump.

Jameson, a 5th grade student in Boerne, Texas, has met with his local congressmen to urge them to stand up against what he says are unaffordable insulin prices.

“[Diabetes] is when your body attacks the beta cells … which produce insulin which is a hormone that changes carbohydrates into energy,” Jameson told ABC News’ Good Morning America.

More than eight million Americans use insulin, which is a necessity for people like Jameson with type 1 diabetes, who often require multiple injections of insulin each day, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Jameson uses 100 units of fast-acting insulin everyday, said his mom, Jennifer Wardle.

Each vial of insulin, which is about the size of a golf tee, costs $300 without insurance. Wardle, a U.S. Air Force veteran, said her family fortunately has insurance under her military benefits.

“But what happens when [Jameson] turns 26 and he’s not on our insurance anymore?” she said. “And these are the things that we, as parents, have to help him plan for.”

Jameson and Wardle are calling on Congress to pass legislation that would cap the price of insulin. One piece of legislation they support, H.R.6833, the Affordable Insulin Now Act, would encourage insulin manufacturers to reduce list prices and expand access to insulin.

The legislation passed the House in March but it has stalled in the Senate.

A proposal by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., to place a $35-per-month limit on insulin costs under private insurances failed this month in the Senate by a 57-43 vote.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and costs a total estimated $327 billion in medical costs and lost work and wages annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jameson said that he remains committed to meeting with more lawmakers, saying, “I feel empowered.”

He also shared a message of encouragement to other kids out there with diabetes, fighting like he is.

“Keep going and be strong because soon we’ll have a cure,” he said. “Contact your congressman.”

Walker Hayes says “Y’all Life” tells it like it is about life in the South

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Growing up in Alabama, Walker Hayes has plenty of first-hand experience when it comes to life in the South, and he says his new song, “Y’all Life,” perfectly sums it all up.

“Where I grew up — the song just says it like it is,” the singer tells ABC Audio. “From Alabama, it’s all football and Jesus. That’s it, bro. And that’s all that matters down there.”

Walker describes his new single as a “two-and-a-half-minute snapshot of where I grew up,” going on to offer more images from the song that speak to what life is like growing up in a place like his Alabama hometown.

“I love the images this song has — the furniture in it, the ice cream truck,” he rattles off. “It is a football game, and you know, we’ve got the marching band feel in there.

The song also tips its hat to a legendary 2000 anthem for rapper Nelly — “Country Grammar” — in one of its lyrics, sampling the iconic first line of that song’s chorus. “I wanted to use that [line] — ‘Down, down baby’ — but I was like, ‘You know, let’s just go there and we’ll sort out the co-write stuff later,’” he explains.

Nelly’s influence on the song isn’t the only instance of a potential future “Y’all Life” collaboration, Walker hints. “I would imagine we’re going to have some pretty sick collabs with this song throughout its life,” he says.

Pink Floyd album designer Aubrey Powell discusses ‘Animals’ reissue’s ominous new cover

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The reissue of Pink Floyd‘s classic 1977 concept album Animals, featuring a 5.1 Surround Sound mix created in 2018, gets released in multiple formats this Friday, September 16.

Along with the updated mix, the reissue boasts a reimagined and updated version of Animals‘ memorable cover art, which featured a photo of London’s massive Battersea Power Station with a giant inflatable pig tied to its chimneys.

Both covers were created by Aubrey “Po” Powell, co-founder of Hipgnosis, the graphic-design firm that has worked on most of the band’s albums.

The new cover features an ominous-looking recent photo of the building, which is covered in scaffolding, taken at night from a different angle than the original pic, with the pig added digitally.

Powell tells ABC Audio that he had to act fast to get a good current photo of the building because the site is in the middle of a “massive regeneration project” that’s obscuring the view of the station.

Powell says the new photo reflects Animals‘ cynical look at humanity, which was partly inspired by George Orwell‘s dystopian novel Animal Farm.

“I think the reflection of the image is very much related to the album, this Orwellian, dark, bleak, futuristic image,” he notes. “It’s almost sci-fi … Roger [Waters is] over the moon about it, and I think one of the reasons is because [it echoes] the period of time that we live in.”

Powell adds that Pink Floyd’s other members also think the new cover was great.

In addition, Powell says the cover reflects the edgier, more in-your-face new Animals mix, which, he maintains, “sounds so different and so good.”

The Animals reissue will be available Friday on CD, vinyl LP, Blu-ray and SACD. A deluxe multiple-disc package will follow on October 7.

+ More