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Eric André, stand-up Clayton English sue over alleged racial profiling at Atlanta airport

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Actor and stand-up comedian Eric André, along with another Black comedian, U.K. funnyman Clayton English, have filed suit against Clayton County, Georgia over what they claim were “racial profiling and coercive stops” at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Local ABC News affiliate WSB-TV reports the pair spoke at a press conference detailing their suit, claiming their Fourth and 14th Amendment rights were violated.

English, who lives in Atlanta, claims he was randomly searched on Oct. 30, 2020 when traveling from Atlanta to Los Angeles.

On April 21, 2021, André says he was trying to make the same trip when he was stopped on the jet bridge on the way to the plane.

“I was blocked in a jet bridge by two police officers who interrogated me about drugs,” André said at the press conference. “I didn’t see any other Black people boarding at the time. It’s hard to believe I was selected at ‘random’ for questioning.”

The veteran of The Eric André Show and HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones among other shows called it “a humiliating and degrading experience.”

The attorneys representing the two men are calling for the airport stop program to be terminated.

According to WSB, the lawyers alleged that in the eight months before André’s stop, 56% of the hundreds of passengers stopped by CCPD were recorded as Black. But overall, only 8% of airline passengers in the U.S. are Black.

Barry Friedman, co-founder of the Policing Project at NYU School of Law and the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Law, commented, “These are cases of flying while Black, plain and simple. Every day in America, people of color are unjustly stopped on the pretense that these encounters are consensual. It is humiliating, it is deeply inappropriate, it is unconstitutional, and it must stop.”

‘American Idol’ runner-up Willie Spence dead at 23 following car accident

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

According to a local Tennessee news report, American Idol runner-up Willie Spence died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a car accident there. The singer was 23.

The “tragic news” from outlet Douglas Now was confirmed by Katherine McPhee, who posted about the contestant with whom she performed in season 19 of the show.

McPhee posted a video to her Instagram Story of her and the “sweet” singer together. “Only 23 years old. Life is so unfair and nothing is ever promised,” she captioned, adding, “God rest your soul Willie. It was a pleasure to sing with you and to know you.”

McPhee also posted the last video Spence shared on social media, which incidentally shows him singing in his car on Tuesday. “He posted this right before the accident,” McPhee wrote, adding a sobbing emoji.

Three SWAT officers shot, injured in Philadelphia; police call level of gun violence ‘ridiculous’

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(PHILADELPHIA) — Three members of a Philadelphia SWAT team were shot while serving a warrant Wednesday morning, according to police, who again pleaded for an end to the city’s gun violence.

It appears all the injured officers will be OK, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said.

This shooting occurred just after 6 a.m. as SWAT officers tried to serve a warrant on a person who was wanted for an August homicide and was suspected of participating in multiple armed robberies, Philadelphia Police First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford said at a news conference.

As officers approached the door, the 19-year-old suspect shot at them through the door and window, Stanford said.

The suspect tried to flee, and when the SWAT officers followed, the suspect fired at them, according to Stanford.

SWAT officers returned fire and the suspect was pronounced dead at 7:32 a.m., he said.

Two of the injured officers are expected to be released from the hospital later on Wednesday, Stanford said. One officer was struck in the leg, one in the hip and the third was hit in the upper chest, Stanford said.

“It’s good to see them sitting up, talking, and their families around them,” Kenney told reporters.

Stanford called the level of gun violence in Philadelphia “ridiculous,” adding, “it’s enough.”

“There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t either have a child that is shot, or multiple people shot, because there are too many people out here carrying guns and they don’t have consequences,” he said. “Some people need to be in jail.”

“This should not be happening — this is not normal,” he said. “Unfortunately we have come to believe that this is the normal course of events — it’s not … it is troubling.”

Stanford stressed that Wednesday’s suspected gunman was just 19 years old.

“Something has been broken in this young man’s life for a long time, and it just didn’t start today,” he said.

Foo Fighters, RHCP, Måneskin & more nominated for 2022 MTV EMAs

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Måneskin are among the nominees for the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards.

All three bands will compete in the Best Rock category alongside Muse, The Killers and Liam Gallagher.

Meanwhile, Twenty One Pilots, Imagine Dragons, Panic! at the Disco, Gorillaz, Tame Impala and Yungblud are up for the Best Alternative prize.

Other nominees include Coldplay for Best Live, Billie Eilish for Best Pop and GAYLE for Best New Artist, as well as Twenty One Pilots’ Roblox concert for Best Metaverse Performance.

The 2022 MTV EMAs will take place November 13 in Düsseldorf, Germany and will air live on MTV throughout 170 different countries. The show will be available to stream globally on Paramount+ beginning November 14.

For the full list of nominees and to vote for your favorites, visit MTVEMA.com.

Taylor Swift says it’s an “honor and a privilege” to have Lana Del Rey on ‘Midnights’ track “Snow on the Beach”

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Taylor Swift has once again taken to Instagram to give some behind-the-scenes details of another track on her upcoming album Midnights — this time it’s “Snow on the Beach,” the track that features Lana Del Rey.

“‘Snow on the Beach’ featuring Lana Del Rey is track four on Midnights and I cannot get through that sentence without grinning because I am such a massive fan of Lana Del Rey,” Taylor says in her Instagram video. She goes on to explain that the song is about “falling in love with someone at the same time as they’re falling in love with you.”

Taylor says the song captures “this sort of cataclysmic, fated moment where you realize someone feels exactly the same way that you feel… at the same moment,” and describes it as provoking the feeling of, “Wait, is this real? Is this a dream? Is this for real? Is this happening? Is this really happening?” She compares the response to how “it would be if you were to see snow falling on a beach.”

As for Lana’s presence on the song, both she and Taylor have worked with producer Jack Antonoff, so that may be how the hook-up happened. Regardless, Taylor raves that she’s “one of the best musical artists ever,” and says “The fact that I get to exist at the same time as her is an honor and a privilege.”

Midnights is out on October 21.

Hundreds of whales beached on New Zealand islands

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Hundreds of pilot whales that beached on the Chatham Islands in the last week died of natural causes or were euthanized, according to New Zealand’s Department of Conservation.

Officials responded to two mass strandings of pilot whales. The first group of 240 pilot whales beached in the northwest of Chatham Island, also called Rēkohu or Wharekauri, on Oct. 7. Days after, the second stranding occurred at Waihere Bay on Pitt Island, also known as Rangihaute or Rangiāuria, on Oct. 10, also involving almost 240 pilot whales.

Some whales were dead on arrival and others were put down, said Dave Lundquist, DOC’s technical advisor marine species and threats. The whales will decompose, Lundquist added.

“We do not actively refloat whales on the Chatham Islands due to the risk of shark attack to humans and the whales themselves, so euthanasia was the kindest option,” Lundquist said.

The remote Chatham Islands are a hotspot for cetacean graves. The largest recorded pilot whale stranding was 1,000 whales at the Chatham Islands in 1918.

“This is a sad event for the team and the community, with many people being affected by it,” Lundquist said.

Pilot whales tend to be the most frequent causalities of mass strandings, said the DOC. Though the exact reason behind whale strandings remains unclear, a few traits unique to this species of aquatic mammal make them more likely to be beached.

Pilot whales utilize echolocation for directions. Navigation errors occur, including human intervention, meaning the whales can accidentally trap themselves in a shallow bay or beach bar.

Another reason for stranding could be a disease. When whales from a pod are infected by a virus or toxic algae, they may all become sick and unable to swim, beaching themselves in response.

Pilot whales, uniquely, are social creatures, moving in large groups, said Anaïs Remili, a Ph.D. candidate and whale researcher at McGill University. When something goes awry, like a mistake in echolocation or an illness, pilot whales tend to beach themselves altogether.

“As we’ve seen with COVID, it’s quite easy to transfer a virus when you’re living in close quarters,” Remili said. “That’s what happens with stranded whales.”

On the bright side, Remili said, pilot whales are not an endangered species. Plus, mass strandings can inform environmentalists about the impact of climate change. If mass strandings become more common, then scientists can sample the dead individuals to understand if there is an ecological link to pollution.

“This is an incredibly sad event but we can use it to understand how our world is changing,” Remili said.

FDA authorizes updated bivalent COVID-19 booster for children aged 5 and older

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the updated bivalent COVID-19 booster for children aged 5 and older Wednesday.

Story developing…

Harry Styles leads MTV EMA nominations with seven nods, Taylor Swift has six

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Harry Styles is the leading nominee for this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards, scooping up seven nominations, including Best Artist and Best Song and Best Video for “As It Was.”

Harry’s also up for Best Pop, Best Live, Biggest Fans and Best Local Act, UK & Ireland. His alleged ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift follows close behind with six nods, including Best Artist, Best Pop, Biggest Fans and Best Video and Best Longform Video, both for “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version).” Nicki Minaj has five nominations.

Other nominees include Lizzo, Doja Cat, BLACKPINK, Jack Harlow, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran and BTS. Among the first-time EMA nominees this year are GAYLE, Stephen Sanchez, Dove Cameron, Kim Petras and Mae Muller.

The 2022 MTV EMAs will go down in Düsseldorf, Germany on November 13 and air live on MTV in more than 170 countries. It’ll be available on Paramount+ starting November 14. You can see the full list of nominees — and vote across 17 gender-neutral categories — at MTVEMA.com through November 9 at 11:59pm CET.

Report: Cynthia Bailey and Mike Hill divorce after two years of marriage

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Cynthia Bailey and her husband, Mike Hill, have reportedly filed for divorce.

According to sources of The Jasmine Brand, the couple have been “separated for awhile now,” and everything between them is “amicable.”

An unnamed source told the site of their split, “they really do love each other and it wasn’t anything scandalous or anyone at at fault…it just didn’t work out.”

The Bravo star and TV personality began their romantic relationship after appearing on an episode of Steve Harvey‘s talk show in 2017, got engaged in 2019 and tied the knot in October 2020.

Neither Bailey nor Hill have yet to comment on their relationship status.

Khloé Kardashian reveals she had a tumor removed from her face

October 12, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Khloé Kardashian revealed on Tuesday that she recently had a tumor removed from her face.

“I have seen numerous stories going around about the ever-evolving bandage on my face, with some of you wondering why I’ve been wearing one for the past few weeks,” the reality star, 38, wrote on her Instagram story, sharing a collage of photos of herself wearing the patch.

“After noticing a small bump on my face and assuming it was something as minor as a zit, I decided to get it biopsied 7 months after realizing it was not budging,” she continued, sharing a close-up photo of her face with the spot circled.

Kardashian then wrote that two dermatologists examined the biopsy and both saw something she said they considered “incredibly rare” for someone her age.

“A few days later I was told I need to have an immediate operation to remove a tumor from my face,” she wrote, noting that she called a surgeon who was a family friend and someone she knew would take “incredible care” of her.

Kardashian said she was “grateful to share” that her surgeon “was able to get everything.” She said the tumor’s “margins appear clear” and she is now in the “healing process.”

“So, here we are…you’ll continue to see my bandages and when I’m allowed, you’ll probably see a scar (and an indention in my cheek from the tumor being removed) but until then I hope you enjoy how fabulous I’m making these face bandages look,” she continued.

Kardashian said she told her story as a reminder for her followers to “get checked, and frequently” before explaining how she had melanoma surgically removed from her back when she was 19, despite being someone who “wears sunscreen every single day, religiously […].”

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