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Toddler found dead in stolen car hours after deadly shooting, suspect in custody: Police

September 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(HOUSTON) — A toddler was found dead inside a car that was stolen after the child’s father was shot and killed in Houston on Tuesday, police said.

A 38-year-old man now faces charges of murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the case, police said Wednesday. The name of the suspect, who initially had been detained for questioning, will be released once charges are filed, police said.

Police had appealed to the public for information in the hours after the grim discovery amid their search for a suspect.

“We are asking for a lot of things from the public right now,” Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite told reporters during a press conference Tuesday night. “First and foremost, to pray for this family. A mother lost her husband and she lost her 2-year-old child today. We are also asking the public’s help in identifying the suspect. He is still at large.”

The Houston Police Department received a 911 call about a shooting in the area of El Camino Rey Del Rey Street and Chimney Rock Road at around 1:46 p.m. local time on Tuesday. Upon arrival, officers found a 38-year-old man who had been shot to death, according to Satterwhite.

Investigators believe the victim was meeting with another man at the location when possibly an argument ensued. The other man took out a gun and shot the victim multiple times before stealing his black SUV and fleeing the scene, Satterwhite said.

That evening, at approximately 6:36 p.m. local time, a woman called 911 to report her husband and 2-year-old son missing. The information she provided was specific enough that police soon realized the shooting victim was her husband, according to Satterwhite.

“We never knew about the child until she called,” he told reporters.

The stolen SUV with the little boy inside was found on Elm Street, more than 10 miles away from the shooting scene. Officers shattered the windows of the locked vehicle to get to the child, then immediately tried to render aid and called for an ambulance, according to Satterwhite.

“Sadly, it was too late. The child had passed in the car,” he said. “At this time, we don’t know why or how or what the cause of death will be. It could be something like heat exhaustion, we just don’t know. That will be determined later through autopsy.”

Investigators believe the suspect had left the car there, locked up and turned off, with the child in the backseat, according to Satterwhite.

“It’s the hardest thing we do,” he told reporters. “Children are innocent.”

The unidentified suspect, who remains on the loose, is described as a Black man wearing a white T-shirt, black shorts and a black Oakland Raiders cap.

When asked if he had a message for the suspect, Satterwhite said: “Turn yourself in. Turn yourself in now.”

Wisconsin governor calls special session to repeal 1849-era abortion ban

September 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(MADISON, Wisc.) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced Wednesday that he is calling a special session of the state legislature in his latest attempt to repeal a criminal abortion ban dating back to 1849 which suspended some abortion services in the state after the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade in June.

“In Wisconsin, we still have an 1800s-era criminal abortion ban on the books that originated before the Civil War and when Wisconsin women did not have the right to vote, which could ban nearly all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest, if it goes back into effect,” Evers said in a statement on social media.

The Democratic governor had called a special session earlier this year, before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, to repeal the then-dormant law. The Republican-controlled state legislature gaveled in and out of the special session without holding any discussion. Days later, the Supreme Court released its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, effectively overturning Roe. Abortion providers in Wisconsin have since suspended services amid the threat of prosecution.

Evers said he is now calling a special session to “create a pathway for Wisconsin voters” to repeal the abortion ban, which makes it a felony to provide an abortion except when the mother’s life is at risk.

The governor’s actions come a week after Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin suggested voters could challenge the abortion ban through a statewide referendum.

Voters in Wisconsin currently can not change state laws by referendum or introduce ballot initiatives, according to the governor’s office. Instead, a constitutional amendment must pass two consecutive state legislatures before heading to voters.

Evers proposes creating a process that would enable voters to “bypass” the state legislature and allow referendum ballot questions brought by the public.

“Wisconsinites were not only stripped of their reproductive freedom, but they currently can’t enact change to protect that freedom without having to get permission from the Legislature first. That’s just wrong, and it’s time for us to change that,” he said.

Evers has ordered the state legislature to act on his proposals on Oct. 4.

In response, the Republican leaders of the state legislature called Evers’ actions a “desperate political stunt.”

“Governor Evers would rather push his agenda to have abortion available until birth than talk about his failure to address rising crime and runaway inflation caused by his liberal DC allies,” state Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said in a joint statement.

Evers is further challenging the pre-Civil War abortion ban in a lawsuit filed in June by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul that names three Republican state legislative leaders among the defendants. Last week, Kaul named three district attorneys as new defendants in the ongoing case. The lawsuit argues that newer legislation, including a 1985 law that bans abortion only after fetal viability, should take precedence.

The governor, who is up for reelection this November, has vetoed more restrictive abortion laws passed by the state legislature in the past three years.

Cancer deaths in US declined by 2% every year since 2016, report says

September 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Cancer deaths in the United States are continuing to decline, according to a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research.

The report, published Wednesday, found that deaths from cancer have decreased by 2.3% every year between 2016 and 2019.

Overall, there has been a 32% reduction in the U.S. cancer death rate since 1991, which translates into approximately 3.5 million lives being saved, the report said.

Additionally, in 2022, there are more than 18 million cancer survivors living in the U.S., equivalent to 5.4% of the population, the report found. Fifty years earlier, there were just 3 million cancer survivors.

According to the report, the decreasing number of deaths is due to “unprecedented progress” made against cancer within the last decade.

This includes eight new anticancer medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between August 2021 and July 2022 as well as 10 previously approved medications that have been expanded to treat other types of cancer.

Another reason is due to the decline in smoking, the report says. Rates of smoking among U.S. adults have also decreased from 42% in 1965 to 12.5% in 2020.

The report also highlights the importance of cancer screenings, which can determine if a person has precancerous lesions or cancer in its early stages.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Colorectal Cancer Control Program — which aims to rise cancer screening rates among people between 45 and 75 years of age — saw an average increase of 8.2 percentage points and 12.3 percentage points among clinics that participated in the program for two and four years, respectively, according to the report.

“Basic research discoveries have driven the remarkable advances that we’ve seen in cancer medicine in recent years,” Dr. Lisa Coussens, the president of AACR, said in a statement.

“Targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and other new therapeutic approaches being applied clinically all stem from fundamental discoveries in basic science,” the statement added. “Investment in cancer science, as well as support for science education at all levels, is absolutely essential to drive the next wave of discoveries and accelerate progress.”

However, because cancer continues to be the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. — with an estimated 600,000 lives expected to be lost this year — the AACR is calling on Congress to increase funding for the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health and for the FDA, which oversees the regulation of anticancer medication.

The group also called for more support for programs such as President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, which was relaunched in February 2022, with a goal of slashing the national cancer death rate by 50% over the next 25 years.

The good news comes despite a recent report that cancers among adults younger than age 50 have “dramatically increased” globally over the last several decades.

Researchers from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital said the sharp rise of several cancers including breast, colon, esophagus, kidney, liver and pancreas began in the early 1990s.

The Brigham study found the rise is partially attributable to early screenings for some of these cancers. Early life exposures such as people’s diet, weight, lifestyle, environmental exposure, and microbiome may factor into what’s contributing to early-onset cancer, but more information on individual exposures is needed, the study said.

ABC News’ Dr. Evelyn Huang contributed to this report.

Appeals court grants DOJ’s request for partial stay of judge’s ruling on Trump special master

September 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A panel of judges on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a request from the Justice Department to stay portions of a ruling by district Judge Aileen Cannon that had effectively paused the government’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s potential mishandling of classified records after leaving office.

The three-judge panel, comprised of two Trump appointees and an Obama-era appointee, ruled unanimously that the Justice Department is no longer enjoined from using the documents with classifications recovered from Mar-a-Lago in its investigation and will no longer have to submit them to special master Ray Dearie for his review.

“[Trump] has not even attempted to show that he has a need to know the information contained in the classified documents,” the panel said in its ruling. “Nor has he established that the current administration has waived that requirement for these documents.”

They also agree with the Justice Department that Trump has submitted no record or claim that he ever declassified the documents at issue, and that his team resisted stating as much when pressed by Dearie.

“In any event, at least for these purposes, the declassification argument is a red herring because declassifying an official document would not change its content or render it personal,” the judges said. “So even if we assumed that Plaintiff did declassify some or all of the documents, that would not explain why he has a personal interest in them.”

Travis Barker launches skin care line with Barker Wellness brand

September 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Travis Barker has added a skin care line to his wellness brand, Barker Wellness.

The CBD-blended products are “formulated to help elevate and revitalize your daily skincare routine,” according to an Instagram post from the company.

Speaking with Elle, Barker shares that his wife, Kourtney Kardashian, inspired him to launch the line.

“Kourtney has taught me consistency is key when it comes to skincare,” the Blink-182 drummer says. “And now I’m seeing results. That’s why I wanted the skincare line to be simple, so it’s straightforward for anyone to follow.”

For more info, visit BarkerWellness.com.

House passes election reform bill to curb future interference; 9 Republicans join Democrats

September 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House on Wednesday approved a post-Jan. 6 election reform bill intended to blunt future challenges to presidential elections.

The Presidential Election Reform Act, crafted largely by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., passed by a 229-203 vote, with nine Republicans joining the Democratic majority in favor of it.

The legislation would alter the 135-year-old Electoral Count Act, which — as the House committee investigating Jan. 6 showed through a series of hearings — former President Donald Trump and his allies focused on in their efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 race Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Among other things, the new bill would confirm that the vice president’s role in overseeing the Electoral College count after each election is purely ministerial. The legislation would also raise the threshold needed for electoral objections by lawmakers to receive a vote in Congress and it would mandate that governors transmit state results to Congress.

As the Jan. 6 committee detailed, Trump and his allies pressed then-Vice President Mike Pence to not green-light the electors submitted from certain swing states and pushed governors to send to Congress alternate slates of electors who backed Trump over Biden.

Objections to some states’ electors on Jan. 6, 2021, also easily earned votes under the current standards, which only require one member each in the House and the Senate to back an objection. The new legislation raises that floor to one-third of each chamber.

Prior to Wednesday’s vote on the Presidential Election Reform Act, supporters emphasized the need for the legislation as numerous election deniers, including those running for office this year, still say the 2020 race shouldn’t have been certified, citing groundless claims of voter fraud.

“Let me be clear. This is a kitchen table issue for families, and we must make sure this anti-democratic plot cannot succeed,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on the House floor. “It’s a kitchen table issue because denying the American people their fundamental freedom to choose their own leaders denies them their voice in the policies we pursue, and those policies can make tremendous difference in their everyday lives.”

“Our bill will preserve the rule of law for all future presidential elections by ensuring that self-interested politicians cannot steal from the people the guarantee that our government derives its power from the consent of the governed,” Cheney added in her own remarks.

The bill was not anticipated to garner significant Republican support in the House, though, outside of anti-Trump lawmakers.

The nine Republican votes came from Cheney and Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Peter Meijer Michigan, Tom Rice of South Carolina, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, John Katko of New York, Fred Upton Michigan and New York’s Chris Jacobs. None of them are returning next Congress, either because they are retiring or lost their primaries this year.

House GOP leadership had actively whipped against the bill, with Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s, R-La., saying in a memo Tuesday that “In their continued fixation to inject the Federal government into elections, this legislation runs counter to reforms necessary to strengthen the integrity of our elections.”

The House bill is also competing with Senate legislation crafted after bipartisan talks that included Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va, and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

The two bills are similar, though the Senate legislation sets a lower threshold to introduce objections to the electoral count.

ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.

Beverly Hills Cop sequel arrests original stars Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot

September 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Eddie Murphy‘s forthcoming Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley has secured four of the original movie series’ stars.

Judge Reinhold and John Ashton, who played, respectively, detective partners William “Billy” Rosewood and John Taggart, will walk the beat once again with Murphy’s Axel Foley.

Brosnan Pinchot, who stole whole scenes as flamboyant gallery worker Serge, and Paul Reiser, who played Murphy’s detective partner in Detroit, Jeffrey, have also come aboard.

As previously reported, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige are also in the cast.

The film is currently in production, but the plot details are still under wraps.

UB40 playing free livestreamed concert tonight; band releases new version of “Red Red Wine”

September 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

UB40 has announced a surprise free livestream show that will air Wednesday, September 21, at 11 p.m. ET on their official YouTube channel.

The two-hour concert will be streamed live from the intimate Uptown Theater in Napa, California. The show is part of UB40’s current U.S. tour leg in support of the English pop-reggae band’s 2021 album, Bigga Baggariddim.

UB40 has just released its latest single, a new version of “Red Red Wine,” the Neil Diamond-penned song the band had a chart-topping hit with back in 1983. The tune, which is available now via digital formats, is the second single UB40 has debuted from its forthcoming studio effort, UB45.

UB45 is due out in early 2023 and will feature new original songs, as well as updated versions of some of the group’s classic hits and fan favorites.

The first advance track from the record was “Champion,” which was released in July and served as the official anthem for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. UB40 collaborated with rappers Dapz on the Map and Gilly G on the song, which marked the debut of the group’s new frontman, Matt Doyle. Gilly G also recently joined the band’s lineup.

“We’ve been looking to do this [livestream] for some time and now is the perfect opportunity to introduce our new members, lead singer Matt Doyle and rapper Gilly G, to our fans worldwide on YouTube — and it’s free!” says founding UB40 member Robin Campbell.

ZZ Top launches new whisky, Tres Hombres Bourbon

September 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Last November, ZZ Top debuted its own unique brand of whisky called Tres Hombres, named after the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame trio’s 1973 studio album. Now the Texas blues-rockers are introducing a second entry into the liquor line — Tres Hombres Bourbon.

The whisky will be available starting this week at select retailers in three Texas cities — Austin, Dallas and Houston.

Tres Hombres Bourbon is made from three grains, with three distinct mash bills — that is, grain mixes — that have been “baked in the Southern heat” for three years.

“The launch of our 2021 Texas Whisky was an overwhelming success,” says ZZ Top manager Carl Stubner. “We look forward to sharing this new sweeter expression with our fans and friends to enjoy raising a glass to followers of good whisky across the country.”

The arrival of Tres Hombres Bourbon coincides with ZZ Top’s trio of Texas shows this week featuring special guests Jeff Beck and Heart‘s Ann Wilson. The concerts are scheduled for this Friday in Del Valle, Saturday in Dallas and Sunday in The Woodlands. Visit ZZTop.com for the band’s full upcoming itinerary.

‘Ted Lasso’ characters coming to soccer game ‘FIFA 23’

September 21, 2022 by WDNY Radio

For fans who can’t get enough Ted Lasso, the AFC Richmond, the fictitious footie team from the Emmy-winning show, is getting the video game treatment.

FIFA 23, the forthcoming installment of EA’s insanely popular FIFA series, will feature the affable coach played by Jason Sudeikis, as well as playable versions of Roy effing Kent and other players from the scrappy soccer team.

EA made the announcement in a trailer that shows the hit show’s world being digitized into the world of the realistic sports game.

As fans have come to expect from the FIFA series, the likenesses of Sudeikis’ character — and that of his Emmy-winning co-star Brett Goldstein, who plays foul-mouthed footballer Roy Kent — and all the other players are on point.

The “AFC Richmond squad including Jamie Tartt, Dani Rojas, Sam Obisanya … and Isaac McAdoo will all be authentically integrated into FIFA 23, along with Nelson Road–the club’s home ground,” the video game company explains.

“One of the game’s great motivators, you’ll be able to select Ted Lasso as your playable manager in Career Mode, or you can manage AFC Richmond by swapping them into the Premier League or any other playable Career Mode league,” EA’s website continues.

The FIFA games are a global phenomenon: more than 325 million copies have been sold as of 2021.

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