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McConnell to host GOP Senate candidates Walker, Oz after ‘candidate quality’ comments

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday will host a fundraiser with Senate candidates in key battleground states a week after appearing to criticize the “quality” — of some GOP Senate candidates.

Herschel Walker, running for Senate in Georgia, Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, and Rep. Ted Budd, running for Senate in North Carolina, will attend McConnell’s event in Louisville, Kentucky, a source familiar with the planned event confirmed to ABC News.

The same source said the event had been organized in June.

Last week, McConnell seemed to suggest that the quality of some GOP candidates could make it more difficult for the party to retake the Senate.

“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate,” McConnell said at a Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Florence, Kentucky, last week. “Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome.”

The comments fueled more criticism from former President Donald Trump, who once again voiced his disapproval of McConnell, going as far as calling for his removal as the Senate Republican leader.

“Mitch McConnell is not an Opposition Leader, he is a pawn for the Democrats to get whatever they want. He is afraid of them, and will not do what has to be done. A new Republican Leader in the Senate should be picked immediately!” Trump said in a statement Wednesday.

Trump and McConnell have at times been at odds during the midterm election season as Trump continued to assert his powers over the Republican party, endorsing candidates up and down the ballot.

While McConnell and Trump aligned on Senate candidates in Georgia and Nevada, the two are in a standoff in Alaska’s Senate race.

McConnell’s super PAC has backed Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Arkansas — who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial — in her reelection bid against Trump-endorsed candidate Kelly Tshibaka. Tshibka has publicly said she would not support McConnell as GOP leader. The two candidates have both advanced to the general election.

After a primary season in which McConnell tried to stay relevantly neutral, he is doubling down on his efforts of ensuring Republicans take back control of Congress.

The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC linked to McConnell, announced it is reserving $34.1 million in Pennsylvania, $37 million in Georgia, and $27.6 million in North Carolina to support the Republican nominees.

“The stakes in this election could not be higher. It is imperative that Republicans regain control of the Senate and serve as a firewall against President Biden’s disastrous policies. I am determined to do everything I can to ensure our candidates have the resources they need to win this November,” said McConnell.

The spat between McConnell and the former president have left vulnerable candidates stuck between seeking help from McConnell and his Super PAC as they are being outraised by their Democratic opponents while also maintaining their close ties to Trump, who has endorsed all three candidates attending the fundraiser.

Oz, who is holding a rally with Trump next weekend in Pennsylvania, tried to distance himself from McConnell’s remarks, saying they weren’t about him.

In a Fox Business interview, Oz said McConnell has “expressed himself quite clearly with his pocketbook” and claimed the senator has donated tens of millions of dollars to the ex-television host’s campaign.

“He was highlighting that the quality of candidates does matter a lot in statewide races. It always matters,” Oz said.

In Georgia, Walker downplayed McConnell’s remarks to ABC News Tuesday.

“I got in this race to win it. I never got in it to follow Washington around. I said I’m here for the people,” Walker said.

Budd did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Political experts said McConnell’s comments are emblematic of a growing sentiment among a subset of Republicans who are now grappling with a lack of experienced candidates embattled with scandals in a contentious general election cycle.

“I think McConnell is, you know, just upset that, you know, that Trump pushed all these inexperienced and fringe candidates for Senate nominations and I think he was absolutely truthful on saying that this is could very cost Republicans control of the Senate,” Alan Abramowitz, Professor emeritus of political science at Emory University said.

Georgia’s GOP Lt. Gov Duncan told ABC News that name recognition can only take candidates so far.

“I mean, the whole gravitational pull towards, you know, finding some sort of, you know, star or celebrity status, individual to run seems to be the perfect recipe to win a primary, but it’s proving to make it more difficult to win a general,” Duncan said.

“Republicans failed to recruit or nominate their strongest candidates in a number of these Senate races and ended up with candidates who I think are struggling as a result,” Abramowitz added.

McConnell’s comments not only highlight the tense battle for regaining a GOP majority but also puts the political future of former President Donald Trump on the ballot in November should his backed Senate candidates not win in the general election.

All three Republican candidates are lagging behind their Democratic opponents, according to FiveThirtyEight’s recent polling average.

Georgia’s Democratic Sen. Warnock leads Walker 46.2% to 44.4%. Dr. Oz lags behind opponent John Fetterman by nine points. In a tighter race, North Carolina’s Cheri Beasley leads Budd by 0.1%.

Now, Republicans are pushing for a more unified message among party leaders and hope candidates start focusing on drilling down delivering a strong conservative policy message.

“Our problems continue to get worse and worse and heavier and heavier and heavier. And to me, that’s forcing Americans back to saying, okay, timeout, I’m gonna have to spend more than 10 seconds watching a commercial before I make my decision or Hey, I’m not gonna just vote for the person that’s the snarkiest on Twitter anymore. I’ve got to go figure out what this person believes on inflation, national security, immigration, all the big issues that are now affecting kitchen tables and boardrooms and everything in between,” Duncan said.

5-year-old boy dies after he’s found in hot car outside Texas elementary school

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LA JOYA, Texas) — A 5-year-old boy died after he was found in a hot car outside a South Texas elementary school, officials said.

A 911 call came in at 4:04 p.m. Thursday reporting that an unresponsive boy was found inside a car parked at Dr. Americo Paredes Elementary, La Joya Independent School District Police Chief Raul Gonzalez said at a news conference Friday.

The temperature climbed to 101 degrees in Hidalgo County on Thursday, with a heat index — what temperature it feels like with humidity — of 105 degrees.

The little boy was a relative of a campus staff member, Gonzalez said. The boy, whose name was not released, was also a student in the district, according to La Joya Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Gisela Saenz.

“I want to assure parents and our community that our schools are safe. This was an isolated incident,” Saenz said at the news conference. “We’re providing support to our students and staff with additional counseling services.”

His death came on the elementary school’s ninth day of the new year.

This marks the 19th child to die from a hot car in the U.S. so far this year, according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org.

More than 1,000 kids have died in hot cars since 1990, the organization said.

Click here for tips to keep your kids safe in hot cars.

New Music Friday: JID, Offset, Takeoff and Quavo and more

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

From surprise drops to previously announced projects, here’s the culture’s latest music.

JID, The Forever Story — The album was two years in the making and includes personal family stories with hopes to give fans an “inkling” of why his “mindset]is a certain type of way,” he told Complex.

DJ Khaled, God Did — Months of teasing have come to an end with the star-studded project featuring the likes of Roddy Ricch, SZA, Travis Scott, City Girls and more. The producer is set to release seven music videos over the next week, starting with the Future and Lil Baby-assisted “Big Time.”

Nicki Minaj, Queen Radio: Volume 1 — Surprise! The rapper took to her socials Friday to announce the greatest hits album. “Adding a surprise on it tomorrow,” she teased when announcing the project.

Lil Tjay, “Beat Da Odds” — After surviving a near-fatal shooting, the 21-year-old rapper is back. In the new single, he raps about the incident and how he “beat da odds” and became successful. The video, also released today, sees him recording the track in the hospital, where he receives visits from his loved ones.

Offset ft Moneybagg Yo, “Code” — Exactly one week after dropping his first single, Offset is back, this time with Moneybagg Yo. The song comes amid a lawsuit against Migos label Quality Control over the rights to his solo music.

Quavo and Takeoff, Birdman, “Big Stunna” — The other Migos members team up with the 1 Stunna himself, Birdman and flaunt their success and material wealth in both the lyrics and visual for the song.

Benny The Butcher and BSF, “297 Parkside” — Produced by Camoflauge Monkand and Stove God Cooks, the song will be featured on the compilation album Long Live DJ Shay.

Twitter is bringing podcasts to its platform in new design

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Twitter is expanding its platform to include podcasts, the tech company said in a statement on Thursday.

Starting Thursday, Twitter will begin incorporating podcasts into its redesigned Spaces tab, an extension of its app that allows people to have live audio conversions, the company said.

According to a statement from Twitter, the newest addition has become available to “a group of global English-speaking audience on iOS and Android.”

It’s not yet clear when the tab will be fully rolled out.

The tech company said the new extension to include podcasts will allow users to have conversations past its 280 written character limit and will bring “people closer to the ideas, content, and creators they know and love is core to Twitter no matter where the conversations take place.”

According to Twitter’s statement, the new tab will introduce personalized “hubs” that group audio content together based on its genre, like news, music or sports.

These hubs will allow users to have easy access to a more personalized selection of live and recorded “Spaces” that discuss topics that matter to them.

These hubs will link the existing Spaces audio content with popular podcasts, Twitter said.

According to their statement, Twitter’s internal research indicates 45% of people who use Twitter in the U.S. also listen to podcasts monthly. In this new move, Twitter aims to readily suggest podcasts to users that they can listen to directly on the app.

Vox Media has partnered with Twitter to showcase their podcasts on the new extension.

“Vox Media has a rich array of popular podcasts across many categories, and we’re thrilled that Twitter is expanding its audio capabilities to help more listeners discover them,” said Ray Chao, general manager of audio at Vox Media, said in Twitter’s statement.

The company’s new move comes just days after Twitter’s former head of security, Peiter Zatko, alleged in a whistleblower federal complaint last month that the social media giant had numerous wide-ranging information security system lapses, according to a copy of the complaint made public on Tuesday.

In response, Twitter said Zatko was spreading a “false narrative about Twitter” and was fired for “ineffective leadership and poor performance.” The company also said Zatko’s public remarks are “riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lacks important context.”

Garth Brooks extends his Thunder Ridge Nature Arena gig from one to three nights

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Due to overwhelming ticket demand, Garth Brooks is extending his stay at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, a newly constructed venue at Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge in the Ozarks of Missouri.

Garth was originally planning to give one concert to christen the new venue, but after 55,000 fans snapped up tickets on the on-sale date, he’s booking two more nights in the venue. Garth will now play the venue on September 30, October 1 and October 2.

That three-night stint will be part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Bass Pro, held by the store’s founder, Johnny Morris.

“I couldn’t be happier for Johnny Morris, his story truly is the American tale,” Garth says of the founder-turned-billionaire businessman behind the outdoors-focused retail chain.

In addition to his Thunder Ridge Nature Arena performances, Garth is gearing up to wrap his 2022 Stadium Tour dates with five sold-out nights at Dublin’s Croke Park; his performances there will be taped for a special.

Coheed & Cambria, My Chemical Romance members & more launch new band, L.S. Dunes

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Coheed & Cambria‘s Travis Stever and My Chemical Romance‘s Frank Iero have joined a new band called L.S. Dunes.

Along with the two guitarists, the group’s lineup includes Circa Survive vocalist Anthony Green, and bassist Tim Payne and drummer Tucker Rule of Thursday.

The debut L.S. Dunes album is called Past Lives and will be released November 11. You can listen to the first single, “Permanent Rebellion,” now via digital outlets.

L.S. Dunes will make their live debut at Chicago’s Riot Fest in September, which Iero is also playing as part of MCR’s reunion tour. They’ll then play the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California, followed by a U.S. headlining tour kicking off in November.

Here’s the Past Lives track list:

“2022”
“Antibodies”
“Grey Veins”
“Like Forever”
“Blender”
“Past Lives”
“It Takes Time”
“Bombsquad”
“Grifter”
“Permanent Rebellion”
“Sleep Cult”

Harry Styles-inspired book getting a movie adaptation starring Anne Hathaway

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

A fan-fiction book inspired by Harry Styles is getting the movie treatment with Anne Hathaway.

Entertainment Weekly reports the actress has just been tapped to lead the cast of the Prime Video film adaptation of The Idea of You, based on Robinne Lee‘s 2017 debut novel of the same name.

Hathaway will star as Sophie, a 40-year-old divorced mom who takes her 15-year-old daughter to Coachella. Sophie ends up forming a romantic connection with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of the hottest boy band, August Moon – loosely inspired by One Direction.

Lee previously told Vogue the book was “never supposed to be a book about Harry Styles” and instead described it as “a story about a woman approaching 40 and reclaiming her sexuality and rediscovering herself, just at the point that society traditionally writes women off as desirable and viable and whole.”

The film will be directed by The Big Sick, The Eyes of Tammy Faye and The Dropout helmer Michael Showalter, who will also produce alongside Hathaway and Gabrielle Union. Production begins in October. A release date has not been set.

The Rolling Stones debut restored version of 1967 “We Love You” promo video

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

An official music video for The Rolling Stones‘ 1967 U.K. single “We Love You” got its premiere Friday on the ABKCO label’s YouTube channel.

The visual is a restored 4K version of a promotional film that was directed by Peter Whitehead, the filmmaker who directed the 1965 Rolling Stones documentary Charlie Is My Darling Ireland 1965.

The clip features references to the legal troubles The Rolling Stones were experiencing at the time, particularly the February ’67 arrest of Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Jagger’s then-girlfriend, singer/actress Marianne Faithfull, on drug-related charges at Richards’ Redlands residence in Sussex.

During the incident, Faithfull had just come out of a bath and covered herself with an animal fur when the police arrested her. The video includes scenes of a mock trial where Richards portrays a judge who’s wearing a wig made out of rolled-up tabloid newspapers, and Faithfull approaches the bench and presents Keith with an animal fur as evidence.

The film also includes a glimpse at a newspaper headline reporting that Stones guitarist Brian Jones had also been arrested for drug possession in a separate incident. The video is made up mainly of scenes of The Stones working on music in a studio, but it also features footage of the band being mobbed by fans while performing.

“We Love You” was recorded during the summer of 1967 at London’s Olympic Studios and featured guest backing vocals by The Beatles‘ John Lennon and Paul McCartney, as well as piano by lauded session musician Nicky Hopkins. The single reached #8 on the U.K. chart. In the U.S., “We Love You” initially appeared as the B-side of the single “Dandelion,” which peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

French Montana celebrates Diamond certification of “Unforgettable”

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

French Montana‘s 2017 hit “Unforgettable” is still garnering lots of streams. In fact, it’s now officially certified Diamond. The rapper celebrated the RIAA certification Wednesday night with an intimate dinner, during which he was presented with a plaque commemorating his sale of 10 million units. A video of the moment was shared on HipHopDx’s Twitter account.

“Mannnnn, this aint regular DIAMOND CLUB !” French wrote on Instagram in a post in which he claims he’s the first male artist from the Bronx to achieve this status. “Shoutout to my brother @SwaeLee, and to all the wavy fans!”

“THANK YOU to everyone who played a part,” French continued, shouting out some of those individuals.

“Unforgettable” featuring Swae Lee is the lead single off French’s second studio album, Jungle Rules. The song peaked at #3 on Billboard Hot 100 and sparked the #UnforgettableChallenge. Its video has more than 1.4 billion views on YouTube.

“It was an amazing experience to be a part of,” Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone said when presenting French with his plaque. “This doesn’t happen every day. This only happens when you have a special song. It’s a big achievement.”

Michael Bublé releases duet version of “Crazy” with Jon Batiste

August 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Back in March, Michael Bublé appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and performed one of the songs on his new album Higher — a cover of Willie Nelson‘s “Crazy” — as a duet with Colbert’s then-bandleader, Jon Batiste and Batiste’s band, Stay Human. Now, Michael’s released the duet as a single.

The jazzy version of the tune is available now on all streaming platforms.

Stephen Colbert announced August 11 that Jon, who won the Album of the Year Grammy earlier this year for his most recent album We Are, would not be returning to his show as bandleader. Meanwhile, he has another single out: “Sweet,” featuring Pentatonix and Diane Warren.

Michael’s latest single is the title track of “Higher,” co-written by his son Noah, who turns nine on Saturday, August 27. Michael and wife Luisana Lopilato just welcomed their fourth child, daughter Cielo, last week.

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