Page 6609 – 105.7 WDNY

Snoop Dogg gifts Stephen Curry a Death Row chain

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Thanks to Snoop Dogg, Stephen Curry has a new chain to go with his four championship rings. The rapper gifted the NBA star a Death Row chain following their recent reveal of a newly refurbished basketball court.

“It’s chaining day!” Snoop told Steph as he placed the piece around his neck. “They ain’t got that, Steph! That’s official.” A video of the moment is captured on Snoop’s Instagram page.

Stephen and his Under Armour Curry brand had teamed up with the Death Row owner to surprise a group of over 70 children at the Boys and Girls Club in Long Beach, California. The two crashed the basketball practice, spoke to the kids and unveiled a new court, designed by renowned artist Damion Scott.

“This is the place where I learned how to play basketball, play football, be active in the community and build relationships. It’s where I learned how to rap, talk and just be me basically – in this park right here,” Snoop said of the court. “To come back and see the kids doing different things, trying to be better than we were – that’s what it’s all about.”

He and Steph hope that the refurbished gym will continue to be a safe space for children in the community, especially those interested in sports.

“We want to provide a space where you can come enjoy yourself and get lost in the fun, lost in the competition, invest in yourselves, and be around a lot of amazing coaches and programs,” Curry said. The baller later reflected on the experience on Instagram.

Artist explains Drake’s father was “rushing” him through tattoo of the rapper

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The artist behind Dennis Graham‘s Drake tattoo is speaking out after the rapper poked fun at his artwork. In a conversation with TMZ, Money Mike explained that the imperfect portrait was the result of being rushed throughout the process.

According to Mike, Bishop Don Juan invited him to Dennis’ birthday party, so he attended because it “sounded like a fun time.” Despite not knowing Drake’s father — or being a fan of the rapper — he purchased a few bottles for him and the two eventually started talking about tattoos.

Mike gave his contact information to Dennis, who requested a portrait of Drake three days later. But as the artist explained, the tattooing process went far from smoothly because Dennis couldn’t handle the pain.

“In my defense, one of the reasons the tattoo isn’t the absolute greatest I’ve ever been able to do is because he was rushing me,” Mike said. “So four hours into the tattoo he was in severe pain, and he was telling me basically just to wrap it up.”

Mike claimed there were no complaints about the finished product … until Drake saw the tattoo. The rapper then allegedly got other people to retouch the ink, which he considers a violation of “an unwritten law” among tattoo artists.

As previously reported, Drake joked about the tat when he posted it alongside the caption, “I was sitting here thinking why you do me like this we family.” Mike said he received an apology from Dennis after the post and claimed Drake was drunk when he shared it on social media.

Who was that masked man? New book takes a look at the history of cosplay

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The concept of fans dressing up like their favorite pop culture characters, as they recently did at San Diego Comic-Con, may seem like a new phenomenon, but it’s not.

That’s one of the findings from Andrew Liptak, author, journalist and, yes, cosplayer, in his new Simon & Schuster book: COSPLAY: A HISTORY – The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life.

While the term “cosplay” surfaced in 1984 — a Japanese amalgam of “costume and play” — it’s thought one of the first costumed gatherings happened at the first World Science Fiction Convention held in 1939.

“I looked at the history of conventions and fandom and sort of traced, like, where was the first place people started wearing costumes, like, 1939 in New York City,” Liptak tells ABC Audio.

“And then, you know, what are earlier examples that go further beyond that? So we found examples from the early 1900s, mid 1800s.”

He even learned there was a Roman emperor who’d dress up as Hercules and had busts made of himself in costume.

“At the heart of this is, like, you are trying to find your fellow tribe of fellow fans,” Liptak says of the hobby. “Because, you know, we want community. We want to have things in common with people. We’re tribal species, and we’re a storytelling species.”

Liptak marvels, pun intended, at how mainstream cosplay has become. “One of the fun things about Ms. Marvel [is that] cosplay is central in the plot of a Marvel TV show … I mean, it’s not only Ms. Marvel, but … Taco Bell had a commercial with cosplayers in it, The Big Bang Theory … you know, that was a big mainstream introduction for a lot of people that, you know, this is a thing.”

Britney Spears says it “breaks my heart” her kids don’t want to see her

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Britney Spears is exhausted by the “cruelty” of her own family — and that includes her kids.

The “Toxic” hitmaker took to Instagram to shed more light on what’s happening between her, her ex-husband Kevin Federline and their two sons, 16-year-old Sean Preston and 15-year-old Jayden. This comes a few days after Federline told Daily Mail her kids “have decided they are not seeing her right now.”

“This situation should have 100 percent been dealt with privately and definitely not online,” Britney wrote.

The Grammy winner admitted her kids have been seeing her less frequently and, when they would visit, they would “walk in the door, go straight to their room and lock the door.”

Noting that her sons are teenagers, Britney said, “I always TRIED and TRIED and maybe that’s why they stopped coming here !!! I wanted them to love me so much that I might have overdone it !!!”

Britney also hit back at the report’s claims that her household is filled with too much drama, adding Federline “wants to bring up my past” to use against her. “That was almost 20 years ago … Their game doesn’t work anymore,” she noted.

The pop star also argued Federline isn’t a saint and wrote, “I can guarantee you, that house has more weed than Ludacris, 50 Cent, Jay Z and Puff Daddy combined.”

“My heart doesn’t understand cruelty. It breaks my heart because it seems to me that these days, cruelty does in fact win,” she lamented. “I can’t process how I dedicated 20 years of my life to those kids … everything was about them.” She said their actions have “knock[ed] the breath out of me.”

“It would take a miracle to fix my heart,” she closed, and praised her “supportive husband,” Sam Asghari, for being there for her.

Nashville notes: Chase Rice, Jon Pardi + more

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Chase Rice has released the music video for his new song, “Key West & Colorado.”

In case you missed it, Jon Pardi made a stop on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night to perform his top-five single, “Last Night Lonely.” You can watch his performance now.

David Nail, who has earned two chart-topping hits with “Whatever She’s Got” and “Let it Rain,” is going on tour this fall. He just announced his Story to Tell Tour, which features opening act Tyler Braden.

Amanda Seyfried regrets filming nude scenes at 19: “I wanted to keep my job”

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Dropout‘s Amanda Seyfried admits to having some regrets about filming a nude scene when she was 19 years old, saying she did it because she felt it was the only way to keep her job.

“Being 19, walking around without my underwear on — like, are you kidding me? How did I let that happen?” the 36-year-old actress tells Porter. “Oh, I know why: I was 19 and I didn’t want to upset anybody, and I wanted to keep my job. That’s why.”

Seyfried says she “wishes she could be coming up now, in an era where intimacy coordinators are an on-set requirement and actors are in a better position to speak up.”

Seyfriend received her first Emmy nod last month for her performance as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu’s The Dropout.

Administrative complaint filed against ‘Rust’ alleging hazards that may have led to death of Halyna Hutchins

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The New Mexico Environment Department filed an administrative complaint against Rust Movie Productions, after the production company had contested citations issued in April alleging hazards on the set that may have led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the “Rust” movie set last October.

The contested citations also included a fine of $136,793, making for the highest level of citation and maximum fine allowable by law in New Mexico.

Hutchins died and the film’s director, Joel Souza, was hospitalized after a gun held by Alec Baldwin as a prop fired a live round.

NMED issued the citations following a six-month investigation into workplace safety conditions after the shooting. During its investigation, NMED conducted interviews with 14 employees, requested information and documentation from Rust Movie Productions, and communicated with the production company via email to address the work-related fatality and injury.

Rust Movie Productions then contested the citations in May and an informal administrative review was started.

NMED and the production company were unable to reach a settlement of the citations during a 90-day administrative review period. NMED was then required to file a complaint with the Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission.

Rust Movie Productions now has 15 days to submit a response with the commission, before it schedules a hearing.

When it issued the citations, the New Mexico Environment Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau called Hutchins’ death “avoidable.”

The administrative complaint alleges that Rust Movie Productions did not create a workplace free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause “death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to being struck by discharged rounds or projectiles when firearms were used on the set of the motion picture production.”

Blondie postpones one concert, cancels another because of “recent positive COVID test”

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Blondie was scheduled to play a concert Wednesday night at the Paramount theater in Huntington, New York, but the show has now been postponed “[o]ut of an abundance of caution due to a recent positive COVID test,” according to a message on the band’s social media pages.

The performance has been moved to August 31, and a new show has been added at the same venue on September 1. Meanwhile, an August 12 concert at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, which was to have marked the launch of a new U.S. leg of Blondie’s Against the Odds Tour, has been canceled.

Tickets that were purchased online for the Foxwoods show will be automatically refunded within 30 days, while tickets bought at the box office can be returned there for an immediate refund.

Blondie’s trek is now slated to kick off on August 14 at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston. Most of the band’s upcoming shows through an August 27 performance in Chicago will feature veteran British punk group The Damned as the support act.

The Against the Odds Tour gets its name from Blondie’s upcoming box set, Against the Odds: 1974-1982, an expansive collection that delves into the early part of the influential New Wave band’s career. The box set will be released on August 26 and can be preordered now.

Meanwhile, in celebration of the Against the Odds collection, Blondie has launched a contest offering the chance to win one of 30 prints of photos of singer Debbie Harry taken by guitarist Chris Stein, all of which have been signed by Debbie and Chris.

Wildfires ravage France’s famous wine region

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BORDEAUX, France) — A wildfire is raging at an “unprecedented” rate in the famed wine region south of Bordeaux, France, firefighters said Wednesday.

The prefecture of Gironde in southwest France ordered an estimated 10,000 residents to evacuate.

“Prepare your papers, the animals you can take with you, some belongings,” the Gironde municipality of Belin-Beliet posted on their Facebook before evacuations.

No casualties have been reported as of Wednesday afternoon. Sixteen homes have been destroyed, according to the prefecture of Gironde.

The wildfire began around 1 p.m. on Tuesday in Saint-Magne and Hostens before growing rapidly due to “unfavorable weather conditions,” the prefecture said.

Nearly 14,826 acres were engulfed by the flames around Hostens and Belin-Béliet on Tuesday night.

Over 1,000 firefighters, nine planes and two helicopters have been mobilized to address the fire, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a statement Wednesday.

The community of Landiras, the epicenter of the current wildfire, lost over 34,000 acres of forest in July.

According to officials, firefighters are facing at least three other fires in the south of France on Wednesday.

French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne tweeted that she will be visiting the region on Thursday.

“The mobilization of the Government and State services, alongside local elected officials, volunteers and residents, is absolute,” Borne tweeted.

In southern France, temperatures are forecast to reach up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit through the end of the week, according to Meteo France, the country’s metorological service.

Currently, 63% of the European Union and U.K. are under either drought warnings or alerts on Wednesday, according to the EU’s European Drought Observatory.

Over 140,000 acres of French land has burned so far this year, nearly six times more than the average for the country from 2006 to 2021, according to the European Forest Fire System.

Suspect arrested in 40-year-old murder of California teen after DNA search: Prosecutors

August 10, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(PALO ALTO, Calif.) — Forty years after a 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death in Northern California, DNA has led to the arrest of her suspected killer, prosecutors announced.

Karen Stitt was last seen on the night of Sept. 2, 1982, heading toward a Sunnyvale bus stop after spending time with her boyfriend, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said.

The next morning, her naked body was found about 100 yards from the bus stop, according to prosecutors.

The Palo Alto teen had been sexually assaulted and stabbed 59 times, prosecutors said.

Stitt’s boyfriend was cleared based on the DNA evidence left behind at the scene, prosecutors said.

Decades went by without a major lead, prosecutors said, until investigators turned to genetic genealogy, which uses an unknown suspect’s DNA to trace his or her family tree.

Genetic genealogy made headlines in 2018 when the novel investigative tool was used to find the Golden State Killer. Genetic genealogy takes an unknown suspect’s DNA left at a crime scene and identifies it using family members who voluntarily submit DNA samples to a DNA database; this allows police to create a much larger family tree than if they only used law enforcement databases like CODIS.

Through genetic genealogy, the search for Stitt’s killer last year narrowed to four brothers from Fresno, California, including 75-year-old Gary Ramirez, prosecutors said.

Investigators then “used traditional investigative techniques to start eliminating the brothers one-by-one,” Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker told ABC News via email Wednesday. “After extensive investigation, we felt confident Gary was the source of the crime scene evidence.”

Last week, the district attorney’s crime lab confirmed Ramirez’s DNA matched the sample at the murder scene, prosecutors said.

On Aug. 2, Ramirez was arrested at his home in Maui, Hawaii, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Baker said he’s surprised Ramirez’s DNA was not in CODIS, adding that Ramirez has no criminal record at all.

Gary Ramirez served in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1970s after which he spent time in Northern California, Southern California, Colorado and Hawaii, according to prosecutors.

Ramirez is due in court in Hawaii on Wednesday for extradition proceedings, prosecutors said. Once in California, he will be arraigned on murder, rape and kidnapping charges, prosecutors said.

Information on an attorney for Ramirez was not immediately available.

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