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Russia-Ukraine live updates: Major attack on humanitarian convoy leaves many dead

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — More than six months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose forces began an offensive in August, has vowed to take back all Russian-occupied territory. But Putin in September announced a mobilization of reservists, which is expected to call up as many as 300,000 additional troops.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Sep 29, 6:31 PM EDT
Putin signs decrees for annexation of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia

Russian President Vladimir Putin took the intermediary step on Thursday of signing decrees paving the way for the occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally annexed into Russia.

The Kremlin publicly released the decrees.

Putin is scheduled to hold a signing ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to formally annex the two regions, along with the Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

-ABC News’ Jason Volack

Sep 29, 7:05 AM EDT
Putin to formally annex occupied Ukraine territories on Friday

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a signing ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to formally annex the areas of Ukraine that Russia has occupied, his spokesman has said.

The ceremony will be to sign “treaties of accession” with the four regions created by Russia’s occupation forces — the two self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Zaporozhzhia and Kherson regions.

Putin will also deliver a major speech to lawmakers gathered there, his spokesman said.

It is a major moment in the war — another no-going-back moment for Putin. In reality, none of the areas being annexed are under full control of Russia right now as all are seeing fighting and facing Ukrainian efforts to re-take them.

If Putin attempts to annex the occupied regions, it will be one of the most egregious violations of international law in Europe since World War II.

Sep 28, 12:21 PM EDT
State department advises US citizens to leave Russia

American citizens are being advised by the U.S. State Department to get out of Russia immediately.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has issued an alert, saying “severe limitations” could prevent it from assisting U.S. citizens still in the country.

“If you wish to depart Russia, you should make independent arrangements as soon as possible,” the alert said.

Noting that Russia has begun a military mobilization against Ukraine, U.S. Embassy officials warned Americans with dual Russian citizenship that they could get drafted by Russia.

“Russia may refuse to acknowledge dual nationals U.S. citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, prevent their departure from Russia, and conscript dual nationals for military service,” the alert said.

The alert also advised U.S. citizens to avoid political or social protests in Russia, saying Americans have been arrested in Russia for participating in demonstrations.

“We remind U.S. citizens that the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are not guaranteed in Russia,” the alert said.

Sep 27, 3:56 PM EDT
66,000 Russians cross European borders since Putin announced draft

Roughly 66,000 Russian citizens have fled across borders into European countries amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week of a military mobilization against Ukraine, the European Border and Coast Guard said Tuesday.

The number of Russian citizens pouring into Europe was up 30% compared to last week, according to the agency which also goes by the name Frontex.

Most of the Russian citizens are entering the European Union through Finnish and Estonian border crossing points, Frontex said on Twitter.

Putin announced on Sept. 21 that he is ordering the mobilization of 300,000 recruits to fight in Ukraine, prompting widespread protests and clashes with police across Russia.

In recent days, photos have emerged of huge traffic jams at border crossings. On Monday, the wait at the border between Russia and Georgia was estimated to be 40 to 50 hours, according to the independent Russian news outlet The Insider.

Sep 27, 1:56 PM EDT
‘Sham referenda’ in Russia-occupied Ukraine going Kremlin’s way

Partial results from what Ukraine and its Western allies have called “sham” referendums in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine show that more than 96% of voters favor becoming part of Russia, according to the state-owned Russian news agency RIA.

Voting has taken place over five days in the four areas — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

The early results showed that 97.93% of voters in the Luhansk People’s Republic favored joining the Russian Federation, according to the data. In Donetsk People’s Republic, early results showed 98.69% favored joining the Russian Federation.

In Zaporizhzhia, 97.81% of voters cast ballots to join Russia and 96.75% of voters in Kherson also favored joining Russia, according to the data.

President Joe Biden and other Group of 7 leaders condemned Russia’s “sham referenda” in occupied Ukrainian territories, calling it a Russian attempt to “create a phony pretext for changing the status of Ukrainian sovereign territory.”

Sep 27, 12:42 PM EDT
Leaks in major gas pipeline between Russia and Europe investigated following blasts

Leaks in a major gas pipeline running from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea have been detected after the Swedish seismic network said it registered blasts near the pipeline.

The leaks in the Nord Stream pipeline were first reported on Monday by Denmark’s maritime authority and photos released by Denmark’s Defense Command showed what appeared to be gas bubbling up to the surface.

The operator of the pipeline said the leaks were detected southeast of the Danish island Bornholm.

The underwater pipeline runs about 764 miles from Russia to Germany.

While the cause of the leaks remains under investigation, unconfirmed report reports from Germany allege authorities suspect sabotage.

Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of causing leaks in a “terrorist attack,” according to the BBC.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak alleged the damage to the pipeline was an “an act of aggression” by Russia toward the European Union.

Sep 27, 12:18 PM EDT
Aid to Ukraine detailed in bill to keep US government running

A continuing resolution to keep the federal government running through Dec. 16 was released by Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday morning and breaks down how $12.3 billion in the package earmarked for Ukraine will be spent.

For the first time, Congressional lawmakers, at the insistence of GOP members, will require U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to provide a report “on the execution of funds for defense articles and services provided Ukraine,” according to a summary of the resolution.

Both houses of Congress must vote on the resolution by Friday to avoid a government shutdown.

The resolution includes $3 billion for “security assistance” for Ukraine and authorizes an additional $3.7 billion in weapons for President Joe Biden to drawdown from U.S. stocks to support Ukraine’s military. It will also authorize $35 million to respond to potential nuclear and radiological incidents in Ukraine in an apparent reply to Russian President Valdimir Putin’s thinly-veiled nuclear threats in a televised speech last week.

In addition, the resolution calls for $2.4 billion to replenish U.S. stocks of weapons already sent to Ukraine and to provide Ukraine.

The new assistance for Ukraine would be on top of the $53 billion Congress has already approved through two previous bills.

-ABC News’ Lauren Minore and Trish Turner

Sep 26, 1:29 PM EDT
40- to 50-hour wait as people attempt to flee Russia into Georgia to avoid military draft: Report

A massive line of traffic continued to grow Monday at the border between Russia and Georgia as huge numbers of Russians seek to flee the country amid fears they will be drafted to fight in the war in Ukraine.

Drone video, posted on Twitter by the independent Russian news outlet The Insider, showed hundreds of cars and trucks backed up for miles at the Verkhny Lars border between the two countries.

The Insider reported that people are waiting 40-50 hours in the line to cross.

Tens of thousands of Russians are trying to flee the country following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week of a military mobilization of 300,000 more troops against Ukraine. Besides the Russia-Georgia border, large crowds of people attempting to leave the country have been packing border crossings into Finland, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and others.

Sep 26, 12:08 PM EDT
New clashes break out in Russia between police and protesters over Kremlin’s mobilization

More clashes broke out Monday in Russia’s Dagestan capital city, as police tried to disperse hundreds of protesters demonstrating against the Kremlin’s military mobilization of men to fight in Ukraine.

Videos circulating on social media showed scuffles between protesters and police in Makhachkala.

On Sunday, there were violent clashes in Dagestan, with police firing warning shots and people angrily shouting chants against the mobilization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that he is mobilizing 300,000 more troops against Ukraine.

The announcement sparked major protests in Moscow and at least 30 other cities across Russia over the weekend. At least 17 military recruitment offices have been targeted with arson attacks. A man was detained by authorities on Monday after he allegedly opened fire on a recruitment center in Siberia, severely injuring a recruitment officer.

Sep 26, 11:01 AM EDT
US sending Ukraine $457.5 million in civilian security assistance

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that the U.S. will give Ukraine another $457.5 million in civilian security assistance to bolster the efforts of Ukrainian law enforcement and criminal justice agencies “to improve their operational capacity and save lives.”

Blinken said some of the funds will also go toward supporting efforts to “document, investigate, and prosecute atrocities perpetrated by Russia’s forces.” He said that since December, the United States has pledged more than $645 million toward supporting Ukrainian law enforcement.

Blinken’s announcement follows a U.N.-led investigation that found Russian troops had committed war crimes in occupied areas of Ukraine, including the rape, torture and imprisonment of children.

Sep 26, 10:14 AM EDT
Ukrainian first lady ‘worried’ about Russian mobilization

In a new interview, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenka told ABC News that recent developments in the war are upsetting, saying this is not an “easy period” for the people of Ukraine.

“When the whole world wants this war to be over, they continue to recruit soldiers for their army,” said Zelenska, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week that he is mobilizing 300,000 more troops against Ukraine. “Of course, we are concerned about this. We are worried and this is a bad sign for the whole world.”

Zelenska, who spoke with ABC News’ Amy Robach through a translator, said Ukrainians will continue to persevere in the face of conflict.

“The main difference between our army and the Russian army is that we really know what we are fighting for,” she said.

Zelenska attended the United Nations General Assembly in-person in New York City, where she spoke to ABC News about the U.N.’s recent finding that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine by Russian troops. An appointed panel of independent legal experts reported that Russian soldiers have “raped, tortured, and unlawfully confined” children in Ukraine, among other crimes.

“On the one hand, it’s horrible news, but it’s the news that we knew about already,” she said. “On the other hand, it’s great news that the whole world can finally see that this is a heinous crime, that this war is against humanity and humankind.”

Sep 26, 5:40 AM EDT
Man opens fire at Russian military enlistment office

A man has opened fire at a military enlistment office in eastern Russia, severely injuring a recruitment officer there.

An apparent video of the shooting was circulating online, showing a man shooting the officer at a podium in the officer in the city of Irkutsk.

Irkutsk’s regional governor confirmed the shooting, naming the officer injured as Alexander V. Yeliseyev and saying he is in intensive care in a critical condition.

The alleged shooter has been detained, according to the governor.

Sep 25, 12:49 PM EDT
Russia Defense Ministry announces high-level leadership shake-up

The Russian Defense Ministry announced a high-level shake-up in its military leadership amid reports Russian forces are struggling in the war against Ukraine.

The defense ministry said Saturday that Col. Gen. Mikhail Y. Mizintsev has been promoted to deputy defense minister overseeing logistics, replacing four-star Gen. Dmitri V. Bulgakov, 67, who had held the post since 2008.

Bulgakov was relieved of his position and is expected to be transferred “to another job,” the Defense Ministry statement said.

The New York Times reported that Mizintsev — whom Western officials dubbed the “butcher of Mariupol” after alleged atrocities against civilians surfaced in the Ukrainian city in March, previously served as chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, which oversees military operations and planning.

In this previous role, Mizintsev became one of the public faces of the war in Ukraine, informing the public about what the Kremlin still calls a “special military operation.”

Mizintsev was put on international sanctions lists and accused of atrocities for his role in the brutal siege of the Mariupol.

Sep 25, 11:58 AM EDT
Russian recruits report for military mobilization

Newly recruited Russian soldiers are reporting for duty in response to the Kremlin’s emergency mobilization to bolster forces in Ukraine, according to photographs emerging from Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week a mobilization to draft more than 300,000 Russians with military expertise, sparking anti-war protests across the country and prompting many to try to flee Russia to avoid the draft.

Putin signed a law with amendments to the Russian Criminal Code upping the punishments for the crimes of desertion during periods of mobilization and martial law.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview Sunday with ABC News This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos that Russia’s military draft is more evidence Russia is “struggling” in its invasion of Ukraine. He also said “sham referendums” going on in Russia-backed territories of eastern and southern Ukraine are also acts of desperation by the Kremlin.

“These are definitely not signs of strength or confidence. Quite the opposite: They’re signs that Russia and Putin are struggling badly,” Sullivan said while noting Putin’s autocratic hold on the country made it hard to make definitive assessments from the outside.

Number of US suicides rose 4% in 2021, CDC report finds

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — The number of suicides increased in the United States in 2021 after two consecutive years of declines, new federal data finds.

In 2021, there were 47,646 suicides, according to provisional data featured in the report, published Friday morning by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

This means there were about 14 suicides per 100,000 people.

The figure is a 4% rise from the 45,979 suicides that were recorded in 2020 and the rate of 13.5 per 100,000.

It comes after a 3.2% drop in suicides from 2018 to 2019 and a 1.7% drop from 2019 to 2020, the report found.

“Suicide is a major contributor to premature death in the United States,” the authors wrote. “In the United States, suicide increased 35% from 1999 to 2018 before declining by 5% through 2020.”

For the report, researchers looked at death certificate data from the NCHS as of May 15, 2022, looking at provisional data for 2021 and comparing it with final data for 2020 and earlier.

According to the report, the number of suicides per month in 2021 was only lower in January, February and July compared to 2020. For the other nine months, the number of suicides was higher.

The largest difference in monthly suicides occurred in October with an estimated 4,211 in 2021, which is an 11% increase from the 3,781 recorded in October 2020.

When looking at suicides broken down by sex, the number recorded for males in 2021 was 38,025, which is 4% higher than the 36,551 recorded in 2020.

Additionally, the rate of male suicides rose by 3% from 22.0 per 100,000 in 2020 to 22.7 per 100,000 in 2021, the report found.

Although female suicides increased by 2% from 9,428 in 2020 to 9,621 in 2021, researchers found that the rate increase from 5.5 per 100,000 in 2020 to 5.6 per 100,000 was not “statistically significant.

The report also found there were increases in suicide rates in nearly every age group.

Young adults saw the largest increase with 15-to-24-year-olds going from 14.2 suicides per 100,000 in 2020 to 15.3 per 100,000 in 2021.

Americans aged 35 to 44 had the second largest increase of 17.4 per 100,00 in 2020 to 18.2 per 100,000 in 2021.

The report did not go into explanations of why suicides increased, but studies have suggested the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in mental health challenges, particularly among children and teens, that may have led to a spike in suicides.

Researchers are also studying if there is a link between people with long COVID and higher rates of depression and suicidal thoughts.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Jake Owen’s “Up There Down Here” reminds him of his daughters: “I’m surrounded by little angels”

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Jake Owen’s current radio single, “Up There Down Here,” tells the story of a woman who brings a little piece of heaven to everyone she meets. The singer says that for him, the song is not only about his fiancée, Erica Hartlein — it’s also about his two daughters.

Jake is proud dad to nine-year-old Pearl and three-year-old Paris, who live with him on his expansive, animal-filled 150-acre property in Tennesseee. The singer tells ET Online that they were a big part of the inspiration behind “Up There Down Here.”

“The song itself is about putting ladies on a pedestal, or your significant other,” Jake explains. “I’ve got not only Erica, but I’ve got two little girls. So I’m surrounded by little angels here on earth.”

Those “little angels” are growing up fast and exploring new hobbies: the singer also says that his youngest daughter has recently taken up fishing.

“I’m really excited — Paris loves to fish,” he continues. “She asks me every day, ‘Dad, where’s my fishing pole?’”

Check out adorable footage of the three-year-old’s fishing pole in action — plus a tour of Jake’s idyllic Nashville-area property — in this ET Online video interview.

Boosie calls for Black people to boycott Netflix’s Dahmer series

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Rapper Boosie Badazz is calling on the Black community to boycott the new Netflix series: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, based on the fact that many of the serial killer’s victims were Black.

Boosie first took to Twitter Thursday morning to express his feelings about the biographical crime drama, calling on the streaming giant to remove the show from its programming.

“AS BLACK PEOPLE WE SHOULD BOYCOTT THE JEFFERY [sic] DAHMER MOVIE,” the rapper wrote. “WHAT HE DID TO OUR BLACK KIDS IS F***KING SICK #NETFLIX TAKE THIS MOVIE DOWN ITS SICK.”

He followed up with a 40-second video in which he repeatedly calls the series “sick” and urges Black people to ban the project.

“This is some sick s**t, what he did to our race!…The victims’ families should be getting paid off every dollar Netflix make.”

Boosie’s reaction comes after Rita Isbell, a family member of one of Dahmer’s victims, spoke out about the trauma caused by watching the horror play out on television, yet again.

“When I saw some of the show, it bothered me,” Isbell told Insider. “Especially when I saw myself — when I saw my name come across the screen and this lady saying verbatim exactly what I said,” she said, referring to the reenact of her 1992 court statement.

Isbell told Insider she only watched the part of the episode she appeared in. “I didn’t watch the whole show. I don’t need to watch it. I lived it. I know exactly what happened.”

Fans on social media expressed mixed reactions to Boosie’s request; some agreed with the rapper, while others say it “shines a light on what was done to the black community and how it was allowed due to racism and police negligence.”

The witches are back! ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ hits Disney+ today

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

There’s a new generation of wannabe witches in Hocus Pocus 2, out today on Disney+.

Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo and Lilia Buckingham join Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy in the scary-funny new sequel. Buckingham tells ABC Audio the 90s original was a staple in her house growing up.

“I watched it for the first time, I think, probably when I was about seven. It was one of the things that made me love Halloween in the first place,” she shares. “I think it’s just so comforting knowing that you have a movie that you can go back to, that you can kind of escape into, and it’ll always make you feel a certain way.”

That wasn’t the case for Peak, though, who admits she had “never seen the movie” before getting an audition, but decided to after hearing “it was this huge thing and everybody grew up watching it.”

“Then I watched the movie, completely understood, the energy was just so magnetic and it’s just a fun movie, and I can’t believe I didn’t watch it when I was younger,” Peak says.

It’s been almost 30 years since the first Hocus Pocus was released, and director Anne Fletcher says that taking on a cult classic was “terrifying.” Ultimately, though, she hopes fans of the original are pleased.

“The whole movie is an homage to the first one, because you can’t ignore the first one. It’s there for the taking,” she says. “And so all we’re doing is continuing the story of our Sanderson sisters with new cast members and having fun and winking at the audience of like, we’re here with you, like, let’s have fun.”

311 embracing “cool nostalgia” with full-album shows on fall tour

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

As part of their current fall tour, 311 will playing a number of full-album shows in select cities, during which they’ll be performing one of their first six albums in its entirety. For a band that’s known for experimenting with their set lists, the full-album shows will give you the opportunity to hear that one song you’ve been dying for them to play.

“Certain people are, like, ‘I love this one song that they don’t play very much, but if I go to that album show, they have to play it,'” frontman Nick Hexum tells ABC Audio. “So it’s just a way to have a cool nostalgia and really just concentrate on one era for that particular show.”

That nostalgia isn’t just for the fans, either. Hexum is looking forward to revisiting some of 311’s earlier material, especially their 1993 debut, Music, and the “experimentation” of its follow-up, 1994’s Grassroots.

“There’s always gonna be a special place for Music, for our first album,” Hexum says. “It was just so much energy to those songs and to those shows.”

311 will play Music and Grassroots at New York City on October 1 and 2, respectively. Fittingly, that era of the band was deeply tied to the City That Never Sleeps — they loved playing the now-defunct NYC venue Wetlands so much that they named it in a lyric on the Grassroots song “Silver.”

“There’s a lot of history that we have with the city of New York and those albums in particular and those times,” says vocalist/turntablist Doug “SA” Martinez. “Just so much fun over the years that we’ve had there.”

Here are 311’s other full-album shows:

10/22 — Chicago, 311
10/23 — Chicago, Transistor
11/11 — Los Angeles, Soundsystem
11/12 — Los Angeles, From Chaos

Brothers Osborne talk “Play Ball,” story songs and working on ‘Lindeville’ with Ashley McBryde

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Ashley McBryde and her gang of collaborators will invite fans to Lindeville this week with a new batch of story songs and collaborations.

Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville was produced by Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne, who says he jumped at the chance to lend his skill set to the project. In fact, he tells ABC Audio, he was so excited about the concept that he would’ve been happy to be involved with it on any level.

“Honestly, when I was asked to be just the bandleader on it, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’d love to do it,’” John recounts. Once he signed on as producer and got to listen to all the work tapes, he only got more enthusiastic.

“And no one’s doing anything like that in Nashville at the moment, too,” he points out. “They nailed it on that record.”

John’s brother and bandmate, TJ Osborne, wasn’t about to pass up a trip to Lindeville, either: John says he and Ashley immediately agreed that one of its tracks, “Play Ball,” would be perfect for TJ to sing.

“It fits his range perfectly. We know how well he can sing anything, but this part of his range is just butter,” John says, also saying it reminds him of childhood memories he and his brother share. “TJ and I grew up playing Little League Baseball in our hometown. So every time we hear that song, it takes me back to the ball fields where we would play baseball,” he adds.

As for TJ? It’s just fun to step into a new musical character, he notes. “Cool story. I like the lyrics and it’s really, really country,” the singer adds. “That’s where I cut my teeth, singing really country songs.”

Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville arrives on Friday.

Billie Eilish on Friday night’s stream of her London concert: “This is the best show that I’ve ever put on”

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

If you couldn’t get tickets to see Billie Eilish‘s Happier Than Ever world tour, you can enjoy it from home Friday night at 10 p.m. ET, when Apple Music streams one of her shows at London’s O2 Arena. And in advance of the show, Billie explains why this particular tour really has made her “happier than ever.”

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Billie says, “This show is my favorite thing I’ve almost ever done…I think this is my best show that I’ve ever put on. It’s the best live version of myself I’ve ever been…I can’t tell you how much I am proud of this show.”

She also says she’s “excited” to “give” the show to people who didn’t get to see it in person, because she’s been there herself.

“The shows that I didn’t get to see when I was younger, either couldn’t afford them or just didn’t get a chance, the idea that I would’ve been able to go and watch them professionally shot in a theater would’ve been my absolute dream,” the Oscar winner raves.

“Performing is the thing that I have wanted to do more than anything else in my life and that’s the thing that I give the most with, I feel,” she adds. “It’s so important to me and I want people to have that.”

Billie’s tour officially wraps up on Friday in Perth, Australia, and she’s definitely not happy about that.

“It’s crazy. It’s kind of sad. It’s that post-concert depression, but post-tour depression,” she tells Zane, explaining, “I’ve been not thinking about it because I don’t want to get in my head about it and freak out. But when I do think of it, it’s a little bummy. It bums me out.”

Bruce Springsteen’s acclaimed acoustic album, ‘Nebraska,’ marks its 40th anniversary

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Forty years ago today, Bruce Springsteen took fans on an unexpected detour down the sonic equivalent of a bleak, deserted rural highway with the release of his sixth album, Nebraska.

Nebraska is a 10-song collection of sparse songs that were recorded as demos on a four-track tape recorder in the bedroom of his Colts Neck, New Jersey, home. The Boss initially intended to present them to The E Street Band and rerecord them with his group in a studio, but decided instead to put them out in their raw, original form.

Arriving between Bruce’s first two chart-topping albums, 1980’s The River and 1984’s mega-smash Born in the U.S.A., Nebraska peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200. Not surprisingly, the record yielded no pop hits, although the songs “Atlantic City” and “Open All Night” reached #10 and #22, respectively, on Billboard‘s mainstream rock tracks tally.

Recorded at a time when Springsteen was dealing with bouts of depression, the album delves into a number of dark themes, focusing on various lost souls, criminals and killers. The title track is about the teenage mass murderer Charles Starkweather, who was executed by electric chair in 1959. “Atlantic City” looks at the decay of the New Jersey resort town before its revival as a gambling mecca. “Highway Patrolman” tells the story of a police officer who helps his brother get away with murder.

Nebraska is among Springsteen’s most critically acclaimed albums, described on his official website as “a raw, haunted acoustic record populated by lost souls searching not for salvation through music but simply a reason to believe.”

The record was ranked #150 on Rolling Stone‘s 2020 list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

Here’s Nebraska‘s full track list:

“Nebraska”
“Atlantic City”
“Mansion on the Hill”
“Johnny 99”
“Highway Patrolman”
“State Trooper”
“Used Cars”
“Open All Night”
“My Father’s House”
“Reason to Believe”

Director behind new Sinéad O’Connor doc says singer can be “a new icon” for young people

September 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

She topped the charts, won a Grammy and sold millions of albums. She also shaved her head, tore up a picture of the Pope live on TV and banned the U.S. national anthem at her concerts. Even Madonna thought she went too far. Sinéad O’Connor is the subject of a new documentary, Nothing Compares, streaming Friday on Showtime.

The doc focuses on the years 1987 to 1992, when Sinéad became a superstar thanks to her #1 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U,” but then unapologetically torpedoed her career by speaking out against the Catholic Church’s complicity in child sexual abuse, as well as racism and music business hypocrisy.

Director Kathryn Ferguson says it’s important for young people to watch Sinéad’s story, explaining, “I feel like we need people to be speaking truth to power as much as humanly possible.” Ferguson would like Sinéad to be “a new icon” for young people, teaching them that they, too, “can use their voice and their power.”

Speaking of voices, you never see Sinéad in the film — you only hear her voice.

“I just wanted her voice to be the most prominent thing in the film — y’know, an artist who’s had her voice so reduced over the years,” Ferguson explains to ABC Audio. “To me, it was critical that that was the key takeaway: that you could hear her.”

Despite its title, the song “Nothing Compares 2 U” is also absent from the film. Prince wrote the song and his estate wouldn’t give Ferguson permission to use it.

As for Sinéad’s opinion of the film, Ferguson admits she doesn’t know if the singer’s watched it.

“It has been offered to her. We certainly have her blessing. And from what we can see on her Facebook page, she’s very supportive of the film — and, I’m hoping, proud.”

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