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New Zealand fully reopens borders for first time since COVID pandemic

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — New Zealand has fully reopened its borders for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, making it the final Western country to do so.

The reopening, which went into effect at midnight local time Sunday, means tourists from all over the world and international students will be allowed to enter the country. Cruise ships and foreign yachts will also be able to dock at ports.

Most visitors are still required to provide proof of vaccination before being allowed to enter the country but there are no quarantine requirements.

People traveling by air are also required to complete two rapid negative tests before arriving and people traveling by sea must test upon disembarking.

Those not required to show proof of vaccination include New Zealand citizens and permanent residents; Australian citizens living in New Zealand; children aged 16 and under; refugees; people arriving from Antarctica; citizens of Afghanistan being evacuated; and those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons.

During a speech at the China Business Summit in Auckland Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the reopening an “enormous moment,” saying it had been “a staged and cautious process.”

“We, alongside the rest of the world, continue to manage a very live global pandemic, while keeping our people safe,” Ardern said. “But keeping people safe extends to incomes and wellbeing too.”

She continued, “And as a value-added exporting country which depends on consumers around the world choosing our products to ensure our economic security, our key message is that we are open for business.”

New Zealand first announced plans to reopen in February, nearly two years after the borders closed in March 2020.

Fully vaccinated New Zealand citizens and other eligible travelers from Australia were allowed to enter at the end of February and fully vaccinated New Zealanders from the rest of the world in March.

Since then, restrictions have continued to ease up to the border fully reopening.

Officials celebrated the reopening, including Tourism Minister Stuart Nash and Immigration Minister Michael Wood.

“Prior to the pandemic, the international education sector was worth several billion dollars to our country and education providers,” Wood said in a statement. “While we’ve continued to support the sector with border exceptions through the pandemic, the full resumption of visa processing is great news for our universities, polytechnics and wānanga, and schools, English language schools, and private training establishments.”

Nash said the return of cruise ships, in particular, will help boost the economy because the industry brought in more than $500 million per year pre-pandemic.

“Today’s change in border settings marks the final milestone for our reconnecting strategy,” Nash said in a statement. “This is great news to the tourism industry and economy as we approach spring and summer with people from the Northern hemisphere booking their winter holidays. We’ve heard optimistic messages from tourism operators who are ready to welcome back international visitors from all over the world.”

Beyoncé to change lyric on ‘Renaissance’ after being accused of ableism

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Beyoncé will remove a lyric from one of her songs on Renaissance after it was criticized for being “ableist.”

In the song “Heated,” the lyrics contain a word considered derogatory in the disability community. A rep for the singer confirms to People that the word will be changed.

“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” the rep’s statement says.

The decision to change the lyric comes after Lizzo similarly came under fire for using the same word in her song “GRRRLS.” She released a new version of the song with a lyric change.

Meanwhile, Beyoncé’s Renaissance is already breaking records. Spotify announced that on Friday, the album became the platform’s most-streamed album in a single day by a female artist in 2022 so far.

Hoping for a miracle: Paramore turned to Bloc Party as “number-one reference” for upcoming album

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Paramore will be in the business of Bloc Party for their next album.

During the latest episode of her Everything Is Emo BBC Sounds program, frontwoman Hayley Williams shared how the “Helicopter” outfit is influencing Paramore’s much-anticipated follow-up to 2017’s After Laughter.

“We started working on writing new material…over the last year-and-half,” Williams said. “Bloc Party, from day one, was the number-one reference.”

“There was such an urgency to [Bloc Party’s] sound that was different from the fast punk or the pop-punk or the loud wall-of-sound emo bands that were happening in the early 2000s,” she continued. “They had their own thing and it was so unique and so dynamic, and it really stuck with us.”

In addition to working on new music, Paramore will hit the road for their first tour in four years in October. The outing includes headlining shows and festival sets at Austin City Limits and When We Were Young.

Bloc Party, meanwhile, just released a new album called Alpha Games in April.

Kenny Chesney is grieving the loss of a fan who died at his show in Denver

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kenny Chesney has responded following the death of a fan at his show in Denver, CO.

On Saturday night, Kenny was headlining a show at Empower Field at Mile High when a woman died after falling off an escalator, The Denver Post reports.

Allegedly, the fan was sitting on the railing of the escalator when she fell and perished from the injuries sustained during the fall. The incident took place after the show, and local police announced the woman’s death just after 11 p.m. Police believe her death was accidental and did not result from any foul play by another party.

When Kenny heard the news of the fan’s passing, he issued the following statement to the Post.

“I was devastated to learn of the loss of someone after our show. There had been so much joy, so much heart coming from the people of Denver last night — and to hear this is heartbreaking,” he says. “Life is precious. Sharing music brings us together and that love we share makes us so much more. For the lady who came to share that love, there are no words. For her friends and family’s loss, I grieve with them and for them.”

The show at Empower Field was part of Kenny’s ongoing Here and Now Tour.

“We’re back!” Justin Bieber returns to the stage for first time since Ramsay Hunt diagnosis

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Justin Bieber took to the stage for the first time since being diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which had paralyzed a part of his face.

The “Peaches” singer launched the European half of his Justice tour on Sunday with a performance at Italy’s Lucca Summer festival. Multitudes of fan-taken videos have surfaced across social media, which shows Justin celebrating his return to performing.

Justin took to to Instagram on Sunday to share a video of him amping himself for his comeback by declaring proudly during a group huddle, “We’re back! What a great, great evening!”

“I’m just so grateful to be back,” the Grammy winner continued before telling his team just how much he loves and appreciates them. The video ends with him marching excitedly to the stage.

Justin shared another video of him addressing his fans, saying, “I want to say thank you so much for having me back. This is my first day back! So good to be here.”

Back on June 10, the “Ghost” singer took to Instagram to explain that he had to cancel several tour dates because of Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which left half of his face paralyzed. The illness is caused by the chickenpox virus, which continues to lay dormant in a person after initial infection and can reactivate as a shingles rash, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The Justice tour’s official Instagram has since announced Justin will reschedule those missed North American dates. An announcement on that is coming “very soon,” the post assured.

‘Legally Blonde’ threequel taking inspiration from… ‘Top Gun: Maverick’?

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

You wouldn’t think Reese Witherspoon‘s chipper attorney Elle Woods and Tom Cruise‘s steely Pete “Maverick” Mitchell had much in common, but you’d be wrong.

In a new interview with USA Today, Witherspoon says the long-in-development third Legally Blonde film might owe a debt to Cruise’s biggest-ever hit, Top Gun: Maverick, which flew into theaters 36 years after the original.

“I’m still hoping that Legally Blonde 3 is gonna come together in the right way,” Witherspoon tells the publication. “It’s just like Top Gun: They waited a long time to make another version of that movie, and I loved the nostalgia piece they incorporated in it.”

Reese adds, “So definitely that gave us a lot of inspiration about what we would want to do with Elle Woods and make sure that we had all those same touchstones that mattered to people back then.”

“I feel like these characters are my friends, so I safeguard them,” says the Oscar and Emmy-winning actress and producer. “I would never make the subpar, mediocre version of their story.”

Mindy Kaling is co-writing the third film, which will succeed 2003’s Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde.

Jack White earns second top-10 album of 2022 with ’Entering Heaven Alive’

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Jack White has earned his second top-10 Billboard 200 album of 2022.

The White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather rocker’s latest solo effort, Entering Heaven Alive, has debuted at #9 on the chart, with a total of 27,000 equivalent album units. That follows White’s other solo album this year, Fear of the Dawn, which landed at #4 on the Billboard 200 following its release in April.

White’s other three solo albums, 2012’s Blunderbuss, 2014’s Lazaretto and 2018’s Boarding House Reach, all debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. He also scored a #1 record with The Raconteurs’ 2019 effort, Help Us Stranger.

You can catch White live on his ongoing Supply Chain Issues U.S. tour, which continues August 13 in Minneapolis.

Britney Spears faces unique obstacle in getting her memoir published

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Britney Spears‘ memoir is complete, but it might be a while before fans can get their hands on a copy. Why? Apparently, a major supply shortage is hitting the book industry.

TMZ reports that an ongoing paper shortage might delay the memoir’s ambitious January 2023 release date. Apparently, because the book industry is grappling with limited resources, Britney’s book might have to be put on the back burner until the supply chain issues sort themselves out.

What’s causing the paper shortage? The outlet says paper manufacturing companies have been hit by job walk-offs and staffing shortages during the pandemic. In addition, people in droves turned to reading physical books during the lockdown, which further impacted the paper supply.

It is unknown when Britney’s memoir will be published because the situation with the supply chain remains in flux.

As previously reported, the Grammy winner scored a $15 million publishing deal in February with Simon & Schuster, who will distribute her memoir.

While not much is known about what’s inside Britney’s book, TMZ spies promise it’ll be very juicy. The memoir is anticipated to document Britney’s first-hand account of her rise to stardom as a child, her career, family issues and of course, that controversial 13-year conservatorship.

Atlanta’s Music Midtown festival featuring MCR, Jack White & Fall Out Boy canceled

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Atlanta’s Music Midtown festival, which was set to be headlined by the reunited My Chemical Romance, Jack White and Fall Out Boy, has been canceled.

In a statement Monday morning, organizers write, “Due to circumstances beyond our control, Music Midtown will no longer be taking place this year.”

The specifics of those circumstances were not revealed, but Billboard and Rolling Stone report that the cancellation was due to an expansion of Georgia’s “Safe Carry Protection Act,” which gun control advocates have called the “Guns Everywhere Law.”

The expansion makes it difficult for certain types of private events with short-term leases on public land to ban attendees from bringing guns. Music Midtown, which has a short-term lease to be held in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park, is such an event.

Music Midtown 2022 was scheduled for September 17-18. The festival returned in 2021 after missing 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two dead as McKinney Fire explodes to more than 55,000 acres in California

August 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif.) — A fire burning out of control in a Northern California national forest and threatening a town of nearly 8,000 people has quickly become the largest wildfire in the state this year, officials said.

The McKinney Fire in the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County, near the Oregon border, had burned 55,493 acres and was 0% contained as of Monday morning, according to Cal Fire.

The blaze grew by nearly 3,000 acres overnight as gusty winds helped fan its spread through a drought-dry tinderbox of high grass, brush and timber, according to Cal Fire.

Two people were found dead in their car in a driveway in the town of Klamath River, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue told ABC News. Firefighters said they suspected that the two were caught in the fast-moving fire as they tried to flee, according to the sheriff. More rescue teams were expected to search the area on Monday.

The fire started around 2:15 p.m. Friday in the Klamath National Forest and has caused the closure of Highway 98 in the area and the evacuation communities, including the partial evacuation of Yreka, California, officials said.

The blaze is burning through drought-dry tinderbox of high grass, brush and timber and its rapid spread has been fanned by gusty winds and numerous dry-lightning strikes, according to Cal Fire.

There was concern that lightning storms over the fire area could have sparked additional fires, officials said. But that same storm system also carried a significant amount of moisture, slowing the fire’s spread significantly over the past 24 hours, the sheriff said on Monday.

“We’re feeling pretty good” about protecting Yreka, whose western fringes were threatened by the fire, he told ABC News.

The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News Sunday afternoon that more than 100 structures have been destroyed, including the homes of several deputies who are continuing to work despite personally being under evacuation orders.

Many of the lost structures are along the Klamath River, with runs parallel to Highway 96, according to a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. The Klamath River Community Hall in Klamath River was also among the structures destroyed, officials said.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said search crews rescued about 60 hikers from a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, a popular backpacking trail that runs from Canada to Mexico.

Sgt. Shawn Richards of Jackson County Search & Rescue told reporters the hikers were not in immediate danger. He said that because of the rapidly spreading fire, unpredictable winds and smoke reducing visibility to roughly 20 feet, the decision was made to rescue the hikers before conditions worsened.

Red flag fire danger warnings were issued in the area Sunday as temperatures, according to the National Weather Service, are forecast to reach 90 to 100 degrees. In addition, there is a 30% chance of thunderstorms moving in Sunday afternoon, according to the weather service.

“Strong gusty outflow winds will continue to be the drivers for the extreme fire behavior,” Cal Fire said in its latest incident report on the fire.

At least 568 firefighters are battling the blaze on the ground and from the air with helicopters and air tankers.

“Really erratic winds from the start of the incident all the way up until now,” Kelsey Lofdah, a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service, told ABC San Francisco station KGO-TV of challenging firefighting conditions. “Pretty extreme fire behavior throughout the entire shift.”

The Yreka Police Department issued evacuation orders for a neighborhood in the western part of the town “due to its proximity to the fire” about 12 miles away.

“Please leave IMMEDIATELY,” the police department wrote in the evacuation order.

The police department also issued evacuation warnings to residents in all areas of the community west of Interstate 5.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and emergency management officials are assessing the damage.

Californian Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency on Saturday for Siskiyou County due to the effects of the McKinney Fire. A state of emergency frees up more state resources to be used in battling the blaze, including dispatching more firefighters and equipment to the scene.

The McKinney Fire surpassed the Oak Fire in Mariposa County near Yosemite as the largest wildfire in the state this year, according to Cal Fire. The Oak Fire, which started on July 22, was 64% contained on Sunday after burning 19,244 acres and destroying 182 structures, including more than 100 homes, officials said.

ABC News’ Jennifer Watts and Izzy Alvarez contributed to this report.

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