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First Muslim religious freedom ambassador lays out US agenda

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Rashad Hussain, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, is the first Muslim-American ever to hold the title, and he told GMA 3 that his appointment sent a powerful signal to the world.

Hussain was confirmed by the Senate in December with an 85-5 vote, where 10 Senators did not vote. He said the bi-partisan support sent a message that the U.S. is “supporting the right to religious freedom for all people everywhere.”

The ambassador told “GMA” that the White House is particularly concerned about the situation unfolding with the genocide against the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority group.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said attacks by Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority, constituted genocide and crimes against humanity. The legal determination was made five years after the government killed 9,000 Rohingya and forced over a million others into exile.

Hussain said the determination took some time because the U.S. had to gather all of the data and information as part of its meticulous legal process. He noted that the move will help provide more assistance to the legal brought by the Gambia and the International Court of Justice.

“We’re sending a strong signal that for anyone who engages in these types of actions, crimes against humanity [and] genocide, we will hold them accountable,” he said. “We also are very clear that we will do everything we can to prevent these types of atrocities from occurring.”

Hussain, who previously served as President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said he also plans on implementing the Marrakesh Declaration, which advocates for the protection of rights of Christians and other minorities in Muslim majority countries.

“That includes seeking to end the use of blasphemy laws, apostasy laws,” he said.

The ambassador said that the U.S. stands for any religious group that is being persecuted.

“One of the profound aspects of this job is that it’s our responsibility, which we take very seriously, to wake up every day and do everything that we can to help people that are suffering,” he said.

$50,000 reward split between tipsters in NYC subway shooting

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Five tipsters will split a $50,000 reward for providing police with information that led to the arrest of the suspect in Tuesday’s mass shooting on a New York City subway train, officials said.

The alleged gunman in the shooting, 62-year-old Frank James, was taken into custody on the streets of Manhattan Wednesday afternoon, about 30 hours after 10 people were shot on a Brooklyn N train.

While the manhunt was underway, police urged the public for help in locating the suspect. New York Police Department detectives identified five people whose tips “contributed directly to the arrest,” the NYPD said.

The five good Samaritans, who have not been publicly identified, will evenly split a combined $50,000 worth of Crime Stoppers rewards provided by the Police Foundation, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Transport Workers Union Local 100. Crime Stoppers rewards are distributed upon the arrest and indictment of an individual.

“We appreciate all of those who responded to our call for information to locate this suspect, including all of those whose tips did not pan out,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement. “We urged the public to join us in this effort to find this suspect and New Yorkers stepped up.”

Police have not shared what information helped lead to the arrest, and tipsters are offered anonymity. Though there have been several reports of witnesses spotting James after he was named as a suspect in the shooting, which occurred Tuesday morning on a rush-hour, Manhattan-bound N train as it approached the 36th Street station in Sunset Park.

A cellphone alert with James’ description went out to New York City residents at 10:21 a.m. Wednesday, and multiple sightings followed as the suspect wandered the streets of lower Manhattan.

At around 10:30 a.m., he was spotted sitting outside Dimes, a restaurant in Chinatown, sources said. Witnesses took pictures of him sitting, apparently using a Link NYC hub to charge his phone, and posted to social media, tagging police, sources said.

A few hours later, James was spotted getting lunch at Katz’s on the Lower East Side, sources said.

Just after 1 p.m. Wednesday, James called Crime Stoppers on himself, saying he was in a McDonald’s in the East Village, according to sources. James reportedly said: “I think you’re looking for me. I’m seeing my picture all over the news and I’ll be around this McDonald’s.”

By the time police arrived, James had already left the McDonald’s. But a good Samaritan spotted James nearby at St. Mark’s Place and First Avenue and flagged down police, sources said.

James was taken into custody without incident and charged by federal prosecutors with a terror-related offense. At his first court appearance on Thursday, he was ordered held without bail. He faces up to life in prison.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Mark Crudele contributed to this report.

Music notes: Camila Cabello, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and more

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Camila Cabello channeled Britney Spears in her latest outfit, wearing a denim-on-denim dress reminiscent of the number the singer wore to the 2001 American Music Awards. The look was panned at the time but has since become one of Britney’s most iconic looks. As for Camila, Hollywood Life adds she accessorized her denim dress with a bedazzled denim trench coat worth $10,000.

Lady Gaga is the number-one artist BTS hopes to collaborate with, and the internet was sent ablaze when J-Hope managed to snag a picture with Mother Monster. “Today was a really glorious day. When it comes to a show, there’s none like Lady Gaga!!! It was a special day for me, since I wanted to see her performance so much,” the BTS singer raved. “Today, on the stage she was incredible, but off the stage she was so professional and there was so much to learn from her, and every comment from her for me will stay with me for my whole life.” No word if Gaga is going to jump into the studio with BTS.

We got a rare peek into Taylor Swift’s romance, thanks to her longtime love Joe Alwyn, who explained to ELLE UK why they are such a notoriously private couple. “We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive… the more you give — and frankly, even if you don’t give it — something will be taken,” he explained. Even though they don’t “want to be guarded and private,” Alwyn noted, “It’s more a response to something else.”

Speaking of Taylor, pal Selena Gomez has some thoughts about dating in her 30s. Taking to TikTok, the singer recited Leslie Mann’s diatribe from The Other Woman about how the dating pool turns into a puddle when you get older. Selena, who turns 30 in July, joked, “Me walking into my 30s, I’m ok with it tho.”

UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro releasing new album, ‘Unprecedented,’ dedicated to the late Astro

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The UB40 spin-off group UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro will release a new studio album called Unprecedented on June 17.

The album is dedicated to Terence “Astro” Wilson, who died in November 2021 at age 64 after a short illness. Ali Campbell was UB40’s original lead singer and was a member of the popular U.K. reggae band until 2008. Astro, a vocalist, percussionist and trumpet player, joined UB40 in 1979 and left the group in 2013.

Campbell and Astro, along with fellow UB40 alum Mickey Virtue, then formed their own incarnation of the band.

Unprecedented, which you can pre-order now, will be available on CD, as a two-LP set pressed on either standard black black vinyl or limited-edition white vinyl, as a limited-edition cassette, and digitally.

In advance of Unprecedented‘s arrival, UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro has released a cover of “Sufferer,” a 1970 song by the Jamaican reggae vocal group The Kingstonians, as the lead single.

“‘Sufferer’ is a song that Astro and I have always loved, from the brilliant Kingstonians,” says Ali. “Astro was so proud of our version of this song, as am I…This song is more poignant and special than I ever realized after Astro heartbreakingly passed away after recording this album. We want to keep his memory alive through his music and this song and album.”

Now known as UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell, the band will be playing three U.S. shows next month — on May 14 in Las Vegas, May 15 in Redondo Beach, California, and May 16 in San Diego. Check out their full tour schedule at UB40.org.

Here’s the Unprecedented track list:

“Caught You in a Lie”
“Do Yourself a Favour”
“Emperors Wore No Clothes”
“Happy Includes Everyone”
“Heaven in Her Eyes”
“Lean on Me” (In Aid of NHS Charities Together)
“Lean on Me”
“Mellow”
“Stay Another Day”
“Sufferer”
“Sunday Morning Coming Down”
“Unprecedented”
“We’ll Never Find Another Love”
“What Have I Done”

FDA authorizes 1st COVID-19 ‘breathalyzer’ test

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 test that uses breath samples — the first of its kind to get the agency’s green light. The device, called the InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer, is “about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage,” and can accurately detect coronavirus on the breath within just a few minutes, the company and FDA said.

While other COVID-19 testing methods have used nasal swab or saliva samples to detect viral particles, this test uses a technique called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to separate and identify chemical mixtures and rapidly screen for five compounds associated with a COVID-19 infection in a person’s exhaled breath.

A positive result with this device is still considered “presumptive,” however, and should still be confirmed with a PCR test, the so-called “gold standard” in COVID-19 screening, the FDA said. The agency warned negative results “should be considered in the context of a patient’s recent exposures, history and the presence of clinical signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19, as they do not rule out SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for treatment or patient management decisions.”

While it comes with caveats, the company views its product as a potential game-changer in the large-scale COVID-19 screening arena.

“We spent a lot of time and a lot of effort on the science and the technology,” company co-founder Luke Kaiser said. “We are very focused on having a great product and a true product that can go anywhere, and test accurately.”

While this test offers rapid results — promised in under three minutes — this is not the same kind of rapid test available for purchase at local pharmacies. It is not aimed at being an “at-home” screening method — rather, it is meant for what InspectIR Systems COO John Redmond described to ABC News as a “volume play.”

InspectIR Systems aims to produce roughly 100 test devices per week, with 10 made so far, Kaiser told ABC News. In the next month, they expect to have roughly 250 test devices ready to go and say they will be making “as many as the line can hold.”

The company anticipates leasing test devices to companies and within industries ideal for en masse screening, as would be appropriate within the health care industry, such as nursing homes, prisons and the travel and hospitality industry, such as cruise lines, and perhaps schools. Redmond said the company expects leasing agreements to cost between $25,000 and $30,000 per month, which is why this would be most appropriate for that “volume play” setting.

Though that dollar figure sounds large, the idea is to get the cost per test down to an average of $10 to $12 each, Redmond said, which is in line with and perhaps even cheaper than commercially available at-home rapid tests. Baked into that leasing price would be a supply of individually wrapped paper straws, an air filter for the test kit and other necessary components.

With a single-use sanitary paper straw people blow their breath sample, about the amount it takes “to inflate a small balloon,” into the system, the company said, which looks for the chemistry and compounds associated with COVID-19.

The test must be done with supervision from a health care professional at doctor’s offices, hospitals, mobile testing sites or other venues with qualified staff on hand.

Each device can each be used to evaluate approximately 160 samples per day. At this level of production, testing capacity using the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is expected to increase by approximately 64,000 samples per month.

“Today’s authorization is yet another example of the rapid innovation occurring with diagnostic tests for COVID-19,” Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement. “The FDA continues to support the development of novel COVID-19 tests with the goal of advancing technologies that can help address the current pandemic and better position the U.S. for the next public health emergency.”

ABC News’ Eric M. Strauss contributed to this report.

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis reveals origin of “Black Summer” accent

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

When you heard the new Red Hot Chili Peppers single “Black Summer,” your first thought might’ve been, “Yay, new Red Hot Chili Peppers music!” Your second thought might’ve been, “Wait, why is Anthony Kiedis singing like that?”

Fans were quick to point out Kiedis’ unusual annunciation on certain words throughout the song, which made it sound like he was singing with an accent somewhere between Irish and trying out to play The Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Now, Kiedis has offered an explanation behind his unusual vocal styling.

During an online listening party for the new RHCP album Unlimited Love, which features “Black Summer” as the lead single, Kiedis wrote, “My adopted accent on this one is a tribute to Cate Le Bon,” referring to the Welsh musician.

Whatever you may think about Kiedis’ “Black Summer” accent, the song is doing just fine. “Black Summer” currently sits at number one on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart and number two on the Mainstream Rock Airplay tally, while Unlimited Love debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with the biggest week for a rock album in over a year.

Debra Messing and Enrico Colantoni light up the stage in ‘Birthday Candles’

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Two years and one pandemic later, Birthday Candles, starring Debra Messing, finally makes its Broadway debut — and if it’s good old-fashioned life perspective you’re searching for, bring all the issues and some tissues, too.

Written by Noah Haidle, the production is a time-trip: Spanning 90 years in one woman’s life…and the highs and sometimes crushing lows that go along with the journey.

“It’s the most challenging thing I have ever been a part of bar-none,” the Will & Grace star tells ABC Audio. “Not ever leaving the stage, aging 90 years and having to gently transform throughout the play.”

From carefree teenager to midlife and the inevitable senior years, Messing’s character, Ernestine, marks her passage of time by celebrating a birthday every year — no matter what the circumstances are. And with every birthday come the inevitable questions.

“’Have I wasted my life?’ That is a question we ask ourselves at every stage of life,” Messing says. “That’s our greatest fear.”

Messing says the collective experience of the last few years makes the production “more relevant and more prescient” than ever. “It’s about connection,” she says. “We lost connection during the pandemic and connection is the thing that is most fragile in a family dynamic.”

Her co-star, Enrico Colantoni, echoes the sentiment. “My favorite line in the play is ‘notice what we have left.’ I don’t think that would have affected me the way it did if not for COVID,” he tells ABC Audio. “Little things are important now. Time spent with your family. I think that’s why it resonates with so many people now having gone through the two years. Everyone’s life is beautiful.”

Birthday Candles is now playing through May 29 at The American Airlines Theater.

‘Burying my son’: Parents of man killed by Grand Rapids police officer speak out

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — The family of a man fatally shot by a police officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, earlier this month is demanding that the officer be fired and prosecuted.

“It is an unjustifiable use of deadly force because police escalated a traffic stop into an execution,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Patrick Lyoya’s family, said during a press conference Thursday.

Lyoya’s mother, Dorcas Lyoya, who cried throughout the press conference, says she left her home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo “to escape war” and thought her son would be safe here, but is now heartbroken.

“As a parent, I was thinking maybe it was my son who was going to bury me, he will assist at my funeral, but what is so astonishing, I am the one burying my son,” Dorcas Lyoya said through the help of a translator.

Patrick Lyoya’s father, Peter Lyoya, compared his son’s death to crimes seen in other countries.

“I didn’t believe that in this country, that there was a genocide in this country, I didn’t know,” Peter Lyoya said through a translator.

Video of their son’s death on April 4 was recorded on an officer’s body camera, dashcam video, security cameras and a bystander’s cellphone. Police released the footage Wednesday amid community pressure.

The footage shows a white police officer, whose name has not yet been released, struggling with the 26-year-old after chasing him on foot following a traffic stop. The officer eventually forces Lyoya to the ground and is heard shouting, “stop resisting,” “let go” and “drop the Taser,” before shooting him in the head.

While many residents have expressed shock over the incident, Cle Jackson, the president of the Grand Rapids NAACP, says it was a matter of time before such an incident happened.

“We’ve been trying to bring reform for decades here. Some folks here have said, ‘a George Floyd will never happen in Grand Rapids. This would never happen in the city of Grand Rapids’. Now I always have to remind them it’s not if this is gonna happen, it’s just when it’s going to happen. And today is our real day,” Jackson told ABC News.

Jackson says issues involving police officers in the city have been going on for years. In 2018, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights opened an investigation after several complaints against the Grand Rapids police by Black residents, he said.

The department held public hearings where several people voiced concerns, but declined to set a timeline for when the investigation would be completed.

Jackson says the NAACP is intrigued to see if changes will come with the police department’s new chief, Eric Winstrom. The NAACP is joining with the family and Crump in calling for the officer to be fired, he says.

The Grand Rapids Police Officers Association did not immediately respond Thursday to ABC News’ request for comment regarding calls for the officer to be fired.

“I think [Winstrom] has an opportunity to come to Grand Rapids and do the type of cleanup work that needs to happen in this department…the number one metric or the initial metric that we will be able to determine if he is committed to improving community police relations for the city of Grand Rapids is to do the right thing and fire the officer,” Jackson said.

Winstrom said Wednesday that Grand Rapids Police and Michigan State Police are conducting an ongoing investigation and he would not comment further or take any action until after the investigation is completed.

He said the officer is a seven-year veteran of the department who is currently on paid leave and “stripped of all police powers” amid the investigation.

“I view it as a tragedy…It was a progression of sadness for me,” Winstrom said about the shooting.

Is Justin Bieber performing at Coachella as a surprise guest?

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Justin Bieber isn’t scheduled to perform at Coachella — or is he?

According to TMZ, the Grammy winner will be crashing his “Peaches” collaborator Daniel Caesar‘s opening night set as a special guest. According to the outlet’s spies, Justin will take the stage to perform a rendition of their smash hit.

That begs to question if their third collaborator, Giveon, will also make an entrance. So far, no word if that will happen.

Either way, Justin does have a gap in his schedule that would allow him to fly out to California and sneak into the music festival. The singer is currently on his Justice World Tour and is resting up after performing in Miami on Wednesday night. He isn’t scheduled to hit the road again until Tuesday, where he’ll resume his tour in Cincinnati.

Should he show up, this won’t be the first time Justin unexpectedly crashes Coachella. He previously joined “One More Time” singer Ariana Grande on stage in 2019 following the cancellation of his tour at the time.

Coachella, which tapped Harry Styles, The Weeknd, Swedish House Mafia and Billie Eilish as its headliners, kicks off tonight. The festival runs Friday through Sunday on both the weekends of April 15 through April 17, and again on April 22 and April 24.

Bands featuring sons of Metallica members uniting for co-headlining tour

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The children of Metallica are hitting the road together.

Bastardane, featuring James Hetfield‘s son Castor Hetfield on drums, and OTTTO, featuring Robert Trujillo‘s son Tye Trujillo on bass, have announced a co-headlining tour, making stops in a number of California cities in May and June.

Both Bastardane and OTTTO are also playing the Bottle Rock Napa Valley festival over Memorial Day Weekend, which Metallica is headlining.

By the way, Hetfield and Trujillo aren’t the only Metallica members with kids following in their dads’ rocker footsteps. Lars Ulrich‘s children Myles and Layne Ulrich also have a band, Taipei Houston.

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