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Wyoming abortion bills, including ‘heartbeat ban,’ advancing through legislature

February 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Two bills having to do with abortion are making their way through the Wyoming legislature.

The first bill, HB0126, dubbed the Human Heartbeat Act, prohibits abortion if cardiac activity is detected in the fetus, which is around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant.

If cardiac activity is detected, an abortion can only be performed in the case of a medical emergency, meaning if the life of the mother is in danger or if continuing the pregnancy would cause serious or irreversible impairment of a major bodily function, according to the bill, which does not include exceptions for women impregnated as a result of rape or incest.

Any person who intentionally or knowingly violates the act will be charged with a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, according to the bill.

“What this bill attempts to do is to provide a line in the sand,” Republican Speaker of the House Rep. Chip Neiman said at a Wyoming House Labor, Health & Social Services Committee meeting on Monday. “This gives the unborn child the right to be protected and the privilege of being carried to term after a fetal heartbeat is detected.”

The bill also asserts that “substantial medical evidence” shows that a fetus can experience pain by 15 weeks of gestation.

“The science conclusively establishes that a human fetus does not have the capacity to experience pain until after at least 24–25 weeks,” according to the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG).

The other bill, HB 117 or “Stop harm-empower women with informed notices,” requires medical professionals to give pregnant women written notices before performing an abortion.

The notice would include a description of the proposed abortion method, if there are medical risks associated with the method, alternatives such as adoption and parenting, and the medical risks associated with carrying the fetus to term

Patients who feel they’ve been coerced into receiving an abortion would be allowed to sue any providers for not less than $25,000.

The bill also includes text about the abortion drug mifepristone, including putting in the written notice that mifepristone alone is not always effective in ending a pregnancy. The written notice must also include that pregnant women should consult a health care provider if, after taking mifepristone, they regret their decision “to determine if there are options available to assist her in continuing her pregnancy.”

ACOG states that medication abortion “reversal” is not supported by science and that so-called reversal procedures are “unproven and unethical.”

Earlier this week, the Wyoming House Labor, Health & Social Services Committee recommended that both bills be passed. The bills will now go to the Wyoming State House for debate, amendment and voting.

Currently, abortion is allowed in Wyoming until fetal viability, which occurs at around 25 weeks of gestation, according to ACOG, defined as a fetus’ chances of surviving outside of the womb.

Only physicians are allowed to provide abortions in Wyoming, and they are required to submit a report to the Wyoming Department of Health within 20 days of any abortion procedure, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that focuses on sexual and reproductive health.

In 2023, Wyoming passed two abortion bans. However, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in January that the bans were unconstitutional, violating a “health care freedom” amendment to the state constitution that was passed in 2012 that states in part that “each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions,” and that “the parent, guardian or legal representative of any other natural person shall have the right to make health care decisions for that person.”

During his State of the State address earlier this month, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon suggested that voters should decide on the issue.

“There’s another arduous task that I bring before you, which is the issue of abortion,” he said. “Protecting life is the most serious responsibility entrusted to government. The question of abortion deserves careful deliberation and I urge this legislature to take up this issue earnestly and put forward a genuine solution to the voters of Wyoming that provides a clear, irrefutable, durable, and morally sound resolution to this fraught issue.”

New Mexico reopens investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch

February 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — More than six years after the infamous financier and sex offender’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, the investigation into potential wrongdoing at Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling hacienda in New Mexico is being reopened, according to a spokesperson for the state’s Justice Department.

In its heyday, Zorro Ranch played host to a who’s who of Epstein’s prominent guests. It also became the site where multiple girls alleged that they were sexually assaulted. Among them: Annie Farmer, who offered key testimony during Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial that she had been sexually abused at 16 years old by Epstein and Maxwell at the ranch in the mid-1990s.

The property, locally dubbed the “Playboy Ranch,” will now get fresh scrutiny over the many allegations of illegal activity on its grounds.

“Upon reviewing information recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General Raúl Torrez has ordered that the criminal investigation into allegations of illegal activity at Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch be reopened,” Lauren Rodriguez, Chief of Staff for the New Mexico Department of Justice, said in a statement to ABC News.

While Epstein’s New York townhouse and his Caribbean island were raided as part of the case against Epstein, records now released by the DOJ indicate federal law enforcement never raided Zorro.

“We have not searched the New Mexico property,” said a Dec. 20, 2019, email from a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York to a lawyer for Epstein’s estate.

New Mexico’s prior investigation was “closed in 2019 at the request of the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York,” according to New Mexico DOJ’s Rodriguez. Lawmakers in New Mexico pushing for the renewed probe have also said there was no record of federal law enforcement searching Zorro.

But now, “revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further examination,” Rodriguez said. “Special agents and prosecutors at the New Mexico Department of Justice will be seeking immediate access to the complete, unredacted federal case file and intend to work collaboratively with our law enforcement partners as well as the Epstein Truth Commission recently established by the New Mexico Legislature.”

“As with any potential criminal matter, we will follow the facts wherever they lead, carefully evaluate jurisdictional considerations, and take appropriate investigative action, including the collection and preservation of any relevant evidence that remains available,” Rodriguez added. “We are moving quickly and deliberately on this issue and will provide updates as appropriate.”

Scoreboard roundup — 2/19/26

February 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Rockets 105, Hornets 101
Nets 84, Cavaliers 112
Hawks 117, 76ers 107
Pacers 105, Wizards 112
Pistons 126, Knicks 111
Raptors 110, Bulls 101
Suns 94, Spurs 121
Celtics 121, Warriors 110
Magic 131, Kings 94
Nuggets 114, Clippers 115

In brief: ‘Pressure’ official trailer and more

February 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Bill Hader is set to make his feature film directorial debut. Deadline reports that the actor, who also directed episodes of his TV series Barry, will write, direct and star in a new horror film called They Know. The movie follows a divorced father who grows suspicious of the mysterious man his ex-wife is dating, believing he is having a strange influence on their children …

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has added some new faces to its cast. Variety reports that the Disney+ series has cast Ming-Na Wen as the Greek Goddess Hera, Jennifer Beals as the Greek Goddess Demeter and Hubert Smielecki as the Greek God Apollo for the upcoming third season …

Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott star in the newly released official trailer for the upcoming film Pressure. The movie takes place in the tense 72 hours before D-Day when one decision changed the world. The film arrives in theaters on May 29 and also stars Kerry Condon, Chris Messina and Damian Lewis …

‘Even Flow’ of oxygen: Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder quit smoking after conversation with Martin Short

February 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Eddie Vedder is just breathing a bit better after a conversation with an unlikely source convinced him to quit smoking.

As the Pearl Jam frontman revealed during an interview with the Fly on the Wall podcast with Dana Carvey and David Spade, said conversation took place during the COVID-19 pandemic while on the phone with former SNL cast member Martin Short.

Vedder said that he started smoking again during the pandemic after initially trying to quit, and told Short that when the comedian called to check in on him.

“I said, ‘Well, I’m frustrated with myself, I’m smoking again,'” Vedder recalled.

Short then asked if Vedder was smoking cigarettes or pot. When Vedder said cigarettes, Short replied, “Oh, are you still waiting for more literature on that?”

“And that was the last time I ever had a cigarette,” Vedder said.

He added, “Maybe not really, but it makes for a better story.”

Also during the podcast, Vedder reminisced about Pearl Jam’s 1994 SNL performance, during which the band had the rare opportunity to play three songs instead of the usual two.

Parker McCollum says idea for new single ‘just kind of fell out of my brain’

February 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Parker McCollum’s new single, “Killin’ Me,” is from the deluxe edition of his self-titled album, due out March 20. He says when he came up with the melody for the song he knew he had to, as he puts it, “chase it.”

Parker explains that his pals Randy Rogers and Monty Criswell were visiting him at his ranch for some hunting and “driving fast,” and then they’d write songs in the evenings.

“We were actually in the middle of another song and I started playing that melody, just kind of out of nowhere,” Parker recalls. “And I stopped both of them and I said, ‘This melody, I just don’t know where this just came from but we got to chase it.'”

Once they decided to do that, Parker says, “We kind of got into the ‘every move you make is killin’ me’ [idea] and just loved [it], whenever that just kind of fell out of my brain, and chased that whole idea.” He adds that it “turned out to be a great song on the record.”

As previously reported, the video for “Killin’ Me” stars Parker’s wife, Hallie Ray Light McCollum. The couple is expecting their second son this summer.

Meanwhile, Parker McCollum Deluxe Edition arrives the same day Parker plays his fourth consecutive show at the Houston Rodeo.

Zak Starkey talks relationship with The Who as he readies one-man show

February 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Drummer Zak Starkey is set to take the stage at New York’s Gramercy Theatre Friday for a one-man show, Zak Starkey … Who?: An Evening of Drums and Conversation. He’ll take fans through his life and career, which will likely include his almost 30 years playing drums for The Who.

Starkey tells ABC Audio that even though his dad is Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, it was seeing The Who that made him want to learn to play the drums. And it turns out his dad wasn’t much help with that.

“I asked my dad for a drum lesson, and he gave me one lesson,” Starkey says. “Then the next day he said, ‘Now try this.’ I said, ‘I can do that.’ He said, ‘Well, you’re on your own.’ And that was it.”

Starkey began playing with The Who in 1996, and he says it felt “amazing” when he got the gig after being such a fan.

And while he and The Who parted ways in 2025 following an onstage disagreement between Starkey and Roger Daltrey, Starkey says he still has a good relationship with both Daltrey and Pete Townshend. In fact, he recently talked to Daltrey, who wished him luck with the show and gave him some advice.

“He told me to be myself, everything would be fine,” says Starkey. He notes of the issues that led to his split with the band, “It’s just some crazy s*** got out of hand … but we were still friends all the time through it.”

The Who wound up going on a farewell tour of North America in 2025 without Starkey behind the drum kit. As for whether he thinks it really was The Who’s final tour, Starkey wouldn’t speculate.

“If you think you know what those two guys are going to do, they’ll do something different.”

Halle Berry on feeling like the film industry wanted to discard her: ‘A painful realization’

February 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Halle Berry is a successful insurance broker who doesn’t get the respect she deserves in the new film Crime 101.

Her character, Sharon, finally has enough of the poor treatment. Late in the film she stands up for herself to her boss, telling him exactly how she feels before quitting. Berry opened up to ABC Audio about the many ways she resonated with Sharon and this particular moment in the film.

“I am a woman of a certain age down the path of life, and I have felt very much what Sharon has felt probably since I turned 40, 45,” Berry said. “I started to feel like my industry, that I love so much, was kinda lowkey kinda telling me, ‘We don’t really have a place for you. There are no parts. You’re not young. You’re not quite old enough to be grandma. So there’s no place for you.'”

The Oscar winner said that she “worked so hard to arrive to that place” of success in the industry.

“To feel that I would now be discarded was a painful realization,” Berry said.

Despite this, Berry said she made a conscious choice to not allow that to happen to her.

“There was some point in that period where I said, ‘No, screw this. I will not allow this to happen.’ And I pushed through, and I managed to not allow that to be my story,” Berry said. “I really related to Sharon deciding to stand up for herself.”

Berry feels other women who see the film will similarly relate to Sharon’s story.

“It was a moral question that she had to face, but I think in that moment she chose to do what was best for her and I really respected her for that,” Berry said. “I think women will feel seen, they’ll feel heard, and they will cheer for her.”

Crime 101 is available to watch in theaters everywhere.

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star Eric Dane dies at 53 after battle with ALS

February 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Actor Eric Dane, best known for his starring role in the long-running ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, has died at 53.

Dane revealed in April 2025 that he’d been battling the incurable degenerative neurological disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

“My left side is functioning; my right side has completely stopped working,” Dane told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in June 2025, adding that he was rapidly losing voluntary function in his left arm: “I feel like maybe a couple, few more months and I won’t have my left hand either.”

Born on Nov. 9, 1972, in San Francisco, California, Dane caught the acting bug in high school and made his television debut in a 1991 episode of Saved by the Bell. More roles followed in shows including The Wonder Years, Roseanne, Married… with Children and others. Dane’s profile rose when he was cast in the recurring role of Jason Dean for two seasons of the long-running hit supernatural series Charmed.

But Dane’s breakout role was that of plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Sloan in the ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, which he played for eight seasons beginning in 2006. His character – referred to on the show by female characters as “McSteamy,” because of his good looks – made him a star.

In a 2025 interview with Diane Sawyer, Dane recalled one of his most memorable McSteamy scenes, early on his run on the show, in which he emerged from a steam-filled bathroom, barely clad in a towel. That moment, one of Grey’s Anatomy‘s most talked-about, cemented Dane’s status as a prime time TV heartthrob – yet he had no idea then of the lasting impact it would have.

“In the moment, it was just another scene to me,” he said. “I just remember walking out of a bathroom where a very nice gentleman was kind of blowing smoke towards me.”

Following his character’s departure from the show in 2012, Dane starred as Cmdr. Tom Chandler, the commanding officer of a U.S. Navy destroyer during a deadly global pandemic, in the TNT action drama The Last Ship. Dane played the role for the show’s five-season run, which ended in 2018. The following year, he was cast in the hit HBO drama Euphoria as Cal Jacobs, the closeted father of actor Jacob Elordi’s character, Nate.

Most recently, Dane starred in the 2025 Amazon Prime crime drama Countdown.

In addition to the television work for which he was best known, Dane also enjoyed a film career, with roles in movies including X-Men: The Last Stand, Marley & Me, Burlesque, Dangerous Waters and 2024’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

In November 2025, Dane, the progression of his disease apparent, made a guest appearance on the TV drama Brilliant Minds, playing a firefighter with ALS who kept his diagnosis from his family.

Despite his ALS diagnosis, Dane told Diane Sawyer in 2025 that he was “very hopeful” about his future.

“I don’t think this is the end of my story,” he said. “And whether it is or it isn’t, I’m gonna carry that idea with me.”

Dane is survived by two daughters, whom he shares with the actress Rebecca Gayheart.

Gayheart and Dane married in October 2004. Gayheart filed for divorce in 2018 but later requested to dismiss that petition in March 2025, a month before Dane went public with his ALS diagnosis.

In a December 2025 essay for The Cut, Gayheart wrote that she and Dane never got a divorce, describing their relationship as a “familial love.”

“It’s a very complicated relationship, one that’s confusing for people. Our love may not be romantic, but it’s a familial love,” she wrote. “Eric knows that I am always going to want the best for him. That I’m going to do my best to do right by him. And I know he would do the same for me.”

She continued, “So whatever I can do or however I can show up to make this journey better for him or easier for him, I want to do that. And I want to model that for my girls: That’s what you do. That’s the right thing to do.”

Primus’ Les Claypool releasing ‘Frizzle Fry: Phantoms of Barrington Hall’ illustrated book

February 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Primus frontman Les Claypool has written a new illustrated book called Frizzle Fry: Phantoms of Barrington Hall.

Named after Primus’ 1990 debut album, Frizzle Fry: Phantoms of Barrington Hall is described by publisher Z2 Comics as an “illustrated storybook for adults” that “expands Primus’ warped mythology and surreal humor, as it presents a tale allegedly based on the band’s unbelievable experiences during their early years playing shows in Berkeley and the East Bay.”

The description continues, “Fans may think they know Frizzle Fry from the song and the album of the same name, but this story explodes the band’s universe into a new form of psychedelic life on every page, capturing the off-kilter spirit Primus fans have come to expect, in a way that only Primus can.”

You can preorder your copy now via Z2Comics.com.

In the meantime, you can catch Primus on tour with two other Claypool projects, The Claypool Lennon Delirium and Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, kicking off in May.

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