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Mom, friend of missing teen Kiely Rodni recall last conversations before she vanished

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(TRUCKEE, Calif.) — Lindsey Rodni-Nieman got a text late Friday night from her teenage daughter, saying she was planning to leave a party in about 45 minutes and would be coming “straight home.”

“I told her to be safe and that I loved her. And she said, ‘OK, mom, I love you, too,'” Rodni-Nieman recalled in an interview with ABC News on Monday. “She never came home.”

Kiely Rodni, 16, was last seen early Saturday around 12:30 a.m. local time near the Prosser Family Campground in the small, Northern California town of Truckee, some 20 miles north of Lake Tahoe. She was at a party with more than 100 people when she vanished along with her vehicle, a silver 2013 Honda CRV with California license plates.

Her phone has been out of service since then, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the ongoing investigation and search.

“Her cellphone went dead and became virtually untraceable shortly after,” Angela Musallam, public information officer for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC News during an interview Monday.

When Rodni’s mother awoke that morning to find her daughter still not home and her car missing from their driveway, panic began to set in.

“I called her and sent her texts too, and she didn’t answer,” Rodni-Nieman said. “That’s when I knew something was wrong.”

She said she doesn’t believe her daughter ran away because all her clothes and belongings are still at home, and “it was already so out of character” for her to not call or text back.

Rodni’s friend, Sami Smith, said she was the last person to speak with her at the party early Saturday.

“She was having a fun time at a party, just being a teenager,” Smith told ABC News during an interview Monday. “Everything she drank, I drank out of, and there was nothing that seemed off about her.”

“I never expected this to happen ever,” she added. “Nobody in this town did.”

With no trace Rodni or her car, detectives are now investigating the case as a possible abduction.

“Our detectives are looking into any and every possibility about Kiely’s whereabouts,” Musallam said. “We are only treating this case as an abduction because we have not yet located her vehicle.”

“We’ve received dozens of leads since early Saturday morning, and our detectives continue to investigate each and every single one of them,” she added. “We have no plans to leave any stone unturned until we get Kiely home.”

Other local, state and federal agencies, including the Truckee Police Department, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol and the FBI, are assisting the Placer County Sheriff’s Office’s in the investigation, according to Musallam.

On Tuesday, helicopters from the California Highway Patrol and the Placer County Sheriff’s Office continued to conduct aerial searches for the teen and her car.

Authorities, as well as Rodni’s family, are urging anyone who attended the party to cooperate with the investigation. In particular, investigators are asking for any photographs or videos from that night to help them piece together a timeline. A $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to Rodni’s safe return.

“We’re just begging, begging for you to please come forward and share your story,” Rodni-Nieman said.

Anyone with information about Rodni or her whereabouts can call the Placer County Sheriff’s Office’s tip line at 530-581-6320 and select option seven. Callers can remain anonymous.

Serena Williams suggests plans to retire from tennis after US Open

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Serena Williams has announced her professional tennis career is drawing to a close, and that the US Open could be her final tournament.

In an essay published Tuesday on Vogue.com, the tennis legend opened up about her hopes to grow her family with husband Alexis Ohanian, and how she has wrestled with the choice between career and family.

“If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family,” she said in the essay. “Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity. Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia. …But I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give.”

Williams achieved her last Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, while pregnant with her daughter Olympia, who turns 5 next month, according to ESPN.

Securing her first match win in 14 months on Monday, Williams is currently competing at the Canadian Open. She has suggested she will taper off her tournament play with the Western & Southern Open next week and the US Open later this month.

The 23-Grand Slam title winner says she doesn’t like the word “retirement” and prefers to think of this as an “evolution” away from tennis toward other projects that are important to her.

Scotty McCreery is reading a parenting book to prepare for son’s arrival

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Scotty McCreery is already getting into dad mode.

In June, Scotty and his wife Gabi announced that they’re expecting their first child, a boy, this fall. To prepare for the major life change, the country star is relying on specific reading material.

Gabi shared a photo that shows the dad-to-be sitting cross-legged while reading The New Dad’s Playbook by Benjamin Watson, topping off the dad look with a visor on his head and a cigar hanging out of his mouth.

“Pretty dang proud of this dad,” Gabi writes alongside the starry-eyed and tongue out emojis.

“We always knew we wanted kids, but we always knew we wanted the first few years to travel and have time on the road, to see things and experience life,” Scotty shared with People at the time of the baby announcement. “We’ve gotten to live a lot of life and do some cool things, so seems like now’s a good time to settle down a little and expand the family.”

The baby is due in October.

‘Variety’ chides Elton John for “fairly dull songs” in new musical ‘The Devil Wears Prada’

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

A few days ago, Elton John attended a preview performance of his new musical, The Devil Wears Prada, which is currently playing in Chicago on its way to Broadway. On Instagram, Elton told the cast and crew, “You’ve created something truly wonderful!” But at least one review doesn’t agree with him.

In its review of the show, Variety writes that the show needs to “get meaner,” calling it “an overly respectful and frankly miscalculated approach to its source materials.” According to Variety, the show, based on the book by Lauren Weisberger and the hit movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, “provides some serviceable entertainment but needs a hefty dose of guilty, edgy fun to boost its mild pleasures.”

In Variety’s opinion, the show “just never lets loose,” and in particular doesn’t give us enough of Prada’s iconic boss-from-hell Miranda Priestly, who in the movie and book treats her assistant Andy so terribly that we’re rooting for her to get out from under her thumb.

And while Elton’s score and its “pleasing, peppy pop sound” has “its moments,” Variety reports, “There’s a lot of work needed to replace the sincere and fairly dull songs … with songs that express the naked ambition, social irresponsibility and joyful artifice of the fashion industry.”

Variety suggests that Elton and the rest of the creative team need to “set niceness aside, and channel their inner Miranda Priestlys.”

Of course, Elton has written numerous hit musicals — The Lion King, Billy Elliott and Aida — so it’s unlikely one middling review will make much of a difference to him, though The New York Times isn’t thrilled with the show either. The musical is playing at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre through August 21.

Motown songwriting legend Lamont Dozier dead at 81

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Lamont Dozier, one-third of the legendary Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, has died, his son announced on Instagram Tuesday. He was 81.

Lamont Dozier Jr. posted a photo of himself with his famous father and wrote, “Rest in Heavenly Peace, Dad!” Details of his death are not known at this time.

Dozier and brothers Eddie Holland and Brian Holland joined Motown in 1962 and wrote more than 200 songs for the label’s acts, helping to create the “Motown Sound.” Dozier and Brian worked as musical arrangers and producers, while Eddie focused on lyrics and vocal production.

Together, the trio wrote 10 #1 hits, including The Supremes‘ “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Baby Love” and “Stop! In the Name of Love” and The Four Tops‘ “I Can’t Help Myself” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” They also penned classic hits for Martha & The Vandellas, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye and The Isley Brothers.

In 1988 and 1990, Holland-Dozier-Holland were inducted, respectively, into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The trio left Motown in 1968 to form the labels Invictus and Hot Wax. In 1973, Dozier left the trio, recording albums as a solo artist and penning songs for others. Some of his later co-writes included the Phil Collins‘ smash “Two Hearts,” Alison Moyet‘s “Invisible,” Debbie Gibson‘s “Anything Is Possible,” and “Without You” by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle.

In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Dozier explained why the songs the trio wrote were mostly empathetic toward women. “Women bought the records, to put it bluntly,” Dozier said. “They wanted music that talked about their feelings, but also … women raised me … I trusted women, and I still do.”

Fellow hitmaking songwriter of the ’60s Carole King tweeted, “Gerry [Goffin] & I respected Holland Dozier Holland over at Motown. Striving to keep up with them made us better songwriters. Rest In Peace and power Lamont Dozier.”

Serena Williams announces she’s “evolving away from tennis” in new ‘Vogue’ essay

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Serena Williams is gearing up to say goodbye to professional tennis after serving up inspiration to the sports world for more than two decades.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner penned a new personal essay for Vogue magazine that was revealed exclusively on Good Morning America Tuesday. Titled “The Hardest Thing,” she says farewell to the game in her own way and in her own words.

Williams said she hates the word retirement, writing: “The best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

The former #1-ranked women’s tennis player and four-time Olympic gold medalist said there is “no happiness in this topic for me,” but that she wants to focus on family and her business investment empire. Williams explained that she doesn’t feel she can do that while also playing tennis.

“But these days, if I have to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter … In the last year, [husband] Alexis [Ohanian] and I have been trying to have another child, and we recently got some information from my doctor that put my mind at ease and made me feel that whenever we’re ready, we can add to our family. I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again as an athlete. I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out,” Williams wrote.

Although this is the closest Serena’s come to a possible retirement, it’s not the end for the champ just yet. Williams recently scored her first tournament singles win in over a year at the WTA National Bank Open in Toronto and plans to play in the U.S. Open in New York City.

Sex on TV gets a hard look – and yes, that’s what they said

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NOTE LANGUAGE, CONTENT) While sex and sexual discussions on TV are nothing new, the sex-friendly site Roam analyzed some of the most popular shows in history to see how the act is portrayed, talked about and even joked about — all to see which shows are moving the needle forward in a positive way.

To that end, Roam’s experts scrubbed through some 10 million lines of dialogue culled from 40 different shows, ranging from The Office to Orange is the New Black, and made some interesting finds.

For example, the long-running Always Sunny in Philadelphia topped the others with some 231 mentions of sex, just one above How I Met Your Mother. Sex and the City clocked in at a comparatively chaste 173, good enough for third place, topping Friends (149). OITNB rounded off the top 5 with 94.

That said, there was a quality element, too. For example, Roam’s experts judged each mention on inclusivity and whether contraception or consent was mentioned. There’s “room for improvement,” the site’s experts say.

Sex and the City “was considered really progressive for its time,” the site’s expert says, noting, “Much like the other series we’ve covered [it] is a product of its time and … the conversation around sex and sexuality has changed a lot since it was on the air.”

In other words, in many ways it doesn’t hold up compared to today’s sensibilities. That said, it did get credit for leading the way in bringing female pleasure to the forefront.

OITNB was hailed with bringing LGBTQ issues to the mainstream, both in terms of same-sex relationships and bringing issues like transphobia to TV.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ director Taika Waititi reportedly marries Rita Ora in London

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Taika Waititi, the Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit writer-director whose Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters, has reportedly wed his recording artist fiancée, Rita Ora.

The U.K. tabloid The Sun reports the pair tied the knot in an “intimate” ceremony two months after their purported engagement, and the recording artist is hyphenating her last name to reflect it.

A source tells the paper the event was small but “super special for everyone there. Their nearest and dearest can see how madly in love they are.”

The source continues, “Despite living in the spotlight, Rita is determined to keep the relationship as private as possible and didn’t want to make a big song and dance about the wedding,” but that said they’re also planning, “A big, showbiz-style bash” to celebrate the good news.

If true, this is the second marriage for Waititi, 46, and the first for 31-year-old Ora.

Despite the pair not shy about packing on the PDA, they’ve been less forthcoming when it comes to their relationship: Waititi recently cut off a news program’s interview about Lightyear when he was asked if a wedding was in the offing.

Republicans speak out against FBI raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Since news broke that the FBI searched former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday, a growing number of Republicans have spoken out against the raid.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., took to Twitter, posting a statement that read in part: “I’ve seen enough.”

“The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization,” McCarthy continued. “When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., took it a step further, tweeting: “DEFUND THE FBI!”

A Twitter account for Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee run by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted: “This is what happens in third world countries. Not the United States.” Another tweet read: “If they can do it to a former President, imagine what they can do to you.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a series of tweets that “launching such an investigation of a former President this close to an election is beyond problematic.”

“We’re 100 days away from midterm elections. President Trump is likely going to run again in 2024,” Graham tweeted. “No one is above the law. The law must be above politics.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called the raid “incredibly concerning.”

“We need answers NOW,” Scott tweeted. “The FBI must explain what they were doing today & why.”

Several Republican senators used the raid to further criticize President Joe Biden’s sweeping climate, health care and tax bill, which Senate Democrats passed on Sunday and which includes nearly $80 billion in funding for the Internal Revenue Service. For instance, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted: “After todays raid on Mar A Lago what do you think the left plans to use those 87,000 new IRS agents for?”

Other Republicans, including potential 2024 presidential candidates, continued to attack the Justice Department and the FBI.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tweeted that the raid “is another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies,” then said: “Banana Republic.”

Former Secretary of State and ex-CIA Director Mike Pompeo said executing a search warrant against a former president “is dangerous.”

“The apparent political weaponization of DOJ/FBI is shameful,” Pompeo tweeted. “I served on Benghazi Com where we proved Hilliary possessed classified info. We didn’t raid her home.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tx., called the raid “unprecedented.”

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel also released a statement, asserting — without evidence — that the search was an attempt by Democrats to “weaponize the bureaucracy against Republicans.”

“Countless times we have examples of Democrats flouting the law and abusing power with no recourse. Democrats continually weaponize the bureaucracy against Republicans,” McDaniel said. “This raid is outrageous. This abuse of power must stop and the only way to do that is to elect Republicans in November.”

Multiple sources confirmed to ABC News that Trump’s residence in Palm Beach was raided by FBI agents on Monday, starting around 10 a.m. local time. The former president was not there at the time.

Sources said the search of Mar-a-Lago was related to the 15 boxes of documents that Trump took there when he departed the White House, some of which the National Archives has said were marked classified. In January, Trump handed over the documents to the National Archives, and his attorneys said they were searching for any more records they may have.

The former president issued a statement Monday evening, saying Mar-a-Lago “is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents.” He added: “They even broke into my safe!”

Later Monday, during a planned tele-rally with Sarah Palin ahead of her upcoming special election in Alaska, Trump didn’t specifically mention the raid but appeared to briefly reference it when saying: “Another day in paradise. This is a strange day.”

Law enforcement sources told ABC News that the FBI’s activities at Trump’s compound are court-authorized.

The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment.

A senior official briefed on Monday’s events told ABC News that the Secret Service was notified by the FBI a short time before agents arrived that they would be coming. The Secret Service validated the search warrant and facilitated entry into the residence, in accordance with a court order, the official said. Secret Service agents were not involved in the search.

The Secret Service declined to comment.

A Biden administration official told ABC News that the White House received no advanced notice of the raid.

The White House has otherwise referred requests for comment on the investigation to the Justice Department.

ABC News contributor and former federal prosecutor Kan Nawaday said the raid is “extraordinary” but not “that surprising.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen this,” Nawaday told ABC News Live Prime on Monday night. “At the same time, to me, it doesn’t seem that surprising, given all the evidence that the Jan. 6 committee has set forth about possible crimes relating to [the Capitol riot].”

“I think the indication is that it’s moving forward. They are taking active action and following the leads and following the evidence,” he added. “It’s only a matter of time, in my view, that they’re going to work up the chain to other potential targets.”

In Brief: Tom Cruise lining up three new films, and more

August 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Tom Cruise will team up with his Top Gun: Maverick producer Christopher McQuarrie for a trio of upcoming projects, according to Deadline. One is an original song and dance-style musical they’ll create as a star vehicle for Cruise, another film with “franchise potential” and the third centering around Les Grossman, the gruff studio executive Cruise played in the 2008 movie comedy Tropic Thunder. In the meantime, the duo continues to work on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, set to come out June 28, 2024…

Stranger Things and Free Guy‘s Joe Keery, New Girl‘s Lamorne Morris and Never Have I Ever’s Richa Moorjani have been added to the cast of Fargo‘s upcoming fifth installment, joining previously announced stars Juno Temple, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The FX limited series “has traveled through decades, cities and families, and the fifth installment will be no different, according to FX, which adds the fifth installment will be “Set in 2019,” and asks, “when is a kidnapping not a kidnapping, and what if your wife isn’t yours?”…

Deadline reports Zazie Beetz is in talks to reprise her role as Sophie Dumond in Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to director Todd Phillips’ follow-up to the 2019 blockbuster Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Batman’s titular foe. Lady Gaga recently confirmed on Instagram that she will star in the film, hinting that she’ll play Joker’s girlfriend and partner in crime, Harley Quinn. The movie, rumored to be a musical, is set to start shooting in December and hit theaters on Oct. 4, 2024…

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