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Platonic partners share homes, beds and kids — but there’s no sex

July 23, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Jay Guercio and Krystle Purificato are like a picture-perfect married couple who share a life and a child together – but their relationship is non-traditional.

Known as platonic partners, the couple’s relationship is not centered around sexual attraction or physical intimacy, but sharing a lifelong partnership.

“My best friend and I of 8 years got married, had a commitment ceremony, whatever you want to call it, but we did it because we wanted to raise kids together,” said Guercio, who is now raising a foster son, Eddie, with Purificato.

Last fall, Guercio and Purificato got married – becoming each other’s platonic spouse. The two had to navigate what it meant to take their relationship from friends to wives.

“There’s not one way to be married. You know, we have good communication. We have similar values. We have a type of partnership that works for both of us that’s going to stand the test of time,” said Purificato.

Folks like Purificato and Guercio have been sharing their experiences of being in a platonic partnership on social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Instagram – helping to dispel the stigma against non-traditional relationships.

Dr. Logan Levkoff is an expert on sexuality and relationships. She said platonic partnerships can be for anyone, regardless of how they identify.

“Platonic partnerships have nothing to do with sexual orientation at all. Anyone of any sexual orientation might find themselves wanting to be in a platonic relationship,” said Levkoff. “The only difference between a platonic relationship and a traditional relationship is that there is no sexual intimacy involved in a platonic one.”

Guercio said they mostly identify as “demisexual,” which is a sexual orientation in which a person feels sexually attracted to someone only after they’ve developed an emotional bond with them, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Purificato identifies as “graysexual.” “I use any and all pronouns. I’m gender fluid, identify as graysexual, which means that my attraction comes and goes. It’s not consistent like most people’s,” said Purificato.

Despite their deeply loving and trusting bond, Guercio and Purificato have faced criticism on social media – saying that people often try to invalidate their relationship by calling it a lie.

“Some people have said, ‘Your kids are gonna be confused.,'” said Guercio. And I’m, like, ‘How?’ Our kid is 17 years old. He sees nothing but love and two people who wanna take care of him and do everything in their power to be able to.”

April Lee and Renee Wong are another platonic couple based in Los Angeles – who often face the same questions surrounding their more than decade-long relationship.

“We were just classmates, then we just ended up spending a lot of time with each other, but it became like a deep connection, and we soon started calling each other kind of like soul mates, twin flames,” said Lee.

The two became separated when they went off to college: Lee was in Los Angeles and Wong in Singapore. But they continued to be drawn to each other half a world away.

“We would FaceTime when it was my morning and her night, and vice versa, and we just wanted to just spend all our time together,” said Lee.

After five years of long distance, Wong flew from Singapore to Los Angeles to be with Lee. The two share an apartment, a set of values and a plan for their lives together.

“We started saying, ‘I want to be your partner as you go out and do your career. I want to be who you come home to when you come home from work,'” said Lee.

Both Wong and Lee identify as demisexual and attribute the sexual orientation as a reason why a platonic partnership works for them on a daily basis. For example, Lee has started dating someone and said her platonic partnership eases the pressure of her romantic relationship.

“I’m dating someone right now and I’m crazy about him. However, I don’t plan on making him my life partner even in the future,” said Lee. “And I think that that’s to the benefit of my romantic relationship because now all pressure is off.”

Dr. Logan Levkoff said that all interpersonal connections are complicated and often not one size fits all.

“This idea that there is one person out there, one magical person who is going to meet every one of your needs seems significantly counterintuitive to finding love,” said Dr. Levkoff. “Some are familial, some are platonic, some are sexual and they all count and they all matter.”

Like Guercio and Purificato, Wong and Lee hope for a future where their partnership won’t be in question.

“It’s been an amazing journey so far… It doesn’t matter what we are. The question is, ‘Are we happy?’ Yeah. So it’s valid,” Wong said.

Suspect in custody after Rochester officer killed, partner shot in ‘cowardly ambush’: Officials

July 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) — A suspect faces murder charges after a police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty Thursday night in Rochester, New York, officials said.

Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year veteran of the Rochester Police Department, was with his partner, Officer Sino Seng, an eight-year veteran, when they “were attacked in a cowardly ambush” on Bauman Street, according to Rochester Police Chief David Smith.

At least one male approached the officers and opened fire on them as they were conducting a detail at around 9:15 p.m. local time, according to Lt. Greg Bello of the Rochester Police Department.

Mazurkiewicz was shot at least twice in the upper body, while Seng was shot at least once in the lower body, authorities said. The pair “fell victim to the very violence in our community that we are trying to combat,” Smith said.

Mazurkiewicz was rushed to Strong Hospital, where he was listed in threatening condition late Thursday. During a press conference the next morning, the police chief announced that, “despite heroic efforts,” Mazurkiewicz had died. The officer was a husband and father.

Seng was taken to Rochester General Hospital, where he was treated and released. He is “now recuperating from his injuries at home with his wife and children,” according to Smith.

A 15-year-old girl who was inside her home near the incident was also grazed by one of three bullets that penetrated a wall of her home, officials said.

Kelvin Vickers, 21, was arrested within an hour of the shooting, Captain Frank Umbrino, Commanding Officer of the Rochester Major Crimes Unit, said in an update Friday evening. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.

The suspect allegedly fired 17 rounds into the officers’ vehicle from about 10 to 15 feet away, said Umbrino. The gun recovered following the arrest of Vickers matched the bullets recovered at the scene and in the home of the 15-year-old girl, according to Umbrino.

Vickers has been charged with murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the second degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, said Smith. He is expected to be arraigned Saturday morning in Rochester city court.

Chief Smith said a number of law enforcement agencies — local, state and federal — responded to assist and are “being utilized to bring whomever is responsible for this heinous act to justice.”

“This is an ongoing investigation and updates will be provided as they become available,” Smith, who was visibly emotional, said at the press conference on Friday morning. “As we speak, the brave men and women of the Rochester Police Department are continuing to protect our community, despite this horrific and shocking loss to our family.”

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, who also spoke at the press conference, called it a “sad day for our community.”

“I am angry and upset because all too often we are seeing over and over again blatant disregard for life,” Evans said, “be it an old woman on her porch or a 10-year-old girl, braiding her mother’s hair, and now an officer in the line of duty, working to keep our city safe.”

The deadly shooting happened just hours after the mayor declared a local state of emergency due to “a surge” in gun violence. Rochester is situated on Lake Ontario in New York state, about 75 miles northeast of Buffalo.

“The city and our partners in government will dedicate all possible resources to bring an immediate end to this violence and prevent it from expanding further,” Evans said at a press conference earlier Thursday. “We know these shootings are directly tied to a deadly cycle of disputes and retaliations and we will do all we can to disrupt these disputes before they reach critical mass.”

On Friday, the mayor urged anyone with information on the triple shooting to come forward.

“Now is your time to speak up,” he said. “It was Tony Mazurkiewicz, but it can be any of us in this room tomorrow. This is a clarion call for this community to speak up.”

ABC News’ Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.

US confirms first cases of monkeypox in children

July 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has confirmed the first cases of monkeypox in children, federal officials said Friday.

The two cases are unrelated and were likely the result of household transmission, federal officials confirmed to ABC News.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky first disclosed the cases in an interview with Washington Post Live.

The pediatric cases were traced to individuals in the men who have sex with men community, Walensky said, noting that the children “are doing well.”

One of the cases is in a toddler who is a resident of California and the other is an infant who is a non-U.S. resident, officials said.

The infant was “transiting through” Washington, D.C. when the test was done, Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of the High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, told reporters on a press call Friday.

Both children have monkeypox symptoms, but officials said that they are currently in good health and are receiving TPOXX, a Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for smallpox that has been made available for children under special expanded access protocols.

The agency became aware of the cases this week, McQuiston said. The CDC is not identifying the country the infant is from at this time, but health officials there are aware of the case, she said.

“We’ve been working with the jurisdictions to understand more about these cases,” McQuiston said. “The investigations are still in the early phase and ongoing so we don’t have a lot of details on them.”

As of Friday, more than 2,800 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the U.S. across 44 states, as well as Puerto Rico, according to CDC data.

Nearly all cases — 99% — have been reported among individuals who identify as gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men, McQuiston said Friday.

“The primary drivers for this infection in the U.S. remain in the gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men communities right now,” McQuiston said. “But we need to continue watching this and we stand ready to keep surveillance up and respond.”

The median age for cases was 36, with cases ranging from the infant to over 70, McQuiston said.

Walensky said there have been challenges in obtaining real-time data on monkeypox data, including demographics on race, ethnicity and age of cases and vaccinations.

“We very much want to get as much information as informed decisions out to the American public as possible,” she said in her Washington Post Live interview.

Monkeypox can spread through direct contact with an infectious rash, scab or bodily fluids or via respiratory secretions during prolonged face-to-face contact or intimate physical contact, according to the CDC.

It generally is a mild illness with the most common symptoms being fever, headache, fatigue and muscle aches.

Children under 8 years of age are among those considered at “especially increased risk for severe outcomes” from the disease, the CDC said.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.

1970s pop star Gilbert O’Sullivan’s 20th album, ‘Driven,’ released today

July 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Gilbert O’Sullivan, the Irish-born U.K. pop veteran best known for his 1972 chart-topping ballad “Alone Again (Naturally),” released his 20th studio album, Driven, on Friday.

The 13-track collection includes a pair of duets — “Take Love” with Scottish singer/songwriter KT Tunstall and “Let Bygones Be Bygones” with Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall — and was produced by Andy Wright, whose previous projects include albums by Simply Red, Simple Minds and Echo and the Bunnymen.

Driven is a follow-up to O’Sullivan’s 2018 self-titled album. It’s available now on CD, on cassette, via digital formats and as an LP pressed on either standard black vinyl or limited-edition clear vinyl.

In advance of Driven‘s release, O’Sullivan debuted music videos for three of the album’s tracks — “Take Love,” “You Can’t Say I Didn’t Try” and “Let Me Know.” You can check out all of the clips on Gilbert’s official YouTube channel.

O’Sullivan is set to launch a new series of tour dates that will see him visit venues in the U.K., Ireland and mainland Europe. The trek kicks off Saturday, July 23 in Chatham, U.K. and is plotted out through a December 12 concert in Birmingham, U.K. Check out all the dates at GilbertOSullivan.co.uk.

All-star rockers The Dead Daisies releasing new album, ‘Radiance,’ in September

July 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

All-star hard-rock band The Dead Daisies will release their sixth studio album, Radiance, on September 30.

The 10-track collection was recorded by the group’s current lineup of former singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, guitarists Doug Aldrich and David Lowy and drummer Brian Tichy. All of the songs were co-written by Hughes, Aldrich and Lowy.

“We had a great time composing and recording the record and I’m very excited for you all to hear what we put together,” says Aldrich, who played with such groups as Whitesnake and Dio prior to joining The Dead Daisies in 2016. “Definitely a heavy album but with some cool twists and turns! Hope you all like it.”

Radiance can be preordered now and will be available as a Digipak CD with a sticker, a vinyl LP in a gatefold sleeve and digitally.

Tichy, who rejoined The Dead Daisies earlier this year after previously playing with the group in 2013 and from 2015 to 2017, describes Radiance as “another slab of butt-kicking rock!”

He adds, “The guys all brought their A-Game and a tight, powerful record was created! I’m looking forward to everyone hearing it and playing more of these songs live in the near future!”

Fans have already been treated to two advance songs from Radiance, the title track and “Shine On,” which were released in June and earlier this month, respectively.

The Dead Daisies are currently on tour in Europe, where they’re opening for Judas Priest on select dates, as well as playing some festivals and headlining shows, through early August. The band also has a brief U.S. trek lined up in September. Check out their full schedule at TheDeadDaisies.com.

Here’s Radiance‘s full track list:

“Face Your Fear”
“Hypnotize Yourself”
“Shine On”
“Radiance”
“Born to Fly”
“Kiss the Sun”
“Courageous”
“Cascade”
“Not Human”
“Roll On”

Arrest of Black man after traffic stop under investigation by Tennessee authorities

July 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(OAKLAND, Tenn.) — A Black man who says he was beaten by Oakland, Tennessee, police following a traffic stop attempt told ABC News he is traumatized following the incident.

“Looking back on the videos and the pictures, I realized I was really knocked out,” said Brandon Calloway in an interview. “It is kind of hard to watch. But it is fulfilling that to know that it was on video.”

Calloway’s attorney, Andre Wharton, says officers with the Oakland Police Department used excessive force when they allegedly beat Calloway with a baton and used a stun gun on him after a July 16 traffic stop.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is investigating the incident at the request of 25th Judicial District Attorney General Mark Davidson, the agency said. Several documents concerning the case, including body camera footage, remain confidential, TBI told ABC News.

According to an affidavit acquired by ABC affiliate WATN, officers followed Calloway to his home after he allegedly refused to stop for police. Officers say they tried to stop Calloway after he allegedly ran a stop sign and was going 12 mph over the speed limit. Calloway was going 32 miles per hour when the speed limit was 20, the affidavit says, according to WATN.

Police say the officers tried to stop Calloway, but he refused to stop and instead drove to his home and ran inside.

The affidavit said police announced themselves at the home, but Calloway ran upstairs. Officers then pulled out their batons and tasers and hit Calloway several times, WATN reports.

Video taken from Calloway’s girlfriend and provided by Wharton to ABC News, captures the incident.

According to the footage, officers follow Calloway inside and can be seen using their batons and stun guns against him as they chase him through the home. Photos following the incident show Calloway’s face covered in blood, as he lays on the ground.

The footage also shows an officer appearing to step on Calloway’s body.

“I’ve got these stitches in my head. I don’t know how many stitches I have. I’m not paying attention. I’m just worried about – I have stitches in my head,” said Calloway. “My head has really just been hurting constantly. I’ll wake up, if it’s really sunny out, my head hurts and I’ve got a sharp pain in my eye. I can’t focus. I can’t focus for like more than like 15 minutes now.”

The Oakland Police Department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment. The department’s chief of police, Chris Earl, told HuffPost that one of the officers involved in the incident has been relieved of duty.

The Oakland mayor’s office declined to comment to ABC News.

Calloway is charged with evading arrest, resisting arrest, failing to stop at a stop sign and speeding, according to WATN.

Wharton said this incident is one of many instances of police brutality being seen across the U.S right now, and he hopes the investigation leads to accountability for the officers.

“For Brandon, this dream – if not nightmare – did become a reality,” Wharton said. “He experienced abuse and abuse of power and police misconduct. He’s yet another example of the long way we have to go as a community into resolving some of these issues.”

Music notes: Kesha, Taylor Swift, Lil Nas X, Twenty One Pilots, Jessie J and Meghan Trainor

July 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kesha is politely reminding fans that she no longer spells her name with a dollar sign. She shared a TikTok soundtracked to Annie Lennox‘s “Why” as she stares forlornly into the mirror. “When they still spell your name with a ‘$’,” she captioned the video. “Did this to myself.”

If someone read you the lyrics to Taylor Swift‘s “You Need to Calm Down,” you’d recognize the song, right? Well, it was a triple-stumper on Jeopardy! when host Ken Jennings did just that for a $400 clue, and not one contestant got it. In fact, no one even tried to guess! Fans are sharing the now viral clip on Twitter.

Lil Nas X would like to introduce you to his alter-ego, Marilyn Monteroe. He shared several photos of him channeling the blonde bombshell on Twitter and included a snap of him posing over a grate while holding down his white dress. Fans are hoping this is related to a new song or music video.

Twenty One Pilots saluted Stranger Things by remixing the creepy theme song with “Heathens.” The duo was performing in Romania when they unleashed the mashup while playing scenes of Stranger Things‘ fourth season. They shared the remix on YouTube.

Jessie J needed a wardrobe change at one of her concerts for a very good reason. “When it’s 95 degrees on stage at 10pm at night and a long sleeved catsuit ain’t it,” she joked on Instagram and slipped into a vintage Dior bed dress for her performance.

Meghan Trainor aired some dirty laundry on her TikTok, such as the rudest celebrity she met and the celeb she has the most tea on — the latter is Harry Styles if you must know. She answered the questions by briefly flashing her phone screen, which had a photo of the celeb she was referring to.

Music notes: Taylor Swift, Train, Meghan Trainor, Michael Bublé and Katy Perry

July 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

If someone read the lyrics of Taylor Swift‘s “You Need to Calm Down,” you’d recognize the song, right? Well, it was a triple-stumper on Jeopardy! when host Ken Jennings did that for a $400 clue, and not one contestant got it. In fact, no one even tried to guess! Fans are sharing the now-viral clip on Twitter.

Train frontman Pat Monahan celebrated his 15th wedding anniversary to wife Amber Peterson. “Today is the best day of my year every year. [It’s] my wedding anniversary and my wife @astarr444 has made my life incredible. The past 15 years of being married to you have made me a better everything. Thank you, love! I can’t wait to be home with you,” he wrote on Instagram. Pat is currently on the road with Jewel and Blues Traveler.

Meghan Trainor aired some dirty laundry on her TikTok, including the rudest celebrity she met or the celeb she has the most tea on — the latter is Harry Styles if you must know. She answered the questions by briefly flashing her phone screen, which had a photo of the celeb she was referring to. Good luck pausing the video at the right moment and guessing who everyone is!

Michael Bublé is aware that he’s semi-synonymous with suits. Joking that “clothes maketh the Man,” he modeled various suits of all different colors in a new TikTok video. “I’m a model, you know what i mean and i do my little turn on the catwalk,” he captioned. He added his suits are “like a Batsuit” because “When I put ‘em on I become Michael Bublé. Otherwise I’m just Mikey B.”

Katy Perry showed off how she likes to eat her strawberries — skewered with mozzarella, basil leaves and balsamic vinaigrette. She captioned her tutorial, “A dreamy summertime food pairing for all your champignon dreams.”

What to know about vaccine-derived polio after rare case found in New York

July 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — When the New York State Department of Health announced a patient in Rockland County — north of New York City — had contracted polio, they revealed it was a case of vaccine-derived polio.

Vaccine-derived poliovirus is different than poliovirus that originated in the wild which spreads naturally among a community.

The NYSDOH said in a release that testing, performed by the department’s public health laboratory and confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, showed the patient was infected with polio Sabin type 2 virus, indicating he or she was infected by someone who received the oral polio vaccine, which is no longer used in the United States.

Here’s what to know about vaccine-derived polio and how it differs from wild polio.

Polio, short for poliomyelitis, is highly contagious and spreads via person-to-person contact even when the original contagious patient doesn’t show symptoms.

According to the CDC, about one in four people exhibit flu-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue and a headache, which clear up within a week. But in rare cases, polio can lead to paralysis and death.

People can be protected against polio from two types of vaccines: an inactivated poliovirus vaccine given by injection and an oral polio vaccine containing a weakened version of the virus and given by mouth.

The oral polio vaccine played a massive role in the eradication of polio because it is cheaper and easier to administer than the injected vaccine, making it suitable for distribution, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

“It’s a live attenuated virus,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. “It’s a weakened virus that provides really good immunity in the gut, where the virus replicates, and it sheds in stool, which can spread through sewage and help protect the community.”

However, a potential, adverse effect of the oral vaccine is vaccine-derived poliovirus.

In rare cases, the virus spreading through sewage can affect those who are unvaccinated. This is different from wild polio, which infects people by circulating naturally in the environment.

Due to this risk, the oral vaccine was discontinued in the U.S. in 2000. New York health officials said the virus in the Rockland County patient likely originated in a country outside the U.S., where the oral vaccine is still given.

The NYSDOH said Friday that only 61% of Rockland County residents have been vaccinated against polio by age 2 compared to a 79% rate statewide, excluding New York City.

“There’s likely transmission going on in the community and in an under-vaccinated community like the one in New York, it creates a susceptibility,” Brownstein said. “But in those who are vaccinated, there’s really no risk.”

The New York case is not the first time that vaccine-derived polio has been detected in the U.S.

In 2005, it was found in the stool of a Minnesota child who was unvaccinated and immunocompromised, and likely caught from someone who received the oral vaccine in another country, according to the CDC. Seven other children subsequently contracted polio but none ended up paralyzed.

In 2013, an infant who was severely immunocompromised received the oral vaccine in India. The baby ended up contracting polio and dying from the infection, the CDC said.

Fourth and final season of ‘Atlanta’ coming in September

July 22, 2022 by WDNY Radio

It’s almost time to say goodbye to Atlanta.

FX announced in a brief teaser that the fourth and final season of the hit show, which brings the crew back to their home city, will premiere in September.

If it feels like a quick turnaround, that’s because season three ended in May. The final two seasons were shot back-to-back.

Donald Glover, Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry and LaKeith Stanfield were featured in the short video, all standing in front of a liquor store surrounded by references to episodes from the first three seasons of the show – including everything from a hair salon stylist to Uncle Willy’s alligator.

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