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Deaf football players, who rose to stardom in California, get front-row seat to Super Bowl

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — The California School for the Deaf in Riverside’s football team brought pride and triumph to the state last year, and now the high school football team is set to be recognized on the national stage Sunday at Super Bowl 56 in Inglewood, California.

The co-captains of the Riverside Cubs are set to join Billie Jean King and and other local football stars as honorary captains of the coin toss, the NFL announced Friday, as the league honors inclusion.

The four co-captains attending the Super Bowl are Trevin Adams, Christian Jimenez, Jory Valencia and Enos Zornoza.

The Cubs players and coaches use American Sign Language to communicate. Once considered underdogs, Riverside’s football team defied the odds with a nearly undefeated season last year that electrified spectators in California and beyond.

“This is indescribable,” Jimenez said in a video shared by CSDR upon being told about the invitation to the Super Bowl.

“I feel honored,” Valencia added.

Erika Thompson, a spokeswoman for CSDR told ABC News that the school is “thrilled” to have its players “defy stereotypes” and represent the deaf community at the Super Bowl.

“I hope this brings awareness of what the school has to offer for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, where they get the full range of experiences in academics, sports and leadership,” she said.

The NFL is also marking the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, a civil rights statute that bars discrimination based on sex.

King, a former world No. 1 tennis player and winner of 39 grand slam titles, including 12 in singles, is a longtime advocate for gender equality and inclusion in sports and beyond.

Members of the High School Girls Flag League of Champions and the girls youth tackle football players from the Inglewood Chargers and the Watts Rams will also join the coin toss, the NFL said.

“It is an honor to stand with these outstanding student athletes and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX on one of the world’s biggest stages,” King said in a statement released by the NFL. “It’s hard to understand inclusion until you have been excluded, and I am proud to be part of this year’s Super Bowl Coin Toss and the NFL’s commitment to bring us together and make us stronger.”

After an undefeated season last year, the Cubs’ varsity football team won the division championship game, a first in the school’s 68-year history. And while they did not make it to the state championship after losing to Faith Baptist at the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship, the team had already inspired many across California and beyond.

“This grit showcased to other football players and people across that country that the deaf community defies stereotypes, that they can do anything with hard work and dedication,” the NFL said in a statement.

Ahead of the division championship game, some of the players and their coach, Keith Adams, spoke with ABC News through an ALS translator.

“It’s inspiring for the deaf community quite honestly — 11 and 0. We’ve never experienced being this far in playoffs,” Adams said in the November 2021 interview. “The community is so excited, the morale has been uplifted, the self-esteem of our players — you can see a major difference.”

Asked what he hopes the Cubs’ story of triumph will teach others, Zornoza, who is taking part in the Super Bowl coin toss, said he hopes the attention they are getting nationwide will inspire other deaf kids and give them hope.

“We can do anything. Deaf people can do anything,” he told ABC News in November. “We’re not this stereotype that’s out there.”

“We’re breaking news that we can do it right,” Zornoza continued. “And not just our school here but other schools for the deaf can do it as well.”

The Super Bowl is set to take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, just outside Los Angeles, where the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals will face off.

FDA authorizes new monoclonal antibody treatment to fight omicron

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a new monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19, shown to hold up against the omicron variant and BA.2 subvariant.

The drug, called bebtelovimab from Eli Lilly, is a monoclonal therapy meant for COVID-19 patients as young as 12 who are at high risk for getting severely ill and who were recently infected, to keep them from getting even sicker and keep them out of the hospital.

The authorization comes after months of explosive spread of the omicron variant has squeezed an already finite arsenal of COVID-19 medicines.

Lilly’s previous monoclonal treatment was one of the two the government bought in bulk that have been shown to fail against omicron, leaving the federal government scrambling to stock up on functional omicron therapies. Meanwhile, the treatments that have been shown to work against omicron have been scarce — forcing difficult choices about which patients in need should get that limited supply.

On the eve of authorization, the Biden administration announced it had purchased 600,000 doses of bebtelovimab for at least $720 million. The plan is to get roughly 300,000 doses out this month, and another 300,000 in March. The contract also includes a future option for 500,000 more doses, if necessary.

The authorization brings the number of treatments for omicron in the U.S. to four, though production is still ramping up. The other options include the monoclonal therapy sotrovimab, from Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline; and two antiviral pills, Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s Molnupiravir.

Daniel Skovronsky, Eli Lilly’s chief scientific and medical officer and president of their research labs, said in an interview with ABC News that the company began working on the therapy more than a year ago — long before omicron emerged — in hopes of being “future proof” for a range of variants and anything else that might come down the road.

It was meant as a “break glass in case of emergency” solution, Skovronsky said.

But once the new variant caught on, which the mainstay treatments failed against, getting a new one authorized suddenly became critical.

“Once omicron was identified, there was urgency in making sure that this antibody worked against it, and working with the government to try and make it available as quickly as possible to patients,” Skovronsky said. “It’s an unusual situation where you’re trying to fight a disease that in some sense doesn’t exist yet. … We can’t protect ourselves from something wholly new that the world has never seen before.”

Lilly’s new drug is authorized to be given as an intravenous injection from a health care provider — a notable change from the arduous hourslong infusion that came with previous monoclonal antibodies, a process that requires a great deal of clinical manpower. It must be administered within seven days of symptom onset.

“Today’s action makes available another monoclonal antibody that shows activity against omicron, at a time when we are seeking to further increase supply,” Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement, calling the new emergency use authorization “an important step in meeting the need for more tools to treat patients as new variants of the virus continue to emerge.”

“We’re already working on the next generation antibodies, looking for things that bind in different ways than bebtelovimab so that in case this one ultimately is overcome by virus mutants we’ll have something else to offer,” Skovronsky said. “You have to stay one step ahead of this virus.”

ABC News’ Eric M. Strauss and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse release animated video for new song “Don’t Forget Love” ahead of Valentine’s Day

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

With Valentine’s Day taking place this Monday, Neil Young & Crazy Horse have debuted a new animated lyric video for their song “Don’t Forget Love,” which appears on the group’s latest album, Barn.

The clip, which was directed by Neil’s wife, actress Daryl Hannah, features a series of animated drawings created by Gary Ward. Among the many images depicted in the art are a human heart, a couple kissing, a hand flashing a peace sign, a hand holding a few roses, a rain cloud, a rainbow, the sun shining on the moon and the Earth, and animals including bears, an owl, a dove and a blackbird.

The delicate song features sparse instrumentation, driven by piano, with lyrics that encourage “don’t forget love” when negative things are happening in your life.

In a brief video interview with Young posted in December on his YouTube channel, Neil explains, “I wrote that song for myself so that whenever I start to lose it I can just listen to that and go, ‘I wrote that. Why can’t I just do that?’ So, you know, a lot of it’s cheap therapy. Very cheap.”

As previously reported, Barn was recorded last June in a restored 19th century barn Young owns in the Colorado Rockies, and was released in December. A documentary about the making of the album, also called Barn and which Hannah also directed, premiered around the same time as the record’s release, and currently is streaming for free on Neil’s YouTube channel.

‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic speaks from prison in 1st interview since being resentenced in murder-for-hire plot

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Okla.) — Joe Exotic, the larger-than-life Netflix star from the hit show “Tiger King: Murder Mayhem and Madness,” is speaking out from prison a month after being re-sentenced for a murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin and for violating the Lacy Act and Endangered Species Act.

Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was resentenced to 21 years in prison on charges of perpetrating the murder-for-hire scheme and for the killing and selling of tigers.

During his trial, it was alleged he had hired a hit man for $3,000 to travel from Oklahoma to Florida to murder Baskin. Separately, it was alleged he tried again to hire a hit man for $10,000 to murder Baskin in December 2017, but that person was actually an undercover FBI agent.

Exotic has adamantly maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal the conviction.

“How can you even expect somebody to go from Oklahoma to Florida to scope her out, however long that would take and back, on $3,000? That is absurd,” Joe Exotic told ABC News during a phone interview from Pottawatomie County Jail.

He added that he’s hoping to submit a motion for a new trial as early as this week.

Released on March 20, 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, millions tuned in to the seven-part docuseries that chronicled the life of Joe Exotic, the owner of the G.W. Zoo, where he imported and bred big cats.

In the nearly two years since the series was released, Netflix reports that the series has been streamed by 64 million viewers.

Exotic claims he’s not one of them.

“I have not seen nothing,” said Joe Exotic. “Look, I have received and answered back over 11,000 letters, but every letter told me — I get letters from 8-year-old kids to 95-year-old grandmothers — and every letter says it’s because I was unapologetic.”

“I stood up for what I believed in and because I’m not ashamed of who I am,” he added.

Baskin, the owner of Big Cat Rescue in Florida, had accused Exotic of animal abuse and ignited a long-standing dispute that bankrupted Exotic and his zoo.

Joe Exotic denied ever treating his animals badly.

“What are they calling treating animals badly? Keeping them in cages?” said Exotic. “If people saw my videos on the YouTube channel, I walk in a cage with 24 full-grown tigers and lions at a time. Do you think if I abuse them, they would allow that?”

The series also sparked interest in the cold case of the disappearance of Baskin’s ex-husband, Don Lewis.

Since Lewis’ disappearance in 1997, authorities have not identified any suspects and his body has never been found. During the series, Exotic claimed that Baskin fed Lewis to her tigers, a claim that Baskin has repeatedly denied.

While in custody, Exotic aimed to author a tell-all memoir that set the record straight, but said he was disappointed by the final product.

“Keep in mind, I didn’t promote that book because they edited my whole story… I’m disgusted by the way I’ve been exploited,” he said. “Get on the internet and Google ‘Joe Exotic’ and hit the shop button and look, everybody in the world is making money off of me, but me.”

Exotic is also dealing with early-stage prostate cancer while in prison. He had petitioned a judge last month to reduce his sentence based on the disease, but the term was only lessened from 22 years to 21.

“I’m losing weight real bad and the sores in my mouth are unbearable to live with all the time,” said Exotic. “But you know, in the three and a half years that I’ve been in custody, I’ve been taken to the hospital 43 times.”

Even while incarcerated, Exotic maintains a cult following. He said he wants his fans to keep up the support.

“They have seen the show. They’ve seen the characters. They’ve seen my lawyers provide some of the evidence. All I can say to them is keep believing in me,” said Exotic. “I’m not going to let you down. I love each and every one of you people.”

3,000 more US troops from 82nd Airborne head to Poland amid Ukraine invasion concerns

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has ordered 3,000 more soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to Poland as tensions continued to mount about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, a senior defense official said Friday.

The deployment of the additional troops to Poland came as the White House warned that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin during the Olympics and urged all American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country over the next 24 to 48 hours.

“At the direction of the President, Secretary Austin today ordered to Poland the remaining 3,000 soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team based at Fort Bragg, N.C.,” said a senior U.S. defense official. “These troops will depart Fort Bragg over the next couple of days. They are expected to be in place by early next week.”

The additional paratroopers will join the 1,700 soldiers from the same unit who began arriving in Poland earlier this week to help prepare the infrastructure needed if additional American forces were deployed to Poland.

Those soldiers were part of a deployment announced last week that included sending 300 soldiers from the 18th Airborne Corps headquarters unit to Germany and sending 1,000 soldiers from the 2nd Stryker Regiment based in Germany to Romania.

“They are being deployed to reassure our NATO allies, deter any potential aggression against NATO’s eastern flank, train with host-nation forces, and contribute to a wide range of contingencies,” said the senior defense official.

Those soldiers from the 82nd Airborne have been arriving at an airport in southeast Poland located 60 miles form the border with Ukraine. A U.S. official has told ABC News that these troops would be prepared to provide assistance to any American citizens fleeing Ukraine by land.

“These additional deployments are temporary in nature, meant to supplement for a brief time the more than 80,000 U.S. troops already in Europe on rotational and permanent orders,” said the senior defense official. The 3,000 troops now headed to Poland were not among the 8,500 troops based in the United States who had been put on “heightened alert” two weeks ago in case they needed to be deployed on short notice as part of the NATO Response Force.

Additional U.S. aircraft and accompanying personnel already in Europe have moved closer to NATO’s eastern flank as tensions have grown in recent days.

Eight American F-15 fighter jets along with about 130 troops with the 493 Fighter Squadron based in the United Kingdom arrived in Poland Thursday.

“The extra fighters will bolster readiness and Allied deterrence and defense as Russia continues military build-up in and around Ukraine,” a statement from U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa said.

Another squadron of Air Force F-16 fighters based in Germany arrived in Romania on Friday.

Additional naval power has also been sent to the European region, with four U.S.-based destroyers deployed to “participate in a range of maritime activities in support of the U.S. Sixth Fleet and our NATO allies,” according to the U.S. Navy.

While not confirming the deployment of the four ships is directly tied to tensions with Russia, a Navy official noted that they destroyers bring options to the region.

“One of the unique values of naval forces is their mobility and ability to deploy for a range of contingencies and operations,” the official said. “These deployments provide additional flexibility to the Sixth Fleet Commander.”

Sting’s releases “Por Su Amor,” a Spanish version of his recent song “For Her Love”

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Sting‘s latest solo album, 2021’s The Bridge, features a song titled “For Her Love.” Now the former Police frontman has released a Spanish-language version of the tune called “Por Su Amor.”

The new track, which is available now globally via digital outlets, was recorded during Sting’s recent trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where he was inspired by the scenery of Baja, California, and the views of the Gulf of California.

The Spanish lyrics for “Por Su Amor” were written by musician, songwriter and producer Martin Kierszenbaum, who is also Sting’s manager. Martin also co-wrote of “For Her Love” and co-produced The Bridge album with Sting, as well as contributing contributed keyboards to “Por Su Amor” and The Bridge.

You can check out a lyric video for “Por Su Amor” at Sting’s official YouTube channel.

Sting will give “Por Su Amor” its premiere performance on the 2022 edition of the long-running Latin music awards show Premio Lo Nuestro, which will air February 24 on Univision.

Sting has recorded other songs in Spanish in the past, as well as in Portuguese and French.

Ray Stevenson reportedly playing a baddie in Disney+ ‘Star Wars’ series ‘Ahsoka’

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Well, he’s a baddie, but he’s probably not THE baddie. The Hollywood Reporter notes Irish character actor Ray Stevenson has been tapped to play a villain in the upcoming small-screen Star Wars spinoff Ahsoka.

As previously reported, the series will center on Rosario Dawson‘s titular one-time Jedi, who has appeared in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Her arc on Mandalorian‘s second season hinted at what the thrust of her own series would be: the hunt for an evil genius of an Imperial leader called Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Born from the pages of Star Wars novels, the blue-skinned Admiral Thrawn was voiced to fan acclaim by Lars Mikkelsen in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, which ended with the cunning strategist vanishing into hyperspace to points unknown after a clash with young Jedi Ezra Bridger, who also went missing. It’s likely Ahsoka will see the heroine both searching for both her friend and hunting her foe.

While it’s speculation at this point, it’s likely Stevenson isn’t playing Thrawn — although they’re both six-feet three-inches tall, geeks will testify. Either way, if tradition holds, Lucasfilm won’t confirm what role he’s filling until shortly before Ahsoka debuts next year.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Australian actor Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Ukrainian actress Ivanna Sakhno, and Hayden Christensen also will star in the series, the latter reprising his role as Ahsoka’s former master, Anakin Skywalker.

‘Lost’ star Jorge Garcia cast in Rob Zombie’s ‘The Munsters’ film

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Lost alum Jorge Garcia has joined the cast of Rob Zombie‘s upcoming The Munsters film.

According to the “Dragula” rocker, Garcia will play an original character named Floop in the movie. Zombie describes Floop as the “hunchback assistant” of the character Dr. Wolfgang, as well as Herman Munster’s “best buddy.”

Garcia, you may recall, played Hurley on all six seasons of Lost. His other credits include roles in the Hawaii Five-0 reboot and the Adam Sandler film The Ridiculous Six. He also has a connection to the music world, having been the cover model for Weezer‘s 2010 album, Hurley.

Zombie’s The Munsters, an adaptation of the classic 1960s TV show, is currently filming in Budapest. Sherri Moon Zombie, Rob’s wife and frequent star of his films, will play Lily Munster, while Herman is set to be portrayed by Jeff Daniel Phillips.

Ryan Reynolds planted photos of himself in Hugh Jackman’s dressing room on opening night of ‘The Music Man’

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Ryan Reynolds has pulled another prank on his pal Hugh Jackman, perfectly timed for the Australian actor’s opening night on Broadway in a revival of The Music Man.

Friday morning, Jackman tweeted a photo of his dressing room at New York City’s Winter Garden Theatre, where he said he’d been greeted with “Gorgeous flowers, champagne and heartfelt well wishes” from friends.

Those weren’t pictured, however: Instead Jackman showed a pair of framed photos that had been stashed in his room: a black and white snap of Reynolds clicking his heels together in mid-air, and a sepia-toned sketch of the Free Guy star.

“I am blessed,” Jackman continued, “And then, there’s him.”

Report: Rihanna considering baby name that honors her Barbadian heritage

February 11, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Although we don’t know when Rihanna will give birth to her first child, we may know a bit about what she will name her little one.

According to Us Weekly, the “Umbrella” singer will chose a name that honors both her and father A$AP Rocky’s heritage. “Rihanna wants her Barbados heritage honored when she names her child, [as well as] A$AP’s roots,” a source dished to the outlet. “They want both of their cultures included. It is very important to them to keep where they are from passed down to their child.”

The insider adds Rihanna has her work cut out for her because she “has admiration for so many strong women and men in her family” and that means she has “a lot of names to pick from for a starting point.”

This will be the first child for Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, both 33, who confirmed in a series of intimate photos last month that they were expecting. The two have yet to reveal a due date, or if they’re painting the nursery blue or pink.

But, going off a previous report from Us Weekly, we might get an answer this spring because — according to another one of their alleged insiders — that’s when the baby is due.

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