Page 7096 – 105.7 WDNY

Suspect confesses to killing missing British journalist, Indigenous expert in Brazil: Police

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A search in the deep Brazilian Amazon for missing British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous rights expert Bruno Araujo Pereira has now turned into a homicide investigation, Brazilian federal police confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday.

In a press conference from Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas state, Federal Police Chief Alexandre Fontes confirmed that the main suspect — Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, known as “Pelado” — confessed to police that he killed Phillips, 57, and Pereira, 41, on Sunday, June 5.

According to the police, Oseney da Costa Oliveira, Pelado’s brother, did not admit any involvement in the crime. He was arrested for aggravated murder and will remain in custody, police said.

The latest development comes after human remains were found on Friday in the remote Javari Valley region of Brazil, near the border with Peru. Police told ABC News on Wednesday that forensic exams are still being conducted on the remains to positively determine if they are Phillips and Pereira.

Phillips’ wife, Alessandra Sampaio, told ABC News that police have informed her that the two bodies recovered from the Javari Valley are likely those of her husband and Pereira.

The men went missing on June 5 while on a boat trip on the Amazon as part of a reporting project Phillips is working on.

Federal police identified Oseney da Costa Pereira as the man detained for questioning in the missing persons case. He is the brother of Amarildo da Costa Pereira, who has been detained since last week after blood was found on his fishing boat. Police are testing the blood to see if it matches either of the missing men.

Witnesses told police the brothers’ boat was seen traveling behind one Phillips and Bruno Pereira were on around the time they disappeared, Brazilian authorities said.

Police said Amarildo da Costa Pereira has denied any involvement in the men’s disappearance, claiming he stayed home on June 5 and went out hunting the following day.

The da Costa Pereira brothers have not been charged in the case, police said.

At least five other people have been questioned since the investigation started but no arrests related to the disappearances have been made, a source with the Brazilian federal police told ABC News.

Phillips, 57, and Pereira, 41, were last heard from by colleagues while traveling by boat in the Javari Valley region of the Amazon, relatives said.

Phillips was doing research on patrol teams Bruno Pereira had helped create to crack down on illegal fishing and hunting, an initiative that prompted threats against Bruno Pereira, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Phillips was on one of his last reporting trips for an upcoming book he was writing as part of a 2021 fellowship awarded by the Alicia Patterson Foundation, according to Margaret Engel, the foundation’s executive director.

There was an international outcry after accusations surfaced that responding agencies were slow to act in investigating the disappearances.

At a vigil outside the Brazilian embassy in London last Thursday, Phillips’ family members urged Brazilian authorities to keep investigating.

“We want to find out what is happening to them and we want anyone responsible for any criminal acts to be brought to justice,” Phillips’ sister, Sian Phillips, said. “We want a persistent, deep and open investigation.”

The family’s calls were joined by environmentalist groups, activists, celebrities and news organizations.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro initially appeared to cast blame on Phillips and Bruno Pereira, saying they “were on an adventure that is not recommended.” He continued, “It could be an accident, it could be that they were executed, anything could have happened.”

Those comments were “obviously upsetting” to the family said Paul Sherwood, Sian Phillips’ partner.

People close to Phillips and Pereira refuted that they were on a reckless excursion. Engel, who was collaborating with Phillips on his upcoming book, said, “Nothing he did was off-the-cuff.”

“He was not naïve about the dangers that were there,” she said.

Soraya Zaiden, who worked closely with Pereira at the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja), a local organization assisting in the search for the missing men, said Pereira was unlikely to put anyone in danger.

Violence has taken place in the past in the Javari Valley, where illegal mining activities, drug trafficking and deforestation is resisted by groups trying to preserve the rainforest and the culture of its Indigenous inhabitants. A member of the Brazilian government agency FUNAI, which is tasked with protecting Indigenous peoples’ interests, was shot and killed in the Javari Valley in 2019, advocates told ABC News.

Jan. 6 committee raises new questions about GOP congressman’s Capitol complex tour on Jan. 5

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House Jan. 6 select committee on Wednesday released video footage of GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk leading constituents on a tour around the Capitol complex on Jan. 5 — that included a nearby office building but not the Capitol itself — and it claimed that one of the participants marched to the Capitol the next day and made “detailed” threats against members of Congress.

The committee’s move comes after Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a letter the tour was not suspicious, although the committee said the footage raises questions because it appears to show several participants taking photos of the stairways and tunnel systems connecting the Capitol to members’ office buildings.

“Based on our review of surveillance video, social media activity, and witness accounts, we understand you led a tour group through parts of the Capitol complex on January 5, 2021. That group stayed for several hours, despite the complex being closed to the public on that day,” Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., wrote.

“Surveillance footage shows a tour of approximately ten individuals led by you to areas in the Rayburn, Longworth, and Cannon House Office Buildings, as well as the entrances to tunnels leading to the U.S. Capitol,” he continued. “Individuals on the tour photographed and recorded areas of the complex not typically of interest to tourists, including hallways, staircases, and security checkpoints.”

At the same time, the letter from the committee does not suggest that anyone on the tour entered the Capitol that day or has been charged with wrongdoing.

2022-6-15.BGT Letter to Rep… by ABC News Politics

Loudermilk heatedly denied any wrongdoing in a statement he tweeted soon after, accusing the committee of a “smear campaign” and claiming “no one” in his Jan. 5 tour group has been “criminally charged” in relation to Jan. 6.

[1/5] The Capitol Police already put this false accusation to bed, yet the Committee is undermining the Capitol Police and doubling down on their smear campaign, releasing so-called evidence of a tour of the House Office Buildings, which I have already publicly addressed. https://t.co/yqIpQ6jSG9

— Rep. Barry Loudermilk (@RepLoudermilk) June 15, 2022

In his letter made public Tuesday, Manger told the top Republican on the House Administration Committee that there was “no evidence” that Loudermilk gave “reconnaissance” tours before the Jan. 6 attack.

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol had requested information from Loudermilk, a Georgia Republican, suggesting in a May letter that he may be linked to a tour through parts of the Capitol on the day before the attack.

Manger told Rep. Rodney Davis, an Illinois Republican, that no such tours were conducted and that Loudermilk was giving a tour to constituents.

“As I’ve said since the Jan. 6 Committee made their baseless accusation about me to the media, I never gave a tour of the Capitol on Jan 5, 2021 and a small group visiting their congressman is in no way a suspicious activity,” Loudermilk said in a tweet Tuesday. “Now the Capitol Police have confirmed this fact.”

Rep. Mickie Sherill, a New Jersey Democrat, alleged in a January 2021 letter that she witnessed tours being conducted the day before Jan. 6.

“The tours being conducted on Tuesday, January 5, were a noticeable and concerning departure from the procedures in place in March of 2020 that limited the number of visitors to the Capitol,” Sherill wrote. “These tours were so concerning they were reported to the Sargent (sic) at Arms on January 5.”

Manger’s letter says that the group of 15 people entered the Rayburn House Office building and was met by a Loudermilk staffer and then went to the congressman’s office and then to the Cannon House Office Building basement.

“At no time did the group appear in any tunnels that would have led them to the U.S. Capitol. In addition, the tunnels leading to the U.S. Capitol were posted with USCP officers and admittance to the U.S. Capitol without a Member of Congress was not permitted on January 5, 2021,” the letter said.

Manger says officers are trained to see anything suspicious and what individuals did on Loudermilk’s tour was not.

“There is no evidence that Representative Loudermilk entered the U.S. Capitol with this group on January 5, 2021,” he writes. “We train our officers on being alert for people conducting surveillance or reconnaissance, and we do not consider any of the activities we observed as suspicious.”

Gay men push back on body shaming amid high rates of body dysmorphia, eating disorders

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A growing number of gay men are publicly pushing back against what they say is bullying within the gay community over how they look, and in many cases using social media to do so.

Sam Coffie, who calls himself full-figured and posts his body with pride on social media, said as a gay man he has seen his dating life impacted by his appearance.

“I’ve had someone actually say, ‘If you lost a little bit more weight, I think we could go on a date,'” Coffie told ABC News’ Good Morning America.

Coffie said he feels gay culture in the United States has an “unwritten” and “unspoken” Adonis complex. The term refers to the anxiety and insecurity boys and men experience about their appearance and body image, according to The Adonis Complex, a book published in 2000 that gave the condition its name.

“People internalize, ‘I have to create this body image. I have to live up to this. I have to fight for this. I have to strive for this. I have to starve for this. I have to almost die for this in order for me to have my moment of worth here,'” said Coffie.

Nicko Cassidy said he has also faced body shaming as a gay man, explaining that body expectations he faced in college led him to extreme dieting.

“I think it’s definitely deep rooted the shame from childhood and growing up just to be who we are,” said Cassidy, adding that he faced taunts of being “so gay” and “fat” while in college. “And I think that shame kind of comes out and portrays it as like a little bit more of a superficial.”

Data shows that gay men have higher rates of eating disorders and other body image issues.

According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), gay males are thought to only represent 5% of the total male population but among males who have eating disorders, 42% identify as gay.

In addition to facing eating disorders, gay men had lower self-esteem related to their bodies and greater concerns for physical attractiveness when compared to straight men, according to a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

As with all populations, body dysmorphia and eating disorders in the gay community can often be fueled by social media, experts say, including dating apps and posts that showcase a false notion of the perfect man.

Experts say the body shaming some gay men experience comes with medical risks.

“The pursuit of the ideal body or the pursuit of perfection can certainly be damaging,” said Jason Whitesel, an Illinois State University professor and the author of Fat Gay Men: Girth, Mirth, and the Politics of Stigma. “When you think about body dysmorphia, it may be associated with eating disturbances and that kind of pursuit can lead to depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues.”

Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent and a board-certified OBGYN, described body shaming in the gay community as a “medical issue.”

“There are associated medical risks here. It’s not just a cosmetic issue,” said Ashton, noting that body dysmorphia is associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety, substance abuse and a higher associated risk of death.

According to Ashton, a misconception when it comes to body image and eating disorder struggles is that friends and family can help by trying to reason with the person, when those struggles are in fact psychological conditions.

“The theory in psychology and psychiatry is that this is a detachment from reality,” said Ashton. “Oftentimes it’s the only way that person can exert any control over his or her life, by controlling what they look like and what they eat.”

She continued, “It’s not as simple as you’re just wanting to look like a magazine ad. It’s a true psychiatric and psychological condition.”

For people who are struggling, Ashton said her number one advice is to seek professional help.

“As intimidating and scary as that may seem, there is help available,” she said.

The National Eating Disorder Association has an eating disorder screening tool that is free and available online for people ages 13 and older.

The association also has a free helpline that is available by phone and text at 800-931-2237 and online chat HERE.

Carrie Underwood’s sons just might have inherited her talent for entertainment: “They’re not shy”

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

After a fan posted a hilarious video of Carrie Underwood’s two sons dancing in the background of her Grand Ole Opry show last week, the singer admits that she wasn’t too surprised at how comfortable they were in front of a crowd — they’re both natural performers.

“They’re not shy, that’s for sure,” Carrie tells ET Online, referring to seven-year-old Isaiah and three-year-old Jacob.

The singer adds that she attributes her sons’ zany Opry antics to late nights out. “That was called, ‘It’s way past my bedtime,’” she jokes.

“The little one, Jake, he was just trying to not stop moving, because if he did, he was going to fall asleep,” Carrie goes on to say. “…You also have this, like, false sense of security at the Opry…you’re kind of back there in the dark, and you feel like nobody can see you. I feel like nobody really thought twice about them being there and acting crazy.”

Måneskin premiering ‘Elvis’ soundtrack song “If I Can Dream” this week

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Måneskin will be premiering their contribution to the soundtrack for the Elvis Presley biopic Elvis this week.

The Italian rockers put their spin on the 1968 song “If I Can Dream,” which is set to drop this Friday, June 17.

“Feeling so grateful to have had the chance to cover the King for [director Baz Luhrmann‘s] movie and recorded it in Graceland,” Måneskin says. “We can’t wait to share all of these emotions with you.”

You can listen to a clip of the recording, which is accompanied by a video of Måneskin entering the famed Memphis mansion and visiting Elvis’ grave, now via the “Beggin'” band’s Twitter.

Elvis, which stars Austin Butler in the title role and Tom Hanks as his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, premieres in theaters June 24. Its soundtrack also includes contributions from Jack White, Tame Impala, Gary Clark Jr. and Stevie Nicks.

Def Leppard promises “crown jewels” & more on pandemic-delayed Stadium Tour: “It’s gonna be even bigger”

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Def Leppard has certainly been waiting ages to rock on the Stadium Tour.

The much-anticipated run — which also features the reunited Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts on the bill — will finally kick off Thursday in Atlanta after a two-year pandemic delay. As Def Leppard bassist Rick Savage tells ABC Audio, he and his bandmates have been “dying” to return to the live stage.

“Back in 2020, it was going to be the biggest tour that Def Leppard have ever embarked upon, which after 40-odd years is some achievement,” Savage says. “It’s actually now … it’s gonna be even bigger.”

Def Leppard has released a whole lot of music in those 40-odd years — including a new album this year, Diamond Star Halos — which makes building a set list quite the challenge. While the band will be varying up the set throughout the tour, they’re always sure to include their “crown jewels,” which frontman Joe Elliott describes as “the songs you don’t get out the building alive if you don’t play.”

“Which is great, ’cause we wanna play them, anyway,” Elliott says. “You know, the Stones have got theirs, McCartney‘s got his, we’ve got ours.”

As for the new stuff, guitarist Phil Collen guesses two Diamond Star Halos tracks will be included in the set, and possibly another, depending on how fans are digging the record. After all, if a new tune were to unexpectedly pop, it wouldn’t be the first time for Def Leppard.

“‘Love Bites’ went to #1 on the Billboard charts and we’d never even played it as a band, it was studio thing,” Collen recalls. “We had to go and learn it in Vancouver and learn the vocals and guitar parts at the same time.”

David Bowie’s landmark ‘Ziggy Stardust’ album was released 50 years ago today

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Fifty years ago today, on June 16, 1972, David Bowie released his classic fifth studio album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, one of the defining recordings of the glam-rock era.

The record was a loose concept album focusing Ziggy Stardust, a character Bowie created as an alter ego that was an androgynous bisexual alien rock star, and his mythical backing group, The Spiders from Mars.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars peaked at #5 on the U.K. albums chart in 1972, while in the U.S. it initially only reached #75 on the Billboard 200. After Bowie’s death in 2016, the album enjoyed its highest chart position in the U.S. — #21.

Only one single was released from the Ziggy Stardust album, “Starman,” which reached #10 on the U.K. singles chart, although it only peaked at #65 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100. The album did feature several other classic Bowie songs, including such enduring tunes as “Moonage Daydream,” “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City.”

Bowie and his real band — guitarist Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Mick “Woody” Woodmansey — took on the personas of Ziggy and The Spiders from Mars in concert, and toured together for about a year and a half. Then, at the end of a July 3, 1973, show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, David dramatically declared onstage that the group had just played its last gig.

In 2020, Ziggy Stardust was ranked #40 on Rolling Stone‘s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list.

In honor of Ziggy Stardust‘s 50th anniversary, a new mix of Bowie’s historic 1972 performance of “Starman” on the U.K.’s Top of the Pops TV show was released as a special streaming single today.

Here’s the full Ziggy Stardust track list:

Side One
“Five Years”
“Soul Love”
“Moonage Daydream”
“Starman”
“It Ain’t Easy”

Side Two
“Lady Stardust”
“Star”
“Hang On to Yourself”
“Ziggy Stardust”
“Suffragette City”
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”

Juneteenth: a teachable moment of forgotten history

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

While most Americans prepare to celebrate the country’s freedom on July 4, many Black people in the United States recognize June 19 as their independence day.

What’s widely known as Juneteenth, but also referred to as Jubilee Day or Black Independence Day, is the significant date in Black history when the last enslaved African Americans found out about their freedom. The news was delivered to Black people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which lawfully marked the end of slavery for those of the Southern Confederate states.

With Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to hold the second-highest office in the executive branch, by his side, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law last year, on June 17, 2021. But the African American community had been celebrating long before Juneteenth was made a federal holiday.

Those celebrations normally include music, food, and traditions such as the singing of the national Black anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” But some stars, like Naomi Raine of the Grammy-winning gospel group Maverick City Music, plan to commemorate the holiday differently this year. Raine will open up honest conversations with her children.

“I think everybody’s kind of evolving how they’re celebrating this holiday because some of it is just coming to light for many of us,” Raine told ABC Audio. “Now, it’s more about educating my children and letting them know the roots of our nation and talking about how freedom is for everybody.”

The country’s delayed acknowledgement of what has long been an erased part of American history encourages Black people to research and educate themselves on unknown facts about their ancestry.

The 157th anniversary of Juneteenth is this Sunday, June 19.

Phil Rosenthal shares more of ‘Earth’s greatest hits’ in new season of ‘Somebody Feed Phil’

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The new season of Somebody Feed Phil, where host Phil Rosenthal travels the world and discovers delicious bites, is out now on Netflix.

Since the show has been airing, Rosenthal tells ABC Audio he’s gotten some insight into which locations have been fan favorites.

“There was one city that we went to that became the #1 place that people tell me they went to because of the show. And that’s Lisbon,” he says. “You don’t think of it. We say you go to Europe or you go to Paris, Barcelona, you know, Rome. Lisbon doesn’t come to the front of the list. Now it’s on the top of the list because they saw it. And once you see it and you see it’s almost an amalgam of all the great other European cities and not as crowded, you’re like, ‘We got to go there.’”

This season, Rosenthal visits Maine; Oregon; Oaxaca, Mexico; Helsinki, Finland; and Madrid, Spain. Of all the places he’s traveled to, he shares that his favorite dish was right here in the USA.

“There’s a lobster roll in Maine that’s pretty awesome, at Red’s Eats,” he says. “It’s undeniable. I mean, if there’s a heaven, that’s one of the places that’s like God’s favorite hangout.”

Still, Rosenthal is certain there’s more to see. He shared that if Netflix renews the show for another season there will be many more scenic destinations and, of course, amazing eats.

“We start with Earth’s greatest hits. Even though we’ve done about 30 of these, we still haven’t scratched the surface of the Earth in terms of the great places to go,” Rosenthal says. “There’s … countries, whole countries, that we haven’t even set foot in yet that I can’t wait to go to. I guess the longer we go, the less well-known the places will become.”

Scoreboard roundup — 6/15/22

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City 3, San Francisco 2
Cleveland 7, Colorado 5
LA Dodgers 4, LA Angels 1

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Chi White Sox 13, Detroit 0
Houston 9, Texas 2
Minnesota 5, Seattle 0
Toronto 7, Baltimore 6
NY Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 3
Boston 10, Oakland 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 3, Miami 1
Arizona 7, Cincinnati 4
Milwaukee 10, NY Mets 2
Atlanta 8, Washington 2
Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 4
San Diego 19, Chi Cubs 5

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Colorado 4, Tampa Bay 3 (OT) (Colorado leads 1-0)

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Las Vegas 92, Dallas 84
Phoenix 93, Indiana 80
Connecticut 105, Atlanta 92

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Orlando City 1, New England 1 (Tie)

+ More