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Bridgeport NAACP asks DOJ to investigate police department following Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls cases

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BRIDGEPORT, Conn.) — A Bridgeport, Connecticut, chapter of the NAACP is demanding the Department of Justice investigate the Bridgeport Police Department over the cases of two Black women, Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls, who were both found dead in their homes.

The demand comes after two Bridgeport police detectives assigned to both cases, were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the police department’s internal affairs office.

The detectives were disciplined due to a “lack of sensitivity to the public and failure to follow police policy” in the handling of the two cases, according to a statement from Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim on Jan. 30.

Rawls was found dead and alone in her home on Dec. 12, 2021. The cause and manner of death are still undetermined, according to the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Smith-Fields was found dead in her apartment that same day, shortly after being with a man she had met on a dating app.

The Connecticut chief medical examiner’s office found that Smith-Fields’ cause of death was “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, promethazine, hydroxyzine and alcohol.” The medical examiner ruled the manner of death an “accident.”

The families of Smith-Fields, 23, and Rawls, 53, claim Bridgeport police failed to notify them of the deaths and say they learned of the deaths from others.

During a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Bridgeport NAACP president Rev. D. Stanley Lord recommended new training, revised hiring practices, community input and oversight, and more in order to address criticisms of “insensitivity” and “prejudicial” treatment toward “Blacks and other citizens of color” from the department.

“The operation within the Bridgeport Police Department seems to be a constant disarray and dysfunction,” Lord said.

He added, “Recent actions by uniformed officers and detectives have cast a shadow on the performance of the department publicly and has made clear that there is a great need for diversity in its staff, its leadership, and decision-making practices.”

Lord reported that African Americans make up less than 15% of the Bridgeport Police Department. BPD confirmed the statistic.

However, Black Americans make up 35% of the city’s population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In a statement to ABC News from the city of Bridgeport, BPD said it “serves its residents and all members of our community regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or religion. Members of the Bridgeport Police Department are hired and promoted based upon a competitive Civil Service exam process.”

The families of Smith-Fields and Rawls have continued to call for proper investigations into their deaths following the mayor’s announcement. The cases have been reassigned and are still under active investigation.

“It is an unacceptable failure if policies were not followed,” Ganim said in his statement. “To the families, friends and all who care about the human decency that should be shown in these situations in this case by members of the Bridgeport Police Department, I am very sorry.”

The Bridgeport police union called the mayor’s decision to place the officers on leave “regrettable.”

“We caution against a rush to judgment until we have all the facts surrounding this case,” said Sgt. Brad Seely, the union president, in a statement obtained by ABC-affiliate WTNH. “We will file grievances over the placement of Dets. Llanos and Cronin on administrative leave to restore them back to full duty status.”

Seely cited staff shortages in calling for the return of the two detectives.

The union also extended “sympathy and sorrow to the families and friends of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Rawls, whose untimely deaths have brought unimaginable pain.”

Family sues hospital after they say DNA test indicates daughter isn’t related to dad

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — For Christmas two years ago, Jessica Harvey Galloway was gifted a home DNA test kit by her parents, mom Jeanine Harvey and her dad, John Harvey, who goes by Mike.

They never expected that the test they used from Ancestry.com would indicate that Jessica was not at all related to Mike, who is of Italian descent.

“We got the results and logged on. There’s Irish, English, German, Welsh, French all these things. And there’s no Italian Sicilian. I mean nothing,” Jessica recalled on “Good Morning America.”

Nearly 30 years ago, the Harveys turned to Dr. Nicholas J. Spirtos, a doctor at Summa Health System’s Akron Campus in Ohio to help them on their journey to becoming parents. With the help of IVF, the couple conceived a daughter.

But according to the family, the DNA test showed Jessica’s biological father was someone else entirely — a complete stranger to the family.

“It revealed a trauma that I never could have imagined. It’s taken every ounce of my power to remain strong for myself and my family as we try to move forward,” Jeanine Harvey told “GMA.”

“Learning that your entire reality isn’t what you believed it to be is hard to explain,” Mike Harvey added. “It’s like waking up in someone else’s life.”

Now, the Harveys are suing Summa Health and Dr. Spirtos, alleging they were the victims of medical malpractice, negligence and a breach of contract, among other claims, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by “GMA.”

The Harveys are being represented by Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise, LLP of Cleveland. One of their lawyers, Adam Wolf, told “GMA,” “You can’t go back in time and change things. All we can do at this point is demand accountability and demand regulation and oversight so that we don’t have more people in the Harvey situation.”

“We are aware of an allegation that has been made claiming in 1991 a patient was artificially inseminated with the semen from a person who is not her husband,” Summa Health said in a statement to “GMA.” “We take this allegation seriously and understand the impact this has on the family. At this point, we have not met with the family or conducted testing of our own. Given the very limited information that we have and the amount of time that has passed, it remains our hope that the attorneys representing the family will work with us to make that next step a priority.”

As for Jessica, who said she has always been passionate about her genealogy and father’s Italian heritage, she hopes to move past the shocking news.

“My priority going forward is focusing on my family, regardless of DNA or blood,” she said.

Gregory Michael withdraws guilty plea in federal case over Ahmaud Arbery murder

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — Gregory McMichael, the retired Georgia police officer convicted in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, informed a federal court Thursday evening that he has withdrawn his plans to plead guilty to federal hate crime charges connected to Arbery’s death after a federal judge this week rejected the terms of a plea agreement reached with the Justice Department.

Counsel for McMichael, the father of Travis McMichael, who shot Arbery in February 2020 three times at close range, informed U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Wood in a filing that they are now ready for him to stand trial on the federal hate crimes charges next week.

It is still not clear whether Travis McMichael similarly plans to withdraw his plans to plead guilty after the hearing earlier this week when Wood said she could not accept the terms of the plea agreement reached between the DOJ and the McMichaels, which would have constrained her ability to determine their sentence.

Wood told the men she wanted an answer by Friday.

If Travis McMichael also decides to withdraw his pleas, they will go to trial next week with their co-defendant William “Roddie” Bryan, who was not offered the same plea deal.

Gregory McMichael, 66, a retired Georgia police officer and his 36-year-old son were convicted of state murder charges last year along with Bryan, 52, and were all sentenced to life in prison, the McMichaels without the possibility of parole.

Friday’s decision by the McMichaels comes just days after Wood rejected a plea deal in which federal prosecutors guaranteed the men would be able to serve the first 30 years of confinement in federal prison.

During a hearing on Monday in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia, Wood said she felt “uncomfortable” approving a plea deal that locked her into giving the McMichaels a three-decade sentence in a federal penitentiary. She noted that the case was in its early stages and said, “I can’t say that 360 months is the precise, fair sentence in this case.”

Wood’s decision came on the heels of Arbery’s parents, Wanda Cooper-Jones and Marcus Arbery, giving impassioned statements in court. They asked the judge to deny the men their wish to go to federal prison, which is safer and better funded than most state prisons, according to legal experts.

“Granting these men their preferred conditions of confinement would defeat me,” Cooper-Jones told Wood. “It gives them one last chance to spit in my face after murdering my son.”

At Monday’s hearing, assistant U.S. attorney Tara Lyons said Travis and Gregory McMichael agreed to plead guilty to count one of a multi-count indictment alleging they interfered with Arbery’s right to enjoy the use of a public road he was jogging on “because of Arbery’s race and color.” Lyons said the agreement called for other charges to be dismissed, including attempted kidnapping and discharging a firearm during a violent crime.

The agreement also called for the McMichaels to waive their right to appeal in both the federal and state cases.

Arbery, 25, was fatally shot on Feb. 23, 2020, after the McMichaels saw him jogging in their Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia. They said they assumed Arbery was a burglar, armed themselves and chased him in their pickup truck. The McMichaels’ neighbor, Bryan, joined the pursuit, blocking the victim’s escape path with his truck.

Bryan also used his cellphone to record Travis McMichael fatally shooting Arbery with a shotgun, video that became integral to their state murder convictions.

The Wombats announce livestream of upcoming Los Angeles show

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Wombats will be livestreaming their upcoming sold-out show in Los Angeles.

The virtual festivities kick off February 25 at 7:55 p.m. PT via the streaming platform Veeps. For ticket info, visit TheWombatsOfficial.Veeps.com.

The LA show is the final date on The Wombats’ ongoing U.S. headlining tour in support of their new album Fix Yourself, Not the World, which dropped in January. It debuted at the top of the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, giving the U.K. trio their first number-one record in their home country.

Fix Yourself, Not the World features The Wombats’ current single, “If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming with You.”

Metallica asks for fan submissions in prepping ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’ box sets

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Metallica‘s ongoing deluxe reissue campaign is set to continue with Load and Reload, and, once again, the band is asking for your help.

In an email to members of their Met Club fan club, the metal legends write that they’re looking for any ‘Tallica-related memorabilia you may have dating between August 1995 through September 1998, including live photos, show flyers and ticket stubs.

Metallica previously asked for similar fan submissions for their previous five reissues: Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, …And Justice for All and The Black Album.

Should you have anything you’d like to share this time around, you can email Submissions@MetClub.com.

Load and Reload, released in 1996 and 1997, respectively, followed the massive success of 1991’s The Black Album, which turned Metallica from beloved metal outfit to stadium-headlining superstars. Though both records sold well and spawned hit singles including “Until It Sleeps,” “Hero of the Day,” “King Nothing,” “The Memory Remains” and “The Unforgiven II,” some longtime fans felt Metallica betrayed their thrash metal roots in favor of a more radio-friendly hard rock sound.

Rock Hall nominees including Pat Benatar, Eurythmics’ Annie Lennox, Carly Simon and more react to honor

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

In the wake of Tuesday’s announcement of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s nominees for induction in 2022, some of the artists shared their feelings about the good news on their social media pages or in interviews.

Pat Benatar, who previously was nominated for the honor in 2020, said in a joint statement with her husband and longtime guitarist and songwriting partner Neil Giraldo, “Thrilled to be nominated again for the RRHOF. Congratulations to all the nominees!”

Eurythmics, who were previously in the running for the honor in 2018, also notched their second nod this year. Singer Annie Lennox reacted to her group’s nomination by posting a still from the music video for their hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” along with a tongue-in-cheek message that reads, “Quote from Eurythmics Chapter ll Circa 1982…’Brethren! One day we will ALL be nominated into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in the sky and wooden cased computers like these will be reduced to pocket sized devices.'”

Carly Simon received her first Rock Hall nod this year. The singer-songwriter responded with a simple message that reads, “Hello! I can’t thank you enough for all of your support. I am thrilled to be nominated.”

Devo received their third nomination this year. The veteran New Wave band’s lead singer, Mark Mothersbaugh, was interviewed by Billboard and said about the Rock Hall, “Somebody there must like us, there’s somebody tenacious over there. We’ll see what happens. It’s a nice honor if it would happen — but I look at all the other people [nominated this year] and I would vote for them, too.”

The 2022 Rock Hall inductees will be announced in May. Fans can vote at RockHall.com for their favorite nominees through April 29.

Rock Hall nominees including Pat Benatar, Judas Priest and more react to honor

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Judas Priest, who received its third nomination this year, posted a video message from frontman Rob Halford expressing excitement about the latest nod.

“Hello, heavy metal maniacs,” Halford says in the clip. “As Judas Priest continues to celebrate our ongoing 50th Anniversary we’re absolutely thrilled and stoked and amped to be nominated for the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

He also encourages the band’s fans to vote for Priest via the online Rock Hall fan ballot to help “get some more heavy metal into the hallowed Halls of Fame!”

Devo also received their third nomination this year. The veteran New Wave band’s lead singer, Mark Mothersbaugh, was interviewed by Billboard and said about the Rock Hall, “Somebody there must like us, there’s somebody tenacious over there. We’ll see what happens. It’s a nice honor if it would happen — but I look at all the other people [nominated this year] and I would vote for them, too.”

As previously reported, the 2022 Rock Hall inductees will be announced in May, while the induction ceremony will take place this fall. Fans can vote at RockHall.com for their favorite nominees through April 29.

US bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, in isolation, still training and caring for son ahead of Olympics

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BEIJING) — The fear of testing positive for COVID is a constant stress hanging over athletes at the 2022 Winter Olympics, a fear realized for U.S. women’s bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor.

Meyers Taylor tested positive on day two after entering the country, which has forced her to isolate from her family and teammates while she quarantines.

The 37-year-old, who tested negative Wednesday, must test negative twice to return to the Olympic village.

“I was pretty shocked,” Meyers Taylor told ABC News Thursday. “We did everything we could to try and avoid it and still caught up to us anyways.”

The new mother is now isolated from her son, Nico, and her husband. The family traveled to China together for the Games.

Meyers Taylor said she can’t just focus on training while in isolation. She also needs to take care of her son, who was born in 2020 with Down syndrome and is still nursing.

“We FaceTime as much as we can and, you know, just trying to do everything we can to stay connected,” Meyers Taylor said.

Now that she has to isolate herself from her baby, she said she’s doing everything to make sure he’s OK. Team USA was able to find her a breast pump, and she said the hotel staff has been great at helping make milk deliveries.

Meyers Taylor said she’s thankful her husband is on the trip and can care for Nico while she isolates.

Being an Olympian and a mom takes a team, she said.

After arriving in the country with no problems, Meyers Taylor, her husband and son all tested positive. She said all are asymptomatic but have to quarantine separately in a Chinese isolation facility.

As Meyers Taylor waits out quarantine, she’s missing crucial training days ahead of her big competition; the first-ever running of the woman’s monobob. The three-time Olympian said she’s pumped for the new event.

“It feels like you’re flying. Like, it is just amazing and just the feeling of gravity, the feeling of pressure, the feeling of the wind rushing past you …” Meyers Taylor said. “It really does feel like you’re a superhero and the speed suits don’t hurt.”

As she trains in isolation, Meyers Taylor got an exercise bike dropped off at her hotel room to stay in shape. She said since her husband, who is also her physical trainer, is staying in an identical hotel room, he’s been able to devise a hotel workout plan for her to follow.

Meyers Taylor, who was selected as a flag bearer for Team USA at this year’s Winter Olympics, will not attend Friday’s Olympics Opening Ceremony because of COVID. Speed skater Brittany Bowe is set to replace Meyers Taylor at the ceremony.

“She was one of the first people to reach out to me after she learned I had COVID … that’s why sport is so important; you make relationships that last forever,” Meyers Taylor said.

Out of the 441 U.S. Olympic delegates in China, eight are in isolation, according to the International Olympic Committee.

Inside the Olympics closed loop, which separates athletes, team officials and members of the press from the rest of the Chinese population, athletes live under a daily regimen of temperature checks and COVID tests administered by workers dressed in full-body personal protective equipment.

First-time Olympians Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc told ABC News they felt safe practicing on the rink and were trying to focus on what was “within their control” despite the lingering COVID worries.

The two figure skaters made their debut on the ice Wednesday for their first practice on Beijing’s main rink.

Three thousand people will perform in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders Friday at the Opening Ceremony. There will be no official American delegation after the U.S. announced a diplomatic boycott of the games.

Jackie Chan carried the Olympic torch on top of the Great Wall of China on Thursday, as Beijing counted down the final day before the Games kick off.

Senators close in on ‘mother of all sanctions’ bill against Russia

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A bipartisan group of senators is within striking distance of a deal on a bill that would impose crippling sanctions on Russia for its hostilities against Ukraine.

“We are finding the path forward very clearly,” said Sen. Jim Risch, top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, indicating that the White House and other key agencies were involved in the negotiations to agree on a deal ahead of any potential invasion by Russia, which has amassed more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border.

Asked if a deal could be announced as early as Thursday, Risch said, “I’d have to say that’s possible,” though aides to three senators involved said it was unlikely.

Top Biden administration officials briefed members of Congress on Thursday about the escalating tensions in and around the former Soviet Republic. Lawmakers leaving the more than hourlong briefing in the Congressional Visitor Center said the gravity of the message from those top officials, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director Avril Haines, added urgency to their efforts.

“Collectively, what I heard made the case that this is more pressing, more timely, and that time in this regard, if we want to be preventative, is of the essence,” said Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J. Menendez, who is the chief architect of the sanctions bill along with Risch, added that he is “cautiously optimistic that we are going to get there.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is involved in the bipartisan Senate talks, agreed, saying, “The briefing, I think, will accelerate the bipartisan sanctions package.”

Despite the closeness of a deal, differences remained among negotiators on the appropriate triggers for sanctions and when and how to penalize those developing the controversial, but as-yet-inoperable Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a project that would bypass Ukraine, taking with it crucial revenue.

“I am hopeful in the next coming days we can introduce a sanctions package that imposes sanctions now for the (Russian) provocation with post-invasion sanctions that will destroy the Russian economy as we know it,” said Graham, who like many Republicans after the briefing, said he thought a Russian invasion of Ukraine was now a matter of “when” not “if.”

Some Democrats and the Biden administration want to hold back sanctions, arguing that they are more powerful as a deterrent against Russian aggression.

“Deterrence is the idea that if you do X, we will do Y. If you put penalties in place in advance, at least significant penalties, you obviously take away the stick of deterrence,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

“I think it’s very important that (the) United States put a very strong sanctions package in place,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told CNN, adding that any sanctions need to be announced in advance “to have a deterrent effect.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said sanctions against Russia must be “much more forceful than they have been” but also insisted that any sanctions be imposed after an invasion.

“I think it’s really important for us to use the sanctions if the Russians strike,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Thursday. “It is important because it’s where leverage is at maximum. If they do this, then we strike.”

Pelosi said that thinking is also in line with most U.S. allies.

“This is deadly serious,” Pelosi said. “So, they have to feel the pain, and it has to be felt right up to the richest man in the world: Vladimir Putin. Nobody knows what he’s going to do except for him.”

Indeed, lawmakers have said the legislation, a bill Menendez said puts in place “the mother of all sanctions,” would contain a strong recommendation that Russia be kicked out of the global financial consortium known as SWIFT, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications. Based in Belgium, it connects more than 11,000 financial institutions and is used as a messaging platform for the transfer of funds around the world.

If that recommendation is included in the bill, the Biden administration would still have to take action to have Russia removed, an extreme action lawmakers have said is on the table.

The White House confirmed Thursday that it is in close consultation with senators but stopped short of endorsing any deal.

“We are in very close touch with members of Congress about this legislation, which I don’t think has been formally even proposed yet,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters en route to New York aboard Air Force One. “So we are in close contact and in conversations with them.”

Psaki, however, continued to express the administration’s support for post-invasion sanctions, saying that the “deterrent” approach of “the crippling economic sanctions package” and noting that the impact is already being felt in the Russian financial markets.

Still, a number of Democrats were moving closer to the GOP position that pre-invasion sanctions were a must even if the most serious sanctions are reserved in the event of an invasion.

“I think Putin and Putin’s Russia have already committed sufficient aggression against Ukraine justifying some sanctions,” said top Biden ally Chris Coons, D-Del. “I think we should hold back the most aggressive and most punishing sanctions for now as a deterrent because the whole goal here is to keep open some space for diplomacy and to deter aggression.”

Menendez and Risch have been briefing members of their panel this week. One member — Mitt Romney, R-Utah — told ABC News he met with Risch on Wednesday night and the smaller group negotiating the package is “making good progress.”

The legislation would include a measure authored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Ben Cardin, D-Md., modeled on the World War II-era “lend-lease” program, which would use existing presidential authorities to allow the administration to provide lethal military equipment to Ukraine to protect the population from a Russian invasion.

Members hope to move any sanctions deal — which, according to two aides involved in the matter, is still in the legislative drafting stage — to the Senate floor quickly, and Sen Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who recently returned from Ukraine and is part of the talks, told ABC News he had spoken earlier in the week with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who committed to bringing any bipartisan deal to the floor for a vote quickly.

And after Thursday’s high-level briefing, it is clear that members are ready to act swiftly.

Coons said he’s “very” concerned about the situation on the ground in and around Ukraine, adding, “It’s really hard to listen to all of that and not conclude that we need to do more.”

ABC News’ Mariam Khan and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.

Starbucks expects price increases, citing inflation, COVID pay and staffing costs

February 3, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Starbucks will continue to raise prices in 2022 due to a combination of labor costs and supply chain disruptions.

The Seattle-based coffee giant announced Tuesday that between a rising cost of goods, employee pay amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, all paired with customer demand, the company has reevaluated its pricing strategy.

Starbucks executives said that more price increases are coming after it first raised them in October 2021 and again in January 2022.

“We have already taken pricing actions this fiscal year, one in October of 2021, and another in January of 2022, and we have additional pricing actions planned through the balance of this year, which play an important role to mitigate cost pressures, including inflation, as we position our business for the future,” CEO Kevin Johnson said on the company’s first quarter earnings call earlier this week.

“There are many factors that contribute to our thoughtful pricing strategy, including: The increasing US inflation rate currently running at 7% or perhaps greater, as well as wage, customer demand and other costs,” he explained.

Starbucks reported a 31% profit increase during the last three months of 2021 with a total of $816 million on the quarterly earnings report. The coffee chain’s revenue which has grown to $8.1 billion boasted an overall 19% increase compared to the same quarter the year prior.

“The rapid spread of Omicron through the US required us to quickly adapt store protocols,” Johnson continued. “Our COVID vaccination pay has supported thousands of partners in the broader efforts in helping get more people vaccinated. And with the highly transmissible Omicron variant, we had more partners leverage our COVID isolation benefits as they were either home sick or home isolating after being exposed to the virus, which led to significantly higher COVID-related benefits pay than expected.”

Hours after the earnings announcement, the New York Times reported that Starbucks shares “fell as much as 5% in after-hours trading.”

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