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NAACP calls on Justice Department to investigate $90 million Mississippi welfare fraud case

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

NAACP calls on Justice Department to investigate million Mississippi welfare fraud case

(WASHINGTON) — The NAACP called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate years of allegations of widespread fraud and misspending in Mississippi totaling a reported $96 million, according to a letter obtained exclusively by ABC News.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson called on the Department of Justice “to aggressively investigate and prosecute those responsible for the massive theft of federal funds that apparently took place in Mississippi in fiscal years 2017 through 2019.” He noted that “funds from these programs are to be used for the neediest and most vulnerable in our society.”

Mississippi State Auditor Shad White alleges that money set aside from the federal government for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs were misappropriated under the leadership of John Davis, then-head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, according to the letter.

The fraud allegations were first revealed in 2020 by state prosecutors in one of the largest cases involving embezzlement claims in state history. Six people have been indicted on state charges, including Davis.

Davis has pleaded not guilty, court records show. His trial, which was supposed to start last year, has been delayed several times. An attorney for Davis did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

The others indicted include Nancy New, the former owner of the Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC); her son, Zach New, the assistant executive director of the MCEC; and former Department of Human Services employee Gregory “Latimer” Smith.

Attorneys for Nancy and Zach New did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News. Contact information for Smith was not immediately available.

Nancy New told the Clarion Ledger in 2020, “I just have to say that I think there’s a lot more information to come and we’re just waiting our turn.”

Several individuals in the case have accepted plea deals including former pro-wrestler Brett DiBiase who pleaded guilty in 2020 to a single count of making fraudulent statements for the purpose of defrauding the government.

Anne McGrew, an accountant for the MCEC, pleaded guilty in October 2021 to one charge of conspiracy to commit embezzlement.

Accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen released a 175-page independent audit looking at fraud claims between Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2019.

White said in a 2020 press conference the case was the “most egregious misspending my staff have seen in their careers at the Office of the State Auditor.” He later added, “when you read this one-hundred-plus page audit, you will see that, if there was a way to misspend money, it seems DHS leadership or their grantees thought of it and tried it.”

White said in 2020 after the indictments, “this is an example of money going to or should have gone to folks who needed it through a federal program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). To those families, I say, I’m incredibly sorry that this money did not go to your benefit as it should have. But you need to know that you have advocates who are standing up for you, and this is not going to be allowed and it’s stopping right now.”

The questionable funds included $5 million for a lease agreement for a multi-purpose wellness center that would later become a volleyball stadium, $635,000 for a virtual reality lab that included individuals who weren’t identified as needy and $44,000 to retired professional football players for football camps that focused on student-athletes and did not address helping at-risk youth.

Most of the misappropriated funds are alleged to have been stolen through a now-dissolved anti-poverty program called Families First for Mississippi, co-operated by the Mississippi Community Education Center, according to the audit. The MCEC did not reply to a request for comment from ABC News.

The NAACP’s Johnson said in his letter, “these apparent crimes were ignored by DOJ under your predecessor Attorney General, and we are calling on you to take action that is long overdue.”

Johnson said Mississippi State Auditor’s findings were referred to the Justice Department, “however, nearly two years later, despite the overwhelming documentary evidence of fraud, forgery, and abuse in this matter, DOJ has not yet launched a criminal investigation.”

He said in the two-page letter to Attorney General Garland, that “failure to investigate may lead to the impression that DOJ is continuing the previous administration’s pattern of looking the other way when laws are broken by white state officials, especially when the wrongdoing disproportionately harms minorities.”

Johnson urged “in the strongest possible terms to take immediate action to investigate and prosecute those involved in this massive theft of federal funds.”

“The Department received the letter and will review it,” a spokesperson for the Justice Department told ABC News in a statement.

Jack White releasing official audio from every stop on Supply Issues tour

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

While Jack White is traveling the world on his Supply Issues tour, you can listen to the shows from the comfort of your own home.

Official audio from every concert on White’s international run will be released via the live music streaming platform Nugs.net. The recordings, taken straight from the soundboard, will be available just days after each show.

“While we’ve been recording all Jack White live shows for years, only now did it finally feel right to release all of them quickly after the performance,” says Third Man Records co-founder Ben Blackwell. “And with Nugs.net as our partner…we couldn’t be happier with the results.”

The Supply Issues tour, which kicked off last week in Detroit, is set to continue throughout North American all the way into June, followed by a summer trip to Europe. White will then return to the U.S. for another go-round in August.

White is supporting his new solo album Fear of the Dawn, which features the single “Taking Me Back.” He’ll release another record, Entering Heaven Alive, on July 22.

The Beatles are asking fans to share their Abbey Road photos and videos for upcoming documentary

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

One of the most popular tourist destinations for Beatles fans to visit is London’s Abbey Road Studios and the famous crosswalk in front of the facility, where the Fab Four were famously photographed walking across for the cover of their Abbey Road album.

Now, The Beatles are asking fans to share photos and videos they may have taken for use in an upcoming documentary about the studio, where the band recorded nearly all of their albums.

A message on The Beatles’ social media pages reads, “Have you ever made the pilgrimage to Abbey Road’s crossing, and captured the moment? [The] Ventureland [film production company] are looking for the best crossing selfies, photos and videos throughout the ages, to be included in a feature documentary on Abbey Road Studios. You can email yours in to abbey.road@venture.land.”

The film in question is the documentary If These Walls Could Sing, which Paul McCartney‘s daughter Mary is directing.

Details of the movie were first announced in January 2021 on Abbey Road Studios’ official website.

According to a press release posted on the site, the film will feature interviews with a star-studded cast of musicians and is intended to be the centerpiece of the studio’s 90th anniversary celebrations, which kicked off in last November.

For the making of the documentary, film crews were allowed to have intimate access to Abbey Road Studios’ premises for the first time ever.

Mary is an accomplished photographer who recently contributed photos to the packaging of her father’s latest album, McCartney III. She also co-founded the Meat Free Monday campaign with her father and her sister, Stella, to promote vegetarianism.

First Muslim religious freedom ambassador lays out US agenda

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Rashad Hussain, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, is the first Muslim-American ever to hold the title, and he told GMA 3 that his appointment sent a powerful signal to the world.

Hussain was confirmed by the Senate in December with an 85-5 vote, where 10 Senators did not vote. He said the bi-partisan support sent a message that the U.S. is “supporting the right to religious freedom for all people everywhere.”

The ambassador told “GMA” that the White House is particularly concerned about the situation unfolding with the genocide against the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority group.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said attacks by Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority, constituted genocide and crimes against humanity. The legal determination was made five years after the government killed 9,000 Rohingya and forced over a million others into exile.

Hussain said the determination took some time because the U.S. had to gather all of the data and information as part of its meticulous legal process. He noted that the move will help provide more assistance to the legal brought by the Gambia and the International Court of Justice.

“We’re sending a strong signal that for anyone who engages in these types of actions, crimes against humanity [and] genocide, we will hold them accountable,” he said. “We also are very clear that we will do everything we can to prevent these types of atrocities from occurring.”

Hussain, who previously served as President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said he also plans on implementing the Marrakesh Declaration, which advocates for the protection of rights of Christians and other minorities in Muslim majority countries.

“That includes seeking to end the use of blasphemy laws, apostasy laws,” he said.

The ambassador said that the U.S. stands for any religious group that is being persecuted.

“One of the profound aspects of this job is that it’s our responsibility, which we take very seriously, to wake up every day and do everything that we can to help people that are suffering,” he said.

$50,000 reward split between tipsters in NYC subway shooting

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Five tipsters will split a $50,000 reward for providing police with information that led to the arrest of the suspect in Tuesday’s mass shooting on a New York City subway train, officials said.

The alleged gunman in the shooting, 62-year-old Frank James, was taken into custody on the streets of Manhattan Wednesday afternoon, about 30 hours after 10 people were shot on a Brooklyn N train.

While the manhunt was underway, police urged the public for help in locating the suspect. New York Police Department detectives identified five people whose tips “contributed directly to the arrest,” the NYPD said.

The five good Samaritans, who have not been publicly identified, will evenly split a combined $50,000 worth of Crime Stoppers rewards provided by the Police Foundation, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Transport Workers Union Local 100. Crime Stoppers rewards are distributed upon the arrest and indictment of an individual.

“We appreciate all of those who responded to our call for information to locate this suspect, including all of those whose tips did not pan out,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement. “We urged the public to join us in this effort to find this suspect and New Yorkers stepped up.”

Police have not shared what information helped lead to the arrest, and tipsters are offered anonymity. Though there have been several reports of witnesses spotting James after he was named as a suspect in the shooting, which occurred Tuesday morning on a rush-hour, Manhattan-bound N train as it approached the 36th Street station in Sunset Park.

A cellphone alert with James’ description went out to New York City residents at 10:21 a.m. Wednesday, and multiple sightings followed as the suspect wandered the streets of lower Manhattan.

At around 10:30 a.m., he was spotted sitting outside Dimes, a restaurant in Chinatown, sources said. Witnesses took pictures of him sitting, apparently using a Link NYC hub to charge his phone, and posted to social media, tagging police, sources said.

A few hours later, James was spotted getting lunch at Katz’s on the Lower East Side, sources said.

Just after 1 p.m. Wednesday, James called Crime Stoppers on himself, saying he was in a McDonald’s in the East Village, according to sources. James reportedly said: “I think you’re looking for me. I’m seeing my picture all over the news and I’ll be around this McDonald’s.”

By the time police arrived, James had already left the McDonald’s. But a good Samaritan spotted James nearby at St. Mark’s Place and First Avenue and flagged down police, sources said.

James was taken into custody without incident and charged by federal prosecutors with a terror-related offense. At his first court appearance on Thursday, he was ordered held without bail. He faces up to life in prison.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Mark Crudele contributed to this report.

Music notes: Camila Cabello, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and more

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Camila Cabello channeled Britney Spears in her latest outfit, wearing a denim-on-denim dress reminiscent of the number the singer wore to the 2001 American Music Awards. The look was panned at the time but has since become one of Britney’s most iconic looks. As for Camila, Hollywood Life adds she accessorized her denim dress with a bedazzled denim trench coat worth $10,000.

Lady Gaga is the number-one artist BTS hopes to collaborate with, and the internet was sent ablaze when J-Hope managed to snag a picture with Mother Monster. “Today was a really glorious day. When it comes to a show, there’s none like Lady Gaga!!! It was a special day for me, since I wanted to see her performance so much,” the BTS singer raved. “Today, on the stage she was incredible, but off the stage she was so professional and there was so much to learn from her, and every comment from her for me will stay with me for my whole life.” No word if Gaga is going to jump into the studio with BTS.

We got a rare peek into Taylor Swift’s romance, thanks to her longtime love Joe Alwyn, who explained to ELLE UK why they are such a notoriously private couple. “We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive… the more you give — and frankly, even if you don’t give it — something will be taken,” he explained. Even though they don’t “want to be guarded and private,” Alwyn noted, “It’s more a response to something else.”

Speaking of Taylor, pal Selena Gomez has some thoughts about dating in her 30s. Taking to TikTok, the singer recited Leslie Mann’s diatribe from The Other Woman about how the dating pool turns into a puddle when you get older. Selena, who turns 30 in July, joked, “Me walking into my 30s, I’m ok with it tho.”

UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro releasing new album, ‘Unprecedented,’ dedicated to the late Astro

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The UB40 spin-off group UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro will release a new studio album called Unprecedented on June 17.

The album is dedicated to Terence “Astro” Wilson, who died in November 2021 at age 64 after a short illness. Ali Campbell was UB40’s original lead singer and was a member of the popular U.K. reggae band until 2008. Astro, a vocalist, percussionist and trumpet player, joined UB40 in 1979 and left the group in 2013.

Campbell and Astro, along with fellow UB40 alum Mickey Virtue, then formed their own incarnation of the band.

Unprecedented, which you can pre-order now, will be available on CD, as a two-LP set pressed on either standard black black vinyl or limited-edition white vinyl, as a limited-edition cassette, and digitally.

In advance of Unprecedented‘s arrival, UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro has released a cover of “Sufferer,” a 1970 song by the Jamaican reggae vocal group The Kingstonians, as the lead single.

“‘Sufferer’ is a song that Astro and I have always loved, from the brilliant Kingstonians,” says Ali. “Astro was so proud of our version of this song, as am I…This song is more poignant and special than I ever realized after Astro heartbreakingly passed away after recording this album. We want to keep his memory alive through his music and this song and album.”

Now known as UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell, the band will be playing three U.S. shows next month — on May 14 in Las Vegas, May 15 in Redondo Beach, California, and May 16 in San Diego. Check out their full tour schedule at UB40.org.

Here’s the Unprecedented track list:

“Caught You in a Lie”
“Do Yourself a Favour”
“Emperors Wore No Clothes”
“Happy Includes Everyone”
“Heaven in Her Eyes”
“Lean on Me” (In Aid of NHS Charities Together)
“Lean on Me”
“Mellow”
“Stay Another Day”
“Sufferer”
“Sunday Morning Coming Down”
“Unprecedented”
“We’ll Never Find Another Love”
“What Have I Done”

FDA authorizes 1st COVID-19 ‘breathalyzer’ test

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 test that uses breath samples — the first of its kind to get the agency’s green light. The device, called the InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer, is “about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage,” and can accurately detect coronavirus on the breath within just a few minutes, the company and FDA said.

While other COVID-19 testing methods have used nasal swab or saliva samples to detect viral particles, this test uses a technique called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to separate and identify chemical mixtures and rapidly screen for five compounds associated with a COVID-19 infection in a person’s exhaled breath.

A positive result with this device is still considered “presumptive,” however, and should still be confirmed with a PCR test, the so-called “gold standard” in COVID-19 screening, the FDA said. The agency warned negative results “should be considered in the context of a patient’s recent exposures, history and the presence of clinical signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19, as they do not rule out SARS-CoV-2 infection and should not be used as the sole basis for treatment or patient management decisions.”

While it comes with caveats, the company views its product as a potential game-changer in the large-scale COVID-19 screening arena.

“We spent a lot of time and a lot of effort on the science and the technology,” company co-founder Luke Kaiser said. “We are very focused on having a great product and a true product that can go anywhere, and test accurately.”

While this test offers rapid results — promised in under three minutes — this is not the same kind of rapid test available for purchase at local pharmacies. It is not aimed at being an “at-home” screening method — rather, it is meant for what InspectIR Systems COO John Redmond described to ABC News as a “volume play.”

InspectIR Systems aims to produce roughly 100 test devices per week, with 10 made so far, Kaiser told ABC News. In the next month, they expect to have roughly 250 test devices ready to go and say they will be making “as many as the line can hold.”

The company anticipates leasing test devices to companies and within industries ideal for en masse screening, as would be appropriate within the health care industry, such as nursing homes, prisons and the travel and hospitality industry, such as cruise lines, and perhaps schools. Redmond said the company expects leasing agreements to cost between $25,000 and $30,000 per month, which is why this would be most appropriate for that “volume play” setting.

Though that dollar figure sounds large, the idea is to get the cost per test down to an average of $10 to $12 each, Redmond said, which is in line with and perhaps even cheaper than commercially available at-home rapid tests. Baked into that leasing price would be a supply of individually wrapped paper straws, an air filter for the test kit and other necessary components.

With a single-use sanitary paper straw people blow their breath sample, about the amount it takes “to inflate a small balloon,” into the system, the company said, which looks for the chemistry and compounds associated with COVID-19.

The test must be done with supervision from a health care professional at doctor’s offices, hospitals, mobile testing sites or other venues with qualified staff on hand.

Each device can each be used to evaluate approximately 160 samples per day. At this level of production, testing capacity using the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is expected to increase by approximately 64,000 samples per month.

“Today’s authorization is yet another example of the rapid innovation occurring with diagnostic tests for COVID-19,” Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement. “The FDA continues to support the development of novel COVID-19 tests with the goal of advancing technologies that can help address the current pandemic and better position the U.S. for the next public health emergency.”

ABC News’ Eric M. Strauss contributed to this report.

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis reveals origin of “Black Summer” accent

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

When you heard the new Red Hot Chili Peppers single “Black Summer,” your first thought might’ve been, “Yay, new Red Hot Chili Peppers music!” Your second thought might’ve been, “Wait, why is Anthony Kiedis singing like that?”

Fans were quick to point out Kiedis’ unusual annunciation on certain words throughout the song, which made it sound like he was singing with an accent somewhere between Irish and trying out to play The Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Now, Kiedis has offered an explanation behind his unusual vocal styling.

During an online listening party for the new RHCP album Unlimited Love, which features “Black Summer” as the lead single, Kiedis wrote, “My adopted accent on this one is a tribute to Cate Le Bon,” referring to the Welsh musician.

Whatever you may think about Kiedis’ “Black Summer” accent, the song is doing just fine. “Black Summer” currently sits at number one on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart and number two on the Mainstream Rock Airplay tally, while Unlimited Love debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with the biggest week for a rock album in over a year.

Debra Messing and Enrico Colantoni light up the stage in ‘Birthday Candles’

April 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Two years and one pandemic later, Birthday Candles, starring Debra Messing, finally makes its Broadway debut — and if it’s good old-fashioned life perspective you’re searching for, bring all the issues and some tissues, too.

Written by Noah Haidle, the production is a time-trip: Spanning 90 years in one woman’s life…and the highs and sometimes crushing lows that go along with the journey.

“It’s the most challenging thing I have ever been a part of bar-none,” the Will & Grace star tells ABC Audio. “Not ever leaving the stage, aging 90 years and having to gently transform throughout the play.”

From carefree teenager to midlife and the inevitable senior years, Messing’s character, Ernestine, marks her passage of time by celebrating a birthday every year — no matter what the circumstances are. And with every birthday come the inevitable questions.

“’Have I wasted my life?’ That is a question we ask ourselves at every stage of life,” Messing says. “That’s our greatest fear.”

Messing says the collective experience of the last few years makes the production “more relevant and more prescient” than ever. “It’s about connection,” she says. “We lost connection during the pandemic and connection is the thing that is most fragile in a family dynamic.”

Her co-star, Enrico Colantoni, echoes the sentiment. “My favorite line in the play is ‘notice what we have left.’ I don’t think that would have affected me the way it did if not for COVID,” he tells ABC Audio. “Little things are important now. Time spent with your family. I think that’s why it resonates with so many people now having gone through the two years. Everyone’s life is beautiful.”

Birthday Candles is now playing through May 29 at The American Airlines Theater.

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