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Alex Jones fined $25,000 in Sandy Hook massacre defamation case

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Alex Jones fined ,000 in Sandy Hook massacre defamation case

(NEW YORK) — A Connecticut judge has denied a motion to halt financial penalties imposed on Alex Jones. As of Friday, the conspiracy theorist and right-wing provocateur owes $25,000 for declining to sit for a deposition in a defamation lawsuit by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre victims.

Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis assessed the fine, which increases exponentially each day Jones refuses to appear, and on Friday denied his motion for a stay.

Jones appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

“The defendant in this case is Alex Jones, and, to many, that is reason enough to uphold any fine or sanction. But the law, our law, is better than mere vendetta,” defense attorney Norm Pattis wrote in the state supreme court appeal.

Jones, founder of Infowars, claimed the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax. Families of those killed sued him for defamation and Jones failed to comply with court orders to appear at a deposition on March 23 and 24.

In Novemeber, Bellis found Jones liable for damages by default because Jones and his companies, like Infowars, showed “callous disregard” for the rules of discovery. She previously faulted the Infowars host for failing to comply with requests for documents and other procedures.

Jones’ attorneys said he can sit for a two-day deposition April 11 and 12. That would make his running fine $525,000, Pattis said.

“Jones and others are sued for comments they made denying that the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012 took place. For many Connecticut residents, that is reason enough to hate Jones. One suspects Judge Bellis has succumbed to that hatred,” Pattis wrote.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Christopher Mattei argued, successfully, to keep the fines in place, saying a promise to appear April 11 is not the same as “real-life attendance” at the deposition.

“The escalating fines were imposed to compel his appearance and should not be set aside merely because Mr. Jones has yet again said he will appear,” Mattei wrote in a court filing.

Twenty children and six staff members died in the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting at the Newtown, Connecticut, school at the hands of gunman Adam Lanza.

Camila Cabello reveals ‘Familia’ track list and album collaborators

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Camila Cabello drops her highly anticipated new album, Familia, next week. While the “Havana” singer has been teasing snippets of the album’s songs, she turned up the hype on Friday by dropping the album’s complete track list.

“Familia next Friday! Any guesses which will be your favorite?” she tweeted, and shared a link so fans can pre-save the project.

Camila also unveiled her album collaborators. Aside from Ed Sheeran, who joined her on the recently released “Bam Bam,” others include WILLOW, the daughter of Will Smith, as well as Latin superstars Maria Becerra and Yotuel.

Willow will join Camila on the track “Psychofreak,” which the Grammy nominee previously revealed was her favorite song on the album because it harnesses “the craziest and deepest thoughts I have when it comes to being in a relationship with someone… I bare my soul.”

Maria and Yotuel will respectively accompany Camile on the singles “Hasta Los Dientes” — which means “Armed to the Teeth” in English — and “Lola.”

In all, Familia offers 12 new songs from Camila. She’ll preview them all ahead of the album’s release, via her “immersive” TikTok concert Familia: Welcome to the Family, which takes place April 7 starting at 7 p.m. on her TikTok account.

Familia drops a few hours later, at midnight, on April 8. Camila’s already teasing that a deluxe version is also on the way, though a release date hasn’t been announced.

Biden on jobs report: ‘Americans are back to work’

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden touted the nation’s economic recovery on Friday while also acknowledging the financial hardships currently intensified by the war in Ukraine.

“Americans are back to work,” Biden said from the White House. “Record job creation. Record unemployment decline. Record wage gains.”

U.S. employers added 431,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.

“Even though we created a record number of jobs we know — I know that this job is not finished. We need to do more to get prices under control. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas prices and food prices all over the world,” Biden continued, noting his unprecedented order Thursday to release up to 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Biden did not take reporters’ shouted questions on inflation following his prepared remarks.

Though the March report came in slightly below economists’ expectations, the numbers for January and February were revised higher to show 95,000 more jobs added in those months.

The report also showed that notable job gains continued in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade and manufacturing.

The labor force participation rate, or the number of people in the economy looking for work, is inching almost back to where it was before the pandemic. As employees head back to the office, teleworking fell to 10% from 13% the previous month.

March marks the 11th consecutive month of job growth above 400,000. According to The Wall Street Journal, this is the strongest job growth in the U.S. since 1939.

More than 19.9 million of the 22 million jobs lost at the peak of the pandemic have now been recovered, with economists expecting a full recovery by the summer.

“The March jobs report was right down the fairway – lots of jobs, lower unemployment, and higher labor force participation. The job market is rip-roaring. While not quite back to full-employment, the economy is close, and at the current pace of job growth will be there by summer,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, wrote on Twitter. “But it is somewhat disquieting in that the job market must cool off quickly, or inflation, our number one economic problem, will soon be a much bigger one.”

The report, while strong, comes amid soaring gasoline prices and 40-year high inflation, which has cost Biden in the polls ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Seventy percent of Americans disapprove of his handling of inflation, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve just two weeks ago raised short-term interest rates for the first time since 2018 and said it will raise them six more times this year in an attempt to offset inflation.

It’s no April Fools joke, Chris Brown just dropped new music

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Chris Brown told us it was “NO JOKE” that his new single, “WE (Warm Embrace),” would be dropping on April Fool’s day today, and fans are thankful the singer delivered on his promise.

On the new soulful R&B track, the Grammy winner shows off his vocals, singing a ballad of love and affection.

“THE KING OF R&B IS BACK,” said one Instagram user, who commented on Breezy’s Friday announcement. Others left comments that included “Masterpiece” and “best thing i’ve listened to in a long time.”

Some of the lyrics in the smooth track are, “And I wanted to wrap you in // My warm embrace // And make it last forever // Girl, I catch a glimpse of heaven // When you let me wrap you in (Wrap you in) // My warm embrace.”

“WE (Warm Embrace)” is the latest project from Breezy since “Iffy,” which he released earlier this year. Both of those tracks were preceded by the record-breaking 2021 hit “Go Crazy,” ft. Young Thug, which earned the title of longest-running number-one song on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Chart, according to Billboard.

“WE (Warm Embrace)” is available on major streaming platforms now.

Jimin seizes BTS’ Twitter account for April Fool’s prank

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Gotcha! Jimin is playing one heck of an April Fool’s prank on his fellow BTS band mates and their fans by taking over their Twitter account — literally.

Over 45 million people follow BTS on Twitter, but the account now belongs to Jimin and Jimin only. He changed the group’s icon and banner to images of him, with the former being of him as a baby — and he also changed their Twitter handle to his name, Jimin Park.

“I don’t know how to change it back to original,” he tweeted in Korean. “I don’t know anyway.”

But Jimin wasn’t done. He extended his prank to Instagram and pretended to be Bang Si-hyuk, the founder of their label, BigHit Music. Just as he did on Twitter, Jimin changed his profile image to that of Si-hyuk and updated his bio to “Father of BTS” in Korean.

As of late Friday morning, neither profile has been changed back to normal.

U2’s Bono receives prestigious award from Fulbright Association in Washington, DC

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

U2 frontman Bono was honored by the Fulbright Association on Thursday in Washington, D.C., with its 2021 J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding, acknowledging the singer’s his dedication to fighting global poverty and health crises, and supporting economic development in the world’s poorest regions.

In conjunction with the prize, Bono received an award of $50,000 to donate to the charities of his choice, which he bestowed on the ONE and (RED) organizations he co-founded.

During his acceptance speech, Bono talked about his passion for rock music, which is all about freedom and liberation, drawing parallels to the ideals of the U.S. and to Ukraine’s current fight for freedom against its Russian invaders.

Reflecting on growing in Ireland during a time of great conflict in that country, Bono noted, “We looked to America. We saw a country with its own long-running arguments, its own injustices. We knew this promised land wasn’t always keeping to that promise. We knew America wasn’t living up to all its ideals, but the fact is America had ideals.”

He continued, “We knew that because you wrote them down, you cited them, you held yourself to account on them. They shaped the struggle for civil rights and women’s rights and gay rights. I don’t know how, but I seemed to know that America wasn’t just a country. I felt it was an idea.”

In honoring Bono with the Fulbright Prize, Justice Cynthia A. Baldwin, Fulbright Association Board Chair, said, “The purpose of the Fulbright Prize is to recognize those who promote peace through greater understanding among peoples, cultures, and nations, and there’s no doubt that Bono embodies the best of leadership in times of unrelenting global crises and challenges.”

You can watch a video of the presentation at the Fulbright Association’s YouTube channel.

Chris Rock doesn’t condone fan who shouted derogatory phrase about Will Smith during his stand-up show

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Chris Rock apparently isn’t tolerating fans’ negative reactions to Will Smith.

During his stand-up show at The Wilbur Theatre in Boston on Thursday night, the comedian shut down an audience member who yelled “f*** Will Smith!”, instead replying “no, no, no, no,” according to People. This after fans at his first show at the Wilbur on Wednesday, his first live appearance since Smith slapped him during the Academy Awards, started chanting Smith’s name, which Rock ignored.

However, Rock did address the incident during the Wednesday show, saying that he’s “still processing what happened” and declaring, “I haven’t talked to anyone, despite what you’ve heard.”

During the Oscars ceremony on Sunday night, Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith‘s bald head, which she shaved due to alopecia, which causes hair loss. Her husband reacted to the joke by walking onstage and slapping Rock across the face, after which he returnedg to his seat and twice shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth!”

Later in the ceremony, Smith won his first Academy Award, for Best Actor for King Richard.

Biden to give remarks on March jobs report

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is expected to tout the nation’s economic recovery when he delivers remarks from the White House on Friday.

U.S. employers added 431,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.

Though the March report came in slightly below economists’ expectations, the numbers for January and February were revised higher to show 95,000 more jobs added in those months.

Notable job gains continued in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade and manufacturing.

March marks the 11th consecutive month of job growth above 400,000. According to The Wall Street Journal, this is the strongest job growth in the U.S. since 1939.

More than 19.9 million of the 22 million jobs lost at the peak of the pandemic have now been recovered, with economists expecting a full recovery by the summer.

Kiefer Sutherland talks pandemic foreshadowing in new thriller ‘The Contractor’

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kiefer Sutherland commands a Black Ops team in the new film The Contractor, which features Chris Pine and Ben Foster as members of his covert ranks.

Their assignment takes Pine’s Sergeant James Harper deep undercover on a mission involving a potentially lethal virus…an all-too familiar scenario, even though it was filmed pre-pandemic.

“The signs were coming,” Sutherland tells ABC Audio. “We had been warned about a virus for the last 15 years. I think it’s very sad when writers using their imagination, taking current events and kind of going, ‘Well, this is the worst circumstance/scenario that could possibly happen so I’ll write it in that direction,’ and then having it come true.”

The movie also shines a light on conditions facing soldiers returning home from battle. Pine’s character is damaged, suffering both the physical and mental traumas of war.

“Regardless of how strong these people are, how well trained they are, they become emotionally, incredibly vulnerable,” Sutherland says, adding that more work needs to be done to help veterans.

“This has been an ongoing discussion since World War I,” Sutherland adds. “As a society, we need to do more for our veterans to deal with PTSD and all of the shell shock, all of the different kind of nomenclatures that we have for…these issues. We need to try and do better.”

The Contractor is in theaters and on-demand now.

Unemployment rate drops to 3.6% as 431,000 jobs added in March

April 1, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. employers added 431,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, the latest figures released Friday by the Labor Department show.

The biggest increases in employment in March occurred in leisure and hospitality (112,000) followed by professional and business services (102,000), retail trade (49,000) and manufacturing (38,000), according to the Labor Department.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped slightly from 3.8% in February to 3.6% in March.

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