Page 7501 – 105.7 WDNY

Who’s Touring Now: Journey launching 2022 North American tour in February with Billy Idol, Toto

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Journey has announced plans for a major 2022 North American tour that will also feature Billy Idol and Toto as support acts during different parts of the outing.

The 40-date trek, which has been dubbed the Freedom Tour 2022, is scheduled to get underway on February 22 in Pittsburgh and is plotted out through a May 11 show in Hartford, Connecticut.

Idol will open Journey’s concerts from February 22 through an April 5 performance in Los Angeles, while Toto join the trek on April 7 in San Diego and will continue to serve as the opening act for the remainder of the outing.

Tickets for nearly all the shows go on sale to the general public this Friday, November 19, via Ticketmaster starting at 10 a.m. local time. Pre-sale tickets will be available for Citi card members beginning this Tuesday, November 16, at 10 a.m. local time; for more pre-sale details, visit CitiEntertainment.com. A limited number of VIP packages also will be sold.

Interestingly, a press release about the tour listing Journey’s lineup doesn’t mention bassist Randy Jackson or drummer Narada Michael Walden, who were announced as the band’s new rhythm section in 2020 after the firing of longtime members Ross Valory and Steve Smith. Jackson hasn’t been playing at Journey’s 2021 concerts because he recently underwent back surgery, although Walden has been performing with the band alongside second drummer Deen Castronovo.

First up for Journey is the band’s previously announced series of 2021 Las Vegas shows in December, including a six-show residency at The Theater at Virgin Hotels running from December 1 through December 11, and a special symphonic performance on December 18 in Vegas at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Check out Journey’s full schedule at JourneyMusic.com.

Back from the dead for ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’: Hi-C Ecto Cooler

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Fans looking to slake their thirst with one of the most sought-after Ghostbusters goodies no longer need to risk quaffing a 20-year-old drink.

Coca-Cola has announced it’s bringing back the Hi-C drink Ecto Cooler — in a very limited edition.

The Slimer green-colored drink came out in 1987 but was discontinued in 2001, despite its popularity.

It’s so treasured, incidentally, that a dragon was shown hoarding it in an episode of Rick and Morty, and it ended up in a cache of rare booty in Loki, likely thanks to executive producer Michael Waldron, who wrote for R&M.

But with Ghostbusters: Afterlife haunting theaters beginning this Friday, November 19, the decision was made to bring the bevvy back.

“The juice drink you know and love from the 80s is still a mix of tangerine and orange flavors, and with a hint of slime, packaged in a 12 oz bottle for the first time,” a press announcement reads.

However, it won’t be as easy as going to the store and picking some up. If you’re looking to go for the green, you’ll need to follow Hi-C’s social media, @DrinkHiC, to find out how to get your hands on it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hi-C (@drinkhic)

Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, KISS & Korn headlining 2022 Welcome to Rockville festival

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Following its in-person return this past weekend, Florida’s Welcome to Rockville festival has announced its 2022 headliners.

Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, KISS and Korn lead the bill for next year’s event, which will be held May 19-22, once again at Daytona Beach’s Daytona International Speedway.

The full lineup will be announced at a later date. Tickets are on sale now via WelcometoRockvilleFestival.com.

This year’s Welcome to Rockville was held in November instead of over its usual spring dates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Headliners included Metallica, Slipknot and Disturbed.

Steve Bannon surrenders to FBI on contempt of Congress charges

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump’s political ally Steve Bannon on Monday surrendered to the FBI on charges of criminal contempt of Congress stemming from his refusal to cooperate with the House select committee on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Bannon on Friday was charged with two counts of contempt for failure to comply with a committee subpoena to produce any records and testify about what he knew about the assault.

He was expected to be arraigned on the charges later Monday.

His attorney has claimed in repeated letters to the committee that Bannon’s communications with Trump were privileged.

The indictment sets off what will likely be a contentious legal battle with significant ramifications for the Jan. 6 committee as it seeks to compel other witnesses to testify about the events leading up to the attempted insurrection, including any communications they may have had with Trump.

“Since my first day in office, I have promised Justice Department employees that together we would show the American people by word and deed that the department adheres to the rule of law, follows the facts and the law and pursues equal justice under the law,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland after the department charged Bannon on Friday.

He added the “charges reflect the department’s steadfast commitment to these principles.”

Executive privilege, according to the Cornell Legal Institute, “is the power of the President and other officials in the executive branch to withhold certain forms of confidential communication from the courts and the legislative branch. When executive privilege is invoked in litigation, the court should weigh its applicability by balancing competing interests.”

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has also been in the committee’s crosshairs after he defied the committee’s subpoena last week to testify about what his version of events were on Jan. 6 — citing similar executive privilege claims.

“Mr. Meadows, Mr. Bannon, and others who go down this path won’t prevail in stopping the Select Committee’s effort getting answers for the American people about January 6th, making legislative recommendations to help protect our democracy, and helping ensure nothing like that day ever happens again,” Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said in a statement.

Meadow’s lawyer, George J. Terwilliger III said he was “surprised and disappointed” that the Biden Justice Department rejected the former chief of staff’s claims of executive privilege, in a Washington Post op-ed over the weekend.

“Under Supreme Court precedent, President Donald Trump also has a voice to be heard on claims of executive privilege arising from his tenure, and he has instructed Meadows to maintain the privilege. My client thus finds himself caught between two rocks (Congress and the Biden administration) and a hard place (instructions from the president he served.),” Terwilliger wrote.

“Moreover, [Meadows] knows from experience how critical it is for senior aides to be able to communicate freely with the president — and how dangerous a precedent he would set for presidents of both parties were he to appear and answer questions without limitation,” he wrote.

Terwilliger also called negotiations with the committee “fruitless” and suggested the parties “take a deep breath and reconsider ending the tradition of accommodation between the executive and Congress.”

He suggested Meadows deliver written answers to questions.

Kanye West releases ’Donda’ deluxe album with five new songs

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Kanye West‘s Donda is back — and it’s bigger!

Ye, 44, dropped the deluxe version of his 10th studio album on Sunday, which features five new songs that fans can vibe to.

The new project includes three brand-new tracks — “Never Abandon Your Family,” “Up From the Ashes,” and the André 3000 assisted “Life of the Party” — in addition to “Keep My Spirit Alive pt 2,” featuring KayCyy, Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn, and “Remote Control pt 2” with Kid Cudi and Young Thug.

Donda the deluxe version comes nearly three months after the album’s August 29 release and after much controversy from artists who were left off of the album, most notably Soulja Boy, who went on multiple social media rants about the issue.

Ye has since issued an apology and the two seem to have reconciled.

“We just couldn’t do it”: Marvel movie producer on not recasting Black Panther after Chadwick Boseman’s death

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Nate Moore, who’s produced Marvel Studios movies including Black Panther and Eternals, just told podcaster Van Lathan about moving on in the MCU without Chadwick Boseman.

The celebrated actor, who played T’Challa/Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War and his own blockbuster stand-alone film, died in 2020 after a private battle with cancer.

“I’m not hedging my bets. I’m being quite honest. You will not see T’Challa in [future Marvel films]” Moore told Van Lathan, referring to their choice not to re-cast the part. “We just couldn’t do it.”

Moore continued, “When Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with [director Ryan] Coogler about what do we do, and it was a fast conversation. It wasn’t weeks, it was minutes of we had to figure out how to move that franchise on without that character.”

Moore says, “Because I think we all feel so much of T’Challa on the screen — not in the comics — is tied to Chadwick’s performance, is what he brought to that role both on and off-screen…”

“So as hard as it has been narratively to figure out what to do, because that’s a big hole, at no point did we consider recasting,” Moore declared. “So the challenge for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is telling a story without T’Challa.”

Moore said of the 2022 sequel, “there will be a level of…catharsis in people coming back this universe without that guy, because that guy and that universe to me are one in the same.” He added, “as filmmakers…you have to figure out… what you want that movie to say about that guy who’s not going to be in it.”

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

MCU VP of Development Nate Moore puts to rest any discussion about recasting the character of T’challa as Black Panther. Says he talked with Ryan Coogler about it, and “we just couldn’t do it” more on @RingerVerse. T’challa is gone guys you agree or no? pic.twitter.com/MYoWKyqlmF

— Van Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) November 14, 2021

Doubts on safety, efficacy in children underlie parents’ vaccine hesitancy: POLL

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Half of parents in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll are skeptical about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines for children, potentially a key barrier as the government seeks to boost uptake.

Numerous recent surveys have found substantial numbers of parents hesitant to have their child vaccinated against the coronavirus. This poll explores these compunctions by assessing parents’ views of whether the vaccines are safe and effective, both well-established motivators of uptake.

See PDF for full results, charts and tables.

The results: Just 46% of adults with a child younger than 18 at home are confident that the vaccines are safe for children age 5 to 17. It’s about the same, 47%, for confidence that the vaccines are effective at preventing serious illness and death in this age group. Fifty-two percent are not so or not at all confident in their safety or effectiveness.

These are far from ABC/Post results in September asking about the vaccines generally, not specifically for children. Among all adults, 71% called the vaccines safe and 72% saw them as effective. Results on safety were similar last April for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, less so for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, measured during a pause in its use.

This poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, finds that strength of sentiment is a further challenge: Twice as many parents are not at all confident that the vaccines are safe for children age 5 to 17 than are very confident of this, 41% versus 21%. The gap is smaller on effectiveness, but still 12 percentage points, 38% versus 26%.

Groups

As with many pandemic attitudes, partisan and ideological preferences inform views on vaccines for children. While sample sizes for parent subgroups are small, skepticism about the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness in 5- to 17-year-olds peaks among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, as well as among conservatives.

In other gaps, mothers are more apt than fathers to be confident in the vaccines’ effectiveness, 55% versus 38%. (The difference between the sexes in views of safety is smaller, and not statistically significant.) Confidence in safety, for its part, is much higher among parents who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups, compared with white parents. (On effectiveness, the racial/ethnic gap shrinks, and is not significant.)

A connection with attitudes on school policies is apparent as well. Parents who support their local school district’s pandemic policies are more apt than those who see these policies as too strict to express confidence in the vaccines. That again connects with politics: Seeing school policies as too strict rises sharply among leaned Republicans and conservative parents.

Methodology

This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone Nov. 7-10, 2021, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults, including 240 adults with children living at home. Results among adults with children at home have a margin of sampling error of 7.5 percentage points, including the design effect.

The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York City with sampling and data collection by Abt Associates of Rockville, Maryland. See details on the survey’s methodology here.

BTS, Ed Sheeran, Lil Nas X, Måneskin among winners at 2021 MTV EMAs

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

BTS, Ed Sheeran, Måneskin and Lil Nas X took home trophies over the weekend at the 2021 MTV European Music Awards, which aired live from Budapest, Hungary on Sunday night.

BTS were the big winners, scoring four awards including Best Pop, Best K-Pop, Best Group and Biggest Fans. Lil Nas X won Best Video for “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name),” while Ed Sheeran won Best Artist and Best Song for “Bad Habits.” Ed opened the show with his song “Overpass Graffiti” and also performed “Shivers.”

Måneskin won Best Rock and performed their latest hit, “MAMMAMIA,” while Doja Cat and SZA won Best Collaboration for “Kiss Me More.” Billie Eilish‘s video for “Your Power” was named Video for Good.

Olivia Rodrigo was named Best Push, and Saweetie, who hosted the show, was named Best New. She also performed her songs “Best Friend,” “Tap In” and “OUT OUT.”

Other performers included OneRepublic and Imagine Dragons.

Justin Bieber, who was the leading MTV EMA nominee with eight nods, failed to win in any of the categories in which he was nominated.

Three ‘violent’ escaped Georgia inmates have Tasers, remain at large

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(HAWKINSVILLE, Ga.) — The search is on for three “violent” inmates who remain at large days after escaping from a Georgia jail, authorities said.

Tyree Williams Jr., 33; Brandon Pooler, 24; Dennis Penix Jr., 28; and two other inmates fled the Pulaski County Jail, about 130 miles south of Atlanta, on the night of Nov. 12, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

They had two Tasers and were last in a stolen white 2015 Kia Sedona van with Georgia license plate CMP8628, the GBI said.

One of the five escapees, Tyree Jackson, was taken into custody Sunday, the GBI said.

A second inmate, Lewis Wendell Evans III, was taken into custody late Sunday night in Warner Robins, about 100 miles south of Atlanta, the GBI said.

As the search continues for the remaining three escapees, the U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to any arrests, the GBI said.

Nine-year-old boy trampled at Astroworld dies, bringing death toll to 10

November 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The nine-year-old boy who had been hospitalized on life support since being trampled at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival has died, his family confirmed to ABC Houston affiliate KTRK on Sunday.

Ezra Blount suffered severe injuries when he was trampled in a crowd surge at the November 5 concert at Houston’s NRG Park. He was at the concert with his father, Treston Blount, and was on his father’s shoulders when the surge began.

Treston told KTRK that he lost consciousness in the crush of the crowd and Ezra fell to the ground. When Treston regained consciousness, he could not find his son, and was eventually alerted by police that his son was in the hospital. Ezra’s major organs had been damaged, his brain was swollen, and he was on life support.

“The Blount family is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son,” the family’s attorney Ben Crump said in a statement obtained by KTRK. “This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration. Ezra’s death is absolutely heartbreaking. We are committed to seeking answers and justice for the Blount family. But we stand in solidarity with the family, in grief, and in prayer.”

The death toll from the concert is now 10. Eight of those victims were pronounced dead the night of the concert and the ninth victim, Bharti Shahani, died on Wednesday of last week.

Blount’s family is one of the many who have since filed lawsuits against Travis Scott and other festival organizers.

+ More