Page 7593 – 105.7 WDNY

Two of Three Tennessee jail escapees killed in North Carolina police chase

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C.) — Two inmates who escaped from a Tennessee jail, including one facing murder charges, were killed in a police chase in North Carolina after they allegedly robbed a store and stole a car, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

Fugitives Tobias Carr, 38, and Timothy Sarver, 45, died in a crash in Brunswick County, North Carolina, following a police chase, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation told ABC News.

A third escapee, Johnny Shane Brown, 50, remained on the run Tuesday.

The three inmates escaped from the Sullivan County Jail in Blountville, Tennessee, on Friday via an air vent and made their getaway possibly in a white Chevrolet Silverado truck. The jail is about 400 miles from where the fatal crash occurred.

Sarver and Tobias, who had been jailed on a second-degree murder charge, allegedly committed an armed robbery at a convenience store in Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, south of Wilmington, early Saturday morning, authorities said. A store clerk told police the robbers tied him up at gunpoint, emptied the cash register and fled with his car, according to ABC affiliate station WWAY in Wilmington.

While the victim was being interviewed by police, he spotted the suspects driving by in his vehicle, setting off the chase by officers from several law enforcement agencies across Onslow, Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties, authorities said.

The fatal crash occurred near Navassa in Brunswick County, police said.

In addition to second-degree murder, Carr was being held at the Sullivan County jail on charges of vandalism and tampering with evidence, according to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. Sarver was being held at the jail on charges of auto theft, identity theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawfully carrying a weapon.

A $5,000 reward was being offered for information leading to the capture of Brown, who was being held at the jail on charges of violating an order of protection, domestic assault and aggravated stalking, according to the sheriff’s office.

Shoot your PEGOT: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Encanto’ Oscar nom puts him in striking distance of showbiz royalty

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

An Oscar nomination is a feather in anybody’s cap, but for Lin-Manuel Miranda, his brand-new nom for Encanto‘s original song, “Dos Oruguitas,” puts him closer to a Hollywood high-water mark: The coveted PEGOT.

Miranda already has a Pulitzer, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony, thanks to both the stage and small-screen productions of his phenomenon Hamilton, but an Oscar could make him just the third person to win a PEGOT, joining Rita Moreno, Mike Nichols, and Barbra Streisand.

Just 16 people have won the EGOT, including Moreno, Nichols, Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Tunick, Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, Scott Rudin, Robert Lopez, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, John Legend, and Alan Menken.

Incidentally, the term EGOT was first coined by former Miami Vice co-star Phillip Michael Thomas, who manifested in 1984 that he’d secure all four honors within five years. Alas, he’s never earned any of the trophies. Thomas’ failed quest for the EGOT — and his gold EGOT necklace — were later spoofed by Tracy Morgan‘s character on 30 Rock.

Both served as something of a warning to Miranda, who once told ABC Audio, “I honestly think that the moment you start chasing an award is the moment it goes away.”

He added with a laugh, “I am forever proud of like Rita Moreno for being like the Boriqua [fellow Puerto Rican] who is the EGOT, and she can stay the Boriqua who is the EGOT as far as I’m concerned. Because she’s Rita Moreno and then there’s mere mortals over here!”

Miranda adds, “I mean, it’s…my goal is just to make things I’m passionate about…and that’s the only thing that’s really worth pursuing. Everything else is gravy — fun, but gravy.”

Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Beyoncé & Questlove among Oscar nominees

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The nominations for the 94th annual Academy Awards were announced Tuesday, and Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Beyoncé and Questlove are among the nominees.

As expected, Smith scored a Best Actor nomination for his starring role as the father of Venus and Serena Williams in the film King Richard. His co-star, Aunjanue Ellis, also received a nod for Best Supporting Actress for playing the tennis icons’ mother, Oracene Price.

Washington, already a two-time Oscar winner, was nominated for Best Actor for his role as the title character in The Tragedy of Macbeth, director Joel Coen‘s take on the classic Shakespeare play.

Meanwhile, the Beyhive is losing their minds over the fact that Beyoncé received her first-ever Oscar nomination for co-writing the song “Be Alive,” for the movie King Richard. She shares the nomination with her co-writer, Dixson.

In addition, Questlove received his first Oscar nomination, for his documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). It spotlights the New York City’s 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, a six-week event that featured everyone from Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone to Gladys Knight & The Pips and Mahalia Jackson.

The 94th Annual Academy Awards air March 27 live on ABC.

Van Morrison nominated for Best Original Song Oscar, but U2 and Brian Wilson don’t make the cut

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The nominations for the 2022 Oscars was announced this morning Oscar and among the nominees in the Best Original Song category is Van Morrison.

Morrison’s “Down to Joy,” from the film Belfast, will compete against “Be Alive” from King Richard, co-written by Beyoncé and singer, songwriter and producer Darius Scott, aka DIXSON; “Dos Oruguitas,” from Encanto, composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda; the title track of the James Bond film No Time to Die, co-written by Billie Eilish and and her brother and collaborator, FINNEAS; and “Somehow You Do,” from Four Good Days, written by Diane Warren.

Meanwhile, a number of noteworthy songs from 2021 films that had been shortlisted for an Oscar nod were passed over. They include U2‘s Sing 2 track “Your Song Saved My Life”; and “Right Where I Belong,” from the Brian Wilson documentary Long Promised Road, which the Beach Boys legend co-wrote with My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James.

The 2022 Oscars will air live March 27 on ABC.

Van Morrison nominated for Best Original Song Oscar, but U2, Brian Wilson and Carole King don’t make the cut

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The nominations for the 2022 Oscars was announced this morning Oscar and among the nominees in the Best Original Song category is Van Morrison.

Meanwhile, a number of noteworthy songs from 2021 films that had been shortlisted for an Oscar nod were passed over. They include U2‘s Sing 2 track “Your Song Saved My Life”; “Right Where I Belong,” from the Brian Wilson documentary Long Promised Road, which the Beach Boys legend co-wrote with My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James; and “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home),” which Carole King co-wrote with Jennifer Hudson and Jamie Hartman for the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect.

Meanwhile, the Questlove-directed Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), about the star-studded 1969 music festival in Harlem, New York, that came to be known as “Black Woodstock,” received a nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category. The film features archival footage of performances by Stevie Wonder, The 5th Dimension, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Sly and the Family Stone, The Staple Singers and many others.

The 2022 Oscars will air live March 27 on ABC.

Want to lose weight? Try adding one hour more sleep, study finds

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Losing weight can be hard and confusing, but a new study has found an easy way to help.

Adding just one hour or more of sleep a night can help boost weight loss, according to the study published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Participants in the study who underwent a “sleep extension” program for two weeks, sleeping about one hour longer per night, took in about 150 fewer calories per day, which, over the course of the two weeks, averaged a weight loss of nearly two pounds.

Prior to the “sleep extension” program, the participants slept less than 6.5 hours per night, according to the study, which was led by researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Over a three-year period, adding at least one hour of sleep per night could result in a 26-pound weight loss, the study’s authors noted.

“Along with a healthy diet and regular physical activity, healthy sleep habits should be integrated into public messages to help reduce the risk of obesity and related comorbidities,” the study’s authors wrote, noting their study is a first of its kind because it monitored participants in their home environments instead of in a sleep lab, for example.

“The theory here is that sleep can really affect our brain hormones, which trigger hunger, satiety, as well as our behavior,” said ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who was not involved with the study. “We know that when we’re sleep-deprived, we tend to make poor food choices.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults ages 18 and over should get a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night.

Infants and toddlers should get between 11 and 16 hours of sleep per night, depending on age, while elementary school children should get between nine and 12 hours of sleep per night, according to the CDC.

Teenagers should get eight to 10 hours of sleep per night, the CDC advises.

Speaking of the importance of sleep, Ashton said, “This is not a luxury. This is a medical necessity.”

“We know that sleep has been linked with everything from thinking ability, mood and mental health, hormone levels,” she said. “It can decrease high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease if we get adequate sleep.”

A study released last year found that sleeping less than six hours a night in midlife can raise the risk of dementia — the loss of cognitive functioning, like thinking, remembering and reasoning — by 30%.

“This is so important,” Ashton said of getting adequate sleep. “This is on par with our nutrition and our fitness in terms of our health.”

Here are four tips from Ashton to get better, more restful sleep:

1. “Keep a consistent bedtime routine during the week and on the weekends.”

2. “Make your bedroom cold, dark and quiet. That’s the most relaxing sleep environment you can have.”

3. “Limit screen time, which includes the phone, about an hour before you go to bed.”

4. “Avoid caffeine, alcohol and large meals in the one to two hours before you go to sleep. What we’re eating and drinking really matters.”

Read more here for tips on how to get a good night’s sleep.

Death toll from Cyclone Batsirai rises in Madagascar as thousands are left homeless

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — More than two dozen people are dead and thousands are homeless after a tropical storm struck Madagascar over the weekend, the second to batter the island nation since the start of the year.

With wind gusts of up to about 143 miles per hour, Cyclone Batsirai made landfall on Madagascar’s eastern coast late Saturday before sweeping across the central and southern parts on Sunday. The storm departed Madagascar on Monday morning and returned to sea, but heavy rainfall is forecast for southern Madagascar through Tuesday, according to the country’s meteorology department, fueling fears of more flooding.

The cyclone’s powerful winds and torrential rains flooded roads and farmland, ripped roofs from homes and buildings and knocked down trees and utility poles. The hardest-hit areas were on the eastern side of the country, though the full scope of the damage was still being assessed.

According to Madagascar’s National Office for Risk and Disaster Management, more than 72,000 people have been impacted by Batsirai, which was classified by the country’s meteorology department as dangerous. Over 62,000 people have been displaced from their homes and at least 27 have died.

At least three children under the age of 12 were among the dead, according to United Kingdom-based international charity Save the Children, which cited Madagascar’s risk and disaster management office.

Hundreds schools were affected by the storm, leaving an estimated 9,271 children out of school. The cyclone also damaged various infrastructure, including at least 17 roads and 17 bridges, leaving some of the worst-affected areas inaccessible by road. Some towns suffered disruptions to power and water supplies, the country’s risk and disaster management office said.

The World Food Program, the food-assistance branch of the United Nations, has started distributing hot meals to 4,000 evacuated and displaced people in shelters in coordination with Madagascan authorities. Pasqualina DiSirio, the World Food Program’s director for Madagascar, warned that the number of storm victims could “easily rise.”

“We have right now, still waters increasing in the canals, in the rivers, and people are still in danger,” DiSirio said in a statement Monday. “We know for sure that rice fields, that rice crops will be damaged. This is the main crop for Malagasy people and they will be seriously affected in food security in the next three to six months if we don’t do something immediately and we don’t help them recover.”

Humanity & Inclusion, a France-based independent charity that has worked in Madagascar for over 30 years, has a 163-person team on the ground helping Madagascan authorities evaluate and respond to the disaster. Vincent Dalonneau, Humanity & Inclusion’s director for Madagascar, said the effects of Batsirai “are devastating.”

“The amount of destruction is significant and for many this is only the beginning. The storm may have passed, but now the affected communities must restart from scratch — rebuilding their homes, schools and hospitals,” Dalonneau told ABC News on Monday night. “Right now, we only have initial estimates of the damage caused. What remains a great challenge is that more isolated areas have yet to be assessed. So, we expect to see the extent of destruction rising in the coming days as we get a clearer image of the situation.”

Dalonneau said some isolated villages are more than a two-day walk away, which make damage assessments and aid deliveries even more difficult.

One of the affected residents was a 32-year-old single mother named Josephine. She said she and her young daughter evacuated their home near the eastern city of Mahanoro on Friday night amid heavy rain. When they returned, Josephine said their house was “completely destroyed,” according to Humanity & Inclusion.

Batsirai, which means help in Shona, an official language in Zimbabwe, arrived less than two weeks after Tropical Storm Ana barreled through southeastern Africa, killing scores of people in Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi.

The Madagascan government declared a state of emergency on Jan. 27 due to Ana.

Billie Eilish and Beyoncé nominated for Oscars, but Lady Gaga is snubbed

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Despite being nominated for most of the awards leading up to the Oscars, Lady Gaga failed to capture a second acting Oscar nomination for her role in House of Gucci.

Gaga was been nominated for a BAFTA, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics’ Choice Award and a Golden Globe Award for her showy role as Patrizia Reggiani in the film, but when the Oscar nominations were announced Tuesday morning, her name wasn’t among the honorees. Instead, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Olivia Colman, Kristen Stewart and Jessica Chastain got the nods.

Meanwhile, two other chart-topping singers were nominated for Oscars: Billie Eilish and Beyoncé.

Billie and her brother FINNEAS were nominated for Best Original Song for “No Time to Die,” from the James Bond movie of the same name. It’s already won them a Grammy and a Golden Globe.

In a statement, the siblings say, “Words cannot describe how honored and excited we are to have been nominated for an Academy Award for our song ‘No Time To Die.’ It was a lifelong dream of ours to write a Bond theme, and one we never thought would ever come true.”

They add, “It’s completely unbelievable that we are here being recognized for this song, and this is a peak life experience for us as songwriters and artists. To be recognized today among these other incredible nominees is something we most certainly do not take for granted.”

Beyoncé is also nominated for Best Original Song, for “Be Alive,” from the Will Smith movie King Richard. She co-wrote the song with singer, songwriter and producer Darius Scott, aka DIXSON.

These are the first Oscar nominations for both Beyoncé and Billie.

Jury selection to begin in trial of officer charged in shooting at Breonna Taylor’s apartment

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday in the trial of a former Kentucky police officer who was involved in the botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor.

Brett Hankison’s trial was initially scheduled to begin on Aug. 31, 2021, but was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The trial was later delayed due to an unscheduled surgery and inclement weather.

Hankison is charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into a neighboring apartment while serving a “no-knock” warrant on Taylor’s apartment on March 13, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

“Our hope is that we can pick an impartial jury,” Hankison’s lawyer Stew Mathews told ABC News. “We’re going to both defend [against] the charges in the courtroom.”

No officer has been charged with Taylor’s killing and the decision to charge Hankison with endangering others sparked outrage. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron called Taylor’s death a “tragedy” but said the officers were justified in deciding to shoot.

“Our investigation found that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker, [Taylor’s boyfriend],” Cameron said. “This justification bars us from pursuing charges in Ms. Breonna Taylor’s death.”

Hankison and Louisville Metro Police Department officers Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly fired 32 shots into Taylor’s apartment.

Hankison fired 10 of the shots into Taylor’s apartment. Errant bullets penetrated a wall of the residence and entered a neighboring apartment that was occupied by a child, a man, and a pregnant woman, according to Cameron.

Taylor, a Black 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was fatally shot multiple times during the raid. No drugs were found in her apartment.

Hankison and Cosgrove have both been fired from the force.

Cameron said that none of his shots struck Taylor.

The fatal shooting sparked protests nationwide, as demonstrators demanded action against police brutality and racism in policing.

No-knock warrants, which allow law enforcement officials to enter a private residence without knocking, have since come under scrutiny and have prompted policy changes in states across the country.

The Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Council unanimously passed Breonna’s Law on June 11, 2020, which outlawed “no-knock” warrants and required body cameras be turned on before and after every search.”

Russia-Ukraine tensions cause gas prices to soar

February 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The recent tensions between Russia and Ukraine are affecting Americans at the pump.

Prices for oil are now at their highest level in eight years.

“Russia still supplies some of the oil to the United States, and prices for oil are now above $90 a barrel for the first time since 2014,” ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis explains. “And you’re seeing that at the pump — prices up overnight another penny, $3.45 a gallon.”

In the past week, prices for gas have shot up an average of 8 cents a gallon across the country, with some states seeing even bigger increases.

“Nowhere in the country, at this point, is paying less than $3 a gallon for gas, on average, according to Gas Buddy’s Patrick Dehaan,” Jarvis says.

She adds that Dehaan forecasts that in the coming days and weeks, “we will continue to see this price pressure rise” and that prices for gas could climb to $4 a gallon as tensions between both countries escalate.

+ More