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Texas abortion ban upheld by federal appeals court

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The most restrictive abortion law in the country will remain in effect, after a federal appeals court sided with Texas on Thursday in an ongoing legal battle with the Department of Justice.

The law, known as SB8, bans physicians from providing abortions once they detect a so-called fetal heartbeat — which can be seen on an ultrasound as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

The law, which went into effect on Sept. 1, was briefly paused after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction last week barring its enforcement. Days later, the law was reinstated after a panel of judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary administrative stay.

In the latest development of the high-profile case, the court rejected the Justice Department’s request to again halt Texas’ ability to enforce the law. In a 2-1 order Thursday night, a panel of judges granted Texas’s request to continue to stay the preliminary injunction while it pursues its appeal.

The court’s order did not detail its reasoning behind the ruling, which is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Next stop, #SCOTUS,” University of Texas constitutional law professor Steve Vladeck said in a post on Twitter following the ruling.

Under the law, private citizens can sue a person they “reasonably believe” provided an illegal abortion or assisted someone in getting it in the state, and is crafted to prevent any state official, other than judges, from being responsible for enforcement.

In a 113-page ruling initially granting the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman was scathing in targeting the state in how he says it schemed to evade judicial review.

“A person’s right under the Constitution to choose to obtain an abortion prior to fetal viability is well established,” Pitman wrote. “Fully aware that depriving its citizens of this right by direct state action would be flagrantly unconstitutional, the State contrived an unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme to do just that.”

After the injunction was issued, some abortion providers in Texas briefly resumed providing abortions after cardiac activity was detected, only to have the ban back in effect within 48 hours.

Since the law went into effect, women have had to travel hundreds of miles to obtain an abortion out-of-state, inundating neighboring states’ abortion clinics. Abortion providers in Texas have that some clinics may have to close down for good due to the law.

Former President Bill Clinton admitted to hospital with blood infection known as sepsis, doctor says

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ORANGE, Calif.) — Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday for an infection, according to a spokesperson, but is recovering and is expected to be released from the hospital soon.

“On Tuesday, President Clinton was admitted to UCI Medical Center to receive treatment for a non-COVID-related infection,” Angel Ureña, spokesperson for Clinton, said in a statement Thursday. “He is on the mend, in good spirits and is incredibly thankful to the doctors, nurses, and staff providing him with excellent care.”

Dr. Imran Ali, a physician fellow at Mt. Sinai Health, told ABC’s World News Now his sources said Clinton “was feeling rather fatigued at a private event in California, and he went to the hospital and they did a routine checkup in the emergency department and they identified an infection of his blood.”

That is usually done through a blood culture, he said, adding that Clinton “probably likely had a urinary tract infection that caused the infection to go to the blood, and it’s something that we call sepsis, is when an infection reaches the bloodstream.”

In some cases, Ali said sepsis can be serious, but in other cases it can be easily controlled with IV antibiotics. He said it can be more serious for older adults, especially people with a history of heart disease.

“And I’ve treated patients who have had heart disease and sepsis and we’re concerned about a decrease in blood pressure, and we also need to monitor the heart because the heart can be infected by the infection as well,” Ali said. “But since President Clinton is about to be transitioned to oral antibiotics, it is less likely that the infection has affected his heart, because in that case you would be on antibiotics for six weeks, through the IV line.”

Clinton has had a number of health issues over the past two decades, though most related to heart problems. He had a quadruple bypass surgery in September 2004 and two coronary stents placed in his heart in February 2010. He also underwent surgery for a collapsed lung in 2005.

Ali said the former president suffered a mild case of sepsis and didn’t have any issues with his blood pressure.

“He is in the ICU for further monitoring, like I said, if his blood pressure water drops, they can easily intervene,” he said. “From what I’m hearing my sources is that all he needed was some IV fluids to help with his blood pressure, but his blood pressure was not dangerously low to be of any serious concern.”

Ali said that since Clinton is supposed to transition to antibiotics, he will likely be discharged soon.

Clinton’s doctors at UCI Medical Center in Orange, California, further elaborated on the former president’s health in a statement.

“President Clinton was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center and diagnosed with an infection. He was admitted to the hospital for close monitoring and administered IV antibiotics and fluids,” Drs. Alpesh Amin and Lisa Bardack said in the statement. “He remains at the hospital for continuous monitoring. After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well.”

“The California-based medical team has been in constant communication with the President’s New York-based medical team, including his cardiologist,” the statement continued. “We hope to have him go home soon.”

Clinton, 75, served as president from January 1993 to January 2001.

He won the race for governor of Arkansas in 1978 at just 32 years old, though he lost in his bid for a second term. He then served again as governor from 1983 to 1992, when he rallied to earn the Democratic nomination for president. He faced off against incumbent George H.W. Bush, defeating him comfortably to become the first Democrat in office since Jimmy Carter.

He cruised to the White House again in 1996, defeating Bob Dole and third-party candidate Ross Perot.

Much of his second term, however, was dominated by the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The salacious details of the president’s affair with the intern led to his impeachment in December 1998, but he was acquitted in the Senate.

Before President Donald Trump was impeached twice, Clinton was the last president to be impeached and only other president outside of Andrew Jackson to earn the ignominious vote.

First lady Jill Biden will stump in New Jersey, Virginia to help elect Democratic governors

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — First lady Jill Biden is hitting the campaign trail Friday, hoping to help deliver victories for Democrats in two gubernatorial elections.

Biden will travel to Virginia and New Jersey to campaign with former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Gov. Phil Murphy in their respective states.

An incumbent Democratic governor hasn’t won reelection in New Jersey since the 1970s, but public polling indicates Murphy is better positioned heading into November than McAuliffe. Polls conducted in mid-September from Stockton University and Monmouth University showed Murphy with a nine-point and 13-point lead, respectively, over Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former assemblyman.

While Virginians rejected former President Donald Trump at the ballot box twice and Democrats made significant gains in the commonwealth, including securing a trifecta government when he was in office, McAuliffe only has a slim 2.5-point lead over GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average.

Despite the race tightening over the last few weeks, McAuliffe is confident Virginians will back his record and he’ll once again break the so-called “Virginia curse” of candidates losing Virginia’s off-year gubernatorial race if they have the same party affiliation as the current occupant of the White House.

“We’re gonna win this again and make history again with this,” McAuliffe told reporters Thursday. “I am the first candidate for office of either party in 80 years to win every single city and county (in the primary). … Why? I think a.) people were happy with my job as governor before and b.) because I have a real agenda.”

The first lady is not the only high-profile surrogate hitting the road for the two candidates — former President Barack Obama will also stump for both men next week.

Obama will hold back-to-back events in the states on Oct. 23, 10 days before Election Day and coinciding with the first day of in-person early voting in New Jersey’s history.

Georgia heavy-hitters Stacey Abrams and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who were both on the president’s shortlist for vice president, are also headed to Virginia on Sunday to campaign for McAuliffe.

After McAuliffe said during the last debate that he doesn’t “think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” the Youngkin campaign rallied around education as his closing message. Having the first lady, an educator who began her career in 1976, join McAuliffe on the trail could serve as an opportunity to speak to the issue and reassure parents who may be wary of his stance.

Biden, who currently works as an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College, has made education one of the top priorities in her role as first lady.

The first lady is not the first Biden to campaign for McAuliffe in the state — President Joe Biden also made a campaign stop on behalf of his longtime friend in July — though recent polling has shown Biden’s approval ratings in the state fall, leading McAuliffe to distance himself from the president.

“We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington, as you know. The president is unpopular today unfortunately here in Virginia, so we have got to plow through,” McAuliffe said during a virtual rally last week. He’s also said he’s frustrated that Congress still hasn’t passed the infrastructure package, saying the “inaction on Capitol Hill … is so damaging.”

Despite the comments, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that she expected the president would continue to advocate for McAuliffe’s candidacy.

“I think the president of course wants former Governor McAuliffe to be the future governor of Virginia. There is alignment on a lot of their agenda, whether it is the need to invest in rebuilding our roads, rails and bridges or making it easier for women to rejoin the workforce,” Psaki told reporters.

“We’re going to do everything we can to help former Governor McAuliffe and we believe in the agenda he’s representing,” she added

And McAuliffe has since made clear that Biden is still welcome in Virginia, telling reporters Tuesday, “He’ll be coming back. You bet he will.”

From Chicago to ‘Pelago,’ Ryan Hurd’s debut album title fits “To a T”

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

More than four years after the arrival of his first EP, Ryan Hurd‘s first full-length album finally arrives today.

Though he’s previously written number-ones for Lady A, Luke Bryan, and Blake Shelton, the record features Ryan’s biggest hit as an artist so far, his nearly-top-five duet with his wife Maren Morris, “Chasing After You.”

And it’s titled… Pelago.

“It was called RH LP1 Sony Music Nashville for about three months,” Ryan laughs, perhaps hinting at some difficulty or delay in finding a name.

“Well, first of all, you have to ask me about it, so that’s a good thing,” he explains. “Second of all, I needed a word that rhymed with Chicago for my song ‘Coast,’ and I kind of used that as a placeholder thinking I made it up, and turns out, it’s actually a word in Italian and Latin that is actually what it sounds like.”

So Ryan’s unusual album title is actually a teaching moment.

“It’s a word that means ‘open sea,’ and it’s a word that means ‘overwhelming passion,'” he reveals. “So I thought that was just a really cool umbrella for all of these songs in this project.”

Physical copies and downloads of Pelago offer eleven new songs, all co-written by Ryan, save for “Chasing After You.” Streaming versions of the album also add four favorites, including “To a T” and “Diamonds or Twine.”

Off-duty female NYPD officer charged with murder for shooting woman after finding her with partner, police say

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A New York City police officer has been charged with murder and attempted murder Thursday for allegedly shooting two women, killing one, at a home in Brooklyn.

The officer, identified by police as Yvonne Wu, 31, who was off-duty at the time, is believed to have shot both women — one of whom she was dating — when they returned to the home where the officer’s girlfriend lived.

Police said the off-duty officer shot a 24-year-old woman in her chest, “possibly more than one time,” at the Bensonhurst home. The victim, identified as Jamie Liang, was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and was pronounced dead, police said.

The other woman, a 23-year-old, who was in the romantic relationship with the officer, was shot in the torso and is expected to survive, police said.

Wu is a police officer in the 72nd District, which encompasses the Park Slope and Sunset Park areas of Brooklyn.

She had worked for the NYPD for 5 1/2 years. Police said she was at a local hospital for evaluation.

“We believe it is domestic in nature. We believe all three parties knew each other,” Assistant Chief Michael Kemper, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, said at a press conference Wednesday evening.

“We believe they had an intimate relationship,” he said of the officer and the 23-year-old woman.

Wu remained at the scene and told police she had shot the two women, according to police.

Police said they were still investigating, but recovered a gun on the scene and “there’s a very good chance it is her service weapon,” Kemper said.

“The whole incident is horrible, but these cops performed great, just heroically, and this is what NYPD cops come upon every single day,” Kemper said. “Is this an incident they would want to come upon? No. But unfortunately throughout their careers they come upon this.”

New Bad Wolves singer remembers when he knew he was right for the band: “It was one of those moments”

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

It was his voice that got him in the door, but it might’ve been a timely feat of athleticism that cemented Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz as the new lead singer of Bad Wolves.

DL, who previously played guitar in the band The Acacia Strain, joined Bad Wolves earlier this year following the departure of former frontman Tommy Vext. Being he was longtime friends with guitarist Doc Coyle, the band connected with DL and sent him a trio of instrumentals to record his vocals over, and then invited him for an in-person rehearsal session.

As DL tells ABC Audio, it was during a moment after that rehearsal — a moment that will “burned in my mind forever,” he says — that he knew the fit was right.

“We were walking out into the parking lot of the rehearsal space,” DL recalls. “I don’t know if it was keys or something, but from across this long parking lot, [drummer] John [Boecklin] threw keys or whatever it was at me.”

“I just caught them with, like, two fingers,” he says. “The ex-football player in me just, you know, reacted.”

That little bit of chemistry seemed like a sign that DL and Bad Wolves were made for each other.

“Everybody just kind of stopped and looked at each other, like, ‘All right! Let’s go to dinner!'” DL says. “It was one of those moments…It was cool.”

Of course, it certainly helped that the rehearsal itself went well, too.

“The second that we were all finally in a room together with the songs and stuff, it just felt like a family reunion,” DL explains. “It felt really good, felt really natural.”

Bad Wolves’ first album with DL, Dear Monsters, arrives October 29. It features the lead single “Lifeline.”

Santana’s star-studded new album ‘Blessings and Miracles’ arrives today; Carlos Santana shares highlights

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Santana‘s latest studio album, Blessings and Miracles, gets its release today.

The 15-track collection follows a similar template to the band’s massively successful 1999 album, Supernatural, with guitar legend Carlos Santana and his group collaborating with guest artists from various musical genres.

At a recent New York City press event, Carlos reflected on collaborating with such a diverse array of musicians.

“We don’t leave anybody out,” he noted. “This is why Supernatural worked, and this is why Blessings and Miracles, I’m getting a lot of feedback [about] how [many] people identify with it. I don’t know the word genre. I don’t know what that means. I only play from the heart, for the heart.”

Like Supernatural, Blessings and Miracles finds Santana teaming up with Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas — this time on song called “Move” that, like its predecessor “Smooth,” blends melodic pop and rock with a Latin groove.

“This song…makes me realize energy is very welcome in our hearts, because it makes you feel like you’re 17 years old, with a lot of thirst for adventure,” Carlos said.

Another standout track on Blessings and Miracles is a cover of the Procol Harum classic “A Whiter Shade of Pale” featuring Steve Winwood.

Carlos revealed that he asked Winwood to record the cover with him a few years ago when they were both playing a concert at London’s Hyde Park.

“I said, ‘Hey, man, I want to do ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ with you. You play Hammond organ and singing it,'” Carlos recalled, “‘but I want to do it ‘Spanish Harlem’ style…you know, put some real sex in it.'”

Carlos said the track was one of his favorites on the album, “because [Winwood’s] voice is so iconic.”

Here’s Blessings and Miracles full track list:

“Ghost of Future Pull”/”New Light”
“Santana Celebration”
“Rumbalero” (featuring Salvador Santana & Asdru Sierra)
“Joy” (Carlos Santana & Chris Stapleton)
“Move” (Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas, Zac Barnett & American Authors)
“A Whiter Shade of Pale” (featuring Steve Winwood)
“Break” (featuring Ally Brooke)
“She’s Fire” (Diane Warren, G-Eazy & Carlos Santana)
“Peace Power” (featuring Corey Glover)
“America for Sale” (featuring Kirk Hammett & Mark Osegueda)
“Breathing Underwater” (featuring Stella Santana, Avi Snow, MVCA)
“Mother Yes”
“Song for Cindy”
“Angel Choir” (featuring Gayle Moran Corea)/”All Together” (featuring Chick Corea)
“Ghost of Future Pull II”

Chris “Ludacris” Bridges says his new animated series ‘Karma’s World’ has the potential to “change the world”

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Chris “Ludacris” Bridges says he wants to “change the world” with his new animated Netflix series Karma’s World.

Inspired by his real-life daughter, Karma, Bridges says the idea of the series came to him over 10 years ago, when his daughter expressed her interest in following in his footsteps.

“She wanted the rap too,” Bridges tells ABC Audio. “So…I actually put her in the booth, [and] to my surprise, she had the good genetics and…the vocal ability at the age of six…[that] it kind of blew me away. And I was like, ‘If you want to do music, you have to talk about what goes on in your world and in your life.’ And, you know, that brings us to everything that we’re at today.”

The rapper-turned-Fast & Furious actor says he and Karma are a lot alike because they both showed “diligence, hard work, and determination at such an early age.”

“And it made me want to create this entire idea just based on my offspring,” he shares. “And that’s what life is supposed to be all about.”

Looking at his new series, Bridges is confident that he’s created something special.

“I feel like there are a lot of children that will be able to relate to Karma,” he says. “And it’s really encouraging them to find their own voice and to express themselves in very unique ways — the same way that Karma does.”

He continues, “Overall…the same way that Karma wants to change the world with music, I want to change the world with this show.”

Karma’s World is now available to stream on Netflix.

Jamie Lee Curtis promises ‘Halloween Kills’ is not only scarier, but gorier than the last film

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

If the real world isn’t scary enough, the new Halloween movie fans have been dying to see is out now.

After the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its release by a year, Halloween Kills slashes its way into theaters today and star Jamie Lee Curtis promises fans it was well worth the wait.

The actress explains that the film is bigger, badder and even gorier than the previous installment.

“[Halloween] 2018 was about female trauma and violence against women and 2021’s movie is about a mob violence,” Curtis, 62, explained, saying the town of Haddonfield, IL, is finally fed up with Michael Meyers and is “taking matters into our own hands.”

“[It’s] a group of people — collateral damage — coming together, saying, ‘We are as mad as hell. We are not taking it anymore. The system is broken,'” she continued, adding that “the violence is next level.”

However, director and writer David Gordon Green hints taking down the legendary killer won’t be easy, but remained coy on how Meyers will be able to withstand the wrath of an entire town.

Does the slasher have powers or is he just an abnormally strong and violent man? Green said the film won’t answer that age-old question, but it will explore “the mystery [of] what makes him scary.”

In order to do that, he needed to expand the scope of “Laurie versus Michael” and include the thousands of voices of Haddonfield who have been a part of the Halloween saga since the beginning.

“I thought it would be fascinating to study a community, to an effect of fear that transcends the interpersonal and becomes the almost cosmic interpretation of fear,” Green explained.

Halloween Kills — also starring Judy Greer and Andi Matichak — is now playing in theaters.

Scoreboard roundup — 10/14/21

October 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
LA Dodgers 2, San Francisco 1 (LA wins 3-2)

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Atlanta 127, Miami 92
Brooklyn 107, Minnesota 101
Denver 113 Oklahoma City 107 (OT)
Sacramento 116, LA Lakers 112

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Buffalo 5, Montreal 1
Ottawa 3, Toronto 2
Columbus 8, Arizona 2
Florida 5, Pittsburgh 4 (OT)
Dallas 3, NY Rangers 2 (OT)
Carolina 6, NY Islanders 3
Tampa Bay 7, Detroit 6 (OT)
Final Seattle 4 Nashville 3

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 28, Philadelphia 22

+ More