Page 7660 – 105.7 WDNY

Youngkin calls pledge to flag ‘carried’ at Jan. 6 rally ‘weird and wrong’

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Hours after his Democratic opponent called on him to publicly condemn attendees of a GOP rally who pledged allegiance to an American flag said to have been flown at the Jan. 6 rally near the Capitol prior to the insurrection, Republican nominee for Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin issued a statement calling the act “weird and wrong.”

“While I had no role in last night’s event, I have heard about it from many people in the media today. It is weird and wrong to pledge allegiance to a flag connected to January 6,” Youngkin said. “As I have said many times before, the violence that occurred on January 6 was sickening and wrong.”

Thursday morning, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat in the race, held a press call where he urged Youngkin to disavow the pledge that kicked off an event in support of the statewide GOP ticket.

“They really brought a flag up there and they did pledge of allegiance to a flag that was used to bring down the democracy that that American flag symbolizes,” McAuliffe said. “I’m just asking Glenn Youngkin to issue a statement or go before the cameras today… and say, it was not appropriate to pledge allegiance to a flag… that tried to destroy the democracy.”

At the start of the Wednesday night rally, which was livestreamed on the right-wing platform Real America’s Voice, the emcee called up a woman with an American flag, which the emcee said “was carried at the peaceful rally with Donald J. Trump on Jan. 6.”

Five people died during or after the riot on Jan. 6. A comprehensive review of police officer bodycam footage found roughly 1,000 instances of assault against members of law enforcement who were trying to protect the building, according to legal filings by the Justice Department.

Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted at the Capitol, including about 80 U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department. And nearly 650 people have been arrested and charged with federal crimes in connection to the events of Jan. 6, with more than 100 having already pleaded guilty.

Youngkin did not speak at or attend the Virginia rally on Wednesday, but former President Donald Trump called in to urge attendees to vote for the Republican nominee.

“I’ll tell you what, Glenn Youngkin is a great gentleman, truly successful. … I know Terry McAuliffe very well, and Terry was a lousy governor with raising taxes — that’s all they knew how to do,” Trump said in brief remarks. “You have a chance to get one of the most successful business people in the country … he’ll straighten out Virginia. He’ll lower taxes, do all of the things that we want a governor to do.”

Trump, who didn’t pick a favorite candidate during the primary campaign, endorsed Youngkin after he secured the Republican nomination in May. While he wasn’t on the ground for the event, this marked the first time he attended an event, albeit via phone, to support the GOP ticket in the state.

Another Republican vying for statewide office, Winsome Sears, the nominee for lieutenant governor, was scheduled to speak at the rally, according to the event advisory, but she ultimately did not. ABC News has reached out to her campaign and to the John Fredericks Media Network, which held the rally, to ask about the cancellation but has not heard back.

Steve Bannon, the former White House adviser to Trump who was subpoenaed to appear for a deposition with the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack Thursday, also spoke at the end of the rally. Bannon has rebuffed the House select committee’s subpoena, and the committee’s chairman and vice chairwoman said last week they will “swiftly consider” holding Bannon in contempt of Congress.

Virginia voters rejected Trump twice, and by nearly double the margin in 2020 as in 2016. McAuliffe has tied Youngkin to Trump, branding him a “Trump wannabe” and frequently highlighting Youngkin’s plans and statements about “election integrity.”

But with less than three weeks until the Nov. 2 election, the race is neck and neck. McAuliffe only leads Youngkin by 2.5 percentage points, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average.

The fallout over the last general election, which Trump continues to falsely claim was stolen from him, has been a cloud over Youngkin’s campaign as he attempts to fend off McAuliffe’s attacks without alienating ardent Trump voters, many of whom wrongly believe President Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election.

But both candidates went on the record during the first debate pledging to “absolutely” accept the results of the election if they lose, even narrowly.

In-person early voting has been underway since mid-September and ends Oct. 30. About 345,000 ballots have been cast so far, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

ABC News’ Alex Mallin and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.

Ex-Boeing test pilot indicted for fraud in 737 Max probe

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Boeing’s former 737 MAX test pilot, Mark Forkner, was indicted for fraud Thursday for allegedly misleading regulators about problems tied to the aircraft’s two fatal crashes. The ex-chief technical pilot is the first Boeing employee to be charged over the 737 Max’s failures.

In October 2019, pilots struggled to regain control of the MAX and it plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia. Five months later, another MAX crashed near Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia just six minutes after takeoff, killing all on board and forcing regulators around the globe to ground the plane. Three hundred and forty-six people perished in both accidents.

Investigators found that both crashes were tied to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, software, which had been designed to help stabilize the jet after heavier, repositioned engines placed on the aircraft caused the plane’s nose to point too far upward in certain circumstances.

In both crashes, incorrect data from a faulty sensor caused the MCAS to misfire, forcing the planes to nose down repeatedly. MCAS was not mentioned in the pilot manual — allowing pilots to enter the MAX cockpit without simulator training that would have cost the airlines more money.

“In an attempt to save Boeing money, Forkner allegedly withheld critical information from regulators,” Acting U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham for the Northern District of Texas said in a release. “His callous choice to mislead the FAA hampered the agency’s ability to protect the flying public and left pilots in the lurch, lacking information about certain 737 MAX flight controls. The Department of Justice will not tolerate fraud – especially in industries where the stakes are so high.”

Internal messages that surfaced in October 2019 between Forkner and another Boeing pilot appeared to show the company knew about problems with MCAS in 2016, two years before the crashes.

The documents released by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee show Forkner told FAA officials that MCAS was safe despite calling it “egregious” based on simulator tests, according to internal messages and emails.

“I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly),” Forkner said to his colleague in the messages.

Forkner was the main point of contact between the administration and Boeing in regard to areas like pilot training and manual recommendations, an FAA official explained at the time.

Boeing said in a statement in 2019 that Forkner’s comments “reflected a reaction to a simulator program that was not functioning properly, and that was still undergoing testing.”

In January 2020, Boeing released more than 100 pages of internal communications that the company itself called “completely unacceptable.”

In one exchange, an unnamed Boeing employee says the 737 Max “is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys,” after complaining about the flight management computer.

In another 2018 message a Boeing employee asks, “Would you put your family on a MAX simulator trained aircraft?”

“I wouldn’t,” he said.

“No,” the colleague responded.

Boeing has since rewritten the MCAS software, receiving the FAA’s approval for the jet to reenter commercial service on Nov. 18, 2020.

In January, The U.S. Justice Department charged The Boeing Company with “conspiracy to defraud the United States” — concluding after a lengthy investigation that the company knowingly misled regulators while seeking approval for its 737 MAX aircraft.

In an SEC filing, Boeing said it agreed to the charge “based on the conduct of two former 737 MAX program technical pilots.”

Independent FDA panel votes to authorize Moderna booster for seniors and high-risk Americans

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — An independent Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday voted unanimously to authorize Moderna Covid-19 vaccine boosters for Americans 65 and older, anyone 18 and older with underlying conditions and those frequently exposed to the virus.

The recommendation is in line with what the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized for Pfizer booster shots last month.

The Moderna booster will only be a half dose, as opposed to the full dose for Pfizer, but was found to return antibody protection to the initial levels after the first two shots.

Dr. Jacqueline Miller, who presented Moderna’s data Thursday, said the company chose the half dose because it was just as effective but would “increase the worldwide vaccine supply of mRNA.”

Moderna and the FDA both said there was no evidence of increased side effects from booster doses except for more reports of swelling or tenderness in the arm where the patient was injected.

“Unsolicited adverse events did not reflect any new safety concerns,” the FDA found.

On Friday, the panel will also vote on authorizing booster shots for the third available vaccine, Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson posted a summary of its research Wednesday, making the argument for a second shot of the same dose, roughly six months after the initial single-shot vaccine.

The conversation around boosters focuses on whether Americans vaccinated over six months ago need a boost of protection against breakthrough infections in the face of the more transmissible delta variant, though all of the three vaccines authorized in the U.S. are still proving effective against hospitalization and death.

And despite the overwhelming support for boosters from the experts on the FDA panel, many were also quick to point out that the conversation around boosters should not undermine the vital campaign to get the 66 million unvaccinated Americans vaccinated.

“The people who are in the ICU aren’t there because they haven’t gotten the third dose, they’re there because they haven’t gotten any dose,” Dr. Paul Offit, an FDA advisory panel member and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said in Thursday’s meeting.

Another panel member, Dr. Michael Kurilla of the National Institute of Health, noted that the vaccines are still working quite well, particularly among young people, and he doesn’t see the need to offer boosters universally.

“I don’t necessarily see the need for a sort of let-it-rip campaign for boosters for everyone who’s ever been vaccinated,” Kurilla said.

Another pertinent debate that the FDA panel will take on Friday is the potential benefits of mixing and matching vaccines for booster shots.

Early results from a highly anticipated National Institutes of Health study found that boosting with a shot different from what people got the first time appears to be safe and effective.

The non-peer reviewed study evaluated all three vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna and J&J — finding that no matter the booster, all study participants saw a “substantial” uptick in antibody levels after a booster shot.

Though promising, more research is likely needed on mixing and matching. For now, the process will formally move forward with authorizing additional booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots for those who received the same original vaccine.

This week’s meetings are the first step in that process: The FDA itself and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will both need to sign off on the panel’s recommendations about who should get boosters and when for Moderna and J&J.

The first authorization, which will come from the FDA, is expected within days of the independent panel’s non-binding vote.

Then, the question goes to CDC’s independent advisory panel of experts. That panel has scheduled a meeting for next Wednesday and Thursday to discuss boosters for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Those outside experts will weigh in with their recommendations, which are also non-binding.

Once that happens, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must sign off, which typically happens within 24 hours of the panel’s recommendations. That decision is expected by Friday, Oct. 22, at the earliest.

Judge faces criticism following report that Black children were illegally jailed in Tennessee county

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — There is renewed criticism of a juvenile court judge in Rutherford County, Tennessee, following a joint ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio report that alleges Judge Donna Scott Davenport oversaw a juvenile justice system where Black children were disproportionally and illegally hit with criminal charges.

The investigation centers around a 2016 incident where 11 Black children, some as young as 8 and 9 years old, were allegedly arrested for not stopping a fight captured on video. Ten of the children were charged with “criminal responsibility for conduct of another.”

Frank Ross Brazil, an attorney who represented several of the children, told ABC News that criminal responsibility is a prosecutorial theory and not a charge under Tennessee law.

“If you and I are in a car, and there’s something illegal in the car and I’m arrested for possessing it, you could be also found guilty of possessing that substance by the theory of criminal responsibility for another,” he said. “So, that being applied as a charge in and of itself is unlawful.”

The ProPublica report detailed systems set up by Davenport, which allegedly lead to the improper arrest and detention of children.

Davenport has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment and declined an interview with ProPublica.

In 2003, Davenport allegedly set up a “process” where police in Rutherford County took children into custody, transported them to the detention center for screening and then filed charging papers. In the 2016 incident, the children were arrested, taken for processing and then released after they had been charged, the lawsuit alleges.

A class-action lawsuit filed, and later settled, against Rutherford County alleges this process was a violation of Tennessee law. For many juvenile misdemeanor offenses, state law requires that police officers release children with a citation or a summons rather than taking them into custody, according to the lawsuit.

The Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center also reportedly used a “filter system,” where staff could decide to hold a child before they had a hearing using undefined criteria instead of the precise categories outlined in Tennessee law, Brazil said. Davenport has “ultimate administrative authority” over the detention center, according to the lawsuit.

According to ProPublica, records from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts showed that in 2014, the last year where this type of data is available, children were detained on average in 5% of juvenile cases statewide. In Rutherford County, children were detained in 48% of cases, the report said.

The class-action lawsuit alleged that these policies led to potentially thousands of children being illegally arrested, illegally detained or both.

Dylan Geerts, a named plaintiff in the lawsuit, but not a part of the 2016 incident, was one of those children. When he was 15, he said he was arrested for stealing change and small items from a car.

“They essentially put me in solitary confinement for between 22 and 23 hours a day,” Geerts, now 23, told ABC News. “[They] took me off of my medications by force, not by doctor’s orders or anything. They just didn’t allow me to have my bipolar medication.”

“I was kept awake for close to 30 something hours by the staff, purposefully,” he added. He was released on house arrest after four days.

“I really struggled through my teenage years after that,” Geerts said, noting that he had fallen in with the “wrong crowd” during his time in juvenile detention.

Before his arrest, he said he had been hospitalized for suicidal thoughts. Although he had support from his family, following his arrest, he was hospitalized for attempting to harm himself and was later diagnosed with PTSD.

“Whenever you get taken off of a medication like that,” he said. “It can take weeks to months for it to work again if it does at all.”

The lawsuit was settled in June of this year for $11 million. As a part of the settlement, Brazil said Rutherford County denied any wrongdoing and each child who was improperly detained got $5,000 and each child who was improperly arrested got $1,000.

“It’s been heartbreaking, actually, to talk to these people’s families and to hear individually so many hundreds of stories,” he said.

“You’d like to hope, being a father to my children of my own, I like to hope that this kind of thing does not happen in the 2000s in America, but it does,” Brazil added. “It’s happening to a certain set of people disproportionately.”

Brazil said that the lawsuits have brought some change to Rutherford County. A federal injunction in 2017 ended the county’s “filter system.”

Although there was an investigation into the arrests in 2016, the police officers involved only received reprimands or short-term suspensions. The officials who recommended the charge did not participate in the investigation and had no mention of it in their personnel files, according to ProPublica.

Davenport is still the juvenile court judge for Rutherford County.

Geerts said that knowing the injunction has stopped the “filter system” has made him feel better. However, he said he wants the state legislature to mandate that counties release numerical data about their juvenile arrest rates. And, he said, he would like to see Davenport challenged when she goes up for election next year.

“I hope that people out here will take that into account and be sure that they can voice their opinion and let people know that, yeah, that’s not cool,” he said.

“Like you’re not making kids better, you’re honestly making them worse” he said. “People don’t belong in a box on their first offense, especially if you’re going to play doctor and take their medication away and lock them inside of a cell.”

Following the release of ProPublica’s report, state lawmakers have called for action.

“We are concerned about the recent reports and believe the appropriate judicial authorities should issue a full review,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s press secretary Casey Black said in a statement to ABC News.

Tennessee State Sen. Jeff Yarbro called the report’s findings “wrong on so many levels” in a tweet Saturday.

“It’s a horror show plain and simple, it’s abusive and it doesn’t even resemble law,” Yarbro, who is the Democratic Leader in the State General Assembly, told ABC affiliate WKRN.

Tennessee State Rep. John Ray Clemmons, who called for a federal investigation after the 2016 incident, said the state and the county failed children and their families in a statement to WKRN.

“As an attorney, I am limited in sharing my personal opinion on sitting judges, but these individuals, through their own acts and admissions, have proven themselves wholly unfit for the important positions they currently hold,” he added.

COVID-19 live updates: 1 region seeing highest hospitalizations in nearly 10 months

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United States has been facing a COVID-19 surge as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread.

More than 719,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 66.2% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the CDC.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Oct 14, 7:18 pm
CDC advising states to preorder Pfizer’s vaccine for young children

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising states to order Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine doses for children ages 5 to 11 ahead of a vote on its authorization.

An independent Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is scheduled to discuss the vaccine on Oct. 26, and a vote is expected soon after. In planning documents posted by the CDC, the agency is advising states to order their doses in advance of the meeting, with preorders starting Oct. 20.

This is meant to “ensure that vaccine can be placed in many locations nationwide, making it easier for children to get vaccinated” and “allow for a manageable and equitable launch,” the CDC said.

A decision from the CDC on recommending the vaccine is not likely until early November; the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.

-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik

Oct 14, 3:17 pm
FDA panel votes in support of authorizing Moderna booster

The independent FDA advisory panel on Thursday voted unanimously to authorize Moderna vaccine boosters for Americans 65 and older, anyone 18 and older with underlying conditions and those frequently exposed to the virus through work or home life.

The recommendation is in line with what the FDA and CDC authorized for Pfizer booster shots last month.

The FDA panel will meet on Friday on J&J boosters. Following next week’s meetings from the CDC’s independent advisory group, Moderna and J&J boosters could be authorized and recommended for specific populations as soon as Oct. 22.

-ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik, Cheyenne Haslett

Oct 14, 3:02 pm
White House to donate 17 million J&J doses to African Union

When President Joe Biden meets with his Kenyan counterpart in the Oval Office Thursday, he’ll announce a one-time donation of over 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union. This is in addition to the 50 million doses the U.S. has already donated to the African Union.

“We are hopeful this donation will help AU countries build vaccination programs and get shots into arms,” the White House said.

The doses will ship immediately.

-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky

Oct 14, 2:03 pm
Region sees hospitalizations at highest point in nearly 10 months

Alaska currently has the country’s highest infection rate, followed by Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, West Virginia and Idaho, according to federal data.

In the Department of Health and Human Services’ Mountain Region – which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming — hospital admissions are at their highest point in nearly 10 months, according to federal data.

In the last five weeks, Michigan daily cases have nearly doubled and Minnesota daily cases have nearly tripled, according to federal data.

In New Hampshire and Vermont, daily cases are up by 40% and 43% respectively in the last month.

Over the last month, the U.S. has reported more than 47,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, including nearly 9,000 deaths recorded in the last week, according to federal data.

But hospital admissions have dropped by about 9.2% in the last week.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Oct 14, 1:27 pm
Moderna says half dose will be just as effective

Dr. Jaqueline Miller, who presented data to the FDA committee on Thursday on behalf of Moderna, said the half dose works to boost antibody protections back up to the initial level.

“We chose the 50 microgram dose for the booster because we believe we should vaccinate with the lowest amount of antigen needed to induce an immune response at least equal to that in study 301 [the initial clinical study of Moderna vaccine], which was linked to vaccine efficacy of 93%,” Miller said.

Miller added that “reducing the booster dose to 50 micrograms will also increase the worldwide vaccine supply of mRNA.”

Americans who had a normal immune response to the first two shots and are getting a booster will need a half dose. But immunocompromised Americans — people receiving cancer treatment or organ transplant recipients, for example — need a full dose for their third shot to try and initiate the immune response they didn’t get from the first two.

Moderna officials said they’re preparing a letter explaining this administration to health care workers.

According to the FDA’s review of Moderna’s data, there was no evidence of increased side effects from booster doses.

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

Oct 14, 1:07 pm
Labor Department to issue new vaccine mandate

The U.S. is making progress in the fight against COVID-19 with daily cases and hospitalizations on the decline, but the nation must to do more to vaccinate Americans, President Joe Biden said Thursday.

The Labor Department will soon issue a vaccine mandate for workplaces with 100 or more employees, Biden said.

Biden called on more businesses to “step up” and more parents to get their children vaccinated when eligible.

“We can’t let up now,” he said.

Oct 14, 11:54 am
FDA’s independent committee hours away from vote on Moderna booster

The FDA’s independent committee is meeting on Thursday and will vote in hours on whether to greenlight the Moderna booster for: people 65 and older; people 18 and older who are at high risk of severe illness because of an underlying health condition; and people 18 and older whose job may put them at greater risk for exposure to the virus.

In introductory remarks Thursday, the FDA’s Peter Marks urged the independent panel to “harmonize” its decision with what has already been decided for Pfizer in order to avoid unnecessary confusion for the public.

Pfizer boosters have been authorized for people over 65, all adults with underlying medical conditions and adults whose job puts them at high risk.

The vote is scheduled for about 4:45 p.m.

Oct 13, 6:49 pm
Pending vaccine distribution for kids will be based on population: CDC

Initial distribution of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 years old will be based on a state’s population of eligible children, according to a new planning document distributed to state immunization managers by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The document, obtained by ABC News, was sent to state officials in advance of the vaccine being authorized by federal regulators. The authorization could happen as soon as early November.

The pediatric vaccine will be shipped in 100-dose packs, each with 10 vials, the document said.

A person familiar with the planned rollout told ABC News that while the government purchased 65 million doses total, the initial shipment may be closer to the 10 million to 20 million range.

After an initial distribution, a “weekly supply will be made available to help sustain the network,” according to the document.

Oct 13, 2:00 pm
COVID No. 1 cause of death for 35- to 54-year-olds in September

COVID-19 was the leading of death among people ages 35 to 54 — and the second-leading cause overall — in September, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Peterson Center on Healthcare.

The research also estimates that since June more than 90,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 could have been prevented with vaccines, and more than half of those occurred last month.

In January, COVID-19 was the nation’s No. 1 cause of death, the analysis found. In July, before the delta surge, COVID-19 briefly dropped to eighth.

“Hello” again: Adele returns to that same empty house for her new “Easy on Me” video

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Adele is officially back. She released the music video for “Easy on Me,” her first new song in six years, as the clock struck midnight in the U.K., meaning the U.S. was able to enjoy it at 7 p.m. ET.

She first teased “Easy on Me” last week and announced earlier this week that she’ll release her fourth album, titled 30, on November 19.

The video was directed by Xavier Dolan, who also filmed Adele’s clip “Hello.” Like that video, it starts with Adele in an empty house — the same house from the “Hello” video, in fact — talking to someone on the phone.

This time, she describes how she’s all packed up and ready to hit the road. As she drives away, pages of sheet music fly out the back window as she sings of her regrets.

“You can’t deny how hard I tried/I changed who I was to put you both first/but now I give up,” Adele sings, possibly referring to her ex-husband and her son.

She then asks the listener to cut her some slack, explaining, “Go easy on me baby/I was still a child/didn’t get the chance to feel the world around me/had no time to choose/what I chose to do.”

“For me, there’s nothing stronger than artists reconnecting after years apart,” Dolan says in a statement. “I’ve changed. Adele’s changed. And this is an opportunity to celebrate how we’ve both evolved, and how we’ve also both remained faithful to our dearest themes. It’s all the same, but different.”

Adele’s album 30 is now available for pre-order. There will be a Target deluxe CD featuring three bonus tracks, a Walmart clear exclusive double vinyl, and an Amazon white exclusive double vinyl, as well as a cassette and on all digital platforms.

Foo Fighters showcased in upcoming Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee exhibit

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced a new exhibit showcasing its 2021 inductees, including Foo Fighters.

The display, which will open at the Cleveland museum on October 24, will feature Dave Grohl‘s beloved Dan Armstrong Ampeg guitar. The uniquely transparent axe was famously used in the Foos video for “All My Life,” and Grohl also played it during the recording of 2002’s One by One and during the tour behind 2011’s Wasting Light.

Items from the other Rock Hall Performer inductees, which include Todd Rundgren, The Go-Go’s, Tina Turner, Carole King and JAY-Z, will also be featured in the exhibit. Additionally, it will honor late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhoads, who’s being inducted this year with the Musical Excellence award, by displaying the iconic white V-shaped Jackson Concorde guitar that he designed.

The 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held October 30 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. An HBO special focusing on the event will premiere at a later date.

Rick Wakeman launches Caped Crusader Collector Club offering fans rare recordings and other goodies

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman has just launched a new club for his fans called the Caped Crusader Collector Club that will offer members the chance to receive and purchase a variety of rare recordings and memorabilia.

Those who sign up for the CCCC, as Wakeman calls the club, will receive a membership pack that includes an individually numbered membership card; a welcome letter signed by Rick; a sticker; four 8″ by 10″ photos; and an exclusive yearbook boasting rare photos, articles and memorabilia from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s archive.

Members also will receive the first of a series of exclusive CCCC CD releases, this one featuring a previously unreleased soundtrack Wakeman recorded for the 1984 sci-fi film She.

Each year, club members will receive four exclusive CDs featuring rare studio recordings and live performances from Wakeman’s archives.

CCCC members also will get a 10% discount off all purchases made from the Wakeman Music Emporium online store, and will receive invitations to special events, access to exclusive merchandise and more.

Fans who join the club this month will receive a 15-month membership for the price of a one-year membership.

“As a musician, I think it is important that serious fans get to hear music that would otherwise be left in drawers and on shelves and in some cases, discarded,” Wakeman says in a statement. “With the formation of the CCCC, I feel that this is an innovative way for core fans to get to hear music which I have discovered in various of my archives.”

In other news, Wakeman just launched the U.S. leg of his Even Grumpier Old Rock Star Tour on Wednesday, but he also announced some changes to his itinerary and the postponement of several dates. Check out updated details at RWCC.com.

Jay-Z sends his “Tree of Life” portrait to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

In advance of his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction on October 30, Jay-Z has sent a very special portrait to represent him at the Rock Hall’s Inductee Exhibit.

Rather than donate artifacts from his iconic career, the Roc Nation CEO loaned a 72-inch by 96-inch oil portrait he purchased from New Orleans artist Jerin “Jerk” Beasley, titled “Tree of Life,” according to Cleveland.com.
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“We sent photos of what we’ve done in the past and Jay-Z’s team shared what his interpretation was of his success and what it means to him,” says Nwaka Onwusa, vice president and chief curator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “It’s so in line with who he is now, and his fans will appreciate and understand that. Music is art and art is music in a way. You don’t get to Jean-Michel Basquiat without talking about Charlie Parker, for instance.”

Beasley posted an Instagram photo of the portrait, with the comment from Jay-Z, “Don’t bark up that tree, that tree will fall on you, I don’t know why your advisors didn’t forewarn you.” The artist also posted a video of him creating “Tree of Life.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Celebration Day exhibit opens October 24 and features memorabilia from each honoree. Hova will be inducted with artists including Tina Turner, and specialty award recipients LL Cool J, Gil Scott-Heron, and Billy Preston. Tickets to Celebration Day and the Induction Ceremony on October 30, featuring the Inductee Exhibit, are now available on the museum website.

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A post shared by Jerin “Jerk” Beasley (@jerinthejerk)

Shudder spotlighting Black filmmakers and writers for Halloween with ‘Horror Noire’

October 14, 2021 by WDNY Radio

For the second time, the thriller streaming service Shudder is highlighting Black writers and directors with a new horror anthology, Horror Noire.

A follow-up to 2019’s documentary Black Noire: A History of Black Horror, Black Noire will feature six stories together in one two-hour presentation, each written and directed by Black filmmakers.

Included in the anthology will be the installments Daddy, Bride Before You, Brand of Evil, The Lake, Sundown, and Fugue State.

The films include Luke James from The Chi; A Black Lady Sketch Show’s Erica Ash; Lucifer’s Lesley-Ann Brandt; You’re the Worst‘s Brandon Mychal Smith; John Wick: Chapter 2‘s Peter Stormare; Genius: Aretha Franklin’s Malcolm Barrett; Rachel True from The Craft, and horror icon and Candyman star Tony Todd.

Horror Noire debuts on Thursday, October 28 on Shudder and at a later date through Shudder as part of the AMC+ bundle.

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