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Biden to sign infrastructure bill Monday during bipartisan ceremony

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will sign the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law on Monday, joined by a bipartisan group of members of Congress during a ceremony at the White House, according to a White House official.

A bipartisan group of governors and mayors, as well as labor union and business leaders, would also join Biden at the ceremony, according to the official. The members of Congress who will attend will include those who helped write the legislation, the official said.

Facing low poll numbers, rising inflation and challenges getting the rest of his legislative priorities passed, the president has put off signing the infrastructure bill in order to put his major, bipartisan accomplishment on display.

During his remarks Monday, Biden also plans to address how the infrastructure legislation will play a role in bolstering supply chains and dealing with bottlenecks, the White House official said. The president planned to visit a port in Baltimore on Wednesday with a similar message.

The House of Representatives passed the bill late Friday, after the Senate passed it in August. Biden has said he wanted to hold a ceremony with members of Congress, who were on recess and out of Washington this week, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, who is currently visiting France.

“Vice President Harris and I look forward to having a formal signing ceremony for this bipartisan infrastructure soon,” Biden told reporters Saturday.

“I’m not doing it this weekend,” he added, “because I want people who worked so hard to get this done — Democrats and Republicans — to be here when we sign it.”

The bill, officially known as the the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provides hundreds of billions of dollars to improve the nation’s highways, bridges and roads; passenger rail; public transit; broadband access; and the power grid, among other investments in physical infrastructure.

The White House has cited outside economists to argue it will create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next decade.

Despite wide public support for the infrastructure bill — as well as for the “Build Back Better” social bill he is also trying to push through Congress — the president himself has suffered from low approval ratings.

Biden and his administration have launched a public relations campaign to promote the two bills, with the president visiting a port in Baltimore on Wednesday and sitting for an interview with a Cincinnati television station, and Cabinet officials conducting interviews to explain how the infrastructure bill in particular will benefit Americans.

A nationwide poll from Monmouth University conducted Nov. 4 to 8 found that 42% of Americans approved of the way Biden was handling his job, and 64% of respondents said they believed things in the United States have gotten off on the wrong track.

But 65% of respondents said they supported the infrastructure package, and 62% said they supported the larger social spending plan.

In the coming weeks, the president, vice president, and Cabinet will continue to travel the country to communicate how the law will help communities, grow the economy, and position America to compete in the 21st century.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier marks 100 years honoring the nation’s war dead

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — For Bryan Bowman and Bob Mohr, there was no question about making the nearly 400-mile trip from Canal Fulton, Ohio, to Virginia and Arlington National Cemetery for the chance to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

To mark the tomb’s centennial, members of the public were given a rare chance to come close and lay flowers — for the first time since 1948.

“It was just surreal, very surreal,” Mohr said. “Who knows if we’ll ever get to do it again, in our lifetime.”

“It’s a reminder of service echoing back to 1921,” Bowman said.

One hundred years ago this week, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated to commemorate the final resting place of an unknown soldier from World War I, interred on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1921.

Since then, the tomb has served as a site of mourning and reflection in honor of unknown service members who died in all of America’s wars.

Bowman and Mohr, a Marine Corps veteran, were among the first members of the public to pay their respects on Tuesday, the first of two days visitors were being permitted to come near the tomb.

The line, hundreds long, included Americans from all ages and backgrounds: elderly veterans in faded uniforms, young children in the arms of their parents, military spouses and loved ones, melded together.

Each paused a moment to gently place a flower atop of a growing pile a few yards from the tomb. Some held hands over their hearts, while others raised them in salute.

Many eyes welled with tears.

Piles of roses, daisies, carnations and sunflowers with long, green stems lay under a red velvet rope, the colorful flowers in poignant contrast with the white marble sarcophagus, inscribed with the words, “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”

On the opposite side, a member of the U.S. Army’s “Old Guard” marched in silence exactly 21 steps back and forth across the length of a black mat, pausing at each end for 21 seconds, echoing the honor of the 21-gun salute.

Tomb guards, also called Sentinels, maintain their post 24 hours per day, seven days per week, throughout the year. A guard-changing ceremony takes place on the hour every hour during the winter and every half-hour during the summer.

“All gave some, some gave all,” said Amber Vincent, a cemetery public affairs specialist. “And some of them lost their identity in the process of serving our nation … That’s really what this ceremony and this centennial commemoration is about. Honoring those not only who have served that we know, but also those that we will never know.”

In the distance, the sound of three-volley 21-gun salutes at military funerals rang out over the hushed crowd.

Up to 30 funerals a day were taking place, Monday through Friday, elsewhere in the cemetery during the centennial.

Some 400,000 service members are buried there.

Wednesday, Nov. 10, marked the day before Bob Mohr would end a 22-day journey to run 22 miles per day, for veteran suicide awareness.

“So, I’m here today for this ceremony and then I’m gonna run my 22 miles through the streets of D.C. for my twenty-first day,” he said.

COVID-19 live updates: Cases on the rise in 20 states

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 758,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 68.5% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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

Nov 10, 9:21 pm
COVID-19 deaths expected to continue to fall in weeks to come

COVID-19 forecast models used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are currently predicting that weekly death totals will likely continue to fall in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to lose their lives.

The ensemble model expects just under 15,000 more virus-related deaths to occur in the U.S. over the next two weeks, with a total of around 781,500 deaths by Dec. 4.

The model estimates that 13 states and territories of the U.S. have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths in the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks.

Nov 10, 9:15 pm
Federal judge strikes down Texas ban on school mask mandates

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting local mask mandates, including in schools, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Since the order was issued in late July, state Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against more than a dozen school districts for issuing mask mandates, according to the ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel. In August, advocacy group Disability Rights Texas filed the lawsuit against the state on behalf of several students with disabilities who faced an increased risk from COVID-19, alleging it denied them equal access to in-person learning.

“The evidence presented by Plaintiffs establishes that Plaintiffs are being denied the benefits of in-person learning on an equal basis as their peers without disabilities,” Yeakel wrote in his ruling.

Yeakel also said the executive order “interferes with local school districts’ ability to satisfy their obligations under the ADA” by placing all authority with the governor.

Yeakel enjoined the state from enforcing the mask mandate ban and ordered that the plaintiffs recover their court costs from the state.

Paxton has said the state is “protecting the rights and freedoms” of residents by banning mask mandates.

Nov 10, 6:43 pm
States sue over vaccine mandate for health care workers

Ten states are suing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate targeting health care workers.

About 17 million health care workers who are employed at places that get funding through CMS are required to get vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022. They do not have the option to test.

“The mandate is a blatant attempt to federalize public health issues involving vaccination that belong within the States’ police power,” stated the suit, which was filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican who is running for Senate.

The attorneys general of Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota and New Hampshire have joined the lawsuit, which is one of many filed against different parts of the Biden administration’s vaccine requirements but the first to target the health care worker mandate.

Twenty-six states are suing over the mandate that applies to businesses, while another handful are suing over the federal worker mandate. Last week, a federal court temporarily blocked the business vaccine rule.

Nov 10, 3:35 pm
Cases on the rise in 20 states

The U.S. daily case average has jumped by 15% since the end of October, according to federal data.

Twenty states have seen daily cases jump by at least 10% in the last two weeks: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Cases are still falling in most of the South, which was the first region to get hit hard by the delta surge over the summer. In Florida, where high transmission was reported in every county over the summer, now only 1 out of the 67 counties is reporting high transmission, according to federal data.

Short, sweet, and stunned: Backstage at the 55th CMA Awards

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

In a night full of upsets and surprises, the virtual press room backstage at the 55th CMA Awards Wednesday night in Nashville was surprisingly quiet — perhaps because the majority of the winners were absolutely stunned.

Luke Combs walked back, just moments after picking up his first — and perhaps already overdue — trophy for Entertainer of the Year. Well-known for lavishing gifts on his parents and both helping and sharing credit with unsung singers and songwriters, he vowed to stay true to his North Carolina roots as the most prestigious mantle in country music falls on him. The president of his label, Sony Nashville, even interrupted one of his answers to pop in and give him a huge hug.

Four-time winner Chris Stapleton — never famous for his gift for gab — stayed the longest, recognizing how crucial his wife Morgane is to his success, as she stepped in at one point to wipe the sweat from his face. The five-time Male Vocalist of the Year acknowledged he takes pride in upholding that standard, while also being tight-lipped about his upcoming collaborations with both Adele and Taylor Swift.

Though largely still in shock, first-time Female Vocalist winner Carly Pearce managed to be somewhat more composed than she’d been onstage at Music City’s Bridgestone Arena, acknowledging that a long line of strong women from her native Kentucky had paved the way for her to chase her childhood dream of singing country music, and also navigate her way out of a very public and painful divorce.

Vocal Duo Brothers Osborne closed out the night, marking a huge milestone for country music, as TJ and John reclaimed the category they’d won three times before, after a year that saw TJ make the unprecedented move of coming out as a gay man.

Scoreboard roundup — 11/10/21

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

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

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Brooklyn 123, Orlando 90
Washington 97, Cleveland 94
Milwaukee 112, New York 100
Boston 104, Toronto 88
Detroit 112, Houston 104
Chicago 117, Dallas 107
Charlotte 118, Memphis 108
Oklahoma City 108, New Orleans 100
San Antonio 136, Sacramento 117
Phoenix 119, Portland 109
Denver 101, Indiana 98
Golden State 123, Minnesota 110
LA Lakers 120, Miami 117 (OT)

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Toronto 3, Philadelphia 0
Nashville 4, Dallas 2
Minnesota 5, Arizona 2

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Michigan 88, Buffalo 76
Florida St. 105, Penn 70

Sylvester Stallone says he almost died when filming ‘Rocky IV’

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Sylvester Stallone opened up about a little-known story regarding his time filming Rocky IV, saying the experience almost killed him.

The actor recently posted The Making of Rocky vs. Drago by Sylvester Stallone to his YouTube, where the 75-year-old said actor Dolph Lundgren, who played nemesis Ivan Drago, went off script and nearly beat him to death.

“I got really injured during the fight,” he said of the movie’s nail-biting moment. “I had to be flown into intensive care to California from Canada.”

The Expendables star admitted that, before filming, he encouraged Lundgren to go all out and show his “dominance.”

“Well, he pulverized me,” Stallone deadpanned, noting the actor punched him right in the chest. He didn’t know how badly he was injured until after the cameras stopped rolling.

“I didn’t feel it in the moment but, later that night, my heart started to swell, My blood pressure went up to 260 and I was going to be talking to angels,” the Oscar nominee recalled. “Next thing I know I’m on this emergency, low-altitude flight. I’m in intensive care surrounded by nuns.”

Stallone said his hospital stay lasted four days and, once he was discharged, he “had to go back and finish the fight.”

He said he was upset by the movie’s final cut because that punch that sent him to the hospital was left on the cutting room floor.

“How could you take that out?!,” Stallone quipped.

Rocky IV premiered in theaters in 1985 and earned $300 million during its box office run.

Rob Thomas not worried about “Move” matching “Smooth:” “I feel like I’ve already succeeded”

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Trying to follow up one of the biggest songs of the last 20 years is a tall order, which is why Rob Thomas says he isn’t concerned about whether or not “Move,” his new duet with Carlos Santana, is as successful as their first duet, “Smooth.” But Rob says the reason he specifically doesn’t worry about that stuff is because of some advice that Carlos gave him 21 years ago.

“I’m three years younger now than Carlos was when we first did ‘Smooth,'” Rob tells ABC Audio. “And at that very, very young age, Carlos taught me something that was very, very important that I hold on to, which is: The world is not as complicated as you make it seem sometimes, and you really are only in control of your motive, your intention and your purpose.”

According to Rob, Carlos told him, “Those are the three things that you can control. And whatever the outcome is, that’s going to be the outcome, but you can’t worry about it while you’re putting something into [the universe].”

“So, I don’t think I’ve ever really been concerned about whether something was going to perform,” Rob says, addressing the topic of “Move’s” success versus that of “Smooth.”

“When I do something and I’m creative and I’m listening to that frequency in the universe that gives me a song, then I feel like I’ve already succeeded,” the Matchbox Twenty front man states. “And I think the only time that I fail is if I stop listening to that — or I start trying to control it.”

In addition to “Move,” which in addition to Carlos also features American Authors, Rob has a new holiday album out, Something About Christmas Time.

Rebecca Hall discusses the contemporary implication within her directorial debut Passing

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Rebecca Hall says her directorial debut, Passing, which is based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel of the same name, is an adaptation that offers contemporary implications on race.

Hall, who says she wrote the draft of the screenplay 13 years ago after reading the book for the first time, tells ABC Audio that, like Larson’s novel, her film also shows the “dangers” in adhering to the unspoken rules of what it is to be Black or white in America.

“I think we all go through this negotiation…whether we’re in the 1920s or now, or any time, where we think, ‘What is the kind of person that I want to be versus what is the sort of person that I think I ought to be?’” she says. “And how much…of they ‘think I ought to be’ have we internalized?’”

Hall says that internalization of how to assimilate to a specific race or culture is what both of her characters struggle with in the film. In fact, the director says Larsen is specifically making a critique about the “rigidity around these categories” and that there is “no monolithic version of Blackness or whiteness” or any other “identity” category.

“It’s interesting how complicated Irene’s own relationship is to her Black identity,” Hall shares. “Like she really wants to be an upstanding member of the Black community. She reads Crisis magazine, she organizes… the dance in the league…”

She continues, “But she cannot talk to her husband or her children about the difficulties of living in a racist society. And I think that’s poignant today, as it was ever.“

Passing, also starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga is now available to stream on Netflix.

Ariana Grande’s new makeup line R.e.m Beauty was partly inspired by ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Black Mirror ‘

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Anyone who’s paid attention to Ariana Grande‘s career over the past few years knows that she’s pretty fond of using outer-space or sci-fi imagery in her videos, commercials and costumes. Ariana says she took that same approach to developing her new makeup line, R.e.m. Beauty, which officially launches on Friday morning.

“I wanted to make sure everything looked like a prop from either Star Trek or Black Mirror,” she tells Vogue of the makeup packaging she chose. “I treated it like it was a Tesla situation, not like make-up. I didn’t want it to look like make-up. I’m a huge fan of sci-fi, vintage space stuff, so this was about creating our own world with this packaging.”

If you look at the @r.e.m.beauty Instagram, you can see what Ari’s talking about: Everything is packaged in smooth, silver or white futuristic-looking tubes and cases. The highlighters are also named after the planets in the solar system: Miss Jupiter, Mama Earth, Miss Mercury and so on.

As for the name of the line, it’s of course taken from her song “R.E.M.,” which Ariana explains “encompasses a lot of my favorite parts of my sound.” But there’s another reason she chose it.

“REM [stands for] rapid eye movement, focusing on dreams and the eyes,” she explains. “Eyes are our most effective communicators — you can say more with the way you look at someone than you can articulate with words sometimes, and so much beauty happens there.”

R.e.m. Beauty, which also includes eyeshadow palettes, lip stain, plumping lip gloss and eyeliner, goes on sale at 9 a.m. ET on Friday at Rembeauty.com.

Ariana tells Vogue, “Hopefully it will inspire people to express themselves in a new way and share that with the world.”

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Learn to Drive: Foo Fighters performing at Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

November 11, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Having already learned to fly, Foo Fighters will soon be faced with an entirely different mode of transportation.

The “Everlong” rockers are set to perform at the upcoming Formula 1 Grand Prix race in Abu Dhabi. The race takes place December 10-12 on Yas Marina Circuit, with the Foos taking the stage for an after-show on the final night.

For more info, visit YasMarinaCircuit.com.

The Grand Prix performance looks to cap off an eventful Foo Fighters year, which included the release of the new album Medicine at Midnight and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Foo excitement will continue in 2022 with the premiere of Studio 666, a horror-comedy film starring Dave Grohl and company. The movie’s set to debut February 25.

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