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COVID-19 updates: FDA authorizes ‘mix and match’ booster shots

October 21, 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 730,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.9 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 66.8% 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 21, 1:01 am
US delivers 200M vaccine doses globally: White House

The U.S. has now donated and delivered 200 million COVID-19 vaccines globally, according to a White House official.

The figure is part of 1.1 billion doses President Joe Biden has pledged to more than 100 countries around the world.

“These 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have helped bring health and hope to millions of people, but our work is far from over,” Samantha Power, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is assisting in the global vaccine effort, said in a statement. “To end the pandemic, and prevent the emergence of new variants, as well as future outbreaks within our nation’s borders, we must continue to do our part to help vaccinate the world.”

The Biden administration has received criticism for getting Americans booster shots while many around the world have yet to get one. Though the White House has insisted the U.S. can provide boosters to its citizens while funneling doses overseas — and working to increase vaccine production abroad.

Oct 20, 10:09 pm
US deaths estimated to continue to fall in weeks ahead, though thousands more lost

Forecast models used by the CDC are predicting that weekly COVID-19 death totals in the U.S. will likely continue to drop in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to lose their lives to the virus.

The model expects approximately 18,000 deaths to occur in the next two weeks, with a total of around 757,000 deaths recorded in the U.S. by Nov. 13.

The ensemble model estimates that 19 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, and that four states and territories (Alaska, Nebraska, Ohio and American Samoa) have a greater than 75% chance of an increase over the next two weeks.

Oct 20, 5:21 pm
FDA authorizes booster shots for Moderna, J&J vaccines

The FDA authorized booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for some populations Wednesday.

Moderna’s vaccine can be administered at least six months after the second dose for people ages 65 and up and those ages 18 through 64 who either are at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection or have occupational exposure to the virus, the FDA said.

The J&J booster can be administered at least two months after the single-dose shot to those ages 18 and up, the agency said.

The FDA, which authorized Pfizer’s booster dose last month, also said it will allow people to mix booster doses.

Largest nurses union applauds possible OSHA action against three states over PPE

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The country’s largest nurses’ union praised the federal government on Wednesday after officials said three states tasked with implementing their own safety measures for health care workers would lose that right unless they adhered to agreed-upon guidelines.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration had announced Tuesday it was considering stripping Arizona, Utah and South Carolina of their abilities to oversee workplace safety enforcement because they’re not in compliance with an emergency standard order passed over the summer that guarantees certain protections.

OSHA had allowed 22 states to oversee work conditions for health care workers — measures including the wearing of personal protective equipment, or PPE, enforcing social distancing, providing paid sick leave — so long as local workplaces adopted requirements at least as strong as those agreed to at the federal level.

Deborah Burger, president of National Nurses United, which represents over 175,000 nurses, said in a statement on Wednesday that health care workers from coast to coast have been pushing for better protections as they put themselves at risk working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We urge federal OSHA to act expeditiously to put in place the necessary elements for federal OSHA to resume enforcement in Arizona, Utah, South Carolina and any other states which fail to enforce the [emergency standard] to ensure protections for health care workers,” Burger said in a statement. “We will never emerge from this pandemic if we don’t make sure nurses and health care workers are safe at work.”

The Republican governors of Arizona, Utah and South Carolina defended their states’ action and accused OSHA of overreach.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey contended that the Industrial Commission of Arizona’s OSHA, or ICA, the state’s workplace overseer, intends to comply with the emergency standards but is seeking public input on the mandate. Ducey accused the federal government of not justifying its threat to revoke oversight powers.

“The federal government’s threat to strip the ICA of its OSHA authority is nothing short of a political stunt and desperate power grab,” Ducey said in a statement.

Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox said in a statement that he had concerns over the emergency standard, saying it “would place an unfair burden on the health care industry” and his state didn’t “have regulatory authority to require employers to pay their employees sick leave.”

“We reject the assertion that Utah’s State Plan is less effective than the federal plan,” Cox said.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said his office is preparing for “a vigorous and lengthy legal fight” and that OSHA’s announcement Tuesday was “clearly a preemptive strike by the federal government.”

Burger stressed that all three states needed to prioritize the safety of health care workers and come together to make sure they’re protected as hospitalizations keep increasing.

“Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah had the duty — legally and morally — to come into compliance and protect workers,” Burger said. “They did not, and we could not be more proud that OSHA is standing up to hold them accountable today.”

After a controversial name change and a “midlife crisis,” Lady A doubles down on ‘What a Song Can Do’

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

On Friday, Lady A‘s eighth studio album, What a Song Can Do, arrives, completing the cycle started by June’s seven-song Chapter One.

Recorded “around the same time” as the EP, the seven new tracks were chosen from “up to sixty songs” Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood wrote during the pandemic.

“Obviously, we finished [2019’s] Ocean, we were preparing for that tour, and had to cancel it because of the pandemic,” Dave recalls. “So we just put our heads down and started writing for an indefinite amount of time. We didn’t know how long the pandemic was gonna last, and so we just wrote and wrote and wrote, kind of like we did for our very first album.”

The album’s bouncy lead single, “Like a Lady,” doesn’t begin to hint at the deeper messages on What a Song Can Do, as Charles explains.

“I feel like I had kind of my midlife crisis this past couple years of just, ‘What’s our purpose going through all the stuff we went through?'” he says, “and feeling like some of your intentions got twisted and misinterpreted, obviously, with our name change and all these things.”

“And it was like it only brought us stronger in our conviction of what we want to represent as a band,” he adds.

Charles affirms there’s no doubt what that is, as Hillary agrees.

“Nothing is going to deter us from trying to leave our mark in a positive way,” he proclaims. “[There’s] a little bit more determination — not just survival, and trying to make sure we stay on the radio, making sure we can maintain this certain level of success — but actually going like, ‘What are we leaving behind?'”

Scoreboard roundup — 10/20/21

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Houston 9, Boston 1 (Houston leads series 3-2)

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Atlanta 9, LA Dodgers 2 (Atlanta leads series 3-1)

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Chicago 94, Detroit 88
Charlotte 123, Indiana 122
Washington 98, Toronto 83
Philadelphia 117, New Orleans 97
Memphis 132, Cleveland 121
Minnesota 124, Houston 106
New York 138 Boston 134 (2OT)
San Antonio 123, Orlando 97
Utah 107, Oklahoma City 86
Denver 110, Phoenix 98
Sacramento 124, Portland 121

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Philadelphia 6, Boston 3
St. Louis 3, Vegas 1

TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Appalachian St. 30, Coastal Carolina 27

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Chicago 4, Cincinnati 3
CF Montreal 1 Orlando City 1 (Tie)
New York City FC 1, Atlanta 1 (Tie)
New England 3, DC United 2
Miami 3, Toronto FC 0
Los Angeles FC 3, FC Dallas 2
Minnesota 3, Philadelphia 2
Columbus 1, Nashville 1 (Tie)
LA Galaxy 3, Houston 0
Seattle 1, Colorado 1 (Tie)
Vancouver 3, Portland 2
San Jose 4, Austin FC 0

Clinton shares first update on recovery following hospitalization: ‘I’m really glad to be back home’

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Former President Bill Clinton spoke out for the first time following his hospitalization.

In a video posted on Twitter Wednesday night, Clinton, 75, said he’s feeling better, and is “on the road to recovery.”

“Hi everyone, I was so touched by the outpouring of support I received during my stay in the hospital. Thanks so much. I’d also like to thank the doctors and nurses at UC Irvine Medical Center for the absolutely wonderful care that they gave me over the last seven days,” he said.

The former president — who has battled a number of health issues, including heart problems, over the past two decades — was taken to the hospital last Tuesday to be treated for an infection not related to COVID-19, his spokesperson said.

“I’m really glad to be back home,” Clinton said in the video Wednesday. “I’m doing great, enjoying this beautiful fall weather. I’m on the road to recovery but I want to remind everyone out there: Take the time to listen to your bodies and care for yourselves. We all have work to do and each of us has an important role to play in life and in the immediate future. I, for one, am going to do my best to be around, to keep doing the most good I can for a lot longer.”

Last week, an aide said Clinton was diagnosed with a urological infection that transformed into a broader infection, but the prognosis was “good.”

He was released from the hospital Sunday.

Lady Gaga? Justin Bieber? You can now bet on which pop star is most likely to go into space

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Now that 90-year-old William Shatner, aka Star Trek‘s Captain Kirk, has ventured into space in real life aboard one of Jeff Bezos‘ ships, which celebrity will be next to boldly go where only a few have gone before? Well, you can actually place bets as to which pop star is most likely to shell out big bucks to take a ride with Bezos…or Elon Musk, Richard Branson or any other billionaire who has their own spacecraft.

MyBookie.com, an online sportsbook, is now offering prop bets on the likelihood of celebs going to space, and there are plenty of musicians to choose from. For example, the odds on Justin Bieber blasting off are +1200, which means if you bet $100, you’d get $1,200 if he were next. Odds on Lady Gaga going are just a bit higher: You’d win $2,000 if you bet $100 on her.

*NSYNC‘s Lance Bass, who once legitimately trained to be an astronaut and was set to fly on a Russian Soyuz space capsule before his sponsors pulled out, is more likely to launch than both of those stars. According to MyBookie, If you bet $100 on him, you’d only get $700 back.

Other stars whose space futures you can bet on include Rihanna, Katy Perry, Kanye West and music manager Scooter Braun, who represents Justin, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato. Maybe Taylor Swift would foot the bill to send Braun, her arch-enemy, to outer space — if he promised never to come back.

If music’s not your thing, you can also bet on actors going into space. Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise — all of whom have made movies set in space — are some of the names available.

Legendary Stax guitarist, songwriter and producer Steve Cropper turns 80 today

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Steve Cropper, guitarist with legendary Stax Records house bands The Mar-Keys and Booker T. & the MG’s, and later The Blues Brothers, celebrates his 80th birthday today.

Formed in 1958, The Mar-Keys were the Memphis-based Stax label’s first house band. Besides backing other artists, The Mar-Keys made their own records, and in 1961, they scored a #3 hit with the instrumental single “Last Night,” which, interestingly, featured Cropper on keyboards.

In 1962, Cropper co-founded Booker T. & the MG’s with keyboardist Booker T. Jones, drummer Al Jackson Jr. and bassist Lewie Steinberg, who was replaced in ’65 by Donald “Duck” Dunn.

Like The Mar-Keys, Booker T. & the MG’s backed Stax artists and also made their own records. The group’s debut single, the classic 1962 soul instrumental “Green Onions,” peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the R&B chart.

Cropper also wrote songs with various Stax artists, including all-time classic soul hits like Otis Redding‘s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” Wilson Pickett‘s “In the Midnight Hour” and Eddie Floyd‘s “Knock on Wood.”

Starting in the 1970s, Cropper began playing on and producing records for artists outside of Stax.

Among the many other artists Steve has worked with over the years are John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Peter Frampton, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Orbison and Etta James.

Cropper also played with The Blues Brothers, the blues/R&B tribute band led by Saturday Night Live stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, which released a chart-topping live album in 1978. Steve was featured in the hit 1980 comedy film focusing on the group as well.

Cropper was welcomed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Booker T. & the MG’s in 1992, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.

Steve’s most recent solo album, Fire It Up, was released in April of this year.

Last month, Cropper’s 80th birthday was celebrated with a special concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium that featured performances by ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons, James Burton, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Eddie Floyd, R.E.M.‘s Mike Mills and more.

David Chang explores the future of lab grown protein in ‘The Next Thing You Eat’

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

With the practices of meatless Mondays and sustainable eating growing in popularity, it begs to question if the the way we consume food is evolving out of necessity. That is the premise of restauranteur David Chang‘s new show, The Next Thing You Eat.

Speaking with ABC Audio, Chang says the new series takes a hard look at the future of food and the challenges ahead.

“Everybody wants to eat more delicious things,” the chef acknowledged, but warned changes are needed to keep up with the rising demand. “By the year 2050, we’re not going to have enough protein to feed the world.”

Chang sees a potential solution in utilizing lab grown protein and tried synthetic salmon to see how it measured up to wild caught fish.

“It was really good,” he marveled and admitted “it melted my brain” to realize what he had on his plate was the product of sustainable science — not fishing.

“We have the ability to recreate [meat] in a way that does almost no damage and there’s no suffering,” the Eat a Peach author continued, but recognized that not everyone will be as willing to make the switch. “If it allows people to eat better fish more affordably, why would you be against that?”

Chang added that the technology can do far more than grow salmon and remarked, “We’re at that point where you can eat potentially anything.”

“The problem is, can it become cost effective?,” Chang added, leaving that questioned to be explored in his new show, The Next Thing You Eat, which is streaming now on Hulu.

Brian Laundrie search live updates: Apparent human remains found, not ID’d

October 21, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A massive search is continuing in Florida for Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing on a cross-country trip and who authorities confirmed as the body discovered strangled to death in Wyoming last month.

The search for the 23-year-old Laundrie is centered around North Port, Florida, where investigators said Laundrie returned to his home on Sept. 1 without Petito but driving her 2012 Ford Transit.

Laundrie has been named by police as a “person of interest” in Petito’s disappearance. Laundrie has refused to speak to the police and has not been seen since Sept. 14, according to law enforcement officials.

The search for Laundrie is the latest twist in the case that has grabbed national attention as he and Petito had been traveling across the country since June, documenting the trip on social media. Petito’s parents reported her missing on Sept. 11 after not hearing from her for two weeks.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:

Oct 20, 6:06 pm
Laundrie family attorney reacts to discovery of apparent human remains

Steven Bertolino, the family attorney for the Laundrie family, spoke with New York ABC station WABC Wednesday evening after law enforcement found human remains and items belonging to the fugitive at a Florida park.

The attorney said the area where investigators found Brian’s belongings was shown to police two weeks ago when Laundrie’s father, Chris, aided in the search.

“I can’t say for certain that Chris showed this particular area to police at that point in time, but I can say that this is an area that we initially notified the FBI that Brian liked hiking,” Bertolino said.

The attorney said the family is waiting for a proper identification before making any comments.

“As you can imagine, the parents are very distraught. … At this moment in time they’re grieving,” he said.

Oct 20, 4:42 pm
Police find apparent human remains, personal items belonging to Laundrie

Police have recovered apparent human remains that have not been identified in the search for Brian Laundrie, the FBI said Wednesday.

Authorities also found items belonging to Laundrie, like a backpack and notebook, officials said.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson said the area where the items were found had previously been underwater. McPherson said a team would be on site for several days processing the scene.

Oct 20, 2:55 pm
Remains found at park, not clear if human

A law enforcement source told ABC News remains were found at a Florida environmental park. The source said investigators are working to determine whether the remains are human and whether the remains and other discovered articles are linked to Laundrie.

Oct 20, 2:19 pm
FBI confirms ‘items of interest’ found

The FBI said “items of interest” in connection to the search for Laundrie were found at the Carlton Reserve Wednesday morning and an evidence response team is processing the scene.

NFL, former players reach agreement to end race-norming in concussion settlement program

October 20, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After several months of confidential negotiations, the NFL and attorneys for former players have reached an agreement that will end the controversial practice of race-norming in the league’s landmark concussion settlement program.

The deal, which was filed under seal but obtained by ABC News on Wednesday, also outlines a process for reevaluating past claims for compensation that may have been affected by race-based adjustments to cognitive test scores, which sources familiar with the matter say could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional payouts to former players and their families.

Following an ABC News investigation earlier this year, which uncovered emails and data suggesting that the league’s protocols made it more difficult for Black former players to qualify for compensation, the federal judge overseeing the program ordered the NFL and attorneys for former players into mediation to “address the concerns” about the use of race-norming.

The judge later granted a petition to intervene from attorneys for two Black former players, Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport, who had filed a lawsuit challenging the terms of the original settlement.

Both the league and the class counsel for former players initially defended the practice but ultimately reversed course and sought to reform the program in the face of mounting public pressure and scrutiny.

Spokespersons for the NFL and the attorneys for former players have not responded to requests for comment.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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