Page 8146 – 105.7 WDNY

Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean recounts last time he saw Britney Spears: “It broke my heart”

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Fellow artists are continuing to speak out in support of Britney Spears, following the pop star’s latest conservatorship hearing on Wednesday.

Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean is among those offering up his “thoughts and prayers.” During an appearance on Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live, the singer detailed his most recent heartbreaking encounter with the star. He says the two live close to each other and he often sees Britney at a cupcake shop they both frequent.

“The last time I saw her, it broke my heart,” AJ said. “Last time I saw her, she was with a gentleman. I’m assuming it was security or maybe a driver.”

“Went in, she was there, she looked right at me and I was like, ‘Hey, it’s AJ,'” he recalled. “And she just kind of had this glass face. Like, she just didn’t know who was there. It took her a minute. And then she realized it was me, and we hugged and we talked for a brief moment, but I could just see that this wasn’t her. Like, I’m not looking at the person I knew from years and years ago.”

AJ slammed the conservatorship, calling it “asinine,” “insane” and “completely brutal,” and declared himself “100 percent Team Britney.”

Ariana Grande also showed her support in a comment on Britney’s latest Instagram post. “YOU ARE SO VERY LOVED AND SUPPORTED,” she wrote.

Zendaya reacts to criticism over Lola Bunny’s less-sexualized design in new ‘Space Jam’ movie

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Zendaya was only a few months old when the first Space Jam movie, starring Michael Jordan, hit theaters in 1996. That said, a lot has changed since the Looney Tunes dribbled across the court — with fans seemingly being the most divided over Lola Bunny’s sporty redesign in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Lola traded in the crop top she wore in the first film for a basketball jersey, with movie execs saying they didn’t want to sexualize the cartoon character. While the move was applauded by some fans, others were outraged.

Zendaya, who voices Lola in the new film, tells Entertainment Weekly that when she was first offered to play Lola, she “didn’t know” people would be upset over the character’s updated look.

“I didn’t know it was going to be as much of a focus as it was,” she laughed. “But I understand, because she’s a lovable character. She’s very important, so I get it.”

Zendaya, 24, who said she grew up watching the original film because of her family’s love of basketball, explained that Lola’s character resonated with her because of what she stood for, and not because of what she looked like.

“I’ve always appreciated Lola because she’s the only girl on the team, kind of holding it down for the ladies — and she’s also an incredible player,” the Euphoria star expressed. “I think in this reimagining of who she is, it just leans into that a little bit more, the fact that she’s got these skills and she’s an MVP.”

Space Jam: New Legacy — also starring LeBron James, Don Cheadle and, of course, the rest of the Looney Tunes squad — hits theaters on Friday.

Blue Origin reveals 18-year-old student is final crew member for 1st flight

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Blue Origin revealed Thursday that the fourth member of its first crewed flight will be the youngest person ever to fly to space.

Oliver Daemen, 18, will join Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos (Jeff’s brother) and 82-year-old Wally Funk on a spaceflight set to launch next Tuesday from west Texas. Funk, a pioneering pilot who dreamed of being an astronaut in the 1960s, will become the oldest person to travel to space.

Blue Origin auctioned the final seat on its inaugural crewed flight for a whopping $28 million.

In a surprise announcement Thursday, however, the company said the anonymous auction winner will not be able to join the historic spaceflight due to “scheduling conflicts.” The bidder, who seeks to remain anonymous, will join a future mission, the company said.

Daemen will now earn the tile of the first paying customer to board the space tourism firm’s New Shepard spacecraft. The company did not reveal how much Daemen paid for his seat.

“This marks the beginning of commercial operations for New Shepard, and Oliver represents a new generation of people who will help us build a road to space,” Bob Smith, the CEO of Blue Origin, said in a statement Thursday.

Daemen, who graduated from high school in 2020, has been besotted by space travel since he was four. He will attend the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands starting this September, and is set to study “physics and innovation management,” Blue Origin said.

The inaugural crewed flight for Blue Origin is scheduled for July 20. In total, the flight is only about 11 minutes, and approximately four minutes will be spent above the so-called Karman line that is defined as the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

It comes on the heels of a brief, successful spaceflight from Sir Richard Branson’s firm Virgin Galactic last weekend. The back-to-back missions are seen as ushering in a new era of space tourism that has been propelled by an emerging, billionaire-backed commercial space industry.

For those about to drink: New AC/DC beer coming later this month

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

If you feel the need to Power Up with alcohol, AC/DC‘s got you covered.

The band has teamed with the high-end collectible company KnuckleBonz and the CaliCraft Brewing Company to introduce two new beers: AC/DC PWR UP Juicy IPA and AC/DC TNT Double IPA. They’ll be coming to select retail outlets in mid-September, but you can pre-order them now; depending on where you live, direct-to-consumer shipping starts July 26.

The 6.6% ABV PWR UP Juicy IPA is inspired by AC/DC’s most recent album, and features “massive flavors of bright passionfruit, ripe peaches, and juicy mandarin.” The TNT Double IPA is 8.2% ABV, and is described as “big and bold,” with flavors of “fresh cut grapefruit, sweet mango, and fresh pine.”

If you happen to be in California, there is a series of release events for the beers on July 23, 24 and 25 at the CaliCraft Brewing Company at 2700 Mitchell Dr. in Walnut Creek, CA.

CaliCraft says that AC/DC had final approval over all the details of the beer, including the designs on the cans, and these two brews are the first in what will be a series of AC/DC-branded beers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KnuckleBonz (@knucklebonz)

2 men found dead at former Versace mansion near anniversary of fashion icon’s killing

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(MIAMI) — Two men were found dead at the former Versace mansion in Miami just one day before the 24th anniversary of the death of fashion designer Gianni Versace there.

A member of the housekeeping staff at The Villa Casa Casuarina found the two men in a room Wednesday afternoon, and police and fire rescue arrived on scene around 1:30 p.m.

The victims were identified as Adam Rashap, 31, of New Jersey, and Alexander Gross, 30, of Pennsylvania, according to police.

Both had gunshot wounds to the head, and a preliminary investigation points to the incident being an “apparent double suicide,” Ernesto Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Miami Beach Police Department, told ABC News.

The scene was contained to the hotel room, and detectives have launched a full investigation, Miami Beach police said in a statement on Wednesday.

The hotel did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Versace, the iconic Italian fashion designer, purchased the mansion in 1992, and today the Spanish-style villa operates as a restaurant and boutique hotel.

Thursday marks the 24th anniversary of Versace’s death. He was returning home to the mansion on his usual morning walk from the nearby News Cafe when he was shot in the head on the front steps of the home by Andrew Cunanan.

Cunanan went on a violent killing spree in which he killed four other men before targeting Versace, investigators said at the time. He died by suicide eight days after Versace’s shooting.

Haiti receives 1st COVID-19 vaccines

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Approximately 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Haiti on Wednesday, meaning it no longer was the only country in the Americas without any. But vaccine hesitancy, to say nothing of the recent violence and political unrest, could delay distribution for weeks.

Both U.S. and Haiti military forces helped UNICEF transport the doses in a mostly clandestine effort necessitated by the surrounding violence. The Moderna vaccines, which will be stored in hundreds of solar-power refrigerators throughout Haiti, were donated by the U.S. government through COVAX and delivered to Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital.

Though grateful, UNICEF representatives said they’ll require many more — and not just in Haiti.

“We hope this first donation of doses will be followed by others,” UNICEF said in a statement. “More donations from well-supplied countries will be needed for Haiti and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to reach those most vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.”

Distribution is expected to start later this week as local health authorities and aid groups are battling vaccine misinformation that’s apparently spreading throughout the country.

Only 22% of all Haitians said they would get vaccinated, according to preliminary results of a UNICEF-supported study conducted by the University of Haiti in June. There’s also the ongoing gang violence and political uncertainty following the assassination of Haiti’s president.

Violence in June among armed groups escalated in several areas of Port-Au-Prince during a spike of COVID-19 cases. Over 15,000 women and children have been forced to flee their homes.

“Rising insecurity and clashes between gangs,” a UNICEF spokesperson said, “have seriously hindered humanitarian operations in the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.”

The Lox and Dipset to face off in next Verzuz battle

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The next Verzuz will see The Lox and Dipset go hit for hit at Madison Square Garden.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the the legendary hip-hop groups would face-off on Tuesday, August 3 at the iconic indoor arena.

“NYC stand up this one is for the history books,” the Instagram post read.

Presumably, all members of both groups will be hitting the stage for the experience. Dipset is comprised of rappers Cam’ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freekey Zeekey, while Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch make up The Lox.

Tickets to view the event live in person will be available Thursday, July 15 at 12 p.m. EST at MSG.com. Fans can also stream the event live on the Triller app and on the Verzuz Instagram Live.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VERZUZ (@verzuztv)

Certain Neutrogena, Aveeno sunscreens recalled due to traces of cancer-causing chemical

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Johnson & Johnson has issued a voluntary recall of several sunscreen products after finding they contain trace amounts of a cancer-causing chemical.

The recalled products include five Neutrogena and Aveeno aerosol sunscreens, according to a statement released Wednesday by the company.

Some samples of the affected products, all spray-on sunscreens, were found to contain low levels of benzene, according to Johnson & Johnson, the parent company.

Johnson & Johnson said it recalled the products out of an “abundance of caution,” noting the low levels of benzene found in the samples would not be expected to impact people’s health.

“Based on exposure modeling and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) framework, daily exposure to benzene in these aerosol sunscreen products at the levels detected in our testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences,” the company said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are recalling all lots of these specific aerosol sunscreen products.”

Benzene is a colorless chemical that can cause complications like cancer, anemia and immune system damage, as well as irregular menstrual periods and a decrease in ovary size in women, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The most severe health complications typically come after long term exposure to benzene, which the CDC defines as exposure of one year or more.

The five sunscreen products impacted by the voluntary recall are:

NEUTROGENA® Beach Defense® aerosol sunscreen
NEUTROGENA® Cool Dry Sport aerosol sunscreen
NEUTROGENA® Invisible Daily™ defense aerosol sunscreen
NEUTROGENA® Ultra Sheer® aerosol sunscreen
AVEENO® Protect + Refresh aerosol sunscreen

Product images and lot information is available on www.Neutrogena.com and www.aveeno.com.

Johnson & Johnson is advising consumers to stop using these products and discard them.

“Consumers may contact the JJCI Consumer Care Center 24/7 with questions or to request a refund by calling 1-800-458-1673. Consumers should contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have any questions, concerns or have experienced any problems related to using these aerosol sunscreen products,” the company said in a statement. “JJCI is also notifying its distributors and retailers by letter and is arranging for returns of all recalled products.”

Buckcherry cancels shows after members test positive for COVID-19

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Buckcherry is the latest band to change their touring plans due to the presence of COVID-19 in their inner circle.

On Wednesday, the band posted a note reading, “We just discovered that two of our band members have tested positive for COVID-19. Out of an abundance of caution and for the safety of all involved, we will be canceling all shows until July 30th in Columbus to allow them to recover and to quarantine.”

The “Lit Up” band went on to say that “the safety of our fans is of the utmost importance to us and we will use every effort to reschedule the 9 shows prior to that date.” Fans are advised to hold onto their tickets until the new dates are announced.

It’s not clear which members of Buckcherry have been affected. The canceled shows run from a July 16 date in Joplin, MO through a July 25 concert in Cincinnati, OH.

Buckcherry’s latest album, Hellbound, was released last month.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Buckcherry (@buckcherry)

New Bastille song “Give Me the Future” featured in Jeep’s new Life Electrified campaign

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Bastille has teamed with Jeep to showcase a new song, “Give Me the Future.”

The song is featured in a video for the automaker’s latest campaign, Life Electrified, which shows the evolution of Jeep over the past 80 years and all the new technology the brand’s vehicles will be featuring in the coming years. And if you need another reason to watch it, there’s also an adorable dog featured in the video.

Bastille frontman Dan Smith says “Give Me the Future” is about “plugging into endless possibilities,” adding, “Literally, it feels like everything is out there for the taking, all tastes catered for.”

Smith goes on to say that the spaceship sound at the start of the track is “us crash landing in the future.” He explains, “The reality we live in at the moment was the science fiction of not that long ago. Take a film like Minority Report. The technology in that seemed so far off, a fantasy. But it’s here, we’re way beyond it already. Had someone told you that 20 years ago, when the film came out…you’d have laughed. Or been terrified.”

“Give Me the Future” is the follow up to Bastille’s latest single, “Distorted Light Beam,” which was co-written and co-produced by Ryan Tedder of the pop group OneRepublic. Bastille will perform on ABC’s Good Morning America on August 23.

+ More