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Snapchat goes to Washington: New feature helps young people run for office

October 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Snapchat is looking to help America’s youth become potential Washington, D.C., power players with its latest feature, Run for Office Mini.

The new, in-app feature helps Snapchat users navigate which offices they can run for in their local areas based on which issues they are most passionate about, Snap, the company behind Snapchat, said in a blog post announcing the feature.

Snapchat reaches 90% of 13- to 24-year-olds in the United States, according to the company.

Run for Office Mini uses data from BallotReady, which is described as providing “personalized, nonpartisan information to voters in all 50 states” on its website.

Narissa Ayoub, a 24-year-old law student at the University of Detroit Mercy and a legal intern with dreams to run for office one day, said she appreciates how the feature makes the process of looking into running for office more accessible.

“Having all the information there, in one place, and for it to be so easy and accessible, I think it will create a huge difference,” Ayoub said. “I think people don’t know exactly what [they] can run for, so it doesn’t have to be these big deal offices like mayor or state legislature or governor. There are things in your hometown that are open like precinct delegate, or city clerk or school board.”

Through the feature, Snapchat users can type in their ZIP code and select the issues that mean the most to them, such as education, civil rights and more. The app then narrow down the political offices that overlap with those issues and provides users with information about those offices, including who currently holds that seat, their background, age requirement to run for that seat and the upcoming election date for the position.

Snapchat users can sign up for a training session with several organizations it has partnered with including Run for Something, Run GenZ, LGBTQ Victory, New American Leaders and more, Snap said.

“Being the candidate yourself is something that’s super intimidating,” Ayoub said. “I think that this new Snapchat feature … to give people those tools that they need to run for office is absolutely invaluable.”

Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something, which recruits and supports young candidates running for office, tweeted that the organization saw a record number of young people sign up for their training program to run for office.

This isn’t the first time the social media giant has worked to help youth get involved in the political process. With support from Turbovote and Ballot Ready, Snap helped more than 1.2 million Snapchat users register to vote; more than half were first-time voters, according to Snap.

Restrictive Texas abortion law back in effect as appeals court issues temporary stay

October 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(DALLAS) — A panel of judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a temporary administrative stay Friday night that will allow state courts in Texas to continue accept lawsuits under the state’s restrictive abortion law.

President Joe Biden’s Justice Department had sued the state of Texas last month after it instituted a ban on abortions once doctors detect cardiac activity — about six weeks into a pregnancy and often before a woman would even know she was pregnant. The law, which is civil instead of criminal, allows anyone to sue someone they “reasonably believed” provided an illegal abortion or assisted someone in getting it in the state.

The ruling late Friday will again reinstate the law, at least as the appeals process continues to unfold.

“IT IS ORDERED that Appellant’s emergency motion to stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal is temporarily held in abeyance pending further order by this motions panel,” the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in its ruling. “Appellee is directed to respond to the emergency motion by 5 pm on Tuesday, October 12, 2021.”

“IT IS ORDERED that Appellant’s alternative motion for a temporary administrative stay pending the court’s consideration of the emergency motion is GRANTED,” the court, comprised of Judges Carl E. Stewart, Catharina Haynes and James C. Ho, added.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman had issued an emergency injunction barring enforcement of the controversial new abortion law and effectively allowing abortions after six weeks again.

The state of Texas immediately appealed that injunction to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition to the emergency injunction, Pitman had denied Texas’ request to put a pause on his ruling while the state appeals it. But that was undone Friday.

“That other courts may find a way to avoid this conclusion is theirs to decide; this Court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right,” Pitman wrote.

In the meantime, as the appellate court waited to rule Friday, some abortion providers in Texas had already begun to offer services again to people past six weeks into pregnancy.

“We reached out to some of the patients that we had on a waiting list to come in to have abortions today, folks whose pregnancies did have cardiac activity earlier in September,” Whole Woman’s Health founder Amy Hagstrom Miller said during a press briefing with the Center for Reproductive Rights Thursday. “And we were able to see a few people as early as, 8, 9 this morning, right away when we opened the clinic.”

The 113-page ruling from Pitman Wednesday was scathing in targeting the state in how he says it schemed to evade judicial review in its implementation of this law.

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

Jan. 6 committee to ‘swiftly consider’ criminal contempt for Steve Bannon, others who ignore subpoenas

October 8, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot will “swiftly consider” holding one-time Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, and potentially others, in contempt of Congress for ignoring committee subpoenas, committee chairman Bennie Thompson vice-chair Liz Cheney said Friday.

The move came after Bannon formally advised the committee that he would be unable to comply with their requests, citing former President Donald Trump’s intention to invoke executive privilege. In a letter obtained by ABC News, Bannon’s lawyers said that until the matter is settled in court, they will not comply with the committee’s subpoena.

The committee last month issued subpoenas to Bannon and other top Trump aides Mark Meadows, Kash Patel and Dan Scavino, as part of its probe into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. An additional 11 subpoenas were issued last week to organizers of the pro-Trump rally that preceded the attack.

Meadows, a former White House chief of staff, and Patel, an ex-Pentagon official, are “engaging” with the committee, officials said. The committee had no update on the status of Scavino.

“While Mr. Meadows and Mr. Patel are, so far, engaging with the Select Committee, Mr. Bannon has indicated that he will try to hide behind vague references to privileges of the former President,” Thompson and Cheney said in a joint statement. “The Select Committee fully expects all of these witnesses to comply with our demands for both documents and deposition testimony.”

Sources confirm to ABC News that Trump’s lawyer sent a letter to several of those subpoenaed informing them that the former president wants the subpoenas ignored and that he plans to claim executive privilege. In the letter, Trump suggested he would be willing to take the matter to court to block their cooperation.

However in an interview earlier this week with right-wing commentator John Solomon, Trump suggested that he would have no problem with his confidants participating in the probe.

“I’m mixed, because we did nothing wrong,” Trump said. “So I’m sort of saying, ‘Why are we hiring lawyers to do this?’ I’d like to just have everybody go in and say what you have to say. We did nothing wrong.”

Committee officials said that those who ignore the subpoenas could be held in contempt.

“Though the Select Committee welcomes good-faith engagement with witnesses seeking to cooperate with our investigation, we will not allow any witness to defy a lawful subpoena or attempt to run out the clock, and we will swiftly consider advancing a criminal contempt of Congress referral,” the statement said.

Any motion of contempt would be passed along for the full House to consider. If passed, the matter would then be referred to the Justice Department for potential prosecution.

Democrats considered holding Bannon in contempt of a House Intelligence Committee subpoena in 2018, but ultimately declined to do so. The full House voted to hold former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress in 2019 for ignoring House Oversight Committee subpoenas for records related to the 2020 census, but the Trump Justice Department ignored the requests.

Trump is also seeking to block the Jan. 6 committee from accessing selected documents held by the National Archives, which maintains control of White House records, including West Wing communications and visitor logs. On Friday he sent a letter to the agency asserting executive privilege over a tranche of documents that he said contain privileged presidential communications.

White House counsel Dara Remus said in an earlier letter to the agency that the White House “has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States,” but that they would “respond accordingly” if Trump asserts executive privilege over only a subset of the documents.

As of Friday, the committee has issued a total of 17 subpoenas, with most going to Trump associates and individuals linked to the rallies in Washington on the day of the Capitol riot.

The committee plans to schedule in-person depositions with cooperating witnesses in the coming weeks.

Health officials report uptick in children’s rare COVID-related inflammatory syndrome following delta surge

October 8, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A number of pediatric hospitals across the country are warning about an increase in the number of cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare condition in which different parts of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs, become inflamed.

MIS-C, which most often appears four to six weeks after a COVID-19 infection, can be serious and potentially deadly, but most children who are diagnosed with it recover with medical care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal data shows that there have been at least 46 confirmed MIS-C deaths and 5,217 confirmed MIS-C cases — and about 61% of the reported cases have occurred in children who are Hispanic/Latino or Black. Children between the ages of 6 to 11, who may soon be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, have reported the highest number of MIS-C cases since the onset of the pandemic.

Nearly 5.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19, and MIS-C infections represent only 0.0009% of COVID-19 pediatric cases. However, between July and August, the average number of daily MIS-C cases nearly doubled.

“MIS-C happens about four to six weeks after a primary COVID infection, and we know that the delta variant has really impacted kids, more than previous waves have done, and so it’s not really that big of a surprise a couple weeks after your first cases of COVID start rolling, and then you start seeing your MIS-C cases roll in,” Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, told ABC News Friday, in reference to the facility’s recent uptick.

Dayton Children’s Hospital told ABC News they too have seen an uptick in recent weeks. And it is not just in Ohio where officials are seeing increases. In Tennessee, the number of MIS-C cases has more than tripled since early February.

“We saw a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in children over the past two months with the delta variant surge in our region,” Dr. Sophie Katz, assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt said in a press release on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, we anticipate an increase in MIS-C cases following this spike.”

Earlier this week, officials from Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, said at a press conference that their physicians have seen an uptick in MIS-C in recent weeks as more children test positive.

“I saw three with MIS-C personally last week,” said Dr. Angela Myers, the division director of infectious diseases at Children’s Mercy. “I think we’ve had more [children] continue to get admitted to the hospital since then. That’s more than the zero we had multiple months before that.”

And on Wednesday, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, which houses Mississippi’s only pediatric hospital, reported that the state is still seeing acute cases of COVID-19 and MIS-C in children.

“What we have now is both MIS-C and severe acute COVID-19, and I think it’s because of schools dropping mask mandates,” Dr. Charlotte Hobbs, professor of pediatric infectious diseases and director of UMMC’s MIS-C clinic, said in a statement. “We saw this drop of acute COVID-19, and then MIS-C, and now acute COVID-19 is increasing again. Acute COVID and MIS-C at the same time is something that has not happened before, and it is preventable.”

Utah native Sharella Ruffin’s 6-year-old son, Zyaire, contracted the rare syndrome earlier this month.

“How can something like that take over your kid’s life in like a week? I’m not understanding that. It was like the most scariest things that ever happened in my life. No mother should ever have to hear that your baby might not make it,” Ruffin told ABC News Friday. “To see your 6-year-old son just laying there. And he’s scared and don’t know what’s going on.”

According to the CDC, the best way for a parent to protect their child is by taking “everyday actions” to prevent COVID-19, including mask-wearing and hand-washing.

At this time, severe illness due to COVID-19 remains “uncommon” among children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

However, any acute illness from COVID-19 and death in a child is concerning, Dr. Richard Besser, a pediatrician and former acting director of the CDC, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday.

“One of the myths that is out there is that this COVID pandemic isn’t affecting children. There have been over 600 children who died. There have been thousands who have been hospitalized,” Besser said.

Experts continue to emphasize the urgency for not only children to be vaccinated, when eligible, but also for their parents and all of those in the communities around them to get the shot as soon as possible

ABC News’ Felicia Biberica, Kelly Landrigan and Kristen Red-Horse contributed to this report.

Visually impaired runner completes marathon with the help of guides, friends

October 8, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — Laura Sosalla, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was declared legally blind earlier this year due to long-term effects after a battle with COVID-19 last November.

Sosalla was determined and said she wanted to prove to herself that she wouldn’t let the impairment change how she lived her life.

She decided to run a marathon. This spring, Sosalla sent a message to Rachel Bentley, founder of United in Stride, an organization that matches visually impaired runners with guides.

Sosalla and Bentley teamed up, along with Bentley’s sister, Natalie Elmore, and Sosalla’s neighbor, Laura Brennan.

After months of training side-by-side, the four women ran the last mile of the Twin Cities Marathon together on Oct. 3.

Elmore said many noticed her guide bib and the group was showered in positivity from onlookers.

“I felt like it was really just my job to communicate to her all the excitement of the day,” Elmore said, “describing that to her and giving her encouragement in that way.”
The group crossed the finish line at 5 hours, 38 minutes. Brennan said she was proud to be in such good company, adding: “It was an honor to cross the finish line with her and be able to witness the look of joy on her face as she realized her accomplishment.”

Bentley said she’s already looking ahead.

“It was a blast running with these women, and I can’t wait to do another race soon,” she added.

Sosalla told “World News Tonight” on Friday about the support received while overcoming her hardship.

“What COVID has taught me is even though it took my eyes, it gave me an opportunity to connect with people and share life in a completely different way,” she said. “I’m so incredibly grateful for that.”

Scott Stapp guests on new EDM song, “Light Up the Sky”

October 8, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Scott Stapp is approaching the EDM world “With Arms Wide Open.”

The Creed frontman has released a new song called “Light Up the Sky” in collaboration with dance music DJs and producers Wooli and Trivecta.

“When I first heard the track, I instantly started recording melodies and lyrics,” Stapp says. “The piano, builds, crescendos, drops, and overall vibes just connected right away. I wanted to give voice to the idea that releasing life’s inevitable sadness, fear, or regret is the first step to reclaiming the kind of intense joy and passion that this track explodes with.”

He adds, “I’m grateful for Wooli and Trivecta for reaching out — here’s to blending two worlds and to unexpected opportunities that forge something beautiful and powerful.”

You can listen to “Light Up the Sky” now via digital outlets.

Stapp’s most recent album is his 2019 solo release, The Space Between the Shadows.

Paramore’s Zac Farro announces new album with HalfNoise project

October 8, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Paramore drummer Zac Farro has announced a new album with his HalfNoise side project.

The record is called Motif, and will arrive November 5. You can listen to a new single called “Superstition” now via digital outlets.

“Motif was a huge stepping stone for me in a lot of ways,” Farro says. “From the songwriting to the production, I pushed myself in ways that I hadn’t before.”

He adds, “I really wanted to create a ‘HalfNoise’ sound instead of only writing with the goal of just finishing songs or an album. I wanted this record to be pointed and have purpose.”

HalfNoise will be playing a trio of shows this November, in Nashville, New York City and Los Angeles.

Paramore, meanwhile, released their most recent album, After Laughter, in 2017. It marked Farro’s return to the band after initially leaving in 2010.

John Lennon’s “Imagine” certified triple platinum; multiple events planned to mark Lennon’s birthday Saturday

October 8, 2021 by WDNY Radio

On the eve of what would’ve been the late John Lennon‘s 81st birthday comes word that “Imagine,” the classic peace anthem Lennon co-wrote with wife Yoko Ono, has been certified triple Platinum by the RIAA for sales of three million units in the U.S.

“We are thrilled to present this award to Yoko for John & Yoko Ono Lennon’s ‘Imagine,'” says Universal Music Enterprises president Bruce Resnikoff. “‘Imagine’ remains a timeless global anthem, and John & Yoko’s message of peace is just as relevant today as when it was first written.”

Ono recently said of the inspiration for “Imagine,” “John and I were both artists and we were living together, so we inspired each other. The song ‘Imagine’ embodied what we believed together at the time. John and I met — he comes from the West and I come from the East — and still we are together. We have this oneness and ‘the whole world would eventually become one’ is the sense that we will all be very happy together.”

“Imagine” and the album of the same name on which it appears were released 50 years ago this past September 9.

As has become an annual tradition to mark Lennon’s birthday on Saturday, the Imagine Peace Tower, the memorial art piece Ono conceived as a tribute to her late husband in Reykjavík, Iceland, will be illuminated at 4 p.m. ET, and will remain lit until December 8, the anniversary of John’s death. You can check out a livestream of the tower at ImaginePeaceTower.com.

Coinciding with the lighting of the tower, a special edition of Tim’s Twitter Listening Party, hosted by U.K. radio host and musician Tim Burgess, will be held at 4 p.m. ET. The show will present the recent “Ultimate Mixes” version of the Imagine album.

Lil Wayne releasing ‘Tha Carter’ singles vinyl box set

October 8, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Lil Wayne is releasing his favorite songs from Tha Carter album series in a seven-inch vinyl box set.

Weezy announced Friday that Tha Carter Collection 7 will feature 19 tracks, including “A Milli,” “Go DJ,” “Hustler Musik” and “6 Foot 7 Foot,” along with liner notes and a booklet of rare photos never seen before. “Ya Dig,” which is included, was added to streaming services for the first time on Thursday.

You can purchase the box set now on Wayne’s website.

The first album in Tha Carter series was released in 2004, followed by Tha Carter II in 2005, Tha Carter III in 2008, Tha Carter IV in 2011, and Tha Carter V in 2018.

Last week, the Young Money Entertainment CEO dropped a collabo album with Rich The Kid titled Trust Fund Babies. He kicked off the week celebrating his 39th birthday at a bash in Miami hosted by his biggest star, Drake.

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Sammy Hagar’s 2021 Birthday Bash being held on Catalina Island this week; Saturday’s show streaming at nugs.net

October 8, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Sammy Hagar‘s 2021 edition of his annual Birthday Bash is taking place this week, featuring three special performances by the Red Rocker and his band The Circle at the Catalina Casino on California’s Catalina Island.

The festivities began Thursday with a sold-out a VIP event that featured a hybrid acoustic/electric performance, as well as a segment where Sammy and the band — bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson — shared stories and took questions from the audience.

The show featured a 10-song set that included covers of Led Zeppelin‘s “When the Levee Breaks” and Depeche Mode‘s “Personal Jesus,” as well as versions of Montrose‘s “Bad Motor Scooter,” Chickenfoot‘s “Sexy Little Thing” and Van Halen‘s “Right Now,” “Humans Being,” “Mine All Mine” and “Finish What Ya Started.”

The bash continues tonight and Saturday with full-length rock shows. For those who can’t make it out to the concerts, Saturday’s event will be available for streaming via nugs.net. Visit nugs.net/SammyHagar for more details.

Fans attending the Catalina Island shows will be required to show proof that they’re fully vaccinated for COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Hagar was unable to hold his birthday bash at its usual location — his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Instead, Sammy and The Circle played a socially distanced concert on October 8 on Catalina Island. With the pandemic still an issue in Cabo San Lucas, Hagar decided to bring the bash back to Catalina this year.

Hagar’s actual birthday is October 13. He’ll be 74.

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