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R. Kelly has been convicted on all counts in sex crimes trial

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

A federal jury has found singer R. Kelly guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking involving interactions with six women, among them the late singer Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in 2001.

The verdict came in Monday afternoon after two days of deliberations following a six-week trial in Brooklyn federal court. Kelly’s face was concealed by a mask as the verdict was read, making it difficult to see what reaction he may have had.

Kelly, 54, whose birth name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, had pleaded not guilty to all charges and told a Brooklyn judge that he would not testify. He now awaits sentencing.

Kelly previously avoided prison in 2008 when he was acquitted on 14 counts in a highly publicized child pornography case. However, this time around, the jury believed Kelly was the ringleader of a criminal enterprise that bolstered his music, his image and his sexual gratification by recruiting women and girls for sex, holding them against their will and threatening them if they misbehaved.

R. Kelly has been convicted of racketeering charges in sex crimes trial

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

A federal jury has found singer R. Kelly guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking involving interactions with six women, among them the late singer Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in 2001.

Kelly, 54, whose birth name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, had pleaded not guilty to all charges and told a Brooklyn judge that he would not testify. Now, the singer could face up to 20 years in prison.

“It was a mistake of some sort”: ‘The View’ co-hosts Sunny Hostin & Ana Navarro COVID-19 negative after on-air scare

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

On Monday’s The View, Joy Behar explained Friday’s dramatic episode, in which co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro were unexpectedly pulled out of the studio ahead of an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.

“It was a mistake of some sort,” Behar said at the show’s open Monday. “I’m happy to report that Sunny and Ana’s Friday results turned out to be false positives and everyone is safe, healthy, and COVID-free. No one got it,” Behar explained, to applause.

On Friday, the pair apparently gave positive COVID-19 tests before the chat with Harris, forcing the sit-down to proceed remotely.

The View‘s executive producer Brian Teta also appeared Monday and apologized for how abruptly the situation came to pass on-air. “It was just an unbelievable set of circumstances,” Teta maintained. “We found out moments before we came back on the air.”

He added, “I really want to acknowledge and apologize to Sunny and Ana…they were in this position where they had this information put out on television, and then to make it even worse it turned out not to be true later on.”

Hostin said the affair was “particularly triggering,” because she’d lost an in-law to the virus. “So you can imagine how I felt thinking that I could possibly be COVID-positive and my family could experience another loss…,” she said, and further explained that her surgeon husband had to be pulled out of the operating room and her children’s school was notified following her false positive.

Navarro said she felt guilty because she’d spent time before the interview with Harris’ family members. “I’m thinking, ‘I’m Typhoid Mary and I’m going to wipe out the entire Harris family in one week,'” she joked.

Britney Spears’ lawyer says new documentary offers more reasons why Jamie Spears must go

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Britney Spears‘ lawyer Matthew Rosengart has already filed paperwork with the court explaining why Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, should be removed immediately as her conservator at a court hearing due to take place on September 29. But he’s now filed yet another document, obtained by ABC News, citing information in a new documentary that he asserts is further evidence that it’s imperative to get rid of Jamie.

The New York Times reported the claim — also featured in the new FX/Hulu/New York Times documentary Controlling Britney Spears — that Mr. Spears and a security firm he hired secretly bugged Britney’s bedroom and recorded her conversations with her boyfriend, her kids and her former lawyer, and also monitored her phone, email and text conversations.

The New York Times noted, and Rosengart also mentions, that in the state of California, recording conversations in a private place like a bedroom and “mirroring” texts without both parties’ consent could be illegal.

In his filing, Rosengart calls the alleged monitoring “horrifying and unconscionable,” and notes that attorney/client communications in particular are “a sacrosanct part of the legal system.”

“Regardless of the outcome of the allegations, what cannot be genuinely disputed is how deeply upsetting they are to Ms. Spears,” Rosengart adds, pointing out that the only issue the court may consider is whether booting Jamie Spears is in the “best interests” of Britney Spears, which he says it clearly is.

In a statement to ABC News, Rosengart says that the alleged monitoring is a “striking example of the deprivation of [Britney’s] civil liberties,” and adds that if her bedroom was indeed bugged, it “corroborates so much of her compelling, poignant testimony.”

“Mr. Spears,” says Rosengart, “has crossed unfathomable lines.”

Dream Theater postpones fall tour dates until 2022

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Dream Theater‘s upcoming fall U.S. tour has been postponed because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

“This was an extraordinarily challenging decision to make but needed to be done after taking into consideration the varying local mandates across North America,” the prog metallers write in a statement. “In an effort to present the absolute most complete and engaging Dream Theater experience that our fans around the globe have come to expect, we feel we are all best served to postpone all touring activities to early 2022.”

The tour, which was originally scheduled to launch at the end of October, is now expected to kick off in February of next year, although the exact new dates have yet to be announced.

Dream Theater is set to release a new album called A View from the Top of the World on October 22.

The Weeknd and Angelina Jolie spotted out to dinner together again

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The Weeknd and Angelina Jolie were spotted out having dinner together again over the weekend.

In photos obtained by British tabloid The Daily Mail, the two were seen Saturday at Giorgio Baldi restaurant in Santa Monica, California. They reportedly spent over two hours in a private section of the restaurant, before leaving together in the same vehicle.

It’s not the first time the 31-year-old singer and the 46-year-old actress have enjoyed each other’s company. They were previously seen grabbing dinner together at the same restaurant back in June, and attending the same concert in July.

Their outings have sparked questions about the nature of their relationship — are they dating, just friends or working on a project together?

The Weeknd has been getting into more TV and film projects as of late, and sources speculate that he and Jolie could be meeting for business, not pleasure. But if you’ll remember, The Weeknd also once referenced Angelina in his song “Party Monster,” with the lyrics describing a beautiful woman as having “lips like Angelina.”

Bob Dylan announces 2021 US tour in support of latest album, ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Bob Dylan has scheduled his first tour dates since the start of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The folk-rock legend, who turned 80 this past May, has unveiled a series of fall 2021 U.S. concerts kicking off November 2 in Milwaukee and running through a December 2 show in Washington, D.C.

Tickets for most of the dates will go on sale to the general public starting this Friday, October 1. Pre-sale tickets also will be available; visit BobDylan.com for more details.

According to Dylan’s website, the U.S. leg will mark the start of a worldwide tour in support of Bob’s most recent studio album, 2020’s Rough and Rowdy Ways, that will run until 2024.

The stateside trek features multiple-nights stands at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on November 19, 20 and 21, Port Chester New York’s Capitol Theatre on November 23 and 24 and Philadelphia’s The Met on November 29 and 30.

Dylan’s most recent trek ended in December 2019. This past July, a new livestreamed performance by Bob and his longtime backing band, called Shadow Kingdom, was made available via the Veeps.com platform.

Earlier this month, Dylan released a new installment of his Bootleg Series of archival collections. Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 16 (1980-1985) focuses on the sessions for three of Bob’s albums — 1981’s Shot of Love, 1983’s Infidels and 1985’s Empire Burlesque.

In conjunction with the compilation’s release, Dylan premiered a video on YouTube capturing an in-studio performance of the Infidels track “Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight,” featuring Bob accompanied by Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler and ex-Rolling Stones member Mick Taylor on guitars, as well as Dire Straits keyboardist Alan Clark, legendary reggae drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare.

Will Smith discusses his open marriage with Jada Pinkett-Smith: “Jada never believed in conventional marriage”

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Will Smith is speaking candidly about his unconventional marriage with wife Jada Pinkett-Smith.

In a new GQ magazine cover story, which includes excerpts from Smith’s upcoming memoir, Will, Smith reveals that he and Pinkett-Smith didn’t always practice monogamy in their marriage.

“Jada never believed in conventional marriage…Jada had family members that had an unconventional relationship,” Will says of his wife of 23 years. “So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up. There were significant endless discussions about, what is relational perfection? What is the perfect way to interact as a couple? And for the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection.”

Smith, who shares son Jaden, 23, and daughter Willow, 20, with Jada, says he and his wife decided to do a Red Table Talk about their relationship as a way to protect themselves from “public scrutiny” following singer August Alsina‘s comments that he and Jada had an affair.

“The pursuit of truth is the only way to be happy in this lifetime,” Will shares. “And we sort of came to the agreement that authenticity was the release from the shackles of fame…”

Smith believes that their openness has allowed for “trust and freedom.”

“Marriage for us can’t be a prison,” Smith says. “And I don’t suggest our road for anybody. But the experiences that the freedoms that we’ve given one another and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love.”

During the interview, Smith also admits that he’s been working with an intimacy coach and that one of his greatest fantasies was to have a harem of girlfriends — which included Misty Copeland and Halle Berry.

Smith says he eventually realized, “That would be horrific.”

Take me out to the ball game: Thomas Rhett throws first pitch at Chicago Cubs game

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Thomas Rhett had the special opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs baseball game.

Before headlining Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in the Windy City, the country star took the mound at Wrigley Field Sunday to throw out the symbolic first pitch at the Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals game.

A series of photos from the event shows Thomas running onto the field with a ball and glove in hand, embracing player #48, Rex Brothers, before striking an impressive pitcher’s stance on the mound. He also shared a snap of he and wife Lauren Akins, who is pregnant with their fourth daughter, in their Cubs jerseys and ball caps on the field.

“One for the books!! Thank you @cubs for letting me throw the first pitch today. Love this city so much,” Thomas shares in the caption.

Thomas continues on his Center Point Road Tour through October 9.

Kelly Clarkson unloads Encino, CA “farmhouse” for $8.24 million

September 27, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Kelly Clarkson unloads Encino, CA “farmhouse” for .24 million

She took a loss on it, but Kelly Clarkson has finally managed to unload the Encino, California home she shared with her soon-to-be-ex-husband after first listing it in May of 2020.

Realtor.com reports that after splitting with husband Brandon Blackstock, who will officially become her ex-husband on January 7, 2022, she listed the mansion, described as a “modern farmhouse,” for just under $10 million. She then slashed the price twice before closing the deal this month for $8.24 million; it cost $8.5 million in 2018.

Kelly’s “farmhouse” is more than 10,000 square feet, and includes eight bedrooms, nine full bathrooms, two half-baths, a home theater, a fitness center, a game room, a wine cellar, a three-car garage, a multi-level pool, fire pit, outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven and a two-bedroom guesthouse.

Some of the neighbors she’s leaving include Nick Jonas and Selena Gomez.

This past summer, Kelly also sold her home in Hendersonville, TN for just over $6 million, and bought a five-bedroom house in Toluca Lake for a mere $5.45 million.

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