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Marine vet ‘tortured’ 11-year-old girl who played dead after 4 family members killed, sheriff alleges

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(POLK COUNTY, Fla.)A young girl who was “tortured” and shot multiple times when a former Marine sharpshooter allegedly invaded her home and killed four members of her family, including her baby brother, told investigators she survived by playing dead, authorities said on Thursday.

The 11-year-old is expected to recover from her injuries, but authorities said what she experienced may haunt her for the rest of her life.

Polk County, Florida, authorities said the girl witnessed Bryan Riley, 33, allegedly shoot her father, Justice Gleason, 40; her dad’s girlfriend, Theresa Lanham, 33; and her 3-month-old brother in the Sunday morning massacre near Lakeland, 35 miles east of Tampa. Riley is also accused of killing Lanham’s 62-year-old mother, Catherine Delgado.

Riley allegedly shot and killed the family’s dog, too, officials said.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Gleason’s daughter, the sole survivor of the attack, told investigators how she avoided being killed, after allegedly being tortured and shot by the stranger who had zero connection to her family.

“This 11-year-old was very brave and very smart, and she out-thought him. She said, ‘I played dead and I prayed,'” Judd said at a news conference Thursday.

Riley is charged with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, seven counts of attempted first-degree murder on a law enforcement officer, shooting into an occupied dwelling, two counts of armed burglary with battery, arson and cruelty to an animal. He is being held without bond.

The sheriff said Riley has shown no remorse. “He’s evil,” Judd said.

Judd said Riley first showed up at the home around 7 p.m. Saturday after picking up a first-aid kit from a friend who lives nearby, which he claimed he planned to donate to a Hurricane Ida relief organization.

Upon leaving his friend’s home, he saw Gleason mowing his front yard and stopped. He allegedly told Gleason that God sent him to speak to a girl named Amber, who he claimed was suicidal and being held as a sex-trafficking victim, Judd said. He was told no one by that name lived at the address and was ordered to leave.

The family called deputies, but they could not find Riley, Judd said. He said Riley returned to the home about 4:30 a.m. Sunday armed with three guns and in full-body armor.

Judd said Riley, who as a Marine was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, allegedly told investigators that he “created an ops plan.'”

“In his confession, he said, ‘You know what that means? You have to kill everybody,'” said Judd, adding that Riley’s girlfriend told investigators he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

He said the suspect broke into an in-law unit behind the main house and killed Delgado. Riley allegedly shot his way into the main house and found Gleason, Lanham, her baby and the girl hiding in a bathroom, according to the sheriff.

After allegedly killing Gleason, Lanham and the baby, Judd said, Riley took the girl into the living room and questioned her about the whereabouts of Amber, Judd said. When the girl told him she didn’t know Amber, he allegedly counted down, “three, two, one” and shot her in the stomach, Judd said. When she again denied knowing Amber, Riley allegedly shot her in the hand and legs before firing what he wrongly believed to be the fatal shot, Judd said.

When deputies arrived, a shootout ensued. Riley was hit in the stomach and surrendered, Judd said.

Judd said the sheriff’s department is collecting donations to help the family with funeral costs and the young survivor’s hospital bills. He said his agency has established an online page to accept contributions.

50th anniversary of John Lennon’s “Imagine” celebrated with lyric projections, billboards around the world

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

In celebration of today’s 50th anniversary of the release of John Lennon‘s classic solo album, Imagine, and his enduring peace anthem of the same name, a segment of the song’s lyrics has been projected digitally on buildings and structures in select cities around the world.

The lyrical phrase “IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE LIVING LIFE IN PEACE” has appeared as a digital projection in London on the Houses of Parliament and St. Paul’s Cathedral; in Lennon’s hometown of Liverpool, U.K., on the Liver Building and the Museum of Liverpool; and on remnants of the Berlin Wall in Germany.

The lyrics also have been posted on billboards in New York City’s Times Square, and in Tokyo near the historic Nihonbashi bridge.

Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, whom John credited with co-writing the song’s lyrics, said about the projections, “John would have loved this. ‘Imagine’ embodied what we believed together at the time. We are still together now and we still believe this. The sentiment is just as important now as when it was written and released 50 years ago.”

As previously reported, a number of events and activities have been planned today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Imagine album and song. As part of the celebration, John and Yoko’s experimental 1971 film Imagine will be screened today at 2:30 p.m. ET at select theaters or online for free. Fans also will be able to check out the movie, which was restored and re-released in 2018, at Amazon Prime’s music-themed streaming service The Coda Collection.

Also, U.K. radio presenter Tim Burgess will host a special edition of his popular Tim’s Twitter Listening Party at the same time as the Imagine film screenings.

Visit JohnLennon.com to find out more details about the various planned commemorations.

Rick Ross, Jeezy, Gucci Mane and more to perform on the Legendz of the Streetz tour

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The biggest hip-hop tour of the year is kicking off at the end of September. featuring Rick Ross, Jeezy, Gucci Mane and 2 Chainz.

The Legendz of the Streetz tour begins September 30 in August, GA with special guests Fabolous, Lil Kim, Trina and Boosie Badazz. Eleven dates were announced Wednesday through October 22 in Memphis. Tour cities include Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans and Baltimore, with more dates to be announced later.

“You don’t want to miss out on the most anticipated hip-hop tour in HISTORY #LegendzoftheStreetzTour ft. me and industry heavyweights,” Ross wrote on Instagram. “Get your tickets and meet us in the building. We about to go crazy with this one!!”

The Boss also posted a photo of him with Gucci laughing and carrying bottles of champagne, with the comment, “Funny how we came up @laflare1017. Now it’s 7 figure tours to FEED THE STREETS #LegendzoftheStreetz Tour.”

La Flare wrote, “The most important tour in rap history #LegendsOfTheStreets get ya tix and make sure you pull up on Wop and the Gang.”

Ticket for all shows are now on sale on the We Are Live Entertainment website.

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A post shared by Biggest Boss Rick Ross (@richforever)

Papa Roach premieres new single, “Kill the Noise”

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Papa Roach has premiered a new single called “Kill the Noise.”

The track, which is available now for digital download, is accompanied by a rowdy video that finds Jacoby Shaddix and company rocking out while confined by a wire fence. You can watch that streaming now on YouTube.

“It’s easy to get caught up in some of that static inside your mind — we all tangle with that demon,” Shaddix says. “For us, ‘Kill the Noise’ brings some straight-up heavy music catharsis, a reminder to find that moment of peace from the noise.”

“Kill the Noise” follows the August premiere of the single “Swerve,” which features FEVER 333‘s Jason Aalon Butler and rapper Sueco. Both tracks are set to appear on the upcoming new Papa Roach album, the follow-up to 2019’s Who Do You Trust?

Meanwhile, you can catch Papa Roach live this fall playing headlining shows, festivals and opening for Breaking Benjamin.

Brehanna Daniels makes history at NASCAR as 1st Black woman pit member

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Brehanna Daniels says she thinks about how much her life has changed in just five years.

During college, the Norfolk State women’s basketball point guard said she never once thought about NASCAR as a sport, let alone a career.

But here she is, at 27 years old, on the NASCAR pit road, changing tires on race cars and breaking barriers for women and people of color along the way.

“Girl, you are crazy…” she told ABC News about what the person she was at 17 would think about her now, a NASCAR pit crew member.

“Especially, you know, a little black girl like myself at that time. [I] definitely was like, I’m never getting into NASCAR. It wasn’t even a thought in my mind,” she said.

That was until recruiters from NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program showed up on her college campus in 2016 and introduced her to the sport. Her skills on the court were an easy fit for the fast-paced needs in a NASCAR pit crew.

“Brehanna was one of those who embraced it, came through the program, excelled,” said Max Siegel, the manager of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.

After months of training, in 2017, Daniels became the first Black woman, over-the-wall tire changer in NASCAR’s history. By the end of the year, Daniels would make history again, as part of the first female duo in a NASCAR pit crew.

“I could not be more proud of what she’s accomplished both as an athlete, but she’s been amazing with her brand and social media and creating awareness and really getting people excited about the fact that if she can do it, there are other people that can do it,” Siegel told ABC News.

That success is what Siegel said he wants for all his recruits who come through the Drive for Diversity program. For the last twelve years, Siegel and his team have worked to recruit, train and support minorities like Daniels to increase diversity in all areas of NASCAR.

Siegel himself was NASCAR’s first highest-ranking Black executive. In a little over a decade, more than 60 of NASCAR’s women and minority drivers have come through the Drive for Diversity program, he said. Since 2009, the program has trained 75 gender and ethnically diverse candidates for NASCAR’s pit crews.

This year, at the Daytona 500, Siegel said he watched proudly when alumni of the program made up 10% of the field, including NASCAR stars like Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larsen and Daniel Suarez.

“I feel like for the first time since I’ve been involved, a lot of those things are starting to be addressed head on and progress is being made,” Siegel said.

While the Drive for Diversity program is keen to celebrate progress, Siegel said that success requires much more work. He said he has faced a lot of resistance in his efforts to bring more diversity to NASCAR but says he remains committed to the mission.

Daniels said she has had to tune out a lot of negativity even while some celebrate her achievements in the sport.

“People were like, ‘oh, she sucks,’ ‘what does it matter that she’s Black?’ It’s like, why wouldn’t that matter? You don’t see that every day in NASCAR. Why wouldn’t that be talked about?,” Daniels said.

Historically, NASCAR hasn’t been a welcoming space for black people. Dr. Ketra Armstrong, a professor of race and inclusion in sports at the University of Michigan, told ABC News.

“NASCAR hasn’t had very much success with the African American community at large because of NASCAR’s association with the Confederate flag,” Armstrong said. “You see that symbol, you know that it evokes these feelings of hatred and racial denigration. If you’re a Black consumer, it’s hard to enjoy the sports or the leisure or the activity when you’re surrounded by this ambiance or this effervescence that’s racially discriminating.”

NASCAR did not respond to a request for comment about Armstrong’s comments.

However, last year, the organization banned Confederate flags at its races.

Over the years, some of NASCAR’s drivers have also been embroiled in controversies about race. Larson, a NASCAR cup series driver and an alumni of the Drive for Diversity program, found himself in the pit fire and was suspended after using a racial slur at a virtual race last year.

Larson, who is half-Japanese, later apologized and said, “I wasn’t raised that way.”

In June 2020, Wallace, another NASCAR driver who also broke racial barriers in the sport, spoke out about racism after one of his crew members reported what looked like a noose hanging in the team’s garage stall. After investigating, the FBI concluded that the rope was a garage door pull rope and did not file any charges.

There are few women and minorities represented across the sport. It wasn’t until 2012, 64 years after NASCAR was founded, that it signed its first female pit crew member, Christmas Abbott.

Since then, only 15 pit crew members have been women, according to NASCAR. Only three have been women of color.

The NASCAR fan base is also overwhelmingly white. Based on NASCAR’s own data, provided to The Associated Press, 25% of fans identify as multicultural, only 9% as Black.

“It is very low. I think that you will get an honest admission from everyone in the sport that there is a ton of work to be done,” Siegel said.

Recently, celebrities like basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and rapper Pitbull have invested in the sport, helping diversify the face of NASCAR’s team ownership — investments that could help drive new interest.

“There was a time where when you think about race and sport, NASCAR would be on the not-so-positive end of the spectrum,” Armstrong said. “I think it’s really becoming more intentional in addressing its past, its racist past and things that they can do better to respond to this multicultural generation in this multicultural market in which it operates.”

As for what success looks like decades from now, the Drive for Diversity program is still writing that chapter but Daniels said she already likes where NASCAR going.

“There’s always room for improvement. But like I said, I’m very proud of NASCAR and for all the progress it’s made … yeah, I love to see it,” she said.

Los Angeles Unified School District, 2nd largest in the nation, to vote on vaccine mandate for students

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — The Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education will vote Thursday on a vaccine mandate for all eligible students in the nation’s second-largest district.

The vote, slated for 2 p.m. local time, would be a landmark move for the district, which has over 600,000 students and operates 1,200 schools in the LA area.

If the resolution is approved, all students ages 12 and up must receive their first vaccine dose no later than Nov. 21 and their second dose no later than Dec. 19. Students who participate in in-person extracurricular programs will have to get a vaccine earlier, with a deadline for the first dose by October 3.

All other students must receive their first vaccine dose 30 days after their 12th birthday and their second dose eight weeks after their 12th birthday.

The district told ABC News in a statement: “Science clearly shows that vaccinations are an essential part of protecting our communities. Further details will be forthcoming after the vote.”

The majority of board members said they will approve the measure or are leaning toward it, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Under the proposal, all eligible students in the district would be required to be inoculated excluding those with “qualified and approved exemptions.”

The district said passing the proposal “will result in the safest school environment possible and minimize disruption to full-time, in-person instruction brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Children ages 12 and up are only eligible for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Though the Pfizer vaccine was fully authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month, it remains under emergency use authorization for individuals 12 through 15.

The vote comes a week after LA County health officials said more than 5,200 COVID-19 cases were detected among K-12 students in the county over the past two weeks. The county’s public health director, Barbara Ferrer, called the number “sobering.”

The district’s COVID-19 testing dashboard shows 1,357 positive cases among students and staff and a staff and student case rate of 9.93 per 100,000 residents, significantly lower than the county case rate of 20.03 cases per 100,000 individuals.

So far in LA County, 60% of 12 to 15-year-olds have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 68% of 16 to 17-year-olds have received at least one dose, according to the county’s vaccine tracker.

Nationwide, pediatric hospital admissions remain at one of their highest points of the pandemic, with more than 2,200 children receiving care across the country for confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Additionally, the average daily COVID-19 case rate is now higher among children and adolescents ages 5 to 17 years than all adult age groups.

The move to mandate student vaccines is also supported by United Teachers Los Angeles union, which represents more than 30,000 teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians.

The union said in a statement last week, “UTLA announced support for a vaccine mandate for eligible students … This aligns with UTLA support for the educator vaccine mandate implemented by LAUSD and will keep our schools safer as well as positively contributing to the higher community vaccination rates needed to reverse the surge in infections.”

LAUSD is already facing legal backlash for its robust COVID-19 safety measures currently in place, including requiring weekly testing for all students and employees, masks indoors and outdoors and requiring all employees to be vaccinated.

Passing a vaccine mandate may bring an onslaught of further legal challenges.

Mandates related to the pandemic, such as requiring face coverings in classrooms, have led to lawsuits and heated debates between school districts, parents and lawmakers, as in Texas and Florida.

Los Angeles would not be the first to impose a vaccine mandate.

It was already adopted by the Culver City Unified district with a Nov. 19 deadline to take effect, in anticipation that the FDA will grant full approval for school-aged students to get the vaccine, local Los Angeles ABC station KABC reported.

In the Oakland Unified School District, Sam Davis, the Vice President of the Board and Director of District 1, proposed a vaccine mandate at a board meeting Wednesday night. The proposal will be discussed at a Sept. 22 meeting with a potential vote, he told ABC News.

“Vaccination is key to keeping teenagers healthy, in school and learning, and keeping their families healthy as well,” he said during the meeting. “We’re lucky to live in a place with comparatively high vaccination rates. In Oakland, 73% of those aged 12-17 have received at least one dose, compared to less than 50% nationwide. So we’re doing well but we could do much better.”

It’s too soon to tell if other districts will follow suit.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press conference Thursday there’s no plans for a vaccine mandate for eligible students in the city, which has the largest school district in the nation.

“We just don’t think that’s the right thing to do … but teachers are mandated to,” he said Thursday. “We can keep any option on the table, but right now, no. We want every kid in school.”

Similarly in Chicago, which has the third-largest school district in the nation, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said a vaccine mandate for students would be “premature” during an Aug. 30 press conference.

“Obviously we don’t have a vaccine for children who that younger than 12, so it’s a little premature I think to be talking about that,” the mayor said.

New Taliban government ‘more of the same,’ says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(KUWAIT CITY) — The United States has not seen evidence that the Taliban’s newly formed government will be as inclusive as promised, and it appears to be “more of the same” with “many of the same actors,” according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

“I think the whole international community was hopeful that they would be inclusive as they kind of said they would be weeks and months ago,” Austin told a small group of reporters traveling with him to the Middle East. “But we’ve not seen evidence of that early on, and so it appears to be many of the same actors.”

Austin said the U.S. and the international community would continue “to listen to what they’re saying, but we’re watching what they’re doing and right now it just seems that it’s more of the same.”

The Taliban’s new government includes several leaders of the Haqqani network, including the group’s de facto leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, who was named as interior minister. The Haqqani network has been directly tied to violent attacks against American troops over the last two decades.

“We don’t get a choice, a vote in that but, but certainly these are people that I don’t look favorably upon personally, but again, it’s the Taliban government,” Austin said when asked about the inclusion of Haqqani network leaders in the government.

Austin said the United States has “put the Taliban on notice” that it expects them not to allow al-Qaida to regenerate — something he said would demonstrate that they “are serious about being a bona fide government and respected in the international community.”

“They want sanctions lifted, and that sort of business so they have goals and aspirations,” said Austin. “If they demonstrate that they’re going to harbor terrorism, and in Afghanistan, all of that will be very very difficult for them to achieve.”

“I think the international community will hold them to task, quite frankly,” Austin said. “But again our goal is to make sure that that terror cannot be exported from the spaces in Afghanistan to the homeland, and we will remain focused.”

But he acknowledged that al-Qaida and ISIS-Khorasan “will always attempt to find space to grow and regenerate, whether it’s there, whether it’s in Somalia, whether it’s in any on any other ungoverned space,” he said. “I think that’s the nature of the organization.”

He added that the U.S. military would address any terrorism threats to the United States with its “over the horizon” counterterrorism drone strike capability.

But not having U.S. troops or U.S. intelligence on the ground in Afghanistan may make it more difficult to identify threats and carry out such strikes, something Austin acknowledged to reporters earlier this week.

A veteran of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past two decades and a former commander of U.S. Central Command, Austin embarked on his trip to thank the leaders of Persian Gulf states that provided assistance for the airlift that evacuated 124,000 people from Afghanistan.

“The ability to shuttle back and forth and lift out as many people as we did as fast as we as we did could not have happened without partners and in this region, and in Europe,” said Austin.

Beyond the airlift, his goal is “to always reassure them that first of all, we’re a global nation of global interests, and, and this region will always be important to us,” he said.

“We will have to shift our stance from time to time to focus on what we describe as our main effort and and that’s understandable,” Austin said. “But, but we will always be interested in what is going on in this region.”

New Eric Clapton live album/video featuring intimate performance recorded during lockdown due in November

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Eric Clapton will release a new live album and video called The Lady in the Balcony: Lockdown Sessions on November 12 that features the guitar legend playing a mostly acoustic set with select members of his touring band.

The intimate performance was recorded at the Cowdray House country mansion in West Sussex, U.K., with no audience except for Clapton’s wife, Melia. The show featured Eric performing some of his best-known original songs, several blues classics and covers of two memorable Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac tunes: “Black Magic Woman” and “Man of the World.”

Slowhand was joined for the performance by bassist Nathan East, drummer Steve Gadd and keyboardist Chris Stainton.

Lady in the Balcony, which you can pre-order now, will be available as a DVD/CD or Blu-ray/CD set, a 4K UHD/Blu-ray collection, a two-LP set pressed on yellow vinyl, as digital video and audio versions, and as a Deluxe Edition package featuring the DVD, Blu-ray and CD housed in a 40-page hardback photo book. In addition, a standalone CD version will be sold exclusively at Target.

Among the classic songs from Clapton’s back catalog featured on Lady in the Balcony are “After Midnight,” “Bell Bottom Blues,” “Layla” and “Tears in Heaven.”

The performance was organized after Clapton’s May 2021 concerts at London’s famed Royal Albert Hall were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here’s the full track list of Lady in the Balcony: Lockdown Sessions:

“Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”
“Golden Ring”
“Black Magic Woman”
“Man of the World”
“Kerry”
“After Midnight”
“Bell Bottom Blues”
“Key to the Highway”
“River of Tears”
“Rock Me Baby”
“Believe in Life”
“Going Down Slow”
“Layla”
“Tears in Heaven”
“Long Distance Call”
“Bad Boy”
“Got My Mojo Working”

Matt Damon admits he’s been running a secret Instagram account that boasts a whopping 76 followers

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Matt Damon has finally joined Instagram, but don’t expect to find his account anytime soon.

Speaking with GQ, the 50-year old actor confessed that the reason he’s never joined any social media platforms is because he “just never saw the point [of them.]”

“And I feel better and better about that decision as time goes on,” he continued, before admitting that he does have “a very private Instagram account” for the sole purpose of staying connected with friends and their families.

“I have 76 followers and I’ve done 40 posts since 2013,” he boasted, noting that the photos he shares are also of his family — mainly his three daughters, Isabella, Stella and Gia, goofing off.

When elaborating on why he decided to stay off all other social media platforms, Damon said, “I understand wanting to be connected to everybody on Facebook, but my life is so full and I’m connected, really, to everybody I need to be connected to.”

“And then Twitter,” he deadpanned, “I just reflexively didn’t believe that my first knee-jerk response to something was necessarily something that should go all over the world.”

Damon is referencing the controversy he fell into at the start of the #MeToo movement, where he called the movement a “watershed moment” during a 2018 interview. His statements turned him into a lightning rod for criticism.

“95 percent of the stuff [said about me] was entirely unhelpful, it was just Twitter-bashing stuff, which did put me in a defensive crouch,” he recalled.

Damon is among a small group of A-list celebrities who have refrained from sharing on social media, including Scarlett Johansson, Eddie Murphy, George Clooney and Emily Blunt.

Stevie Wonder to headline ‘Global Citizen Live’ concert September 25 in LA

September 9, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Stevie Wonder has been added to the list of stars performing around the world during the 24-hour series of Global Citizen Live concerts on September 25.

The 25-time Grammy winner will headline the Los Angeles concert, which will also feature H.E.R., Chloe X Halle and many more.

“It is again my pleasure and honor to join with all of the artists who are using their gift of song to celebrate the Global Citizens’ event by doing our part in working against global warming, starvation and singing for equality around the world,” Wonder said in a statement.

It was also announced Thursday that Nile Rodgers & Chic will perform at the Global Citizen Live concert in London

“I see ‘Global Citizen Live’ as a megaphone that can point the power of the people directly at those with the ability to make the worldwide, systemic changes needed to protect the most vulnerable people and to defend our planet,” Rodgers said. “It’s our job to cry out when promises aren’t fulfilled. We want to encourage our leaders to ensure there are good times ahead for everyone.”

As previously reported, Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo and Meek Mill will be among the artists performing at the New York City concert.

In addition to the LA, London and New York concerts, shows also will be simultaneously held on September 25 in Paris; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; Sydney, Australia; and Lagos, Nigeria.

ABC News Live will broadcast the full event starting at 12:30 p.m. ET on September 25. Tickets for Paris, New York City, and Los Angeles can be earned by taking action at GlobalCitizenLive.org.

The goal of Global Citizen Live is to encourage people to call upon world leaders, philanthropists and politicians to prioritize vaccine equality, climate change and famine.

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