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Afghanistan updates: US Embassy destroyed some Afghans’ passports during evacuation

August 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Chaos has enveloped Kabul after Afghanistan’s president fled the country over the weekend and the Taliban seized control of the presidential palace, all but ending America’s 20-year campaign as it began: under Taliban rule.

As the crisis intensifies, with images from Kabul showing Afghans storming the airport tarmac and climbing onto military planes after the U.S. assumed control of the airport, President Joe Biden briefly left Camp David to address the nation from the White House on Monday.

The Pentagon said that 6,000 U.S. troops were being sent to the country’s capital as the military races to evacuate people from an increasingly chaotic Kabul. Despite criticism, the Biden administration is sticking by its decision to withdraw troops from the country by Aug. 31, ending America’s longest war.

Here are some key developments. All times Eastern:

Aug 18, 6:23 am
Taliban delegation meets with former Afghan president in Doha

A high-level Taliban delegation has met with Afghanistan’s former president, Hamid Karzai, and the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, in Qatar’s capital and assured them of security, a Taliban source told ABC News on Wednesday.

The Taliban has said there is a general amnesty for all in Afghanistan, including former government officials, and that no one should flee the country.

Aug 18, 5:51 am
UK to take in 20,000 Afghan refugees over 5 years

The United Kingdom announced Tuesday a plan to welcome 20,000 Afghan refugees over five years.

The resettlement program will prioritize women, children and religious minorities.

“We have an enduring commitment to the Afghan people, and we will honour it,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter. “A new resettlement scheme will create a safe and legal route for those in most need to come and live safely in the UK.”

While addressing members of parliament on Wednesday morning, Johnson said his government has so far secured the safe return of 306 U.K. nationals and 2,052 Afghan citizens as part of the resettlement program, with a further 2,000 applications for Afghan nationals completed “and many more being processed.” An additional 800 British troops will be deployed to Afghanistan’s main international airport in Kabul to “support this evacuation operation,” according to Johnson.

“We are proud to bring these brave Afghans to our shores — and we continue to appeal for more to come forwards,” he said.

Aug 17, 11:55 pm
US Embassy destroyed some Afghans’ passports during evacuation

Last week when the U.S. Embassy in Kabul ordered staff to destroy sensitive material, including documents, passports were destroyed as well.

During the evacuation, embassy personnel destroyed the passports of Afghans that had been submitted for visa processing, according to a Democratic lawmaker’s office.

Rep. Andy Kim, D-NJ, has been compiling requests for assistance for Afghans on the ground, with his office funneling pleas for help through an email address. In the email’s response note, obtained by ABC News, it says, “Passports that were in the Embassy’s possession have been destroyed. Currently, it is not possible to provide further visa services in Afghanistan.”

A State Department spokesperson acknowledged that was true, but called it “standard operating procedure” during an evacuation and said it “will not prevent people who are otherwise eligible for evacuation from traveling.

Aug 17, 9:38 pm
House Armed Services Committee Republicans request Biden’s plan for Afghanistan

Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Biden requesting information about his “plan” for Afghanistan.

“For months, we have been asking you for a plan on your withdrawal from Afghanistan. You failed to provide us with one and based on the horrific events currently unfolding in Afghanistan, we are confident that we never received your plan because you never had one,” the letter says.

“The security and humanitarian crisis now unfolding in Afghanistan could have been avoided if you had done any planning. Pretending this isn’t your problem will only make things worse. We remain gravely concerned the void left in Afghanistan will be rapidly filled by terror groups. The Taliban now control the country. Al Qaeda used Afghanistan to plot and execute the 9/11 attacks and other acts of terrorism,” the letter continues. “You cannot let this happen again.”

Notably, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. — a member of the committee — has also signed the letter.

Cheney appeared on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday and said that Biden “absolutely” bears responsibility for the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan, as does former President Donald Trump and his administration.

“What we’re watching right now in Afghanistan is what happens when America withdraws from the world,” Cheney told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “So everybody who has been saying, ‘America needs to withdraw, America needs to retreat,’ we are getting a devastating, catastrophic real-time lesson in what that means.”

Scoreboard roundup — 8/17/21

August 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Washington 12, Toronto 6

AMERICAN LEAGUE
NY Yankees 5, Boston 3
NY Yankees 2, Boston 0
Tampa Bay 10, Baltimore 0
LA Angels 8, Detroit 2
Kansas City 3, Houston 1
Chi White Sox 9, Oakland 0
Seattle 3, Texas 1
Cleveland 3 Minnesota 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta 2, Miami 0
Chi Cubs 2, Cincinnati 1
Milwaukee 2, St. Louis 0
Colorado 7, San Diego 3
San Francisco 3, NY Mets 2
Arizona 3, Philadelphia 2
LA Dodgers 4, Pittsburgh 3

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut 72, Minnesota 60
Dallas 80, Chicago 76
Las Vegas 93, Washington 83
Phoenix 84, Indiana 80
Los Angeles 85, Atlanta 80 (OT)

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Colorado 2, LA Galaxy 1
Minnesota 1, San Jose 1 (Tie)

“If It Wasn’t for…” Riley Green, this might be just another song about “Trucks”

August 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

At first glance, Riley Green‘s latest hit, “If It Wasn’t for Trucks,” might seem like just another ode to country’s favorite vehicle for riding backroads, throwing tailgate parties, and hauling hay.

But for the Alabama native, it hits much closer to home than that.

“The whole song is really personal,” Riley reveals. “And talking about when my granddaddy died, and ‘where would I have first heard Merle [Haggard],’ the line about ‘where was I supposed to cry.'”

“You didn’t cry in front of anybody,” he explains. “You pulled off in your truck somewhere if you were gonna do it.”

“And I love the line, ‘how would anybody’s daddy get around,'” he goes on. “That thought to me is pretty cool to go, ‘Everybody’s dad drives a truck. What would they do if there weren’t trucks?’ They’d have to walk everywhere, because nobody’s dad drives a car.”

While Riley freely admits it’s almost impossible to come up with an entirely new idea, he maintains it’s the execution that can really make a song special.

“Everything’s probably been said. Anything you can ever say, any idea’s probably been written in one of the eight billion country songs that are out there,” Riley points out. “But finding a cool way to say it and finding a personal way to say it, I think is what makes a song stick out, in my mind.”

Right now, Riley’s busy with the Beers on Me Tour with Dierks Bentley and Parker McCollum.

“If It Wasn’t for Trucks” is the title track of Riley’s 2020 EP, and is also included on his new collection, Behind the Bar.

Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds recalls early pushback to “Radioactive”: “This song won’t play on radio”

August 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

For the last seven years, Imagine Dragons‘ hit “Radioactive” has held the record for the most weeks spent on the Billboard Hot 100. While that record has now been broken by The Weeknd‘s “Blinding Lights,” it’d be hard to call “Radioactive” anything but a rousing success, especially given where it started.

As frontman Dan Reynolds tells Billboard, “Radioactive” wasn’t on anybody’s radar when ID was first getting started.

“Once we signed [to Interscope], it wasn’t like everybody at the label was like, ‘This is the song,'” Reynolds recalls. “In fact, it was the opposite. ‘It’s Time’ was the first single, and we [already] had ‘Radioactive’ at that point.”

“Nobody thought that that song would play on radio,” he continues. “In fact, I remember our radio department specifically being like, ‘This song won’t play on radio.’ But the song just started to go on its own, and then it just went to radio because it kind of had a life of its own, and it kinda dictated its own way.”

Surely that conversation will be a pivotal scene if anyone decides to make an Imagine Dragons biopic.

As for “Radioactive’s” now-beaten record, Reynolds feels good that it fell to The Weekend, whom he calls a “legend” and an “icon.”

“I think his music is the type of music that’s going to live on for a long time, and do good things,” Reynolds says. “So if there was ever someone to take the record, I think it’s good company.”

Meanwhile, Imagine Dragons is gearing up to release a new album called Mercury — Act 1 on September 3. It features the singles “Follow You,” “Cutthroat” and “Wrecked.”

Meghan Trainor’s “super-lucky” that for her, every day is “take your child to work day”

August 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Since becoming a mom, Meghan Trainor has pivoted from music to TV, because it allows her to spend more time with her son Riley — and the Grammy winner says she knows how lucky she is to be able to have that option.

Along with Adam Lambert and others, Meghan will be a judge on the upcoming reality competition show on E! called Clash of the Cover Bands. She’ll also be the host of a new Top Chef spinoff called Top Chef Family Style, which will stream on Peacock. In both cases, she gets to work a normal day and return home in the evening, with the added bonus of Riley being able to join her on set. It’s quite a change from her previous life as a globe-traveling pop star.

“Yeah, it’s my dream and I still get to, like, come home and be working on music whenever I can,” Meghan tells ABC Audio. “And I just love that I don’t have to travel, honestly!” She laughs, “Like, I don’t even know…I couldn’t even picture me dragging him on a plane right now. It seems like a lot of work!

“I’m just so happy that we can drive 10 minutes to work and do our work and he gets to come with me,” she notes. “So many moms out there can’t bring their child to work every day. And I get to do that. So I’m super-lucky and I know how blessed I am. So it’s been awesome!”

So far, neither show has a premiere date set. Meghan’s most recent album was A Very Trainor Christmas, which came out in October of 2020.

Camila Cabello says Taylor Swift taught her the value of friendship

August 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

There was a time, if you can believe it, when Camila Cabello “never had any friends,” she tells Bustle. But now she has plenty, and she says she was taught the importance of friendship by none other than Taylor Swift.

Camila tells Bustle that when her music career began, she and her mom did everything together “to the extreme. Because I never had any friends.” She explains, “I’ve been [working] since I was 15. I’ve been traveling so much, and it’s been really hard for me to water the soil for friendships.”

But when Camila was chosen to open for Taylor Swift on her 2018 Reputation tour, she says, she finally learned how important it was to cultivate non-romantic relationships.

“Taylor has always been so kind and supportive and also goes out of her way to give you artist advice,” Camila tells Bustle. “[She’s] really about making friendships and relationships the most important thing. She is so brave at watering those seeds of friendships and relationships.”

Camila adds, “She always answers my texts and she’s so busy. I don’t even answer texts because I’m just worse at it. It takes intention to be like, ‘Let me write all my friends back.’”

Luckily, Camila isn’t lacking in the romantic relationship department either, as her romance with Shawn Mendes proves. “There’s a lot of sweetness and tenderness [between us],” she tells Bustle. “I think we’re both sensitive. I’m really lucky to be able to surround myself with tenderness; it’s really important to me.

Director’s cut of Rush’s 2019 ‘Cinema Strangiato’ film to be screened in theaters on September 9

August 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

An updated version of Rush‘s 2019 screening event Cinema Strangiato will be shown in select theaters for one night only on September 9 in honor of the 40th anniversary of the legendary Canadian prog rockers’ 1981 album, Moving Pictures.

Rush: Cinema Strangiato — Director’s Cut will feature an alternate version of the film, which boasts highlights from the 2015 concert film R40 Live, plus behind-the-scenes segments and soundcheck footage.

The updated flick features bonus performances of “One Little Victory” and “Red Barchetta,” as well as the Neil Peart drum medley “Cygnus X-1″/”The Story So Far,” which is described as Neil’s “final recorded drum solo masterpiece.”

R40 Live features performances filmed in 2015 at a number of stops on Rush’s 40th anniversary trek, which turned out to be the band’s farewell tour. Peart died of brain cancer in January 2020.

Cinema Strangiato also includes interviews with The Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan, Foo Fighters‘ Taylor Hawkins, Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, The Trailer Park Boys, Rush producer Nick Raskulinecz, and others.

Tickets for Cinema Strangiato — Director’s Cut are on sale now in the U.S. at CinemaStrangiato.com. Tickets will be available for screenings in Canada on September 1.

‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ cast reveals how they cope with stress

August 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The team behind Big Little Lies is back for more drama with Nine Perfect Strangers, launching today on Hulu.

The miniseries is set at a boutique health-and-wellness resort whose director, played by Nicole Kidman, is on a mission to reinvigorate the tired minds and bodies of nine stressed city dwellers. Bobby Cannavale, who plays one of the resort’s guests, tells ABC Audio it’s not the kind of place you’re likely to find him.

“Sandals with the kids,” is the closest he’s come to visiting a health spa, although he doesn’t even think that qualifies. “[A] 50 minute massage is 10 minutes too long for me,” he admits. “I don’t like when they’re putting their hands on me and… I’m not into the facials and I can’t do it. They’re not relaxing to me. I like to be in a place that’s nice looking, but people leave me alone.”

Samara Weaving and Melvin Gregg play a couple in need of therapy, and Gregg says tinkering around the house helps him keep his mental health in check.

“I really enjoy like carpentry and like landscape work,” he reveals. “So, that’s how I kind of escape.”

Weaving’s routine for decompressing includes practicing as much self-care as possible.

“Every day,” she tells ABC Audio, “I’m riddled with anxiety, so I’m always try to fix it. Yeah, I’m crazy. I usually do yoga for like twenty minutes a half an hour if I can most days and then I’ll sit and meditate for like ten minutes. That’s always helpful. Therapy every week.

Ludacris has high praise for Queen Latifah as they star in new film: “Her energy is unmatched”

August 18, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Music and acting stars Ludacris and Queen Latifah worked together on a film for the first time, and for the Fast & Furious actor, it was one of the highlights of his career.

They just wrapped shooting the thriller End of the Road in New Mexico, in which Latifah portrays a recent widow, who after losing her job, drives her family cross-country to start a new life.

“Filming with Queen was one of the best experiences ever, and I’m not just saying that,” Ludacris tells Billboard. “Her energy is so unmatched. She’s so zen’d the hell out.”

The three-time Grammy winner says he always wanted to collaborate with Latifah, and they had so much fun together: “We was laughing and joking on set every day.”

Luda dropped his new single “Butter.ATL” last Friday which pays tribute to his love of peanut butter, and his hometown, Atlanta. He also appears in a new Jif peanut butter commercial with Gunna.

Ludacris is also executive producing a new children’s animated series, Karma’s World, named after his first daughter. On July 28, his wife Eudoxie gave birth to his fourth daughter, Chance Oyail Bridges.

Twenty-two years ago, he dropped his debut studio album, Incognegro, on his own independent label, Disturbing Tha Peace. Now more artists choose to be independent, and Ludacris says the key to success is social media.

“Come up with clever ways to have things go viral, as opposed to trying to spark something negative,” Ludacris says. “Try to do something positive, funny or that hasn’t been done before that puts people on to your music.”

Colin Jost confirms Scarlett Johansson is pregnant with their first child

August 17, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson is pregnant. Her husband Colin Jost confirmed the delightful news over the weekend.

The Saturday Night Live star, who was performing two sold out shows at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut, told the audience on Saturday that he and Johansson are about to become parents.

Allison Stockel and Jared Shahid, the Playhouse’s respective Executive Director and Artistic Director, confirmed to ABC Audio that Jost broke the news at their venue.

“Colin announced from the stage that he and Scarlett are expecting soon. I think it was fun for our audience to hear such big news unexpectedly,” Shahid remarked. “The crowd was very excited – everyone cheered and clapped.”

Both Stockel and Shahid described Jost’s announcement as “casual,” so both of them “assumed it was public knowledge” already.

Shahid also explained to ABC Audio that Jost’s performed a “Yondr show,” meaning all recording devices were not permitted and phones were placed in magnetic pouches during the event, “So no one was able to post about it.”

“It’s been fun to see the story develop over the last couple days,” he added.

The child will be Jost’s first and Johansson’s second. The actress shares six-year-old daughter Rose Dorothy with ex-husband Romain Dauriac.

Johansson, 36, and Jost, 39, confirmed their engagement in 2017 after two years of dating and tied the knot in October 2020.

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