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Gymnasts testify as Congress investigates FBI’s handling of Larry Nassar sexual abuse

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. elite gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman are testifying before Congress Wednesday about what they say were failures in FBI’s handling of the sexual abuse case against Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics team doctor.

Nassar, a former doctor, was sentenced in 2018 to up to 175 years in prison for sexually assaulting hundreds of girls and women.

“We have been failed and we deserve answers,” Biles said Wednesday, fighting back tears during parts of her testimony. “Nassar is where he belongs, but those who enabled him deserve to be held accountable. If they are not, I am convinced that this will continue to happen to others across Olympic sports.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee is now investigating the FBI’s handling of the Nassar case.

A Justice Department inspector general report released this July found the FBI made “fundamental errors” in its response to allegations against Nassar, which were first brought to the agency in July 2015.

The scathing report accuses FBI field offices in Indianapolis and Los Angeles of failing to respond thoroughly to allegations against Nassar, which allowed him to continue to work with gymnasts at Michigan State University as well as a high school and a gymnastics club in Michigan.

During the 15 months of alleged inaction by the FBI, Nassar sexually abused at least 70 young athletes, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said at Wednesday’s hearing, citing information from the inspector general’s report.

“In reviewing the inspector general’s report, it truly feels like the FBI turned a blind eye to us and went out of its way to help protect USAG (USA Gymnastics) and USOPC (United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee),” Biles said before Congress. “A message needs to be sent. If you allow a predator to harm children, the consequences will be swift and severe. Enough is enough.”

The FBI responded to the inspector general’s report by saying the inaction by the FBI field offices “should not have happened.”

“The actions and inactions of certain FBI employees described in the Report are inexcusable and a discredit to this organization,” the agency said in a statement at the time, according to the Associated Press.

Current FBI Director Christopher Wray is also testifying in Wednesday’s hearing, as is Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general.

During Nassar’s trial, more than 150 people provided victim impact statements, including Raisman and Maroney. Biles first publicly said she was sexually abused by Nassar in a statement on Twitter in January 2018, writing, “I am not afraid to tell my story anymore.”

The gymnasts have also spoken out publicly about how the Nassar case impacted their mental health.

Raisman has said she has post-traumatic stress disorder from being sexually abused by Nassar. She opened up last year about the intense therapy she receives as a result, writing after one therapy session, “My body aches.”

Biles said she experienced depression as a result of the abuse by Nassar and takes anxiety medication and undergoes therapy to cope.

“I have my ups and downs,” Biles told “Good Morning America” in 2018, the same year she went public with her allegations.

Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, is the only gymnast among the four who testified Wednesday who continues to compete in elite gymnastics.

She won a silver medal and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July after dropping out of several competitions because of a mental health issue.

Biles said Wednesday she believes the Nassar scandal played a role in her mental health struggle during the Olympics, saying, I can assure you that the impacts of this man’s abuse are not ever over or forgotten.”

“The announcement in the spring of 2020 that the Tokyo Games were to be postponed for a year meant that I would be going to the gym, to training, to therapy, living daily among the reminders of this story for another 365 days,” Biles testified. “As I have stated in the past, one thing that helped me push each and every day was the goal of not allowing this crisis to be ignored.

“I worked incredibly hard to make sure that my presence could maintain a connection between the failures and the competition at Tokyo 2020,” she said. “That has proven to be an exceptionally difficult burden for me to carry, particularly when required to travel to Tokyo without the support of any of my family.”

“I am a strong individual and I will persevere but I never should have been left alone to suffer the abuse of Larry Nassar, and the only reason I did was because of the failures that lie at the heart of the abuse that you are now asked to investigate,” Biles told senators.

Norm Macdonald mourned by, you guessed it: Frank Stallone

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

There was an immediate outpouring of love from comics and others mourning the death of Norm Macdonald on Tuesday, but one note from one celebrity would have certainly made Norm smile.

That message came from, you guessed it: Frank Stallone.

The musician brother of Sylvester was often used as a non-sequitur punchline, delivered in that exact way, by Macdonald while he sat behind the desk of Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update. Now the man himself took to Instagram to send Macdonald off in the most appropriate way.

“I was saddened to hear that Norm Macdonald passed away…” he said, adding, “He had a lot of fun with me on weekend update, with You Guessed It Frank Stallone.”

Stallone posted a photo of Norm at the anchor desk, with Stallone’s face displayed the screen next to the comedian, as it had been for numerous punchlines. Stallone said the frequent send-ups were “funny,” noting, “My only regret is that I never got the chance to do the show with him.”

The musician called Macdonald “an original,” and passed along condolences to his family.

Incidentally, in 2018, Macdonald recalled that when Sylvester Stallone hosted SNL in the 1990s, he kindly asked Norm to lay off his brother, and Macdonald obliged.

Macdonald died Tuesday at age 61 after fighting a private battle with cancer. Or, as he used to say, it was a draw.

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Darius Rucker says Kane Brown has the “it factor” on TIME100 list

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Music Business Association

Kane Brown has earned a spot TIME magazine’s prestigious TIME100 list, honoring the 100 most influential people of 2021. Darius Rucker penned the touching tribute to Kane.

“Kane Brown has that unquantifiable ‘it’ factor,” Darius praised. “He’s so laid-back and doesn’t take himself too seriously, but he also really cares about his craft and other people. And when it comes to his music, he can do that low, cool, borderline-rapping thing, and then he sings and his vocal ability just blows you away.”

Darius made great strides as a Black man in country music, strides that Darius sees Kane also achieving.

“I’m sure there are kids looking up to Kane right now just like when I looked up at Charley Pride,” Darius says. “One of the most pivotal moments of my career was when Charley shared some of the lessons he learned over the years with me … Kane is setting the bar so high for the next generation. I hope kids see him and now think, ‘I can do that.'”

StubHub agrees to refund tickets to concerts canceled due to COVID-19

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Good news for customers of StubHub: You’re getting your money back.

The ticket resale platform has agreed to give refunds to customers who purchased tickets to events canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When concerts and other events first started being canceled, StubHub initially stopped honoring its refund guarantee, instead offering customers credits to be used for future events.

On Wednesday, several state attorneys general announced a settlement with StubHub that forces the ticket reseller to reverse the policy and honor refunds for tickets purchased prior to March 25, 2020. The settlement also requires StubHub to be more forthcoming about its refund policies and honor those policies when events are cancelled.

The company will be able to avoid paying a multi-million-dollar penalty if it promptly coughs up the refunds owed to customers. Instead of refunds, StubHub had tried to offer credits of $120% of ticket purchase prices for future events.

The multistate investigation began after several customer complaints, and Stubhub’s “lack of responsiveness” to the inquiries, the attorneys general said.

Now, the bad news: The settlement only involves StubHub customers in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

Report: Amanda Bynes’ conservatorship extended until 2023

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Bynes in 2014 – GVK/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

While Britney Spears tiptoes closer to being released from her controversial 13-year conservatorship, a judge has ruled that another celebrity will need to stay in hers for a little while longer.

The Blast reports that Amanda Bynes, 35, who was placed in a conservatorship in 2013 following her mental health struggles, will remain under her legal arrangement until 2023. The extension was triggered by a recent brief stay at a psychiatric facility for undisclosed reasons.

The Blast obtained copies of the legal documents filed earlier this week, in which a judge ruled that the Nickelodeon star will remain under supervision for a few more years.

Details about Amanda’s conservatorship — including treatment plans and restrictions — have been sealed. She also did not appear in court when the documents were filed.

Bynes’ conservatorship was enacted over seven years ago following a string of high-profile run-ins with the law and controversial interactions with other celebrities on Twitter. She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, went to rehab, and her finances and other dealings placed under the care of a conservatorship started by her parents.

Currently, Bynes is working on obtaining a bachelor’s degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. She is also engaged to boyfriend Paul Michael, but no wedding date has been disclosed.

Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett to star in CBS, MTV & Paramount+ specials

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Lady Gaga will promote her new duets album with Tony Bennett, Love for Sale, with a TV takeover.

The two will star in three different specials, one of which will air on CBS, one of which will air on MTV, and a third which will stream on Paramount+.

The first special is titled One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, which will air on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend in November at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The hour-long special was filmed during the two shows Gaga and Bennett did in August at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, which were the 95-year-old crooner’s final public performances.

Then, sometime this winter, an MTV Unplugged special will air, which Gaga and Bennett filmed together in New York in August. It was Bennett’s 1994 appearance on the original MTV Unplugged — captured on a hit album that went on to win the 1995 Grammy for Album of the Year — that revived his career.

Finally, a documentary called The Lady and the Legend will stream on Paramount+ in 2022; no premiere date has yet been announced. It’ll include footage from the Love for Sale sessions, as well as from the duo’s first album, 2011’s Cheek to Cheek.

Love for Sale arrives October 1. A video for the title track will premiere on Friday at noon ET.

Gabrielle Union opens up about “heartbreaking and terrifying” racist encounter from 2019

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Gabrielle Union is ready to speak about a “terrifying” racist incident that left her and her group of friends “numb.”

In an interview with People, the 48-year-old actress said the encounter happened in 2019, when she and some friends visited a Game of Thrones filming location in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

“We wanted to recreate Cersei’s steps from Game of Thrones,” she recalled. When her friends went to grab drinks at what they thought was a gay bar, they instead were accosted by its “Neo-Nazi” patrons.

Union adds that, in addition to being accosted, the bar displayed Jim Crow memorabilia, which left her and her group of friends shaken. The Bring It On star adds that, even after they left, a group of “menacing” patrons pursued them down the street.

“I’ve never experienced that level of hatred and the threat of physical violence,” she said. “It was such a jolt. And the fear and adrenaline of what happened left us all numb.”

Calling the encounter “heartbreaking and terrifying,” Union admits the incident is just one of many acts of racism she’s had to endure. “To go through every instance is to take you through every day of my life… There are microaggressions and there are all out assaults. That’s what it is to be a person of color in this country,” she said.

Continues Union, “We think we’re post racial but we’re not. And that is beyond disappointing. I don’t think people understand the violence that comes with racism, whether it’s if you’re being chased or you’re having to watch someone wear blackface to collect a paycheck. It’s violent.”

“There are a lot of people who turn a blind eye to racism. But silence is complicity,” Union closed, saying, “real radical impactful change” happens when people stand against racism.

Billie Eilish, Britney Spears, Lil Nas X among ‘TIME”s 100 Most Influential People

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

TIME magazine is out with its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People, and some of music’s biggest stars made the list, including Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X and Britney Spears.

TIME has tapped fellow celebs to pen essays about each honoree. Meghan Thee Stallion writes of Billie, “[She’s] a unique soul, with a voice, style and attitude all unapologetically her own…She is a rare spirit who speaks from her heart with no pretenses….one who is strong, but still learning and still growing. A woman who stands up for herself and advocates for women everywhere.”

Rapper and actor Kid Cudi writes of Lil Nas X, “What he’s doing is what we need right now. To have a gay man in hip-hop doing his thing, crushing records — that is huge for us and for Black excellence. The way he’s unafraid to make people uncomfortable is so rock ’n’ roll. He’s a true rock star.”

Britney’s old pal Paris Hilton writes of the newly engaged star, “When I think of Britney Spears, I see the sweetest soul. A mother. A friend. A fighter. A young woman who grew up in the tabloid culture of the 2000s, when the paparazzi machine was accepted, unforgiving and cruel.”

“Despite the darkness that has surrounded her life, Britney embodies joy and shares the light of her beautiful heart, forever the superstar, Paris adds. “So we stand by her and root for her as she turns pain into purpose, her unwavering spirit stronger than ever.”

Miley Cyrus is also featured, penning a tribute to her godmother, Dolly Parton. “Dolly is not only my idol because of her incomparable career — she’s also my role model because of her steadfast morals and values,” Miley writes. “At her core, she is the definition of a humanitarian.”

Scotty McCreery is “Damn Strait” about his love of country music

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Scotty McCreery is sharing another song from his upcoming Same Truck album. The American Idol alum dropped “Damn Strait,” one of only two songs he did not write on his new record.

“Every now and then you hear a song that sounds so much like you,” Scotty says of the song, which was written by Trent Tomlinson and Jim Collins. “I grew up as a huge George Strait fan, and when I heard this song, I raised my hand to say, ‘I want this one.’ Every country fan has a George Strait story, and everyone has a memory attached to their favorite songs.”

It was George, along with a couple of other country music legends, who inspired Scotty to become a singer.

“The first country music concert I ever went to was George Strait, Reba [McEntire] and Lee Ann Womack,” Scotty says. “When I saw that show, I said, ‘I’m gonna do that one day.’”

Same Truck will be released on Friday, September 17. Scotty’s current single from the album, “You Time,” is currently in the top 5.

Report: Man faces felony charge after brandishing knife outside Ariana Grande’s house

September 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

A scary situation erupted right outside Ariana Grande’s Hollywood Hills home last week.

TMZ reports that a man, identified as 23-year-old Aaron Brown, showed up at Ari’s house around 2 a.m. local time on Friday and waved a knife at her security when they tried to give him the boot.

According to the report, Brown demanded an audience with the “Positions” singer and when security told him to scram, he brandished the knife, forcing security to call police.

Brown was arrested after the altercation and is now facing a felony charge.

It is unclear if Ariana was home at the time of the incident, but TMZ reports that she applied for a temporary restraining order against Brown, which was approved by a judge. The protection order will be in effect until an upcoming hearing, which will determine if the order will remain in effect.

The date of the upcoming hearing was not disclosed.

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