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Jaafar Jackson on portraying Michael Jackson in upcoming biopic: ‘I wanted to prove to myself…I can do this’

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Jaafar Jackson opens up about his experience portraying the King of Pop in the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic.

“I knew how challenging this would be to take on playing Michael Jackson, and it was not easy. Definitely wasn’t,” he says in Becoming Michael, a featurette released by Universal Pictures UK.

“I love challenges and I wanted to prove to myself, my family and the filmmakers that I, I can do this,” he says, noting he rehearsed “for hours and hours upon hours until one single move was right” and at times danced “until my feet would bleed or them go numb.”

“There’s so many times I would wake up sore [and] be like, ‘Should I go rehearse? Should I just take a break and let the body relax?’ Then the other part of me would be like, ‘No what would Michael do?'” he recalls.

When it was go time and he was in full costume, Jaafar says, “I had a couple moments to myself just saying like, ‘Wow. I’m really here. There’s no going back. It’s time to go out there and put on the best show ever.'”

Becoming Michael, now available on YouTube, also features behind-the-scenes moments of Jaafar on set practicing the choreography and includes interviews with Michael director Antoine Fuqua and producer Graham King.

Michael will give fans a front-row seat to the King of Pop’s life and career. Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Juliano Krue Valdi, Miles Teller and Colman Domingo also star.

Early Access screenings in IMAX and Dolby will take place April 22; tickets are available on advance ticket sites. The film will then premiere April 24 in theaters nationwide, with tickets going on sale March 26.

Paul McCartney featured in latest episode of Audible’s ‘Words + Music’

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Paul McCartney is the latest artist to take part in Audible’s Words + Music series.

The latest episode, The Man on The Run, expands on the recent McCartney documentary Man on the Run, which covers his post-Beatles career, including the formation of Wings. The Audible episode is centered around interviews between McCartney and the film’s director, Morgan Neville. It also features musical performances.

“I don’t normally spend a lot of time looking back but I was flattered when Morgan said he was interested in this period,” says McCartney. “The first bit of Wings was quite hard work and not very rewarding, but eventually we got some songs under our belts that were hits.”

He adds, “Morgan got me to think about stuff I hadn’t thought about for a long time. He was asking all the right questions and I was happy to be transported back.”

In a clip posted on Instagram, McCartney talks about rekindling his relationship with John Lennon following the breakup of The Beatles, noting they started talking again after Lennon welcomed son Sean Lennon, with the conversations centered around every day things like kids and even baking bread.

“The things that we had in common were just ordinary, little domestic things,” McCartney says. “So, somehow that was peaceful. It was nice that we had that in common. And we weren’t fighting anymore.”

The three-hour The Man on the Run installment is available now. The Man on the Run documentary is currently streaming on Prime Video.

Previous installments of the Words + Music series featured such artists as James Taylor, Elvis Costello, Eddie Vedder, Alanis Morissette and Sting.

Immigration judge denies Liam Conejo Ramos and his family’s asylum claim: Attorney

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(MINNEAPOLIS) — An immigration judge has denied Liam Conejo Ramos and his family’s asylum claim, their attorney confirmed.

The 5-year-old boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, were detained on Jan. 20 by immigration agents in Minneapolis and held in a Texas detention facility. A judge ordered them to be released and they flew back to Minnesota on Feb. 1.

Attorney Danielle Molliver told ABC News on Thursday the family was unable to present any evidence in the case before the government filed a motion to terminate the case which a judge granted. Molliver said she has filed an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals.

“We understand that this decision will be appealed and remain hopeful for a positive outcome,” a spokesperson for Columbia Heights Public School District said earlier in confirming the asylum claim denial. “The detention in January of Liam and his father shed light on the harm caused by Operation Metro Surge, during which many children and families have been detained.”

The boy and his father were detained in January shortly after arriving home from the child’s preschool, school officials had said.

Both were taken to a federal detention facility in Dilley, Texas. They had a pending asylum case but no order of deportation.

The five-year-old’s father told ABC News last month that he wants to remain in the United States with his family, saying they fled Ecuador out of fear.

“I asked for asylum to be here for my family, for my children,” Conejo Arias said. “I’m here because I’m scared of returning to my country.”

In a statement after a judge ordered them to be released, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, “The facts in this case have NOT changed: ICE did NOT target or arrest a child.”

“On January 20, ICE conducted a targeted operation to arrest Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias an illegal alien from Ecuador who was RELEASED into the U.S. by the Biden administration,” McLaughlin said. “As agents approached, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias fled on foot — abandoning his child.”

McLaughlin said ICE officers remained with Liam while other officers apprehended his father. Officers, according to McLaughlin, attempted to place Liam with his “alleged mother” who was inside the house, but she allegedly refused to accept custody of the child.

McLaughlin said Conejo Arias told officers he wanted his son to remain with him.

The DHS account differs from what the Conejo Arias, his family’s attorney and schools officials said occurred.

Conejo Arias said when he was detained, he was walking a few feet ahead of his son, trying to alert people who “would come out who could help” them.

“I love my son too much. I would never abandon him,” Conejo Arias said.

Officials from Liam’s school said another adult living in the home was outside begging the agents to allow them to take care of the child, but the request was denied.

Opening statements to begin in trial of doctor accused of trying to kill wife on Hawaii hiking trail

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(HONOLULU) — Opening statements are expected to begin Thursday in the trial of a doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a Hawaii hiking trail last year.

Gerhardt Konig has been charged with second-degree attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

The trial is set to get underway at 9 a.m. local time in Honolulu.

The anesthesiologist is accused of beating his wife, Arielle Konig, with a rock on the Pali Puka Trail on Oahu on March 24, 2025.

He allegedly pushed her and hit her in the head with a rock approximately 10 times while grabbing the back of her head and smashing her face into the ground, according to the probable cause statement for his arrest. He also allegedly attempted to use two syringes on her, according to the document.

Arielle Konig suffered injuries, including large lacerations to her face and head and was hospitalized in serious condition following the alleged attack, according to the probable cause document.

Gerhardt Konig has been in jail since his arrest. A judge denied his motion to dismiss the indictment last month.

Arielle Konig’s attorney has previously told reporters that she intends to testify during the trial. She filed for divorce in May 2025, online court records show.

In a petition for a restraining order filed shortly after the arrest, she said Gerhardt Konig had previously accused her of having an affair, “which led to extreme jealousy on his part” and led him to try to “control and monitor all of my communications.”

Konig worked as an anesthesiologist on Maui. Following his arrest, Maui Health said his medical staff privileges at Maui Memorial Medical Center have been suspended pending investigation.

Ryan Gosling says Harry Styles flew to NY just to appear during his ‘SNL’ monologue

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

The week before Harry Styles hosted Saturday Night Live, he popped up in the audience during host Ryan Gosling’s monologue, and that became the entire bit. Ryan has since revealed that he randomly reached out and asked Harry to be there.

While promoting his film Hail Mary on London’s KISS Radio, Ryan said, “It was just so strange that Harry was hosting after me because he’s such a big part of this film.” Harry’s song “Sign of the Times” is heavily featured in the movie.

“Yeah, it was kind of a Hail Mary ask, ’cause I don’t know him,” Ryan continued. “But I was like, ‘Is there any way he’d wanna be in the monologue?’ And then he got on a plane just to be there, so it was very cool.”

Asked what it was like to sing “Sign of the Times” in front of Harry, which Ryan did during the monologue, he told KISS, “Nobody wanted that.”

Hear new Afghan Whigs song, ‘House of I’

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

The Afghan Whigs have premiered a new song called “House of I.”

“Laid this one down in New Orleans last summer,” says frontman Greg Dulli in a statement. “Was looking for an up tempo banger and feel like we found one here.”

“House of I” marks the first new Afghan Whigs material to follow their 2022 album, How Do You Burn? A new record is expected to be released later in 2026.

The Afghan Whigs will launch a U.S. tour in April celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary.

Niall Horan reflects on bandmate Liam Payne’s death: ‘I didn’t think it was real’

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Niall Horan’s new album Dinner Party is coming out in June, and one of the songs, “End of an Era,” was inspired by the death of his bandmate Liam Payne, who died at 31 following a fall from his hotel balcony in Argentina on Oct. 16, 2024.

Speaking to GQ, Niall recalls that he and Liam met up in Buenos Aires earlier that October when he was on a South American tour. “It was great,” recalls Niall. “[Liam] seemed in good form and we had a good laugh, good reminisce.” Liam stayed in Buenos Aires while Niall resumed his tour, which ended Oct. 9. Niall got the news of Liam’s passing just days after he got home.

“I just remember getting a message. And I was just like, What?… I just didn’t think it was real,” Niall tells GQ. “Someone so young, you’re not expecting to hear that they’ve passed, especially someone that you’ve just seen. I just went back from shock to sadness to anger.”

Niall tells GQ some of his fondest Liam memories, including when they shared a room during the bootcamp part of The X Factor.

“I just got to know him a little bit and then we ended up doing what we did together,” he recalls. “Memories that only he and I can share ’cause you have a team and you have people around all the time, but we always said that only us have that experience, no one else has that.”

According to GQ, on “End of an Era,” Niall sings, “We had it/ Pure magic/ Remember what it was like/ Time passes/ So fast and/ I couldn’t tell you goodbye.”

Dinner Party is due out on June 5.

Dangerous, unprecedented heat wave hits the West

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A dangerous and unprecedented heat wave is hitting the West, with temperatures reaching 25-to-40 degrees above normal across the region.

A dozen cities recorded all-time record March temperatures on Wednesday, including 105 degrees in Palm Springs, California; 102 degrees in Phoenix, Arizona; and 94 degrees in Las Vegas.

Heat alerts are in place for 40 million Americans in the West through the weekend.

With temperatures expected to reach between 96 and 109 degrees for a widespread area over multiple days — and during a time of high tourism to the Desert Southwest — the heat may turn deadly.

The heat will spread east through the week. By Friday, the record highs may reach Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma, and by Sunday, daily record highs could stretch from Los Angeles to Memphis, Tennessee.

The heat and dry weather could also increase the risk of wildfires. Red flag warnings are in place for parts of Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska, where wind gusts could reach 30 to 45 mph.

Extreme heat is considered the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S., according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment. About 2,000 Americans die each year on average from extreme heat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Click here for what to know about staying safe in the heat.

Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be DHS secretary narrowly clears Senate committee with Democratic support

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be the secretary of Homeland Security narrowly cleared a committee vote Thursday morning with the help of Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, teeing up the Oklahoma Republican’s nomination for a final vote on the Senate floor as soon as next week.

Mullin’s nomination advanced out of Senate Homeland Security Committee by a vote of 8-7. He needed a simple majority of votes to clear the committee.

After a series of contentious exchanges during Wednesday’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Rand Paul, the committee’s chairman, ultimately cast a vote against Mullin in committee on Thursday. Fetterman was the only Democrat to cast a vote in his favor.

Fetterman’s vote proved to be critical for Mullin as Republicans only hold a one seat majority on the committee. Paul’s objection meant that at least one Democrat would be necessary to push Mullin over the line.

After the vote, Fetterman said he approached the Mullin vote with an “open mind.”

“We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS. My AYE is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation’s security,” Fetterman wrote in a post on X.

Mullin’s hearing came weeks after President Donald Trump fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, following her handling of the Minneapolis immigration enforcement and criticism that she used $220 million in taxpayer money for an ad campaign.

Mullin’s nomination will head to the Senate floor where he’ll need a simple majority of votes to be confirmed. He is expected to be approved by the chamber when he comes up for a final vote.

-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

Sleeping with Sirens premieres new single, ‘An Ending in Itself’

March 19, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Sleeping with Sirens has premiered a new single called “An Ending in Itself.”

“‘An Ending in Itself’ is the band returning to form, getting back in a room together, creating without expectation, which is why we started doing this in the first place,” frontman Kellin Quinn tells Kerrang! “I haven’t felt this way about our music since [the 2011 album] Let’s Cheers to This. Oddly enough this feels more like a beginning than an end…”

You can watch the video for “An Ending in Itself” streaming now on YouTube.

“An Ending in Itself” follows Sleeping with Sirens’ 2022 album, Complete Collapse.

You can catch Sleeping with Sirens live at a number of upcoming festivals, including Welcome to Rockville, Inkcarceration, Louder than Life, Aftershock and select Warped Tour dates.

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