Inducted by Long Island’s own Billy Joel, Bill Medley and the Righteous Brothers joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2003. Now 82, Bill sat down to chat with WHLI’s Rob Rush before he plays a show in nearby New Jersey.
Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision for The Society of Singers/AP Images
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The New York Giants kept dialing up blitzes and the San Francisco 49ers just got the ball into their playmakers’ hands.
Christian McCaffrey scored a touchdown in his 12th straight game, Deebo Samuel caught one of Brock Purdy’s two TD passes and the San Francisco 49ers won their 13th straight regular season game, 30-12 over the New York Giants on Thursday night.
“They got a good bit of pressure on Brock and caused a couple of three-and-outs but it’s about how long you can sustain doing that,” Samuel said. “So in the second half we came out executing.”
The Niners weren’t particularly sharp on offense early in their home opener but got enough from McCaffrey and on big runs after the catch by Samuel and George Kittle to earn their second 3-0 start in 25 seasons.
The Giants blitzed Purdy on 33 of his 39 dropbacks, according to NFL NextGen stats, and he capitalized with 247 of his 310 yards passing on those plays, including the touchdowns to rookie Ronnie Bell and Samuel.
“I thought it was just a huge challenge, one of the bigger ones Brock has been in with a short week to prepare for a scheme like that,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “There’s not a comfortable play throughout the game. … I thought he settled down as the game went on.”
McCaffrey ran for 85 yards, added 34 more receiving and scored on a 4-yard run that made it 17-3 late in the second quarter. That matched Jerry Rice’s franchise record with 12 straight games in the regular season or playoffs with a TD and is three shy of the NFL mark.
The defense did the rest against the short-handed Giants (1-2), who fell behind by double digits at the half for the third time in three games this season.
With the running game hampered by the absence of injured star Saquon Barkley and the offensive line overmatched without left tackle Andrew Thomas and left guard Ben Bredeson, the Giants struggled to move the ball and finished with 150 yards of offense.
“No excuses with anybody who missed the game or who played,” coach Brian Daboll said.
They managed two field goals in the first half and scored on Matt Breida’s 8-yard run on a third-quarter drive that needed just 15 yards thanks to two penalties on the Niners.
Daniel Jones was often on the run and couldn’t get anything going downfield. He went 22 for 32 for 137 yards and an interception.
“We didn’t create a rhythm,” Jones said. “We didn’t execute, didn’t take advantage of our opportunities, That’s a good defense, a good team and when you are playing good teams you can’t afford to do that. We didn’t play well enough.”
Purdy was off target in the first half but his numbers were pretty good thanks to some fortunate bounces and help from his teammates. Kittle broke up a potential interception on the opening drive and Purdy had another pass to Samuel that got deflected and bounced high in the air before Bell caught it for a 15-yard gain.
Purdy also converted a third-and-15 and third-and-13 on the same drive by throwing quick passes behind the line of scrimmage that Samuel and McCaffrey turned into first downs.
The Giants once again found themselves in a big hole at halftime, trailing 17-6. It was an improvement from the first two weeks when they trailed Dallas 26-0 in the opener and Arizona 20-0 in Week 2. They rallied to beat the Cardinals with a strong second half.
New York also got down 28-0 in a playoff loss last season to the Eagles, marking the first time since 2003-04 that they trailed by double digits at the half in four straight games.
There was a small scuffle late in the first half when the Niners were trying to take a knee to run out the clock. San Francisco left tackle Trent Williams took offense when New York’s A’Shawn Robinson shoved Aaron Banks and Williams shoved him with two hands. Robinson appeared to throw a jab toward Williams, who then responded with a punch to the facemask.
Offsetting penalties were called but Williams was not ejected.
“We ended up looking at the video we had available to us, and we just didn’t see anything that rose to the level of flagrant, which is the standard that we have to apply to disqualify the player,” NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Walt Anderson told a pool reporter.
UP NEXT
Giants: Host Seattle on Monday, Oct. 2.
(AP Photo/ Godofredo A. Vasquez)
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. (AP) — A charter bus carrying high school students to a band camp veered off a New York highway and tumbled down an embankment Thursday, killing two adults and seriously injuring several others, officials said.
The bus was one of six in a caravan taking the marching band, color guard and dancers from Farmingdale High School on Long Island on a beloved annual trip to a camp in Greeley, in northeastern Pennsylvania.
It was only about 30 minutes from its destination when the wreck happened a little after 1 p.m. on Interstate 84 in the town of Wawayanda, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of New York City.
A tire failure may have been to blame for the bus going off the road, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
The two adults who died were the high school’s band director, Gina Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa, and a retired teacher Beatrice Ferrari, 77, of Farmingdale.
Five of the 44 passengers on board were hospitalized in critical condition, according to state police.
Farmingdale student Anthony Eugenio, 15, was asleep on the bus when he felt a thud and awoke to what he thought was a dream or nightmare. The bus felt as if it was tipping. Then he felt himself tumbling — how many times he can’t recall — as he tried to pull his sweatshirt hood from over his eyes.
“Then everyone was yelling,” he said. “The kid next to me was covered in blood. I saw blood everywhere.”
He crawled out of the overturned bus through a window, dazed but only scraped and bruised. Once outside, he found his backpack, which had been thrown from the wreck, and his missing shoe.
News helicopter footage showed tire tracks on the roadway and a path of ripped-up grass and shrubs on the embankment. Hochul said the bus tumbled 50 feet down the steep slope in a wide median between the eastbound and westbound lanes of the highway. The bus came to rest on its left side, its roof warped. A ladder allowed rescuers to reach the windows.
A September trip to band camp is an annual tradition at the suburban high school, which has around 1,700 students. Members of the band, color guard and the school’s kick line team attend, as well as adult chaperones. During some years, more than 300 students have gone on the trip to rehearse and have fun in rural Pennsylvania.
The bus crashed about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away from the Pine Forest Camp, where the students were headed.
Many of the 40 students on the bus were freshmen, Hochul said. “They endured. They were strong,” she said.
Students on the other buses returned to Long Island hours after the crash. Six area hospitals treated the injured.
Anthony Eugenio, who spoke to The Associated Press from a car as his mother drove him home, said his thought as the bus turned over and over was “This can’t be real.”
Bruce Blakeman, the county executive in Nassau County, where Farmingdale High School is located, asked that people please “pray for the injured.”
Bus carrying high school students to band camp crashes, killing 2 and seriously injuring others | AP News
Photo Creator: NBC New York Credit: AP
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. (AP) — A charter bus carrying high school students to a band camp veered off a New York highway and tumbled down an embankment Thursday, killing two adults and seriously injuring several others, officials said.
The bus was one of six in a caravan taking the marching band, color guard and dancers from Farmingdale High School on Long Island on a beloved annual trip to a camp in Greeley, in northeastern Pennsylvania.
It was only about 30 minutes from its destination when the wreck happened a little after 1 p.m. on Interstate 84 in the town of Wawayanda, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of New York City.
A tire failure may have been to blame for the bus going off the road, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
The two adults who died were the high school’s band director, Gina Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa, and a retired teacher Beatrice Ferrari, 77, of Farmingdale.
Five of the 44 passengers on board were hospitalized in critical condition, according to state police.
Farmingdale student Anthony Eugenio, 15, was asleep on the bus when he felt a thud and awoke to what he thought was a dream or nightmare. The bus felt as if it was tipping. Then he felt himself tumbling — how many times he can’t recall — as he tried to pull his sweatshirt hood from over his eyes.
“Then everyone was yelling,” he said. “The kid next to me was covered in blood. I saw blood everywhere.”
He crawled out of the overturned bus through a window, dazed but only scraped and bruised. Once outside, he found his backpack, which had been thrown from the wreck, and his missing shoe.
News helicopter footage showed tire tracks on the roadway and a path of ripped-up grass and shrubs on the embankment. Hochul said the bus tumbled 50 feet down the steep slope in a wide median between the eastbound and westbound lanes of the highway. The bus came to rest on its left side, its roof warped. A ladder allowed rescuers to reach the windows.
A September trip to band camp is an annual tradition at the suburban high school, which has around 1,700 students. Members of the band, color guard and the school’s kick line team attend, as well as adult chaperones. During some years, more than 300 students have gone on the trip to rehearse and have fun in rural Pennsylvania.
The bus crashed about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away from the Pine Forest Camp, where the students were headed.
Many of the 40 students on the bus were freshmen, Hochul said. “They endured. They were strong,” she said.
Students on the other buses returned to Long Island hours after the crash. Six area hospitals treated the injured.
Anthony Eugenio, who spoke to The Associated Press from a car as his mother drove him home, said his thought as the bus turned over and over was “This can’t be real.”
Bruce Blakeman, the county executive in Nassau County, where Farmingdale High School is located, asked that people please “pray for the injured.”
Bus carrying high school students to band camp crashes, killing 2 and seriously injuring others | AP News
Photo Creator: NBC New York Credit: AP
NEW YORK (AP) — Magnate Rupert Murdoch’s surprise announcement Thursday that he’s stepping down as leader of his two companies leaves his son Lachlan firmly in line of succession at Fox and the rest of the media empire.
The 92-year-old Australian billionaire’s creation of Fox News Channel has made him an enduring force in American politics. He inherited a newspaper in Adelaide, Australia, from his father in 1952 and eventually built a news and entertainment enterprise dominant in the United States and Britain.
Fox said Murdoch would become chairman emeritus of both the news network’s parent company, Fox Corp., and the News Corp. media holdings, effective in November. Lachlan will become News Corp. chairman and continue as chief executive officer of Fox Corp.
Lachlan Murdoch said that “we are grateful that he will serve as chairman emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel.”
Fox News Channel has profoundly influenced television and national politics since its start in 1996, making Murdoch a hero to some and pariah to others. The 24-hour network converted the power and energy of political talk radio to television. Within six years, it outrated CNN and MSNBC, and still does.
But it’s been a rough year for Fox, which was forced to pay $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit related to its coverage of false claims following the 2020 presidential election. Fox also fired its most popular personality, Tucker Carlson.
Stock in Fox Corp., while positive this year, began to decline early in 2022, due in part to lawsuits and investor anxiety.
Besides Fox News, Rupert Murdoch started the Fox broadcast network, the first to successfully challenge the Big Three of ABC, CBS and NBC, with shows like “The Simpsons.” He owns The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. He slimmed his corporate holdings with the 2019 sale of many entertainment assets to the Walt Disney Co.
Murdoch has also controlled the New York Post, which, like Fox, has promoted his conservative world view.
Despite Murdoch’s advanced age, Thursday’s announcement took some by surprise.
“I do find it shocking because I figured that Rupert would be around until he couldn’t take a breath,” said writer Claire Atkinson, who’s working on a biography of Murdoch.
In a letter Thursday to staff, Murdoch thundered about elites who have “open contempt for those who are not members of their rarified class.” Murdoch’s letter made it clear he doesn’t consider himself one of them, despite his status as a media executive and his family’s wealth, estimated by Forbes in 2020 at about $19 billion.
He also indicated his retirement won’t include much beach time.
“I can guarantee you that I will be involved every day in the contest of ideas,” he wrote. “Our companies are communities, and I will be an active member of our community. I will be watching our broadcasts with a critical eye, reading our newspapers and websites and books with much interest.”
Murdoch and his family, particularly children James, Lachlan, Elisabeth and Prudence, were said to be the model for the HBO drama “ Succession.”
“Rupert is certainly engineering a cleaner exit than Logan Roy’s departure from WaystarRoyco,” said former CNN president Jon Klein, who consulted on the series. “And he’s leaving behind a lot less of a mess.”
That may be the case — for now, said Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff, who next week is publishing a book, “The End of Fox News.”
“He is 92, and that has taken a toll on him, of course, but the company, too,” Wolff told The Associated Press. “He has remained up until today the singular decision-maker, and he can’t communicate what he wants and people don’t understand what he wants” like they did in the past.
Major changes are unlikely right away under Lachlan Murdoch, who’s largely been running things as CEO for a couple of years.
When Murdoch dies, control of the Fox empire will revert to his four adult children, each of whom has an equal say in the business, Wolff said. “That’s when the real new chapter begins,” he said.
Since Lachlan most closely shares his father’s politically conservative views, Wolff predicted that James Murdoch — known as the more liberal sibling – would eventually take control of Fox News, or that it would be sold.
“It will certainly not exist as the Fox News Channel that we have known and loved, or hated, for the past 25 years,” Wolff said.
Atkinson said that she has talked with people at the company, and they’re saying Murdoch is “fine and as engaged as ever.”
Thursday’s announcement, she said, “is really just Lachlan taking the mantle and saying, ‘now it’s time.’ It’s his company. His company only.”
One of Murdoch’s chief television competitors, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, said that over many decades, no other individual has had as much impact on the media.
“His contributions to the news industry across several continents have been enormous, helping to ensure a balanced and truly free media,” Ruddy said.
Among those who believe Fox has pushed disinformation and is a singular force in worsening the country’s partisan divisions, the reaction to the announcement was, essentially, good riddance.
“They changed how people think of politics in this country, and I think when historians look back on how they changed it, it won’t be a positive look back,” commentator Mike Barnicle said on MSNBC.
While Murdoch never ran for political office, politicians in the United States and Britain anxiously sought his approval. He had a complicated relationship with Donald Trump. Wolff reported in 2018 that Murdoch had called Trump an “idiot,” adding an expletive for emphasis, but Fox News is built with an audience that largely admires Trump.
For decades, Murdoch was one of the most powerful media figures in Britain, a market he entered after buying the tabloid News of the World in 1969. He reinvigorated Britain’s stodgy newspaper scene with sex, scandal and celebrity and helped shake up television with satellite broadcaster Sky.
His clout has waned since the revelation more than a decade ago that employees of the News of the World had eavesdropped on phones and used other underhanded methods to get scoops on celebrities, politicians and royals. News Corp. owns the Times, Sunday Times and Sun newspapers, but News of the World closed and Murdoch sold his 40% stake in Sky when he failed to get complete control of the company.
Fox News went through a series of sexual harassment scandals in the 2010s, which led to top executive Roger Ailes and prime-time personality Bill O’Reilly being pushed out. Murdoch dismissed them as isolated instances that were “largely political because we’re conservative.”
Shares of News Corp. and Fox closed higher Thursday.
FILE – Lachlan Murdoch, left, and Rupert Murdoch attend the TIME 100 Gala in New York on April 21, 2015. Media magnate Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of News Corp. and Fox Corp., the companies that he built into forces over the last 50 years. He will become chairman emeritus of both corporations, the company announced on Thursday. His son, Lachlan, will control both companies. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
One person has died and dozens were injured after a charter bus carrying members of the Farmingdale High School band crashed off a New York highway in Orange County.
The crash occurred just after 1 p.m. Thursday on I-84 near the town of Wawayanda. According to officials the bus fell down an embankment off the side of the busy roadway. It is not immediately clear what caused the incident.
State police confirmed that one person, an adult, died in the crash. Officials say 46 people — most of whom were young people — were injured in the rollover, including five young people who were taken to area hospitals in critical condition.
The bus was one of six carrying members of the Farmingdale High School band to Greeley, Pennsylvania, for a band camp.
A reunification center in Middletown has been established at Orange County Community College. The school district says students from bus 1 will be transported to the college, while the final destination for students on buses 2-6 will be Farmingdale High School.
The Cricket World Cup is coming to Long Island. Nassau’s Eisenhower Park is set to host ’24 international championship.
A 34,000-seat temporary stadium will be built in Eisenhower Park. The multiple-level modular facility will be made of steel and aluminum and constructed in a large, mostly open field behind the Aquatic Center and near the Harry Chapin Theatre.
Michael DeAngelo who is accused of speeding while impaired by drugs and causing a crash last month in Massapequa that left four members of a family dead, was arraigned on Wednesday.
DeAngelo is facing multiple charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, assault, driving while ability impaired by drugs and reckless driving. Prosecutors said just before the crash, he was driving at 120 mph. DeAngelo entered a not guilty plea.
He is now being held without bail.
Following a series of anti-Semitic bomb threats that were emailed to several Long Island synagogues during Rosh Hashanah, Nassau County Legislator Arnold W. Drucker (D – Plainview) urged the Nassau County Police Department to preserve its heightened patrols during the high holidays and to intensify its monitoring of social media and internet platforms for emerging threats. This comes as Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Sunday, Sept. 24.
The MTA now has a date in mind for when it will begin congestion pricing for drivers heading into New York City.
The plan calls for Manhattan bound drivers entering the city below 60th Street to start paying the new tolls in May 2024.
It’s still not clear how much it will cost, and who will be paying. Official pricing recommendations and exemptions are expected to be announced in October.
The Long Island Ducks lost the first game of the best of 5 playoff series playoffs with the Lancaster Barnstormers Tuesday night 9 to 5.
The Ducks and Barnstormers continue the North Division Championship Series on Wednesday night with Game Two. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Lancaster,
The Ducks will return home for Game Three of the North Division Championship Series on Friday