The Update with Brandon Julien

He’s no longer pleading the fifth. A travel expert is sharing his hack for cheaper airfares, saying fifth freedom flights can often offer more bang for your buck. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, the NYPD removed a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Columbia University on Thursday and arrested more than 100 demonstrators, including the daughter of a prominent Minnesota congresswoman. New York would expand access to booze by allowing movie theaters to sell liquor and continuing to let people buy takeout cocktails from bars and restaurants under a series of measures unveiled. And in Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson conceded that he doesn’t have the votes needed to defang a possible motion to oust him from power after tensions flared with GOP hardliners on the chamber floor.

They’re getting all dolled up. More makeup lovers are toying with flushed cheeks, luminous highlights and a complexion so flawless it looks airbrushed, in a trend fashionistas have dubbed “doll makeup.” The babyfaced aesthetic began on the runway before spilling onto social media and the streets of the Big Apple. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, New Jersey is expected to get a cut of the controversial proposed $15 daily congestion toll to drive through swaths of Manhattan, the head of the MTA revealed. Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. and his wife were allegedly filmed beating up their teenage daughter by her boyfriend — who the parents had “disapproved of,”. And in Washington, the Senate ended the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, making him the second Cabinet official in history to evade a conviction and removal from office — but the first to be acquitted without evidence being presented of alleged “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

This one’s a brush job. After years of being told to spit and rinse, Americans are now being told merely to spit, as dental experts pour water on the notion of swish-swishing after attending to our pearly whites. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, Gov. Hochul announced the framework of a $237 billion budget that includes broad plans to drive new housing construction, address the influx of migrants and crack down on illegal marijuana shops. An old school Upper East Side building that housed Anthony Bourdain’s favorite Big Apple hot dog stand will be bulldozed to make way for luxury condos – leaving longtime residents red hot. And the historic hush money trial of Donald Trump got underway with the arduous process of selecting a jury to hear the case charging the former president with falsifying business records in order to stifle stories about his sex life.

A furious job applicant was in disbelief after he learned during an interview he would be paid $12 an hour for a T.J. Maxx position. The man, whose full name was not disclosed but went by @sobeatmyass, took to social media in front of 362,000 viewers saying he was “not taking that f—king job,” on TikTok. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, fresh from a Manhattan courtroom, Donald Trump visited a Harlem bodega where a man was stabbed to death, a stark pivot for the former president as he juggles being a criminal defendant and the Republican challenger intent on blaming President Biden for crime. In Queens, the NYPD clashed with migrant vendors and confiscated their apparently stolen merchandise on a troubled Jackson Heights block known for its illicit open-air market and hookers on the prowl. And Senator Bob Menendez may seek exoneration at his May bribery trial by blaming his wife, saying she kept him in the dark about anything that could be illegal about her dealings with New Jersey businessmen, according to court papers that were unsealed.

Gen Z might just be talking smack about you behind your back — or right to your face. But you’d be none the wiser, as the slang-savvy generation has adapted lingo only found in video games into their ever-expanding lexicon. In a TikTok video with 1.5 million views, Harvard-educated linguistics expert Adam Aleksic likened the rise of gaming terms to that of commonly used sports metaphors. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, Two NYPD officers involved in the fatal shooting of Kawaski Trawick inside his Bronx apartment five years ago will not face internal discipline in a announcement by NYPD commissioner Edward Caban. Robert MacNeil, who created the even-handed, no-frills PBS newscast “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour” in the 1970s and co-anchored the show with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades, died on Friday. He was 93. And in Washington, Saturday’s attacks on Israel created new questions about replenishing aid to war-torn Ukraine after months of tumultuous Republican infighting.

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of 2020- or as we call it around here, Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that? 

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of Year 5 of The Update. When we first started this then-show at WKRB in 2017, the first year had a lot of things going on. Donald Trump's first year in office, mass shootings worldwide, and the Great American Solar Eclipse to name just a few. In Year 5, it was more of the same. There was the Russian war in Ukraine, more mass shootings in America, and the overturning of Roe V. Wade to name just a few that we'll mention. But also, after more than two years out on the road, we made our way to a new studio at UD Team in the summer of 2022. Oh, and one last thing- be on the lookout for some WKRB highlights as we looked back on five years of memories.

Do you love that chicken from Popeyes but on a diet? A New Jersey personal trainer and nutritionist is sharing how to make a meal at the national chicken chain for less than 500 calories. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, a man was arrested for allegedly taking a decommissioned New York City fireboat for an overnight cruise on the Hudson River, before becoming stuck, jumping ship and stealing another vessel, according to the NYPD. A New York City Council member wants to “beautify” the Big Apple’s concrete medians by adding greenery, claiming the new plants will help curb flooding during storms. And we're remembering O.J. Simpson, the football star and Hollywood actor acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend in a trial that mesmerized the public and exposed divisions on race and policing in America. He's died at the age of 76.

The customer nose best. McDonald’s restaurants in the Netherlands have debuted a revolutionary way to turn consumers on to their iconic burgers and fries — by launching the “world’s first billboard” that smells like their food. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, New Jersey has been hit by more than 45 aftershocks following last week’s 4.8-magnitude earthquake — including one that rattled the Garden State yesterday morning. There’s no way around it! New Jersey commuters will be shelling out a lot more to come into Manhattan — whether by train, bus or car — starting this summer. And in Philadelphia, a joyful celebration of the end of Ramadan devolved into panic after rival groups exchanged gunfire, leaving at least three people injured and hundreds of parents and children to flee in search of safety.

That was some show in the sky, wasn't it? In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, A witch, a time traveler and an alien-enthusiast walked into Washington Square Park for an otherwise typical day in Manhattan on Monday — save for the solar eclipse that happened to be cresting overhead. More than 7,000 people gathered at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery for a viewing party as they watched the sun disappear from the sky above while the dead slumbered below. And in Cleveland, Pregame festivities for the Guardians’ home opener were ceremonial and celestial. Elsewhere, a stranger stabbed another man in the head with a screwdriver on board a Bronx MTA bus Monday afternoon when he flew into a rage because the victim was playing drums on his lap, according to cops and law enforcement sources. And in Washington, President Biden has received criticism from Democrats and Republicans this week over his response to an Israeli airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza.

In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, a rare earthquake rocked the New York City area Friday, swaying buildings and sending terrified residents into the streets — the strongest temblor to strike near the Big Apple in 140 years. The NYPD is unleashing barnacles to battle parking pirates. The department this week said it will begin using “windshield boots” — a 17-pound device that attaches to a vehicle’s windshield like a barnacle and remains there until a scofflaw pays their tickets — on illegally parked trucks. And eclipse spectators staked out their spots across three countries, fervently hoping for clear skies despite forecasts calling for clouds along most of the sun-vanishing route. North America won’t see another coast-to-coast total solar eclipse for 21 years, prompting the weekend’s worry and mad rush. 🌞🌕

Beaches are a place of relaxation, fun and, in some cases, strange laws. Some beaches around the United States have more specific laws for visitors to keep in mind. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, the New York City Marathon organizers will soon have to pay a bridge toll, just like every other commuter, if New York transit officials have their way. The hotly contested issue of whether New York’s $15 congestion toll should go forward is hitting a federal courtroom this week as New Jersey seeks to block the measure. And in the American west, a former Tacoma police officer who was hired as a sheriff’s deputy in a neighboring county — despite his involvement in the violent fatal arrest of Manuel Ellis in 2020 — has resigned his new job after just two days.

Fast food just got even faster. It seems that an increasing number of fast food outlets are imposing limits on how long patrons have to gobble their burgers and fries. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, An innocent bystander was shot dead inside a Bronx bodega by a gunman who was trying to rob someone else, according to cops and law enforcement sources. A former police officer who prosecutors say was the ringleader of a campaign donations scheme to help Mayor Adams during his winning 2021 run was sentenced. And a South Carolina senator said the elected state treasurer has breached the public trust after lawmakers didn’t get much clarity Tuesday about how $1.8 billion moved through a state bank account over the past decade — without anyone knowing where it came from or was supposed to go. 💵

As the moon passes between the Earth and the sun Monday, Andrew Bazos will be cruising at 17,000ft, rosé in hand, having dropped $2,000 to watch the solar eclipse from a private plane’s window. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, A procession of New York Police Department officers, on foot and driving motorcycles, escorted the remains of their slain colleague, Jonathan Diller, to a Long Island church for his funeral service. Inmates in New York are suing the state corrections department over the decision to lock down prisons during next Monday’s total solar eclipse. And Lou Conter, the last living survivor of the USS Arizona battleship that exploded and sank during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, has died. He was 102.

Almost nine in 10 Americans believe that karma is real. That’s according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults which revealed that 84% buy into the idea that what goes around comes around. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, New York is on track to become the first U.S. city with congestion tolls on drivers entering its central business district. Transit authorities approved the pricing plan, authorizing a $15 toll for most motorists entering a zone that's south of Manhattan's Central Park during the day. Former President Trump is planning to attend the wake for a NYPD officer Jonathan Diller who was fatally shot during a traffic stop. And in the latest details in the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in Baltimore, the U.S. Coast Guard says the cargo ship that crashed into and collapsed the bridge underwent “routine engine maintenance” in port beforehand. Meanwhile, a debate has emerged over whether modern safety protections could have saved the bridge after it was struck. 🚢🌉

Talk about last licks. The Yankees unveiled the stadium’s newest food options for the 2024 season, and paisans are batting cleanup by way of Food Network personality and Bronx native Christian Petroni’s crispy fried meatballs. In the headlines on #Theupdate this Wednesday, we had the latest details in the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse. Six workers are missing and are presumed dead. Authorities have suspended the search for them until daylight today. Locally, a man accused of fatally shoving another person into the path of an oncoming subway train has been described by his mother and officials as experiencing mental health issues. The death revived discussion about how the city should respond to people experiencing mental health crises within the transit system. And in the American west in Los Angeles, a lawyer for Sean “Diddy” Combs says the search of his properties in Miami and Los Angeles were “a gross use of military-level force.”

It’s handy to know what your iPhone is doing to your digits. Techies and smartphone users fear that their mobile devices, when pressing down on their pinky during normal phone use, are leaving a mark or indentation on the pinky — otherwise known as “iPhone finger.” In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, at the time that we recorded the show, there was an ongoing developing situation in Baltimore. A container ship has rammed into the Francis Scott Key bridge, causing it to snap in a few places and plunge into the river below. Several vehicles fell into the chilly waters, and rescuers were initially searching for at least seven people. Locally, NYPD officer Jonathan Diller was shot and killed during a traffic stop, the city’s mayor said. Mayor Adams announced the slaying to reporters at a hospital in Queens. And in Washington, The Supreme Court is considering a new abortion case affecting women across the U.S. Abortion opponents want the high court in arguments to ratify a ruling from a conservative federal appeals court that would limit access to a medication called mifepristone, which was used in nearly two-thirds of abortions last year.

It’s not always smooth sailing on the high seas. According to Lucy Southerton, who has worked on a cruise ship for nearly a decade, there are some annoying things passengers do that irk crew members. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, Law enforcement officials say they found nearly 30 pounds of cocaine and $3 million in cash stashed in secret compartments throughout a Bronx apartment used by a major cocaine distributor. Hardy souls across New England were spending their Sunday shoveling out after a major storm dumped more than two feet of snow in some areas, causing multiple road accidents, downing power lines and leaving hundreds of thousands across the Northeast waiting for their electricity to be restored. And overseas in Russia, three of the four suspects charged with carrying out the concert hall attack in Moscow that killed more than 130 people have admitted guilt for the incident in a Russian court. Meanwhile, The attack on a Moscow-area concert hall that killed scores of people has dealt a major blow to President Vladimir Putin's image as a tough guy who is able to defend Russia from all threats.

Hello everyone! We're going into #TheUpdate vault to play one of our many episodes throughout our many years of the show. For today's episode, we go into the world of 2020- or as we call it around here, Year 4 of The Update. It was a weird year- starting off in the WKRB studios and then going out on the road (in the middle of a pandemic no less!), but somehow, we found a way to make it work. Oh, and one last thing about this episode- after the show aired, one of my former producers who happened to be listening to the show called me up and invited me out to lunch. How about that?

He’ll stop the world and melt with you. A Cincinnati Reds fan is being outed as a man who “consumes over 20 gallons of liquid cheese in a year!” In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez says he will not run in the Democratic primary as he faces federal corruption charges, but he is leaving open the possibility that he would reenter the race as an independent later this year if he is exonerated at a trial. Cheating on your spouse is illegal in New York, but the state might soon change that. A bill working its way through the New York Legislature could repeal a more than a century-old law that makes adultery a crime. And in Washington, the Justice Department announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors, stifles innovation and keeps prices artificially high. 📱

A healthy level of physical intimacy is an important foundation in most romantic relationships, with sexual exploration often being the gateway to a deeper sense of connection and trust. According to a new study by Superdrug Online Doctor, most couples are unfamiliar with — and a little intimidated by — many aspects of intimacy. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, A NYPD officer once charged with spying for China says he is fighting the commissioner's decision to fire him. The chief executive of the cryptocurrency company Sam Bankman-Fried founded attacked the onetime crypto power player in a letter to a federal judge, saying his claim that customers, lenders and investors were not harmed was callously false. And in Decision 2024, an attorney for Donald Trump says he’s optimistic an appellate review will lead to the Georgia 2020 election interference case against him being dismissed and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis being disqualified.

They’re giving emojis a thumbs down. Gen Xers and baby boomers understand the meanings behind the digital icons, but they are not confident in their ability to use them, a new study from the University of Ottawa has found. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams has been accused in a new lawsuit of sexually assaulting a police colleague seeking his career help in 1993. According to the suit, Adams drove the woman to a vacant lot, then offered to use his police connections to help her if she performed oral sex on him. New York will evaluate its troubled recreational marijuana licensing program as lawsuits and bureaucratic stumbles have severely hampered the legal market and black-market sellers have flourished. And in Washington, The Supreme Court seems likely to side with the Biden administration in a dispute with Republican-led states over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security. 👨🏽‍⚖️

What exactly the cluck? Chick-fil-A has gone from regional fast food curiosity to national staple in a matter of years for good reason — but the chicken sandwich slinger may need an intervention on the heels of this latest news: It’s about to start selling pizza. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Monday, The United States' largest St. Patrick's Day parades unfolded. While the St. Patrick's Day holiday is March 17, many major events shifted to Saturday this year. Prosecutors say a man who shot and critically wounded another man on a the A train will not immediately be charged with a crime while prosecutors investigate whether the shooter acted justifiably in self-defense. And in Decision 2024, Former President Donald Trump claimed that he — not President Joe Biden — will protect Social Security and warned of a “bloodbath” if he loses in November as he campaigned for Senate candidate Bernie Moreno in Ohio. 🗳️

So, you had a few too many and now you’re left with a pounding headache and unrelenting anxiety. Often referred to as “hangxiety” — the one-two punch of anxiety coupled with the physical consequences of drinking alcohol — that pit-in-your-stomach unease the morning after drinking isn’t all in your head. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Friday, a man was shot multiple times and left critically wounded on a A train as it arrived at a Brooklyn station, panicking rush hour passengers. “Duty, Honor, Country” has been the motto of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point for 126 years. The motto isn’t changing, but a decision to take those words out of the school’s lesser-known mission statement is generating outrage. And in Michigan, the father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. It’s the second jury conviction against Ethan Crumbley’s parents, who were accused of failing to secure a gun at home and doing nothing to solve his mental health problems. 👨🏽‍⚖️⚖️

Do better, Dave. Wendy’s has whipped up yet another social media storm with the announcement of a new orange creamsicle-flavored Frosty, available at US locations from Mar. 19 — but fans are demanding more than just a taste of the vast variety of sweet treats available exclusively overseas. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Thursday, a judge has acquitted a New York state trooper who was charged with manslaughter after shooting an unarmed motorist to death following a high-speed chase. “Pics, or it didn't happen” has been a common refrain when seeking proof that someone’s story or some event actually took place. But we're now in a world where the spread of technology makes photo manipulation as easy as a button on your phone. And in Oklahoma, the death of a nonbinary high school student the day after a fight inside a high school restroom has been ruled a suicide by the state medical examiner's office.

According to new research, it shows that walking 5,000 steps three times per week for two years could add three years to a person’s life expectancy and decrease their healthcare costs by up to 13%. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Wednesday, a Brooklyn preacher known for his flashy lifestyle and who boasted of his friendship with Mayor Eric Adams has been found guilty in federal court of wire fraud, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI. Officials in New York are cracking down on vehicles using altered or forged license plates to avoid paying tolls and tickets. And the road to the White House continues as President Biden has formally clinched a second straight Democratic nomination. Meanwhile, Donald Trump stands on the brink of unofficially securing the Republican presidential nomination for a third time after winning primaries in Georgia and Mississippi and with additional votes being cast in Washington and Hawaii. 🗳️

Does valet parking and VIP seating come with this, too? An uproar over a pricey bacon cheeseburger and fries at Five Guys is causing a stir on social media, baffling many over why the combo cost a customer nearly $25. In the headlines on #TheUpdate this Tuesday, Senator Bob Menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty to new obstruction of justice charges in a New York court. A union representing New York City firefighters is raising concerns over potential disciplinary actions against some of its members after a pro-Donald Trump chant broke out during a fire department ceremony last week. And in Massachusetts, a town that adopted an unusual ordinance banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born in the 21st century is being looked at as a possible model for other cities and towns hoping to further clamp down on cigarettes and other tobacco products. 🚭🔞