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Democratic Senate candidates see fundraising boom even as Biden campaign loses donors

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As concern over President Joe Biden’s fundraising prospects in the wake of his debate performance reaches a fever pitch, a number of Democratic senatorial candidates from hotly-contested races are reporting record hauls.

This week, at least six Senate candidates competing in highly targeted races are reporting that they’ve raked in millions of dollars in the second quarter of this year: Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio raised a whopping $12.8 million, Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona raised $10.4 million, Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada raised $7.6 million, Rep. Colin Allred of Texas raised $10.5 million and former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida raised $4.8 million. Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, the leading Democrat seeking her state’s open Senate seat, brought in $6.45 million during the last fundraising quarter, her campaign said.

For some, like Rosen, Gallego and Slotkin, those yields are their largest thus far this cycle, according to their campaigns — with a swath of the money coming from first-time donors.

The gains come as Democratic donors — some high-profile — have said they are ready to shift money from the Biden campaign to down ballot races amid a frenzy in Washington over the possibility of a second Trump term in the White House and fear that competitive congressional races could be negatively affected by Biden staying at the top of the ticket amid concern over his age and mental cognition.

“I talked to a bunch of big donors, and they’re moving all their money to Congress and the Senate,” Endeavor CEO and Democratic donor Ari Emanuel said at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado in early July.

‘”We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate,” Hollywood icon and Democratic donor George Clooney wrote in his New York Times op-ed published on Wednesday, which called for Biden to drop out of the race.

Biden’s politically devastating debate performance came just a few days before the U.S. Supreme Court delivered the presidential immunity ruling that benefited Donald Trump. Coupled together, a national Democrat with knowledge of Senate races told ABC News, the events have triggered a surge of support for Senate Democrats from both grassroots and major donors.

In the week following the debate and the ruling, multiple major donors sent new six-figure contributions to Democratic campaigns, they said, with one major donor increasing their support this week for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee by 50%.

The DSCC has had its largest major donor fundraising month in June since 2008, the national Democrat said, with its digital and grassroots fundraising operation breaking multiple records in the days after the debate, marking its strongest online fundraising stretch this cycle.

A number of high-dollar donors are considering putting their donations to Biden on pause, as the “freakout” among donors continues to escalate. Some donors who have spoken with ABC News indicated that they were halting their financial support with uncertainty where it would go next– potentially to congressional races.

Senate Campaigns report seeing significant fundraising boosts post debate

One Senate campaign from a battleground state told ABC News that in the aftermath of the debate, a swell of major-dollar donors doubled down on their investments and small dollar donations overperformed projections by 150%.

Another Senate campaign, from a different battleground state, told ABC News that it saw a real increase in donors, both grassroots and high-dollar donors the 72 hours after the debate — “some of our strongest fundraising days.”

“It isn’t surprising that there would be a surge of donations towards Democratic senators and Senate candidates, I think that is entirely because they know that the Senate is a stopgap against the court if Donald Trump becomes president again,” said Justin Barasky, a Democratic strategist who formerly served as a senior adviser to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

“Democratic donors are watching the Supreme Court repeatedly attack fundamental freedoms, and they know the only way to ensure the court doesn’t push our country even further towards authoritarian rule is to elect as many Democratic senators as possible. The surge that has happened is not surprising, if donors are worried about the White House. It isn’t surprising that they have sort of surged money towards Dem[ocratic] Senate candidates and Senators because … they can stop a hypothetical President Trump from appointing more bad justices,” Barasky added.

For Gallego, who is likely to face Republican firebrand Kari Lake for retiring independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s seat in Arizona, 50% of his 119,000 donors were giving to his bid for the first time, according to his campaign.

For Rosen in Nevada, more than 33,000 donors to her campaign were first-time contributors, they said, and 96% of the donations were $100 or less. The incumbent is set to face off against Republican Sam Brown in November.

Last quarter’s fundraising haul is the most that Slotkin has raised since she jumped into the race for Michigan’s open Senate seat in February 2023, according to her campaign, with 56% of those donors new.

Slotkin said Wednesday that she’s listening to constituents and voters in Michigan before “doing anything out of emotion” regarding taking a stance on Biden remaining the party’s nominee.

“I’m going to do what’s best for the things that I can control,” Slotkin told The Detroit News. “In the end, the decision is Biden’s — only he can make this decision. All I can do is provide thoughts and input and understanding about where Michigan is, but it’s over to him.”

State of the Senate amid concern for Biden’s candidacy

Unlike House Democrats, senators from the party have remained pretty mum on Biden’s White House bid — with Sen. Peter Welch of Massachusetts, becoming the first from the upper chamber to call for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race in an op-ed on Wednesday.

But like Slotkin, some of the most vulnerable Democratic Senate candidates have attempted to distance themselves from Biden following the debate.

Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who is one of two Democratic Senate candidates trying to hold onto seats in states where Trump won, said that Biden needs to “prove” to him that he’s up for the job.

“President Biden has got to prove to the American people — including me — that he’s up to the job for another four years. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: Stand up to President Biden when he’s wrong and protect our Montana way of life,” Tester said in a statement to ABC News.

Tester and Brown, the other red-state incumbent Democrat in the Senate, during a closed-door meeting among Senate Democrats Tuesday was among a group that conveyed concerns about Biden’s ability to win in November.

Approached by ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott about that reporting, Brown was tight-lipped.

“I am hearing legitimate concerns from Ohio voters,” Brown said when asked about his confidence in Biden. “My job is to listen to them, my job is to go to hearings like this to fight for lower drug prices to fight for Ohio workers.”

Senate Democrats are largely out-performing Biden in most polls of battleground states. Though just this week, the Cook Political Report reported worsening ratings for Democrats in six close states, including Nevada and Arizona. Thus, Democratic Senate candidates will need a steady stream of fundraising in order to maintain control of the chamber.

On Thursday, Senate Democrats were holding a special caucus lunch to hear from senior Biden advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Richetti, and Biden Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon. The lunch will take place Thursday afternoon at the DSCC headquarters in Washington D.C, according to a source close to Senate Democratic leadership.

ABC News’ Allie Pecorin, Zohreen Shah, Selina Wang and Rachel Scott contributed to this report.

Biden campaign lays out path forward to staff in internal memo

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s campaign Thursday laid out what it views as its path to victory in an internal memo as the Democratic Party convulses over the fallout from his shocking debate last month.

The memo, obtained by ABC News, is from campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who said that Biden’s “clearest pathway” to victory runs through the Rust Belt states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, though it insists that states such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina aren’t “out of reach.”

Still, the two campaign leaders conceded that “movement” after the debate is “real” but “not a sea-change in the state of the race.”

The memo insisted that the Biden campaign is “not only prepared to win a close election, it has been designed to win a close election from the beginning” and that much of the work moving forward will be dedicated to framing the race as a choice between Biden and former President Donald Trump.

“We know, both from election results and from research, that when the choice is between Donald Trump’s extremism and Joe Biden’s record of delivering for the American people — and when Democrats have an operation capable of persuading and mobilizing voters on the ground — we win,” O’Malley Dillon and Chavez Rodriguez wrote.

The memo comes as the president and his inner circle fight back slowly growing calls for him to drop out of the 2024 race, with Democrats worrying that his debate performance — characterized by meandering answers and an empty gaze — would turn off voters who polls showed were already concerned the 81-year-old president wasn’t fit for a second term.

Speculation has spiked over how Vice President Kamala Harris would fare against Trump should Biden drop out, though other names bandied about as replacements include Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Georgia Gov. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

The Biden campaign doubled down on its assertions that Biden is best situated to take Trump on, a claim that some Democrats have scoffed at.

“There is also no indication that anyone else would outperform the president vs. Trump,” the memo said. “Hypothetical polling of alternative nominees will always be unreliable, and surveys do not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter. The only Democratic candidate for whom this is already baked in is President Biden.”

However, polling shows a steep climb ahead for Biden.

An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released Thursday showed a statistically tied horse race with Trump, but that 85% of Americans believe that he is too old for a second term and that 54% of Biden supporters think he should drop out of the race.

The Associated Press first reported on the Biden campaign’s memo.

Biden campaign is polling on Harris’ strength against Trump: Source

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s campaign is testing head-to-head matchups of Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump, a source familiar with the strategy told ABC News.

It’s a strategic shift that comes with increasing scrutiny on whether Biden should end his 2024 reelection campaign, as a growing number Democrats are calling on him to step aside.

The source cast the move as a response to the fact that Trump has begun to attack Harris in his public statements and speeches.

“Donald Trump shifted his stump speech. We’d be dumb not to adjust,” the source told ABC News. “We obviously pay close attention to what he is saying.”

The New York Times was first to report on the campaign’s actions.

A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found Biden continues to run evenly with Trump: Americans were divided 46-47% between Biden and Trump if the election were today.

But two-thirds of Americans, including a majority of Biden’s supporters, said he should step down as his party’s presumptive nominee. On the issue of age, 85% of respondents said Biden he is too old for a second term, up a few points from April.

Were Harris to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee, the poll found Harris leading Trump 49-46% among all adults and 49-47% among registered voters.

Harris recently defended Biden as she’s hit the campaign trail.

“Now, we always knew this election would be tough,” she said on Tuesday at as the campaign launched an outreach effort to Asian American voters. “And the past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy.”

“But the one thing we know about our President Joe Biden, is that he is a fighter, and he is the first to say, ‘when you get knocked down you get back up,'” Harris said.

ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

As death toll climbs in the West from historic US heat wave, flash flooding, tornadoes hit the East

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As a historic U.S. heat wave continued on Thursday, heat-related deaths in July climbed to at least 28 in the West, while the East Coast recovered from tornadoes and flash flooding as it braced for the return of sweltering temperatures after a brief break.

More than 60 million people in nine Western states remained under heat alerts on Thursday. At least seven cities, including Las Vegas, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, broke or tied their all-time temperature records on Wednesday and several cities were poised to set new daily high-temperature marks on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Heat-related deaths reported

The Santa Clara County, California, Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner reported that 18 heat-related deaths occurred in the county in the first 10 days of July. The county – including its largest city, San Jose – has recorded a string of days in July during which the temperature rose to the high 90s and exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a statement released Wednesday, the medical examiner’s office confirmed two individuals who died from exposure to the heat were unhoused and one individual was enrolled in a transitional housing program.

“There’s going to be people who just don’t make it through this,” Shaunn Cartwright, an advocate with the organization Unhoused Response Group, told ABC station KGO in San Franciso.

Cartwright said that of the 18 who perished in the heat in the county, at least six were older than 50.

“People are just in a state right now – they’re hungry, they’re extremely thirsty, and they’re at a point right now where they just can’t help themselves,” Cartwright said of the homeless population in Santa Clara County. “[Assistance] needs to come to them, they are just so depleted and really on the edge right now.”

Elsewhere in California, a motorcyclist died from heat exposure on Saturday in Death Valley National Park as the temperature there hit 127 degrees, according to park rangers. In Sacramento, a 58-year-old man died Saturday of heatstroke as the temperature soared to 113.

In other parts of the West, two suspected heat-related deaths were reported in Arizona, including a 4-month-old who experienced a heat-related emergency on Friday while on a boating trip in Lake Havasu as the temperature reached 120 degrees, according to the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office.

A 10-year-old boy also died in Arizona after falling ill on July 2 while hiking with his family in the South Mountain Park and Preserve in Phoenix, according to the Phoenix Police Department. Additionally, a hiker also died after being found unresponsive over the weekend in the Grand Canyon, marking the third death in the national park within the last three weeks.

Meanwhile, six suspected heat-related deaths have been reported in Oregon since July 5, when Gov. Tina Kotek declared a statewide emergency because of the heat. Three of the deaths occurred in Multnomah County, according to the Multnomah County Medical Examiner.

Nineteen cities in the West break all-time temperature records

At least 19 cities have broken their all-time high temperature records in the past week, including Las Vegas, which hit 120 degrees on Sunday for the first time in its history.

Las Vegas broke another record on Wednesday when it experienced its fifth straight day of temperatures of 115 degrees or higher. Prior to this week, Las Vegas had never experienced a temperature that exceeded 117 degrees, but the temperature there has reached or surpassed the 117 mark three times this week alone.

Sin City could also break its record of 10 consecutive days of 110-degree temperatures or higher by the end of this week. The temperature in Las Vegas is forecast to climb to a blistering 118 degrees on Thursday, 115 on Friday, and 112 on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Salt Lake City could also break a daily heat record on Thursday for the second straight day. The temperature there is expected to climb to 105 degrees on Thursday, topping its previous July 11 high mark of 104 degrees, according to the NWS.

In Houston, Texas, a million electrical customers remain without power for the fourth straight day since Hurricane Beryl barreled into the city. The temperature in Houston is forecast to reach a high of 90 degrees on Thursday with a 40% chance of rain. The National Weather Service said the heat index, which factors in humidity, will make Houston area temperatures feel more like 106 degrees.

Tornadoes, flash flood watches in the Northeast

Remnants of Beryl brought up to six inches of rain on Wednesday evening from northern New York state to Vermont and New Hampshire, flooding neighborhoods and prompting evacuations.

At least three tornadoes were reported in New York state on Wednesday, including an EF-1 twister near Buffalo that packed 110 mph winds, according to the NWS.

A total of 41 tornado warnings were issued in New York on Wednesday, tying the record for the number of tornado warnings issued in a single day in the state.

In Vermont, heavy rain from the remnants of Beryl caused flash flooding in several cities, including Barre and Lyndonville, where multiple roads were closed due to flooding, officials said.

Further South, a storm stretching from North Carolina to Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic states could produce up to five inches of rain through Saturday.

The severe weather on Wednesday cooled East Coast temperatures, but the reprieve from the hot, humid weather that has enveloped the region recently will be brief.

By Sunday, the heat will return to the East Coast with temperatures in the 90s from Boston to Washington, D.C. Combined with the heat index, temperatures on the East Coast will feel above 100 degrees into next week, according to the National Weather Service.

Frustration grows as Houston’s power outage goes into 4th sweltering day

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(HOUSTON) — More than a million electrical customers in Houston remained without power amid sweltering weather on Thursday and most won’t have their power restored until the end of this weekend, a full week after Hurricane Beryl swept in and damaged the energy grid, officials said.

Many Houston residents and elected leaders said they were losing their patience with the main utility company in the area, CenterPoint Energy, accusing the company of being slow in restoring electricity.

“I’m not in the business of grading. I’m in the business of saying, ‘Let’s get it done.’ We demand that they do better,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said of CenterPoint Energy during a news conference Wednesday.

CenterPoint Energy said Wednesday night that of the almost 2.3 million customers who lost power when Beryl came ashore early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane, about a million have had their power restored.

But the utility giant said at least 750,000 customers won’t have their electricity back on until the end of this week, including 350,000 who will be without power until Sunday evening, a full week after Hurricane Beryl hit the Gulf Coast of Texas.

“We are fully focused on achieving our next restoration goals, while continuing to address the issues in the hardest-hit areas where there is major damage to our equipment and infrastructure,” CenterPoint Energy Lynnae Wilson, the company’s senior vice president, said in a statement Wednesday night.

As a CenterPoint Energy official warned residents on Wednesday that “it will take days” to restore power to everyone, Whitmire questioned why the Houston Astro’s game was able to be played under the lights of Minute Maid Park on Tuesday night as more than a million residents suffered under hot, humid conditions without power.

“We have to get our priorities right, folks,” Whitmire said.

Beryl made landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday, knocking down power lines, toppling trees onto homes, flooding streets, killing at least six people and leaving Houston, the fourth largest U.S. city with more than 2.3 million residents, under miserable conditions, officials said.

On top of the damage exacted by Beryl, a heat advisory remains in effect in the Houston area, where the temperature is forecast to reach a high of 90 degrees on Thursday with a 40% chance of rain. The National Weather Service said the heat index, which factors in low humidity, will make the Houston area feel more like 106 degrees.

A spokesperson for the Houston Fire Department said Thursday that the agency has received 262 carbon monoxide poisoning calls since Beryl made landfall and urged residents to operate portable generators outside their homes.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Mayor Whitmire and acting police Chief Larry Satterwhite announced that more than 100 law enforcement officers from agencies across Texas are going to Houston to relieve the city’s police officers, who have been working 12-hour shifts every day since the storm hit. The additional officers will be assigned to patrol neighborhoods left in the dark by the power outage or assist with traffic control at intersections where traffic lights are out, the officials said.

This announcement was made in the shadow of the death of Deputy Fernando Esqueda who was killed last night by a suspect who is still on the run.

“I know that we’re all tired and frustrated. We’re hot. We are struggling to sleep and cool off and we absolutely have storm fatigue,” Judge Lina Hidalgo, the executive of Harris County, said at the start of a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Assessing the post-Beryl situation, Hidalgo reported long lines at the few gas stations that remain open, hospitals and senior living facilities without power, food dwindling at grocery stores, widespread damage caused by Beryl’s 97 mph wind gusts and 13 inches of rain in some areas.

“The main point here [is] I really want to encourage people not to panic. We can get through this,” said Hidalgo, adding that her home was without power.

But Paul Locke, CenterPoint Energy’s director of local government affairs, could only offer cold comfort to customers of the utility giant, saying, “It’s going to be days” before power is restored to everyone.

“I can’t give you a timeline, but it’s not going to be tomorrow,” Locke said.

About 12,000 linemen have been deployed to the field as CenterPoint continued Wednesday to assess damage to its electrical grid, the energy provider said.

When Beryl blew in on Monday, about 80% of those the utility serves lost power.

Drawing comparisons to a severe storm in May that knocked out power to about 1 million CenterPoint Energy customers, Locke said it took 4 1/2 days to restore power to everyone in the wake of that storm.

In its statement Wednesday night, CenterPoint Energy said crews are “nearing completion on damage assessment, with more than 8,500 miles of its circuits walked and thousands of miles flown across the Greater Houston area.”

“Crews have identified extensive tree damage across the company’s system. Trees across the Greater Houston area were particularly vulnerable due to three unusual years of weather, including significant freezes, drought and heavy rain this past spring. Downed trees and a significant amount of tree debris had a major impact on CenterPoint’s distribution system of poles and wires,” the company said.

Locke assured customers that the utility company was working as fast as possible to restore power, adding many members of the repair crews were without power, too.

“Nobody wants to sleep in a house that’s 85 degrees,” Locke said.

Compounding the problem, the Red Cross has been unable to set up shelters in Houston because of the lack of electricity, Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo also noted an emergency that occurred at the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston at the onset of the hurricane, saying the facility, which she described as “one of the pillars” of the city’s health care system, lost power and could not get its back-up generator to work for several hours.

“It got so warm in the hospital that people’s lives were at risk,” Hidalgo said. “They had to shut down all operating rooms except for two, which meant even a lot of emergency operations were delayed.”

Hidalgo also said the storm prompted the closure of the Port of Houston, where much of the fuel for gas stations comes in. She said gas stations are relying on trucks to bring in fuel.

“So the ones that don’t have power, they can’t supply the fuel and the ones that do have fuel are seeing limitations because everyone is going there,” Hidalgo said.

She said that while some grocery stores reported running out of perishable items, “We’re not in a situation where we are going to run out of food or where it is just impossible for fuel to get to Harris County in the event of a serious emergency.”

Houston resident Joanne Posey was among numerous people without power on Wednesday picking up emergency supplies and water at a cooling station established at the LeRoy Crump Stadium in Houston.

“It’s hard, but you just keep the faith with sweat going down your face,” Posey told ABC Houston station KTRK, as she waited in her car to pick up supplies.

Susan Balderas of Houston was among those waiting in line at a gas station, telling KTRK that it was the second place she went to fill up her tank.

“I’ve taken my lunchtime today to find gas because in the area I live, a lot of power is still out,” Balderas said. “Gas stations are out. Long lines everywhere.”

President Joe Biden granted a federal emergency disaster declaration on Tuesday for 121 Texas counties affected by Beryl, which will speed up federal assistance to the area.

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is serving as governor in the absence of Gov. Greg Abbott, who is on an economic development mission in Asia. Patrick said he spoke to Biden on Tuesday and made the formal request for federal assistance after he toured the damaged areas.

In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Biden alleged that state officials in Texas slowed down the federal efforts by not putting in a formal request with the administration sooner.

“I don’t have any authority to do that without a specific request from the governor,” Biden told the Chronicle.

Patrick, a Republican, later accused Biden of making the storm recovery “a political issue.”

Israel-Gaza live updates: Kibbutz Be’eri survivors hear results of IDF investigation

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Here is how the news is developing:

Jul 11, 2024, 9:38 AM EDT 
Survivors of Kibbutz Be’eri massacre hear results of IDF investigation

The survivors of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri heard for the first time Thursday the results of an Israel Defense Forces investigation into the failed response to the attack. Over 100 people were killed at Kibbutz Be’eri and many were taken hostage.

Jul 10, 2024, 6:00 PM EDT
Biden administration releases bombs that were put on hold for Israel

The Biden administration lifted the suspension on 500-pound bombs for Israel that had been in place since May, when the administration placed a hold on at total of 3,500 U.S.-made bombs that it feared might be used in Rafah.

The administration announced at the time that 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs would not be delivered because of their potential use in civilian areas.

The hold on the 2,000-pound bombs will continue, a U.S. official told ABC News on Wednesday.

The official said the use of the larger bombs was the main concern because they’re sometimes “co-mingled” with other munitions.

“Because our concern was not about the 500-[pound] bombs, those are moving forward as part of the usual process,” the official said.

Jul 10, 12:04 PM EDT
Hezbollah leader says Hezbollah will also cease fire if deal is reached

As attacks intensify along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday that if a cease-fire agreement is reached, “our front will cease fire without discussion.”

Jul 10, 11:36 AM EDT
Israeli delegation heads to Qatar for cease-fire talks

An Israeli delegation is headed to Doha, Qatar, to continue cease-fire talks, an Israeli official told ABC News.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East Brett McGurk on Wednesday, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.

In the meeting, Netanyahu “emphasized his commitment to the deal as long as Israel’s red lines are preserved,” Netanyahu’s office said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Ellie Kaufman

Jul 10, 11:25 AM EDT
52 killed in Gaza in 24 hours

In the last 24 hours, 52 people have been killed in Gaza and another 208 people have been injured, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.

The Israel Defense Forces said over the last day its forces have killed terrorists in areas in southern Gaza, central Gaza and northern Gaza.

The IDF said one of the counterterrorism operations overnight targeted “terrorists who were operating inside UNRWA’s Headquarters.”

“After a defined corridor was opened to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from the area, IDF troops conducted a targeted raid on the structure, eliminated terrorists in close-quarters combat, and located large amounts of weapons,” the IDF said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Jul 10, 2024, 9:28 AM EDT
Israel strikes Syrian military infrastructure, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces struck Syrian military infrastructure on Wednesday, the military said.

“A short while ago, IDF tanks and artillery struck military infrastructure that was used by the Syrian military, which violated the Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria (1974) in the buffer zone,” IDF said on messaging app Telegram.

Israel added that it held the Syrian military “responsible.”

“The IDF holds the Syrian military responsible for all activities occurring within its territory and will not allow any attempts to violate Israeli sovereignty,” the IDF said.

Jul 09, 2024, 4:54 PM EDT
19 people killed in Israeli airstrike on school, Palestinian officials say

At least 19 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced people in Gaza, the apparent fourth time it has done so within the last four days.

The Israel Defense Forces said they were targeting Hamas and other militants in all of the strikes and the IDF is looking into Tuesday’s strike. Dozens of people were reported killed in the strikes -– including women and children.

One child told ABC News he lost his father, cousin and two uncles in Tuesday’s strike. He broke down as he described what happened, saying was the only survivor.

The U.N.’s Human Rights Office said this week they were “appalled” to see a new round of evacuation orders issued throughout the strip, including to “where IDF military operations are ongoing and where civilians continue to be killed and injured.” The U.N. said nowhere is safe in Gaza.

-ABC News’ Matt Rivers, Victoria Beaule and Guy Davies

Jul 09, 2024, 3:09 PM EDT
50 killed in Gaza City amid IDF operations

Amid ongoing Israel Defense Forces’ operations in Gaza City, 50 people were killed and another 130 were injured in the last 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

Israeli forces continue to operate in Gaza City, specifically in the Shejaiya neighborhood, the IDF confirmed in two separate releases issued Tuesday.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Diaa Ostaz

Jul 09, 2024, 3:07 PM EDT
UN experts declare famine has spread throughout Gaza Strip

United Nations experts have declared that a famine has spread throughout the Gaza Strip.

Of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, only 13 are “partially functioning,” the UN World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said Tuesday.

In northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital alone, 60 cases of severe acute malnutrition were detected last week, according to the U.N. World Health Organization.

“Fayez Ataya, who was barely six months old, died on 30 May 2024 and 13-year-old Abdulqader Al-Serhi died on 1 June 2024 at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah. Nine-year-old Ahmad Abu Reida died on 3 June 2024 in the tent sheltering his displaced family in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis. All three children died from malnutrition and lack of access to adequate healthcare,” U.N. experts said.

“With the death of these children from starvation despite medical treatment in central Gaza, there is no doubt that famine has spread from northern Gaza into central and southern Gaza,” U.N. experts said.

-ABC News’ Emmanuelle Saliba and Camilla Alcini

Jul 08, 2024, 7:50 PM EDT
More flexibility from Hamas in cease-fire and hostage talks: US officials

With CIA Director Bill Burns and White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk working to advance a cease-fire and hostage release deal in the Middle East, two U.S. officials familiar with the negotiations said they see more flexibility from Hamas than they did previously.

The officials assessed this is coming from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar; however, they stopped short of saying they felt a breakthrough was in the offing.

The officials also said they believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still committed to achieving a deal.

The American delegation headed by Burns arrived in Cairo earlier Monday to continue Gaza cease-fire talks, Egyptian state TV reported.

Jul 08, 2024, 6:30 PM EDT
Latest Gaza evacuation order will affect life-saving care: WHO

A new evacuation order in Gaza will “further impede delivery of very limited life-saving care,” the World Health Organization said Monday.

The Israel Defense Forces issued an evacuation order in Gaza City on Monday, telling people to go to designated safe zones.

Al-Ahli and Patients’ Friendly hospitals are now “out of service,” with some patients referred to hospitals that are experiencing shortages of beds and medical supplies, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Multiple health care centers are also located within the evacuation zone, while three hospitals are close by, he said.

“These key hospitals and medical facilities could quickly become non-functional due to hostilities in their vicinity or obstruction to access,” he said in a statement.

The IDF said Monday it launched a “counterterrorism operation in Gaza City targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad infrastructure.”

“Civilians were warned and a route was opened for their safe evacuation,” the IDF said.

Jul 08, 2024, 1:34 PM EDT
Israel says it’s killed another Hezbollah leader in Lebanon

Israeli forces claimed Monday they have killed another Hezbollah leader in southern Lebanon.

An Israel Defense Forces aircraft “struck and eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist Mustafa Hassan Salman in the area of Qlaileh,” the military said in a statement.

The IDF accused Salman of participating in the “planning and execution of numerous terror attacks” against Israel.

Last week, the IDF said it assassinated Muhammad Ni’Mah Nasser, one of the most senior Hezbollah commanders killed since the group began firing at Israel in solidarity with Gaza on Oct. 8.

Attacks between Israel and Hezbollah forces continued Monday.

Jul 08, 2024, 1:19 PM EDT
Hostages and Missing Families Forum asks Netanyahu to delay US trip

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay his trip to the United States at the end of the month and stay in Israel to “prioritize finalizing a hostage release deal.”

Netanyahu is currently scheduled to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress on July 24.

“For 9 months, 120 innocent men, women, children, and elderly have been held captive in Gaza by Hamas,” the Hostages Families Forum said in a statement on Monday. “These hostages endure unimaginable horrors daily. Every moment in captivity is a risk to their lives and well-being.”

Jul 08, 2024, 12:31 PM EDT
Israeli forces attacking in Khan Younis, Gaza City and Rafah

Israeli forces have been attacking in Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza City, the Israel Defense Forces said Monday.

Over the past day in Rafah, Israeli troops “operated to eliminate more than 30 terrorists who posed a threat to IDF troops,” IDF said in a statement.

Jul 07, 2024, 5:07 PM EDT
American hurt by Hezbollah rocket fire: US Embassy

A U.S. citizen was injured Sunday by one of multiple rockets fired into Israel from Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah, according to the U.S. embassy in Israel.

Embassy officials said they received information regarding the injured private U.S. citizen. The embassy confirmed the individual does not work for the U.S. government.

The embassy was working to gather more information on the injured person, officials said.

Further details about the incident were not immediately disclosed.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Jul 06, 2024, 6:26 PM EDT
IDF gives more details on strike on school

Israel Defense Forces released details about a strike on a school in Nuseirat refugee camp that Gaza officials said killed 16 and wounded at least 50.

The IDF claimed its intelligence found that the site allegedly “served as a hideout and operational infrastructure from which attacks against IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip were directed and carried out.”

“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken in order to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise aerial surveillance and additional intelligence,” the IDF said without disclosing what steps were taken.

-ABC News’ Dorit Long

Jul 06, 2024, 4:19 PM EDT
IDF admits it’ll be fighting Hamas insurgency in Gaza for 5 years

Israel is planning for a long insurgency against Hamas, saying it expects Hamas to still exist in five years, but it said the group is no longer capable of perpetrating an Oct. 7-style attack.

“Will you and me be talking five years from now about Hamas as a terror organization in Gaza? The answer is yes,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told ABC News.

Hagari is the first Israeli official to publicly admit that the insurgency will be long and difficult, in stark contrast to the bombast of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who continues to vow the quick destruction of Hamas.

Gaza, and even to some degree Hezbollah, are “perpetual wars” distracting Israel from what he called their main enemy, Iran, a senior Israeli official told ABC News.

-ABC News’ Matt Gutman

Midwives can be an Rx to America’s maternal mortality crisis

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Ashley Watts is getting ready to become a first-time mom.

“This pregnancy ride has been very fulfilling,” Watts, 32, told ABC News.

For Watts, this pregnancy journey is different. She has previously suffered five pregnancy losses, telling ABC News that she now suffers from hospital anxiety after feeling dismissed and unsupported by her doctors as she tried to navigate those losses and pursue motherhood.

When she learned of her most recent pregnancy, Watts decided she wanted to work with a midwife and dreamed of welcoming her baby into the world at a birthing center. The cost of midwifery care, however, was a barrier in allowing Watts access to the care she felt was better suited to her needs.

A 2021 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that midwife-assisted home births in the United States cost an average of $4,650. In many cases, insurance does not cover these births, according to the study.

After going to a consultation appointment with midwife Allegra Hill at Kindred Space LA, Watts learned of birthFUND, a new initiative by Elaine Welteroth, an author and former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief, that provides need-based grants to expectant mothers and families to use for holistic perinatal care and midwifery birth support services.

“I really don’t believe that quality, holistic, safe maternal health care should be seen as a luxury in one of the wealthiest countries in the world,” Welteroth told ABC News. “And there is something we can do about it.”

Welteroth launched birthFUND in April of this year during Black Maternal Health week, inspired by her own experience seeking care during her first pregnancy.

“I thought, how hard could it be to find a doctor? You know, I live in LA, I have resources, I have a great network,” Welteroth said. “And I just had bad experience after bad experience.”

Discouraged and nearing her third trimester, Welteroth found Kim Durdin, midwife and co-founder of Kindred Space LA.

“As a new mom, giving life in a country that’s in a surging maternal mortality crisis, I thought I should be able to ask questions about my health, about my body, about the kinds of decisions that I could make throughout the process, and midwives embrace that, they encourage that,” Welteroth said.

“I think I came out of my birth experience feeling this deep conviction to pay it forward,” she said. “I just felt like if there is anything I can do to help make sure that midwifery care is accessible to families who want this kind of care, then, like, that’s my calling.”

Dr. Laurie Zephyrin, a board-certified OB-GYN and the senior vice president for Advancing Health Equity at The Commonwealth Fund, told ABC News that there are a lot of misconceptions around midwifery care, adding that there needs to be a lot more education about the benefits and opportunities involved with using a midwife.

Midwives are also clinicians, trained to help guide people through the birthing process, she said.

“There’s definitely data that shows that people that have a midwife during their care have improved outcomes,” Zephyrin said.

Zephyrin is one of the authors in a recent study by The Commonwealth Fund that analyzed maternal mortality data in the United States and 13 other high-income nations, finding that maternal mortality rates in the U.S. continue to far exceed that of other high-income nations.

According to the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. fell in 2022 after three years of continuous increase. Findings by The Commonwealth Fund’s study suggest two-thirds of all maternal-related deaths in the United States happen postpartum and are frequently the result of high blood pressure, severe bleeding, infection and cardiomyopathy.

“One of the advantages of what we saw when we compared to other high-income countries is that there’s someone that comes to your home and sees you during the postpartum period, they check on you, they help answer questions,” Zephyrin said.

“And that continues throughout the postpartum period, and that leaves an opportunity so that things don’t fall through the cracks,” she continued.

For Black women like Watts, who are at a higher risk of dying from pregnancy-related complications in the United States, access to midwifery care can be even more critical.

Despite the decrease, the rate of maternal deaths for Black women in the United States remained significantly higher than other racial groups, the CDC report found. In 2022, an average of 19 white women died per 100,000 live births, while an average of 49 Black women died for every 100,000 live births.

According to the World Health Organization, including midwifery in family planning could help avert more than 80% of all maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Zephyrin’s team found that the U.S. has the second lowest number of midwives for every 1,000 births, and that most countries with the lowest mortality rates rely heavily on midwives.

According to data projections by the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, the United States is predicted to face an OB-GYN shortage, with an estimated 5,000 obstetricians expected to leave the workforce in the next 12 years. Making midwifery care more accessible can help alleviate the need for OB-GYN care providers while allowing expectant families access to holistic, perinatal care.

While approximately 3.66 million live births happen in the United States annually, there are currently about 12,650 registered midwives, according to data by the CDC and the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis.

“I really believe that people need to be educated more about what midwives can do and the opportunities for midwifery care in this country,” Zephyrin said. “Midwives are clinical providers, and they can provide this holistic aspect of care that’s really critical in what people want in our maternal health care system.”

Gunman at large after ambushing, killing deputy following assault on pizza worker over wrong order: Officials

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(HOUSTON) — A manhunt is underway in Houston for the gunman who ambushed and killed an on-duty deputy overnight, authorities said.

The incident began just after 10 p.m. Wednesday when Harris County deputies responded to an aggravated assault at a Little Caesars pizza shop, Harris County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mike Lee said at a news conference.

“What happened is senseless,” Lee said early Thursday. “The suspect came into the location to pick up a pizza that he had ordered.”

“He was upset because the order was incorrect,” Lee said.

The suspect allegedly verbally assaulted the employee, “then produced a firearm and pistol-whipped the employee and then fled the location,” Lee said.

“The employee at Little Caesars was able to identify the getaway car by make and model, color and license plate,” Lee said.

A deputy spotted the suspect’s car, Lee said. The deputy then “had a phone conversation with one of the other detectives to let him know he did have the suspect vehicle in sight,” Lee said.

While on the phone, “our deputy apparently was ambushed” and shot multiple times, Lee said.

Other detectives rushed the 28-year-old deputy to the hospital where he died from his injuries, Lee said.

The slain deputy, who has not yet been identified, was a five-year veteran of the department, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

He was a “member of a very elite task force, the violent persons task force,” Lee said.

“None of us are ever prepared for such an untimely death and our members need your prayers and support,” the sheriff wrote on social media. “Our thoughts are with his family as they come to terms with this horrible news. An active investigation is underway to identify and apprehend his killer. We will not rest until we do!”

Lee said that investigators “have a good idea who the suspect is,” adding that the department expects to find him in “a timely manner.”

Lee noted the slaying comes as “everybody’s on edge” in the Houston area, with more than one million still without power in the state in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which struck on Monday.

Inflation cooled in June, outperforming economists’ expectations

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Consumer prices rose 3.0% in June compared to a year ago, extending a monthslong stretch of progress in the fight to slow price increases. The latest inflation reading outperformed economists’ expectations.

Inflation has cooled for four consecutive months, reversing a surge in prices that took hold at the outset of 2024.

Price increases have slowed significantly from a peak of more than 9%, but inflation remains more than a percentage point higher than the Fed’s target rate of 2%.

The prices increases last month marked a slowdown from the 3.3% rate recorded in May.

Despite the cooldown of prices in recent months, the Federal Reserve has opted to keep its benchmark interest rate highly elevated. The Fed Funds rate remains between 5.25% and 5.5%, matching its highest level since 2001.

A further reduction of inflation could heighten pressure on the Fed to move forward with a set of interest rate cuts that the central bank forecasted late last year.

Speaking to House members in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell touted “modest further progress” in the fight to slow price hikes over recent months.

Still, he added, the Fed will not lower interest rates until it has “gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.”

While the economy has proven resilient this year, recent performance suggests that high interest rates have begun to slow activity.

A jobs report released on Friday showed that the economy added a robust 206,000 jobs in June. However, downward revisions for hiring over the previous two months brought the three-month average to its lowest level since January 2021. The unemployment rate has ticked up this year from 3.7% to 4.1%.

Economic output has slowed markedly at the outset of 2024, though it has continued to grow at a solid pace.

Interest rate cuts would lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, potentially triggering a burst of economic activity through greater household spending and company investment.

But the Fed risks a rebound of inflation if it cuts interest rates too quickly, since stronger consumer demand and higher wages could lead to an acceleration of price increases.

On the other hand, recent data suggesting an economic slowdown heightens the risk of keeping interest rates too high for too long, since the borrowing costs could ultimately tip the economy into a recession.

The Fed is guided by a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. Addressing lawmakers at the Capitol on Wednesday, Powell said recent progress in the fight against inflation has allowed the central bank to bring greater attention to its role in employment.

“Elevated inflation is not the only risk we face,” Powell told lawmakers on Wednesday. If the Fed opts to lower interest rates “too late or too little,” he added, it could “unduly weaken economic activity and employment.”

Fire breaks out on cathedral spire in France’s Normandy region

July 11, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — A fire broke out and was extinguished on Thursday on the spire of a cathedral in Rouen, France, the capital of the Normandy region, local emergency officials said.

Fire officials said the blaze had been put out, saying it appeared from an initial investigation that it had been the plastic canopy that covered the spire that was on fire.

The gothic cathedral had been evacuated, and more than 60 firefighters were at the scene, police officials in Normandy said.

Black smoke and flames could be seen in photos taken midday Thursday. The section where the cathedral’s spire appeared to be on fire had been wrapped in scaffolding.

Fire officials said they would check on the stability of the scaffolding, along with possible water damage to the interior of the cathedral.

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