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United Auto Workers endorse Biden; union president calls Trump a ‘scab’

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden received a key 2024 endorsement on Wednesday from the United Auto Workers, with the union’s president using the occasion to savage Biden’s likely general election opponent, Donald Trump.

Shawn Fain announced UAW’s support for Biden’s reelection bid at their biannual conference in Washington, D.C.

“I know there’s some people that want to ignore this election,” Fain said. “They don’t want to have anything to do with politics. Other people want to argue endlessly about the latest headline or scandal or stupid quote. Elections aren’t about just taking your best friend for the job or the candidate who makes you feel good. Elections are about power.”

The backing of the Michigan-based UAW, with more than 400,000 members, could give Biden an edge in a key battleground state that has helped determine the last two political elections. He won Michigan by about 150,000 votes in 2020; Trump won it by about 10,000 votes four years earlier.

Biden also won the group’s endorsement in 2020, and it backed Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016.

But Trump was successful in battlegrounds like Michigan and Ohio in that election cycle in part because of his ability to attract more union support than past GOP candidates: The UAW said at the time it believed one in four of its members likely voted for Trump based on surveys.

“The question is, who do we want in that office to give us the best shot of winning?” Fain said on Wednesday. “Who gives us the best shot of organizing? Who gives us the best shot of negotiating strong contracts? Who gives us the best shot of uniting the working class and winning our fair share once again?”

Biden, who has increasingly been gearing in public to face Trump in the general election, also delivered remarks. He thanked the union for its support and praised members for inspiring the labor movement with its strike last year against the Big Three auto makers.

“Let me just say, I’m honored to have your back and you have mine, that’s the deal,” Biden said. “It comes down to seeing the world the same way, it’s not complicated.”

Fain cast the 2024 race as a choice between Biden and Trump and didn’t mince words in his criticism of the former president. He specifically took issue with Trump’s handling of the union’s 2019 strike, arguing that Trump didn’t do a “damn thing” while UAW members confronted General Motors at plants across the U.S.

“Donald Trump is a scab,” Fain said. “Donald Trump is a billionaire, and that’s who he represents. If Donald Trump ever worked in auto plant, he wouldn’t be a UAW member — he’d be a company man trying to squeeze the American worker.”

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Fain’s remarks, though Trump has previously dismissed Biden’s record on unions.

Last year, Biden joined UAW members striking in Michigan against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis on the picket line in a historic show of support for workers amid their contract negotiations with the auto giants for better wages and conditions.

“If our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it,” Fain said on Wednesday.

Biden, who has touted himself as the most “pro-union” president, told members that union workers are central to his economic vision to build the economy from the middle out and bottom up.

“Together, we’re proving what I’ve always believed,” Biden said. “Wall Street didn’t build America, the middle class built America and unions built the middle class.”

He continued, “As long as I’m president, the working people are gonna get their fair share. … You deserve it.”

Trump, too, visited Michigan last September just a day after Biden to try to woo auto workers and union members. He delivered a speech at a non-unionized plant.

In that speech, Trump repeated his pitch for economic nationalism, calling himself the only candidate who wants to protect American labor — which was a key pledge in his previous campaigns.

He also attacked Biden for the federal government’s environmental regulation push on tailpipe pollution, which would encourage more electric vehicle manufacturing — while also raising the concerns of auto workers like those in the UAW. Biden has said he wants to invest in the auto industry to spur more electric vehicle use to address climate change.

Trump took a darker view.

“You’re all on picket lines and everything, but it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference what you get because in two years — you’re all going to be out of business,” he said in September. “You’re not getting anything. What they’re doing to the auto industry in Michigan and throughout the country is absolutely horrible and ridiculous.”

ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim contributed to this report.

Minnesota state trooper charged in fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II during traffic stop

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(MINNEAPOLIS) — A Minnesota State Patrol trooper has been charged in connection to the death of 33-year-old Ricky Cobb II, who was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 94 on July 31, 2023.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that Trooper Ryan Londregan has been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter.

“While deadly force by peace officers is justified in some circumstances, the criminal complaint alleges the circumstances in this case did not justify the use of deadly force,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement.

The decision to charge Londregan came after a thorough investigation conducted by her office and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Moriarty added.

“A critical component of the work of the Minnesota State Patrol is engaging with drivers during motor vehicle stops,” Moriarty said in the statement, adding: “Trooper Londregan did not follow this training.”

Londregan’s attorney, Chris Madel, referred ABC News to a brief video statement posted on his website when asked about the charges against his client Wednesday.

“This county attorney has provided sweetheart deals to murderers and kidnappers and now today she charges a hero,” Madel said in the video. “This county attorney is literally out of control. Open season on law enforcement must end, and it’s going to end with this case.”

Londregan, along with the two other troopers involved in the incident, was placed on paid administrative leave amid the investigation and remains on paid leave pending an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Internal Affairs Division, a spokesperson for the Minnesota State Patrol told ABC News on Wednesday.

“Any time a use-of-force incident ends with the loss of a life, it is tragic. Ricky Cobb II’s death is no different,” Col. Matt Langer, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, said in a statement Wednesday. “This is a sad situation for everyone involved. We acknowledge the deep loss felt by Mr. Cobb’s family and friends. We also recognize the gravity of this situation for the State Patrol and our troopers tasked with making difficult split-second decisions.”

The Minnesota State Patrol is conducting a review of the DPS’s training and policies, Langer added.

Charges against Londregan come months after the Minnesota Department of Public Safety released body camera footage from Aug. 2, 2023, that shows part of the fatal traffic stop in Minneapolis.

According to the Minnesota DPS, Cobb was initially pulled over because he was driving his Ford Fusion without any taillights on I-94 near Lowry Avenue just after 1:50 a.m. But after he was stopped, the trooper learned Cobb was wanted for a felony-level violation, the DPS said.

Troopers tried to detain Cobb, but he refused to get out of his vehicle and started to drive away as troopers attempted to physically remove him, according to the DPS. A trooper, later identified as Londregan, fired his gun and struck Cobb multiple times, the DPS said.

The body camera video appears to show two troopers speaking with Cobb while standing outside the driver and the passenger side windows, with a third trooper standing behind the car.

As Cobb attempts to drive away, a trooper attempts to stop him and appears to grab the steering wheel, the video shows, but the car takes off and knocks two troopers to the ground, while the third is briefly dragged by the car for about a couple of seconds.

The trooper who was standing on the passenger’s side of the car appears to fire at Cobb, who drives a short distance and then stops, the video shows.

The video shows the troopers approaching the car and appearing to render aid to Cobb before first responders arrive at the scene.

Cobb’s family, who has been calling for justice since his death in July, welcomed the decision to charge the trooper.

“Ryan Londregan stole my son from me,” Cobb’s mother, Nyra Fields-Miller, said in a statement Wednesday. “He gunned Ricky down, my son, for no reason while he was defenseless. Nothing can ever make up for that. But today’s decision is the first step toward closure and justice.”

Man with box cutter who entered a church and threatened employee arrested
Cobb’s family is represented by attorneys Bakari Sellers, Harry Daniels and F. Clayton Tyler.

“We want to thank the County Attorney’s Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for their deliberate investigation and their continued transparency,” Sellers said in a statement Wednesday. “This is an important first step for this family, for this community and for the cause of accountability and justice across America.”

Moriarty shared her condolences with the Cobb family upon announcing the charges.

“Our hearts are with Ricky Cobb’s family today, who are grieving an unimaginable loss,” Moriarty said Wednesday. “I know that they are devastated and will continue to feel this loss for the rest of their lives.”

‘I get even’: Trump targets Haley after she pledges to keep fighting him following 2 losses

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — “I don’t get too angry, I get even,” former President Donald Trump sniped on Tuesday night during his New Hampshire victory speech shortly after his former U.N Ambassador Nikki Haley, whom he’d just beaten by double digits, vowed to fight on against him for the 2024 Republican nomination.

“Who the hell was the imposter that went up on the stage before and like claimed a victory? She did very poorly,” Trump said at his election watch party in Nashua, New Hampshire, after it became clear that he had fended off Haley’s challenge in the state where, so far, she has polled the best and where her allies had once predicted a “landslide.”

“She’s doing like a speech like she won,” Trump continued. “She didn’t win. She lost.”

That tone was a stark difference from his election night speech last week in Iowa, where he won a majority of the vote against three rivals but went on to praise his opponents, complimenting them on running good campaigns.

Two of those three hopefuls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, quickly ended their White House bids and endorsed Trump. But not Haley. And on Tuesday night, she boasted of improving on the number of votes she got in Iowa (19%) compared to New Hampshire (43%).

Next up, she said, is South Carolina’s primary a month away.

“South Carolina voters don’t want a coronation. They want an election. And we’re going to give them one,” she said. “Because we are just getting started.”

Haley, as Trump noted, has not yet won a primary or in the caucuses and polls show she faces huge challenges in winning over GOP voters elsewhere in the country. He currently leads her by more than 30 points in South Carolina, according to 538.

On Tuesday night, though, she called herself a “fighter” and said there was still a contest to be had between them, even as other leading Republicans increasingly consolidate behind Trump and President Joe Biden has indicated they are essentially already running against one another.

Trump was visibly angry in his speech at Haley for vowing to stay in the race as he argued she has no viable pathway to victory.

His remarks — and his sometimes thinly veiled attacks, like suggesting there were reasons Haley could be “under investigation” — were emblematic of the frustrations within his campaign at Haley for refusing end her bid and unite around the front-runner as his aides argue she won’t achieve success in the next early states.

Haley decided not to participate in the Nevada Republican Party’s caucuses on Feb. 8 and instead chose to partake in the state-run primary two days prior, meaning she won’t garner any delegates in the state.

Trump and his campaign have already starting seizing on that decision, accusing her of being “scared” and preemptively claiming victory in Nevada.

Looking toward South Carolina, Haley’s home state, her chances are — right now — hardly better, Trump’s team says. In addition to his polling lead there, he has earned endorsements from South Carolina’s governor, its two senators and seven of eight members of the state’s Republican congressional delegation as well as many statewide officials.

Trump even highlighted his South Carolina backing in his New Hampshire victory speech, touting the fact that South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, whom Haley initially appointed, endorsed him over her.

“You must really hate her,” Trump said, turning to Scott on stage.

“Oh, I just love you,” Scott quickly rebutted.

Haley’s team pushed back on Trump’s speech about her on Tuesday, with communications director Nachama Soloveichik saying in part: “Two states have now voted in the presidential race, and Donald Trump barely received half of the vote – not exactly a ringing endorsement for a former president demanding a coronation.”

“His angry rant was filled with grievances and offered the American people nothing about his vision for our country’s future,” Soloveichik said.

But there is likely more criticism coming her way in the next few weeks from the former president and his allies.

Trump campaign senior advisers warned ahead of the New Hampshire primary that unless Haley left the race after losing in the state, she should be ready “to be absolutely demolished and embarrassed in her home state of South Carolina.”

Trump’s next campaign stop is in Phoenix, scheduled to deliver remarks at an Arizona Republican Party event on Friday.

The next day, Trump is set to hold another caucus rally in Las Vegas, differentiating himself from Haley by campaigning in Nevada despite the fact that he’s essentially the only candidate left running in the caucuses. Nevada, however, may be a battleground in the general election.

The Haley campaign has committed to staying in the race through Super Tuesday on March 5, focusing their attention on “open or semi-open primaries,” in 11 of the sixteen states, where non-Republicans can vote, with some restrictions, as Haley pushes to sway independent and more moderate voters to try to cut into Trump’s lead.

Her team claims they see “significant fertile ground” in the campaign calendar ahead.

The Haley campaign has also pointed to Trump’s legal battles which have pulled him off the trail as another argument as to why she should remain in the race.

He denies all wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty in his four criminal cases.

Earlier this week, Trump narrowly avoided a legal political collision course when a New York judge delayed his E. Jean Carroll civil defamation trial — allowing him to campaign in New Hampshire instead of going back to the courthouse for his testimony.

With two major rulings set to decide the trajectory of his court challenges — pending U.S. Supreme Court decisions on whether he can be taken off state primary ballots based on the 14th Amendment and whether presidential immunity protects him from his criminal election subversion case — Trump is expected to continue to juggle his legal schedule and political schedule throughout his election cycle.

Still, Trump has maintained a consistent message that the legal battles he faces are one of the major reasons he’s vying for another presidential term — contending that his fight against the charges is really a fight on behalf of his movement against government overreach.

Prosecutors, however, have cast him as illegally holding onto government secrets and seeking to interfere with democracy, among other accusations.

ABC News’ Abby Cruz and Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.

New York City mayor declares social media an ‘environmental toxin’

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is classifying social media as a “public health hazard” and an “environmental toxin,” saying young people must be protected from “harm” online.

“Today, Dr. Ashwin Vasan is issuing a Health Commissioner’s Advisory, officially designating social media as a public health hazard in New York City,” Adams announced during his State of the City address Wednesday.

An advisory from the city said mental health for young New Yorkers “has been declining for over a decade.” The advisory said that data from 2021 showed that on weekdays, 77% of New York City high schoolers spent three or more hours per day in front of screens, not including homework.

Adams claimed TikTok, YouTube and Facebook are “fueling a mental health crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features.”

“We are the first major American city to take this step and call out the danger of social media like this,” the mayor said. “Just as the surgeon general did with tobacco and guns, we are treating social media like other public health hazards and ensuring that tech companies take responsibility for their products.”

In May 2023, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory warning that excessive social media use could be a “profound risk” to youth mental health.

The advisory recognized that social media has both positive and negative effects on young people. According to Pew Research, 59% of adolescents reported that social media helps them feel more accepted. But the advisory said ultimately there wasn’t enough “research and clear data” to determine if social media is “safe” for adolescents to use.

“I issued my advisory on social media and youth mental health because the most common question parents ask me is if social media is safe for their kids. While some kids experience benefits from social media, there is not enough evidence to conclude that social media is sufficiently safe,” Murthy told ABC News last year. “Instead, there is more evidence that many kids are harmed by their use of social media.”

“Our children have become unknowing participants in a decades-long experiment,” Murthy said last year. “And while there is more we have to learn about the full impact of social media use on their health and well-being, we know enough now to take action and protect our kids.”

In a response issued at the time of the advisory from Murthy, a representative for Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, referred to mental health as a “complex issue” and pointed toward other contributing factors such as limited access to health care, the COVID-19 pandemic and academic pressure.

Representatives for YouTube told ABC News at the time that they have implemented a variety of safeguards for young users, including adding “digital wellbeing features,” removing content that “endangers the emotional wellbeing of minors or promotes suicide and self-harm,” and “exploring ways to further collaborate with researchers.”

A TikTok spokesperson told ABC News that its companies have added user aids to improve youth mental health, such as bedtime reminders and age restrictions. The company also said that it built an application programming interface that includes public data on content and accounts on the platform, which is available to U.S. researchers.

ABC News’ Ivan Pereira, Shannon Caturano and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.

Ohio Senate overrides governor veto of trans care, sports ban HB 68

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — The Ohio Senate has voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto against Ohio House Bill 68 in a 23-9 vote. This bill would ban transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming medical care and prevent transgender girls from taking part in girls’ and women’s sports.

The Ohio House voted to override the veto on Jan. 10.

The bill restricts the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgeries for transgender youth. The bill does not restrict the use of this care on non-transgender youth, and specifically includes an exception for intersex youth with ambiguous or abnormal sex characteristics.

A grandfather clause allows transgender people already receiving care to continue doing so.

Physicians have told ABC News that doctors, families and patients often have many long conversations together to consider age-appropriate individualized approaches to care. This often begins with mental health care, they say.

For youth approaching puberty, puberty blockers are a reversible form of gender-affirming care that allows children to pause puberty and explore their gender identity without the growth of permanent sex characteristics (e.g., breasts, genitalia) that may cause further stress, according to physicians interviewed by ABC News.

Hormone therapy for older teens helps align a patient’s physical appearance with their gender identity. Patients are given estrogen or testosterone, and the changes from these medications occur slowly and are partially reversible.

Surgeries on adolescents are rare and only considered on a case-by-case basis, physicians have told ABC News.

DeWine vetoed the bill in December 2023, saying he believed the bill as written would harm transgender youth and impede on families’ ability to make decisions after speaking with those who would be impacted by the legislation.

“The decisions that parents are making are not easy decisions,” DeWine said in the Dec. 29 press conference. “These tough, tough decisions should not be made by the government. They should not be made by the state of Ohio. They should be made by the people who love these kids the most. And that’s the parents, the parents who raised the child, the parents who have seen that child go through agony.”

However, he agreed with several concerns highlighted by the legislature.

He proposed rules to regulate gender-affirming care instead that would be less likely to be challenged in court — including bans on surgeries for minors.

“None of [the families] that I talked to talked about surgery,” said DeWine in a Dec. 29 statement. “That’s not where they were going in the discussion. And I think that’s, frankly, a fallacy that’s out there that, you know, this goes right to surgery. It just doesn’t. All the children’s hospitals say that we don’t do surgeries.”

At least 21 states have implemented restrictions on access to gender-affirming care, many of which have faced legal challenges.

A law banning gender-affirming care for minors in Arkansas was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge and similar laws have been blocked in Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Texas and Montana while lawsuits are considered.

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DeWine also proposed reporting and data collection on those who receive care to better monitor quality of care, as well as implementing restrictions on “pop-up clinics” that serve the transgender community.

“I truly believe that we can address a number of goals in House Bill 68 by administrative rules that will have likely a better chance of surviving judicial review and being adopted,” DeWine said.

Gender-affirming care has been called safe and effective by more than 20 major national medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association. The AMA has said this care can be medically necessary to improve the physical and mental health of transgender people.

Transgender youth are more likely to experience anxiety, depressed mood and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts due to discrimination and gender dysphoria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Research shows hormone therapy can improve the mental health of transgender adolescents and teenagers, a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found.

When asked if he had thoughts on the sports restrictions in the bill, DeWine said he “focused on the part of the bill that I thought affected the most people and the most children by far,” referring to the gender-affirming care portion of the bill.

The bill also would ban transgender girls from participating in sports. It would replace the state’s current transgender sport participation policies, which require a transgender girl to complete a minimum of one year of hormone treatment or demonstrate that she did not possess physical or physiological advantages over genetic females.

For a transgender male to participate in sports, he currently must demonstrate that his muscle mass developed as a result of testosterone treatment and does not exceed muscle mass typical of adolescent genetic males. Hormone levels are then monitored every three to six months.

However, as Rep. Richard D. Brown pointed out during House debate on the bill, the Ohio Constitution states that “no bill shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.” It is unclear if this will complicate the bill’s path forward.

Physicians who provide any gender-affirming medical care for trans youth in Ohio under this law would be “subject to discipline by the applicable professional licensing board” under this legislation.

ABC News’ Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.

Trump picks up endorsements from holdouts after New Hampshire win

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Texas Sen. John Cornyn, considered a top contender to succeed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, joined over half of Republicans in the chamber in endorsing Trump following the former president’s victory over Nikki Haley in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.

In a reversal, Cornyn in a statement on X called on his party to consolidate support around a single candidate, Trump, after the double-digit win.

“I have seen enough. To beat Biden, Republicans need to unite around a single candidate, and it’s clear that President Trump is Republican voters’ choice,” Cornyn said.

The X statement comes eight months after Cornyn expressed skepticism that Trump could be an effective candidate in a call with Texas reporters.

“I think President Trump’s time has passed him by and what’s the most important thing to me is we have a candidate who can actually win,” Cornyn said in the May call.

Cornyn had changed his tune Wednesday, telling reporters he now likes Trump’s chances compared to President Joe Biden’s polling.

“I think it’s important to unify behind the candidate, and I respect the voter’s choice in Iowa and New Hampshire,” Cornyn said. “I think you’ll see that repeated in South Carolina as well.”

Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer also joined the ranks of lawmakers backing Trump.

“It’s time for Republicans to unite around President Donald Trump and make Joe Biden a one-term President,” Fischer said on X.

More than 100 Republicans in the House of Representatives are backing Trump. That includes all members of the GOP leadership.

Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday night called out members of his party who have yet to endorse the former president.

“It’s now past time for the Republican Party to unite around President Trump so we can focus on ending the disastrous Biden presidency and growing our majority in Congress,” he said on X.

At least two major players in the Senate continue to hold out on Trump: House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota.

McConnell dodged questions about his decision to withhold an endorsement at the GOP’s weekly press conference Tuesday.

“I don’t have any announcement to make on the presidential election … And in fact, as you may recall — I have stayed centrally out of it,” McConnell said. “And I have not changed my mind about that. I’ll let you know.”

Trump previously called for a primary challenger to close McConnell ally Thune, who won re-election anyway in 2022. Like Cornyn, Thune and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who endorsed Trump in early January, are viewed as likely options of successors to McConnell.

Thune endorsed South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott before Scott dropped out of the race.

But Scott threw his support behind Trump shortly before New Hampshire.

Speaking on Trump’s behalf at the former president’s victory rally post-New Hampshire, Scott delivered remarks reminiscent of Cornyn’s statement, calling on his party to come together.

“It’s time for the Republican Party to coalesce around our nominee and the next president of the United States, Donald Trump,” he said.

Biden notches endorsement from United Auto Workers; union president calls Trump a ‘scab’

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

Shawn Fain announced UAW’s support for Biden’s reelection bid at their biannual conference in Washington, D.C.

“The question is, who do we want in that office to give us the best shot of winning?” Fain said. “Who gives us the best shot of organizing? Who gives us the best shot of negotiating strong contracts? Who gives us the best shot of uniting the working class and winning our fair share once again?”

Last year, Biden joined UAW members striking against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis on the picket line in a historic show of support for workers amid their contract negotiations with the auto giants for better wages and conditions.

“If our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it,” Fain said on Wednesday.

Biden also won the group’s endorsement in 2020, and it backed Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016.

But Trump was successful in battlegrounds like Michigan and Ohio and Pennsylvania in that election cycle in part because of his ability to attract more union support than past GOP candidates: The UAW said it believed one in four of its members likely voted for Trump based on surveys at the time.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Does Nikki Haley have a chance in South Carolina’s primary? Here’s what some voters are saying

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) — New Hampshire has spoken — and with South Carolina’s primary approaching next month, voters are sharing their thoughts about the race between the state’s former governor Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump — with one voter saying Haley would only get his vote if she is the last Republican standing.

Trump is polling nearly 40 points ahead of Haley, yet the former U.N. ambassador is committing to stay in the race with her sights set on what she calls her “sweet state of South Carolina.”

So why does Haley think she can take on the former president in South Carolina’s GOP primary, set for Feb. 24?

Haley’s history, Trump’s popularity

South Carolina is Haley’s home turf — she served as a fairly popular governor for two terms from 2011 to 2017 — however, polls show that Trump is dominating in the ruby-red state. The former president is polling at 62% compared to Haley’s 25%, according to 538’s polling averages.

Also, Trump benefits from endorsements from the majority of the state’s GOP leaders including Sens. Linsey Graham and Tim Scott, Rep. Nancy Mace and Gov. Henry McMaster. Haley has a history with several of these endorsers who backed Trump: McMaster is her former lieutenant governor; Haley appointed Scott to senator; and she campaigned for Mace in the 2022 midterm elections.

Trump has shown he appeals to South Carolina voters, too. In 2020, he won the state by 55% and in 2016 by 54%, according to the state’s election board.

Labeling herself a “fighter” and “scrappy,” Haley has vowed to stay in the race until at least Super Tuesday. With a month left to go until the South Carolina primary, Haley faces a steep uphill climb to the coveted nomination — but she said the fight is not over.

“New Hampshire is first in the nation … it is not last in the nation … this race is far from over,” Haley said in her concession speech in New Hampshire.

She has attacked Trump, and pledges to show why South Carolinians should vote for her.

“The people of South Carolina don’t want a coronation, they want an election. And we are gonna give them one,” Haley said Tuesday night.

Republican leadership doesn’t seem to have confidence in Haley’s ability to beat Trump.

“I’m looking at the math and the path going forward, and I don’t see it for Nikki Haley,” Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on Fox News Wednesday. “I think she’s run a great campaign, but I do think there’s a message that is coming out from the voters that is very clear– we need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump.”

What are South Carolina voters saying?

South Carolina is known for picking presidents. Since 1980, it has reliably picked the GOP’s nominee with one exception: in 2012 with Newt Gringrich (Mitt Romney went on to become the GOP nominee that year).

Trump, with his large swath of South Carolina endorsements, is expected to win the state, and he said he plans to ramp up attacks on Haley.

After winning New Hampshire’s primary he told audience members, “I don’t get too angry, I get even.”

Haley, who has said she is the only thing standing in the way of a Biden-Trump rematch, announced a $4 million ad blitz in her home state and is using campaign supporters to help in grassroots efforts to target undecided voters in the state. Americans For Prosperity Action, which endorsed Haley in November, raised more than $70 million, according to its latest public filing. The group told ABC News they’ve knocked on 315,000 in South Carolina and will continue knocking until primary day.

Still — it may not help the state’s former governor. Chad Connelly, who served as South Carolina’s GOP chairman while Haley was governor, told ABC News that although people like Haley, they love Trump.

“People really believe Trump is the guy that can halt and repair the problems they see across the country,” Connelly said. “I really don’t think it’s a dislike for Nikki as much as a deep love and appreciation for what President Trump did.”

Ann Byess from Lexington, South Carolina, said she sees Haley’s track record as governor as a sign of what she can accomplish as president. When Haley was governor, she encouraged South Carolina businesses to expand and saw employment swell by 400,000 people.

“I’m heavily considering Nikki Haley,” said Byess. “I just think she’s the best candidate right now. The economy hits really close to home.”

But Frank Spaniel from Columbia, South Carolina, said he still considers her a part of the “Republican establishment.”

“If she’s the last Republican standing, she’ll get my vote,” Spaniel said. “The only thing that I like that’s positive is her stance — the way she approached the abortion topic. But there’s a lot of other policies — I consider her part of the Republican establishment that I’m not happy with.”

ABC News spoke with Byess and Spaniel in November — before other major GOP candidates — such as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — dropped out of the race.

Eric Voyer, a voter from Columbia, South Carolina, said Trump’s legal woes wouldn’t deter him from voting for the former president.

“If Trump gets convicted, every American — I don’t care if you are liberal, conservative, white, black, red, green or purple — we should be deeply concerned with the way they are using the justice system to attack their political enemies,” Voyer said in December.

Connelly said he believes it’s only a matter of time before Haley bows out, but Trump still has a long road to Election Day and he will need all the help he can get.

“I think we’re just in a very different place where I believe you’ll see all conservatives and Republicans come together and try to win this thing,” he said.

How does South Carolina’s primary work?

South Carolina has an open primary, which means registered voters can cast a ballot in either the Democratic or Republican primary. Unlike Iowa and New Hampshire, South Carolina does not require voters to register by party, however residents are allowed to vote in only one of the primaries. The last day to register is Jan. 25.

The primary is traditionally held on a Saturday and, unlike New Hampshire, allows for early voting beginning mid February. Over the summer, South Carolina’s Republican Party moved its primary to so that it’s 18 days after Nevada’s caucus allowing candidates nearly three weeks to saturate the state.

Debbie Epling, who lives in South Carolina’s Aiken County, told ABC News in December that she’ll be “disappointed” if the candidates don’t come to her county.

“That says every one of the candidates is taking our vote for granted,” she said.

South braces for heavy rain, dangerous flooding

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Thirty-five million Americans are under flood watches as states from Texas to the Northeast face heavy rain and potential flooding.

In the Northeast, flood watches were prompted Wednesday by the combination of rain and warming temperatures melting the snow on the ground. Icy conditions in New England could make roads extremely dangerous during the evening commute.

The heaviest rain on Wednesday is moving through the Gulf Coast and Deep South, including eastern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Two to 5 inches of rain has already inundated Jackson, Mississippi, with more on the way.

By Wednesday night, the heavy rain will stretch from Houston to New Orleans to Birmingham, Alabama.

Rain totals could reach 8 inches by Wednesday night.

Damaging winds and isolated tornadoes are also possible Wednesday night in Louisiana and Mississippi.

On Thursday, the flood threat will continue for Louisiana and Mississippi and will also move into Alabama and Georgia.

Search underway for two murder suspects who escaped from Arkansas jail

January 24, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A search is underway for two murder suspects who escaped from jail in Arkansas, officials said.

Noah Roush, 22, and Jatonia Bryant, 23, were discovered missing from the Dub Brassell Adult Detention Center in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on Monday. They are believed to have escaped within 48 hours of being discovered missing, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.

Roush was being detained on probable cause for a residential burglary and theft of property. Roush was also a suspect in a homicide, the sheriff’s office said.

Bryant was being detained on probable cause for capital murder, according to law enforcement.

The sheriff’s office said both individuals should be “considered dangerous” and should only be approached by law enforcement personnel.

“All efforts are being made at this moment to apprehend these suspects. The JCSO is working in cooperation with the Pine Bluff Police Department Vice and Narcotics, Arkansas State Police, And Arkansas Department of Correction to locate these individuals,” the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

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