Russia-Ukraine live updates: Zelenskyy signs decree ruling out negotiations with Putin

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Image

(NEW YORK) — More than six months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose forces began an offensive in August, has vowed to take back all Russian-occupied territory. But Putin in September announced a mobilization of reservists, which is expected to call up as many as 300,000 additional troops.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Oct 04, 9:29 AM EDT
Ukraine makes major breakthrough in south, advancing well behind Russian lines

Ukraine has made a major breakthrough in the country’s south that now threatens to collapse part of the Russian front line there, similar to Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the northeast last month.

Ukrainian forces have advanced over 18 miles in two days, driving deep behind Russia’s front line in the Kherson region and advancing south along the Dnipro river.

Russian journalists reported that Russian forces on Monday were forced to pull back from the village of Dudchany. Multiple Russian military bloggers, who are often embedded with Russian troops, say that Ukrainian troops now heavily outnumber Russian troops there.

The advance, if it continues, has huge implications for the war. Russia’s position is increasingly in danger of collapsing, which would make it all but impossible to defend the city of Kherson, the capital of the region annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin four days ago.

Oct 04, 5:55 AM EDT
Zelenskyy signs decree ruling out negotiations with Putin

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a presidential decree on Tuesday formally declaring the “impossibility” of holding negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The decree backs a decision put forward by Zelenskyy’s national security council and includes the point: “To declare the impossibility of conducting negotiations with the president of the Russian Federation, V. Putin.”

The decree echoed a statement made by Zelenskyy when Putin annexed Ukrainian territory last Friday, saying it showed it is impossible to negotiate with the current president.

Oct 03, 12:22 PM EDT
Ukraine advances in south, Russia says

Ukrainian forces on Sunday evening broke through part of Russia’s defense of the disputed Kherson region, advancing from the region’s northeast into a territory Russia had claimed to annex as its own on Friday.

Ukrainian troops succeeded in pushing south along the Dnipro river, according to Ukrainian and Russian officials.

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday partly confirmed the advance, saying Ukrainian forces “managed to drive a wedge deep into our defense.”

It said Russian troops had fallen back to “pre-prepared lines of defense” and were using heavy artillery to halt a further Ukrainian advance. It claimed, without evidence, that Ukraine had suffered heavy losses, but acknowledged that Ukraine had an advantage in tank numbers there.

Russian military bloggers said on Sunday that Ukrainian troops advanced southwards in the direction of the village of Dudchany, several miles behind the rest of Russia’s frontline in the region.

The advance raised questions about whether Russia would be able to hold the city of Kherson, the only regional capital it managed to seize in the invasion. For weeks, military experts have said Russia’s position in the Kherson region has been deteriorating because Ukraine has destroyed the only bridges allowing Russia to re-supply its troops.

Kirill Stremousov, a Russian-installed official in the region, on social media acknowledged Ukrainian troops had advanced along the Dnipro towards Dudchany but claimed they had been halted by Russian fire and that “everything is under control.”

A continued Ukrainian advance along the Dnipro would threaten to undermine the rest of the Russian front north of the river, raising the risk Russian forces there could be cut off.

The White House National Security Council’s spokesman John Kirby noted Ukraine was making gains in the south on Monday, but caveated that they were “incremental” for the time-being.

The battle for Kherson has major military and symbolic significance for both sides. A retreat from the city would seriously undermine Russia’s annexation of one of the four Ukrainian regions declared by Vladimir Putin just days ago — Kherson is supposed to be the capital of the newly annexed region of the same name.

Oct 03, 11:18 AM EDT
Kidnapped head of Zaporizhzhia plant has been released

The head of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhia has been released, after Ukrainian officials accused Russia of kidnapping him, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Ihor Murashov, the head of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, was released and returned safely to his family, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director General of the IAEA, tweeted.

Zaporizhzhia is a Ukrainian facility now occupied by Russian troops.

Oct 03, 7:26 AM EDT
Putin’s nuclear threats ‘irresponsible rhetoric,’ official says

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats that his country could strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons were “irresponsible rhetoric” from a nuclear power, a Pentagon official said.

“They are continuing to be irresponsible rhetoric coming from a nuclear power,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on “Good Morning America” on Monday. “There’s no reason for him to use that kind of bluster, those kinds of threats.”

But the U.S. was still taking the threats seriously, he said. The U.S. was “ready and prepared” to defend every inch of NATO territory, he said.

“We have to take these threats seriously. We must. It’d be easier if we could just blow it off, but we can’t,” Kirby said. “These are serious threats made by a serious nuclear power.”

Oct 03, 5:55 AM EDT
Russia ‘likely struggling’ to train reservists, UK says

Russian officials are “likely struggling” to find officers and provide training for many of the reservists who’ve been called up as part of President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said.

“Local officials are likely unclear on the exact scope and legal rationale of the campaign,” the ministry said in a Monday update. “They have almost certainly drafted some personnel who are outside the definitions claimed by Putin and the Ministry of Defence.”

Some of the reservists are assembling in tented transit camps, the ministry said.

Oct 02, 10:42 AM EDT
Former CIA chief Petraeus says Putin’s losses puts him in ‘irreversible’ situation

Former CIA chief David Petraeus said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has put himself in an “irreversible” situation amid the Kremlin’s annexation of Russian-controlled Ukrainian regions.

“President Volodymyr co-anchor Jonathan Karl.

Petraeus said Putin “is losing” the war, despite “significant but desperate” recent moves. On Friday, Putin said he was annexing four regions of Ukraine — a move denounced by Ukraine, the U.S. and other Western countries as a violation of international law — and, in late September, the Russian leader said he was calling up some 300,000 reservists, triggering protests and a mass exodus from Russia.

In a rare acknowledgment Thursday, Putin admitted “mistakes” in how the country carried out the mobilization.

Oct 01, 9:07 AM EDT
Russia shoots at civilian convoy, kills 22, Ukrainian official says

Russian forces are accused of shelling a convoy of seven civilian cars killing 22 people, including 10 children, according to preliminary data, Olexandr Filchakov, chief prosecutor of the Kharkiv region, told ABC News.

According to preliminary data, the cars were shot by the Russian military on Sept. 25, when civilians were trying to evacuate from Kupyansk, a settlement in the Kupyansk area, Filchakov said.

The column of shot cars was discovered on Friday. Two cars burned completely with children and parents inside, Filchakov said.

Filchakov said the bodies burned completely.

Russian forces fired at the column with a 12.5 mm caliber gun. Those who remained alive were then shot at with rifles, according to Filchakov.

-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian

Sep 30, 11:29 AM EDT
Biden slams Russia for ‘fraudulent attempt’ to annex parts of Ukraine

President Joe Biden condemned Russia’s “fraudulent attempt today to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory” in a statement Friday.

“Make no mistake: these actions have no legitimacy. The United States will always honor Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. We will continue to support Ukraine’s efforts to regain control of its territory by strengthening its hand militarily and diplomatically, including through the $1.1 billion in additional security assistance the United States announced this week,” Biden wrote.

Biden also said the U.S. and its partners would be imposing new sanctions on individuals and entities inside and out of Russia “that provide political or economic support to illegal attempts to change the status of Ukrainian territory.”

He added, “We will rally the international community to both denounce these moves and to hold Russia accountable. We will continue to provide Ukraine with the equipment it needs to defend itself, undeterred by Russia’s brazen effort to redraw the borders of its neighbor. And I look forward to signing legislation from Congress that will provide an additional $12 billion to support Ukraine.”

Sep 30, 10:37 AM EDT
Zelenskyy signs application for accelerated accession to NATO

In the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin saying he has annexed occupied territories in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is applying for “accelerated accession” to NATO, saying it is already de-facto allied with the alliance’s members.

“Today, here in Kyiv, in the heart of our country, we are taking a decisive step for the security of the entire community of free nations,” he said in a statement.

Sep 30, 9:28 AM EDT
Putin formally annexes occupied Ukrainian regions

Vladimir Putin has formally annexed four occupied territories in Ukraine, the biggest land grab in Europe since World War II and one of the most egregious violations of international law since then.

It is a key moment in the war with major implications for what happens next.

Russia has annexed 15% of Ukraine’s territory, including several major cities — but right now none of the areas Putin is seizing are under full Russian control and all are facing Ukrainian efforts to retake them.

The annexation will absorb the self-declared People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region, as well as parts of the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions that Russia occupies.

At a ceremony in the Kremlin today Putin signed “treaties of accession” with the Russian-installed leaders of the regions.

Meanwhile, on Red Square outside, preparations have been made for a large concert-rally to celebrate the annexation.

This is another no-going back moment for Putin. By making these territories part of Russia itself he has made negotiations even more difficult. He has locked himself into a long war and linked the survival of his regime to it.

He cannot give up the regions in negotiations — in 2020, when he changed the constitution to let him stay in power beyond his term limits he also introduced a new clause that forbids Russian president’s from giving up any Russian land.

But perhaps even more importantly, he is likely to lose parts of these regions — Ukraine is on the counteroffensive still in northeast Donbas and Kherson.

The Kremlin on Friday said it will treat attacks on the newly annexed regions as direct attacks on Russia itself. The implied threat is that Putin could use nuclear weapons in some form against Ukraine if it does not stop.

Most experts believe that for now Putin is very unlikely to use a nuclear weapon — they see his threats as bluffs. But, they say the risk he might is growing and is now the most serious it has been.

For now, many experts believe Putin would prefer to use mobilized troops to try to stabilize Russia’s front lines in Ukraine and then try to outlast the West through the energy crisis this winter. But should Ukraine continue to advance and Russia’s position in the newly annexed regions starts to collapse, the risk he will use a nuclear weapon could grow.

-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell

Sep 30, 4:20 AM EDT
Major attack on civilian convoy near Zaporizhzhia leaves many feared dead and injured

Ukrainian officials say a Russian strike on a humanitarian convoy has killed at least 23 people and wounded 28.

The convoy of about 40 vehicles was heading into Russian-occupied territory to pick up their relatives and then take them to safety when it was struck.

Videos that have emerged from the scene show destroyed vehicles along the road and what appears to me a number of casualties as well.

Sep 29, 6:31 PM EDT
Putin signs decrees for annexation of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia

Russian President Vladimir Putin took the intermediary step on Thursday of signing decrees paving the way for the occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally annexed into Russia.

The Kremlin publicly released the decrees.

Putin is scheduled to hold a signing ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to formally annex the two regions, along with the Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

-ABC News’ Jason Volack

Sep 29, 7:05 AM EDT
Putin to formally annex occupied Ukraine territories on Friday

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a signing ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to formally annex the areas of Ukraine that Russia has occupied, his spokesman has said.

The ceremony will be to sign “treaties of accession” with the four regions created by Russia’s occupation forces — the two self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Zaporozhzhia and Kherson regions.

Putin will also deliver a major speech to lawmakers gathered there, his spokesman said.

It is a major moment in the war — another no-going-back moment for Putin. In reality, none of the areas being annexed are under full control of Russia right now as all are seeing fighting and facing Ukrainian efforts to re-take them.

If Putin attempts to annex the occupied regions, it will be one of the most egregious violations of international law in Europe since World War II.

Sep 28, 12:21 PM EDT
State department advises US citizens to leave Russia

American citizens are being advised by the U.S. State Department to get out of Russia immediately.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has issued an alert, saying “severe limitations” could prevent it from assisting U.S. citizens still in the country.

“If you wish to depart Russia, you should make independent arrangements as soon as possible,” the alert said.

Noting that Russia has begun a military mobilization against Ukraine, U.S. Embassy officials warned Americans with dual Russian citizenship that they could get drafted by Russia.

“Russia may refuse to acknowledge dual nationals U.S. citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, prevent their departure from Russia, and conscript dual nationals for military service,” the alert said.

The alert also advised U.S. citizens to avoid political or social protests in Russia, saying Americans have been arrested in Russia for participating in demonstrations.

“We remind U.S. citizens that the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are not guaranteed in Russia,” the alert said.

Sep 27, 3:56 PM EDT
66,000 Russians cross European borders since Putin announced draft

Roughly 66,000 Russian citizens have fled across borders into European countries amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week of a military mobilization against Ukraine, the European Border and Coast Guard said Tuesday.

The number of Russian citizens pouring into Europe was up 30% compared to last week, according to the agency which also goes by the name Frontex.

Most of the Russian citizens are entering the European Union through Finnish and Estonian border crossing points, Frontex said on Twitter.

Putin announced on Sept. 21 that he is ordering the mobilization of 300,000 recruits to fight in Ukraine, prompting widespread protests and clashes with police across Russia.

In recent days, photos have emerged of huge traffic jams at border crossings. On Monday, the wait at the border between Russia and Georgia was estimated to be 40 to 50 hours, according to the independent Russian news outlet The Insider.

Sep 27, 1:56 PM EDT
‘Sham referenda’ in Russia-occupied Ukraine going Kremlin’s way

Partial results from what Ukraine and its Western allies have called “sham” referendums in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine show that more than 96% of voters favor becoming part of Russia, according to the state-owned Russian news agency RIA.

Voting has taken place over five days in the four areas — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

The early results showed that 97.93% of voters in the Luhansk People’s Republic favored joining the Russian Federation, according to the data. In Donetsk People’s Republic, early results showed 98.69% favored joining the Russian Federation.

In Zaporizhzhia, 97.81% of voters cast ballots to join Russia and 96.75% of voters in Kherson also favored joining Russia, according to the data.

President Joe Biden and other Group of 7 leaders condemned Russia’s “sham referenda” in occupied Ukrainian territories, calling it a Russian attempt to “create a phony pretext for changing the status of Ukrainian sovereign territory.”

Sep 27, 12:42 PM EDT
Leaks in major gas pipeline between Russia and Europe investigated following blasts

Leaks in a major gas pipeline running from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea have been detected after the Swedish seismic network said it registered blasts near the pipeline.

The leaks in the Nord Stream pipeline were first reported on Monday by Denmark’s maritime authority and photos released by Denmark’s Defense Command showed what appeared to be gas bubbling up to the surface.

The operator of the pipeline said the leaks were detected southeast of the Danish island Bornholm.

The underwater pipeline runs about 764 miles from Russia to Germany.

While the cause of the leaks remains under investigation, unconfirmed report reports from Germany allege authorities suspect sabotage.

Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of causing leaks in a “terrorist attack,” according to the BBC.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak alleged the damage to the pipeline was an “an act of aggression” by Russia toward the European Union.

Sep 27, 12:18 PM EDT
Aid to Ukraine detailed in bill to keep US government running

A continuing resolution to keep the federal government running through Dec. 16 was released by Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday morning and breaks down how $12.3 billion in the package earmarked for Ukraine will be spent.

For the first time, Congressional lawmakers, at the insistence of GOP members, will require U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to provide a report “on the execution of funds for defense articles and services provided Ukraine,” according to a summary of the resolution.

Both houses of Congress must vote on the resolution by Friday to avoid a government shutdown.

The resolution includes $3 billion for “security assistance” for Ukraine and authorizes an additional $3.7 billion in weapons for President Joe Biden to drawdown from U.S. stocks to support Ukraine’s military. It will also authorize $35 million to respond to potential nuclear and radiological incidents in Ukraine in an apparent reply to Russian President Valdimir Putin’s thinly-veiled nuclear threats in a televised speech last week.

In addition, the resolution calls for $2.4 billion to replenish U.S. stocks of weapons already sent to Ukraine and to provide Ukraine.

The new assistance for Ukraine would be on top of the $53 billion Congress has already approved through two previous bills.

-ABC News’ Lauren Minore and Trish Turner

Sep 26, 1:29 PM EDT
40- to 50-hour wait as people attempt to flee Russia into Georgia to avoid military draft: Report

A massive line of traffic continued to grow Monday at the border between Russia and Georgia as huge numbers of Russians seek to flee the country amid fears they will be drafted to fight in the war in Ukraine.

Drone video, posted on Twitter by the independent Russian news outlet The Insider, showed hundreds of cars and trucks backed up for miles at the Verkhny Lars border between the two countries.

The Insider reported that people are waiting 40-50 hours in the line to cross.

Tens of thousands of Russians are trying to flee the country following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week of a military mobilization of 300,000 more troops against Ukraine. Besides the Russia-Georgia border, large crowds of people attempting to leave the country have been packing border crossings into Finland, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and others.

Sep 26, 12:08 PM EDT
New clashes break out in Russia between police and protesters over Kremlin’s mobilization

More clashes broke out Monday in Russia’s Dagestan capital city, as police tried to disperse hundreds of protesters demonstrating against the Kremlin’s military mobilization of men to fight in Ukraine.

Videos circulating on social media showed scuffles between protesters and police in Makhachkala.

On Sunday, there were violent clashes in Dagestan, with police firing warning shots and people angrily shouting chants against the mobilization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that he is mobilizing 300,000 more troops against Ukraine.

The announcement sparked major protests in Moscow and at least 30 other cities across Russia over the weekend. At least 17 military recruitment offices have been targeted with arson attacks. A man was detained by authorities on Monday after he allegedly opened fire on a recruitment center in Siberia, severely injuring a recruitment officer.

Sep 26, 11:01 AM EDT
US sending Ukraine $457.5 million in civilian security assistance

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that the U.S. will give Ukraine another $457.5 million in civilian security assistance to bolster the efforts of Ukrainian law enforcement and criminal justice agencies “to improve their operational capacity and save lives.”

Blinken said some of the funds will also go toward supporting efforts to “document, investigate, and prosecute atrocities perpetrated by Russia’s forces.” He said that since December, the United States has pledged more than $645 million toward supporting Ukrainian law enforcement.

Blinken’s announcement follows a U.N.-led investigation that found Russian troops had committed war crimes in occupied areas of Ukraine, including the rape, torture and imprisonment of children.

Sep 26, 10:14 AM EDT
Ukrainian first lady ‘worried’ about Russian mobilization

In a new interview, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenka told ABC News that recent developments in the war are upsetting, saying this is not an “easy period” for the people of Ukraine.

“When the whole world wants this war to be over, they continue to recruit soldiers for their army,” said Zelenska, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week that he is mobilizing 300,000 more troops against Ukraine. “Of course, we are concerned about this. We are worried and this is a bad sign for the whole world.”

Zelenska, who spoke with ABC News’ Amy Robach through a translator, said Ukrainians will continue to persevere in the face of conflict.

“The main difference between our army and the Russian army is that we really know what we are fighting for,” she said.

Zelenska attended the United Nations General Assembly in-person in New York City, where she spoke to ABC News about the U.N.’s recent finding that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine by Russian troops. An appointed panel of independent legal experts reported that Russian soldiers have “raped, tortured, and unlawfully confined” children in Ukraine, among other crimes.

“On the one hand, it’s horrible news, but it’s the news that we knew about already,” she said. “On the other hand, it’s great news that the whole world can finally see that this is a heinous crime, that this war is against humanity and humankind.”

Sep 26, 5:40 AM EDT
Man opens fire at Russian military enlistment office

A man has opened fire at a military enlistment office in eastern Russia, severely injuring a recruitment officer there.

An apparent video of the shooting was circulating online, showing a man shooting the officer at a podium in the officer in the city of Irkutsk.

Irkutsk’s regional governor confirmed the shooting, naming the officer injured as Alexander V. Yeliseyev and saying he is in intensive care in a critical condition.

The alleged shooter has been detained, according to the governor.

Sep 25, 12:49 PM EDT
Russia Defense Ministry announces high-level leadership shake-up

The Russian Defense Ministry announced a high-level shake-up in its military leadership amid reports Russian forces are struggling in the war against Ukraine.

The defense ministry said Saturday that Col. Gen. Mikhail Y. Mizintsev has been promoted to deputy defense minister overseeing logistics, replacing four-star Gen. Dmitri V. Bulgakov, 67, who had held the post since 2008.

Bulgakov was relieved of his position and is expected to be transferred “to another job,” the Defense Ministry statement said.

The New York Times reported that Mizintsev — whom Western officials dubbed the “butcher of Mariupol” after alleged atrocities against civilians surfaced in the Ukrainian city in March, previously served as chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, which oversees military operations and planning.

In this previous role, Mizintsev became one of the public faces of the war in Ukraine, informing the public about what the Kremlin still calls a “special military operation.”

Mizintsev was put on international sanctions lists and accused of atrocities for his role in the brutal siege of the Mariupol.

Sep 25, 11:58 AM EDT
Russian recruits report for military mobilization

Newly recruited Russian soldiers are reporting for duty in response to the Kremlin’s emergency mobilization to bolster forces in Ukraine, according to photographs emerging from Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week a mobilization to draft more than 300,000 Russians with military expertise, sparking anti-war protests across the country and prompting many to try to flee Russia to avoid the draft.

Putin signed a law with amendments to the Russian Criminal Code upping the punishments for the crimes of desertion during periods of mobilization and martial law.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview Sunday with ABC News This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos that Russia’s military draft is more evidence Russia is “struggling” in its invasion of Ukraine. He also said “sham referendums” going on in Russia-backed territories of eastern and southern Ukraine are also acts of desperation by the Kremlin.

“These are definitely not signs of strength or confidence. Quite the opposite: They’re signs that Russia and Putin are struggling badly,” Sullivan said while noting Putin’s autocratic hold on the country made it hard to make definitive assessments from the outside.

Some leading Democrats won’t debate their election-denying opponents

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Democrats in key swing states like Arizona and Michigan have refused to face opponents who espouse the false claim that the 2020 race was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

These Democratic politicians say they want to avoid combative spectacles with people who are attacking the election system without evidence — suggesting their rivals are too far outside the mainstream to be worth engaging.

But that choice is not without criticism as some outside experts note it has strategic value, too.

“Candidates who are ahead in the polls and believe that they will be able to win without debates are advantaged by not debating. They will find a reason to justify their decision — and in this case, what you’re seeing is a reason to justify a decision among candidates who believe they’re going to be able to win without debating,” Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, told ABC News.

Some major Republicans, like Nevada Senate hopeful Adam Laxalt, have so far also opted against debates.

“Statewide debates attract very low viewership. But from a normative standpoint, it is desirable for the electorate to be able to see the candidates side-by-side and for the process to have journalists be given the opportunity to ask tough questions,” Jamieson said.

She said the biggest problem with not debating “is not who gains electoral advantage, but what is the public and the press not able to know as a result of that decision?”

“One would hope that candidates would perceive the advantage to the electoral process in deciding to debate, even if they find their opposing candidate unworthy of exchange,” Jamieson said, adding: “If you think that you are incapable of presenting yourself well in a debate, you’re less likely to agree to one, whether you are ahead or behind in the polls. That doesn’t mean that we should absolve candidates of the responsibility to debate.”

Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, said candidates are usually able to “get away with canceling debates without much of a penalty” as voters don’t usually see the events as key to their choices.

While the trend has a new twist this cycle, Sabato said the resistance to debating has a long history.

“Every single year almost all candidates will debate about debates — how many there should be, how long they should be, where they should be, what subjects they should cover. This has become a permanent part of campaigning, and most people just tune it out because it doesn’t affect their lives,” he said. “It has no real impact on your campaign or your likelihood to win. And if you think of the other candidate as the beginning of the collapse of Western civilization then why not say, ‘I’m not putting myself through that.'”

In Arizona, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, the Democratic nominee for governor, declined to debate Republican opponent Kari Lake even after the Citizens Clean Elections Commission moved its deadline to allow Hobbs’ team more time to negotiate the terms. Hobbs said she felt it wouldn’t be worthwhile.

“We all saw the spectacle [Lake] created in the GOP primary,” she said in late September.

Lake painted Hobbs as having something to hide for refusing to debate and, in a series of Twitter videos, taunted her opponent to face her.

In Michigan, incumbent Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel offered a similar rationale as Hobbs, saying GOP rival Matt DePerno — who has claimed “election fraud” in 2020 — operates by a different “set of facts” so a debate with him wouldn’t be “serious” or helpful to voters.

Nessel also raised the potential of being confined by codes of ethics in having to respond to DePerno, whom Nessel has alleged was a “prime instigator” in a plot to illegally access voting machines in a bid to find evidence to overturn the 2020 presidential results. DePerno has not been charged and has said he is being politically persecuted.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, another battleground state, progress toward a gubernatorial debate ground to a halt not because of the Democrat but because of the Republican: Doug Mastriano — who was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 and helped lead the effort to challenge the 2020 results in his state — tried to rewrite traditional debate rules including allowing the candidates to each select a moderator. A spokesman for Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro, the state’s attorney general, ruled out accepting Mastriano’s terms, calling the move a “stunt” that threatened “good-faith debate negotiations.”

Here is the backstory on some of the major debates that won’t happen:

Arizona

Bucking 20 years of Arizona campaign tradition, Hobbs declined to debate her Republican opponent in the only gubernatorial debate, which was set for next week. Hobbs cited Lake’s performance in a GOP primary forum as having made Arizona “the butt of late-night TV jokes.”

“You can’t debate a conspiracy theorist,” Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, said at a public meeting with the debate commission last month.

But as election deniers dominate the Republican side of the statewide ballot, Hobbs is the only Democratic nominee that declined to face one on the debate stage. Barrett Marson, a Republican strategist in Arizona who isn’t working with Lake, criticized that reasoning since Hobbs also skipped a Democratic primary debate with her long-shot opponent then, Marco Lopez — “someone who’s not an election denier,” Marson noted.

“Instead of practicing against Marco Lopez, she didn’t debate then because she’s probably just not a very good debater,” he said.

Hobbs’ campaign declined to comment to ABC News for this story.

At Arizona State University last month, she dismissed 76-year-old supporter Linda Martini, who drove from Phoenix to Tempe to help register voters, after Martini tried to ask Hobbs why she won’t debate.

“Let’s not do this here,” Hobbs told Martini. “We need to talk about this later,” she said, and she walked away with her team.

Martini subsequently told reporters, “She’s got to debate … It’s bad for her not to.”

“The people want to see her on TV. I can tell you from the senior community that I know best, they want to see her,” Martini added. “Unless she could give a really good reason why, she has to debate.”

Hobbs insisted to reporters last week that she’s “not afraid” of debating Lake but wants to have “a substantive conversation.”

Lake, who according to FiveThirtyEight’s analysis has been closing the gap with Hobbs in recent polling, told ABC News last week that Hobbs’ explanation is nothing more than an “excuse.”

“They know that the Democrats are weak candidates with policies that Americans don’t want,” Lake argued.

Lake went on to try to recast her election denialism as being about “honesty and faith” and said Hobbs should challenge her directly: “If she’s got a problem with where I stand on elections … then she should show up Oct. 12, and I’d love to debate her on that.”

Marson, the Republican strategist, believes Hobbs’ team has determined she will be better off skipping the debate than attending — “but I think that voters want to see it and are really questioning, What are you afraid of?”

“If Kari Lake wants to rant and rave for an hour on stage, then voters would see that and then make their own decisions,” Marson added. “We’ve seen recently Kari try to soften her image, and she’s gonna be able to use this unfettered access to voters to soften her image and not ever face a tough point from Katie Hobbs.”

Bill Scheel, a longtime consultant to Democrats in the state, agreed with Marson that debate participation may not swing races but called it a “missed opportunity.”

“This election is not going to be decided by whether someone debates or not. The actual viewership on public TV would be a tiny fraction of the overall electorate, but I really do think it’s a missed opportunity for Hobbs. She’s still not clearly defined for most Arizona voters,” he said.

Michigan

Michigan Attorney General Nessel, who is seeking reelection, decided she won’t debate DePerno, her Republican opponent, because she thinks he wouldn’t participate in a “serious” event to “educate and inform voters.”

“You have to have two candidates that are willing to abide by a set of facts that actually exist,” she told ABC News in an interview in Lansing last week.

“You can’t have separate sets of facts, and the things that Mr. DePerno often says, he’s not dealing with facts. He’s literally lying. He’s making up things,” Nessel contended. “And by giving him the platform to disseminate this kind of disinformation is a disservice to the voters in this state.”

She added that prosecutorial codes of ethics are also tying her hands because of an investigation into DePerno and others. The case is being overseen by an outside prosecutor at Nessel’s request. Still, she said, DePerno could raise the investigation on stage if they were to debate and twist the details while she would be limited in responding.

DePerno declined to comment to ABC News or respond to Nessel’s criticism.

The attorney general, who is gay, also believes her identity as a member of the LGBTQ community may be weaponized against her if she were to debate DePerno, who has referred to her by the derogatory label “General Groomer.”

“It’s not just a matter of insulting me. It’s insulting to the at least half a million residents in my state who also identify as openly LGBTA, and I’m not going to allow him to disparage me like that. I’m not going to allow him to disparage the hundreds of thousands of residents that I represent,” Nessel told ABC News.

Pennsylvania

Debate negotiations in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race have devolved into accusations of cowardice and of theatrics amid attempts by Mastriano, the Republican candidate, to rewrite traditional rules.

In an August letter to Shapiro, his Democratic opponent, Mastriano proposed his own set of guidelines, which would ban news outlets from holding exclusive broadcast rights over the debates and would let each candidate choose a moderator.

A Shapiro spokesman called the proposal “a stunt” and an excuse by Mastriano to avoid questions. He has shunned traditional media while focusing on conservative grassroots efforts.

“It’s unfortunate that Doug Mastriano has recklessly decided to blow up good-faith debate negotiations with media outlets across the Commonwealth,” the Shapiro spokesman, Will Simons, said in a statement at the time.

Mastriano has tried to frame Shapiro as cowardly for not accepting his terms and called Shapiro “reluctant” to face him. Last month, he invited Shapiro to what he said would be a debate in central Pennsylvania featuring Mercedes Schlapp, a former aide to Trump, as a moderator.

“Doug Mastriano’s unserious proposal is an obvious stunt to avoid any real questions about his extreme agenda and record of conduct by dictating his own rules for debates,” Simons said last week in a statement to ABC News.

“Nobody gets to pick their own moderators or set their own terms,” he added.

In the meantime, counties have already begun sending absentee ballots to voters.

McDonald’s leans into value, added promotions amid inflation, adds new ‘adult happy meal’

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As American families face mounting food prices amid rising inflation, fast food companies like McDonald’s are looking for more ways to add value.

“The impact of inflation is really challenging; there’s not a sector that’s really immune to the challenges,” McDonald’s Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Tariq Hassan said in an exclusive interview with ABC News on Tuesday.

“Our fans have been really clear to us that that value that they’ve come to expect from McDonald’s has never frankly been more important to them,” he continued. “We’re committed to continuing to have that ability to provide our customers those kind of offers, whether it’s through our everyday value meal or unique offers we’re making through national or local promotions or exclusive offers through the app.”

When asked if the company has plans to further reduce prices to help customers struggling with high food costs, Hassan reiterated that they are “making sure those value offers are still on the menu.”

He also explained that McDonald’s looks to add value beyond just monetary savings deals.

“You connect through great unique experiences — and we’ve been doing that whether through unique merchandise offers — we did a program in July where we gave fans exclusive access to concerts through the app,” he said, adding that their latest offer ties in culture, art and nostalgia.

McDonald’s has raised prices in several countries due to increasing costs of goods and global supply chain issues, but when asked if U.S. customers can expect to see similar increases, Hassan said, “We try to monitor when we do those things in a way that they’re not hitting the customer too hard, but the reality is we continue to provide our customers with great value — making sure we have offers available.”

The newest offer from the Golden Arches is a Cactus Plant Flea Market Box, which Hassan said was inspired by the “universal familiar experience that we all had as children” when you got a Happy Meal.

“We thought it’d be a great way to capture that joy and wrap it up in a great experience for adults,” he said of the collaboration with CPFM, which created the design of the box and the McDonaldland or Cactus Buddy figurines.

“You go through that same kid-like experience. You get to choose a Big Mac or 10-piece McNugget with world-famous fries and a drink,” Hassan said of the new meal deal.

The limited time boxes hit restaurants nationwide on Oct. 3 and are available while supplies last.

Plus, fans who buy the box on the McDonald’s app will automatically be entered for a chance to score exclusive merchandise for free each week, including T-shirts and hoodies, a Grimace chair and custom McDonald’s sign from the set of a TV commercial as grand prizes.

There is also a full line of limited-edition CPFM x McDonald’s gear available online.

Stockton police search for apparent serial killer tied to six murders, victims’ IDs released

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(STOCKTON, Calif.) — Six unprovoked murders of men ages 21 to 54 over the last few months appear to be the work of one person, according to police in Stockton, California.

Authorities are searching for a person of interest tied to the six slayings. All of the victims were men and all were alone at the time they were fatally shot, police said. The killings all happened at night or in the early morning hours.

Police released only a few details about the string of murders and when they happened: a 35-year-old man fatally shot at 12:31 a.m. on July 8; a 43-year-old man fatally shot at 9:49 p.m. on Aug. 11; a 21-year-old man fatally shot at 6:41 a.m. on Aug. 30; a 52-year-old man fatally shot at 4:27 a.m. on Sept. 21; and a 54-year-old man fatally shot at 1:53 a.m. on Sept. 27.

Police said late Monday that another homicide investigation had been linked to the case: The shooting death of a 40-year-old Hispanic man in Oakland, Calif., at 4:18 a.m. on April 10, 2021.

Another shooting, of a 46-year-old Black woman at Park Street and Union Street in Stockton at 3:20 a.m. on April 16, 2021, was also linked to the investigation, police said. The woman survived her injuries in that shooting, they said.

Stockton police told ABC News that all of the victims were ambushed, none were robbed and none of the incidents were drug- or gang-related. Police also told ABC News they have physical evidence linking the five crime scenes together.

On Monday, San Joaquin County’s Office of the Medical Examiner identified the victims. Paul Yaw, 35, was killed on July 8; Salvador Debudey Jr., 43, died on Aug. 11; Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez, 21, was killed on Aug. 30; Juan Cruz, 52, was the Sept. 21 victim; and Lawrence Lopez Sr., 54, was slain on Sept. 27.

Lorenzo Lopez “was just a person who was out here at the wrong place at the wrong time at the wrong circumstance,” his brother Jerry Lopez told ABC Sacramento affiliate KXTV. “It’s hard to process that this has happened. I mean, me and my brother have been like twins. We were a year a part so we were pretty close.”

Paul Yaw “was a good boy who grew into a good man with a big heart. He will always live on in our hearts. He was always there for you if you needed him,” the family said in a statement provided to ABC News. “He was a son, brother, father, grandson, nephew and cousin. I still can’t believe he’s not coming back. I hope this helps to catch the person(s) responsible.”

The city of Stockton said it was putting forward a $75,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the investigation. Stockton Crime Stoppers is posting an additional $10,000 reward.

The day after Lopez’s killing, Stockton police had said at a press conference they were not sure if the string of killings were related.

“[We’re] still looking at it from a random point of view, but we do see some similarities,” Police Chief Stanley McFadden said Wednesday. “We have been provided absolutely zero evidence that leads us to believe that one individual is running rampant in the city of Stockton killing people.”

But that changed two days later when the department tied the five killings together and released an image of a person of interest.

Herschel Walker denies report he reimbursed girlfriend’s abortion

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Herschel Walker, a Georgia football icon and U.S. Senate hopeful, has denied a report in the Daily Beast that an ex-girlfriend claimed he paid the cost of her abortion more than 10 years ago, a claim that would seem to contradict his anti-abortion posture on the campaign trail.

Walker, a Republican, immediately denied the claim and promised to file a defamation lawsuit against the Daily Beast, which published the story, on Tuesday morning. Walker later appeared on Fox News Channel’s Hannity, where he issued additional denials.

“I can tell you right now, I never asked anyone to get an abortion,” Walker told Sean Hannity. “I never paid for an abortion — it’s a lie.”

The Daily Beast reported Monday that an unidentified woman who claimed to be Walker’s ex-girlfriend said she sought a medical abortion after the couple conceived in 2009. The woman shared documentation with the news outlet: a receipt from an abortion clinic, a bank deposit receipt with an image of a $700 check that appeared to be signed by Walker sent within a week of the abortion and a “get well” card that appeared to be signed by Walker.

ABC News was not able to confirm the Daily Beast’s reporting.

Walker has carved out a staunch anti-abortion position as a candidate for U.S. Senate, aligning himself with a bill proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that would institute a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks.

Without explicitly citing the Daily Beast’s reporting, Walker’s adult son, Christian Walker, an outspoken conservative social media personality and podcast host, lambasted his father on Twitter.

“Every family member of Herschel Walker asked him not to run for office, because we all knew (some of) his past. Every single one,” Christian Walker wrote Monday. “He decided to give us the middle finger and air out all of his dirty laundry in public, while simultaneously lying about it. I’m done.”

The younger Walker also leveled additional allegations against his father, who has attracted scrutiny in recent months for allegations of violence in his past. In a book years ago, Herschel Walker has described himself as having been diagnosed with a dissociative identity disorder, or D.I.D. He has said that treatment healed him.

“I know my mom and I would really appreciate if my father Herschel Walker stopped lying and making a mockery of us,” Christian Walker wrote Monday on Twitter. “You’re not a ‘family man.'”

Walker is currently locked in a heated and high-stakes battle for Georgia’s Senate seat with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, the outcome of which could tilt the balance of power in Washington come November.

When asked about the Daily Beast report late Monday, Warnock deferred to the “pundits [who will] decide how they think it will impact the race.”

Student loan forgiveness: Key dates and details so far

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Within days, millions of Americans are expected to be able to take their first steps to cancel up to $20,000 in debt under President Joe Biden’s federal student loan forgiveness program — a multibillion-dollar initiative cheered on by advocates but which already faces legal challenges.

The Biden administration announced in August that single borrowers who earn under $125,000 can qualify for $10,000 in federal school loan debt cancellation while those who are married qualify for that amount if their joint income is under $250,000 (as calculated by gross adjusted income from 2020 or 2021).

Recipients of Pell grants — which are designed for people with “exceptional financial need,” according to the government — are eligible for an additional $10,000 to be canceled, or $20,000 total

Of the 43 million federal student loan borrowers who have accrued more than $500 billion in debt, most will need to fill out an application to see if they qualify for forgiveness. Only about eight million of those borrowers will automatically have their debt canceled, according to the White House, because the Department of Education already has their income information.

On Thursday, the Biden administration quietly excluded some borrowers of Perkins loans and Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL). Both groups formerly qualified for loan cancellation. While some four million Americans in total have these loans, an administration official told ABC News that only about 770,000 people will be affected by the change.

At a Sept. 26 briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there would be additional updates on the application process “very soon.” The administration maintains that the “simple process” will open in early October.

Outside experts are more skeptical of how smoothly the program will run.

“When you see the huge numbers that the administration projects will benefit from this initiative, that all depends on people being able to take these steps and have that debt relief applied to their account in a way that actually works,” said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, an advocacy group.

Here are the key dates and details, so far, for applying for student loan forgiveness:

Early October: Loan forgiveness applications open

Applications for student loan cancellation will be released in early October, according to the DOE, though a more specific date has not yet been confirmed.

The department is recommending that everyone file an application, even those who might already qualify for automatic forgiveness.

To be notified when the process has officially opened, the department recommends borrowers sign up at their subscription page. (Private companies like Navient and Nelnet, which help administer the loans and repayments, are likewise referring borrowers to a government portal created to share updates on student loans.)

It’s unclear how many of the 43 million borrowers will submit applications. In cost estimates, the White House has said it could be as many as 75% of eligible people or as few as 50%.

“It will all depend on how good we are getting the word out about this opportunity and making sure that people actually do raise their hands to get in the line to get their debts canceled,” Pierce said.

Nov. 15: The recommended deadline to apply

DOE officials recommend that borrowers apply for student loan forgiveness by Nov. 15 in order to receive relief before the pandemic-era payment pause expires on Dec. 31 and interest begins accruing again.

The department said they expect a four-to-six-week turnaround for forgiveness.

However, some advocates like Pierce worry that may not be feasible, given the track record the federal government has with processing debt relief.

The DOE has not released details regarding a plan for borrowers whose applications are still being processed by the time the payment pause lifts after December.

Jan. 1: Student loan payments resume

Jan. 1 is when regular student loan payments will resume after a three-year moratorium first enacted under President Donald Trump during the onset of COVID-19. If a borrower’s entire balance is not erased by the federal forgiveness program, interest will begin accruing again on the remaining sum.

Dec. 31, 2023 : The program application sunsets

The application period for student loan forgiveness will close on Dec. 31, 2023.

Uvalde families endorse Beto O’Rourke for Texas governor in emotional ad campaign

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(UVALDE, Texas) — Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke rolled out an ad campaign Saturday featuring tearful endorsements from families of victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde.

One ad begins with parents looking straight to the camera, holding photos of their children and sharing what they hoped to do when they grew up: Lexi Rubio wanted to be a lawyer, Jackie Cazares hoped to become a veterinarian and Layla Salazar, a track star.

Another ad solely focuses on Maite Rodriguez, whose mother, Ana Rodriguez, stoically narrates the video.

“She wore green Converse with the heart drawn on the right toe. Those shoes ended up being one way to identify her body in that classroom. I never want another family to go through this. Greg Abbott has done nothing to stop the next shooting. No laws passed. Nothing to keep kids safe in school. So, I’m voting Beto for Maite,” Ana Rodriguez says in the video.

Beto for Texas’ director of communications, Chris Evans, told ABC News the ads are running in all major markets across the state of Texas indefinitely.

Uvalde families have continued to voice how unheard they feel by their representatives as they plead for gun control statewide and nationally. Parents have spoken publicly about wanting commonsense gun legislation, and their calls on Abbott to convene a special session have gone unanswered.

Nineteen students and two teachers died at the hands of a gunman on May 24. The police response to the shooting has come under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that officers did not breach the classroom containing the gunman for over an hour. The response also spurred a Texas House investigation that published a damning report in July outlining law enforcement’s failures.

The ad campaign began just one day after the first and only Texas gubernatorial debate between O’Rourke and incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, which notably featured many questions to both candidates on the topic of the shooting in Uvalde. The entire debate was less than an hour in duration, and the Uvalde-related discussion comprised more than 10 minutes of it.

Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas-Austin, told ABC News that according to his research and expertise, he does not see Uvalde heavily influencing the upcoming election.

“As horrific as that may sound, polling has consistently shown that in the wake of mass shootings, and even mass shootings as horrific as the one that occurred in Uvalde, that partisan voters tend to look to partisan interpretations of those events. And so, while we might expect to see large shifts in sentiment in the wake of these tragedies, we tend not to find them,” Blank said.

A Quinnipiac University poll last month found that the top three issues likely voters in Texas saw as most urgent were the Texas-Mexico border, at 38%, followed by abortion (17%) and inflation (11%). Gun policy garnered 8%, according to the poll, illustrating Blank’s point.

Blank also said partisan voters approach solutions to gun violence differently.

“I think the issue is that voters of different persuasions come to the issue of gun violence and gun safety with a different set of expectations about what would be effective in addressing the pandemic or the epidemic of gun violence,” Blank said.

One of the key issues of O’Rourke’s campaign platform is gun safety. He’s made it clear he believes significant policy reform is the answer, in forms such as “red flag” laws, universal background checks and a repeal of permitless carry. Abbott, conversely, says he “will continue to fight any federal government overreach that aims to disrupt the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding Texans,” according to his website. His stance has also been illustrated by his passage of open and campus carry across the state during his tenure as governor.

Even if many agree that gun violence is an issue Texas officials should do more to prevent, Blank said this “doesn’t mean that a majority of Texans think that the policy response that would be most effective necessarily has to do with stricter gun laws.”

In the Quinnipiac poll, likely voters were also asked, between Abbott and O’Rourke, who would do a better job handling gun policy; 53% said the sitting governor would do a better job, while 44% responded that O’Rourke would.

Oath Keepers trial: Defendants ‘concocted plan for armed rebellion’ on Jan. 6, prosecution says

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Five members of the Oath Keepers facing charges of seditious conspiracy “concocted a plan for an armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy,” a federal prosecutor said Monday in opening statements at the D.C. district court, kicking off the high-stakes first trial for members of the far-right militia group.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told jurors the defendants, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, along with members Kelly Meggs, Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell, “banded together to do whatever was necessary” to stop the transfer of power between Donald Trump and then-President-elect Joe Biden — and that they saw U.S. Congress certification of the electoral college as their perfect opportunity.

In addition to their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, the Oath Keepers members conspired to stage “an arsenal of firearms,” including multiple semi-automatic rifles at a hotel just outside of Washington D.C. and multiple teams of so-called “Quick Reaction Forces,” with Caldwell even plotting for ways to potentially ferry weapons into the city by boat across the Potomac River in case they were called on, the prosecution alleged.

Nestler showed jurors multiple photo and video exhibits during his more than hour-long opening statement, including the now-infamous picture of members of the group climbing the steps of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot in a military-style “stack” formation. He also showed video snippets of members of the Oath Keepers militia participating in training sessions with semi-automatic rifles.

All of the defendants, except Meggs, formerly served in the military before joining the Oath Keepers.

“These defendants use their training, knowledge and experience they gained in the United States Armed Forces to further their ability to succeed and plot to oppose by force the government of the United States,” Nestler said on Monday.

While Rhodes is not alleged to have participated in the breach of the Capitol, Nestler described him as the group’s ringleader in calling members to Washington and urging them to resist the transfer of power by force if necessary.

Nestler played audio of various public appeals Rhodes made to Trump directly, asking him to invoke the Insurrection Act, which he believed would help mobilize members of the group to take up arms and resist any efforts to remove Trump from office. He said Rhodes, a Yale-educated former lawyer, told the group “they needed to be careful with their words” and used coded language to shield their true aims of opposing by force the lawful transfer of presidential power, the prosecution alleged.

Even after the riot, as they learned law enforcement was seeking to arrest those involved in the attack on the Capitol, Rhodes attempted to pass a message directly to Trump assuring him it was not too late to take action, Nestler said.

“My only regret is that they should have brought rifles,” Rhodes said in recorded audio on Jan. 10. “We could have fixed it right then and there.”

Rhetoric used by the group’s members grew increasingly violent in the days leading up to Jan. 6, Nestler said, with Rhodes and others raising the prospect of civil war or “bloody war” erupting as the end of Trump’s time in power grew closer.

All of the defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Defense attorneys for the five charged Oath Keepers are expected to argue their clients did nothing illegal in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, while claiming the government’s decision to charge them with the rarely-used seditious conspiracy statute is an effort to target members of the militia group over their political beliefs.

“The real evidence is going to show our clients were there to do security on [January] 5th and 6th,” Stewart Rhodes’ attorney Phillip Linder said during his opening statement Monday. “The type of security they’ve done for 13 years throughout their history.”

Linder said Rhodes would testify during the trial. He described Rhodes as “extremely patriotic” and claimed the Justice Department’s presenting of his recorded statements about opposing the transfer of power were merely an attempt to “alarm and anger” the jury.

“You take a handful of texts and you take a handful of things you don’t understand, take some things that look bad and put them together then you come to a conclusion or an incorrect mischaracterization,” Linder said on Monday. “We want to bring you the full picture.”

The trial is expected to last upward of a month, lawyers have estimated, with a second set of defendants from the Oath Keepers militia charged in the conspiracy slated to stand trial in late November.

Nestler said the five Oath Keepers did have other reasons for being in Washington on Jan. 6 other than the storming of the Capitol, such as providing security for VIPs and attending Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse that preceded the riot.

But, Nestler said, all of them “also agreed to do whatever was necessary, including using force to make sure that presidential power was not transferred,” and that included driving to D.C. so they were able to bring their “weapons of war” close to the nation’s Capital.

Meet the women who went viral for delivering a resume cake to Nike headquarters

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Getting a foot in the door at a company is a huge step for any job seeker. And one woman’s clever concept involving a cross-country pastry ploy quickly went viral on LinkedIn, but it was an unexpected friendship with the Instacart delivery woman who was integral to the plan that was the real icing on the cake.

Like so many Americans searching for their next move in a sea of creative, well-qualified applicants, 27-year-old Karly Pavlinac Blackburn was hoping to land a conversation at her dream company but got stuck trying to figure out how to break through.

“I was actually talking to my former colleague about getting in front of employers — and he was like, ‘Well, Karly you need to do better … show up in a creative way … what about a resume on a cake?’ ” she recalled, speaking with ABC News’ Good Morning America.

Although Pavlinac knew there were no open positions with Valiant Labs, Nike’s new business incubator, she took up her colleague’s suggestion in the hopes that it might help her find some favor within their team.

“I was like, I’m actually going to do that,” she said, noting that she hoped the cake would ensure she was “on their mind if roles did come up in the future.”

As for the execution, Pavlinac, who previously founded and sold a celebrity fitness monetization app, admitted “it was kind of difficult” because she lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Nike World Headquarters are based in Beaverton, Oregon — meaning she couldn’t just swing by a bakery, pick up a specialty order and deliver it to them herself.

“I’m on the other side of the country trying to get a cake delivered to Nike, [which is] in Oregon,” she said.

Instead, Pavlinac searched online and found an Albertson’s store 4.4 miles from Nike World Headquarters that offered screenprint-frosted photos on sheet cakes with delivery options through Instacart.

“The only difficult thing is when an Instacart delivery is made, you don’t know who’s gonna deliver it,” she said. “The cake has to be made ahead of time, so I had to call Albertsons and I was like, ‘Hey, there’s gonna be a delivery on this day, I know, you don’t know about it yet, but I’m gonna have to have this cake ready. You’re gonna need the image, and it’s gonna have to be ready before they get there [to pick it up].'”

On Sept. 8, an hour ahead of the delivery window at 8 a.m. local time, Pavlinac called the Albertsons store to confirm the order — a half-sheet vanilla cake with her resume printed on top — would be completed.

Everything was on schedule — now all Pavlinac needed was to ensure the cake would make it to its location.

“Lucky for me Denise was the person from Instacart that day to pick up the cake, because she’s just so amazing,” Pavlinac said, referring to highly ranked platinum Instacart courier Denise Baldwin.

Baldwin had her own to-do list once she arrived at the store to pick up the cake delivery.

“[Pavlinac] wanted me to take a look at it and make sure it looked OK,” Baldwin told GMA of the initial instructions that came with the Instacart order. “Me and the baker were both talking about it, because we couldn’t believe that somebody had gone out of the box and did a resume on a cake … I messaged Karly and said, ‘It looks great. I’m on my way to the campus, and I’ll let you know how things go.'”

The two stayed in constant communication after Baldwin left the store and navigated the massive Nike campus in search of Mac Myers from Business Operations at Nike Valiant Labs.

“She gets there and someone from security was like, ‘OK leave the cake here.’ And [Denise] said, ‘No, I have to give it to Mac, I have to see it go in his hands,'” Pavlinac recalled. “At the time I didn’t know this, but she had her 8-month-old son on one hip the whole time — she didn’t even tell me, she was just like, ‘I’m gonna get it done.'”

The working mom of three — with another on the way — told Pavlinac, “‘Don’t worry, I’m here on the campus. I’ll do whatever it takes.'”

Myers eventually came down after a call from security letting him know about the delivery. According to Baldwin, Myers was “kind of blown away” and even asked to take a picture of himself with the cake for confirmation.

The pair later shared their story in a now-viral LinkedIn post, which has been liked more than 100,000 times and garnered thousands of comments.

Pavlinac has been busy ever since with back-to-back calls from recruiters and potential employers. She’s also been checking in regularly with her new mentee, Baldwin, who is looking for her dream job as well.

“My day is jam-packed from 8 [a.m.] to 5 [p.m.] with conversations, interviews — I have so many amazing messages from people on LinkedIn that I’m still trying to go through,” Pavlinac said, adding that she has her sights set on a future in product marketing.

“The cool thing afterwards was, [Denise] texted me, ‘You’ve inspired me to go chase after something better,'” Pavlinac said. “I told her whatever I can do to help find a job … be it sharing documents on ‘how to do a job should search’ or talk[ing] about what jobs might fit.”

Baldwin, a self-described “go-getter,” said she’s looking for a position in an assistant or human resources role that capitalizes on her communications and multitasking skills.

“I’m just trying to get my foot in the door where I can have good benefits for my kids and have some security and stability,” she said.

Perhaps more important is the newfound friendship the two women have developed as a result of their cake delivery scheme — and what that friendship has taught them both.

“Denise inspires me to be a better person,” Pavlinac said.

North Korea fires ballistic missile over Japan

October 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK, TOKYO and SEOUL) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan early on Tuesday morning, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said.

South Korea and the U.S. conducted a joint strike package flight and precision bombing drill in response to the ballistic missile test, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told ABC news.

The Japanese government issued a “J-alert” through its emergency warning system, advising residents to take cover in sturdy buildings or underground.

A government spokesperson said Japan didn’t attempt to shoot the missile down because they didn’t think it posed a threat.

A U.S. defense official confirmed the launch to ABC News.

Residents in Aomori and Hokkaido prefectures, toward the northern end of Japan, were advised to be on alert and to notify police or fire officials if debris is seen.

Tuesday’s launch marked the seventh time a North Korean missile flew over Japan. The last time was in August 2017. North Korea has shot 21 ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles since January, a record-breaking number of launches in a single year. Tuesday’s launch was the country’s fifth missile test in just over a week.

“We ask that people return to life as usual, calmly,” the Japanese government’s chief spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters at a press conference.

People were also warned by officials not to touch or pick up any debris.

The office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began to gather members to analyze the situation.

A government spokesperson said no damage has been reported so far and a search is underway for debris. Officials are gathering information and will work with South Korea and the U.S.

“North Korea’s actions threaten Japan and the international community,” the spokesperson said. “Missile launches like this go against the U.N. resolutions. Japan will launch a strong protest against North Korea in light of this. All new information will be shared promptly.”

The White House said in a statement late Monday local time in Washington, D.C., that “the United States strongly condemns the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) dangerous and reckless decision to launch a long-range ballistic missile over Japan.”

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on Monday night local time, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

“In both calls, the National Security Advisors consulted on appropriate and robust joint and international responses,” Watson said, “and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reinforced the United States’ ironclad commitments to the defense of Japan and the ROK [South Korea].”

Regional players may have few cards left in their hands to play towards curbing North Korea, observers said. Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan, told ABC News that the missile launch was a very provocative act as it comes amidst numerous missile tests this year.

“There are no good options for [South Korean President] Yoon, Kishida, Biden to rein in Kim Jong Un,” Kingston said. “Sanctions and condemnation have failed to deter him and there is no good military option.”

North Korea recently passed a law declaring its readiness to launch preemptive nuclear strikes. Analysts warned that the country may seek to reaffirm its nuclear weapons state status and is prepping for a seventh nuclear test.

Jaechun Kim, professor of international relations at South Korea’s Sogang University, said the U.S., Korea and Japan should mobilize cooperation from like-minded countries in non-U.N. sanctions to thwart North Korea’s provocations.

“A unified front must be established that imposes sanctions on North Korea, as they did on Russia,” Kim said. “This is the only way to penalize North Korea for its bad behavior.”

Kim also told ABC News that China, North Korea’s strongest ally, may have no little or no say in North Korea’s actions.

“North Korea just does what it needs to do these days. So, with or without China’s support, it is quite likely for the North to conduct 7th nuke test,” Kim said. “It will be interesting to see whether Xi Jinping will throw his weight behind Kim Jong Un.”

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