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‘Look at me, you coward’: Relatives of El Paso Walmart shooting victims confront gunman

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(EL PASO, Texas) — Nearly four years after 23 people were killed in a racist mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, the victims’ families are confronting the gunman in court.

Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty in February to dozens of federal hate crimes and firearms charges in connection with the August 2019 mass shooting.

During the ongoing sentencing hearing in the federal trial, family members of many of the victims have shared their grief and anger in the wake of the tragedy.

Francisco Javier Rodriguez, the father of 15-year-old Javier Amir Rodriguez, the youngest victim killed in the shooting, addressed Crusius directly while wearing a T-shirt featuring a photo of his son.

“Look at me, you coward. Look at my son’s picture,” the father said in court on Thursday, according to ABC El Paso affiliate KVIA. “Because of you he never graduated from high school. I carry my son’s ashes with me everywhere I go.”

“You branded your family like the coward you are,” Rodriguez continued, according to KVIA. “They are marked for life. When everyone hears your name, all they’ll see is the coward that you are. All they’re going to see is the killer. The coward.”

The judge heard two days of emotional impact statements from victims and family members of victims, ahead of the formal sentencing on Friday.

Twenty-two shooting victims died within days of the attack, while a 23rd person died eight months later. There were also 22 people injured in the attack.

Crusius allegedly told investigators following his arrest that he set out to kill as many Mexicans as he could after driving from his home in Allen, Texas, about 650 miles east of El Paso, officials said.

Among those to address the court on Wednesday were the family members of Jordan Anchondo and Andre Anchondo, who were killed while shielding their 2-month-old son during the attack.

“He set out to hurt people because he said Hispanics were taking over. I just want him to know his efforts were in vain,” Tito Anchondo, Andre’s brother, said, according to The Associated Press. “Yeah, we lost a lot of people. … The ones that are still here, we’re still pushing forward.”

Dean Reckard’s mother, Margie Reckard, was among those killed. He and his wife traveled to El Paso from Omaha, Nebraska, to “stand up to hate,” his wife, Hilda Reckard, said, according to the AP.

“I just think that us coming here is to take a stand,” she said on Wednesday, according to the AP. “You knocked us down, you didn’t knock us out.”

The sentencing hearing is scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. MT on Friday. Prior to the judge’s sentencing, defense attorney Joe Spencer told ABC News he will be giving an allocution on Crusius’ behalf. Crusius will not be speaking at the hearing, according to Spencer.

Crusius had initially pleaded not guilty to the federal charges but requested a re-arraignment hearing after federal prosecutors agreed to not seek the death penalty in their case.

He pleaded guilty to 90 federal charges, including 23 counts for hate crime acts that resulted in death, 22 hate crime acts that caused bodily injury, 23 counts of using a firearm in a federal crime of violence resulting in death and 22 counts of using a firearm in a federal crime of violence.

Crusius is also facing capital murder charges in state court. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks told reporters Thursday he still plans to seek the death penalty in the state’s case, which could go to trial as soon as next year. A jury would ultimately decide whether Crusius faces the death penalty, Hicks said.

“I am committed to seeking justice for the people of this community,” Hicks said.

US expected to send controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine in fight against Russia: Officials

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. is expected to announce as early as Friday that it will provide controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package in the fight against Russian invaders, two U.S. officials tell ABC News.

The decision to send the munitions will be made by President Joe Biden.

Numerous countries have banned the use of cluster munitions, which can risk civilian deaths and injuries when bomblets fail to initially explode after being deployed. The weapons pack such bomblets into rockets, bombs, missiles and artillery shells that break apart midair and scatter the munitions over a large area.

The U.S. is not a signatory to an international convention forbidding the deployment of cluster munitions and last used them during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Ukraine has been asking for more of them and Russia has been using them in its invasion.

The failure of the small munitions to initially explode is known as the “dud rate” — and the higher the dud rate, the more dangerous they can become.

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday that he had no announcements to make about cluster munitions but acknowledged they have been under consideration.

He explained that there are multiple versions of cluster munitions but that the version being considered for use in Ukraine is contained in 155mm shells fired from American howitzer artillery.

There are different versions of those shells from different stockpiles and the ones being looked at for Ukraine would not be older versions with higher dud rates, Ryder said: “The ones that we are considering providing would not include older variants with [dud] rates that are higher than 2.35%.”

He insisted that “we would be carefully selecting rounds with lower dud rates for which we have recent testing data” from 2020. And he noted that the Russian dud rates on their cluster munitions are much higher — though he did not provide an estimate.

Sending cluster munitions to Ukraine would provide “anti-armor and anti-personnel capability,” Ryder said, adding, “So clearly a capability that would be useful in any type of offensive operations.”

Philly leaders sue ghost gun manufacturers just days after mass shooting

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(PHILADELPHIA) — Just days after a man wielding two “ghost guns,” including an AR-15 rifle, shot seven people, five fatally, in a Philadelphia neighborhood, according to authorities, leaders of the city filed a lawsuit against two companies that manufacture parts for the untraceable firearms they say have been wreaking havoc on their streets.

The lawsuit was in the works prior to Monday’s Fourth of July weekend rampage, according to city officials, who say they hope the litigation will help stem the flood of homemade firearms that are increasingly used to kill and maim in Philadelphia and in cities across the nation.

“In the last four years, the use of ghost guns have exploded all across America,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said at a Wednesday evening news conference to announce the lawsuit. “Let this be a warning to these manufacturers: We are coming and we will not stop.”

The lawsuit, filed in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, names as defendants Polymer80, a Nevada gun parts manufacturing company, and JSD Supply Inc., a Pennsylvania guns parts maker.

“Defendants Polymer80 and JSD Supply ship their products to any address in Philadelphia without a required legal background check or any other efforts to verify buyers identity or age, as is required by Pennsylvania’s state law,” Philadelphia City Solicitor Diana Cortes said.

Cortes said the companies allow buyers to skirt gun laws by selling firearm parts that are made into fully operational weapons with no serial numbers or any way to trace them.

Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Frank J. Vanore Jr. said at Wednesday’s news conference that the suspect in this week’s mass shooting, 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker of Philadelphia, was armed with two ghost guns, an AR-15 rifle and a 9mm handgun.

“If he were to drop that weapon and got away, we would have no way to trace them,” Vanore said.

He said it remains under investigation whether the suspect built the guns from parts ordered online or if he obtained them in some other way.

Carriker appeared in court via closed-circuit video on Wednesday and was arraigned on five counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and possession of a weapons without a license and carrying firearms in public. He did not enter a plea.

Killed in Monday’s attack, according to police, were 15-year-old Daujan Brown; 31-year-old Joseph Wamah, Jr.; 20-year-old Lashyd Merritt; 29-year-old Dymir Stanton; and 59-year-old Ralph Moralis. A 13-year-old boy and a 2-year-old boy were wounded by gunfire in the incident, and the toddler’s 33-year-old mother and twin brother were injured by flying glass when the gunman fired at their vehicle, police said.

Roughly 87% of the ghost guns recovered in criminal investigations in Philadelphia this year were made with parts that were manufactured by Polymer80, the city officials said.

Polymer80 did not return messages from ABC News seeking comment on the lawsuit. JSD Supply Inc. officials said they have no comment on the suit.

“Polymer80, Inc. designs and develops innovative firearms and after-market accessories that provide ways for our customers to participate in the build process, while expressing their right to bear arms,” Polymer80 says on its website. “This provides a fun learning experience and a greater sense of pride in their completed firearm, strengthening our brand loyalty. We summarize this with our motto of ‘Engage Your Freedom’.”

Similarly, JSD Supply Inc. describes itself on its website as a manufacturer of “premier gun parts and accessories.”

“JSD Supply’s quality gun parts are perfect for upgrading your everyday carry, restoring a well-used weapon to range-ready condition, or building your own custom firearm for performance tailored to your shooting needs,” the company’s website states.

According to the city’s lawsuit, “So-called ‘ghost guns’ — home-assembled, unserialized, and untraceable firearms that are sold and purchased without regard to firearm regulations — have become the weapon of choice for those seeking to evade firearm laws. Unsurprisingly, the number of ghost guns recovered at crime scenes has skyrocketed in recent years.”

In 2019, according to the lawsuit, ghost guns comprised 2 percent of firearms recovered in criminal investigations across Philadelphia. In 2022, Philadelphia police seized 575 ghost guns, a 311% increase from 2019.

Statistics from the U.S. Federal Register show that law enforcement agencies nationwide have seized 45,240 ghost guns since 2016 and that the number has been increasing exponentially every year, according to the lawsuit.

In 2016, law enforcement agencies recovered 1,758 ghost guns, according to the Federal Register. In 2021, law enforcement agencies recovered 19,344 ghost guns, nearly double the number recovered in 2020.

“Philadelphia law enforcement are increasingly recovering ghost guns in a wide variety of criminal investigations including those involving drugs, juvenile possession, and intimate partner violence,” according to the city’s lawsuit. “Ghost guns have also been involved in suicides, where firearm access plays a crucial role in mortality.”

A ghost gun was used in a mass shooting involving several gunmen last summer at Philadelphia’s South Street entertainment district that left three people dead and 11 injured, according to the lawsuit. A few months after the South Street shooting, a mother of three working at a city recreational center was caught in the crossfire of a shooting and killed by a 15-year-old boy wielding a ghost gun made from Polymer80 parts, the lawsuit alleges.

The city’s lawsuit is seeking injunctive relief, requiring Polymer80 and JSD Supply “to abate the public nuisance they have created” and to “cease their negligent business practices” by ceasing the sales of unserialized firearms to consumers in Philadelphia.

The lawsuit is also asking for undisclosed compensatory and punitive damage.

Father says teen killed in Philadelphia mass shooting saved his son’s life

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(PHILADELPHIA) — The father of a 13-year-old boy who was wounded in a Fourth of July weekend mass shooting in Philadelphia said his son’s best friend, 15-year-old Daujan Brown, lost his life trying to protect his child.

In an emotional interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Rafiq Fitzgerald Sr. said he will be forever grateful that Brown was there on Monday to shield his son from the barrage of bullets police said were fired indiscriminately at victims by a masked gunman wielding an AR-15 ghost gun.

Brown was the youngest of the five people killed in the rampage that broke out at 8:30 p.m. ET in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Philadelphia. In addition to Fitzgerald’s son, a 2-year-old child also suffered gunshot wounds and the toddler’s 33-year-old mother and twin brother were injured by flying glass when the gunman fired at their vehicle, according to police.

Fitzgerald said his son, who suffered gunshot wounds to his legs in the massacre, was a constant companion to Brown, saying the two boys stuck together “like glue.”

“As a parent, you don’t want your child around certain people. [Brown] wasn’t one of those types of kids. In my eyes, I’m glad I never kept him away from my son because he was a hero, if you asked me. He died trying to protect his best friend,” Fitzgerald said. “In my eyes, Daujaun is like Superman. I’m so grateful for him.”

Fitzgerald said he had heard about the mass shooting while he was at work and received a call when he got home from his son’s mother that confirmed his “worst fears.”

“Just as soon as I seen her call, honestly, my heart dropped. Before I even answered the phone … a million things were running through my head,” said Fitzgerald, holding back tears.

He said he immediately rushed to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, moving so quickly he arrived with mismatched shoes on.

Fitzgerald said hospital staff initially confused him with being Brown’s father and a security guard told him his son had passed. Fitzgerald said he nearly fainted at the news and was directed to a room, where he watched Brown’s grieving relatives crying through a window before learning his son, whom he did not want to identify by name because of safety concerns, actually survived due to Brown’s heroics.

He said the two friends were out in the Kingsessing neighborhood enjoying the extended Independence Day weekend when the shooting unfolded. He said the two boys had gone to a corner store to buy drinks and when they emerged, they encountered the gunman, alleged to be 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker, who police said was wearing a body armor.

“He shot my son first and he fell. His friend was trying to help him and when the gunman saw his friend trying to help him, he shot at him,” Fitzgerald said. “My son said he rolled under a car and he thought his friend was playing dead.”

Fitzgerald said his son didn’t realize Brown had been killed while protecting him until he got out of surgery to insert rods and pins in his legs.

“Imagine your best friend losing his life trying to help you and you see him. How could you cope with that at a young age? He’s just now going through puberty. He’s going to need a lot of counseling,” Fitzgerald said of his child. “There’s not even enough justice that could really repay for this. My son lost his friend forever. He’s mentally never going to be right.”

Fitzgerald said his son, who is 6-foot-3 inches tall, had been a promising athlete with dreams of playing sports in high school and beyond. He said his child now must endure three to six months of physical therapy before he can even walk again.

“He was trying to stand up yesterday, but the pain was unbearable,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said his one message to city leaders is “do something” to stop gun violence from claiming the lives of innocent children.

“I don’t want them doing a press conference to talk about what they’re going to do. We want to see it,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald noted that the location of where his son was shot is near a police precinct.

“He lost his friend over nonsense gun violence and stuff that could have been prevented,” Fitzgerald said. “This stuff shouldn’t be happening. Kids shouldn’t be getting shot, babies shouldn’t be getting killed.”

Asked how he is holding up emotionally, Fitzgerald said, “I’m not healing.”

“As a father, as a man, you’re a provider and a protector. So now I feel like I let my son down,” Fitzgerald said. “My son said that after he got shot, he was yelling for me and his mom.”

Tech company under fire after new lawsuit alleges anti-Asian bias

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(SAN FRANCISCO) — Asian Americans throughout Silicon Valley are unifying in support of one man after a new lawsuit was filed last month against Lumentum Operations, LLC, alleging Asian discrimination throughout the company.

The lawsuit, filed June 30 by Andre Wong, seeks $20,000,000 in damages, claiming “Lumentum had a culture of prejudice against Asians,” according to the lawsuit.

“The damages figures reflect the impairment of Andre’s future expected compensation, how he’s been impacted personally and other matters, including making an example out of Lumentum and its bad behavior,” said Charles Jong, the leading attorney on the case.

The plaintiff, Wong, was an employee of the technology company for over 20 years, according to the lawsuit, before eventually becoming the vice president of strategic marketing, which Wong described as a “glass cliff job.”

While working at the company, Wong created and developed a new product line that specialized in 3D sensing and facial recognition technology, bringing the business $1 billion in revenue, according to the lawsuit.

Despite Wong’s success, he told ABC News he consistently struggled with rising in the ranks of the company.

“I noticed that I was kind of stalled in my career,” Wong told ABC News. “I had this sort of revolving door of white managers that would come through time and again, and even though I created the business, I would always have to train each of these new white managers, and I just felt frustrated.”

Wong told ABC News that during the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic, many of the Asian Americans at Lumentum began to talk about the alleged discrimination in the workplace, sharing similar experiences to his own. This led him to co-found Lumentum’s Asian employee resource group.

Shortly after forming the group, Wong said he was laid off.

“We expect social change and change specifically within the company,” Jung told ABC News. “It’s the disparity between the regular workers, mid-level people and the executives with respect to representation. It’s very difficult to explain any other way other than inappropriate conduct. And we expect to vindicate Andre’s rights in court and also to achieve change within the company.”

Lumentum did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Stand with Asian Americans (SWAA), a coalition of Asian American activists, released a statement in support of the lawsuit, including statements from other Asian Americans speaking out against the technology workplace environment.

“Hate and discrimination at work is one of the most insidious ways anti-Asian racism shows up in our society,” said Justin Zhu, co-founder and executive director of SWAA. “Andre’s experience showcases how even in fields that heavily rely on Asian American labor, anti-Asian racism remains pervasive. His speaking up is an act of bravery, moving us closer to securing fair treatment for our communities.”

Vaishnavi J., former Head of Youth Policy at Meta, also spoke out in the press release about Asian employees continuously struggling for promotions despite qualifications they may have.

“Our contributions are valued and even weaponized against other communities of color as long as we keep our heads down and know our place. But once we dare to suggest that we are just as good, just as objectively qualified as anyone else for leadership roles, we experience exclusion, derision and retaliation,” she said in the release. “This is something we have whispered about as a community for decades in living rooms and over the dining table, but our parents and grandparents had to stay silent to build a better life for their children. We owe it to them to be the generation that ends this ignominy.”

If Wong wins the lawsuit, he plans to donate a “significant portion of the net proceeds to the cause of fighting anti-Asian discrimination,” according to the lawsuit.

“The main reason why I’m doing this lawsuit is to make sure that we can make this donation to the civil rights movement for Asian Americans and to continue to support this effort,” Wong told ABC News. “I think it’s an effort that is sort of in its infancy, but there’s a lot of stories and there’s a lot of activities that need to continue to happen.”

Why Americans aren’t giving Biden credit on improving economy, according to experts

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is leaning into the political branding “Bidenomics” as his 2024 reelection effort kicks into high gear.

He and top advisers renewed their push to keep improving economic news and his overall sprawling vision in the public eye with a stop Thursday in the swing state of South Carolina as part of an “Investing in America” tour.

There, he announced clean energy investments that will create 1,800 jobs nationwide.

“Our plan is working,” Biden said. “And one of the things I’m proudest of is it’s working everywhere.”

The fresh messaging comes as the administration has been buoyed by positive numbers on inflation, unemployment and more.

The state of the economy and how it affects Americans personally is traditionally a key — if not the most important — issue for voters. But their perceptions can lag behind the numbers and many remain unconvinced Biden has done a good job handling the economy, polls show, while Republicans are hitting him on it at every turn on the campaign trail.

“There’s been this unprecedented gap between what the data shows us is going on in the economy and what people think is going on in the economy,” Heidi Shierholz, president of the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute, told ABC News.

Improving economic picture

Inflation has dropped for 11 straight months, from its peak of 9.1% in June of last year to 4.0% in May. Unemployment stands at 3.7%, which is a near 50-year low, and 13 million jobs have been added since Biden took office.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell last week praised the resiliency of the U.S. economy, and said while a recession is still possible it’s not the most likely case.

“Over the last year, things have turned out a lot better than a lot of economists thought it would,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told ABC News.

The White House, in addition to touting the above economic indicators, is pushing three major pieces of legislation passed under Biden they say will reinvigorate America’s economy over the next decade: the Chips and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

A new report from the Treasury Department highlighted manufacturing construction spending has doubled since the end of 2021 and the passage of the bills.

“For the first time in a long time, there’s enthusiasm about building high-tech factories in the United States,” said Brad Setser, a former trade and Treasury official in the Biden and Obama administrations.

Despite the progress, Biden remains underwater with voters when it comes to the economy. One recent poll from ABC News and the Washington Post found Americans 54-36% said former President Donald Trump did a better job handling the economy when he was in office than Biden’s done so far.

Why voters remain unconvinced

One major reason why voters may not be giving Biden credit, economists said, is that inflation is still uncomfortably high and wages have only just started to keep up with price hikes. Powell said last week the target inflation rate of 2% is not expected to be reached until 2025, and more interest rate hikes could be in store to bring that data point down.

“It’s painfully high,” Zandi said of inflation. “It’s moderating but still people are having to shell out more of their income to maintain their purchasing power.”

Political observers also noted bad economic news, such as when gas prices rose to over $5 a gallon or inflation reached a 40-year high, is often more salient in the news and to voters than good economic news.

Republicans have been united in bashing Biden on that front, accusing him of stoking inflation with large spending packages and hurting companies through “woke” policies.

So far, Democrats have produced a weaker counterpunch, said Dean Baker, the co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

“The Democrats have been much less effective in focusing on a message and getting everyone to repeat it,” Baker told ABC News. “For better or worse, Republicans largely do that. So I think Biden has an uphill battle, but I think he does have a very good story to sell.”

Is the ‘Bidenomics’ pitch a gamble?

Biden will continue to talk economy on Friday when he announces new actions to lower health care costs and fight junk fees.

The messaging push, however, isn’t without risk.

One of the most important questions moving forward, according to political scientist John Sides, is whether inflation continues to cool and real wages grow without economic contraction.

“If those economic trends continue, I would expect news coverage of the economy to become more positive and I would expect consumer confidence to increase,” Sides told ABC News. “I would expect Biden’s approval rating to rise as well. That would make his reelection more likely, even if his approval rating isn’t ‘high’ in absolute terms. It would also become more difficult for his opponent to center a campaign on economic fundamentals.”

But should the economy worsen, Sides said Biden should “certainly focus on a different issue.”

“The moment to make that decision would be in the first few months of 2024,” Sides said. “Election-year trends in the economy are the most important to voters, so what happens in 2024 will be crucial for Biden’s strategy and his reelection prospects.”

FDA, FTC send cease and desists to six companies they say sell copycat candy, snack products with edible THC

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission have jointly issued warning letters to six companies that they say illegally sold copycat food products that look like regular candies and snack foods, but contain edible Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

“These products can easily be mistaken for traditional foods like chips, cookies, candy, gummies or other snack food items,” the FDA said in a statement. “The FDA is concerned that these products can be accidentally ingested by consumers, including children, or taken in higher doses than intended.”

In a separate statement, the FTC said it sent cease and desist letters “after reviewing online marketing for Delta-8 THC products sold by the six companies” and determining that “their advertising may violate Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts in or affecting commerce, including practices that present unwarranted health or safety risks.”

The letters were sent to Delta Munchies, Dr. Smoke LLC, Exclusive Hemp Farms/Oshipt, Nikte’s Wholesale LLC, North Carolina Hemp Exchange LLC and The Haunted Vapor Room.

ABC News has reached out to the companies for comment on the matter but did not immediately hear back from some of them.

In a statement to ABC News, North Carolina Hemp Exchange said the FDA had requested that it no longer sell “four specific products,” and that it had complied with that request, immediately removing the items from its website and retail locations.

“Our response was immediate and in full cooperation with the FDA’s request,” manager Diane R. Becker stated. “We understood their concern about the packaging of those particular products and relayed their concerns to the vendor that sold the products to us. We did not manufacture any of the products.”

Becker said the company would “continue to comply with any requests” from the FDA, emphasizing that the products it pulled this week “are only a small segment of items we sell.”

The cease and desist letters demand the companies “stop marketing edible Delta-8 THC products that imitate conventional foods using advertising or packaging that is likely to appeal to young children,” according to the FTC.

“The FTC also strongly encourages the sellers to review all of their marketing and product packaging for similar edible THC products, and to take swift action and steps to protect consumers, especially young children, from these products,” the agency stated.

Additionally, both agencies have requested the companies respond to the letters within 15 days.

The FDA said it has requested written responses from each company detailing “how they will address these violations and prevent their recurrence,” adding that failure to do so “may result in legal action, including product seizure and/or injunction.”

The FTC said it “has asked each company to contact agency staff within 15 days to detail the specific actions it has taken to address the Commission’s concerns.”

According to the FDA, “Delta-8 THC is a substance found in the Cannabis sativa plant, of which marijuana and hemp are two varieties.” The agency says the substance’s psychoactive and intoxicating effects “may be dangerous to consumers and it has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA for safe use in any context, including when added to food.”

Additionally the FDA said it has “received reports of serious adverse events experienced by people who have consumed these products, such as hallucinations, vomiting, tremor, anxiety, dizziness, confusion, and loss of consciousness.”

“Children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of THC, with many who have been sickened and even hospitalized after eating ‘edibles’ containing it,” FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D., said in a statement on Wednesday. “That’s why we’re issuing warnings to several companies selling copycat food products containing delta-8 THC, which can be easily mistaken for popular foods that are appealing to children and can make it easy for a young child to ingest in very high doses without realizing it.”

She added, “We’re also concerned that adults could unintentionally take them or take a higher dose than expected and suffer serious consequences. This risk is especially dangerous for those who are driving, working, or have other responsibilities.”

Woodcock added that the products in question “intentionally mimic well-known snack food brands by using similar brand names, logos, or pictures on packaging, that consumers, especially children, may confuse with traditional snack foods.”

Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, called marketing of edible THC products in this way “reckless and illegal.”

He said the onus is on companies to ensure their products are “marketed safely and responsibly, especially when it comes to protecting the well-being of children.”

The FDA previously warned consumers in June 2022 about consumption of food products containing delta-8 THC after the agency said it received over 125 adverse event reports from Jan. 1, 2021, through May 31, 2022, related to children and adults who consumed edible THC products.

“Ten of the reports specifically mention the edible product to be a copycat of popular snack foods,” the agency noted this week.

The FDA and FTC have sent similar joint letters to other companies in the past. According to the FTC, the agencies issued warning letters in March 2019 to “three sellers of cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical compound derived from the cannabis plant,” and “sent a second round of letters to three additional CBD sellers in September 2019, warning them that that it is illegal to advertise that a product can prevent, treat, or cure human disease without competent and reliable scientific evidence to support such claims.”

Zelenskyy to ABC: Russia could sabotage nuclear power plant to halt Ukrainian advances

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(KYIV, Ukraine) — Russia could stage an explosion at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to halt Ukrainian advances on the battlefield, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in a wide-ranging new interview with ABC News that was previewed on “World News with David Muir” on Thursday.

Speaking to ABC News’ Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz, Zelenskyy addressed fears that the power plant, which is the largest on the continent, could be sabotaged — with Ukrainian officials sounding the alarm that Russia has allegedly mined the facility in preparation for a false-flag operation to sabotage the plant and blame Ukraine.

The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency has said they have not seen evidence to back up Ukraine’s claims but they have also demanded more transparent access to the facility, which Russia took control of early in the invasion, as a matter of urgency.

“Are you concerned that the Russians might use explosives in the nuclear plant?” Raddatz asked.

“Are other explosives on the site? Yes,” Zelenskyy said. “Can they see explosives currently? No. Are there enough people who are … unbiased to make any conclusions with regard to how much of the site is contaminated with mines? No.”

He also said that there is a possibility Russia will blow up the plant in order to prevent Ukrainian advances from an ongoing counteroffensive, launched last month, that is aimed at retaking as much territory as possible in the eastern part of the country.

More from Raddatz’ interview with Zelenskyy in Ukraine will air on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” on Sunday.

Ukrainian officials previously blamed Russia for sabotaging the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant in June, which led to widespread environmental damage and loss of life in both Ukrainian- and Russian-controlled areas.

Experts described the fallout as a “huge catastrophe for the ecosystem.”

Russia has denied responsibility and instead blamed Ukraine.

The American Nuclear Society issued a statement on Thursday saying that they were monitoring the situation at Zaporizhzhia but did not foresee bombardment or sabotage resulting in “radiation-related health consequences to the public.”

“In the unlikely event that containment structures were breached, any potential release of radiological material would be restricted to the immediate area surrounding the reactors,” the statement said.

“In this regard, any comparison between ZNPP and ‘Chernobyl’ or ‘Fukushima’ is both inaccurate and misleading,” the group continued, referring to two infamous nuclear accidents.

Ukraine’s intelligence chief on Thursday told Reuters there was a “decreasing” threat of such an attack but that could change.

“We are analyzing everything that is going on,” Zelenskyy told Raddatz. “Can we, based on this information, think that Russia is planning to explode the mines there in order to stop Ukrainian action in the battlefield? Well, yes, because if they lose even more initiative that they have, they will make some additional steps in order to make the entire world afraid of the global nuclear disaster and in order to stop all military action in the battlefield.”

Shootings in New York City are down 25% so far this year: NYPD

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Despite a violent Fourth of July holiday weekend, the number of shootings in New York City decreased in each of the last 13 weeks, according to the New York City Police Department (NYPD). For the first half of 2023, shootings are down 25% compared to the same time period a year ago.

So far in 2023, nearly 200 fewer people have been shot in the nation’s largest city compared to the first six months of 2022.

“That is not just a number. These are hundreds of real people. Hundreds of families spared the devastating impacts of gun violence,” acting New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban said.

The numbers are a stark contrast to the multiple deadly incidents of gun violence during the recent holiday weekend. Twenty people were killed and 126 were injured in 22 mass shootings that erupted across the country between 5 p.m. ET Friday and 5 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a website that tracks shootings nationwide.

The drop coincides with the historic number of gun-related arrests. In June 2023, police made 345 arrests resulting in 300 firearms seized for the month. Overall, NYPD officers have seized 3,424 guns and made 2,162 gun arrests through the first six months of 2023.

“There are still too many guns on the streets and too many criminals willing to carry them and pull the trigger,” Caban said.

Crime overall also dropped slightly last month compared to the same month a year ago. Additionally, there were fewer homicides, rapes, robberies, burglaries and hate crimes were down 18%. However, June saw increases in grand larceny, auto felony assault and subway crime.

Russian jets ‘harass’ US drones for 2nd straight day, Pentagon says

July 6, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — For a second straight day on Thursday, Russian fighter jets harassed American military drones flying over eastern Syria by dropping parachute-borne flares in their flight path, the Pentagon said.

Once again, the U.S. military labeled the provocative act as “unsafe and unprofessional” and called on Russia to cease its risky behavior.

As with Wednesday’s incident, the Pentagon released a declassified video of the new encounter captured by a camera aboard an MQ-9 Reaper drone involved in the incident.

The video shows a Russian Su-35 fighter jets positioning itself in front of an MQ-9 Reaper before dropping parachute-borne flares into its flight path, officials said.

As in Wednesday’s incident, the American drone had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid the drones, officials said.

“Russian aircraft dropped flares in front of the drones and flew dangerously close, endangering the safety of all aircraft involved,” Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the top U.S. Air Force commander in the Middle East, said in a statement about Thursday’s incident.

“These events represent another example of unprofessional and unsafe actions by Russian air forces operating in Syria, which threaten the safety of both Coalition and Russian forces,” said Grynkewich.

“We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease this reckless behavior and adhere to the standards of behavior expected of a professional air force so we can resume our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS,” he added.

On Wednesday, a declassified video released by the Pentagon of that day’s encounter showed Russian aircraft doing the same thing to three Reaper drones but from a front-facing point of view.

That video also showed a Russian jet engaging its afterburner by the drone a move that affected the drone’s flight path.

France’s military also said Thursday that two Rafale fighter jets flying a counter-ISIS flight over eastern Syria had to take evasive maneuvers following “unprofessional” maneuvers by Russian Su-35 fighter jets.

“We call on the Russian forces to cease this type of reckless behavior and to behave like professional airmen,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, told reporters on Wednesday.

The U.S. has roughly 900 American troops in eastern Syria assisting in the fight against ISIS, Russia has a military presence in northwestern Syria as part of a mission to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

For years Russian and U.S. forces have regularly used a deconfliction hotline to ensure safety in the skies for their respective aircraft as they carry out their separate missions.

A Russian military spokesman claimed that U.S drones have violated existing U.S-Russian air deconfliction protocols in an area of northern Syria where Russia and Syrian planes operate.

Asked to comment on that claim, Ryder responded “Did you see the video?”

“We have rules in place, well established processes and procedures and have very successfully de-conflicted with the Russians over many years when it comes to safe operations in that region” said Ryder. “So to suggest that somehow this is our fault is ridiculous.”

Officials note that safety concerns about unsafe and unprofessional interactions between aircraft in war zones are legitimate and point to an incident in March where a Russian fighter collided with a Reaper drone flying in international airspace above the Black Sea.

The drone ended up crashing into the Black Sea after the Russian jet came too close and collided with it as it harassed the drone by spraying jet fuel at it, according to the U.S.

A similar incident unfolding back in March above the Black Sea when a Russian fighter jet sprayed a U.S. drone with fuel and then collided with its rear propeller.

The U.S. ultimately was forced to bring that damaged aircraft down.

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