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Mariupol residents face risk of cholera epidemic amid water, sanitation crisis

June 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — The port city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine is facing the risk of a cholera epidemic amid the destruction of water supplies and sanitation during the Russian invasion, city officials and health agencies warn.

“The risk of cholera is very high, like red, red level,” Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to Mariupol’s mayor, told ABC News, adding that the municipality could not provide an estimation of the number of infected cases due to lack of proper access to the occupants amid the occupation by Russian forces.

While the warnings have intensified in the past few days, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said on Telegram last month that due to problems with water supply, the city is threatened by an infectious catastrophe and more than 10,000 people may die by the end of the year.

The deteriorating water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure has set an alarmingly high risk of an outbreak, according to a report in April from the World Health Organization’s Health Cluster Ukraine agency.

The warming spring and summer weather will likely increase transmission, the report said.

“The weather is hot. There are still dead bodies on the streets of the city — especially under the debris of residential buildings. In some blocks, it is impossible to walk by — due to the stench of rotten human flesh. There was no rain for a while, and it is getting hotter,” a resident of Mariupol, who did not want to be named for security concerns, told ABC News.

The condition of hospital staffing is also “catastrophic,” Andriushchenko wrote on his official Telegram channel on Wednesday.

“Visual demonstration of complete paralysis and collapse of medical system… In this state of medicine, any infectious disease turns into a deadly epidemic,” he said.

Andryushchenko told ABC News that swimming has been banned in the sea [of Azov] as a means to control the spread of the disease. Russian occupation authorities were beginning to quarantine the captured city of Mariupol, he said.

Dorit Nitzan, the WHO’s Ukraine incident manager, told reporters last month the international agency’s partners on the ground in Mariupol are observing “actual swamps in the streets.”

Sewage water and drinking water are getting mixed, Nitzan said at a press briefing in Kyiv.

“This is a huge hazard for many infections, including cholera,” she said.

“Accessing Mariupol is an issue, but we are looking for opportunities via partners on the ground,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told ABC News.

To take necessary measures in controlling the risk of spreading the disease, the international body “has provided Ukraine with guidance on prevention, preparedness, case definitions, detection — including in wastewater monitoring– [and] standards of care and case management,” Harris added.

Due to the lack of water, the city’s residents have drawn untreated water from rivers and lakes, the April report warns, saying Ukraine was also the last European country to declare a cholera epidemic, with 33 cases in Mariupol in 2011.

“There is still no water supply – it is delivered by trucks, and people on the streets are staying in the lines to fill some bottles,” the Mariupol resident who spoke to ABC News said, adding that people in the city have no information about possible affected cases.

Besides facilitating readiness for the use of cholera vaccines in Ukraine, the WHO says it is working with the Ministry of Health to provide risk communication materials advising people on “how to protect themselves, on prevention, but also on treatment, including on what to do at-home.”

The international body has also offered medical supplies, including WHO cholera kits with rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), Harris said.

The city was reportedly home to over 400,000 people before Russia invaded Ukraine in February. While there are no accurate statistics on the number of current residents, Ukrainian officials estimate that 100,000 to 150,000 people are still living in the occupied city, many in hiding in the basements and bomb shelters.

Harris underlined the critical psychological condition of the people left in the city and how it would contribute to the likely outbreak.

“The fact that people have to be on the move, the fact that they often have close together, that they’re huddling in basements, in bomb shelters, and the incredible trauma, psychological pressure they are under has got to be having a severe effect on their immune systems, weakening their immune system,” she said.

“So even what’s normally just a mild infection for you or me is a much more serious infection in somebody under those conditions,” she added.

One teacher dead, 14 schoolchildren injured after car plows into crowd in Berlin, police say

June 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BERLIN) — A teacher was killed and 14 schoolchildren were injured when a car plowed into a crowd in a popular shopping district in Berlin on Wednesday morning, police said.

The deadly incident took place along the busy shopping street Tauentzienstrasse in the west of Germany’s capital at around 10:30 a.m. local time. The students and their teacher were there on a class field trip from the central German state of Hesse when a small car drove into the group and crashed into a storefront, according to the Berlin Police.

A police spokesperson told ABC News on Wednesday that eight of the injured were in serious condition.

The alleged driver — a 29-year-old German-Armenian man living in Berlin — has “suspected psychological problems” and was detained at the scene, police said.

A motive was unknown and it was unclear whether the incident was terror-related, according to police.

“It is not yet known whether it was an accident or intentional action,” the Berlin Police said in a statement via Twitter on Wednesday.

The scene was near the Breitscheidplatz, a public square in Berlin where 13 people were killed when an extremist deliberately drove a truck into a Christmas market in 2016.

U.S. officials have been told that German authorities are actively trying to determine whether Wednesday’s incident was an intentional ramming. There was concern given the proximity to the 2016 attack, ABC News has learned.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took to Twitter to condemn the incident, which he described as a “cruel rampage.”

“The cruel rampage on Tauentzienstrasse leaves me deeply saddened,” Scholz tweeted Wednesday. “The trip of a Hesse school class to Berlin has ended in a nightmare. Our thoughts are with the relatives of the dead and the injured, including many children. I wish them all a speedy recovery.”

Video obtained by Jan. 6 committee shows new scenes of Capitol violence: Exclusive

June 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Documentary filmmaker Nick Quested followed the Proud Boys through Washington as members of the extremist group marched on the Capitol on Jan. 6 and clashed with police officers.

His firsthand, searing account of the riot will be a central piece of the House Jan. 6 select committee’s prime-time hearing Thursday night, which will feature both his testimony and some of the never-before-seen footage of the Proud Boys and other rioters he turned over to investigators.

ABC News has exclusively obtained some of that material, showing how a group of Trump supporters at a presidential rally transformed into an angry mob that broke into the Capitol to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

“I am not allowed to say what’s going to happen today because everyone’s just gonna have to watch for themselves. But it’s gonna happen,” one woman in the crowd told Quested ominously. “Something’s gonna happen one way or another.”

Quested’s material shows some of the most infamous Capitol rioters in the hours before they appeared in the halls of Congress, including Jacob Chansley, the “QAnon Shaman” later sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in the attack.

“Freedom!” Chansley shouts, with his horned fur hat and spear on the National Mall.

Quested captured the moment just before 1 p.m. when protesters overpowered Capitol Police officers at the outer perimeter of the complex, turning over a series of bicycle racks and rushing closer to the Capitol building.

Inside the swarming crowd at the base of the Capitol, he witnessed police officers frantically pushing rioters backwards as their perimeter crumpled, and Trump supporters swinging from scaffolding, using flags as weapons and crowd surfing closer to the violence at the Capitol’s west entrance.

A member of Quested’s film crew also followed the rioters into the halls of Congress, where some marched around the House chamber looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., chanting, “All we want is Pelosi!” and “Nancy!”

The speaker was evacuated by her Capitol Police detail minutes before rioters marched through her office. Some of her youngest staffers locked themselves in empty rooms and sheltered under tables.

Quested himself was assaulted during the riot, as a protestor tried to grab and smash his camera.

The committee on Thursday will also hear testimony from Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards, who was one of the first officers injured during the riot when she was thrown to the ground by rioters pushing bike racks forward and hit her head on the concrete stairs.

They also plan to feature clips of taped interviews with Trump administration officials and family members, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

The committee expects to use videos, social media posts and pictures throughout the public hearings planned for June and has retained former ABC News president James Goldston to help produce the upcoming sessions.

Along with Quested’s footage, the committee has also obtained 14,000 hours of security camera video from Capitol Police.

A spokesman for the committee declined to comment.

Abbott, FDA were warned about formula plant a year before recall

June 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Abbott and the Food and Drug Administration were alerted to a whistleblower complaint about Abbott’s Sturgis infant formula plant as far back as February 2021, ABC News has confirmed.

This complaint, filed with the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, alleges quality control concerns at Abbott’s formula plant in Sturgis, Michigan — a year before the company’s massive recall and shutdown in February 2022 following contamination concerns, which helped exacerbate a nationwide shortage in baby formula, according to sources familiar with the matter.

OSHA received a complaint from a whistleblower on Feb. 16, 2021, and sent a copy three days later to the FDA and Abbott, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The complaint raises further questions about when both Abbott and federal health authorities first knew about quality and contamination concerns at the Sturgis plant, and why it took so long for action to be taken.

The OSHA complaint, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, alleges problems at the Sturgis plant like faulty equipment in need of repair or upgrade and inadequate safety validation for released product.

It was filed several months before similar allegations were made in another whistleblower report, which flagged contamination concerns at the Sturgis plant in October 2021, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The allegations made in that October report include “ongoing problems” with the “integrity” of seals on powdered products, that the facility had used “questionable practices” to test whether the issues had been fixed, made efforts to evade certain oversight and override quality checks, falsified records “on a regular and ongoing basis” and allowed “questionable practices” related to the cleaning of equipment to “proliferate.”

Abbott spokesperson Scott Stoffel told ABC News an internal investigation stemming from the February 2021 OSHA complaint has “not been able to confirm the allegations.”

“We believe this to be a former employee who was dismissed due to serious violations of Abbott’s food safety policies,” the company spokesperson added, saying the employee had never raised product safety concerns while with the company — and that these complaints continue “a pattern of ever-evolving, ever-escalating allegations.”

Responding to ABC News’ request for comment, an FDA spokesperson acknowledged the shifting timeline of events leading up to the FDA’s warning and Abbott’s ultimate recall but would not comment specifically on the OSHA complaint.

“We know there have been various questions about the timeline of events leading up to the FDA’s warning and Abbott’s recall of products manufactured at their Sturgis facility,” FDA spokesperson Michael Felberbaum said, adding the FDA’s “top priority right now is addressing the dire need for infant formula in the U.S. market, and our teams are working night and day to help make that happen.”

Felberbaum noted the FDA “can and must do better or be faster, and we’ve initiated a detailed after-action review so that we can make improvements to our programs, processes, and decision-making.”

ABC was first to report that the FDA is now under audit by the Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General for how it responded leading up to Abbott’s massive recall — probing whether the agency upheld its responsibilities to “safeguard the nation’s food supply” and whether FDA regulators followed proper recall protocol once a deadly bacteria was detected inside the plant.

Abbott’s Senior Vice President for U.S. Nutrition Chris Calamari has testified under oath that the company was not aware of the October whistleblower complaint until late April 2022, when it was made public, blaming the “time lag between October and February” on the FDA’s internal issues.

Stoffel, of Abbott, said there is an “open investigation” into those October allegations that “expand upon the federal OSHA allegations” from February 2021.

Neither the FDA nor Abbott mentioned being alerted to an OSHA complaint raising product safety concerns in February 2021 during their testimony in late May of this year.

This was not the first time questions had been raised about quality control at the plant. The FDA found sanitation issues in Sturgis in September 2021, saying the facility “did not maintain a building used in the manufacture, processing, packing or holding of infant formula in a clean and sanitary condition,” according to an inspection report. And by Feb. 1, the FDA had collected samples at the plant confirming the presence of cronobacter, according to an inspection report. Abbott maintains there is no conclusive evidence that its products contributed to infants’ illness or death.

Abbott, the largest manufacturer of infant formula in the country, shuttered its Michigan plant in February 2022, following contamination concerns and a large recall of several of its brands, exacerbating a nationwide shortage of infant formula.

In early June, it officially reopened its doors and restarted production after meeting the initial requirements of an agreement with the FDA on how to reopen safely.

“Abbott takes employee concerns very seriously and we foster a culture of compliance to produce the best and highest-quality products,” Stoffel said. “We empower our employees to identify and report any issues that could compromise our product safety or quality, which comes before any other considerations.”

Vaccine orders for kids under 5 underway as approval process moves forward

June 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — With the approval process underway for young children’s COVID-19 vaccines, the White House is preparing a rollout to doctors’ offices, pharmacies and children’s hospitals across the country.

“If in fact [the Food and Drug Administration] authorizes and [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recommends, we’re going to immediately launch a comprehensive nationwide effort to ensure that parents can get their youngest kids vaccinated, easily, and do so at locations that they know and they trust,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters on Wednesday.

Two brands of vaccines — Pfizer and Moderna — are expected to be available as early as the week of June 21 if the review processes at the FDA and CDC find they are safe and effective for kids under 5. Both companies have said their vaccines are just that and released initial efficacy data. More information will be presented next week to the FDA and CDC.

The administration estimates that 85% of children under the age of 5 live within five miles of a potential vaccination site, another administration official said.

The government opened up orders to states on Friday and has so far received requests for around 2.3 million doses. There were five million doses available for initial orders, and another five million will be available to order soon.

Administration officials cautioned not to read into the underwhelming order numbers and said it has been common over the past two years for them to come in slowly at first.

“I wouldn’t focus on those early numbers. Our experience is that the longer the ordering stays open, the more likely the states come forward,” an official said.

“We’re not too worried or focused on that, we’ll continue to do these outreach,” the official added.

So far, states have ordered 58% of the available Pfizer doses and 34% of the available Moderna doses.

Officials said some jurisdictions had ordered only Moderna, while others ordered only Pfizer. They said they didn’t have an explanation because it was too early in the process.

But, if polling is any indication, it will be an uphill battle to convince parents to vaccinate their young kids. A recent survey from Kaiser Family Foundation found just one in five parents are eager to vaccinate their children right away.

Officials said they planned to lean into existing networks to get vaccine information out to families, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, mom blogs and PTAs, as well as groups specific to communities of color, like the League of United Latin American Citizens.

“We have learned from our previous campaigns, and one of the most important lessons that we’ve learned is that we know who people listen to when making decisions, and there are trusted people in their lives,” a senior administration official said.

“Some of them are doctors, some of them are community leaders,” the official said.

The official said the goal was twofold, both to get the vaccine to convenient places for families and to make sure they have the information they need about the vaccines.

The process to authorize vaccines for the youngest age group begins on Wednesday, when the FDA’s independent panel of advisors meet to review the data and ask questions of the vaccine companies.

Pfizer’s vaccine comes in three doses given in smaller amounts over a longer period of time, while Moderna’s is a two-dose vaccine given in slightly larger amounts over a shorter period.

If the panel approves, the FDA is expected to then authorize within a day or so.

That kicks the process over to the CDC’s group of advisers, who are expected to review the vaccine data on June 17 and 18 before voting. Then, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky can issue a final recommendation for the vaccines and doses can begin being administered.

Vaccines are expected to arrive to clinics and doctors offices the weekend after the FDA and CDC’s advisory committees meet, so long as the FDA issues its authorization for emergency use of one or both vaccines.

The White House then expects vaccines will start to be administered on the Tuesday after the long weekend of the federal holiday Juneteenth.

House passes sweeping gun reform package as Senate talks continue

June 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — While some of their friends and loved ones are still being buried at home, both survivors and families of victims in recent mass shootings challenged lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week to reach a deal on gun reform negotiations or risk continuing a 30-year trend of inaction in the wake of tragedies from Sandy Hook to Parkland.

As Senate negotiators continue talks, the House on Wednesday evening passed a sweeping package, largely along party lines — called the “Protect Our Kids Act” — which would raise the age limit for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, ban high-capacity magazines, create firearm safe storage requirements and tighten the regulation of bump stocks and “ghost guns.”

A handful of members broke ranks in the 223-204 vote, with five Republicans — Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Chris Jacobs of New York, and Fred Upton of Michigan — supporting the package, and two Democrats — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon — voting no.

Notably, each Republican who crossed party lines will not be returning to Congress next term, and Schrader recently lost his Democratic primary. One Republican did not vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveled in the vote Wednesday with a smile as her caucus cheered.

But House GOP leaders pushed back ahead of the vote, with Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., noting, “there wasn’t a conversation about banning airplanes,” after the Sept. 11 attacks — and calling for the majority to hold bipartisan talks like their Senate counterparts. Though the legislation is doomed in the upper chamber, it’s intended to put pressure on Republicans who have been hesitant to enact — or outright blocked — reform at the federal level, despite growing calls for change.

The real opportunity to change policy lies in the Senate, where a small group of bipartisan negotiators is inching closer to reaching a gun reform deal in principle.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., leaving a meeting with the group of roughly 11 lawmakers on Wednesday, said they were discussing “a series of concrete proposals” that he’s “hopeful in the next day will all be reduced to a framework that includes a broad range of commitments, in terms of dollar amounts and purposes.”

But questions remain around what the final deal will include — and if it will go as far as many Americans are demanding.

“Somewhere out there, a mom is hearing our testimony and thinking to herself, ‘I can’t even imagine their pain,’ not knowing that our reality will one day be hers — unless we act now,” said Kimberly Rubio, mother of Lexi Rubio, a fourth-grade student among the 19 kids and two teachers killed in Uvalde, Texas. “So, today, we stand for Lexi. And as her voice, we demand action. We seek a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.”

“You expect us to continue to just forgive and forget over and over again. And what are you doing?” Garnell Whitfield Jr., the son of Ruth Whitfield, the oldest victim of the Buffalo, New York shooting, which left 10 Black people dead, asked senators Tuesday. “My mother’s life mattered. Your actions here will tell us if, and how much, it mattered to you.”

Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, who said he learned responsible gun ownership growing up in Uvalde, also offered a passionate plea from the White House after lobbying lawmakers on both sides of the aisle this week, saying that Americans are more united on the issue of guns, but it’s Congress that’s divided.

“Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Let’s come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway, especially on this issue,” McConaughey said in an emotional and lengthy speech. “Because I promise you, America — you and me, who — we are not as divided as we’re being told we are.”

The bipartisan group of senators, led by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, is aiming to reach a compromise this week on a package that could garner enough support to pass Congress — but they’re considering measures much smaller in scope than what both victims and President Joe Biden have publicly called for.

Instead of universal background checks, supported by 89% of Americans according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, negotiators are looking to expand background checks to look at juvenile records. Regarding red-flag laws, supported by 86% of Americans according to the same poll, laws which temporarily remove guns from the hands of individuals who are considered a danger to themselves or others, the group is considering incentivizing states to implement their own, as opposed to enacting red-flag laws at a federal level.

Funding to states for mental health resources — a measure Republicans pushed for, along with increased funding for school safety — is about 80% complete, according to Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who is part of the talks.

Senate Democrats support the expanded versions of these measures as well as raising the age to buy assault-style weapons from 18 to 21 — but they don’t have enough Republican support to become law. Democrats need 10 Senate Republicans to join them on any legislation to meet the chamber’s 60-vote threshold, required by the filibuster rule, and allow a bill to advance for final passage.

So far, it’s not clear there is enough support even for a more modest deal.

Despite Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky expressing a willingness in private to support raising the age to buy assault-style weapons, sources told ABC News’ Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, the measure is a nonstarter for most Republicans.

Asked by a CNN reporter why Americans would need an AR-15, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said people use them in his state “to shoot prairie dogs and, you know, other types of varmints.”

Less than 24 hours later, a Uvalde pediatrician, who treated the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting, described to House lawmakers the damage the gunman’s AR-15 there had on the tiny bodies.

“Two children, whose bodies had been so pulverized by the bullets fired at them, over and over again, whose flesh had been so ripped apart, that the only clue as to their identities were the blood spattered cartoon clothes still clinging to them,” said Pediatrician Dr. Roy Guerrero.

What’s next?

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has given negotiators roughly until the end of the week to come up with a framework agreement, after which it would take more time to then develop legislative language and get the requisite budget analyses.

“I’m encouraging my Democratic colleagues to keep talking, to see if Republicans will work with us to come up with something that will make a meaningful change in the lives of the American people and stop gun violence,” he said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Making real progress is very important. Sen. Murphy has asked for space to have the talks continue, and I have given him the space.”

But not every negotiator appears on board with that swift timeline.

Lead Republican on the talks, Sen. Cornyn, told reporters on Wednesday that his “aspirational goal” would be to reach a deal “in the next couple of weeks, by the end of this work period” on June 27.

While negotiators appear to be closing in on a framework deal by Friday, one GOP aide familiar with the matter said that paper is still being exchanged by each side. It’s possible that members announce a deal in principle and then take a few more weeks to finalize language, as was seen with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Senate Democrats need 10 Republicans to join them in theory, but some think any agreement is going to need even broader Republican support to pass — under the thinking more in the GOP will be willing to support the measure if it has the backing of their larger conference.

If negotiators do not come to an agreement, Schumer has vowed to get every senator on the record by holding a vote on doomed-to-fail comprehensive gun reform legislation, ahead of the fall midterm elections.

Tourist helicopter carrying six crashes in Hawaii lava field

June 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A tourist helicopter carrying six people crashed on Wednesday evening in a lava field on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Five passengers and a pilot were on a Paradise Helicopters tour over Kau, the island’s southernmost district, when the helicopter crashed at about 5:29 p.m., the company said in a statement.

Emergency responders flew two helicopters to the site of the crash to carry those aboard, two of whom were in critical condition, to Kona Community Hospital, according to KITV4, the local ABC News affiliate.

The Bell 407 aircraft was operated by K&S Helicopters, Paradise said.

“The care of our passengers, crew members, and their families is our highest priority,” Calvin Dorn of K&S Helicopters said in a statement posted to Paradise Helicopters’ website.

The company said it had completed a manifest verification, which showed six people were onboard at the time of the crash.

Key takeaways from the June 7 primaries

June 9, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As another slate of states held their primary elections, most Americans remain critical of President Joe Biden’s handling of the inflation-plagued economy. According to a new ABC News / IPSOS poll, more than 8 in 10 Americans say that the economy is either an extremely or very important issue in determining how they will vote, a motivator likely to be reflected in which candidates advance to the general in Tuesday night’s key races.

Here are the key takeaways from the races in New Jersey, Iowa and California, which featured some of the midterm cycle’s most endangered incumbents across the political spectrum:

San Francisco district attorney defeated in recall

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin lost his job after a nail-biter of a recall race. With 68% of the expected vote in, 60% supported his ousting. Now, the mayor will name a replacement who will serve in the role until November 2023, the end of the term.

Supporters of Boudin’s recall who pushed for this change as the rate of hate crimes against Asian-Americans spiked in 2021 raised over $7 million for their efforts. They painted Boudin as soft-on-crime — an accusation that clearly resonated.

Boudin’s recall is not only bad news for progressives — it’s also a referendum on liberal prosecutors across the country who face constituencies incised at rising levels of crime in their communities.

Iowa Democrats’ unsure future

The Iowa Democratic establishment is on the rocks. In one of the primary night’s stunning upsets, former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer decisively lost to retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Michael Franken.

Finkenauer was painted by Washington as a rising party star, despite her reflection loss in 2020, garnering high-profile endorsements from groups like EMILY’s List. While she out fundraised Franken by a little over $1 million, voters may have been shaken by attempts from Republicans to challenge her candidacy eligibility.

Franken continues on to attempt to unseat 88-year-old Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley.

“I am forever grateful, and I will never stop fighting for the Iowa that I love,” Finkenauer said in her concession statement.

Any attempt from the left to knock Grassley off his perch will be unwieldy at best, as Grassley has both major institutional support from Washington as well as from voters in a state that continues to trend Republican.

Democrats will leap another hurdle with the House race of Rep. Cindy Axne, who faces tough re-election odds thanks to newly redrawn boundaries of her 3rd congressional district. Thanks to redistricting, Axne’s district saw an influx of more than 5,000 Republican voters, mostly rural, that are likely to be disdainful of her voting record and relationship with Biden.

Axne is a top target of the National Republican Congressional Committee and is now forced to combat a million dollars in spending on opposition ads. The Cook Political Report has Axne’s race in the general as one of 23 Democratic toss-ups.

She’ll face off with Republican former Iowa state Sen. Zach Nunn in November.

A showdown in the suburbs

New Jersey Democrat Tom Malinowski wins his primary but will have a harder time in the general election after the latest redistricting left him in the one vulnerable district when state leaders opted to draw 11 safely partisan other seats. Here, Republicans get an attempt to recapture the suburbs that they lost in 2018, which evidently lost them control of the House.

Malinowski, who represents Jersey’s 7th congressional district, told ABC News he thought such redistricting — which has played out to varying degrees in new districts nationwide, with varying levels of scrutiny and controversy — was bad for democracy.

“We’re the only ones who actually, by our votes and by our work, get to decide, get to make a difference in terms of which way the wind is blowing in America one way or another. And that is a burden. It means we have to work much harder. It’s going to cost us a lot of money. But I think it’s also a privilege,” Malinowski said.

The may-be speaker makes it through

The potential next speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, expectedly survived his primary in California’s 23rd district, perhaps with small help from a Sunday endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

In his statement, Trump said McCarthy was instrumental in holding Biden and current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “accountable for their catastrophic failures and dereliction of duty.”

If the Red Wave the GOP is banking on holds, McCarthy is well positioned to campaign for the speakership, a gig he’s not publicly claimed but rumored to be pining for.

Military aircraft crashes in Southern California desert

June 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(GLAMIS, Calif.) — A military aircraft crashed in a remote, desert area of Southern California on Wednesday, authorities said.

Five people were on board an MV-22B Osprey when it went down, according to a Marine official, who did not have any further update on their condition.

The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office and Imperial County Fire Department responded to the scene of the crash, located near Glamis.

The downed aircraft belonged to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in San Diego.

Naval Air Facility El Centro in Imperial County said it received reports of a downed aircraft near Highway 78 and Coachella Canal Road, and that military and civilian first responders were at the scene.

Reports of a downed military aircraft in the region came in midday Wednesday, according to Broadcastify audio obtained by ABC News.

ABC News’ Matt Seyler and Alex Stone contributed to this report.

FDA warns of more food products made with recalled peanut butter due to Salmonella risk

June 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Since an initial voluntary recall on J.M. Smucker peanut butter in May, multiple other products — from protein power snacks to baked goods — have been added to a growing list of related items consumers should avoid, the Food and Drug Administration announced recently.

In addition to the initial Jif brand peanut butter products that were first recalled in multiple states due to Salmonella infection risk, 18 other companies that further processed the peanut butter by either repackaging it or using it as an ingredient have issued their own recalls as well.

“The FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Senftenberg infections linked to certain Jif peanut butter products produced at the J.M. Smucker Company facility in Lexington, Kentucky,” the agency said in its recall announcement. “CDC’s review of epidemiological information indicates that five out of five people reported consuming peanut butter and four of the five people specifically reported consuming different varieties of Jif brand peanut butter prior to becoming ill.”

The FDA conducted Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) analysis on a sample from the brand’s facility that the agency said matched “the strain causing illnesses in this current outbreak.”

“Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, sell, or serve any recalled Jif brand peanut butter, including recalled products that contain the recalled Jif peanut butter,” the FDA recommended. “Consumers should also avoid feeding recalled peanut butter to pets or other animals, including wild birds.”

For a full list of the affected products, lot code information and further details about the recall click here. The agency said that list will be updated as it receives any notification of new recalls.

Additionally, the FDA has shared helpful information on how consumers may check for affected Jif products in their own home.

“Locate the lot code on the back of the jar, under the Best If Used By Date (the lot code may be next to the Best If Used By Date for cups or squeeze pouches). In the lot code, if the first four digits are between 1274 and 2140, and if the next three numbers after that are ‘425’, this product has been recalled and you should not consume this product,” the FDA wrote.

The FDA also recommends washing and sanitizing surfaces and utensils if someone used the recalled Jif brand peanut butter.

The initial Jif recall was first announced in May. At that time, the FDA reported several people had fallen ill after eating peanut butter products. All of those who reported brand information said they had eaten some variety of Jif peanut butter.

Among the list of recalled products were Jif Creamy and Crunchy Peanut Butters, in varying sizes, including “To Go” packs; Natural and Natural Honey Peanut Butters; and Jif Squeezable Pouches. Cases were reported across several states.

“Our top priority is ensuring our consumers understand the details of the recall and are supported,” Jif stated at the time. “We recognize your trust, and our reputation are built on our fundamental commitment to high standards for ingredients and manufacturing. We take your concerns seriously and are committed to producing safe, high quality peanut butter.”

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