News – Page 1784 – 105.7 WDNY

Could that new federal gun safety law have prevented the July 4 parade shooting?

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Ever since the mass shooting at a July Fourth parade in Highland Park, Illinois, which left seven people dead and dozens more seriously wounded, questions have been raised about whether the new federal gun safety law could have prevented the tragedy.

Would the enhanced background checks it requires for those under 21 have stopped the suspect, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, from buying the high-powered rifle authorities said he used — since he’d had two prior run-ins with law enforcement, including both a suicide threat and one to “kill everyone” in his family?

And could the law’s red flag provisions have made a difference given that record and his apparent trail of violent social media posts?

Evidence about the exact circumstances is still being revealed as the investigation gets underway.

But authorities said Crimo, now 21, purchased the high-powered rifle and other guns he had legally, passing numerous background checks. And because he did so in 2020 and 2021 — when he was under 21 — some advocates say the new law, which allows checks of juvenile and psychiatric records, might have made a difference.

At the same time, while Illinois has an existing red flag law, Crimo appears to have slipped past the safeguard.

Advocates say more education and training, provided for in the new federal law, is needed for a red flag law to be used effectively.

“We still need to learn more, but it looks like the shooter exhibited some dangerous warning signs, exactly what Illinois’s red flag law is designed to address,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety., told ABC News in a statement. “But tools are only useful when they are taken out of the toolbox and so far it doesn’t look like anyone filed for an extreme risk protection order in this case. That’s why the federal funding for red flag law implementation and awareness in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, combined with state action like lawmakers in Illinois are considering to prohibit the sale of possession of assault weapons and high capacity magazines, can make a big difference in preventing tragedies like the one in Highland Park.”

What’s in the new federal law

Gun violence experts said the $750 million allocated for red flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders, can be a critical tool for curbing these shootings.

“In my opinion, the federal funding that is now available for full implementation is exactly what this country needs to assure that extreme risk protection order laws are used to prevent the kinds of massacres that happened on the Fourth of July,” Dr. Shannon Frattaroli, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, told ABC News.

That money, Frattaroli explained, can go toward training law enforcement, judges and the community on how to use these laws to improve safety.

Illinois is one of 19 states with such a statute on the books, but Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said this week that they “must vastly increase awareness and education about this red flag law.”

Enacted in 2019, the measure allows loved ones or law enforcement to intervene by petitioning a court for an order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing guns.

But Crimo seemingly eluded the law, as no arrests were made in either run-in with law enforcement. Highland Park police did notify Illinois State Police of the 2019 incident in which he allegedly threatened his family members in a “clear and present danger” report, but state police said their involvement in the matter ended because at the time Crimo did not have a FOID card or an application to deny.

Three months later, Crimo did apply for a FOID card — which is required for gun ownership — and had his application sponsored by his father. State police approved the request in 2020, stating at the time “there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the FOID application.”

New information about Crimo’s personal history is also raising questions about whether the enhanced background check portion of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act could have applied.

Crimo just turned 21 last year, and purchased three guns in 2020 and one in 2021.

Under the new law, potential gun buyers under the age of 21 are placed under an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records, including checks with state databases and local law enforcement.

Robin Lloyd, the managing director at the gun control group Giffords, said the enhanced background checks are designed to increase communication between different agencies.

“The idea here is that there might be more information about that individual that exists in other places that the background check doesn’t check under current law,” she said, “and it also gives an opportunity to contact local law enforcement.”

But Lloyd said there is more work to be done in order to curb gun violence.

“The holistic picture is that we have very weak federal gun laws,” she told ABC News.

While Illinois has the eighth-strongest gun laws in the nation, according to Giffords, Lloyd noted that neighboring states have less restrictions and firearms can easily move across borders.

“So while the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a very significant step forward in terms of federal gun safety policy, it is not the only thing that needs to be done,” Lloyd said. “It is not going to prevent every shooting from happening.”

What lawmakers are proposing next

In the wake of the shooting, some lawmakers are once again calling for stronger legislation that would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons, ban certain high-capacity magazines, and enact universal background checks.

“There are things we can do,” Rep. Brad Schneider, an Illinois Democrat whose district includes Highland Park, told ABC News on “GMA3.”

“The House has passed legislation to require universal background checks. Ninety percent of the country supports that legislation,” Schneider said. “We need to pass it and make it law. We can ban the sale of these assault weapons, make it harder for people to get the large capacity magazines that allow them to fire off 60 rounds in just a matter of seconds.”

Vice President Kamala Harris also made an impassioned plea for an assault weapons ban during a visit to Chicago on Tuesday.

“An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly. There is no reason that we have weapons of war on the streets of America. We need reasonable gun safety laws,” Harris said as she addressed the National Education Association. After that meeting, Harris visited the Highland Park shooting scene.

But any additional gun restrictions will face an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats need 10 Republican votes to clear the filibuster.

Republicans responded to Monday’s shooting by continuing to blame mental health issues rather than access to assault weapons.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, who backed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, said Tuesday that the “problem is mental health and these young men who seem to be inspired to commit these atrocities.”

Democrats are encouraging voters ahead of the 2022 midterm elections to support candidates who back stronger gun control.

“It’s not going to happen tomorrow,” said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois. “It’s going to happen when the American people speak up and elect those who really want to make a change that’ll make America safer.”

Giant, meat-eating new dinosaur species discovered in Argentina

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — A new dinosaur species was discovered by paleontologists on Thursday, who have now named the giant carnivorous dinosaur species Meraxes gigas.

The new species is similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex, with a large head and tiny arms.

According to the researchers’ findings, published in Current Biology, the creatures’ small forelimbs were no evolutionary accident, but rather gave apex predators of the time certain survival advantages.

The findings were obtained over a four-year period, as researchers conducted field expeditions in the northern Patagonia region of Argentina, starting with unearthing the skull which was found in 2012.

The species name, Meraxes gigas, was named after a dragon in the “Song of Ice and Fire” book series that inspired the TV show, “Game of Thrones.”

The Meraxes remains indicated that the dinosaur died at about 45 years of age and about four metric tons of weight, researchers said in their findings. They believe the dinosaur lived 90 to 100 millions years ago in what is now Argentina.

According to the researchers’ findings, the new species is the most complete carcharodontosaurid yet from the Southern Hemisphere, and it documents peak diversity of carcharodontosauridae just before they went extinct.

Carcharodontosaurid refers to a group of carnivorous theropod dinosaur species.

The anatomy of this group, as well as the T. rex and abelisaurids — other giant carnivorous dinosaurs — is defined by large skulls and feet and tiny arms.

According to the researchers, this kind of anatomy is still weakly understood.

But M. gigas may be putting some of the more pieces of the puzzle together.

The skeletal findings in Argentina produced groundbreaking anatomical information, as they included an almost complete forelimb that allowed the researchers to understand a “remarkable degree of parallelism” between the latest-diverging tyrannosaurids and carcharodontosauridae.

Findings also increased the researchers’ understanding of the species’ skulls.

The findings add that the skeletal discovery of M. gigs shows “that carcharodontosauridae reached peak diversity shortly before their extinction with high rates of trait evolution in facial ornamentation possibly linked to a social signaling role.”

The researchers told Reuters that the short forearms have now become understood to indicate that such dinosaurs relied on their skulls to attack prey.

“Despite their powerful appearance, it’s hard to imagine they were used much as they barely extend beyond the body and could not have reached the huge mouth,” University of Minnesota paleontologist and study co-author Pete Makovicky told Reuters.

Instead, researchers believe that the forearms were used primarily for mating activities.

Whatever the tiny forearms may have done for these gigantic beasts, scientists now can understand how some of the planet’s perhaps most terrifying ancestors came to evolve.

Relatives of Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor arrested in protests over Jayland Walker’s death

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(AKRON, Ohio) — Two relatives of police shooting victims were arrested Wednesday in Akron, Ohio, on rioting charges for allegedly protesting the police shooting of Jayland Walker.

Jacob Blake Sr., the father of Jacob Blake — as well as Bianca Austin, a relative of Breonna Taylor — were arrested on first-degree misdemeanor rioting charges, ABC Affiliate WEWS found.

Wednesday night was the first without a curfew since the body camera footage of Walker’s death was published. Walker, a 25-year-old Black man, was reportedly unarmed when eight Ohio officers opened fire on him on June 27, fatally shooting him after a traffic stop turned into a pursuit.

Akron police allege that Walker shot at them before he exited his car and ran away from police. A gun was recovered in the car, according to officials.

The officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation being led by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The shooting sparked protests similar to those that erupted after other incidents of police violence that also made national headlines — including Blake’s and Taylor’s.

Blake was shot seven times by a white police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in an incident that left him partially paralyzed. No police officers were charged in Blake’s shooting, with Kenosha County District Attorney Michael D. Graveley saying that he did not believe “the State could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Sheskey was not acting lawfully in self-defense or defense of others.”

Taylor was fatally gunned down when three Louisville, Kentucky, police officers executed a “no-knock” search warrant on her home. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he thought they were intruders and shot at the officers, who returned fire with more than 25 bullets, killing Taylor.

No police officers were charged directly for Taylor’s death after a grand jury declined to charge any officers.

“According to Kentucky law, the use of force by [the officers] was justified to protect themselves,” Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said at the time. “This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor’s death.”

Both of these incidents prompted protests nationwide as they collided with other incidents of police violence such as the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Blake Sr. and Austin were not together when they were arrested. The two were arraigned Thursday morning and its unclear if they have offered pleas to the charges.

Family of teen pinned by off-duty police sergeant speaks out

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(PARK RIDGE, Ill.) — The family of a 14-year-old boy who was allegedly pinned down by an off-duty Chicago Police officer in Park Ridge, Illinois, is speaking about the incident that was caught on cellphone camera.

“We see the bias in an off-duty officer taking advantage of our brown boy, with afro hair, smaller in stature, choosing to take the law into his own hands with physical force — a clear abuse of his position of authority — the authority meant to PROTECT my son, not harm him,” Angel and Nicole Nieves, parents of the boy, said in a press release sent to ABC News.

On the afternoon of July 1, a man who Park Ridge police have identified as a CPD sergeant in the video put his knee on the teen’s back for about 15 seconds, according to cellphone footage taken by a friend of the teen. It is unclear what happened before the video was captured on camera but the family’s legal team says the teen was just trying to move the bike out of his way.

Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski told ABC News that the officer believed the teen had stolen his son’s bike. The bike was apparently stolen from a local library before the incident, according to police.

Kaminski confirmed that the teen had a bike of his own. He also said that officials now have images of the person who did steal the bike, saying that it was likely abandoned by the culprit where the incident between the teen and officer occurred.

The Nieves’ legal team said that the teen had touched the bike because it was on the sidewalk and he was trying to pass by it with his own bike.

The family’s legal team also said the teen will remain unnamed. Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, a national personal injury firm primarily based in Chicago, is representing the family for any potential litigation.

The teen’s friends kept telling the officer to get off the boy and helped him up from the ground, according to the footage.

Chicago Police told ABC News that there is an internal investigation concerning the incident and officials cannot comment further. The officer’s name has not been released. The police union has not responded to ABC News’ requests for comment.

The boy’s parents are calling for accountability from the officer, including releasing the officer’s name and filing criminal charges for his conduct involving a child.

The Nieves family says their son is a straight-A student, a three-sport athlete and is active in his church youth ministry.

“It’s ironic that the type of person we are raising our boys to be — thoughtful, respectful young men who are quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger — is the opposite of the example this Chicago police officer set,” they said.

According to WLS, the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability is also investigating the incident. The Park Ridge police are also investigating alongside the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, according to WLS.

Neither agency has responded to ABC News’ requests for comment.

“The off-duty officer used excessive force on a child and escalated the situation where this type of aggression was clearly not necessary,” said Bhavani K. Raveendran, an attorney at Romanucci & Blandin.

Nurse who received 1st COVID-19 vaccine in the US awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Following months of hardships and devastating losses in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sandra Lindsay, an intensive care nurse in New York, became a symbol of hope for people across the globe when she became the first person in the United States to receive a COVID-19 vaccine following emergency authorization from federal officials.

Seemingly overnight, Lindsay, who got the shot in December of 2020, became a prominent vaccine advocate, urging others to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and help curb the virus’s spread.

In light of her advocacy, Lindsay was one of seventeen recipients to be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden on Thursday.

“I’m honored to hold this place in history,” Lindsay told ABC News prior to the ceremony.

In the hours following her vaccination, the image of Lindsay receiving her shot circulated rapidly across the country, as millions celebrated it as a symbolic light at the end of the tunnel after the pandemic had forced families apart.

The Americans honored with the medal “demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation – hard work, perseverance, and faith,” according to a press release from the White House “[and] have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences, dedicated their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted with bravery to drive change in their communities – and across the world – while blazing trails for generations to come.”

“Sandra, as I told you before, if there’s any angels in heaven, they’re all nurses,” Biden said during the ceremony.

A citation read prior to the presentation of Lindsay’s award noted that at the height of the pandemic, she directed a team of nurses as they worked “tirelessly to save patients while risking their own lives.” When the COVID-19 vaccine was authorized, Lindsay was a “ray of light and our nation’s dark power.”

“She represents the best of America,” the citation said.

Lindsay was honored alongside other Presidential Medal of Honor recipients, including former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Khizr Khan, a Gold Star father and founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Center, and actor Denzel Washington.

Last month, Lindsay initially missed the call from the White House informing her of the award, believing it was a prank call. When she learned that the honor was real, Lindsay said she was “overwhelmed” with emotions.

“I was just overwhelmed with pride, joy, gratitude and just immediately thought about what that meant for others, for people who look like me — for young ladies, for black women, for immigrants, for Jamaicans, for Americans, nurses, health care workers, minorities,” Lindsay said.

Lindsay, who works as the director of patient care services in critical care at Northwell Health, said was met with an incredibly positive public reaction following her vaccine, with some people telling her they were inspired to get the shot because of her.

For Lindsay, who was raised in Jamaica by her grandparents and moved to the United States in 1986, the honor is beyond anything she could have imagined.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be in this position. But I said yes. I said yes not knowing what I was getting into, but knowing that it was the right thing to do, and here I am today, so anything is possible,” Lindsay said.

With 70 million eligible Americans still unvaccinated, Lindsay stressed that her advocacy work is not done.

“We have made significant strides, but [COVID-19] is still here, and it still poses a threat to you, if you are not protected. I encourage everyone to go get themselves vaccinated,” Lindsay said. “If you’re not vaccinated, you’re still not protected.”

Derek Chauvin sentenced to 21 years on federal charges for violating George Floyd’s civil rights

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(St. PAUL, Minn.) — Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 21 years in prison on federal civil rights charges Thursday in the death of George Floyd.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges but in December 2021, he pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights and admitted that he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even after he became unresponsive.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson made the final decision.

In April 2021, Chauvin was also found guilty on three counts in Floyd’s death — second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter — for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes.

He has already been sentenced to 270 months, minus time served, which equals about 22-and-a-half years in prison.

Former officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were also charged for their role in Floyd’s death.

The three of them had pleaded not guilty but were convicted by a jury.

The four former officers were attempting to place Floyd under arrest on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a convenience store.

During the encounter, Chauvin held his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes. Floyd, who was handcuffed and in a prone position on the pavement, repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe before falling unconscious and losing a pulse, according to evidence presented at Chauvin’s state trial. Floyd was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Thao and Kueng now await a state trial for charges of aiding and abetting in murder and aiding and abetting in manslaughter in Floyd’s death. The two have pleaded not guilty.

The trial is set to start on Oct. 24.

Thomas Lane pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in exchange for the dismissal of the top charge against him of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder.

Under the agreement, a sentence of 36 months, or three years in prison, will be recommended by both prosecutors and Lane’s legal team. If he went to trial and was convicted on both counts, he could have faced a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, according to the plea agreement.

Former Theranos executive Sunny Balwani convicted in federal fraud case

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A jury has convicted former Theranos president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani of defrauding investors and patients in connection with his multi-billion-dollar blood-testing startup.

Balwani, on Thursday, was found guilty on all 12 counts of fraud, for a scheme prosecutors alleged and have now proved he orchestrated alongside his former romantic partner and Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes.

Balwani faced 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Holmes, who faced the same charges as Balwani, was convicted on four counts of fraud in January and awaits sentencing in September.

While Holmes was only convicted on counts related to investors, a jury found Balwani also defrauded patients.

The feds originally charged Balwani and Holmes together. But their trials were later severed after Holmes revealed she may testify to abuse at the hands of Balwani.

Prosecutors said Balwani and Holmes, who touted her startup’s technology as capable of accurately and reliably running any blood test, fraudulently raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors.

Money poured in, but the miniature blood-testing device, dubbed the “Edison,” could never run more than 12 tests, government attorneys said.

Balwani joined the company in 2009, guaranteeing a $10 million loan and quickly rising to the post of president and COO of Theranos. While his attorneys sought to distinguish his position in the company from the CEO, Holmes, prosecutors say he played an equal role in the fraud.

“I am responsible for everything at Theranos. All have been my decisions too,” read a text message from Balwani to Holmes in July 2015, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Schenk presented to the jury in his final argument.

“Of course [Balwani] had a hand in making the decisions at Theranos,” defense attorney Jeff Coopersmith said during his closing argument.

But, Coopersmith, said in meetings with investors and others, “everyone was listening to Elizabeth Holmes.” The company was her vision, he added, and Balwani had bought in.

“Mr. Balwani is not a victim. He’s a perpetrator of the fraud,” the prosecutor, Schenk, said to wrap up his remarks.

Wayne Kaatz, a juror on the Holmes case, told ABC News in an exclusive interview earlier this year that his group of 12 jurors convicted Holmes, in part, because “everything went through her,” he said. “She had final approval.”

He also revealed his team found Holmes’ testimony largely not credible. Balwani, in his trial, did not take the stand.

Highland Park alleged shooter’s father says he is not culpable for son’s attack

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — The father of the alleged Highland Park parade shooter has told ABC News that he is not culpable in the Independence Day attack, in spite of having signed a consent form for his son to apply for gun ownership.

“I had no — not an inkling, warning — that this was going to happen,” Bobby Crimo Jr. told ABC News about the Fourth of July attack his son, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, allegedly carried out in Highland Park, Illinois. “I am just shocked.”

Crimo claims both he and his wife asked their son just days before if he had any plans for the holiday. “He said ‘no.’ That was it,” Crimo recalled.

Crimo says he spent nearly an hour with his son in his yard the night before the attack talking about the planet. “Great mood,” he remembered. “I’m just shocked.”

Crimo says he never saw his son as a danger to anyone, but authorities recently disclosed at least one past instance in which his son allegedly threatened violence. In 2019, police in Highland Park confiscated 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from the suspect’s home after a family member called claiming he “was going to kill everyone.”

Crimo III is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and more charges are expected, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said. Prosecutors said that Crimo III confessed to Monday morning’s parade massacre. He did not enter a plea during a bond hearing on Wednesday.

“Making threats to the family … I think [that was] taken out of context,” Crimo said about authorities’ description of the 2019 incident. “It’s like just a child’s outburst, whatever he was upset about, and I think his sister called the police — I wasn’t living there.” Crimo said police removed his son’s knife collection from the home, after he was asked if there were any weapons in the house.

Authorities did not open a criminal investigation.

Later that same year, Crimo signed an affidavit allowing Crimo III to apply to obtain a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card — needed in the state of Illinois to purchase firearms or ammunition.

“I filled out the consent form to allow my son to go through the process that the Illinois State Police have in place for an individual to obtain a FOID card,” Crimo said. “They do background checks. Whatever that entails, I’m not exactly sure. And either you’re approved or denied, and he was approved.”

On Wednesday, Illinois State Police announced there will be a criminal investigation into Crimo’s culpability because he sponsored his son’s application for a firearm owner identification card in 2019.

“Do I regret that? No, not three years ago — signing a consent form to go through the process … that’s all it was,” said Crimo, adding that he is not worried about potential legal consequences. “Had I purchased guns throughout the years and given them to him in my name, that’s a different story. But he went through that whole process himself.” Crimo said his son purchased the weapons with his own money and registered them in his own name.

Crimo claims he had no involvement with him purchasing weapons and learned of his son’s firearm collection when he displayed a “Glock handgun” he purchased on his 21st birthday. “Oh, looks nice,” he says he told Crimo III.

Crimo III’s FOID card was renewed in 2021 without the involvement of his father, according to authorities.

Crimo says he does not know the motive behind his son’s actions. “That’s what I’d like to ask him when I see him,” said Crimo. “Whatever was going on in his head at the time … to go kill and hurt innocent people is just senseless.” Crimo says his “heart goes out to all of the families that were affected.”

Crimo III allegedly killed seven people and injured dozens of others in the attack.

“I think about them all the time,” his father told ABC News. “I even had some people that were injured that I personally know.”

Prior to the shooting, Crimo’s son left a trail of disturbing images online — including depictions of shootings. He was also an amateur rapper with a little over 16,000 monthly listeners on Spotify; his last music release featured an album cover of a cartoon character aiming a gun.

“The online content I’m not aware of till recently,” said Crimo, adding that he saw his son as an “artist,” but did not always understand his work. “Maybe I’ve seen a couple of them in the past, and I’d look at them and go ‘that’s not you,’ because I know it’s like an act.”

Crimo denied rumors of his son suffering abuse at home. “Never, never,” he said, and he added that he and his wife are “very much against it.”

“I kept hearing all this stuff about … horrible parenting,” Crimo said. “He wasn’t raised that way. He has good morals,” he added.

“This isn’t Bobby,” Crimo said of his son’s actions. “I guess that’s why it’s so hard to wrap yourself around it. It doesn’t add up.”

Crimo III is being held without bond and is set to return to court for a preliminary hearing on July 28.

Crimo said the whole system needs to be overhauled, to prevent tragedies like this from happening again. “We need to come together as a community here in the country to come up with something, whether it’s new laws, guidelines … this country is our problem right here.”

After parade shooting, GoFundMe says it seeks to verify donations amid scam risks

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After a gunman killed seven people and wounded dozens more at an Independence Day parade outside Chicago on Monday, thousands turned to the online platform GoFundMe to donate money to the victims — the latest example of the public gathering online to fundraise after a tragedy.

While websites like GoFundMe have made such philanthropy increasingly easy, there can be risks.

Highland Park, Illinois, Mayor Nancy Rotering warned the community about potential fundraising scams in a Tuesday morning news conference. By then GoFundMe had already established a specialized hub with links to fundraisers it said it had verified.

Donors had raised millions across 11 different pages as of Wednesday, the website showed. Comments poured in offering well-wishes; some hoped for more gun reform. At least one donor said they were sending care from as far away as Australia.

“As a parent trying to enjoy the little things in life with my own kids, I am deeply saddened that this is where we are now in our world, having to fear a street parade. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of you,” said a comment from a user named Joanna Castello.

One fund will support the family of a couple killed in the shooting. Irina and Kevin McCarthy’s 2-year-old son, Aiden, was found alone in the aftermath. He was later reunited with his grandparents, according to a Highland Park city manager.

As of Thursday morning, the fundraiser for the slain couple had drawn almost $3 million, more than six times its initial goal of $500,000 — with more than 50,000 individual donations.

Many donors directly addressed the couple’s orphaned son in their messages.

One GoFundMe donor identified as Lauren Cohen wrote: “Aiden, I am so sorry for your unimaginable and tragic loss. We are all looking out for you and are heartbroken for you, your family and all of the victims of this tragedy. Sending love.”

The parade shooting “hub” is not the first instance when GoFundMe has been used in the wake of a mass shooting.

Following the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school massacre in May and disasters including West Coast wildfires and the 2021 Surfside Condo collapse in Florida, GoFundMe has continued to establish so-called “crisis hubs,” according to a Medium post the company shared last year.

When news reports of a crisis arise, GoFundMe said it directs a team that monitors related fundraisers, according to the post. The company works with newsrooms, government officials and law enforcement during the verification process.

Some funds are held by the platform until payment information is confirmed — even if the fundraiser is verified, the Medium post shows.

GoFundMe does not always deem unverified fundraisers fraudulent. They can still accumulate donations, according to the post. But organizers cannot withdraw funds from pages that have not been vetted.

A GoFundMe spokesperson told ABC News Wednesday that the platform requires details such as government ID, banking information and addresses when verifying pages. GoFundMe guarantees a full donation refund in cases of fraud, the spokesperson said.

Donors can also directly report pages to GoFundMe for investigation and contact organizers with questions on the site if they want to know more before donating, the spokesperson said.

Kevin Scally, chief relationship officer for the nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator, told ABC News that fraudulent activity often takes place outside platforms like GoFundMe. Scally said scammers are more likely to target people through look-alike fake webpages and direct, personal appeals.

Scally said GoFundMe has made great strides in fraud protection, citing the policy of validating users before allowing them to withdraw funds. Still, he urged prospective donors to do their research.

“It’s typically best to do some due diligence and make sure that, if you are supporting an organization or you’re supporting a personal fundraiser, you’re doing that through a verified, valid means,” he said.

Texas immigration initiative ‘Operation Lone Star’ being probed for potential federal civil rights violations

July 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON)– The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Texas’ “Operation Lone Star” border security initiative for potential civil rights violations, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.

The operation, a Texas Department of Public Safety program, targets migrants coming across the U.S.-Mexico border. It was rolled out by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in March 2021 to curb migrant traffic into the state.

The DOJ is seeking information to determine whether Texas DPS is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“The Department is seeking this information after receiving information indicating that DPS may be discriminating on the basis of race and/or national origin in its activities related to Operation Lone Star by targeting certain individuals for arrests for misdemeanor trespass violations and traffic stops based on their perceived or actual race or national origin,” reads the letter dated May 16 and sent by the Justice Department’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section Chief Christine Stoneman.

A Texas DPS spokesperson said the department is complying with all federal civil rights inquiries. Texas DPS is a recipient of both DOJ and Department of Homeland Security funding, per the letter.

The news of the DOJ probe comes a week after 53 migrants, who were being smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border, were found dead in a sweltering tractor-trailer in San Antonio.

Through Operation Lone Star, Abbott has deployed around 10,000 DPS officers and soldiers from the Texas National Guard to the border to assist with the arrest of migrants.

Immigration lawyers and rights groups have sounded the alarm over the program, which they say has ramped up arrests of migrants on allegedly spurious trespassing charges. Many arrestees have been detained for weeks at a time. Some have not been given adequate resources to obtain legal representation.

In interviews with ABC News, current and former national guardsmen also spoke out about low morale and even several suicides among the troops deployed at the border, citing issues with payment, unstable housing conditions and a lack of proper training. One national guardsman assigned to the operation died while trying to save drowning migrants.

In response to the DOJ probe, Abbott’s press secretary, Renae Eze, slammed President Biden’s “open border policies” and accused the administration of “attacking the only state taking unprecedented actions to do the federal government’s job.”

“It’s time for President Biden to fulfill his oath of office and secure our southern border,” she said in a statement.

Texas has allocated more than $4 billion of Texas taxpayer money for border security, including building the state’s own border wall and erecting other “strategic barriers,” according to Eze.

She added that the program has resulted in more than 274,000 migrant apprehensions, more than 16,900 criminal arrests, including smugglers and human traffickers, more than 22,000 turn backs and the seizure of millions of lethal fentanyl doses.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not return ABC News’ request for comment.

The Texas Tribune and ProPublica were the first to report news about the investigation based on emails the outlets obtained. ABC News has not obtained those emails.

+ More