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In replacing Biden, Harris could keep blue states in the Democratic fold

July 26, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ replacement of President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket could keep the electoral battlefield confined to the typical handful of swing states after the electoral map appeared to be mushrooming in Republicans’ favor.

After Biden’s ruinous debate performance last month, Republicans boasted and Democrats feared that blue and blue-leaning states like New Hampshire, New Mexico, Virginia and even New Jersey were suddenly in play. But now, operatives in both parties predicted that having a Democratic nominee who’s not dogged by such weighty baggage takes those states back off the table, recalibrating the race back to the Rust and Sun Belts.

“She definitely helps us play less defense,” one source familiar with Harris’ campaign’s strategy said. “States that were blue-leaning states that became more competitive post-debate based on early polling seem to be shifting back.”

Democratic alarm was high after last month’s debate, when Biden’s bumbling performance sent Democrats into a tizzy and had Republicans dreaming about a landslide victory.

Handwringing over traditional swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the Rust Belt and Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina in the Sun Belt was exacerbated by discussions of having to bolster states where Democrats should waltz to victory but could prove competitive as Biden’s poll numbers cratered.

“I was getting calls pretty much on a daily basis with concern,” said Henry Roybal, the chair of the Santa Fe County Democratic Party in New Mexico.

Now, “New Mexico is off the map,” he said.

The story is the same elsewhere.

Conversations with operatives in traditionally noncompetitive states echoed Roybal’s account, even if they believe that former President Donald Trump still would have struggled to carry their electoral votes and there wasn’t definitive polling to prove he could.

After the debate, one senior New Jersey Democratic strategist insisted Biden could have won their state by a mid-single-digit margin after winning it by about 16 points in 2020. The state is now “completely off the table,” the person said.

Some Republicans aren’t entirely convinced.

Harris ran a dysfunctional 2020 presidential campaign and had to drop out before any primary votes were cast, and her approval ratings at the start of her nascent campaign are low. And while the blue-leaning states are still safer for Harris than traditional swing states, Republicans maintain any slip ups could keep them in play.

“It all depends upon how Kamala Harris runs her campaign and how she performs under the enormous pressure of a presidential contest. She did not acquit herself well when she ran for the 2020 nomination,” said GOP pollster Whit Ayres.” If she’s a whole lot better than she was then, then conceivably, those states could be off the table again. On the other hand, if she does not perform well, I think all those states are potential Trump pickups.”

Trump is not giving up on those states. He is blitzing Harris with attacks on her record, labeling her a “California liberal,” and will hold his second joint rally with Ohio Sen. JD Vance, his running mate, in St. Cloud, Minn, on Saturday, firing up his voters in a state no Republican presidential candidate has won since 1972.

“As more voters understand how dangerously liberal Kamala Harris is, President Trump’s chances in these traditionally-Democrat strongholds will only get better,” said Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

Still, other Republicans concede that Harris’ candidacy introduces stiffer headwinds than existed when Biden topped Democrats’ ticket. Underscoring the point, a New York Times/Siena College poll released Thursday found Harris and Trump statistically tied, an improvement from earlier this month when the same poll found Trump ahead of Biden by 6 points.

“I expect Harris will be stronger. I mean, you just can’t help but be stronger, regardless of performance level,” said New Hampshire GOP strategist Mike Dennehy. “And so now it’s just a question of how well she does on the stump and in debates.”

“It’s too early to know exactly, but my overall summary is she probably stems the bleeding and raises the floor, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s going to be able to put away states that she needs to,” Virginia-based Republican strategist Zack Roday added.

Now, the race is expected to shift back to the seven swing states that were at the top of the battleground map at the start of the race, with the source familiar with the campaign’s strategy telling ABC News “we’re seeing a reversion to what we expected this race to be pre-presidential debate.”

All seven states are anticipated to be decided by razor-thin margins, with millions of dollars dumped in by both campaigns. Already, Harris has hit the campaign trail in Wisconsin, a marquee swing state.

Harris’ campaign released a memo Wednesday saying it “intend[s] to play offense in each of these states, and have the resources and campaign infrastructure to do so.”

“This campaign will be close, it will be hard fought, but Vice President Harris is in a position of strength – and she’s going to win,” Campaign manager Jennifer O’Malley Dillon wrote.

Taking Republicans’ stretch states off the table as much as she can is a key part of remaining competitive in the true battlegrounds. The universe of campaign finance is gargantuan but finite — and every dollar spent in New Jersey or New Mexico is one not spent in Arizona or Michigan.

“The one thing it likely changes is, right now, the ground game,” said one national GOP strategist. “Are they going to shift resources out of specific swing states into other states because the map doesn’t feel as large for Democrats anymore to have to defend territory?”

And Harris’ ability to prevent a landslide for Trump is not just key for her — it’s also important for Democrats’ hopes for the House of Representatives and Senate.

Several key down-ballot races are being held in both swing states and blue-leaning states, and Harris’ ability to keep the margin at the top of the ticket competitive in battlegrounds and expansive in states she wins — rather than a blowout for Trump, as was speculated with Biden — would be a massive boon to congressional contenders.

“It’s critical. If you’re a Senate or a governor candidate or a congressional candidate, you can run ahead of the top of the ticket by a handful of points, three or four. You can’t run ahead at the top of the ticket by 10 or 12 points,” Ayres said.

Biden, he added, “definitely could have gotten blown out.”

Top Sinaloa cartel leaders, including son of El Chapo, taken into US custody: DOJ

July 26, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Two top leaders of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel have been taken into custody by United States authorities to face charges for their role in leading the group’s vast drug trafficking enterprise, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Sinaloa cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of “El Chapo” Guzman, were placed under arrest in El Paso, Texas on Thursday, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“Both men are facing multiple charges in the United States for leading the Cartel’s criminal operations, including its deadly fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks,” Garland said in a statement.

“El Mayo and Guzman Lopez join a growing list of Sinaloa Cartel leaders and associates who the Justice Department is holding accountable in the United States,” Garland said.

Zambada faces multiple federal indictments for his alleged role in the cartel and has been on the run from U.S. and Mexican law enforcement for years. His fellow co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, El Chapo, was extradited to the U.S. in 2017 and convicted in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.

“Today, the FBI and DEA arrested two alleged cartel leaders who have eluded law enforcement for decades. Ismael Mario ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of El Chapo, will now face justice in the United States,” Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.

“Garcia and Guzman have allegedly overseen the trafficking of tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S. along with related violence. These arrests are an example of the FBI’s and our partners commitment to dismantling violent transnational criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel,” Wray said.

The circumstances behind Zambada and Guzman Lopez being taken into custody were not immediately clear as of Thursday evening, however, the men were arrested in an operation that ended on U.S. soil.

“El Mayo” thought he was headed to inspect a clandestine Mexican airfield, of which the Sinaloa cartel has many in the country. Instead, according to a Homeland Security Investigations official, a senior ranking member of the cartel tricked him and flew him to El Paso, Texas instead.

Upon landing on the tarmac, agents from HSI, along with the FBI arrested “El Mayo” and Guzman.

The HSI official tells ABC News the operation had been planned “for months.”

They were placed in handcuffs by FBI agents during an operation culminating at an airstrip not far from El Paso.

“The arrest of Ismael Zambada García, better known as ‘El Mayo,’ one of the alleged founders and leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, strikes at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast. El Mayo is one of DEA’s most wanted fugitives and he is in custody tonight and will soon face justice in a U.S. court of law,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram.

“Joaquin Guzman Lopez, another alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, and the son of ‘El Chapo,’ was also arrested today – his arrest is another enormous blow to the Sinaloa Cartel. In 2017, he and his brothers, the Chapitos, allegedly took control of the Sinaloa Cartel after El Chapo was extradited to the United States. DEA will continue to seek justice for any American life that is lost and will work tirelessly to prevent more needless deaths and pursue those that are responsible,” Milgram said.

The U.S. government had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Zambada.

Guzman Lopez’s brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was charged last year with two dozen others as part of a crackdown targeting a global drug trafficking network run through Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. According to the charges, the cartel used precursor chemicals shipped from China to fuel the fentanyl crisis plaguing the U.S.

Ovidio Guzman Lopez had been wanted by U.S. authorities since 2019 and was captured by Mexican armed forces in January 2023 in a small town just outside the city of Culiacán, the capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

He was captured in an overnight raid that had been in the works for more than six months, officials said at the time. The arrest followed an infamous incident in 2019, in which authorities briefly detained Guzman Lopez at a home in Culiacán, before word spread and heavily armed gunmen flooded the city. Massive shootouts occurred between cartel members and Mexican armed forces around the city. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered Guzman Lopez released in order to avoid more bloodshed.

Their father is serving a life sentence in the U.S. after being convicted in 2019 of conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, including large-scale narcotics violations and a murder conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracies, unlawful use of a firearm and a money laundering conspiracy.

France train lines hit by arson attacks just hours before 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony

July 26, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Arson attacks on France’s rail network have taken place in what authorities are calling a “massive attack to destabilize the railway system,” just hours before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony is set to take place.

Trains at all major Paris stations have been delayed after fires and at least 800,000 people have been affected in the “arson attacks were set to damage our installations,” according to a statement from rail company, SCNF.

Authorities have not called this a terror attack, but fires began to be reported overnight at 4 a.m. local time and that trackside signal boxes have were set on fire and cables on the lines had been cut, which has caused major disruptions in the north and east of France.

“Coordinated malicious acts targeted several TGV lines last night and will seriously disrupt traffic until this weekend,” said the French transport minister. “I strongly condemn these criminal actions which will compromise the departures on vacation of many French people.”

France’s high-speed rail lines seem to be the intended target, officials said Friday morning, as fires were set along three lines while a fourth fire on another line was stopped.

SCNF says it will take all weekend to repair while Eurostar has already been advising passengers to postpone their trips to Paris.

All this is happening just hours before the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympic Games are set to take place in Paris on Friday evening.

“Early this morning, acts of sabotage were carried out in a planned and coordinated manner on SNCF installations, said French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. “The consequences for the rail network are massive and serious. I express my gratitude to our firefighters who intervened on the affected sites and to the SNCF agents who will carry out the necessary work to restore the network.”

“My thoughts are with all the French people, all the families, who were preparing to go on holiday. I share their anger and salute their patience, their understanding and the civic-mindedness they demonstrate,” Attal continued. “Our intelligence services and our law enforcement are mobilized to find and punish the perpetrators of these criminal acts.”

Manhattan DA asks judge not to throw out Trump’s criminal hush money conviction

July 25, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) –Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Thursday asked a New York judge to reject former President Donald Trump’s attempt to throw out his criminal hush money conviction, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on presidential immunity “has nothing to say about defendant’s conviction.”

Trump earlier this month asked Judge Juan Merchan to vacate his conviction on the grounds that the trial was “tainted” by evidence and testimony that was made off-limits after the Supreme Court ruled Trump has presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office.

Prosecutors said in Thursday’s court filing that paying hush money to an adult film actress is “entirely personal” with “no relationship whatsoever to any official duty of the presidency.”

The former president was found guilty in May of falsifying business records related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

The jury convicted Trump of 34 felony counts after seeing “overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s guilt,” prosecutors argued in the filing.

Trump argued that certain evidence presented at trial — including testimony from former White House aide Hope Hicks and Trump’s tweets about his former attorney Michael Cohen — related to his official acts as president and should now be considered inadmissible in light of the Supreme Court opinion.

Prosecutors pushed back in their filing.

“The challenged Tweets bear no resemblance to the kinds of public comments that the Supreme Court indicated would qualify as official presidential conduct,” the district attorney’s office said. “Defendant’s Tweets conveying his personal opinion about his private attorney do not bear any conceivable relationship to any official duty of the Presidency.”

Prosecutors also argued that testimony from Hicks, who was once Trump’s communications director, “related solely to unofficial conduct.”

“[T]he evidence that he claims is affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling constitutes only a sliver of the mountains of testimony and documentary proof that the jury considered in finding him guilty of all 34 felony charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” the filing said.

Earlier this month, Judge Merchan postponed Trump’s sentencing in the case from July 11 to Sept. 18 so he could consider Trump’s request to vacate his conviction.

Ex-deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey was discharged from the Army for serious misconduct

July 25, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — The Illinois deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey in her home while responding to her 911 call was discharged from the U.S. Army for “misconduct (serious offense),” according to documents obtained by ABC News.

Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, was discharged on February 24, 2016, after beginning service in the U.S. Army on May 5, 2014. He served for a total of one year, nine months and 19 days, Grayson’s certificate of discharge from active duty shows.

The U.S. Army, citing the Privacy Act and Department of Defense policy, said it is prevented from releasing information relating to the misconduct of low-level employees or characterization of service at discharge.

Grayson was a 91B (Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic) in the Regular Army from May 2014 to February 2016. He had no deployments and left the Army in the rank of private first class, according to an Army spokesman.

ABC News has also learned that Grayson, 30, was charged with two DUI offenses in Macoupin County, Illinois, in August 2015 and July 2016, according to court documents.

Grayson pleaded guilty to both charges. He paid over $1,320 in fines and had his vehicle impounded as a result of the 2015 incident. In 2016, Grayson paid over $2,400 in fines, according to court records.

Grayson’s attorney, Dan Fultz, declined to comment.

According to employment records, Grayson was hired for his first known police job at the Pawnee Police Department in August 2020 and was fired from his most recent job as a sheriff’s deputy at the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department after the July 6 deadly shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old unarmed Black woman and mother of two.

Grayson and a second, unnamed deputy responded to Massey’s 911 call reporting a possible intruder at her Springfield home.

Body camera footage released Monday shows Grayson yelling at Massey to put down a pot of boiling water.

The footage, reviewed by ABC News, shows Massey telling the two responding deputies “please don’t hurt me,” once she answered their knocks on her door.

Grayson responded, “I don’t want to hurt you, you called us.”

Later in the video, while inside Massey’s home as she searched for her ID, Grayson pointed out a pot of boiling water on her stove and said, “we don’t need a fire while we’re in here.”

Massey then poured the water into the sink and told the deputy, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Grayson threatened to shoot her, and Massey apologized and ducked down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt. She briefly rose, and Grayson shot her three times in the face.

The footage is from the point of view of Grayson’s partner. Grayson did not turn on his own body camera until after the shooting, according to court documents.

A review by Illinois State Police found that Grayson was not justified in his use of deadly force.

Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in Massey’s death.

The news of his discharge and DUI offenses comes days after it was revealed through Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) records obtained by ABC News that Grayson worked for six law enforcement agencies over the last four years.

Grayson worked three full-time and three part-time jobs in four police departments and two sheriff’s offices over the past four years, all within the state of Illinois, according to ILETSB records.

Grayson held part-time jobs at the Pawnee Police Department from August 2020 to July 2021, the Kincaid Police Department from February 2021 to May 2021, and the Virden Police Department from May 2021 to December 2021.

He also held full-time jobs at the Auburn Police Department from July 2021 to May 2022, the Logan County Sheriff’s Office from May 2022 to April 2023, and the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office from May 2023 to July 2024, according to IILETSB records. He moved around all six of these agencies between 2020 and 2024.

“It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards. Therefore, Sean Grayson’s employment with the Sheriff’s Office has been terminated,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell wrote in a statement last week announcing Grayson’s termination.

The Kincaid Police Department told ABC News that Grayson was let go due to his refusal to live within 10 miles of Kincaid Village. They also said there were no allegations of wrongdoing against Grayson during his time with the department.

According to documents obtained by ABC News, Grayson left his part-time employment at the Pawnee Police Department to pursue a full-time position at the Auburn Police Department. His application to Pawnee Police Department also states that he had previously worked as security guard at Hospital Sisters Health System St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois.

ABC News has reached out to the other police departments to learn why Grayson left, but has not yet received a response.

Boeing capsule astronauts remain at Space Station with no return date, NASA says

July 25, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Boeing Starliner’s first astronaut-crewed capsule, which launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5, remains docked at the station with no official return date, NASA said Thursday.

“We don’t have a major announcement today relative to a return date,” NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich said during a joint press conference with Boeing officials.

“We’re making great progress, but we’re just not quite ready to do that,” Stich added.

What was initially planned to be an eight-day mission, has now spanned over 50 days, with veteran NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams’ return to Earth delayed until at least August, according to officials.

Thruster failures that caused issues on the launch trip to ISS and helium leaks on the Starliner capsule have led to continued delays, according to Boeing.

The Aerospace giant has been testing the capsule’s propulsion system in White Sands, New Mexico, to identify the cause of the issues, according to Stich, who said analysis of the findings will be done this weekend.

In order to get the go-ahead for a return mission, NASA must review Boeing’s engineering, which may not happen until the first week of August, Stich said.

On June 11, Boeing officials said the capsule was experiencing five “small” helium leaks as its first astronaut-crewed flight test continued.

Helium is used to pressurize the spacecraft’s reaction control system (RCS) maneuvering thrusters, allowing them to fire, according to Boeing.

“Our focus today is to return Butch and Suni on Starliner,” Stich said of the astronauts. “I think we’re starting to close in on those final pieces of the flight rationale to make sure we can come home safely and that’s our primary focus right now.”

Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of the commercial crew program at Boeing, was asked if there were any regrets about the mission.

“I think the only thing we’d do differently, is we would not have been so empathic about an eight-day mission,” Nappi said of the repeated delays. “We kept saying ‘eight-day minimum mission,’ I think we all knew it was going to go longer than that, it’s my regret that we didn’t just say ‘we’re gonna stay up there until we get everything done we want to go do.'”

ABC News’ Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.

Officials charge man for starting California wildfire that has burned more than 71,000 acres

July 25, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(CHICO, Calif.) — A Northern California wildland fire that exploded overnight into the state’s largest blaze this wildfire season, destroying structures and prompting thousands of evacuations, was allegedly started by a man who pushed a burning car into a gully, authorities said Thursday.

The 48-year-old arson suspect charged with starting the Park Fire in Butte County near the city of Chico was arrested Thursday morning and jailed without bail, said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey. The suspect’s name was not immediately released.

The suspect was allegedly spotted just before 3 p.m. local time on Wednesday, pushing a car that was on fire down a gully called “Alligator Hole” in Bidwell Park, near Chico, Ramsey said.

“The car went down an embankment approximately 60 feet and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the Park Fire,” Ramsey said in a statement.

A man who was later identified as the suspect was seen calmly leaving the area by blending in with other park visitors fleeing the rapidly evolving fire, Ramsey said.

The suspect is scheduled to be arraigned next week, Ramsey said.

The Park Fire in Butte County, California, and the Durkee Fire in Oregon, the largest fire burning in the nation, continued filling West Coast skies Thursday with smoke as gusty winds and treacherous terrain were dealing challenges to firefighters battling both blazes, officials said.

Park Fire becomes largest 2024 wildfire in the state

The Park Fire started around 3 p.m. Wednesday northeast of the city of Chico in Bidwell Park and by Thursday afternoon had burned 71,489 acres, destroyed an undetermined number of structures and caused the Butte County Sheriff’s Department to order evacuations for rural foothill communities in the area, including nearly the entire town of Cohasset, which has a population of about 400.

More than 1,100 firefighters were fighting the flames Thursday morning, using helicopters and cutting fire lines with bulldozers in a desperate attempt to prevent the fire from spreading to homes in the densely populated areas of north Chico, authorities said.

The Park Fire was just 3% contained Thursday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

“The fire is well established. Fire personnel are currently focusing on evacuations and structure defense while concurrently building direct containment lines utilizing bulldozers, fire crews and fire engines,” Cal Fire said in an updated statement Thursday morning. “More resources have been ordered and are inbound from various areas throughout Northern California.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

At least 3,800 people were under evacuation orders in Butte and Tehama counties, officials said.

The Park Fire rapidly grew into the state’s largest conflagration this wildfire season, surpassing the Lake Fire near Santa Barbara in Southern California that started on July 5. As of Thursday morning, the Lake Fire had burned 38,664 and was 90% contained, according to Cal Fire. The blaze destroyed four structures and left at least six firefighters injured, Cal Fire reported.

The Butte County blaze was one of 64 new fires that erupted in California Wednesday, according to Cal Fire.

Rick Carhart, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, told ABC News Thursday that hot temperatures and steep, rugged terrain in the burning area are making things difficult for firefighters.

Carhart — who described the fire activity as “dynamic” — said the temperature in the area this week has been 100 to 110 degrees.

Officials said that in the first 12 hours of the fire, flames were burning 4,000 acres per hour.

“It’s very, very hot. It’s bone dry and pretty much every spark that hits the ground is going to start a fire,” Carhart said.

He said the area where the fire is most active hasn’t burned in 20 years, providing an abundance of dry vegetation that is feeding the blaze.

Cal Fire officials said the number of acres burned so far in this wildfire season is 15 times more than at this time in 2023. There have been nearly 800 more fires this year compared to last, including 54 that resulted in arson arrests, according to Cal Fire, in

Durkee fire is largest in the nation

In Oregon, the Durkee Fire in Baker County, which was sparked by a lightning strike on July 17, had grown to nearly 270,000 acres, or about 400 square miles, as of Thursday morning. The fire burning near the Idaho border was 0% contained and had spread into neighboring Malheur County, according to the Oregon Fire Marshal’s Office.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced on Wednesday that she has invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to increase resources to battle the Durkee Fire and the Battle Mountain Complex Fire, which consists of three active fires that have burned a total of about 64,000 in the same area of Umatilla County in Eastern Oregon.

Kotek said she has also deployed the National Guard to the Durkee and Battle Mountain fires.

Kotek said in a statement that resources necessary for fighting the fires are beyond local capabilities.

“The wildfires in Eastern Oregon have scaled up quickly,” Kotek said. “We are facing strong erratic winds over the region that could impact all fires. Rain is not getting through. Some communities do not have power. The situation is dynamic, and the teams on the ground are taking it day by day. I have deployed resources from the National Guard that are currently serving eastern and southwestern Oregon. I know these communities are supporting one another, doing their part to heed the guidance from officials and showing tremendous gratitude for our firefighters.”

Kotek said the Durkee fire has merged with another large fire in the area, the Cow Valley Fire, creating one monster-size blaze.

The Baker County Sheriff’s Office said evacuation orders for residents living in the fire zone, including all 500 residents of the town of Huntington.

During a community briefing Wednesday night, fire officials said the Durkee fire was burning so hot it had created its own weather system.

Jonathan Chriest, a National Weather Service meteorologist assigned to the Durkee fire, said at a briefing that wind gusts fanning the fire were expected to reach 75 mph Wednesday night.

Temperatures in the area have been in the high 90s to triple-digits. Chriest said a cold front was moving into the area of the Durkee Fire that could lower temperatures through the weekend but could bring northwest winds of 30 to 45 mph and flash flooding.

“That fire has just not cooperated with us in terms of the weather. I don’t like making excuses and I don’t like fires outpacing me, so that’s a hard thing to admit,” Tyson Albrecht of the U.S. Forest Service, the incident commander on the Durkee Fire for Northwest Team 6, said at the briefing. “This fire and the weather that we’ve been experiencing has been really challenging. It will continue to challenge us, but we will continue to keep swinging away out there to minimize those impacts.”

JD Vance slammed for ‘childless cat ladies’ comment

July 25, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A Fox News interview from 2021, in which Sen. JD Vance smeared Vice President Kamala Harris as a “childless cat lady,” has resurfaced since he became the Republican vice presidential nominee, sparking widespread anger.

In the clip, Vance questioned Democrats — including Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — for not having biological children.

“We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too,” Vance said.

“How does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?” he asked.

The 2021 interview began circulating widely after Hillary Clinton shared the clip on X. “What a normal, relatable guy who certainly doesn’t hate women having freedoms,” she wrote.

Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

Though Harris does not have biological children, she does have two stepchildren — Cole and Ella Emhoff — who have lovingly referred to her as “Momala.”

Kerstin Emhoff — second gentleman Doug Emhoff’s ex-wife, and mother to Cole and Ella Emhoff — has been a vocal supporter of Harris, and defended her against attacks about her parental status.

“These are baseless attacks. For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I,” she said. “She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.”

Ella Emhoff shared her mother’s statement on Instagram, writing, “I love my three parents.”

“How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I?” she added.

Buttigieg also hit back against Vance’s comments, saying in a CNN interview that Vance should not speak about other people’s children.

“The really sad thing is he said that after Chasten and I had been through a fairly heartbreaking setback in our adoption journey,” Buttigieg said. “He couldn’t have known that, but maybe that’s why you shouldn’t be talking about other people’s children, and it’s not about his kids or my kids or the vice president’s family. It’s about your family, people’s families whose well-being will depend on whether we go into a future led by somebody like Kamala Harris, who is focused on expanding the prosperity, the freedom, the well-being of our families.

Actress Jennifer Aniston, who has spoken about her struggles with fertility, made a post on Instagram slamming Vance, who has voted against establishing federal protections for in vitro fertilization.

“I truly can’t believe this is coming from a potential VP of The United States,” Aniston wrote. “All I can say is … Mr Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her too.”

Vance’s comments have even struck a nerve with some prominent conservative women.

“One of my best friends did rounds and rounds of unsuccessful IVF wanting to have a child. It is still painful to talk about,” Meghan McCain said in an X post. “This ‘childless women’ comment by JD Vance has made so many waves with so many different friends of mine for its insensitivity and cruelty to women.”

Beverly Hallberg, a fellow with the conservative nonprofit Independent Women’s Forum, replied to McCain’s post.

“I’m childless on earth, but I have a baby in heaven due to an ectopic pregnancy,” Hallberg said. “Not all women who don’t have children are childless by choice. It adds insult to injury, to put it mildly, when these comments are said.”

Corie Whalen, media relations director at a Republican think tank and former congressional staffer, said on X she was disgusted by Vance’s comments.

“I’m a right-leaning woman who agrees with almost nothing the Biden-Harris administration has done, but the primal hatred and disgust Vance stokes in me transcends politics,” she wrote. “I suspect I am not the only woman of my vintage, so to speak, who feels this way.”

The head of a major infertility nonprofit also spoke out against Vance, calling his comments “painful and tone-deaf.”

“People are childfree for many reasons — from grieving the pain of miscarriage to experiencing failed adoptions or rounds of fertility treatments to making their own choice not to have children,” said Barbara Collura, president and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association.

“For some, living without children doesn’t feel like a choice that they made, but a choice that they live with, despite trying to grow their families,” Collura added. “Under no circumstances, should living childfree be weaponized in a way that degrades people or their value to society.”

In an interview with ABC News at the American Teachers Federation Conference in Houston, Briget Rein — a former Brooklyn teacher, who wore a pink shirt that said “Cats Against Trump” — proudly identified herself as a “cat lady” and said she thought Vance’s remarks were “stupid.”

“Vance also is unprepared to be a vice president, he’s not prepared. Because he’s busy looking at the surface. He’s not looking at the full picture,” she said.”You know, this cat lady went to college. This cat lady went to work … but he’s busy talking about cat ladies, and talking about women in a very derogatory fashion.”

Netanyahu meets Biden amid political tensions, to speak with Harris later

July 25, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden at the White House Thursday to discuss the U.S.-Israeli relationship amid tensions over the ongoing conflict in Gaza and a changing political landscape in the U.S.

“Welcome back, Mr. Prime Minister. We got a lot to talk about,” Biden said in brief remarks shortly before cameras left the room.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seeking to succeed Biden, is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu later Thursday. She has been more outspoken than Biden about killed Palestinian civilians and called on Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid.

The meeting comes just hours after Biden, in an Oval Office address, told Americans that getting peace in Gaza — ending the fighting between Israel and Hamas and freeing hostages — is one of his top goals in his remaining six months in office. Netanyahu so far has resisted Biden’s efforts, rejecting his calls for a cease-fire.

Netanyahu brought up their long relationship and other Israeli leaders Biden has known throughout his career.

“From a proud Jew Zionist to a proud Irish American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel. And I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead on the great issues before us,” Netanyahu said.

Biden reflected on that first meeting, joking, “I was only 12 then.”

Other U.S. officials attending included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the president was going to press Netanyahu to help “close the gaps” with the peace deal that would return the Israeli hostages.

“We are closer now than we have ever been before,” he said.

The meeting is the first time the leaders have come face-to-face since Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsed Harris’ run.

Kirby said that both leaders would meet with American families of Israeli hostages.

Kirby would not comment on why Harris was meeting with Netanyahu later but noted that she had campaign events during the same time as Biden met with the prime minister.It also comes a day after Netanyahu addressed a joint meeting of Congress, which Harris did not attend, holding a previously scheduled campaign event instead.

The prime minister has praised Biden for “half century of friendship to Israel” and U.S. support following the Oct. 7 attacks.

“He rightly called Hamas ‘sheer evil.’ He dispatched two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war. And he came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour — a visit that will never be forgotten,” Netanyahu said in his speech to lawmakers on Wednesday.

The prime minister did not mention Harris. But he did he did laud former President Donald Trump for his support of Israel during his four years in office.

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump Friday at Mar-a-Lago.

The prime minister has called on the U.S. to provide bipartisan support for Israel during the conflict and urged leaders to, “Give us the tools faster and we’ll finish the job faster.”

“Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and its role in Gaza and bring all our hostages home. That’s what total victory means. And we will settle for nothing less.”

In May, Biden paused a shipment to Israel of unguided bombs citing concerns that they could be used on civilians.

Congress sent $26 billion in aid to Israel and provided humanitarian relief for people in Gaza in April as part of a foreign aid package.

About $4 billion of that was dedicated to replenishing Israel’s missile defense systems. More than $9 billion of the total went toward humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

Jasper wildfire: ‘Heartbreaking’ damage as Canadian Armed Forces ordered to respond to Alberta blazes

July 25, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau authorized the Canadian Armed Forces to respond on Thursday to wildfires raging in Alberta.

Trudeau said he was sending “resources, evacuations support, and more emergency wildfire resources to the province immediately — and we’re coordinating firefighting and airlift assistance.”

More than 400 firefighters from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Africa are also on their way to help fight the wildfires in Alberta, he said.

“Alberta, we’re with you,” Trudeau said in a social media post.

The town of Jasper and Jasper National Park in Alberta have closed and were evacuated due to active wildfires in the park.

Since the two wildfires were initially reported on Monday near Jasper, the wildfire situation “remains out of control,” Jasper National Park said Thursday.

Wildfires reached the town of Jasper on Wednesday evening, the park said, as firefighters worked to combat multiple structural fires and protect critical infrastructure.

“Today has been an exceptionally difficult day for Jasperites, incident personnel, and everyone who loves Jasper,” Jasper National Park said in an update Wednesday night. “As the pictures and videos circulating online show, significant loss has occurred within the townsite.”

Park officials were unable to provide an update on the extent of damage in the area.

“As the heartbreaking images from Jasper emerge, I want to thank the brave first responders who are in Alberta right now, fighting to save every home and every community they can,” Trudeau said Thursday.

There have been no reported injuries due to the wildfires, Jasper National Park said in an update Thursday morning.

More than 25,000 people were ordered to evacuate from the park and areas nearby this week due to the wildfires, officials said.

The evacuation impacted 15,000 people who were visiting and staying in the park when the order was issued, as well as about 10,000 people in the town of Jasper, including seasonal workers, according to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

“The Town of Jasper and Parks Canada’s priority is the safety of our staff, residents and visitors,” Jasper National Park said in a statement on Tuesday. “We acknowledge this is a stressful time and appreciate patience as this is an evolving and complex situation.”

Thousands of residents and visitors already evacuated Monday into Tuesday, as two wildfires burned in Jasper National Park, the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, the park said.

Parks Canada mobilized additional firefighting resources and aircraft to assist in battling the blazes, according to Jasper National Park.

“Our priority is to protect the town and community of Jasper, limiting wildfire growth towards town, Highway 16 and critical infrastructure,” Jasper National Park said.

Reservations through Aug. 6 in Jasper National Park have been canceled. A reopening date has not yet been announced.

Alberta is experiencing “extreme wildfire conditions,” with more than 170 wildfires burning across the province, according to the government of Alberta.

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

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