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Manhattan DA sues GOP’s Jim Jordan as feud escalates over Trump’s prosecution

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday sued Republican Rep. Jim Jordan for what he called an “unprecedentedly brazen and unconstitutional attack by members of Congress.”

The 50-page lawsuit alleges Jordan has launched a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” on Bragg amid the historic indictment of former President Donald Trump.

Trump, who has repeatedly denied the charges against him, was arraigned last week and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in an alleged hush money “scheme” to influence the 2016 election.

Jordan, one of Trump’s biggest supporters on Capitol Hill, has led the charge against Bragg along with other GOP chairs of influential House committees. The chairmen last month demanded documents related to Bragg’s investigation of Trump and testimony from the district attorney himself.

Last week, Jordan subpoenaed Mark Pomerantz to give deposition related to his role in investigating Trump and Trump’s businesses. Pomerantz is a former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office who resigned last year over Bragg’s reluctance at the time to pursue the case against Trump.

Bragg’s lawsuit seeks to stop the enforcement of the subpoena, arguing “basic principles of federalism and common sense, as well as binding Supreme Court precedent, forbids Congress from demanding it.”

“Congress has no power to supervise state criminal prosecutions. Nor does Congress have the power to serve subpoenas for the personal aggrandizement of the investigators or to punish those investigated,” the lawsuit said. “Yet that is precisely what Chairman Jordan is trying to do.”

The lawsuit accused Jordan and the House Republicans of “participating in a campaign of intimidation, retaliation, and obstruction” and noted how Trump “has threatened New York officials with violent and racist vitriol.”

The tense back-and-forth between Bragg and Jordan continued Monday as House Republicans announced plans to hold a hearing on New York City crime in Bragg’s backyard.

The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Jordan, will hold a field hearing on April 17 in New York City to discuss “victims of violent crime in Manhattan.” There, lawmakers will examine what the committee called Bragg’s “pro-crime policies” that have led to a “dangerous community” for residents, according to a press release issued on Monday night.

A spokesperson for Bragg’s office quickly shot back: “Don’t be fooled, the House GOP is coming to the safest big city in America for a political stunt. This hearing won’t engage actual efforts to increase public safety, such as supporting national gun legislation and shutting down the iron pipeline.”

The spokesperson also said New York City had a murder rate “nearly three times lower” than that of Columbus, Ohio — Jordan’s home turf.

That data appeared to be pulled from Wirepoints, an Illinois- based nonprofit, which found New York City had 5.2 homicides per 100,000 people compared with Columbus’ 15.4 homicides per 100,000 residents using publicly available homicide data for 2022.

Violent crime decreased during the first three months of this year, with shootings falling by 23% and homicides falling by 12.7% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, the New York Police Department recently announced.

“If Chairman Jordan truly cared about public safety, he could take a short drive to Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron, or Toledo in his home state, instead of using taxpayer dollars to travel hundreds of miles out of his way,” the spokesperson for Bragg said.

Not long after, Jordan tweeted, “First, they indict a president for no crime. Then, they sue to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds they say they used to do it.”

Workplaces are the most common mass shooting site, data shows

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The shooting in a Louisville, Kentucky, bank on Monday is the latest workplace-related mass shooting to take place in the United States over the last 60 years, according to gun violence data.

The Violence Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that’s funded by the National Institute of Justice, has found the current or former workplaces of perpetrators were the most common sites for mass shootings, which the organization defines as four or more people killed by a firearm.

“Most of the shooters had been fired,” the organization said.

Between 1966 and 2021, there were 53 workplace shootings carried out throughout the country, according to the Violence Project. This represented more than 30% of the 188 mass shootings recorded during that period, the organization said.

The second most common location for mass shootings was at retail locations, which represented 16.9% of all recorded mass shootings, and the third most common location was restaurants and bars, which represented 13.4% of all recorded mass shootings, according to the Violence Project.

With workplace shootings, the biggest motivator behind the incidents was an employment-related issue, such as a termination, which constituted 70% of the recorded workplace mass shootings, according to the Violence Project’s data.

When it comes to the victims of workplace-related violence, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 392 U.S. workers were workplace homicide victims in 2020. Roughly “30% of workplace homicide victims were performing retail-related tasks such as tending a retail establishment or waiting on customers,” according to the CDC.

The agency also compiled data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found “20,050 workers in the private industry experienced trauma from nonfatal workplace violence in 2020.”

Of those injured in these incidents, 73% were female, and 22% required 31 or more days away from work to recover, according to the CDC.

Judge, Fox attorney clash over TV hosts’ testimony in Dominion defamation case

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — An attorney representing Fox News against Dominion’s $1.6 billion defamation suit clashed Tuesday with the judge in the case over how some of the network’s biggest stars can be questioned on the witness stand once the trial gets underway next week.

Dominion’s lawsuit accuses Fox News of knowingly pushing false conspiracy theories about the voting machine company in the wake of the 2020 election, in order to combat concerns over ratings and viewer retention.

“The hosts are going to make the argument that they didn’t make the statements,” Fox attorney Dan Webb said during a pre-trial hearing in the case, offering a potential window into how some of Fox’s biggest stars may explain some of their broadcasts that Dominion has said were defamatory.

“If you argue that,” Judge Eric Davis warned, “I will turn to the jury and say [you are] incorrect.”

The disagreement came as a warning to both sides from Judge Davis not to make arguments before the jury that would contradict his previous rulings in the case. Davis, in pre-trial rulings last month, shot down one of Fox’s arguments in the case: that they were simply reporting on claims that were undeniably “newsworthy.” That defense, the judge wrote, “fail[ed] to shield” Fox from liability.

Davis also ruled on falsity, finding that the statements broadcast about Dominion were, in fact, false.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Davis also ruled on motions from each side about what evidence may be admitted or restricted from trial. In one ruling, he restricted Dominion from bringing up evidence regarding Jan. 6, saying that was “for another court at another time.”

Davis reiterated during the hearing it is “crystal clear” that the allegations Fox aired against Dominion were false. He also noted that bringing somebody on the air “does not absolve the publisher,” telling the Fox attorney, “That’s what you have to be careful of.”

“I’m not going to step over this line,” Webb told the judge.

“Well, it looks like you are,” the judge quickly responded.

“Well actually, I’m not,” Webb replied during the tense exchange.

Both sides have suggested they would like Fox hosts including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham to testify live, according to a court filing in the case. Both Dominion and Fox listed those stars, as well as dozens of other names, on their proposed witness lists submitted to the court ahead of trial.

Judge Davis last week said during a hearing that Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch and other executives could be compelled to testify in person next month, according to a Dominion spokesperson.

The trial is scheduled to begin April 17.

Florida Republican apologizes for anti-transgender ‘demons’ and ‘mutants’ comments

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(FLORIDA) — Republican Rep. Webster Barnaby called transgender people “demons” and “mutants” in a hearing about a bill that would make it a crime to use a bathroom that doesn’t align with the gender assigned at birth.

Transgender people and allies were at the public hearing on Monday to share their stories in opposition to the bill when Barnaby made his comments: “I’m looking at society today and it’s like I’m watching an X-Men movie … it’s like we have mutants living among us on planet Earth,” Barnaby said.

He later went on, “I’m not afraid to address the dysphoria or the dysfunction. The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and all of your demons and all of your imps will come and parade before us. That’s right – I called you demons and imps who come and parade before us and pretend that you are part of this world.”

Later in the hearing, he apologized for his comments.

“I would like to apologize to the trans community for referring to you as demons,” he said.

Transgender people have long expressed concerns about the harm of anti-transgender sentiment and the influence it could have on the violence and discrimination disproportionately faced by the community.

“Today, parents and children, many of whom traveled hours to share their stories, had to listen to GOP State Representative Barnaby slander the transgender community from the dais,” a statement from local LGBTQ group Equality Florida read. “And Republican leadership in the room refused to put a stop to it.”

It continued, “This hideous bigotry has always been at the root of the wave of anti-LGBTQ hysteria sweeping our state.”

Advocates say transgender people have historically and falsely been categorized as violent or dangerous, which perpetuates anti-transgender sentiment and discrimination.

Transgender people are more than four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violence, according to a study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

In his comments, Barnaby expressed his lack of understanding about gender dysphoria and language around gender: “To all the folks that are in the audience that consider themselves gender dysphoria, cis – I don’t know what all that means. I really don’t know what all that means.”

The state has seen several bills this year that restrict the LGBTQ community, as well as implementing several other restrictive laws or policies. Several bills currently being considered by the legislature restrict education, programming or curriculum relating to sexual orientation or gender identity in K-12 schools and colleges, as well as limit access to transgender health care for people under 18.

Several state laws and policies already restrict these issues, but several bills aim to expand restrictions.

One bill, SB 254, would allow the state to alter a parent’s custody rights if gender-affirming youth health care is considered for their child.

The group also called on House Speaker Paul Rommel to denounce Barnaby’s words.

Several other lawmakers appeared to express support for the transgender people who spoke at the hearing or distance themselves from Barnaby’s statements.

“I see you, hear you, understand and love you and — definitely still a little bit thrown off from the last comments here and I just really wanna let you all know that that that there are many here that understand and support you,” said Democrat Rep. Kristen Aston Arrington.

Republican Rep. Chase Tramont, who voted in favor of the bill, also spoke against Barnaby’s words.

“I’m also a Christian man and I just want to say to some of the folks in here who share their testimony … You’re not an evil being. I believe that you’re fearfully and wonderfully made. I want you to live your life well,” Tramont said.

FBI warns against using public USB charging ports

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(DENVER) — The FBI is warning the public against using charging stations in malls and at airports, according to a tweet from the bureau’s Denver office.

The public charging stations could be a conduit for bad actors to introduce malware onto personal devices, officials warn.

“Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers,” the FBI Denver said. “Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.”

The FBI didn’t respond to ABC News’ request for comment on whether there has been a rise in malicious activity related to the cyber-theft tactic known as “juice jacking.”

Javed Ali, the former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, told ABC News that the information tweet was likely “informed by an FBI-driven investigation or other intelligence that has now been approved for public release.”

“The tweet’s message that public USB ports have been used by “bad actors” as points of origin to load malware or spyware on electronic devices connected to those public charging stations suggests a fairly high level of technical capability in order to carry out these operations,” Ali, now an Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy said.

A 2021 alert posted by the Federal Communications Commission warned that using a public charger could lead to malicious software on a device without the user’s knowledge.

“Cybersecurity experts have warned that criminals can load malware onto public USB charging stations to maliciously access electronic devices while they are being charged,” the alert, initially posted around the holiday season warned. “Malware installed through a dirty USB port can lock a device or export personal data and passwords directly to the perpetrator. Criminals can use that information to access online accounts or sell it to other bad actors.”

While officials did not offer statistics about the prevalence of juice jacking, people have increasingly suffered from cyber-theft in recent years. Americans lost $10.3 billion to a wide variety of internet scams last year, according to an FBI report released last month.

Elizabeth Holmes’ attempt to delay prison sentence denied by judge

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A federal judge has denied an effort by disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes to delay the start of her prison sentence, set to begin later this month, while she awaits an appeal ruling.

Holmes does not pose a flight risk but she failed to raise a “‘substantial question of law or fact’ that is ‘likely to result in a reversal or an order for a new trial on all counts,'” Edward Davila, the district court judge who presided over her trial, wrote in the decision.

The prison sentence for Holmes is set to begin on April 27.

Davila rejected a similar delay request last month from Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the former romantic partner of Holmes as well as chief operating officer and president of Theranos, who was originally set to enter incarceration on March 16 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Balwani faces a nearly 13-year sentence after being convicted of 12 counts of fraud and conspiracy. An appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals kept Balwani from surrendering in March but that appeal has since been denied and Balwani must report to California’s Terminal Island prison on April 20. Balwani had requested and was granted a change in prison location.

In November, Holmes was sentenced to 135 months, or 11 1/4 years, in prison. The sentence falls short of the maximum possible punishment for Holmes, who faced as many as 20 years in prison.

Holmes was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after the sentence.

In her motion to remain out of prison until an appeal ruling, Holmes challenged court findings regarding the accuracy and reliability of Theranos’ blood testing machines, as well as the court’s refusal to admit previous testimony from Balwani that he held primary responsibility for financial model estimates shown to prospective investors, among other claims.

Davila ruled that such challenges, even if granted, were unlikely to result in a reversal of the conviction or a new trial.

Holmes, 38, was convicted last January on four counts of investor fraud and conspiracy while at the helm of Theranos.

The verdict followed a four-month trial that detailed Holmes’ trajectory from a Stanford University dropout in 2003 to a star business leader on the cover of Fortune magazine a little more than a decade later.

Ultimately, her downfall began in 2015 amid investigations from journalists and regulators over the medical company’s faulty product, which claimed to provide accurate information from tests using just a few drops of blood.

A year later, as the company struggled, Forbes downgraded its assessment of Holmes’ net worth from $4.5 billion to $0.

Facing charges of massive fraud from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Holmes agreed to forfeit control of Theranos in 2018.

Chicago to host 2024 Democratic National Convention

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic National Committee announced on Tuesday that its 2024 convention will be held in Chicago.

The convention will take place Aug. 19 through 22 at the United Center and the McCormick Place Convention Center, with between 5,000 and 7,000 delegates and alternates expected to attend, a source familiar said in confirmation of what was first reported in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago had been in competition with Atlanta and New York City for the large political event.

The choice comes a week after Democratic victories in the Midwest, including an outsized win for the left flank of the party with the Windy City’s election of progressive Brandon Johnson last Tuesday.

“The DNC is returning to the Midwest, a critical Democratic stronghold: Illinois along with Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota — part of the ‘blue wall’ — were crucial to the 2020 victory of President Biden and Vice President Harris and to Democrats’ success in the 2022 midterm elections,” the DNC wrote in a statement.

The choice also comes in the wake of a large loss for Midwest progressives for the coming election cycle, with South Carolina unseating Iowa as the first state in the nation to vote on a Democratic nominee for president.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday reaffirmed his commitment to the Midwest.

“Chicago is a great choice to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention,” said Biden. “Democrats will gather to showcase our historic progress including building an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not from the top down. From repairing our roads and bridges, to unleashing a manufacturing boom, and creating over 12.5 million new good-paying jobs, we’ve already delivered so much for hard working Americans – now it’s time to finish the job.”

STIs, including syphilis, rose during second year of pandemic, CDC data shows

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The number of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States shows “no signs of slowing,” new federal data shows.

A total of 2.53 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were recorded in 2021, according to a new report published Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That’s a 5.8% increase from the 2.39 million cases reported in 2020 and a 7% increase from five years ago when 2.37 million STIs were recorded in 2017.

While certain STIs did not reach pre-pandemic levels, others — such as syphilis — are recording the highest numbers seen in more than 70 years.

A total of 176,713 syphilis cases — for all stages of the infection — were recorded in 2021, the highest since the 217,558 cases reported in 1950 and a 32% increase from the 133,954 recorded the previous year, the report said.

The report also found that cases of congenital syphilis, which occurs when a baby is born with the infection after the mother passed it on during pregnancy, rose by 32% from 2,148 to more than 2,800. This resulted in 220 stillbirths and infant deaths in 2021, the agency said.

Meanwhile, gonorrhea rates increased 4% from 206.5 per 100,000 to 214.8 per 100,000. Rates of chlamydia — which make up the majority of STIs — also rose by about 4% from 481.3 per 100,000 to 500 per 100,000.

However, unlike gonorrhea and syphilis, reported cases of chlamydia did not return to pre-pandemic levels, the CDC said.

However, the CDC cautioned that because the disease is typically asymptomatic, these decreases were more likely due to COVID-19-related disruptions than to drops in infections.

According to the CDC, STIs fell rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in March and April 2020, during shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders.

This is due to reduced screenings because many health care clinics either closed or had limited in-person appointments in the early days of the pandemic, limited resources due to programs shifting to help combat COVID-19 and social distancing measures limiting sexual behaviors and activity.

In response, the federal health agency is calling for more action from health care and public health experts with a focus on STI prevention and innovation efforts.

This includes rebuilding and expanding local public health services to offer STI testing and treatments, making these testing and treatment options more accessible and advancing research to prevent STIs through vaccines or post-exposure prophylaxis.

“The U.S. STI epidemic shows no signs of slowing,” said Dr. Leandro Mena, director of the CDC’s division of STD prevention, in a statement. “The reasons for the ongoing increases are multifaceted — and so are the solutions. For the first time in decades, we’re seeing promising new STI interventions on the horizon, but these alone will not solve this epidemic.”

The statement continued, “It will take many of us working together to effectively use new and existing tools, to increase access to quality sexual healthcare services for more people, and to encourage ongoing innovation and prioritization of STI prevention and treatment in this country.”

DOJ provides congressional leaders access to Trump, Biden, Pence classified docs

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has started to provide access to a group of bipartisan congressional leaders some of the classified materials recovered from the residences of former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News Tuesday.

Administration officials began sharing the documents with House and Senate leadership as well as the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees — known as the “Gang of Eight” — last week, sources said.

The production follows months of increasingly contentious back-and-forth negotiations between lawmakers and the Justice Department, which now has two separate special counsel probes investigating the potential mishandling of classified materials by Trump and Biden.

Trump is under scrutiny for his alleged obstruction of the government’s efforts to retrieve classified materials he retained after leaving the White House, while Biden has pledged full cooperation with the special counsel investigating him.

Punchbowl News first reported news of the agreement.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the developments. ABC News has reached out to lawmakers in the “Gang of Eight” but did not immediately receive a response.

What is not clear is the level of access to the documents the administration is providing to lawmakers, given sensitivities surrounding the ongoing criminal investigations of Trump and Biden.

Attorney General Merrick Garland acknowledged those sensitivities when he was pressed on the administration’s hesitance to provide access to some of the materials recovered from Trump, Biden and Pence’s homes in an appearance before Congress two weeks ago, though he also noted negotiations were progressing.

China ‘ready to fight’ after three days of large-scale military drills around Taiwan

April 11, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(TAIPEI, Taiwan) — China’s military declared it’s “ready to fight” after wrapping up three days of combat drills simulating a blockade to “seal off” Taiwan.

The large-scale land and sea exercises follow last week’s meeting by Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the United States.

China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and hasn’t ruled out taking the self-governed island by force.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Monday it tracked a record 91 Chinese fighter jets in the final day of the exercises, with dozens of warplanes crossing over the sensitive maritime median line of the Taiwan Strait.

The drills involved Su-30 and J-11 fighters, navy destroyers and missile speedboats, practicing to “encircle” Taiwan. China said it was simulating attacks on key targets, with the People’s Liberation Army even releasing an animation of what hitting those targets would look like.

A voice recording obtained by ABC News captures the moment of a standoff between a Taiwanese ship and Chinese ship. The Taiwanese officers are heard telling the PLA Xuzhou: “Your actions have seriously undermined the region’s peace, stability and security and deliberately provoked trouble, which have intensified security risk in the Taiwan Strait. Please leave immediately. If you insist on trespassing into our 24 nm contiguous zone, I will be forced to expel you.”

China’s Xuzhou responds, “The 24 nm contiguous zone doesn’t exist. Taiwan is an integral part of China. Those pursuing Taiwan independence are the ones undermining peace and stability across the Strait.”

China also claimed a U.S. Navy ship “illegally intruded” into waters it claims as its own, about 800 miles south of Taiwan. The USS Milius is a guided missile destroyer, it was carrying out a freedom of navigation patrol in the Spratly Islands, in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

The U.S. said it was monitoring China’s actions and that it was “comfortable and confident” it has the resources and capabilities to ensure peace and stability in the region.

This round of Chinese drills is shorter than the ones held last August, following former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. At that time China staged unprecedented drills for about a week, including firing missiles over the island.

Former Taiwanese defence minister Andrew Yang told ABC News that he thought this month’s drills were actually larger in scale, because of the use of China’s Shandong aircraft carrier.

On the streets of Taipei, ABC News spoke to a range of Taiwanese who had mixed views towards the Chinese threat, but many of them said it was easier “not to think about” whether there could be an invasion.

Brian Pien, who works in IT recruitment, said, “They made it clear they’re gonna do something. We don’t know when that’s going to happen, we just hope we’re going to be safe.”

Twenty-six-year-old Becky Chen said, “I feel ever since Nancy Pelosi visited us the tension has been more intense than ever.”

J.C. Cheng, however, said the threat of China is something “us Taiwanese grow up with,” but admitted it’s something he does worry about.

Wu Rwei-Ren, associate research fellow at Academia Sinica, said “Taiwan on the surface, looks quiet and peaceful, and it seems like everything is business as usual, but in people’s conscience, something fundamentally different has occurred.”

“The economy is good. We have a vibrant democracy, we have human rights and freedom,” he went on to say, “And yet, on the other hand, we are facing probably one of the most dangerous times in history.”

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