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Woman sues Kraft over Velveeta mac and cheese preparation time

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A woman in Florida has sued Kraft Heinz Foods Company, claiming the time it takes to make its microwaveable cup of Velveeta macaroni and cheese is longer than what the claims on the label indicate.

Amanda Ramirez filed a $5 million class action lawsuit against the company earlier in November over the “ready in 3 1/2 minutes” claim on the packaging of Velveeta Shells & Cheese cups.

“Consumers are misled to expect the Product will be ready for consumption in a shorter amount of time than it really takes to prepare,” the lawsuit reads. “Defendant sold more of the Product and at higher prices than it would have in the absence of this misconduct, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers.”

In the suit, Ramirez claims that the “3 1/2 minutes” phrase on the packaging refers to the cooking time only.

“According to the directions on the back of the packaging, there are four steps in preparing the product,” the suit reads. “First, consumers must ‘REMOVE lid and Cheese Sauce Pouch.’ Next, they must ‘ADD water to fill line in cup. STIR.’ Third, ‘MICROWAVE, uncovered, on HIGH 3-1/2 min. DO NOT DRAIN.’ Finally, they should ‘STIR IN contents of cheese sauce pouch.’ Defendant then notes that ‘CHEESE SAUCE WILL THICKEN UPON STANDING.’ “

“Consumers seeing ‘ready in 3½ minutes’ will believe it represents the total amount of time it takes to prepare the Product, meaning from the moment it is unopened to the moment it is ready for consumption,” the suit continues. “However, the directions outlined above show that 3-and-a-half minutes is just the length of time to complete one of several steps. The label does not state the Product takes ‘3½ minutes to cook in the microwave,’ which would have been true.”

Ramirez claims in the suit that the mac and cheese products are “sold at a premium price, approximately no less than $10.99 for eight 2.39 oz cups, excluding tax and sales,” which she said are priced “higher than similar products represented in a non-misleading way and higher than it would be sold for absent the misleading representations and omissions.”

“Good Morning America” has reached out to Kraft Heinz for comment on the lawsuit. In previous comments to other publications, the company has stated: “We are aware of this frivolous lawsuit and will strongly defend against the allegations in the complaint.”

Ramirez sued “individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,” which indicates this could lead to a class action settlement for consumers.

“The members of the class Plaintiff seeks to represent are more than 100, because the Product has been sold with the representations described here from thousands of stores in the States covered by Plaintiff’s proposed classes,” the suit states.

The suit is seeking at least $5 million in damages, “including statutory and punitive exclusive of interest and costs.”

A West Palm Beach-based law firm filed the suit with Ramirez, according to the documents, along with Sheehan and Associates, a New York law firm led by Spencer Sheehan, who has brought hundreds of lawsuits against other popular grocery products such as Pop-Tarts, NPR first reported.

The Pop-Tarts lawsuit claimed that the product’s packaging was “misleading because the label gives consumers the impression the fruit filling only contains strawberries as its fruit ingredient.” A federal judge in New York dismissed the suit in April, stating that “no reasonable consumer would see the entire product label, reading the words ‘Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts’ next to a picture of a toaster pastry coated in frosting, and reasonably expect that fresh strawberries would be the sole ingredient in the Product.”

McConnell casts doubt on Trump getting elected after dinner with white nationalist

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, the likely next House speaker, defended former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, a week after Trump dined at his Mar-a-Lago resort with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who has made antisemitic remarks.

“I don’t think anybody should be spending any time with Nick Fuentes,” McCarthy told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce after meeting with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders.

“He has no place in this Republican Party. I think President Trump came out four times and condemned him and didn’t know who he was,” McCarthy said, although there is no evidence Trump condemned Fuentes.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday went further than McCarthy, condemning Trump’s meeting with Fuentes, opening his weekly press conference by rejecting not only “antisemitism” and “white supremacy” but saying Trump’s association with the ideologies could keep him from winning a second term in the White House.

“There is no room in the Republican Party for antisemitism or white supremacy,” McConnell said, flanked by Republican Senate leadership. “And anyone meeting with people advocating that point of view, in my judgment, are highly unlikely to ever be elected president of the United States.”

McCarthy is a legislative ally of Trump’s while McConnell has broken with the former president a number of times, including criticizing him over the Jan. 6 insurrection. The GOP leaders’ comments came after a number of other high-profile Republicans condemned what Trump has insisted was an impromptu meal.

Beyond Washington, Trump faced criticism from his former vice president and potential 2024 primary opponent, Mike Pence.

“President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an antisemite and a Holocaust denier a seat at the table, and I think he should apologize,” Pence told NewsNation in an interview.

Still, Pence said, “I don’t believe Donald Trump is an antisemite. I don’t believe he’s a racist or a bigot.”

Fuentes, a white nationalist who has made racist, sexist and antisemitic comments, has been banned on all major social media platforms. Ye recently lost major business deals over his own antisemitic comments.

Trump has said he did not know who Fuentes was when Fuentes came to Mar-a-Lago, initially posting about the meeting on his social media platform on Friday, claiming he didn’t know Ye would be bringing other guests, but not mentioning Fuentes.

In later statements, he said that he only sought to meet with Ye and that the rapper brought Fuentes to the two-hour dinner without his knowledge.

“Well, I condemn this ideology. It has no place in society,” McCarthy said, when pressed by ABC’s Bruce about Trump’s lack of comment on the white nationalist Fuentes.

“The president didn’t know who he was,” McCarthy repeated. “So, he knew who Kanye West is. He didn’t know who Fuentes is.”

Asked later if it was appropriate for or Trump to meet with West, McCarthy said “the president has meetings with who he wants. I don’t think anybody, though, should have a meeting with Nick Fuentes … I think Kanye West…I don’t think we should associate with them, as well. I’m very clear in my position.”

McCarthy last week clinched the Republican nomination for speaker in the next Congress, fending off a challenge from Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs as the GOP will regain the House majority next session.

Supreme Court conflicted over Biden deportation policy

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday wrestled for more than two hours with a perennial Washington pickle: how to square immigration enforcement mandates in federal law with Congress’ failure to provide sufficient funding to do the job.

The justices also took on whether states like Texas and Louisiana, suffering alleged harm from illegal immigration, can sue the government to force it to crack down.

There appeared to be no clear answers to the politically charged questions.

“‘Shall’ means ‘shall,'” Chief Justice John Roberts suggested of federal law instructing the Department of Homeland Security to “take into custody” unlawful immigrants convicted of certain crimes.

But Roberts went on to observe “it’s impossible” for the executive branch to detain and deport all 11 million immigrants eligible for removal from the U.S. “Certainly, there are cases where we’ve said ‘shall’ means ‘may,'” he added. (The government has only 6,000 interior immigration enforcement officers, according to DHS.)

At the heart of the case are Department of Homeland Security guidelines established by the Biden administration in 2021 to prioritize arrest and deportation of unlawful immigrants deemed a danger to national security or public safety over those who are otherwise non-criminals.

The administration argues it has broad discretion in how it detains and deports immigrants — consistent with an approach long taken by governments of both parties.

“It’s about prioritizing limited resources to say go after person A instead of person B,” argued Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar. “There is no reason to conclude that that’s actually going to lead to less enforcement against individuals overall.”

Texas and Louisiana, which are challenging the guidelines, allege the White House approach to deportations is an abuse of discretion that has imposed costs on state taxpayers.

“States bear many of the consequences of federal immigration decisions,” said Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone. He claims up to 80,000 “criminal aliens” are living in Texas.

“We either pay the costs through detention or through recidivism,” Stone said.

A federal district court vacated the guidelines nationwide last year, and they are not currently in effect. The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court to reinstate them.

Several conservative justices were highly skeptical that the guidelines were compliant with federal law.

“We have one set of priorities established by Congress and another set by the executive branch. Isn’t that correct?” Justice Samuel Alito asked of Prelogar.

“No, that’s wrong,” she replied, “because the guidelines govern only decisions about apprehension and removal, whether to charge a non-citizen in the first place.”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested the government’s abuse of immigration enforcement discretion has forced some in Congress to consider “dramatic steps” to compensate.

“What are the tools Congress has to make sure its laws are enforced in the U.S.?” Kavanaugh asked Prelogar. “I think your position is, instead of judicial review, Congress has to resort to shutting down the government or impeachment or dramatic steps if it — if some administration comes in and says we’re not going to enforce laws.”

The court’s three liberal justices were more deferential to the administration.

“Immigration policy is supposed to be the zenith of executive power,” Justice Elena Kagan told Stone. “We’re just going to be in a situation where every administration is confronted by suits, by states that can bring a policy to a dead halt by just showing a dollar’s worth of costs?”

“It’s just not enough [to do that] with a set of speculative possibilities about your costs,” she said.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she was “troubled” by the practical impact of forcing DHS to detain unlawful immigrants before a decision has been made on deportation. “You can’t just indefinitely hold people,” she said, noting the months-to-years-long backlog in cases.

The justices spent significant time grappling with two potential resolutions to the case that would not involve weighing in on the merits of the guidelines themselves.

One approach could be to decide that a lower court erred in vacating the guidelines since federal immigration law explicitly limits courts’ ability to intervene. Another option could be to find that Texas and Louisiana don’t have standing to bring the case or have not shown sufficient proof of being harmed.

“What will happen here if you prevail?” Kavanaugh asked the Texas Solicitor General Stone.

“Individual officers in ICE will go back to not believing that their enforcement discretion has been restrained,” Stone replied.

The Biden administration had a starkly different answer: “It would be incredibly destabilizing on the ground,” Prelogar insisted. “Bad for the executive branch, bad for the American public, and bad for Article 3 courts.”

A decision is expected by the end of June 2023.

Top Belarus opposition leader reportedly in ‘intensive care’

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — A top jailed Belarus opposition leader, who became the face of its pro-democracy movement, is reportedly in intensive care after being hospitalized for an unknown reason, according to her supporters.

Maria Kalesnikava was one of three women who found themselves at the head of mass street protests in 2020 that came close to toppling Belarus’ long-ruling dictator Alexander Lukashenko.

Kalesnikava, 39, was imprisoned after she tore up her passport to prevent Lukashenko’s security forces from forcibly deporting her in 2020. She became one of Belarus’ most prominent political prisoners, sentenced to 11 years in prison in September 2021 on charges of extremism and seeking to illegally seize power that were widely condemned by western countries as politically motivated.

On Tuesday, an official Twitter account linked to another jailed opposition figure Viktor Babariko, tweeted that Kalesnikava was now in intensive care.

“Masha Kalesnikava is in intensive care. The reason is unknown,” the account tweeted, saying the information was confirmed by her lawyer.

The account said Kalesnikava is in a hospital in the city of Gomel, saying she was brought there on Monday and hospitalized in a surgical department before being transferred to intensive care.

The account added that Kalesnikava’s lawyers had been complaining to authorities about the state of her health but that they had been ignored.

A former professional musician, Kalesnikava was initially a spokeswoman for Babariko, but teamed up with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to challenge Lukashenko in a 2020 presidential election after Babariko and Tsikhanouskaya’s husband were barred from running and jailed. She became one of the faces of the protests that erupted after Lukashenko declared victory in the vote that was widely criticized as rigged, becoming known for the heart shape sign she often flashed with her hands.

Lukashenko’s regime was shaken by the protests– that saw hundreds of thousands demonstrate peacefully for weeks— but he eventually succeeded in smothering the uprising with a relentless crackdown, during which security forces have arrested thousands of people. Kalesnikava became one of the only top leaders of the protests who remained in the country, after most were driven into exile.

After Kalesnikava was sentenced last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned it, calling it “further evidence of the regime’s total disregard for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Belarus.”

Rejected contracts, White House involvement: A timeline of a potential rail strike

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Hundreds of thousands of rail workers stand on the brink of a nationwide strike that would paralyze the U.S. supply chain and passenger rail service ahead of the busy holiday season.

“Let me be clear: a rail shutdown would devastate our economy,” President Joe Biden said on Monday. “Without freight rail, many U.S. industries would shut down.”

Biden asked Congress to pass a law that imposes the terms of a tentative agreement reached in September but was rejected by several unions.

Still, the fate of a potential deal between rail workers and companies remains uncertain, especially if Congress fails to impose the tentative agreement. Four of 12 unions have already voted down the agreement and those four unions represent the majority of unionized rail workers.

A nationwide strike is expected unless the contract is ratified by each of the 12 rail unions, since all of the unions have vowed not to cross the picket line in the event of a work stoppage.

Unions have said rail employees are seeking improvements to working conditions, since workers do not receive paid sick days. The unions have accused rail companies of penalizing workers for taking time off for medical reasons and holding the nation’s economy hostage to ensure a favorable deal.

The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, or NCCC, which represents the nation’s freight railroads in national collective bargaining, has said rail employees are provided “significant” time off and the companies have offered a fair contract that includes a considerable wage increase.

Here’s a timeline of how the U.S. arrived at the precipice of a rail shutdown and what to expect as a deadline nears in the coming weeks:

July 15 – As rail unions and companies struggle to reach an agreement on the terms of a new contract, Biden signs an executive order that creates a presidential emergency board.

The board’s goal is to issue guideline recommendations for an agreement between the two sides in order to avert a potentially devastating rail strike.

Aug. 16 – The presidential emergency board issues recommendations for a compromise agreement between the unions and rail companies.

The recommendations include a 24% raise from 2020 to 2024 and bonus increases. The union’s demand for a new time-off policy, however, is omitted.

Sept. 14 – Rail workers and companies prepare for a potential strike that could cost $2 billion a day in lost economic output, according to the Association of American Railroads, which lobbies on behalf of rail companies.

Freight railroads are responsible for carrying 40% of the nation’s long-haul freight and a work stoppage could jeopardize these shipments.

Sept. 15 – Rail companies and unions reach a tentative labor agreement after 20 consecutive hours of negotiations brokered by U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.

The tentative agreement “balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy,” Walsh said.

The agreement improves the time-off policies at the rail companies, which are a key sticking point in the negotiations, according to a statement from the two largest unions, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Trainmen, or BLET, and the SMART Transportation Division, or SMART-TD.

Oct. 11 – A union representing about 12,000 rail workers votes down the tentative contract that was brokered by the White House, raising the possibility of an eventual strike.

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the Teamsters, or BMWED, rejects the tentative contract due to frustration with compensation and working conditions, particularly a lack of paid sick days, BMWED President Tony Cardell says in a statement.

“Railroaders do not feel valued,” Cardell says. “They resent the fact that management holds no regard for their quality of life.”

The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, or NCCC, the group representing the freight railroad companies, expresses “disappointment” in the decision to reject the contract.

Oct. 27 – A second union rejects the White House-brokered deal, elevating the likelihood of a nationwide strike.

The vote by the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, a union representing 6,000 workers, centers on the lack of paid sick days, according to a statement from Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen President Michael Baldwin.

The NCCC expresses disappointment over the union vote.

The tentative contract “included the largest wage package in nearly five decades, maintained rail employees’ platinum-level health benefits, and added an additional day of paid time off,” the NCCC says in a statement.

Nov. 21 – The nation’s largest rail union votes down the tentative contract brokered by the White House, dramatically escalating the likelihood of a strike.

SMART-TD, which represents about 28,000 conductors, narrowly rejects the contract in a vote that garnered record turnout, the union says.

The second-largest rail union, made up of engineers, votes in favor of the contract, splitting the top rail unions.

Nov. 28 – Biden asks Congress to intervene and avert a potential strike by forcing the workers’ unions to accept a White House-brokered deal as a December deadline approaches.

In a statement, Biden touts himself as a “pro-labor” president but says the larger economic implications outweigh those concerns.

“I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement. But in this case — where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families — I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal,” he says.

He calls on Congress to quickly pass legislation to adopt the White House-brokered deal reached in September.

Outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi later says in a statement that the House will soon take up such legislation and will not modify the agreed-upon terms.

Nov. 29 – Biden tells ABC News he’s “confident” the U.S. will avert a rail strike.

“Congress, I think, has to act to prevent it,” he says. “It’s not an easy call, but I think we have to do it.”

Dec. 4 – By the end of the week that concludes on Dec. 4, House lawmakers are expected to take up a bill that adopts the tentative agreement brokered by the White House.

If passed, the bill will be sent to the Senate, where it faces uncertain prospects as the chamber is split 50-50 between the parties. Most legislation requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

Dec. 9 – A strike deadline looms on Dec. 9, when unions could move forward with a coordinated work stoppage.

Additional reporting contributed by Morgan Winsor, Sam Sweeney, Sarah Kolinovsky, Amanda Maile, Zunaira Zaki, Trish Turner, Ahmad Hemingway and William Kim

Two-thirds of states reporting ‘very high’ or ‘high’ levels of flu-like activity: CDC

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — Two-third of states across the country are reporting either “very high” or “high” levels of influenza-like activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly report.

As of the week ending Nov. 19, the latest date for which data is available, 16 states as well as New York City and Washington, D.C. are reporting “very high” levels while 17 states are reporting “high” levels.

By comparison, during this time last year, all states were reporting “low” or “moderate” levels of activity with only New Mexico and Rhode Island reporting “high” levels.

The data comes as experts have warned that the flu season has begun earlier than usual, with cases on par with those seen typically seen in winter and causing hospital beds to fill up quickly.

So far, this flu season, there have been at least 6.2 million illnesses, 53,000 hospitalizations, and 2,900 deaths from flu, according to CDC estimates.

Just a week earlier, as of the week ending Nov. 12, there were an estimated 4.4 million illnesses, 38,000 hospitalizations, and 2,100 deaths from flu reported.

The hospitalization rate, which sits at 11.3 per 100,000, continues to be the highest for this time in the season since the 2010-2011 season, as far back as statistics are available.

Although influenza-like illness is at the highest level at this point in the season in recent memory — the rate of increase has slowed down over the last two weeks.

In addition, five influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported this week, for a total of 12 deaths among children reported so far this season.

What’s more, CDC is reporting most influenza viruses tested match well to this season’s influenza vaccine.

Among adults aged 18 and older, as of mid-October — the latest date for which data is available — 26.3% were vaccinated against the flu compared with 23% last year, according to the CDC dashboard.

Vaccination coverage among children aged 6 months and older is roughly the same with 35.4% vaccinated as of the week ending Nov. 5 compared to 35.3% at the same time one year earlier.

However, among pregnant people, as of the end of October 2022, just 36.8% have received their flu shots compared to 48.6% of pregnant people who had received the flu shot at the end of October 2021.

The early flu season is additionally concerning with the pediatric surge of respiratory illness already filling up 78% of pediatric beds, according to data from the Department of Health & Human Services.

Tornadoes threaten multiple states in the South: Latest forecast

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Emily Shapiro and Max Golembo, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — The tornadoes are expected to hit from Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday night. People who live in weaker homes are encouraged to go to storm shelters.

The severe storms could also bring damaging winds and large hail.

Cities in the bullseye are: Jackson, Mississippi; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Memphis, Tennessee. Impacts could also reach New Orleans, Mobile and Birmingham, Alabama; Nashville, Tennessee and eastern Kentucky.

Flash flooding is possible in southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

On Wednesday, the storm system is forecast to move east.

Strong thunderstorms are possible from the Florida Panhandle to the Carolinas. In addition, heavy rain and gusty winds are expected from Washington, D.C., to Boston.

Jan. 6 committee to interview former Trump Secret Service agent Tony Ornato

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Former White House deputy chief of staff for operations and top Secret Service official Tony Ornato was expected to meet with the the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack on Tuesday, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

This will be the first time the committee has spoken to Ornato since White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson recounted in dramatic testimony during a committee hearing in June how Ornato told her former President Donald Trump had a physical confrontation with his Secret Service detail in the president’s vehicle on Jan. 6.

Hutchinson told the committee in live testimony Ornato told her Trump was “irate” after being told he couldn’t join his supporters at the Capitol, going so far as to try to grab the steering wheel of the SUV and lunging towards Bobby Engel, who was the head of Trump’s Secret Service detail.

Hutchinson maintains that while she was not in the SUV at the time, she heard the account from Ornato when everyone was back at the White House after his rally at the Ellipse. Hutchinson told the committee Engel was in the room as Ornato told the story, and that Ornato motioned toward his clavicles as he was talking about the purported lunge toward Engel.

“Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge toward Bobby Engel and when Mr. Ornato recounted this story to me, he motioned toward his clavicles,” Hutchinson testified she was told.

Hutchinson said that Engel didn’t deny the story as Ornato recounted it in her presence.

The committee has wanted to question Ornato since Hutchinson’s testimony this summer, sources said, and will do so on Tuesday behind closed doors. Ornato, who has since retired, could deny Trump lunged at the wheel, sources said.

The committee has been interviewing Secret Service officials over the past few weeks, according to sources. While officials may not be corroborating the lunge at the steering wheel, the agents the committee has interviewed have confirmed the main point — that Trump was irate and wanted to go to the Capitol.

Ornato’s interview is scheduled a day after the panel questioned Kellyanne Conway, a former senior adviser to Trump.

The New York Times was first to report on Ornato’s expected testimony.

ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.

Former police officer allegedly catfishes teen girl online, kills her family

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) — A former Virginia police officer allegedly “catfished” a teenage girl online before traveling to Riverside, California, and killing her family, according to police.

The murders were discovered on Friday after authorities received a report of a girl “who appeared distressed” while getting into a car with a man, Riverside police said.

As officers responded to that report, they received calls of a fire at a nearby house.

Police said three family members were found dead in the house from apparent homicides: 69-year-old Mark Winek; his wife, 65-year-old Sharie Winek; and their daughter, 38-year-old Brooke Winek.

The Wineks “were loving people who didn’t deserve this,” the family said in a statement.

The fire appears to have been intentionally set, police said, adding that the causes of death were still pending.

Authorities said the teenage girl lived at that house and the victims killed were her mother and grandparents.

The man getting in the car with the teen was identified as 28-year-old Austin Lee Edwards of Virginia, according to police.

The girl is 15, according to Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback.

Several hours after the three bodies were found, authorities said they spotted Edwards driving with the girl.

Edwards — who had worked for the Virginia State Police — allegedly led deputies on a chase and fired shots at them, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said. Edwards lost control of his car and drove off the road, pointing a gun at a sheriff’s helicopter, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies then fired at Edwards who was declared dead at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.

The teen was rescued and wasn’t hurt, according to police.

Riverside police said they determined Edwards met the teen online through “‘catfishing,’ where someone pretends to be a different person than they actually are.”

Police believe the 28-year-old suspect was pretending to be a teenager, according to Railsback.

After Edwards developed a relationship with the girl online, police said they believe he drove from Virginia to California, parked in a neighbor’s driveway, went to the girl’s home and killed her family. Edwards then allegedly took the teen and drove away, according to police.

Edwards was hired by the Virginia State Police in July 2021 and quit on Oct. 28, 2022, the agency said.

Edwards passed the state’s background check, state police said.

“As a probationary employee, Edwards was also given monthly performance evaluations, in accordance with department policy. During Edwards’ short tenure with the department, he never exhibited any behaviors to trigger any internal administrative or criminal investigations,” the state police said in a statement.

Edwards was hired by the Washington County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 16, 2022, and had started orientation with the department, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Past employers and the Virginia State Police were contacted during the hiring processing; however, no employers disclosed any troubles, reprimands, or internal investigations pertaining to Edwards,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis added in a statement: “It is shocking and sad to the entire law enforcement community that such an evil and wicked person could infiltrate law enforcement while concealing his true identity as a computer predator and murderer. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Winek family, their friends, officers, and all of those affected by this heinous crime.”

ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson, Jenna Harrison and DeMarco Morgan contributed to this report.

Dad of slain Idaho student pleads with public for help: ‘I have to have my justice’

November 29, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(MOSCOW, Idaho) — The father of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four University of Idaho students mysteriously stabbed to death in an off-campus house, said he’s feeling “a little defeated” and frustrated by the lack of transparency from police.

But Steve Goncalves said he supports and trusts the law enforcement officers who are diligently working on the investigation.

“I have to assume and hope that this is all part of their plan and … they’ve got this all figured out,” he told ABC News. “I know that there’s some really good, hard-working guys and girls that are on this case that I’ve met. And they looked me in the eyes and they told me straight-out that they’re working and they’re doing everything in their power.”

Goncalves added, “My wife’s biggest fear, part of the reason we didn’t have a funeral, is because she couldn’t be guaranteed that that monster was going to not be there.”

Goncalves, 21, her lifelong best friend, Madison Mogen, 21, another roommate Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were killed in the girls’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13. No suspects have been identified.

Two other roommates were in the house at the time and survived, appearing to have slept through the crimes, according to police. The surviving roommates are not considered suspects, police said.

“You can’t imagine sending your girl to college and they come back … in an urn,” Goncalves said. “You’re numb … you can’t absorb that amount of pain and agony.”

Kaylee, the Goncalves’ middle child, was planning to move to Texas. She had mentioned going to Chicago, but her parents said it wasn’t safe enough.

“She was going places. She was highly motivated,” her dad said. “I hope people understand how all these kids … were doing everything right and they were going to be the type of people that you want to be your neighbor.”

The Goncalves considered Mogen their “bonus child.”

“When you’re sick and you’re down and you’re out, you want to have that one great friend that’s always there for you — and that’s what they had,” Goncalves said. “There is no Kaylee without Maddie.”

It’s believed the four students were killed between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, according to Moscow Mayor Art Bettge. On the morning of Nov. 13, the two surviving roommates called friends over because they thought one of the victims had passed out and wasn’t waking up, police said.

At 11:58 a.m., a 911 call from one of the roommate’s phones requested help for an unconscious person, police said. “Multiple people talked with the 911 dispatcher,” police said, adding that they do not believe anyone at the house at the time of the 911 call was involved in the murders. Responding officers found the four victims on the second and third floors, police said.

Goncalves said the students died quickly and did not bleed for hours, so an earlier 911 call would not have saved their lives.

“Nobody suffered and nobody felt like that kind of pain,” Goncalves said.

The murder weapon — which police believe to be a fix-blade knife — has not been found.

Goncalves said the victims suffered “large punctures” from a “brutal weapon.”

“The detective said this weapon is probably something [the killer] paid money for and something that they’re proud of,” he said.

Goncalves said the only thing worse than losing his child is knowing that her killer is “having a great life out there — and you’re just left in shambles.”

“I have to have my justice. These families deserve that,” Goncalves said. “We just have to come together as a community. Submit all those pieces of evidence … and get this guy off the streets.”

Anyone with information can upload digital media to fbi.gov/moscowidaho or contact the tip line at tipline@ci.moscow.id.us or 208-883-7180.

ABC News’ Timmy Truong contributed to this report.

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