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What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

October 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As rising gas prices strain the budgets of many Americans, President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday moves that aim to address the oil supply shortage behind the cost spike.

Most notably, the announcement includes the release of 15 million barrels of oil from the nation’s stockpile — known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — in December.

The release accounts for the final 15 million barrels of oil from the 180 million that Biden vowed to release over six months.

The move renews questions about why the U.S. stockpiles oil, how much oil the reserve has left and if more oil on the market can bring down gas prices.

Here’s everything you need to know about the SPR:

What is the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

Established after the Arab Oil Embargo triggered an energy crisis in the early 1970s, the SPR provides an emergency source of oil that protects the U.S. against a sudden supply crunch.

The reserve, which can reach as many as 714 million barrels, is stored in large, high-security underground salt caverns along the gulf coastlines of Louisiana and Texas. As of Oct. 7, the reserve stood at 408 million barrels or 57% of overall capacity, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The president retains wide discretion to release oil from the reserve in what he deems an emergency. In such cases, the U.S. sells the oil on the open market, which in theory should bring oil prices down by increasing supply.

How often has the U.S. released oil from the reserve?

Before the Biden administration, the U.S. released oil from the reserve under emergency conditions three times since it was founded in 1975.

Most recently, in 2011, then-President Barack Obama ordered the release of 30 million barrels alongside additional commitments from allies amid supply disruptions in Libya and elsewhere.

The U.S. released oil reserves in 2005 following the devastation of oil refineries wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Plus, in 1991, the U.S. released oil from the reserve at the beginning of the Gulf War in an effort to assuage concern over oil supply shock from the onset of the conflict.

How much oil has Biden released from the reserve and why?

In March, the Biden administration announced a commitment to release about 1 million barrels per day from the reserve over the ensuing six months — a move that aimed to alleviate some of the oil supply shortage caused by the Russia-Ukraine war as well as supply chain bottlenecks.

The total release of oil from the Biden administration will reach 180 million barrels by December.

For context, the U.S. consumed about 20 million barrels per day last year, EIA data showed. In other words, the amount released by the Biden administration equates to roughly nine days worth of U.S. oil consumption.

Has oil released from the reserve brought down gas prices?

Analysts say recent releases from the oil reserve have reduced gas prices. But other factors have also contributed to the decline in gas prices from a peak in June, including a drop-off in demand after a summer travel surge.

A report from the Treasury Department in June found that releases from the strategic reserve had accounted for a reduction in gas prices of $0.33 per gallon.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, estimates an even larger impact on gas prices.

Releases from the strategic petroleum reserve have “reduced oil prices by an estimated close to $10 per barrel, which translates into a saving of about 40 cents per gallon,” Zandi told ABC News.

Popeyes will ship a frozen, fully cooked Cajun-style turkey to your Thanksgiving table for just under $100

October 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Popeyes will ship a frozen, fully cooked Cajun-style turkey to your Thanksgiving table for just under 0

(NEW YORK) — Whether you’re planning a big holiday meal for a large family this Thanksgiving and dislike cooking, or are in charge of the main dish for your upcoming friendsgiving, fast food chain Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has a Southern-style solution for you.

Some Americans have begun opting out of traditional Thanksgiving dinners in favor of amping up side dishes, or have chosen to simply forgo a giant turkey and replace it with a smaller bird. But for those still looking forward to enjoying some savory, juicy turkey this November, Popeyes has you covered.

The company, famous for its fried chicken and biscuits, has spread its wings ahead of the holiday season to offer a Cajun-style turkey once more.

The fast-food chain announced the return of the fan-favorite Thanksgiving dinner staple on Tuesday. Pre-orders are open, with deliveries slated to begin as early as Oct. 24.

The bird, which feeds 8 to 12 people and costs $94.99, is marinated with Popeyes’ signature blend of Louisiana seasoning, slow roasted and flash fried for a crispy coating, then frozen and packaged to be delivered for an easy thaw, reheat and eat experience.

Customers can preorder the turkey for pickup from their local Popeyes by calling or visiting in person, while supplies last, or online for direct delivery to their doorstep. Online orders will arrive one to three business days after the order is shipped.

The announcement is likely a relief for those with busy lives or anyone who could use a little help in the kitchen: Popeyes conducted its own survey of over 500 people and found that “more than 50% of respondents feel stressed to host Thanksgiving dinner at their own home and think that the turkey is the hardest dish to cook as part of the meal.”

NASA releases stunning star-filled image from Webb telescope

October 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — NASA on Wednesday released an image of newly formed stars from the James Webb Space Telescope.

The image captures nascent, bright-red stars within a billowing cloud of gas and dust at an iconic stellar birthplace known as “The Pillars of Creation.”

The crimson protostars, estimated to be just a few hundred thousand years old, form when knots in the cloud gain enough mass that they collapse under their own gravity and slowly rise in temperature, according to a joint statement from the coalition behind the Webb telescope, which includes NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

The scene is captured by the Webb telescope’s near-infrared camera, which affords the capacity to detect light from the first stars and galaxies. The telescope, launched last December, has delivered images to the public since July.

In this case, the image depicts a location within the Eagle Nebula, which stands 6,500 light-years away, the statement said.

The image of the “Pillars of Creation” will help researchers improve their understanding of star formation by identifying more precise star populations as well as the amount of gas and dust in the region, the statement added.

The “Pillars of Creation” was first captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995. Since then, a host of increasingly advanced telescopes have been trained on the star-studded location.

The Webb telescope is the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space, the joint statement said.

Images released from the Webb telescope have featured Jupiter and the Phantom Galaxy.

Blinken discusses top challenges facing US abroad: Russia, Saudi Arabia, China

October 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown “no interest” in engaging in “meaningful diplomacy” with Ukraine, after eight months of bloody war.

“Our purpose is simple. It’s to stand with the Ukrainians, to make sure that their country remains independent … and, ultimately, to have the strongest possible hand at a negotiating if one emerges, because President Zelenskyy has said himself — at some point, this is going to end through diplomacy,” Blinken told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in a sit-down interview airing Thursday on Good Morning America.

Stephanopoulos pressed Blinken on that point, noting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has “also said he’s not going to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, only with the next Russian president.”

“Well, he’s been clear that diplomacy is going to have to bring this to an end at some point,” Blinken responded. “But what we’ve seen thus far is no interest on the part of Putin in meaningful diplomacy.”

When asked whether he thinks Putin is “still rational,” Blinken said: “It’s hard to put yourself in someone else’s mind. I think he’s rational, but the decisions he’s making — or maybe better put, his objectives — are not rational.”

Meanwhile, OPEC+, a group of oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, announced earlier this month that it will significantly slash production in order to boost prices. The move has forced the United States to release 15 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserve, leaving many in Washington to question whether Riyadh remains an ally, even though Saudi Arabia voted in favor of a U.S.-backed United Nations resolution last week condemning Moscow’s illegal attempts to annex parts of war-torn Ukraine.

“The step that Saudi Arabia and the OPEC+ organization took was one that was deeply unfortunate and also deeply misguided,” Blinken said, “to the extent that this causes oil prices to go up and Russia’s exporting oil, it’s helping to line Putin’s pockets.”

“We’re all trying to restore economic growth,” he added. “That’s exactly the wrong time to engage in production cuts.”

Stephanopoulos pressed Blinken on whether those are “the actions of an ally.”

“In this instance, it’s not,” Blinken replied. “But we have a multiplicity of interests with Saudi Arabia.”

Russia’s ongoing invasion of neighboring Ukraine and its global economic fallout are not the only challenges the United States is facing abroad. With Chinese President Xi Jinping poised to secure an unprecedented third term in office, Blinken said he believes Beijing will seek a speedy reunification with Taiwan, a self-governing island that split from mainland China in 1949, though Beijing claims it as its territory. Xi, who has been in power for over a decade, has made clear his desire to reunite China with Taiwan and, in his speech opening the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing on Sunday, he gave no indication of changing course on the issue.

When asked whether he thinks Xi will speed up the reunification process “by any means necessary,” Blinken said: “Potentially by any means. Through coercion and pressure and potentially, if necessary, by force.”

The U.S. government has a “One China Policy” that recognizes the people of mainland China and Taiwan as being part of “One China,” views Beijing as China’s sole legal government and does not support an independent Taiwan, but considers the matter “unsettled.” Washington is also militarily supportive of the self-governing island and maintains extensive commercial and unofficial ties.

“We’re committed to doing everything we can … to make sure that Taiwan has the ability to effectively defend itself against aggression,” Blinken added. “We’ve also made very clear to China that our expectation is these differences will be resolved peacefully.”

Stephanopoulos asked Blinken what he has to say to Americans who may feel “the world is more dangerous now than it’s ever been.”

“I say yes, it is dangerous. It is complicated. It is full of challenge. And part of it is because we know what’s happening around the world in real-time in ways that we never did before,” Blinken replied. “But at the same time, I’m also seeing incredible opportunities, and opportunities that we have to find ways to seize.”

“One of the first instructions I got from President Biden in taking this job was to reenergize our partnerships,” he added. “That’s what our diplomacy’s all about. And later today, here in Philadelphia, I’m going to get a chance to swear in some new American citizens — one of the parts of my job that gives me the greatest satisfaction.”

Stephanopoulos noted how Blinken’s “face just lit up.”

“It’s the renewal of our country,” Blinken responded. “My late stepfather, he became a citizen of the United States … and he used to say to me: ‘You know, you are an American citizen by a very happy accident of birth. I’m an American by choice.’ That’s a very powerful thing. That’s what carries our country forward.”

Jan. 6 committee has yet to find a Trump lawyer who’ll accept service of subpoena, sources say

October 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol has yet to formally subpoena former President Donald Trump, in part because investigators are still trying to find someone authorized to accept service of it, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.

Last week, the committee took the historic step of voting to subpoena the former president, with all nine members of the panel voting to approve the resolution to compel him to testify about the attack on the Capitol, which the committee argues was the violent culmination of Trump’s many efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

But multiple lawyers representing Trump have told committee investigators they aren’t permitted to formally accept service of the subpoena on behalf of Trump, sources familiar with the deliberations say.

The subpoena is expected to be issued in short order once committee investigators learn who is formally representing Trump in the matter, and after the panel agrees to additional details regarding deadlines for Trump’s compliance and the precise details of the documents they are seeking. The subpoena could be issued as soon as Thursday, the sources said.

Rep. Liz Cheney said on Tuesday the formal request from the committee would happen “shortly.”

Both Evan Corcoran and John Rowley have told committee investigators they don’t have authorization to accept service of the subpoena on behalf of the former president, according to people familiar with the communications. Corcoran is representing Trump in matters related to the Mar-a-Lago documents probe and Rowley — in addition to Corcoran — has been representing Trump on executive privilege issues involving former White House aides who have received grand jury subpoenas.

The committee has also contacted attorney Justin Clark, who has said he also isn’t authorized to accept it, sources say.

Neither Corcoran, Rowley or Clark responded to ABC News’ request seeking comment.

A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesperson for the Jan. 6. committee declined to comment.

Trump has previously told advisers that he’d welcome a live appearance before the committee, according to sources familiar with his thinking, but he has yet to say publicly whether he’ll cooperate. He has denounced the committee and the Jan. 6 investigation.

And if Trump were to offer to testify live in response to the panel’s subpoena, the committee would need to negotiate the terms of such an appearance.

“I think that’s going to be a negotiation,” committee member Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told ABC News’ This Week.

“I’ll only address that when we know for sure whether or not the president has tried to push to come in and talk to us live,” Kinzinger said.

In a 14-page memo addressed to committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and posted to social media on Friday, Trump did not answer whether he would comply with the subpoena to testify. He instead continued his attacks on the panel and continued to make false claims about the 2020 election.

“This memo is being written to express our anger, disappointment, and complaint … with all of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what many consider to be a Charade and Witch Hunt,” he wrote.

Would Pence vote for Trump in 2024? ‘There might be somebody else I’d prefer more,’ he says

October 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Mike Pence had this to say on Wednesday night when asked if he would vote for Donald Trump in 2024, if his former boss were the Republican presidential nominee: “There might be somebody else I’d prefer more.”

Speaking at Georgetown University about the future of conservatism, where he also took questions from students, Pence declined to rule out a bid of his own for the White House but said there were other priorities before him.

“When I tell you as I have every confidence that the Republican Party is going to sort out leadership, all my focus has been on the midterm elections and it’ll stay that way for the next 20 days,” he said. “But after that, we’ll be thinking about the future — ours and the nation’s — and I’ll keep you posted.”

His comments came in conversation with Mo Elleithee, a Democratic National Committee official, executive director of Georgetown’s Institute of Politics and Public Service and a larger part of the Young America’s Foundation’s college tour by the former vice president, who became estranged from Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection — when pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and briefly sent Pence and gathered lawmakers into hiding.

Since then, Pence has continued to speak publicly about his own vision for the GOP.

In prepared remarks on Wednesday, he only mentioned the midterm elections once, predicting GOP flips across Congress and beyond.

“Frankly, I’m very optimistic that in 20 days, we’ll soon have new majorities in the House and Senate and in statehouses around America that will stand for freedom without a problem,” he said.

But, asked by a student how being Trump’s vice president had affected his own future in the Republican Party, he joked, saying he’s not particularly a long-term planner.

“I can tell you whatever the future holds for me and for [my wife] Karen Pence, it’ll be our heart’s desire just to reflect at the right time, maybe in the months ahead, determine what our calling is and [we] will follow that calling come what may,” he said.

When asked by another student to highlight something he liked in both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Pence quipped, “Look at the time.”

Later, he added that he and Biden had a strong working relationship while both served in Congress and that he called Harris after she was tapped to be Biden’s running mate — the first Black woman and first person of Asian descent on a major party ticket — to extend prayers to her and her family.

“I can’t identify a policy that I agree with in the Biden administration. But again, you know, I think I think you could say that some of these ideas are bad without saying they’re a bad person,” he said.

During a brief question-and-answer session, Elleithee asked Pence how society could move past a culture of intense partisanship.

He pointed to friendships with Democrats in Congress, including the late Georgia Rep. John Lewis, an icon of the civil rights movement, as proof of occasional common cause across the aisle.

“There’s a wide range of issues that we can agree on, issues that we can find practical solutions for the American people on, that I think all begins with treating others the way we want to be treated,” he said. “And I really do believe that there’s a hunger in this country today for getting back to the way Americans deal with one another.”

Pence’s 30-minute speech at Georgetown focused on his background, how he evolved politically and religiously and the effect former President Ronald Reagan had on that transformation. As he repeatedly says, he’s a “Christian, a conservative and a Republican — in that order.”

But he noted something specific about his style, as he saw it.

“I like to say, ‘I’m a conservative, but I’m not in a bad mood about it,'” he said, also referring to himself as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf” when he hosted his radio show in Indiana before he won his bid for Congress.

Elsewhere, though, he spoke more gravely of the dangers posed to the country by Democratic opponents and a “woke agenda” — a warning far apart from some of his other comments about Democrats on Wednesday night.

“In one short year and a half, the Biden-Harris administration has unleashed a tidal wave of left-wing policies that have in many ways wiped out the progress that we’ve made to the detriment of the American people,” he argued. “Frankly, sometimes I think Democrats have moved so fast that the left hand doesn’t know what the far-left hand is doing.”

About 25 minutes into his speech, a group of students stood up and walked out of the venue. He referenced them in a seemingly ad-libbed addition.

He also continued to criticize the Biden White House over gas prices, presumed threats to freedom of expression and more.d

He praised the younger generation as one capable of great change and the “last line of defense on the Constitution of the United States.”

“As you study the American founding and understand what’s made this country exceptional and unique, grow in your own heart and mind,” he told attendees, including students.

He also spoke earlier Wednesday at the Heritage Foundation, the conservative group, where he cautioned against “unprincipled populism” overtaking his party. He said the GOP must continue to embrace smaller government, strong national defense and “traditional moral values.”

Uvalde school district superintendent, in surprise move, ends career Wednesday night

October 20, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(UVALDE, Texas) — In a surprise move, Hal Harrell, the superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, officially retired Wednesday night during a school board meeting. An interim replacement was named as a search for a new district chief continues.

Harrell, a 30-year employee of the school district, stunned the small grieving community two weeks ago when he announced he would retire but said “no defined timelines” had been set.

In a Facebook post shared by Harrell’s wife earlier this month, he wrote: “I will remain here throughout the school year until a new superintendent can be named.”

“My decision to retire has not been made lightly,” he wrote. “My heart was broken on May 24th and I will always and [sic] pray for each precious life that was tragically taken as well as their families.”

Harrell — along with other school officials and local law enforcement — has faced intense scrutiny over the handling of the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School, where a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

Nearly 400 law enforcement officers rushed to the scene, but “egregiously poor decision-making” resulted in allowing the 18-year-old shooter to remain active inside a classroom for more than 70 minutes before he was finally confronted and killed, according to a damning investigative report released by Texas lawmakers in July.

The Uvalde native announced his departure from the district on the same day that the district reassigned all five UCISD police officers who were on the scene of the shooting from campus security duties, pending an independent review by a private investigation firm out of Austin.

The district-wide statement said that the UCISD administration will “suspend all activities of the Uvalde CISD Police Department for a period of time.”

The series of announcements came after 11 continuous days of a sit-in protest at the UCISD administration building staged by families of the victims, and after news broke that UCISD police hired Crimson Elízondo, who is currently suspended from the Texas Department of Public Safety for her response at Robb Elementary on May 24.

Harrell began working for the district in 1992 as a special education teacher, the same year that his father, John Hal Harrell, was promoted to Uvalde superintendent.

The younger Harrell worked his way up to principal at Uvalde High School and was appointed unanimously by the Board of Trustees as superintendent in October 2018, following in his father’s footsteps.

The elder Harrell, who died in August 2020, was known to many as “Mr. Uvalde” and served at various points as a two-term city council member, mayor of Uvalde, UCISD superintendent and Uvalde city manager.

In 2014, UCISD even renamed the John H. Harrell High School Auditorium, both Harrells’ alma mater, in his honor.

Walsh Gallegos, an education-focused law firm, was hired by the school board to search for the retiree’s replacement.

Children’s hospital in talks with FEMA to set up medical tent amid surge of respiratory illnesses

October 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the surge in children’s respiratory illnesses, including rhinovirus and enterovirus, continues across the country, one children’s hospital is considering installing a field tent to deal with the influx of patients.

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford confirmed to ABC News it is in talks with the National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Association as it explores the possibility of setting up a tent on the hospital’s lawn.

Another hospital in the state, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, said overall RSV cases seen in the emergency department jumped from 57 last week to 106 currently.

While the hospital currently has one to three children admitted with COVID-19, there are 30 admitted with RSV, according to Dr. Thomas Murray, associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital.

“I think the biggest concern from my perspective is the uncertainty of when the RSV surge will peak and what will happen with influenza as it has started to circulate in the area,” Murray told ABC News. “Increasing numbers of influenza along with high RSV numbers will require us to further expand our strategies to care for the children that need it.”

RSV — or respiratory syncytial virus — can cause mild, cold-like symptoms, and in severe cases, can cause bronchiolitis or pneumonia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults,” the CDC says.

Enteroviruses can also cause respiratory illness ranging from mild — like a common cold — to severe, according to the CDC. In rare instances, severe cases can cause illnesses like viral meningitis (infection of the covering of spinal cord and brain) or acute flaccid myelitis, a neurologic condition that can cause muscle weakness and paralysis.

Hospitals across at least 23 states — including Rhode Island, Washington, Colorado, Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, New Jersey and Massachusetts — and the District of Columbia have told ABC News they are feeling the crush of a higher-than-expected rate of certain pediatric infections other than COVID-19.

Dr. Michael Koster, director of pediatric infectious diseases at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, said that “from mid-September to mid-October,” the number of patients with RSV infections coming into the hospital had “doubled.”

“These patients aren’t just from Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts — we are seeing patients are coming from over 100 miles away, because their local pediatric hospital is full or has closed,” Koster added.

In an advisory last month to pediatricians and hospitals, shared with ABC News, the New Jersey Department of Health warned of increasing levels of enterovirus and rhinovirus activity, and noted the state was seeing a similar “surge” like other parts of the country.

A spokesperson for the department told ABC News at the time they were “monitoring and watching hospitalizations and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit census daily throughout the state,” adding that officials had planned a call with hospitals “to assess pediatric capacity” amid the surge.

Health experts say they expect things to worsen as the school year proceeds and winter approaches.

“When I talk to children’s hospitals in Illinois and across the country, very much universally, they’re telling me they’re seeing an uptick in pediatric admissions through the emergency department as well as children sick enough to require the pediatric intensive care unit,” Dana Evans, respiratory therapist and board member of the American Association for Respiratory Care, told ABC News. “Most of them are telling me that what they’re seeing is rhinovirus and enterovirus. Some of them are seeing enterovirus D68.”

Evans said it’s typical for these viruses to make their way back in the fall, while noting there have been changes in the typical patterns since the coronavirus pandemic.

“Last year, RSV hit unseasonably early in August, and this year it’s September,” said Evans. “We didn’t see it in 2020 — likely due to all of the COVID mitigation strategies and the masking and everything we were doing to prevent the spread of COVID which also prevents the spread of other respiratory viruses — but here we are in 2022, and we’re back at it.”

According to Evans, the cause of the surge is likely a combination of factors, including the fact that some children may not have been previously exposed due to COVID-related hygiene practices and that this could be a “particularly virulent” strain of the virus.

Children with chronic lung disease, premature babies and kids with asthma are considered especially high risk.

Evans said children and families should continue to practice good hygiene like hand washing and staying home when sick to help prevent viral spread.

“Anyone that’s exhibiting respiratory viral symptoms really should stay home, be it staying home from school or staying home from work, so they don’t spread the virus to their friends or to your colleagues,” said Evans. “That slowing the spread is important, so it reduces the prevalence of it in our communities, but also protects others from becoming sick as well.”

Parents and guardians should seek medical help if a child is having trouble breathing, wheezing or becoming blue or discolored in their face, according to Evans.

“Either coming to the emergency department or reaching out to your physician for recommendations of next steps at that point would be really important,” she said.

Cleveland judge suspended indefinitely for ‘unprecedented’ incidents of misconduct

October 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(CLEVELAND, Ohio) — The Ohio Supreme Court issued an opinion removing a Cleveland Municipal Court judge from the bench, citing multiple “unprecedented” incidents of misconduct.

In a 5-2 vote on Tuesday, the justices voted to indefinitely suspend Judge Pinkey S. Carr’s law license, precluding her from being a judge.

The justices agreed with the court’s Board of Professional Conduct that Carr “ruled her courtroom in a reckless and cavalier manner, unrestrained by the law or the court’s rules.”

Carr, who had been a judge since 2012, was suspended without pay.

According to the board, Carr did not reschedule her cases when the municipal court was closed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and issued warrants for defendants who didn’t show up to court and waived court costs and fines for defendants who did appear.

She regularly conducted hearings to “avoid complying with the requisite procedural safeguards” that were in place and referenced the Starz show “P-Valley” which is about a strip club in Mississippi, while in court, according to the justices.

The joked about accepting bribes from defendants and spoke in an “undignified manner in her courtroom,” according to the court.

She also allegedly wore clothes deemed inappropriate by the court’s rules, including T-shirts, shorts, tank tops and sneakers.

According to the justices, Carr, through a forensic and clinical psychologist who evaluated her, said that menopause and sleep apnea exasperated her mental health issues, which caused her professional misconduct.

Rich Koblentz, Carr’s attorney, told ABC News they respect the court, but they’re not pleased about the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision.

“We believe the sanctions were too harsh,” he said.

Short of disbarment, an indefinite suspension is one of the harsher penalties that the Ohio Supreme Court could deliver, according to Koblentz.

Carr must wait two years before applying for readmission to practice law in Ohio since readmission isn’t automatic after an indefinite suspension.

Tulsi Gabbard campaigns for election denier Kari Lake in Arizona

October 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(CHANDLER, Ariz.) — Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for president in 2020 as a Democrat and endorsed Joe Biden after her exit from the race, on Tuesday campaigned in Arizona for the state’s Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, a fervent election denier Trump loyalist.

The move follows her dramatic public departure from the Democratic party, denouncing it a week ago on social media as an “elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness.” In Chandler, Arizona, Gabbard warned against those that “deny the existence of truth” before remarking with glowing support her endorsement of Lake, one of the most outspoken election deniers.

“I feel like a rockstar up here, Tulsi,” Lake said in front of at least 250 people. “You are a rockstar, Kari,” Gabbard responded.

At the campaign event, less than three weeks ahead of the midterm elections, Gabbard acknowledged that some have told her it was “odd” that she would be campaigning for Lake in Arizona as a former Democrat — but she dismissed those concerns.

“It’s only odd if you’re focused on the wrong things,” Gabbard said of her endorsement. “If you’re paying attention, you recognize that what we share in common, Kari and I and every one of you, is that pride, and it is the courage…It is clear eyes to recognize the threats to our safety, to our borders, to our communities, to our families and our kids that are coming from today’s so called woke radical Democrat Party.”

Gabbard’s Arizona visit follows her Monday travel to New Hampshire, where she stumped for Republican Senate candidate Don Bolduc and garnered heat for comparing President Biden to Adolf Hitler.

“Even Hitler thought he was doing what was best for Germany, right? For the German race. In his own mind, he found a way to justify the means to meet his end. So, when we have people with that mindset, well, you know we’ve got to do whatever it takes because, as President Biden said in that speech in Philadelphia, that those who supported Trump, those who didn’t vote for him are extremists and a threat to our democracy,” Gabbard said in an audio recording obtained by the Daily Beast.

Lake, who once donated to former President Barack Obama’s campaign, said on Tuesday that it was “no secret” that she was once a Democrat, too.

“I registered as a Democrat for four years. I was disappointed at the time at the establishment Republican Party,” Lake said. “I know it’s hard sometimes to kind of go, ‘gosh, darn it, we got it wrong. I voted for the wrong guy.’ But we don’t judge.”

Gabbard has not announced her next step in American politics, or if she’d consider jumping to the Republican Party. She’s long spoken out against the nationwide two-party system, however, leaving some to speculate that she may find a political home as an independent or in a third party.

But her recent campaign stops for Republicans and invocation of traditionally conservative talking points like “wokeness” and her focus on the border marks a sharp retreat from her support for Biden in 2020, when she suspended her unconventional presidential campaign.

“It’s clear that Democratic primary voters have chosen, Vice President Joe Biden, to be the person who will take on President Trump in the general election,” she said as she dropped out of the race, adding that, “I’m confident that he will lead our country, guided by the spirit of aloha respect and compassion, and thus help heal the divisiveness that has been tearing our country apart.”

Despite her status over the past 20 years as a Democrat, Gabbard over the past few years has become somewhat of a Republican darling, appearing often on Fox News and in August, she guest-hosted “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” following the FBI’s raid of Mar-a-Lago.

On Tuesday, Gabbard warned against those who deny truth only to reinforce their own beliefs, referring to the topic of children who identify as transgender, not the widely debunked claims of election fraud that have been a centerpiece of Lake’s campaign.

“We have to go back to the basics because the basics are under attack. When we have people in power who deny the existence of objective truth, that leads to a very dangerous place because that means that whatever they say is what they will enforce through their laws,” Gabbard said.

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