News – Page 2279 – 105.7 WDNY

US now urges away outside help while negotiating for Griner, Whelan’s release from Russia

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As a onetime ambassador to the U.N. and an international hostage negotiator, Bill Richardson has often been on the front lines of American diplomacy. But after his high-profile trip to Russia amid efforts to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, members of the Biden administration are now urging Richardson to take a back seat.

“Our message is that private citizens should not be in Moscow at all right now and that private citizens cannot negotiate on behalf of the United States government,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday.

But Richardson, a former New Mexico governor and energy secretary who now heads up an organization aimed at freeing Americans considered to be wrongfully held abroad, is not exactly an average citizen. When his plans to travel to Russia were first reported in July, Kirby said U.S. officials were in “constant communication” with him.

Richardson, for his part, told ABC News in August that he was “optimistic” about both Griner and Whelan, calling himself a “catalyst”: “I’ve been talking to the Russians. I talked to the White House.”

But the State Department’s receptiveness to help from outside the administration has chilled in recent weeks. Spokesperson Ned Price said Wednesday that anything other than government-to-government communication could be counterproductive.

“Our concern is that anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to hinder the efforts that we have undertaken to see the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” he said.

However, when Richardson first became involved in Griner’s case at the behest of her family in May, Price struck a different chord.

“We welcome all of those efforts that are coordinated closely with us that might help to seek the safe release of any American who’s unjustly detained around the world,” he said then.

Asked about the apparent shift, Price denied there had been a change in the government’s approach, saying the channel through which the Kremlin and Washington are currently communicating was established back in 2021 when President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Geneva.

It’s unclear if the State Department was informed of Richardson’s latest travel plans in advance, but Price said the trip was not coordinated through the U.S. embassy in Moscow. ABC News independently confirmed Richardson’s visit to Russia and reached out to the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, but a spokesperson declined to comment or answer questions.

“Of course, families are perfectly free to engage in to consult with outside voices, with outside entities,” Price said Wednesday. “But again, we want to make sure that any outside effort is fully and transparently coordinated with us and, in this case, we believe that any efforts that fall outside of that officially designated channel have the potential to complicate what is already an extraordinarily complicated challenge.”

The shifting tone from members of the administration comes as its push to free Griner and Whelan plods along at a slow — but not atypical — pace.

In late July, Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the rare step of announcing that the U.S. had put forth what he called a “substantial proposal” aimed at securing the release of both prisoners. Sources later confirmed it was a proposal for a prisoner swap involving so-called “merchant of death” Viktor Bout, a convicted arms trafficker who is currently serving out a 25-year sentence in an Illinois penitentiary.

Although officials within the department say direct engagement between the U.S. and Russia has continued on a regular basis since then, there is scant evidence that an agreement is any closer. Some, including Richardson, say they believe Moscow will require parity for an exchange, giving the White House the difficult task of identifying another prisoner that is tolerable to release but still a valuable enough asset for Moscow to go through with the trade.

Still, other sources have expressed doubt that Moscow is approaching the talks in good faith and question whether the Kremlin is truly willing to cut a deal in the near-term.

Richardson, who has carried out diplomatic missions in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and North Korea, played a role in freeing another former U.S. Marine detained in Russia: Trevor Reed. He was released as part of a prisoner exchange in April.

The administration’s position against outside help has sparked backlash from some advocates, who believe other avenues may yield results.

Griner, who pleaded guilty to drug charges in early July — though she said she had only inadvertently brought illegal hashish oil into Russia — has been detained since Feb. 17. She was sentenced to nine years behind bars but is currently appealing the ruling.

The Phoenix Mercury center and Olympic gold medalist’s wife, Cherelle Griner, said in July that she would “not be quiet anymore” and publicly urged the government to do everything in its power to help Griner.

Whelan has been detained in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that U.S. officials have called “trumped up.” His brother told ABC News the Whelan family is supportive of Richardson’s involvement in the case.

Boy, 10, faces lawmakers to lobby for lower insulin prices

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A 10-year-old boy is on a mission to make life easier for the 37.7 million Americans who suffer from diabetes.

Jameson Wardle was 5 years old when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease in which the insulin-making cells in the pancreas are destroyed, forcing a person to be dependent on insulin, delivered via shots or an insulin pump.

Jameson, a 5th grade student in Boerne, Texas, has met with his local congressmen to urge them to stand up against what he says are unaffordable insulin prices.

“[Diabetes] is when your body attacks the beta cells … which produce insulin which is a hormone that changes carbohydrates into energy,” Jameson told ABC News’ Good Morning America.

More than eight million Americans use insulin, which is a necessity for people like Jameson with type 1 diabetes, who often require multiple injections of insulin each day, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Jameson uses 100 units of fast-acting insulin everyday, said his mom, Jennifer Wardle.

Each vial of insulin, which is about the size of a golf tee, costs $300 without insurance. Wardle, a U.S. Air Force veteran, said her family fortunately has insurance under her military benefits.

“But what happens when [Jameson] turns 26 and he’s not on our insurance anymore?” she said. “And these are the things that we, as parents, have to help him plan for.”

Jameson and Wardle are calling on Congress to pass legislation that would cap the price of insulin. One piece of legislation they support, H.R.6833, the Affordable Insulin Now Act, would encourage insulin manufacturers to reduce list prices and expand access to insulin.

The legislation passed the House in March but it has stalled in the Senate.

A proposal by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., to place a $35-per-month limit on insulin costs under private insurances failed this month in the Senate by a 57-43 vote.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and costs a total estimated $327 billion in medical costs and lost work and wages annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jameson said that he remains committed to meeting with more lawmakers, saying, “I feel empowered.”

He also shared a message of encouragement to other kids out there with diabetes, fighting like he is.

“Keep going and be strong because soon we’ll have a cure,” he said. “Contact your congressman.”

US railway companies, unions reach tentative agreement

September 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — American railway companies and unions have reached a tentative labor agreement amid the threat of strikes.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced the news on Twitter early Thursday, saying the deal “balances the needs of workers, businesses, and our nation’s economy.”

Story developing…

Package explosion at Northeastern University may have been a hoax, sources say

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BOSTON) — Boston police and federal authorities are questioning whether an explosion ever took place on the Northeastern University campus Tuesday evening, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Police and school officials said Tuesday that a package had detonated at the university, resulting in a school staff member sustaining a minor hand injury.

Boston EMS had responded to reports of an explosion at the university, with the 45-year-old victim transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police and officials.

The Northeastern University staff member who allegedly sustained injuries in what authorities called a “package detonation” had opened a hard-backed, Pelican-type case, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

There’s no apparent damage to the case and investigators have found no evidence of an explosion occurring, the sources said. Instead, authorities are looking at whether the entire thing was a hoax.

The alleged package was sent to Holmes Hall on Leon Street, where police responded at 7:18 p.m., authorities said. Boston Police Superintendent Felipe Colon said there was a second similar package that was rendered safe by the bomb squad.

Law enforcement’s preliminary assessment is that the reported minor explosion on campus was not random, two sources briefed told ABC News.

Authorities also found what the sources described as an anonymous note railing against virtual reality, among other things.

There is no intelligence indicating a further threat, according to the FBI’s Boston office.

A manager at Northeastern’s virtual reality lab, the sources said, is apparently the 45-year-old male staff member who was hurt. The injuries are reportedly minor abrasions to both forearms.

In a statement to Boston ABC News station WCVB, Northeastern University said a package delivered to Holmes Hall “detonated when a staff member opened it.”

A second suspicious package was cleared and did not contain an explosive, according to the two sources. There have been a number of reports of suspicious packages that police have checked, and they’ve searched buildings and mail rooms at Northeastern and nearby colleges for similar-looking packages, the sources said.

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said a number of campus buildings were evacuated. He urged citizens to come forward if they see something out of the ordinary.

“We’re trying to gather facts now,” Colon added.

“The building has been evacuated and a notification was sent to the Boston campus at 7:55 p.m. urging people to avoid the area. We will update members of the Northeastern community when more information is available,” the university added in its statement.

Police for Northeastern University urged people to avoid areas around the school’s Holmes Hall as they conduct an investigation into the incident.

Nearby colleges and universities in and around Boston were advised to be on watch for similar-looking Pelican-type cases.

Sources said the case appears to have contained no explosive material. Instead, it was believed to have had somehow been pressurized and, when opened, rapidly depressurized, causing the supposed detonation.

The Boston Police Department’s bomb squad, Boston EMS and the Boston Fire Department were all on the scene investigating the incident, officials said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting with the investigation, according to a spokesperson.

Northeastern is a private research university located in Boston.

ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Arielle Mitropoulos and Jack Date contributed to this report.

As railroad strike grows closer, congressional Dems hope for compromise — and not to have to act

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As freight railroad carriers and a coalition of unions representing their workers move ever closer to a potential strike, a clash has erupted in Congress over whether and how to intervene in a labor dispute that could have devastating effects across an economy already buffeted by high inflation and recessionary pressures.

Republican Sens. Roger Wicker and Richard Burr on Monday introduced a resolution to stave off a strike by the industry’s unions, which represent more than 100,000 employees, by imposing what had been non-binding recommendations from the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB).

In a five-year plan presented in August, the board had recommended a 24% pay raise for rail workers retroactive to 2020, with $1,000 annual bonus. All but two of the major unions involved have come to an agreement with the railroad companies, but those two groups have said that unscheduled time off or sick leave continues to be a sticking point — and one that has dogged an industry beset with labor shortages.

The impasse presents a major problem for the unions’ political allies in Congress, largely Democrats, who defended workers against the railroads, which have made record profits through and heading out of the historic COVID-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday, in a sign of the potential conflict to come between lawmakers should Congress act to avert a strike, Sens. Wicker of Mississippi and Burr of North Carolina tried to force their resolution through — only to be blocked by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, the self-described democratic socialist and prominent union supporter.

“If the trains stop running, our economy grinds to a halt,” Wicker warned. “The last thing we need is shutdown of the nation’s rail service, both passenger and freight, and yet that is what we are facing in less than a day and a half from this moment: a massive rail strike that will virtually shut down our economy.”

Burr noted one assessment that, in a strike, “the economic impact to the American people is $2 billion a day.”

“This is 160,000 trainloads of agriculture product at a time of harvest across this country … They haul coal. They haul gas. They haul petroleum. They haul gasses like helium that are required for manufacturing businesses,” Burr said. “They haul auto parts, which means you’re going to see auto assembly plants that shut down.”

Sanders shot back, “We’re talking about an industry that has seen its profit margins nearly tripled over the past 20 years. What Congress should be doing is not passing the Burr-Wicker resolution and forcing railroad workers back to work under horrendous working conditions. What we should be doing is telling the CEOs in the rail industry, ‘Treat your workers with dignity and respect, not contempt.'”

“It’s time for Congress to stand on the side of workers for a change and not just the head [sic] of large multinational corporations. Rail workers have a right to strike for reliable schedules. They have a right to strike for paid sick delays. They have a right to strike for safe working conditions,” Sanders said. “Rail workers have a right to strike for decent benefits. The Burr-Wicker resolution would take the fundamental rights away for workers.”

Indeed, in 2021, the nation’s largest railroad companies reported record profits coming out of the pandemic.

Burr, in a message to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who must determine what bill to bring to the floor, said he could guarantee 48 Republicans would back his resolution with Wicker, suggesting only two GOP lawmakers did not support it in the 50-member conference.

Why Congress is involved

All labor disputes in the railway and airline industries — which are seen as critical to the U.S. economy, stretching across major industries from energy to agriculture — are governed by a 1920s-era federal law known as the Railway Labor Act (RLA).

Congress enacted that law after decades of sometimes violent worker strikes and when Americans had grown dependent on many industries, particularly farming and manufacturing.

The RLA is intended to protect employees’ right to unionize and collectively bargain — the first federal law to do this in the U.S. — and ensure timely settlement of any labor disagreements. It dictates the terms of such disputes, including when parties enter an “emergency” phase, as they have now and when a president must appoint a board to try to recommend solutions, though those are non-binding on all parties but are designed to help each side to reach a solution.

In this case, many of the unions accepted the PEB’s recommendations to avoid a strike, though Sanders has noted that the actual workers in the unions have yet to vote to approve the measures.

Under the RLA, if the parties in the rail labor dispute do not reach agreement on a new contract or extend the current cooling-off period by 12:01 a.m. on Friday, the railroads can either impose their own work rules or employees can strike — or both.

At that point, the RLA would no longer set the terms of behavior. Instead, only Congress and President Joe Biden would be empowered to act — as has happened in the past — if a longer-term labor crisis is to be averted.

But Democratic Whip Dick Durbin has urged workers not to lean on Congress to resolve the dispute, warning that, as the deadline looms, lawmakers may not be able to intervene fast enough.

“I think it is naive to believe that we could just quickly come up with an agreement on settling this strike, enacted in the Senate which requires 60 votes. It takes a lot more work than that,” Durbin said on Wednesday. “But I think the message to the railroads as well as the union is get the job done. Don’t count on Congress. Do it yourself. We think they are close, and they’ve got to understand the sense of urgency.”

Congress, acting with authority from the Constitution’s commerce clause, has not voted to end a railroad strike since April 1991 — less than 24 hours after a walkout. At the time, lawmakers approved a joint resolution — with President George H. W. Bush being roused from his bed in the middle of the night to sign the bill — that forced the parties in the dispute into a 65-day binding arbitration process. Had workers not approved the terms in arbitration, Congress mandated that less generous solutions from the Presidential Emergency Board be accepted.

Still, that last example was more than 30 years ago. In this bitterly partisan environment, and less than 60 days from a crucial midterm election when unions typically turn out in large numbers, Democrats — typically pro-union — are hoping that railway negotiations are successful and Congress is not needed.

“We’re all hoping that negotiations will continue so there is no strike, and we’re at the table with the secretary of labor. Secretary [Marty] Walsh has been very much hoping that we can get a resolution,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday. “The main area of disagreement is there is no sick leave for the workers and that’s a problem.”

“I would rather see negotiations prevail so that there’s no need for any actions from Congress,” Pelosi told reporters.

ABC News’ Mariam Khan and Allison Pecorin contributed to this story.

Mother charged in drowning deaths of her 3 children

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A New York City mother police said is suspected of drowning her three children while in the throes of a postpartum breakdown is now facing homicide charges.

The mother, 30-year-old Erin Merdy, was charged with three counts of second-degree murder, according to the New York Police Department. For each victim, she is charged with murder, murder with depraved indifference to human life and murder of a victim under 11 years old, officials said.

The charges were filed even as Merdy is undergoing psychiatric evaluation at a hospital and came a day after New York City’s chief medical examiner determined her three children — a 7-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and a 3-month-old daughter — died from drowning and that the manner of death was homicide.

Worried relatives and police found Merdy soaking wet, barefoot and alone early Monday on the Coney Island boardwalk after she called family members and allegedly threatened to harm her children, according to police. One official briefed on the probe told ABC News that the mother was “nearly catatonic” when police attempted to speak with her and are probing whether postpartum depression played a role in the alleged triple slaying.

The children were discovered by police unresponsive at 4:42 a.m. Monday at the water’s edge of Coney Island beach, about 2 miles from where the mother was located, authorities said.

Police said the deaths of the children appeared to be premeditated and not something that occurred at the spur of a moment.

The horrific incident began unfolding around 1:40 a.m. Monday, when a relative called 911 and said she was concerned that the mother was going to harm the children.

Officers went to the mother’s apartment in Coney Island, knocked on the door but got no answer, officials said. While at the address, a man showed up and identified himself as the father of one of the children, who also expressed concern for the well-being of the children and told officers he believed the mother had taken them to the boardwalk, according to authorities.

The mother was not able to communicate with police when they detained her for questioning on the boardwalk, officials said.

Police have obtained surveillance video of Merdy walking the children calmly to the ocean in the middle of the night, police sources told ABC New York station WABC.

Kenneth Corey, chief of department for the New York Police Department, said at a news conference on Monday that the children were found unresponsive at the water’s edge near the boardwalk at W. 35th Street. Officers immediately performed life-saving measures on the children, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but they were all pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital.

The mother has no prior arrests or history of being emotionally disturbed, according to NYPD records. She has prior domestic incidents of harassment and aggravated harassment that did not result in charges, according to the records. Corey said investigators have found no indication of a prior history of abuse and neglect of the children.

The city Administration for Children’s Services declined to discuss Wednesday whether it should have been looking into Merdy before the children’s deaths, and if the family slipped through the cracks.

“Our top priority is protecting the safety and well-being of all children in New York City. We are investigating this tragedy with the NYPD,” an ACS spokesperson said.

While police said they are investigating whether postpartum depression played a role in the episode, Dr. Anna Yegiants, a resident physician and member of the ABC News Medical Unit, explained there is a difference between postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis.

Yegiants said that while it is possible for someone with postpartum depression to harm their children, it is not common. She said postpartum psychosis, however, presents essentially a break with reality and causes delusional thinking that could lead to such violence.

Up to 1 in 7 women experience postpartum depression, according to the American Psychological Association, and symptoms can occur during pregnancy and last for days or even months after delivering a baby.

“Postpartum depression is not your fault — it is a real, but treatable, psychological disorder,” the APA says on its website. “If you are having thoughts of hurting yourself or your baby, take action now: Put the baby in a safe place, like a crib. Call a friend or family member for help if you need to.”

ABC News’ Mark Crudele and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Recapping the 2022 primaries: The environment got better for Dems — but voters still have concerns

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — After Tuesday’s elections in Delaware, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, the six-month-long 2022 primary season has finally come to a close — and the party nominees now turn their attention to the eight weeks before November’s midterms.

A lot can change in the close of the campaign — just as a lot has changed throughout this year’s primaries.

Democrats braced at the beginning of the cycle for an expected wave of Republican success, given historical trends, President Joe Biden’s unpopularity and the drag of economic news, including gas prices and inflation.

At the beginning of June, FiveThirtyEight projected Democrats would lose an average of 20 House seats — more than enough to flip the chamber to the GOP.

Now, according to FiveThirtyEight’s forecast, Democrats are projected to lose an average of 13 seats. And FiveThirtyEight assesses that they are favorites to hold the Senate — albeit narrowly — in another reversal since June.

What shifted? Here’s a breakdown of key dynamics during the 2022 primary season and what it may mean ahead of the midterms.

The overturning Roe v. Wade in June gave a new focus for Democrats on the trail as they increasingly campaigned on abortion rights, which the Supreme Court had ruled should be left up to individual states. The first major litmus test of how Americans felt about abortion after the dismantling of Roe came in the historically red state of Kansas, where in August voters rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that said there was no right to an abortion.

More than 900,000 Kansans went to the polls to vote, the biggest turnout for a primary election in the state’s history.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll released in August asked voters which candidate they would support if one favored keeping abortion legal and available and the other candidate supported limiting abortion except to protect the mother’s life. About half of Americans (49%) said they would be more likely to support the candidate who would keep access to abortion legal compared to the 27% of Americans who would be more likely to support the candidate who favored limiting abortion.

While anti-abortion voters are a core part of the Republican base, leading conservatives remain divided on the issue — some push for stricter restrictions nationwide while others argue for a more moderate position.

On Tuesday, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced legislation that would impose a federal ban on most abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell downplayed prospects for such legislation if his party retakes power, saying, “I think most of the members of my conference prefer this be dealt with at the state level.”

And some Republican candidates in tight races in swing states distanced themselves from a national ban. In Pennsylvania, Dr. Mehmet Oz’s campaign released a statement suggesting he would not support Graham’s legislation.

“Dr. Oz is pro-life with three exceptions: life of the mother, rape and incest. And as a senator, he’d want to make sure that the federal government is not involved in interfering with the state’s decisions on the topic,” spokeswoman Brittany Yanick told ABC News.

Former President Donald Trump continues to be an influential figure for Republican voters, even as others in his party suggested his endorsements were sometimes jeopardizing their general election prospects.

While Trump received mixed results with his endorsed candidates this primary cycle, one fact sticks out: In nearly every battleground Senate race, a candidate he endorsed or with whom he aligns won their primary, sometimes beating more moderate options.

Some exceptions prove that rule: In the Colorado Senate primary, where Trump did not make an endorsement, the candidate who won the primary, Joe O’Dea, has cast himself as a moderate Republican hoping to garner more voters in the purple state.

In August, McConnell predicted the House had a greater likelihood of flipping than the Senate, citing “candidate quality” in the Senate races — a veiled remark that many, including Trump himself, took to be about some of the GOP nominees backed by the former president. Heading into primary season, the party had also failed to recruit some popular names like Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu to target vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

Instead, Blake Masters in Arizona, Herschel Walker in Georgia and Oz in Pennsylvania are some of the first-time Senate candidates running in races that are either rated lean Democrat or toss-up by FiveThirtyEight. (McConnell has since publicly fundraised for Oz and Walker.)

In Maryland and New Hampshire, meanwhile, the Trump-aligned nominees Dan Cox and Don Bolduc triumphed over candidates backed by Hogan and Sununu, who won their blue states with more moderate coalitions. Cox and Bolduc energized their supporters in part by campaigning in Trump’s style, which included baseless attacks on the 2020 race.

President Biden’s approval rating consistently fell for much of the primary season, according to FiveThirtyEight — until gas prices began to fall in the summer and he notched a series of wins in Congress, which Democratic lawmakers have been happy to campaign on while on the trail.

Among the bills that were passed and signed — most of them by bipartisan majorities in Congress — were gun-safety reforms, veterans’ health care and domestic computer chip funding and, along party lines, the climate, health and tax package known as the Inflation Reduction Act.

In August, over Republican objections, Biden also announced he was fulfilling a campaign promise and would be forgiving up to $10,000 of federal student debt and an additional $10,000 in debt for those who received Pell grants.

His approval rating has rallied since a nadir in late July, according to FiveThirtyEight. As one example, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released in August, 40% of Americans approved of the job Biden has been doing compared to 52% who did not approve. This is up 9% from the last month.

The former president made clear that he would use his endorsements during the primaries to try and oust the House Republicans who voted to impeach him after Jan. 6 — and he largely succeeded. Of the 10 Republicans who voted for impeachment, four retired, four lost their primaries to Trump-backed challengers and only two will move onto the general election.

The two Republicans who survived their primarys are Reps. David Valadao of California and Dan Newhouse of Washington state.

Trump’s biggest target was Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, his biggest Republican critic and one of the lawmakers who has led the charge to prevent Trump from, in her words, ever holding office again. Cheney was handily defeated last month by Trump’s pick, attorney Harriet Hageman.

Even though Biden has seen notable improvement in his approval ratings, some Democratic candidates in battleground states still hesitated to campaign with the president.

In Ohio, Rep. Tim Ryan’s campaign told ABC News that they had not asked Biden or anyone from the White House to campaign with them.

In Wisconsin over the Labor Day weekend, Democratic Senate nominee and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes was absent as President Biden touted the power of union workers at a “Laborfest” in Milwaukee.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democrat running for governor, did not join Biden when he visited Pittsburgh during his Labor Day stop after appearing with Biden at an official White House event in Wilkes-Barre the previous week.

In May, Shapiro told CNN that he would “welcome” Biden in Pennsylvania to campaign for him, adding that he was “focused on running a race here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, listening to the people of Washington County, not Washington, D.C.”

Trouble continued to brew for Biden with the latest inflation report, which showed prices were 8.3% higher in August compared to a year ago — higher than expected. Food, shelter, medical care and education were among the categories that increased over the month. But the price of gasoline did fall, alleviating what voters have said is a major concern.

Republicans seized on the persistently high inflation as Biden released a statement that responded to the report, contending that “it will take more time and resolve to bring inflation down.”

The same day, Senate Republicans blasted the White House for celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act while inflation rates kept rising over last year.

“So they may be taking a victory lap at the White House but I can tell you one thing: The American people are not, because they are feeling the direct impact of this every single day,” Republican Whip John Thune said.

A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that only 29% of Americans said they approved of the way Biden has been handling inflation — while 69% disapproved.

Heading into the general election, some firebrand Republicans who ran on Trump’s endorsement in swing states have started switching their tune on hot-button issues such as abortion.

In Pennsylvania, for example, state Sen. Doug Mastriano initially campaigned for the GOP nominee to be governor in part on a near-total ban on abortions — a portion of his platform he virtually stopped mentioning since winning the nomination.

Other Republican hopefuls downplayed their previous attacks on the 2020 race that Trump lost to Biden.

“If they want to be successful, they have to broaden their message,” Mike DuHaime, who helped former Republican Gov. Chris Christie twice get elected in New Jersey, previously told ABC News. “Yeah, you need the Republican base to be fired up — but you need to win over independents, and you need to win over some conservative, moderate Democrats. And you’re not going to do that by carrying Trump’s water about an election that happened two years ago. They need to move forward.”

In some key competitive races, candidates have rebranded their websites to appeal to more moderate voters, including removing their stances on abortion entirely. In North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, GOP nominee Bo Hines, who proudly proclaimed that he was anti-abortion and touted his endorsement from Trump, has now removed both from the home page of his website.

“I think, many, many undecided voters won’t be tuning into this race until October,” DuHaime told ABC. “So, there’s certainly time. But you need to make that decision.”

‘Serial’ podcast subject’s conviction should be vacated, prosecutors say

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BALTIMORE) — The conviction of Adnan Syed should be vacated, prosecutors said in a new court filing Wednesday.

Syed was the subject of the popular podcast “Serial,” which profiles various murders around the country and shed light on the lack of DNA testing in his case.

At 17-years-old, he was convicted for the 1999 murder of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee and sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years. Prosecutors on Wednesday said that conviction should be vacated due to the lack of DNA evidence that “calls into question the integrity of the conviction.”

The Baltimore County, Maryland, State’s Attorney said in her filing the “evidence against the Defendant was not overwhelming and was largely circumstantial.”

Syed’s lawyer Erica Suter agreed.

In her response motion filed on Wednesday, she said his conviction rests on the word of a cooperating then 19-year-old who was “incentivized” to cooperate.

“Our criminal legal system serve us when we can have confidence in outcomes,” Suter wrote. “Mr. Seyed’s conviction rests on the evolving narrative of an incentivized cooperating, nineteen-year-old co-defendant, propped up by inaccurate and misleading cell phone location data.”

In November 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Syed’s appeal for a new trial, upholding a Maryland appeals court’s decision that rejected claims his trial lawyer failed to interview an alibi witness, and therefore Syed’s constitutional right to effective legal representation was violated.

State’s Attorney Marylin Mosby said her office was set out to right the wrongs of previous convictions.

“For that reason, after a nearly year-long investigation reviewing the facts of this case, Syed deserves a new trial where he is adequately represented and the latest evidence can be presented. As stewards of the court, we are obligated to uphold confidence in the integrity of convictions and do our part to correct when this standard has been comprised,” she said. “We have spoken with the family of Ms. Hae Min Lee and fully understand that the person responsible for this heinous crime must be held accountable.”

In March, the office asked Baltimore City Police Chief Becky Feldman and the defense filed a Joint Petition for Post-Conviction DNA Testing of the victim’s clothing. Specifically, the motion requested the clothing tested for touch DNA, which was unavailable at the time of trial.

In 2018, the Baltimore City Police Lab tested various items for DNA through an agreement between the Office of the Attorney General and the defendant’s previous counsel. However, the items now being tested were not previously tested in 2018, with the exception of the victim’s fingernail clippings.

In 2018 the State’s Attorney’s office conducted a DNA test but noted that some items were not tested.

The new filing says the re-investigation of the case revealed evidence regarding the possible involvement of two alternative suspects other than Syed.

The two suspects may be involved individually or may be involved together, the filing said, noting these suspects were known persons at the time of the original investigation and were not properly ruled out nor disclosed to the defense. According to the trial file, the person said “He would make her [Ms. Lee] disappear. He would kill her.” The state said it cannot disclose names at this point.

The Serial podcast tweeted, “This is big news. For the first time, Baltimore prosecutors are saying they don’t have confidence in Adnan Syed’s conviction and are asking for his release.”

This is big news. For the first time, Baltimore prosecutors are saying they don’t have confidence in Adnan Syed’s conviction and are asking for his release.

This is big news. For the first time, Baltimore prosecutors are saying they don’t have confidence in Adnan Syed’s conviction and are asking for his release. https://t.co/5Z4VkWcunY

— Serial (@serial) September 14, 2022

Prosecutors don’t make a determination whether he is innocent, just that the conviction should be vacated based on the evidence and Syed should be granted a new trial.

The court filing says that Syed’s case might have incurred a violation of what is known as the Brady rule — stemming from the Supreme Court precedent-setting case Brady v. Maryland that requires a remedy if the defense is not given all of the information at trial it could potentially foil the case.

“The State avers that considering the totality of evidence now available, the information about an alternative suspect would have been helpful to the defense because it would have helped substantiate an alternative suspect defense that was consistent with the defense at trial.”

Here’s why food prices are so high and what you can do about it

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Americans may be getting some relief at the gas pump, but they are not finding that relief at the grocery store.

Gasoline prices nationwide are down 10.6% from their record high of $5 a gallon in June. According to the American Automobile Association, the national average is now $3.70 for a gallon of regular, but food prices continue to soar.

The August Consumer Price Index found inflation rose 8.3%, down slightly from July’s reading of 8.5%, but still near a 40-year high. Those falling gas prices were more than offset by higher prices for rent, food, healthcare, and electricity.

The Federal Reserve’s series of interest rate hikes designed to beat back high inflation has had little impact on food prices. Economists say that is because a number of factors influence the cost of food, including the geopolitical landscape and weather.

The war in Ukraine has sent prices of wheat and other commodities higher while severe floods and droughts in parts of the U.S. have impacted crops and food supply. An outbreak of the avian bird flu is also wreaking havoc on the U.S. chicken and turkey population, triggering a spike in egg prices and analysts are already warning that turkey for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner will be the most expensive yet.

Unlike discretionary spending on things like clothing and entertainment, demand for food is not flexible, and consumers are feeling the pinch down nearly every aisle of the supermarket. Overall, the cost of food is up 11.4% in the past year, that’s the highest annual increase in 23 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices for groceries shot up 13.5% over the past year, while eating out is 8% more expensive, as restaurants hike prices to pay for their own rising food costs.

Sticker shock has hit some items worse than others. The price of eggs is up 39.8%, milk prices have risen 17%, while bread is up 16.2% from a year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fruits and vegetables combined cost 9.4% more than they did a year ago, while meat is up 6.7% and chicken costs 16.6% more.

Fresh data shows skyrocketing food prices are starting to change consumer’s buying habits at the supermarket. Sales of frozen dinners and entrees fell 11.4% in August, while sales of cookies fell 8.9% and sales of frozen juices and drinks slid 8%, according to the data analytics and research firm IRi.

Experts say there are strategies you can implement to help you make money-saving decisions on your next trip to the grocery store.

First, plan your meals for the week and take inventory of your refrigerator and pantry so you know exactly what you need. Once you know what you need, make a list and stick to it. Experts say going to the grocery store without a plan leaves you open to impulse purchases, which could lead to poor money decisions.

Avoid those pricier pre-packaged lunches and dinners, as well as pre-cut vegetables and fruits. They may be a time-saver, but experts agree the higher cost for convenience can quickly drain your wallet. Whenever possible, buy store-brand products. They are nearly always cheaper than name brands, and in many cases, you won’t be sacrificing quality. According to Consumer Reports, 22% of shoppers choose which supermarkets to shop at based partly on the quality of their store brands.

You can also clip digital or paper coupons and join your store’s loyalty program where you can start taking advantage of store discounts immediately.

Perhaps the number one money-saving tip – never food shop when you’re hungry. It’s sure to be a budget buster.

Mother charged in drowning deaths of her 3 children

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A New York City mother police said is suspected of drowning her three children while in the throes of a postpartum breakdown is now facing homicide charges.

The children were discovered by police unresponsive at 4:42 a.m. Monday at the water’s edge of Coney Island beach, about 2 miles from where the mother was located, authorities said.

Police said the deaths of the children appeared to be premeditated and not something that occurred at the spur of a moment.

The horrific incident began unfolding around 1:40 a.m. Monday, when a relative called 911 and said she was concerned that the mother was going to harm the children.

The mother was not able to communicate with police when they detained her for questioning on the boardwalk, officials said.

Police have obtained surveillance video of Merdy walking the children calmly to the ocean in the middle of the night, police sources told ABC New York station WABC.

“Our top priority is protecting the safety and well-being of all children in New York City. We are investigating this tragedy with the NYPD,” an ACS spokesperson said.

+ More