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Ryan Reynolds gets polyp removed, puts spotlight on colon cancer screenings

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Ryan Reynolds is raising awareness about colon cancer screenings by sharing details into his own experience with the procedure.

The Deadpool star, who is also the co-chairman of the Welsh football club, Wrexham Association Football Club, shared a video from colon cancer awareness organization Lead from Behind in association with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance on Tuesday that documented his colonoscopy procedure to bring awareness to others about lowering the risk of colorectal cancer.

The video, which featured actor Rob McElhenney, who is also the co-chairman of Wrexham AFC, opens with the both of them explaining that Reynolds bet McElhenney that he wouldn’t learn how to speak Welsh. And if he did, Reynolds would film his colonoscopy.

“Rob and I both turned 45 this year and you know, part of being this age is getting a colonoscopy,” Reynolds said in the video. “It’s a simple step that could literally, and I mean literally, save your life.”

Dr. Jonathan LaPook at NYU Langone Health led Reynolds’s procedure and told the actor that he found an “extremely subtle polyp” on the right side of his colon.

“This was potentially lifesaving for you,” LaPook told Reynolds. “This is exactly why you do this.”

The American Cancer Society said there is “no sure way to prevent colorectal cancer,” but there are things that people can do to help lower their risk. At the top of the list is getting screened for colorectal cancer, just like Reynolds.

During the process, doctors will look for cancer or pre-cancer in people who have no symptoms of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. It is one of the “most powerful tools for preventing colorectal cancer” the organization says.

“You are interrupting the natural history of a disease of something a process, that could have ended up developing into cancer and causing all sorts of problems,” LaPook said. “Instead, you’re not only diagnosing the polyp, you’re taking it out. Nobody would know that they had this, but he [Reynolds] reached the age of screening, 45, he got a routine screening, and there you go. And that’s why people need to do this.”

“This saves lives, pure and simple,” LaPook added.

According to the American Cancer Society, “from the time the first abnormal cells start to grow into polyps, it usually takes about 10 to 15 years for them to develop into colorectal cancer.”

Through regular screening, polyps can be found and removed before they turn into cancer, the American Cancer Society said.

Other ways to potentially lower the risk for colorectal cancer are by managing diet and physical activity, quitting smoking and taking daily multivitamins, according to the American Cancer Society.

McElhenney also brought cameras into his procedure where doctors found three small polyps, which they said were not a big deal and were able to remove them.

“It’s not every day that you can raise awareness about something that will most definitely save lives,” Reynolds said.

One person injured after package detonates at Northeastern University, school says

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BOSTON) — A package detonated at Northeastern University in Boston on Tuesday night, and a staff member sustained a minor hand injury, according to the school and police.

The 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 minor explosion on campus was not random, two sources briefed told ABC News.

Boston EMS had responded to the 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 sustained injuries Tuesday evening in what authorities called a “package detonation” had opened a hard-backed pelican-type case, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

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

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 affiliate WCVB-TV, 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.

Police arrived on the scene around 7:16 p.m. and evacuated the building, authorities told ABC News.

“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 have been advised to be on watch for similar looking pelican cases.

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

Heavy fighting breaks out between Azerbaijan and Armenia

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Heavy fighting has broken out between Azerbaijan and Armenia after Azerbaijan appeared to launch a large-scale attack on Armenian territory, triggering a crisis that poses a potentially serious challenge for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Armenia accused Azerbaijan of using heavy artillery, mortars and drones to target its troops, as well as towns along its border with the disputed enclave Nagorno-Karabakh starting in the early hours on Tuesday, alleging that at least 49 Armenian troops were killed.

Both sides have blamed each other for the fighting, with Azerbaijan accusing Armenia of launching a “large-scale provocation.”

Russia said it had brokered a cease-fire to halt the violence on Tuesday night, but Armenia said some fighting was still going on, though less intensely. Both sides accused the other’s forces of firing artillery along the border on Tuesday night.

The fighting is the worst since the two nations waged a bloody war in 2020, in which tens of thousands of civilians were displaced and thousands of troops killed, after Azerbaijan launched an offensive to retake the enclave that is the object of a decades-long conflict.

That war ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire, after Azerbaijan defeated Armenia and forced it to cede substantial parts of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia is in a security alliance with Armenia and deployed hundreds of troops there as peace-keepers to police the deal and enforce the lines separating the sides in the enclave.

But with Russia now struggling in Ukraine, Azerbaijan may be seeking to take advantage of Moscow’s difficulties to force Armenia to make further concessions.

Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of firing on several towns and villages in its border area since Monday, releasing video purporting to show dozens of Azerbaijani troops trying to advance. Azerbaijan claimed its forces began firing after its infrastructure came under fire first, alleging Armenian military movements in the past month suggest preparations for a “large-scale military provocation.” Armenia said the claims may be intended as a pretext for military action.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has appealed to Russia and a Moscow-led security bloc of former Soviet countries to come to its aid, triggered a mutual assistance pact. Pashinian on Tuesday spoke by phone with Russia’s defense minister, Sergey Shoigu, during which they agreed to “take the necessary steps in the direction of stabilizing the situation,” according to Armenia’s defense ministry.

The crisis is a challenge for the Kremlin, coming as it is reels from Ukraine’s spectacular counteroffensive that routed Russian forces in its northeast this week and when Russia does not have the troops to spare for a major intervention. The collapse of the deal would embarrass Russia and undermine its position as the preeminent powerbroker in the region.

Russia’s foreign ministry has expressed “extreme concern” over the fighting and urged both sides to refrain from further escalation. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia was carrying out “intensive work” to resolve the situation and that Putin was personally involved.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Moscow-led security bloc that Armenia appealed to, held an emergency session in response Tuesday. The bloc agreed its secretary general should visit the conflict zone and a working group should be set up to study the situation, Belarus’ presidential press office told the Russian news service, Interfax.

The United States and the European Union have also called for an urgent end to the fighting. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken to both Pashinian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilhar Aliyev by telephone Tuesday, calling on both to pull back from further conflict.

Blinken told reporters that it would be positive if Russia is able to help stop the violence.

“If Russia can actually use its own influence, for good which is to again, calm the waters, end the violence, and urge people to engage in good faith on building peace, that would be a positive thing,” Blinken said during a visit to Purdue University in Indiana.

Starbucks espresso beverage recalled from some stores over potential metal found inside

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — PepsiCo Inc. is recalling hundreds of Starbucks espresso bottles that were sold in a handful of states due to possible contamination of metal particles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced.

The agency said 221 cases of Starbucks Vanilla Espresso Triple Shot, 15 ounces, that were sold in Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma and Texas are affected. Each case has 12 bottles.

Consumers who have purchased the recalled product are urged to stop consuming the product and return it to the place of purchase.

The recall was initiated on Aug. 15 but posted by the FDA on Sept. 8.

My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell says FBI seized his phone at a Hardee’s

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell says the FBI seized his cellphone on Tuesday as he waited for his food order in a Hardee’s parking lot in Minnesota.

In a phone interview with ABC News Tuesday night, Lindell, a fierce supporter of former President Donald Trump who has continued to try and overturn the 2020 election while pushing baseless conspiracy theories, said three cars with FBI agents pulled in front of his vehicle in the fast-food parking lot and issued the pillow maven a search warrant for his cellphone.

Lindell, who received a subpoena from a Colorado grand jury, according to photos of the document provided to ABC News, said he has not been contacted by any other grand jury investigating Trump’s alleged efforts to obstruct the 2020 election.

The My Pillow founder also claimed that the grand jury subpoena he received requested information about Dominion Voting Systems machines and a Colorado clerk, Tina Peters.

The FBI did not comment when asked. The Denver FBI provided the following statement: “Without commenting on this specific matter, I can confirm that the FBI was at that location executing a search warrant authorized by a federal judge.”

When asked if he’s worried about law enforcement seizing his phone and any potential criminal charges, Lindell told ABC News, “I’ve been to many jails. I’m not scared to go to jail. I’m trying to save my country.”

Former Trump aide wins New Hampshire GOP House primary to take on Pappas

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — ABC News reports that Karoline Leavitt is projected to win Tuesday’s GOP primary to take on Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., setting up a general election matchup in one of the nation’s most competitive House races.

Leavitt, a former White House press staffer under President Donald Trump, defeated Matt Mowers, another Trump administration aide, and Gail Huff Brown, the wife of former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. With about 57% of the expected vote in, Leavitt led the field with 34% of the vote, compared with 25% for Mowers in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.

The results conclude what morphed into a bitter battle between two ideologically aligned foes who found a sliver of difference within the GOP’s right flank.

Both Leavitt and Mowers cast themselves as staunch Trump allies and had big name Republican backers to boot: New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz backed Leavitt while House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana were among those supporting Mowers.

Yet where Mowers called for audits the 2020 presidential race, Leavitt adamantly — and baselessly — denied the results. And while Mowers has said he would examine a push to impeach President Joe Biden, Leavitt has said she would support impeachment.

The result marks a setback for McCarthy, who is setting himself up to serve as speaker if Republicans flip the House in November. The affiliated Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC spent more than $1.3 million supporting Mowers, who said he would back a McCarthy speakership bid. Leavitt, meanwhile, initially said she would support Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as speaker before changing to say she’d support McCarthy.

Leavitt will now face Pappas in one of Republicans’ top flip opportunities. Pappas defeated Mowers in the 2020 election by 5 points, though the district has flipped between the two parties five times since the start of the century.

McKee wins Democratic primary in Rhode Island gubernatorial race

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Rhode Island’s Democratic Gov. Dan McKee is projected to win his primary, ABC News reports, fending off a slate of challengers that kept the primary close until Tuesday.

With 98% of the expected vote in, McKee had 33% of the ballots as of late Tuesday, followed by former CVS Health executive Helena Foulkes with 30%. Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea trailed in third with 26% of the vote.

McKee was appointed to his seat last year after his predecessor, Gina Raimondo, was tapped to be commerce secretary in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet. McKee will now face the GOP candidate, health care executive Ashley Kalus, in the general election, though he will be the favorite in the deep blue state.

Polls had shown McKee, Foulkes and Gorbea in a tight race heading into the primary. However, with his victory, all 28 incumbent governors seeking reelection this year won their primaries — the first time there’s been a clean sweep since 2010.

During his short tenure, McKee had suffered from low approval ratings and a federal investigation into his administration’s awarding of a multimillion-dollar contract to a firm connected to an ally. He denied wrongdoing.

Taiwan becomes growing destination for Hong Kong residents looking for more freedom

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the Chinese government increased its crackdown on political speech and dissenters in Hong Kong in recent years, tens of thousands of longtime residents have fled to nearby Taiwan to escape the oppression.

For many ex-pats, like Annie Zhang, a former editor of a Hong Kong-based media company, their new surroundings have allowed them to express themselves without any fear of jail time or other forms of severe repercussions.

“Many of my friends are cultural producers, or maybe they are booksellers. They are writers. They are artists, but they cannot create things freely in Hong Kong now. So that’s why they chose to leave,” Zhang told ABC News.

Even as tension has risen between Taiwan and its allies and China, some of those in exile say they are determined to speak out and push back against the aggression.

More than 121,000 Hong Kong residents have left the territory in the last year, according to data from Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department.

Since 2019, Taiwan has welcomed more than 37,000 Hong Kong residents, according to data from the Taiwanese government.

Two years ago, the Chinese government imposed new national security law on Hong Kong that outlawed “secession, subversion of state power, terrorism and foreign collusion” in intervening in Hong Kong’s affairs. The law was enacted following protests in 2019 and 2020 against the government over its attempt to change its extradition policy.

Hundreds of Hong Kong residents were arrested and targeted in violations of the law for speaking out against the government.

Kacey Wong was a visual artist based in Hong Kong and put out videos that protested the Chinese government’s policies. In one video, he dressed up as Moses and delivered demands to the government.

Wong said he fled to Taiwan after an article in a state-owned newspaper in Hong Kong highlighted his work and protests.

“I think they don’t like to be laughed at. And I think my gripe is I kind of make fun of them. That’s my crime,” Wong told ABC News.

Many Hong Kong ex-pats have continued to publicly express defiance of the Chinese laws since they relocated to Taiwan.

And now many of those ex-pats are witnessing their former country’s government flex its military muscle against their new haven.

Soon after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and met with its leaders on Aug. 2, the Chinese government stepped up its military presence around the waters between the two nations. Pelosi was the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.

In addition to military drills involving jets and ships, the Chinese military also launched missiles that flew over the island.

In reaction to the growing military moves, many Taiwanese residents are training to fight back in case of an attack by the Chinese government.

Robert Tsao, a retired businessman who founded the United Microelectronics Corporation, told ABC News he donated $100 million U.S. to support training Taiwan’s military and civilians.

Tsao said he was spurred to make the donations following Pelosi’s visit and the Chinese government’s military drills.

“I will fight to die. I won’t live to see Taiwan become another Hong Kong,” he told ABC News. “I will not [be] going to allow that happen. They have to over my dead body to do that.”

But as the hostility between the Chinese government and Taiwan wages on, some of the Hong Kong residents who have settled on the island said they have deeper fears.

Wong told ABC News that he is preparing for the possibility that he may have to relocate again.

“From my perspective, I think Hong Kong is the first step. So it’s fallen as a city and Taiwan is next,” he said.

Eight arrested in suspected human trafficking ring that may have victimized thousands: DOJ

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Eight people were arrested Tuesday in connection with what federal authorities believe is a sprawling human smuggling operation that may have victimized thousands of migrants.

Erminia Serrano Piedra, also known as “Boss Lady,” allegedly ran the operation along with seven others, federal prosecutors told reporters. The eight were arrested in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas on charges related to transporting a non-citizen for monetary benefit while endangering human life.

The Department of Justice is also seeking $2.3 million in property assets allegedly connected with the operation.

“This organization was motivated by personal greed and Piedra and her co-conspirators prioritized that greed over the safety of those that they illegally smuggled,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite told reporters Tuesday.

Court documents did not list attorneys who could speak on the suspects’ behalf. They have not yet appeared in court.

Department of Justice officials say the migrant victims, believed to be citizens of Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico, were brought to so-called “stash houses” where smugglers conduct and conceal their illicit activity. Authorities say that some of the victims were forced into suitcases while others were crammed into the back of tractor trailers, pick-up trucks and even water tankers as part of their journeys into and across the U.S.

Those who drove the vehicles used to transport migrants were possibly paid as much as $2,500 per person, according to the Department of Justice.

“We have alleged that this particular organization was responsible for the smuggling of at least hundreds if not thousands of potential migrants,” Polite said.

Agents from Homeland Security Investigations, the division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that handles smuggling enforcement, led the probe which resulted in the arrest of Katie Ann Garcia, one of the eight suspects, on Tuesday in Laredo, Texas, where authorities say 12 migrants were found, including two minors.

“If you commit the crime of human smuggling and if you manipulate and imperil and take advantage of struggling and fearful migrants — we are coming for you,” Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security John K. Tien said Tuesday. “We will investigate you. We will prosecute you to the fullest extent of our laws. We will leave no stone unturned until we end your nefarious practices.”

The Department of Homeland Security says it has ramped up its crackdown on transnational organizations that facilitate human smuggling — in recent months arresting nearly 5,000 people whom the department suspects of being associated with criminal trafficking.

The Biden administration also launched a “Joint Task Force Alpha” with DHS and DOJ as part of the government’s work to, as Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said Tuesday, “dismantle the most dangerous human smuggling and trafficking networks.”

“The charges announced today are just the latest example of these efforts’ success,” Garland said in a statement. “The Justice Department will continue to bring our full resources to bear to combat the human smuggling and trafficking groups that endanger our communities, abuse and exploit migrants, and threaten our national security.”

Judge will likely grant DOJ request to continue review of documents, legal expert says

September 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors requested on Thursday a stay, attempting to block Judge Aileen Cannon’s prior ruling preventing the FBI and Department of Justice from continuing its review of classified documents in connection with its criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of documents seized at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

Prosecutors said there was risk of “irreparable harm” to national security and the ongoing investigation if the stay was not granted.

Trump’s legal team responded on Monday, saying that appointing a special master to review the documents is a “sensible preliminary step toward restoring order from chaos,” and urged Cannon to reject the request for a stay.

In order to break down recent developments, ABC News Live Prime spoke with Florida state attorney Dave Aronberg.

PRIME: Dave Aronberg, a state attorney in Palm Beach County, thank you so much for joining us. The Justice Department was fairly aggressive in taking on the arguments in Judge Cannon’s prior ruling. How effective of a case do you think that the DOJ made in calling for a stay that would let them keep reviewing the classified records at the heart of this case?

ARONBERG: I think it was their only choice because if they don’t get this partial stay, then it jeopardizes our national security because what Judge Cannon did was really inconsistent. She said, ‘Hey, FBI and DOJ, you cannot use and review those documents you seize from Mar-a-Lago while the special master review is pending. But at the same time, intelligence community, you can continue with your review to make sure these documents didn’t damage national security by the fact that they’re being kept in a Palm Beach social club.’

It doesn’t make sense because the FBI is part of the intelligence community review of those documents. I mean, the CIA is not a domestic law enforcement agency. The intelligence community depends on the FBI. So I think what the DOJ is doing on this motion is to give the judge a way out, a chance to redeem herself before she gets overturned on appeal.

PRIME: Do you think she will redeem herself?

ARONBERG: I think she will. If you saw her comment recently, it was, ‘hey, Trump’s attorneys, what do you make of this motion?’ It seemed like she was sort of hedging her bets by saying, ‘can you speak to the fact that the DOJ is asking for a partial stay?’

And remember, this is just to allow DOJ to review the 100-plus classified documents, not all the documents, just the 100-plus documents that are classified so, of course, they’re not subject to attorney-client privilege because they’re the government’s documents. They involve national security. It’s not communications between Trump and his own personal lawyer and executive privilege doesn’t apply here.

So I think that the judge is starting to get some buyer’s remorse of her original decision, and I think she’s going to step away from it just a little bit and grant this motion.

PRIME: And just to kind of follow that a little further, they cited the risk of potential, irreparable harm to national security and the ongoing investigation if they can’t continue reviewing the documents and say that Trump has no claim to them. Is the judge likely to be swayed by that argument, given her prior ruling allowing for a special master?

ARONBERG: I hope so, because it’s a really powerful argument. I mean, you’ve got to be able to review these documents, especially now that we’ve heard they involve nuclear secrets. I mean, how do you tell the government ‘put it on hold, don’t review them, don’t use them in any way, and we’ll have the special master that can go on and on and on?’

I mean, there are lives at risk. You have human intelligence sources that have their lives at risk because this information could be floating out there. And so, yeah, I think the argument is definitely on DOJ’s side. The problem is you’ve got a judge in Judge Cannon who has shown that she’s willing to go Donald Trump’s way, the person who appointed her to the bench, the person who sought her out at a courthouse 68 miles from here in West Palm Beach, over in Fort Pierce, where she’s the only judge assigned to that courthouse.

They wanted her on this case because they knew she was a Trump appointee and they thought she would do their bidding. And so far, hey, their faith in her has been rewarded.

PRIME: Palm Beach County state attorney Dave Aronberg. We thank you so much.

ARONBERG: Thanks for having me.

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