(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Clorox is issuing a recall Tuesday of roughly 37 million Pine-Sol products over a possible bacteria contamination.
The recall affects “Pine-Sol Scented Multi-Surface Cleaners in “Lavender Clean,” “Sparkling Wave,” and “Lemon Fresh” scents; “CloroxPro Pine-Sol All Purpose Cleaners” in “Lavender Clean,” “Sparkling Wave,” “Lemon Fresh” and “Orange Energy” scents; and “Clorox Professional Pine-Sol Lemon Fresh” cleaners.
Original Pine-Sol (Pine scent) is not included in this recall, according to officials.
The recall affects 37 million products that were sold between January 2021 and September 2022, which may contain the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, according to the CPSC.
“People with weakened immune systems or external medical devices who are exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa face a risk of serious infection that may require medical treatment. The bacteria can enter the body if inhaled, through the eyes, or through a break in the skin. People with healthy immune systems are usually not affected by the bacteria,” the agency said in a statement.
Customers can identify the affected products by looking for date codes that are printed on the bottles. Customers with products with date codes labeled “A4” and followed by a five-digit number less than 22249 should dispose of the product in its container with household trash and contact Pine-Sol for a full refund of the purchase price, with receipt, or of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, without receipt, according to the CPSC.
Affected customers can get more information by calling Pine-Sol toll-free at (855) 378-4982, by email at PineSolRecalls@inmar.com, or online at pinesolrecall.com and Pinesol.com by clicking on “Recall Information.”
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Longtime relic collector Riley Bryant said he had a good hunch that he would find something interesting last weekend under the I-55 bridge in Memphis as the Mississippi River’s water levels reached record lows.
But the 21-year-old student and videographer never expected to see such a treasure trove in plain sight along the rocky shoreline Saturday.
Civil War-era bullets and a union U.S. cartridge box plate were lying around the rocks, just waiting to be picked up, he said.
“To find it there in such good condition just lying there, it almost gave me a heart attack,” Bryant told ABC News.
The location under the bridge used to be home to Fort Pickering, a base that was used for shipping first by the Confederates and later the Union after they took over the facility in 1862, according to historians. The Union army would continue to use the base until the end of the war and it was dismantled in 1866.
The bridge went up in the early part of the 20th century.
Bryant, who has discovered and collected over 75,000 historical artifacts from all over the country, posted videos of his discovery on his TikTok and Instagram pages and it quickly sparked interest from other local history buffs.
Bill Shaner, 63, a Civil War historian and lifelong Memphis resident, told ABC News that Bryant’s discovery was very rare.
“They are in exceptional condition. It’s hard to find a box plate that’s that undamaged,” Shaner told ABC News. “I couldn’t believe it was sticking up in the rocks like that.”
Shaner said other Civil War-era box plates, which were standard issue for troops, are usually discovered underground and not near river banks.
Bryant said the fort and the area near the bridge was frequently used for shipping so it was not uncommon for materials to be washed up and left behind in the water.
“The water levels being at this low level is the reason that no one has found it before,” he said.
The Memphis relic discovery is becoming a more common site around major bodies of water across the world as climate change, and droughts have brought up various rare objects and artifacts including dinosaur footprints in Texas.
The Mississippi River, following weeks of drought, hit a record low in Memphis of -10.71 feet last week, according to the National Weather Service.
Bryant said while he was excited to find the relics he also felt sad because of the state of the river.
“It’s showing how much garbage has been thrown into the river and how polluted the river really is,” he said. “The videos really show how much pollution is going on in the river along with the historical stuff.”
In the meantime, Bryant, who works as a videographer for American Digger Magazine, said he never sells any historical find and instead travels the country to display his collection to anyone interested in history.
“I try to educate people about the history behind the relics,” he said. “I try to do that in a way that has the context of where it’s from.”
(WASHINGTON) — Military planes dropping bombs, battleships at the ready, scores of soldiers marching in the streets — and across the screen flashes the words, “Your country needs you once again.”
“Beat the cheat,” the video urges viewers.
The footage is from a new recruitment video released by The America Project, an organization led by prominent election deniers Patrick Byrne, the former Overstock.com CEO, and retired general Michael Flynn, a former Trump national security adviser, who have joined forces in the final weeks leading up to the midterm elections to recruit ex-military and first responders to staff polling locations around the country.
The operation, fueled by false election claims and using recruitment material featuring images of war, has been dubbed “One Last Mission” by Byrne and Flynn, who emerged as leading figures in the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
“The America Project has spun up the coup de grâce on the enemy,” Byrne said in a separate video announcing the campaign, telling viewers he believes the “bad guys are going to come at us with another rig”– despite there being no evidence that the 2020 election was rigged or stolen.
Poll workers, who set up voting equipment, sign-in and process voters, and report results, are typically apolitical positions for which applicants must affirm that they won’t act for the benefit of any candidate or party.
“AMERICA NEEDS YOU NOW MORE THAN EVER,” read an October post on the group’s Instagram account. “You took an oath to preserve and protect the Constitution. And defending it means ensuring election integrity.”
“This is the most important thing I think going on in America right now,” Byrne said in a recent interview promoting the effort on a conservative internet show. “We’re asking you to save the country again.”
He said in another interview that the recruiting campaign has been “going like gangbusters” after launching in September.
The “One Last Mission” campaign is the latest effort launched by The America Project, which has announced a slate of programs aimed at impacting future elections, many fueled by baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
The group has also conducted poll worker “training” around the county, called “Operation Eagle’s Wings,” which is targeting key battleground states including Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The America Project has so far trained almost 6,000 poll workers in just Pennsylvania alone, according to Flynn’s brother Michael Flynn, who is the group’s president. The training is separate and additional to training from election officials.
“They won’t be able to steal this election the same way they stole 2020!” he tweeted.
The recruitment of poll workers based on unproven claims of voter fraud has raised alarm bells with some election experts.
“Recruiting people based on lies is problematic, and to do that and then to add the militaristic ‘we’re at war’ imagery, I think is inviting people to that process with the wrong perspective,” Sean Morales-Doyle, acting director of voting rights at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, told ABC News. “Skepticism is one thing, but coming to that job believing that the election was stolen and on the lookout for nonexistent conspiracies and fraud is problematic.”
Morales-Doyle said there is a long history of former servicemen and women serving as poll watchers, and that they often “come to that work precisely because they are people who are committed to public service and making sure the process works.”
“However,” he said, “the methods used by groups like The America Project — conflating images of war with false election fraud claims — can be a troubling combination ahead of Election Day.”
And while Byrne says in some videos that the effort should be peaceful, Morales-Doyle warned that the images being used by the group project a different message.
“The use of militaristic imagery and terminology in order to recruit people to be poll watchers is troubling, in part, because there’s a history of problems with intimidation by poll watchers in this country,” Morales-Doyle said. “There’s specifically a history of efforts to use off-duty law enforcement and poll watchers to accomplish racially discriminatory intimidation, so it gives me concern when you see that kind of recruitment.”
The America Project did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The organization was founded as a 501(c)(4) not-for-profit organization in the wake of the 2020 election, according to documents reviewed by ABC News. Michael Flynn said in an online interview posted last week that Byrne had primarily funded the group by investing “a lot of his own personal treasure.”
According to a filing with North Carolina charity regulators, the group listed its planned budget for 2021 as $50 million. When ABC News asked to see the group’s Form 990, a filing that tax-exempt organizations make to the Internal Revenue Service, a representative for The America Project said they had filed an extension until after the election, in February 2023.
In addition to Byrne and Flynn, The America Project is staffed with several former Trump administration officials, according to documents. Emily Newman, who served as an adviser in the Trump administration, is listed as president of the group’s board of directors, and another former Trump administration official, Tim Meisburger, was recently announced as the group’s “election integrity director.”
Meisburger, who served as deputy assistant administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Development, Democracy and Innovation, left the agency after reportedly making comments that downplayed the attack on the U.S. Capitol shortly after Jan. 6.
Michael Flynn, who served as then-President Donald Trump’s national security adviser until 2017, was initially a prominent face of The America Project and was featured in one of the group’s first videos promoting its formation. Up until a month ago, the retired general was the first one listed in the “About Us” section of the group’s website — but recently his name was removed. The America Project did not respond to questions about Michael Flynn’s ongoing involvement with the group.
“We are crisscrossing the country doing all we can in these remaining days to mobilize believers to have courage and stand up to protect our country from this takeover,” Michael Flynn told Charisma News, a Christian news outlet. “If it is not stopped with an overwhelming turnout and victory in both the House and the Senate, our nation will be forever lost. Now is the time for courage.”
For election experts like Morales-Doyle, groups like The America Project present a dilemma: Is it better to raise alarm bells about their potential threats, or stay quiet so voters aren’t scared off from going to the polls?
“Post Jan. 6, there’s no way that I can tell you that we aren’t at a higher risk of political violence and intimidation and people responding to [those] kinds of calls,” Morales-Doyle said. “It’s the same kind of stuff that prompted people to show up to the Capitol on Jan. 6. I think there’s a real threat and a real concern.”
However, he said. “I just think that whenever we talk about that threat and that concern, it’s important to also keep in mind that most people aren’t going to face that when they go to the polls — and people shouldn’t be scared to go vote.”
(WASHINGTON) — Six cases of alleged voter intimidation at drop box locations in Arizona have been referred to the Justice Department in Washington, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said Monday, as early voting options have been open for nearly two weeks across the state.
“Voter harassment may include gathering around ballot drop boxes questioning voters, brandishing weapons, taking pictures of people voting and following or chasing voters who are attempting to drop off their ballots, and it can all be considered voter intimidation. It is unacceptable,” Hobbs said in a release. “I will continue to forward reports received to law enforcement, and I urge law enforcement to take action to protect voters from ongoing intimidation.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland, asked on Monday about voter intimidation at Arizona ballot drop boxes, said, “The Justice Department has an obligation to guarantee a free and fair vote by everyone whose qualified to vote and will not permit voters to be intimidated.”
Five recorded complaints obtained by ABC News occurred between Oct. 17 and Oct. 22, outside ballot drop boxes at 501 S. 3rd Ave. in Phoenix and at the Mesa Juvenile Court, both in Maricopa County. Most described an instance of groups of individuals loitering near the drop boxes, filming and photographing voters as they returned their ballots and in some cases, taking photographs of the voters’ license plates. One report described individuals dressed in “camo-clad gear” and photos from election officials show at least two armed individuals outside the Mesa drop box Friday.
One incident report, filed on Oct. 20 at 12:30 p.m. at Mesa Juvenile Court detailed how a couple in their 70s, who parked their car in order to individually put their ballots in the drop box, said they were approached by a group of five or six men in the parking lot.
“As we were getting up to our car, two individuals took pictures of our license plate and our car. I got out and asked what they were doing. They claimed they were taking pictures for “election security” and I took pictures of them to report them to the DOJ for voter intimation and harassment. As we were pulling out, they continued to film my wife, myself and our car,” the complaint said.
Early voting in the 2022 midterm elections began Oct. 12 in Arizona, where 402,000 early ballots have been returned so far, according to data compiled by the secretary of state from 15 county recorders. Aside from voters and credentialed government or party officials, individuals must stay at least 75 feet away from secure drop box locations, according to Arizona law.
“There’s a group of people hanging out near the ballot dropbox filming and photographing my wife and I as we approached the dropbox and accusing us of being a mile (mule),” another incident report, filed on Oct. 17 at 6:40 p.m. at Mesa Juvenile Court said. “They took photographs of our license plate and of us and then followed us out the parking lot in one of their cars continuing to film.”
Accusations of being “mules” is in reference to a widely debunked, far-right film, ‘2,000 Mules,’ which falsely alleges that individuals hired by Democrats stuffed numerous drop boxes with potentially fake absentee ballots during the 2020 election.
Hobbs’ office in its release on Monday also referred at least one report of election worker harassment to law enforcement over the weekend after she and two other employees were sent a menacing and vulgar message: “Remember the French Revolution of 1799??….” it said.
Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone told reporters on Monday his office also is working with the DOJ to identify which cases qualify as voter intimidation. Since voting began, he said his team has written two criminal reports and submitted those to the county prosecutor.
“I think it’s undermining who we are as a nation, and I think that it’s self-serving in many ways. And what do I see now as the sheriff of one of the biggest counties in the nation, I see that every day I’m dedicating a considerable amount of resources, just to give people confidence that they can cast a vote safely and that is absurd,” he said.
“The more folks that are creating problems, the more deputies that you’re gonna see on the streets focused on this versus burglaries and crimes against children and robberies and all the stuff we shouldn’t be doing. But we’ll come and we’ll babysit polling sites because people have to misbehave, if that’s what we have to do to protect democracy,” he added.
Last week, some individuals set up camp there and told ABC News affiliate KNXV they were out at a drop box in Mesa to “catch some Vitamin D” and with “Clean Elections USA” — a group that calls individuals to monitor drop box locations.
“We are looking for true Patriots to take a stand and watch the drop boxes. We want to gather video (and live witness evidence) of any ballot tampering that takes place in real time,” their website reads.
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon hosted a woman named Melody Jennings last week on his podcast, who said she’s the founder of the group. Jennings said they’re going to find “mules” — another reference to the widely debunked “2,000 Mules” film.
Non-profit groups Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and Voto Latino filed a lawsuit Monday seeking a restraining order against Clean Elections USA and the individuals they said have been gathering at and surveilling drop boxes in Arizona.
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates and Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, who have faced death threats of their own as election workers, condemned the drop box watchers in a joint statement on Saturday.
“We are deeply concerned about the safety of individuals who are exercising their constitutional right to vote and who are lawfully taking their early ballot to a drop box. Uninformed vigilantes outside Maricopa County’s drop boxes are not increasing election integrity. Instead, they are leading to voter intimidation complaints. Although monitoring and transparency in our elections is critical, voter intimidation is unlawful.”
Kelly Townsend, a Republican and state senator, tweeted Monday, “I should not have to say this but wearing tactical gear while watching a ballot drop box could be considered voter intimidation. Don’t do it.”
ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — New York City’s COVID vaccination mandate for municipal workers was “arbitrary and capricious,” and those who were fired over it should be reinstated, according to a judge’s ruling made public on Tuesday.
Judge Ralph Porzio in Staten Island cited President Joe Biden’s recent declaration the pandemic was over and a decision by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul not to renew the state’s COVID-19 emergency.
The ruling came in a case brought by 16 sanitation workers who were fired earlier this year over their refusal to get vaccinated but who claimed they had natural immunity because of prior infections.
“Though vaccination should be encouraged, public employees should not have been terminated for their noncompliance,” Porzio wrote in the ruling. “It is time for the city of New York to do what is right and what is just.”
The ruling said the fired workers were to have been reinstated Tuesday and were entitled to back pay. The city is appealing.
“The city strongly disagrees with this ruling as the mandate is firmly grounded in law and is critical to New Yorkers’ public health,” a spokesman for the Law Department said in a statement. “We continue to review the court’s decision, which conflicts with numerous other rulings already upholding the mandate.”
The ruling said the vaccine requirement violated the sanitation workers’ due process rights, along with the separation of powers. The judge also criticized a decision in March to exempt athletes, artists and performers.
“Granting exemptions for certain classes and selectively lifting vaccination orders, while maintaining others, is simply the definition of disparate treatment,” the ruling said.
Biden was asked about New York while getting his COVID booster on Tuesday and called it a “local judgment.” His own vaccine mandates focused on the federal workforce and employees at large companies.
(DALLAS) — Henry “Michael” Dwight Williams, the man who sold the gun to the Texas synagogue hostage-taker earlier this year, was sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison, authorities said.
Malik Faisal Akram, 44, held four people hostage for 10 hours in Colleyville’s Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in the Dallas-Fort Worth area last January. The hostages were safely evacuated and Akram was fatally shot by law enforcement officers.
Williams sold Akram a semiautomatic Taurus G2C pistol on Jan. 13. In plea papers, Williams admitted to possessing the firearm despite his conviction, according to Chad Meacham of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas.
“This defendant, a convicted felon, had no business carrying – much less buying and selling – firearms. Whether he suspected his buyer would use the gun to menace a community of faith is legally irrelevant: In the U.S., convicted felons cannot possess firearms,” said Meacham.
The FBI was able to uncover cellphone records tying Williams to Akram. The two exchanged several phone calls from Jan. 11 to Jan. 13, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
After he was arrested on an outstanding warrant in January, Williams told investigators that he sold Akram the handgun at an intersection in South Dallas.
Williams was charged in January, indicted in February and pleaded guilty to the charge in June. A federal judge issued the sentencing on Monday. He was previously convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted possession of a controlled substance.
“The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting those who violate our nation’s federal firearm laws, which are designed to keep guns from falling into the hands of dangerous offenders. We are grateful to the FBI, which sprang into action as soon as the synagogue hostage crisis began, and to the agents who worked tirelessly to track the weapon from Mr. Akram to the defendant,” Meacham said.
(NEW YORK) — This could be the last chance for fast food fans to get their hands on a McDonald’s McRib as the golden arches prepares to say goodbye to the saucy sandwich.
Starting Oct. 31, the seasoned, boneless pork sensation that’s slathered in tangy barbecue sauce and topped with slivered onions and pickles, will be back on menus for a limited time.
“We can’t say for certain what the future holds. But for now, fans should enjoy the McRib while they can, because it won’t be returning nationwide anytime soon,” a spokesperson for McDonald’s said in a statement to ABC News’ Good Morning America.
“After three straight years headlining McDonald’s nationwide menu each fall, the iconic sandwich is embarking on a ‘Farewell Tour,'” McDonald’s said in a press release. “Like any true farewell tour, we’re hoping this isn’t a ‘goodbye’ … because as our McRib stans have experienced time and time again: you never know when – or if – the McRib is coming back.”
The now-famous sandwich first hit menus in 1980, got a mini version in 2003 and prompted a McRib locator in 2008 so fans could track down which locations had it available. In 2021, McDonald’s USA created it’s first NFT offering a digital version of the McRib.
The sandwich may be gone, but for superfans who hope to enjoy more of the McRib legacy, McDonald’s is launching a line of merch.
(NEW YORK) — Five tourists who were trapped some 200 feet underground at Arizona’s Grand Canyon Caverns for more than 24 hours due an elevator malfunction have since been rescued, authorities said.
“All subjects were safely removed at approximately 7:30 p.m. last night and were all in good condition,” Jon Paxton, public information officer for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC News in an email on Tuesday morning.
The elevator broke down on Sunday evening when visitors went to leave the popular tourist attraction near Peach Springs, Arizona, about 100 miles west of Flagstaff. Several people were able to walk up the 21 flights of stairs to get out, but five others were either unable to safely do so or chose to stay behind with those who physically couldn’t, according to the sheriff’s office.
The stranded group was provided accommodation and food that night by a small hotel and restaurant adjacent to the dry caverns, which are among the largest in the United States and date back 65 million years. The elevator malfunction was initially thought to be electrical but is now believed to be mechanical after an external generator that arrived on Monday did not fix the problem, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said it sent a search and rescue team with a basket apparatus that can lift people up the elevator shaft one-by-one, in the event that the technicians could not repair the elevator quickly.
It was not immediately clear how the tourists were rescued on Monday evening.
(WASHINGTON) — A bill recently introduced in Congress would restrict federal funding from organizations, local governments and schools that include LGBTQ content in events, programs, education and more.
The “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” has a very slim chance of passing Congress. The midterm elections, however, could change that.
Here’s what the bill would entail:
If passed by Congress, the legislation would prohibit federal, state, local governments and private organizations that receive federal tax dollars from developing, facilitating or funding programs, events or literature on “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender dysphoria, or related subjects” for children under the age of 10.
Parents would be allowed to file a lawsuit against any public or private entity that uses federal funds to display or facilitate content featuring LGBTQ identities.
If an agency or organization violates these restrictions more than once in a five-year period, it could lose access to federal funds for three years, according to the bill.
The bill specifically mentions drag shows, which have been the recent target of criticism by conservative groups advocating for laws such as this one.
Proposed bill prompts criticism
The bill sparked immediate backlash from some LGBTQ people and activists across the country, who say this legislation misrepresents these identities as inherently sexual, shameful or taboo.
They assert that this kind of legislation will silence and harm LGBTQ teachers and students, while stigmatizing the community and threatening federally funded programs on inclusion.
“Instead of joining the rising tide of acceptance and bipartisan support for LGBTQ people, members of Congress trying to score political points propose a bill filled with misinformation with the futile attempt of smearing and erasing who we are,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD.
She continued, “The American people see this for what it is: a desperate and losing effort targeting the most vulnerable students, with the goal of spreading lies.”
The proposed bill comes amid a wave of conservative calls against the representation or discussion of LGBTQ identities in schools and libraries. The Republican-led battle against LGBTQ content has grown nationwide, prompting book bans and similar legislation in several states.
“A federal ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’ bill – modeled after the controversial discriminatory law in Florida and aiming to drive LGBTQ+ families and teachers out of the education system – is their latest cruel attempt to stigmatize and marginalize the community, not in an attempt to solve actual problems but only to rile up their extremist base,” said David Stacy, the government affairs director of LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.
Effort reflects nationwide conservative movement
Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson is leading the effort, backed by more than 30 other Republican Congress members.
“The Democrat Party and their cultural allies are on a misguided crusade to immerse young children in sexual imagery and radical gender ideology,” Johnson said.
The legislation follows the implementation of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which was implemented in July. Several states have followed Florida’s lead, including Alabama, which has implemented so-called “Don’t Say Gay” policies of its own.
Supporters say these laws allow parents to decide what should be taught to their children.
“We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said before signing the bill in March.
Following the law’s implementation, the state Board of Education approved a rule that could remove the licenses of teachers who include sexual orientation or gender identity in their curriculum. The Miami-Dade school board also voted against formally recognizing LGBTQ History Month, a month it had celebrated in the past.
Some teachers say they’ve left classrooms behind because of these anti-LGBTQ policies.
(HARTLAND, Wis.) — Four children and two adults whose bodies were found at an apartment fire in Wisconsin died in a murder-suicide, according to authorities.
All six individuals were shot once, Hartland police announced Monday. The adult man, Connor McKisick, had a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
The other adult was identified as Jessica McKisick, police said.
The children were only identified by police as a 14-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl and two 3-year-old boys. The boys were twins and the children of Connor and Jessica McKisick, Hartland Police Chief Torin Misko added.
The six bodies were found early Friday morning when crews responded to a fire at the four-family apartment building in Hartland, which is about 26 miles west of Milwaukee.
Police said in a statement Monday that there’s “evidence of an ignitable liquid in the apartment where it normally would not be located.”
No other persons of interest were identified, police said, adding, “there is no further danger to the community.”
The exact times of the shootings are not yet clear, but the chief said the shootings were believed to be close to the report of the fire, which was at 5:11 a.m. local time.
Several guns have been recovered from the apartment, Misko said.
The three other families who lived in the apartment building have been displaced, officials said.
