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Fired-up Biden blames Republicans for blocking his plan to fight inflation

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(PHILADELPHIA) — President Joe Biden delivered fired-up remarks on the economy before a friendly, cheering audience of union workers in Philadelphia Tuesday — nodding to inflation, high food and gas prices, and his plans to try to ease the economic pressures American families are facing.

Shouting at times, receiving standing ovations, and delivering plenty of classic “Bidenisms,” the president spoke about the economy to a convention of the AFL-CIO federation of labor unions — and acknowledged the record-high inflation rates his administration is trying to combat.

“Jobs are back, but prices are still too high,” Biden conceded, arguing Republicans are blocking him from carrying out his plan to bring down costs. “COVID is down, but gas prices are up. Our work isn’t done.”

High inflation is a major political liability for Biden, who blamed Republicans for blocking a lot of his ideas to lower prices for Americans.

During his campaign-like speech, he heavily praised organized labor — and delivered a midterm message.

“You’re a gigantic reason why I’m standing here,” Biden told the crowd. “Standing here today as your president. I really mean it.”

‘Jobs are back, but prices are still too high’

While Biden focused his message on the economy, he did not address inflation until well into his speech, and when he did, he reiterated how his personal experience with inflation gave him an understanding of what families are facing.

“Republicans in Congress are doing everything they can to stop my plans to bring down costs on ordinary families. That’s why my plan is not finished and why the results aren’t finished either,” Biden argued.

The president pointed to his efforts to bring down prices at the pump in particular by tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to get more oil to market, but noted the entire world is facing high inflation, and that in the United States, “It’s sapping the strength of a lot of families.”

Biden also went into more detail than usual about the food crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine, saying, part of his plan to help bring down food costs included the U.S. working to get Ukrainian grain out of the country and to the global markets.

He acknowledged the complicating factors involved in doing so, particularly because of the differences between Ukraine’s rails and the rest of Europe.

“We’re going to build silos, temporary silos in the borders of Ukraine, including in Poland, so we can transfer it from those cars into those silos into cars in Europe and get it out to the ocean and get it across the world,” Biden pledged, but conceded, “it’s taking time.”

Midterm message and support for Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania, Atlanta

With the midterm elections just a few months away, Biden used his remarks to also deliver a message to voters — trying to draw contrast between his party and Republicans on the economy, despite the dreary headlines his administration has been facing.

“Our work isn’t done but here’s the deal. America still has a choice to make. A choice between a government by the few for the few or a government for all of us. Democracy for all of us, an economy where all of us have a fair shot and a chance to earn our place in the economy,” Biden pitched to the crowd.

The president, who had prided himself on bipartisanship, said he is under no “illusions” when it comes to the Republican party today, hitting Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott’s tax proposal in his remarks.

“The fact is Republicans in Congress are still in the grip of the ‘ultra-MAGA’ agenda. And they still refuse to consider any part of the Trump tax cuts, which delivered a massive windfall to billionaires and others. And they weren’t paid for,” Biden said.

“They still refuse to consider a minimum corporate tax of 15%, minimum tax,” he said. “They seem to think that the problem in America today is the working families aren’t paying enough.”

He also delivered messages of support for two midterm candidates in particular: Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia, Stacey Abrams.

Biden said he held a Zoom call on Monday with Fetterman, who is running for Senate in Pennsylvania and recently suffered a stroke, telling the crowd Fetterman was “looking good” and “can’t wait to get back on the trail” — adding a joke about Fetterman’s size.

“If you’re in a foxhole, you want John with you man,” Biden said. “I know he can’t wait to get back on the trail. He’s looking good. He’s no bigger, stronger voice for working people in this state than John. Certainly no bigger one, for that matter.”

He also called on the union members to support Abrams, who he said was in attendance.

“I gotta ask y’all a favor: Help her in Georgia. Help Stacey Abrams in Georgia,” he said. “There’s three things I learned about her early on. One, she’s loyal. Two, she’s capable. And three, she’s smarter than me. She knows what she’s doing. So folks, please help her out.”

Touts pro-union credentials

Speaking before the union crowd, Biden said “nothing had made me prouder than that” to be called “the most pro-union president in history” by the AFL-CIO’S leadership.

“I promised you I would be, and I commit to you as long as I have this job I will remain that,” Biden said.

The president also called on Congress to pass the PRO Act, which would expand labor protections and the right to organize.

He touted his accomplishments, including the infrastructure bill, the millions of jobs created during his time in office, and how American families are carrying less debt and have more savings.

“I love these guys talking about why these guys left my employment, went to another job,” Biden said. “Because he got paid more! Isn’t that awful, isn’t that a shame that they gotta compete for labor. Better paying jobs, for better jobs for them and their families. It’s been a long time since that’s happened in this country, but it’s happening now.”

He contrasted himself with his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, and the poor state of the economy in 2020.

“I promise you, I’m going to keep fighting for you,” Biden shouted, to loud cheers. “Are you prepared to fight with me?”

Philadelphia installing 100 cameras near schools in effort to curb gun violence

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(PHILADELPHIA) — In an effort to curb shootings and make going to and from school less dangerous for students, Philadelphia officials announced they will spend $1.8 million on installing security cameras near city high schools and middle schools in high crime neighborhoods.

Standing outside the John Bartram High School in Southwest Philadelphia, where a 17-year-old student was fatally shot in January after leaving campus, Mayor Jim Kenney and other city leaders said at a news conference Monday they hope the cameras will make criminals think twice about committing shootings around a school.

“We need to create a culture of if you’re going do something, somebody might be watching you,” city councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez said.

Cameras that can be remotely monitored will be placed along routes students frequently take to and from Bartram and 18 other schools, officials said.

Craig Johnson, the deputy chief of school safety for the School District of Philadelphia, said the schools were chosen for the program based on information regarding shootings around those campuses. The cameras will be linked to the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, where Philadelphia police monitor crime from real-time feeds.

“We hate to think that we have to have this environment where we have to have this coverage, but it’s a simple reality that people in the neighborhoods in the city of Philadelphia, they want us to do something,” Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke said at the press conference.

The move comes as shootings and murders in the City of Brotherly Love have climbed to record levels. Last year, Philadelphia set an all-time annual homicide record with 562 killings. As of Monday, the city has recorded 227 homicides this year, 18 fewer than this time in 2021, according to police department crime statistics.

More than 800 non-fatal shootings have occurred in the city this year as of Sunday, according to gun violence crisis data tracked by the city’s Office of the Controller. At least 95 young people 18 or younger have been shot in the city this year, according to the data.

Johnson said the need for the new security cameras is being prompted by the shootings of teenagers, many near their schools.

On May 17, a 16-year-old boy was shot seven times while sitting outside KIPP Philadelphia Charter School in the city’s Parkside neighborhood. Just seven days later, three students, ages 15 to 17, were shot and wounded after leaving the Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter in the city’s Tioga-Nicetown section.

In April, a 15-year-old boy was shot to death about a block from Tanner Duckrey School in North Central Philadelphia when a gunman fired at least 20 shots.

“Youth being shot or being murdered almost on a daily basis doesn’t even garner that much attention,” Johnson said. “It’s almost like it’s expected or normalized and that’s a really sad place to be.”

The announcement of the program comes less than a month after a teenager armed with an AR-15 rifle allegedly killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Clarke said he hopes the new cameras will also “create an environment where people feel a little more safe.”

“We need every child to be safe as they go to school, and come home later in the day,” Clarke said. “These cameras are a good start, and they’ll lend eyes to law enforcement officials working very hard to keep our kids safe from harm.”

Heat wave continues in 27 states across the country

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A third of the U.S. population will experience heat advisories on Tuesday and Wednesday as a week of record-breaking temperatures continues, according to the National Weather Service.

A “heat dome” is expected to bring triple-digit temperatures to portions of the Midwest, adding to the early onset temperatures already baking the Southwest.

From California to Virginia, approximately 100 million Americans are under heat advisories, heat warnings or heat watches.

St. Louis reported a record-high temperature of 100 degrees on Monday, and the heat index in parts of the Midwest neared 115 degrees.

From Raleigh, North Carolina, to Chicago, actual temperatures are expected to reach near 100 degrees on Tuesday.

As extreme heat has persisted in the Southwest and Midwest, the heat is moving East, with Detroit predicted to reach 97 degrees on Wednesday.

Wildfires are continuing in the Southwest amid the heat, igniting due to gusty winds and very dry conditions.

There are red flag warnings across Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma for increased fire danger.

A new heat wave is poised to hit the Southwest on Wednesday, with temperatures again surpassing 110 degrees from Southern California to Arizona.

Gusty winds are expected to continue, prolonging wildfire risks in the Southwest.

More than 27 major cities tied or broke day-of heat records on Saturday, with California’s Death Valley being the hottest place in America at 123 degrees.

Palm Springs, California, and Phoenix followed, tying at 114 degrees, marking the hottest day for Phoenix in a century.

Las Vegas reported temperatures of 109 degrees on Saturday for the first time since 1956.

Extreme heat causes more deaths in American than any other weather-related disaster, with the Environmental Protection Agency estimating that more than 1,300 deaths per year in the U.S. are due to extreme heat.

Warning signs of a heat episode include nausea, excessive sweating and rapid pulse.

Those who are at the greatest risk for a heat-related incident include young children, older adults, pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals.

If possible, the NWS encourages residents to take cool showers or baths, find pools to escape the heat, avoid physical activity during the daytime and high-heat hours and find a safe place with air conditioning.

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukrainian official pleads for tanks, drones, rockets

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Jun 14, 1:20 pm
Russian, Belarusian tennis players can compete at US Open under neutral flag

Russian and Belarusian tennis players, who are banned from Wimbledon, will be allowed to compete in this year’s U.S. Open, but only under a neutral flag, the U.S. Tennis Association said.

The USTA said it “previously condemned, and continues to condemn, the unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine by Russia.”

Russian player Daniil Medvedev, the current No. 1 player in the world, won last year’s U.S. Open.

Jun 14, 6:37 am
Ukraine pleads for heavy weapons ahead of NATO meeting

The only way to end the war in Ukraine, either on the battlefield or behind the negotiation table, is a parity of weapons, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said on Monday.

“Being straightforward — to end the war we need heavy weapons parity,” Podoliak said on Twitter.

According to the presidential adviser, Ukraine’s military wish list includes 1,000 howitzers, 300 multiple launch rocket systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armored vehicles and 1,000 drones.

“Negotiations are possible from a strong position, which requires parity of weapons,” Podoliak said. “There is simply no other way.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed Podoliak’s plea for weapons on Monday in a tweet that recounted Ukraine’s recent military triumphs achieved with limited resources.

“Ukraine has proven it can punch well above its weight and win important battles against all odds,” Kuleba said, pointing at victories in the battles of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv. “Imagine what Ukraine can do with sufficient tools,” the Foreign Minister added. Kuleba urged Ukraine’s partners “to set a clear goal of Ukrainian victory and speed up deliveries of heavy weapons.”

Podoliak said a meeting of NATO defense ministers will be held in Brussels on June 15.

“We are waiting for a decision” on the weapons, Podoliak said.

The group, known as the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, will convene a meeting for the third time in a bid “to ensure that we’re providing Ukraine what Ukraine needs right now,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said at a press briefing in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.

Austin, who will be in attendance in Brussels, said that Ukraine needs support “in order to defend against Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked assault.” The secretary of Defense noted that looking ahead, Ukraine will require help “to build and sustain robust defenses so that it will be able to defend itself in the coming months and years.”

In his Monday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to tell people in the occupied territories “that the Ukrainian army will definitely come.”

“Tell them about Ukraine. Tell them the truth. Say that there will be liberation,” the president said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials played down threats of possible food shortages in the country due to the ongoing conflict. While Ukraine lost 25% of its sown area as a result of Russia’ full-scale invasion, the country’s food security was “in no way” threatened, Taras Vysotsky, the first deputy minister of Agrarian Policy, said at a press briefing for Ukrainian media on Monday.

“Despite the loss of 25% of sown areas, the structure of crops this year as a whole is more than sufficient to ensure consumption, which in turn also decreased due to mass displacement and external migration,” Vysotsky said.

The deputy minister added that Ukraine has “already imported about 70% of essential fertilizers, 60% of plant protection products and about a third of the required amount of fuel” before the war erupted in late February. According to Vysotsky, current sowing volumes are enough to ensure domestic consumption and even exports.

Jun 13, 9:26 am
Bodies of tortured men exhumed in Bucha

Another mass grave has been dug up in Bucha, uncovering the bodies of seven men who authorities believe were tortured and killed during the bloody occupation of the city in March.

Police told ABC News their hands were tied with ropes behind their backs and they were shot in the knees and head.

“They were killed in a cruel way,” police spokesperson Iryna Pryanyshnykova said. “These were civilian victims. The people here were killed by Russian soldiers and later they were just put into a grave to try to hide this war crime.”

It’s not clear why the men were killed, Pryanyshnykova said.

She said experts will analyze DNA to identify the victims.

-ABC News’ Britt Clennett

Jun 13, 6:24 am
Zelenskyy: Ukraine fighting for ‘every meter’ of Severodonetsk

Russian forces have pushed the Armed Forces of Ukraine out of the center of Severodonetsk, Ukrainian officials said.

“They are pressing in Severodonetsk, where very fierce fighting is going on — literally for every meter,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address on Sunday evening.

Russian forces now control about 70% of the city, as intense shelling makes mass evacuation and the transportation of goods impossible, Sergiy Haidai, another Ukrainian official, said.

Around 500 people, including 40 children, are sheltering in the city’s Azot chemical plant, Haidai said.

While the Ukrainians try to organize their evacuation, authorities of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic have given an ultimatum to Ukrainian troops in the city.

“They have two options: either follow the example of their colleagues and give up, or die. They have no other option,” said Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the People’s Militia Department of the DPR.

-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd and Tanya Stukalova

Jun 12, 5:33 pm
Zelenskyy sends virtual message to Sean Penn’s CORE benefit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the annual Hollywood fundraiser for actor Sean Penn’s nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) Saturday night with a powerful video message urging people to continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“All of you have heard about the horrors that Ukraine is going through. Tens of thousands of explosions and shots, hundreds of thousands wounded and killed, millions who have lost their homes,” Zelenskyy said in his virtual speech. “All of this is not a logline for a horror film. All of this is our reality.”

Zelenskyy’s video message included footage showing missiles striking homes and apartment complexes in Ukraine, civilians dead in the streets of Ukrainian cities and children playing in parks amid the backdrop of bombed buildings.

Among those attending the CORE fundraiser, held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angles, were Penn and CORE co-founder Ann Lee, former President Bill Clinton, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, singer John Legend, and actors Patrick Stewart and Sharon Stone.

The group said the event raised more than $2.5 million for CORE’s disaster relief and preparedness work, including its urgent humanitarian response in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy noted that Penn traveled to Ukraine at the start of the Russian invasion and witnessed the atrocities firsthand. He thanked Penn and his group for the continued support for Ukraine.

“We have been resisting it for 107 days in a row,” Zelenskyy said of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. “We can stop it together. Support Ukraine, because Ukraine is fighting for the whole world, for democracy, for freedom, for life.”

Jun 12, 4:17 pm
Russia’s firepower superiority 10 times that of Ukraine’s in Luhansk: Military chief

Ukraine’s Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny said Sunday that he told his American counterpart, Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Russian firepower superiority in the Luhansk region is far greater than that of Ukrainian forces.

Zaluzhny said that during a briefing he told Milley that Russian forces are concentrating their efforts in the north of the Luhansk region, where they are using artillery “en masse” and their firepower superiority is 10 times that of Ukraine’s.

“Despite everything, we keep holding our positions,” Zaluzhny said.

Zaluzhny also said Russia has deployed up to seven battalion tactical groups in Severdonetsk, a city in the Luhansk region. He said Russian shelling of residential areas in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine has resumed.

Russian forces destroyed a second bridge leading into Severodonetsk and are now targeting a third bridge in an effort to completely cut off the city, Luhansk region Gov. Sergiy Haidai said Sunday. Ukraine’s army still controls around one third of the city, he said.

Haidai said that Ukrainian forces are still holding onto the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, where around 500 civilians are taking shelter.

If Severodonetsk falls, Lysychansk will be the only city in the Luhansk region that remains under Ukraine’s control.

Zaluzhny said that as of Sunday, the front line of the war stretched 1,522 miles and that active combat was taking place on at least 686 miles of the front line.

Zaluzhny said that during his briefing with Milley, he reiterated Ukraine’s urgent request for more 155 mm caliber artillery systems.

Jun 12, 12:48 pm
Russian cruise missile attack confirmed in western Ukraine

Russia claims a cruise missile strike destroyed a large warehouse in western Ukraine storing weapons supplied to the Ukrainians by the United States and European allies.

While police in the Ternopil region of Ukraine, where at least one cruise missile hit, told ABC News that no weapons were destroyed, the region’s governor said part of a military facility was damaged.

Ternopil’s governor Volodymyr Trush posted a video showing widespread damage from what he said were four Russian missiles launched Saturday from the Black Sea. Trush said 22 people were wounded, including a 12-year-old child, in the missile strikes.

In addition to the military facility, Trush said four five-story residential apartment buildings were damaged. One of the missiles hit a gas pipeline, he said.

Russia’s defense ministry said Kalibr high presicion sea-based, long-range missiles struck near Chortkiv in the Ternopil province and destroyed a large warehouse full of anti-tank missile systems, portable anti-aircraft missile systems and artillery shells supplied by the United States and European countries.

Conflicting explanations over why Wednesday’s Jan. 6 committee hearing abruptly postponed

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Jan. 6 committee announced Tuesday morning that its hearing set for Wednesday has been postponed — but conflicting explanations were offered as to why.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., told reporters on Capitol Hill following the committee’s announcement that there was no issue with witnesses in moving the hearing but “technical issues.”

“It’s just technical issues. I mean, we were, you know, the staff putting together all the videos, you know, doing 1-2-3, It was overwhelming, so we’re trying to give them a little room,” she said. “It’s not a big deal.”

Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe earlier, she said “putting together the video exhibits is an exhausting exercise for our very small video staff … it’s just too much to put it all together.”

But when asked later if Lofgren’s explanation of the hearing postponement is accurate, a committee aide said “no.”

The aide said the hearing has been “postponed to accommodate scheduling demands.”

Not long after the committee issued a statement saying, “The postponement is due to a number of scheduling factors, including production timeline and availability of members and witnesses.”

The hearing’s focus was to be then-President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the Justice Department to back his false claims of election fraud.

Former acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen had accepted an invitation from the Jan. 6 committee to appear at Wednesday’s hearing, alongside his then-deputy Richard Donoghue and one of DOJ’s former top attorneys Steve Engel, according to a letter obtained by ABC News sent from Rosen’s attorney to the committee.

Yellowstone closes after ‘unprecedented’ rain washes out roads

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — All Yellowstone National Park entrances have been closed in the wake of “unprecedented” rainfall causing “substantial flooding, rockslides and mudslides on roadways,” the National Park Service announced Monday.

Some roads have been washed out and others are covered in mud or rocks, according to the park service. Power has also been knocked out in multiple parts of the park, officials said.

Park Superintendent Cam Sholly described it as “record flooding.”

The flooding was sparked by near record-high temperatures melting high-elevation snow over the weekend. Rivers are at peak levels now and are forecast to recede in the next few days.

The park service didn’t say when Yellowstone would reopen but noted that officials need time to assess the damage and wait for conditions to stabilize.

The closure will last through Wednesday at a minimum. The park service warned that many roads could be shuttered “for an extended period of time.”

The massive national park spans 2,219,789 acres, mostly in Wyoming but also in neighboring Montana and Idaho. Summer is the park’s busiest tourist season.

ABC News’ Max Golembo and Dan Peck contributed to this report.

Happy the elephant is not a person, court rules

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A yearslong legal attempt to get Happy, an elephant residing at the Bronx Zoo, transferred to an elephant sanctuary failed Tuesday when New York’s highest court rejected a petition from the Nonhuman Rights Project.

The group filed a writ of habeas corpus on Happy’s behalf, suggesting a legal instrument that has safeguarded the liberty of humans, by providing a means to secure release from illegal custody, should also apply to an elephant.

The New York Court of Appeals disagreed, though it said Happy was entitled to proper care.

“Because the writ of habeas corpus is intended to protect the liberty right of human beings to be free of unlawful confinement, it has no applicability to Happy, a nonhuman animal who is not a ‘person’ subjected to illegal detention,” the decision said. “Thus, while no one disputes that elephants are intelligent beings deserving of proper care and compassion, the courts below properly granted the motion to dismiss the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, and we therefore affirm.”

Happy has lived at the zoo for 50 years.

The elephant was part of a 2006 study published in the journal Science that described her ability to recognize herself in a mirror as evidence of human-like self-awareness. As such, Nonhuman Rights Project asserted, the elephant was not a thing lacking rights but akin to a person with a fundamental right to liberty based on the principle of habeas corpus, which guards against unlawful detention.

The Nonhuman Rights Project first filed a writ of habeas corpus arguing for Happy’s legal personhood and seeking her release from the zoo in 2018. A New York City judge denied the habeas corpus relief in 2020. The state Court of Appeals granted an appeal last year.

In a statement Tuesday, the Nonhuman Rights Project said that the court’s decision to reject its petition “is not just a loss for Happy, whose freedom was at stake in this case and who remains imprisoned in a Bronx Zoo exhibit. It’s also a loss for everyone who cares about upholding and strengthening our most cherished values and principles of justice — autonomy, liberty, equality, and fairness — and ensuring our legal system is free of arbitrary reasoning and that no one is denied basic rights simply because of who they are.”

The group said it plans to continue its campaign for her release and “consider our legal options and next steps in New York.”

ABC News has reached out to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the Bronx Zoo, for comment.

Seven-year-old boy, 9-year-old girl shot dead hours apart in Houston

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(HOUSTON) — A 7-year-old boy was inside his home when authorities said he was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Harris County, Texas, which encompasses the Houston area.

Around 10:45 p.m. Sunday, the unknown gunman drove in front of a trailer home and opened fire at it, Harris County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Brown said.

Paul Vasquez, who was inside the trailer, was shot in the chest, the sheriff’s office said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, authorities said.

Paul’s mother and two brothers were home at the time but none of them were hurt, Brown said.

No motive is known and no suspects have been identified, authorities said.

The gunman’s car is believed to be a white or gray four-door sedan, authorities said.

Just 24 hours later, at about 10:45 p.m. Monday, a 9-year-old girl was shot and killed in an apartment only 15 miles away, according to Houston police.

The girl’s mom was shot in the upper body, police said. She is in stable condition and is expected to survive, police said.

This shooting was believed to be the result of family violence, police said.

The suspect is not in custody, police said.

These deadly shootings come one week after an 11-year-old girl was shot dead in a Detroit home by outside gunfire.

After the slaying of 7-year-old Paul Vasquez, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted that he’s “outraged.”

“This is the daily toll of gun violence … Let’s not accept daily gun violence as our norm,” he tweeted. “We can and we must do more.”

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Tuesday called for a special state legislative session to address youth gun violence.

“Yes, we need more mental health resources … yes, we need to look at broader issues. But we cannot address gun violence and the gun violence epidemic without addressing the need for gun safety policies,” Hidalgo said at a news conference. “My hope is that as we do our work in Harris County we can work together as a state, we can work together as a nation, to finally tackle this.”

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis added, “We owe it to these kids to keep them safe from gun violence.”

Wednesday’s Jan. 6 committee hearing postponed

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Jan. 6 committee announced Tuesday morning that its hearing set for Wednesday has been postponed.

No reason was given.

The hearing’s focus was to be then-President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign on the Justice Department to back his false claims of election fraud.

Story developing…

If Roe falls, what can Biden do on abortion access? Advocacy groups get creative

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — If the Supreme Court upends nearly 50 years of abortion rights as expected, all eyes will be on the White House and a liberal president who has vowed to fight to keep abortion access.

But what can he do, really?

In recent weeks, dozens of abortion advocacy groups, lawyers, providers and lawmakers have huddled to pitch ideas that range from from what advocates call creative to the seemingly far-fetched. The White House has met with many of these officials in recent weeks to hear them out, although it remains tight-lipped on where its legal strategy might be headed.

Could the government lease federal buildings and public lands to abortion clinics? Declare a public health emergency, and offer disaster relief money or health care grants to states anticipating an influx of patients?

What about federal travel vouchers for patients seeking health care in abortion-friendly states, or relaxed import rules for abortion pills made overseas? President Joe Biden, some argue, also could say that banning abortion pills by mail — as some states are trying to do — violates rules on interstate commerce.

“We are all thinking creatively about what administrative solutions might exist,” including increasing the availability of abortion pills, said Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity who met with the White House in one of its “listening sessions.”

“But in this specific moment, what I’m looking for from this administration is leadership,” she said.

Complicating much of the issue for the Biden administration are decades-long restrictions on federal spending legislation that prohibits the executive branch from spending money on most abortion services. That prohibition is unlikely to change so long as the Senate remains narrowly divided between Democrats and Republicans.

Still, abortion rights advocates say every idea is on the table. Under Biden’s control, they argue, are powerful institutions, including the Food and Drug Administration, which has approved access to the abortion pill by mail, and Medicaid, the government’s insurance program for low-income families.

That means post-Roe, the United States will likely spend years embroiled in legal battles over abortion, as conservative states bump up against the power of the presidency.

Biden “can’t reverse the Supreme Court with an executive order,” said David Cohen, a professor of law at the Drexel Kline School of Law, who has written in favor of fighting abortion restrictions.

“But there are things that he can do, and ways that he can harness the federal government to increase access, even if some states are trying to limit it,” Cohen said.

Biden hinted as much in an interview last week with ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

“I think what we’re going to have to do is that there are some executive orders I could employ, we believe. We’re looking at that right now,” Biden said.

Legal experts predict that much of Biden’s strategy will likely focus on the idea of “federal preemption” — the idea rooted in the Constitution that federal law always wins out over state laws.

For example, it’s possible that Biden might argue that states can’t lawfully restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone because the FDA has already approved its use for all Americans, Cohen said.

Under Biden, the FDA also has determined that the drug is safe enough to prescribe through a telehealth appointment and mail to the patient, even as 19 states restrict the drug to being dispensed in-person.

That decision to allow access to the abortion pill, Cohen argues, “is rooted in federal law because the agency only exists and only has the authorization to authorize a person because of federal law.”

The idea of FDA policy outweighing state restrictions is currently being tested in court. GenBioPro, the manufacturer of generic mifepristone, is challenging Mississippi’s restrictions on the drug as being at odds with federal rules, with a decision expected this summer.

Advocacy lawyers also expect that Biden is working on the idea of expanding access to mifepristone, possibly by easing import restrictions on overseas providers. The drug is widely available in states that don’t restrict abortion, although international organizations like Aid Access have been mailing the drug to any U.S. resident even if a state prohibits it and despite objections by the FDA.

Another focus by Biden could be on Medicaid, the largest insurance payer of pregnancy-related services.

While federal money can’t be used for most abortion services, Medicaid — which the federal government jointly operates with states — is required to pay for abortion care in cases of rape, incest and if a physician certifies the pregnancy would put the patient’s life at risk.

Compliance among states with these rules has been uneven historically, and several conservative legislatures are pursuing laws with stricter exceptions. In Oklahoma, for example, the law only allows abortion in cases of rape and incest if it’s reported to the police, and to save the life of a mother “in a medical emergency.”

It’s possible Biden could take steps to enforce Medicaid’s exceptions as federal law, making it easier for patients to get reimbursed, several advocacy groups predict.

John Yoo, a former top legal adviser to the Bush administration, said he thinks the most consequential step Biden could probably take is leveraging his power over Medicaid and Medicare, as well as the federal health care exchanges governed by the Affordable Care Act. For example, Biden could require that insurers cover abortion services, at least in states where it’s legal.

“I don’t think those (steps) could pre-empt state laws that make it criminal to carry out abortion, but would provide federal support once (a person) could get to a state where abortion was legal,” said Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkley.

Still, Yoo said he thinks Congress would have to lift its restrictions on federal spending on abortion — a provision known as the Hyde amendment — to make that happen.

Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups say what matters most is that Biden is as aggressive as possible.

In a letter to the president, more than two dozen Democrats, including Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, called on Biden to invoke his “unique power to marshal the resources of the entire federal government to respond.”

URGE’s Inez McGuire said even symbolic statements by the president can make a difference.

Declaring that abortion access is a human right is an opportunity for the administration “to let young people know (and) communities of color know … that our struggle to fight for abortion access is seen and understood by this administration,” she said.

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