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Two dead, several other people shot in terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel

April 8, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(TEL AVIV, Israel) — Two people were shot dead and several others were injured in a terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday night, according to authorities.

At least 9 people were shot in the attack, with victims being taken to Ichilov, Sheba Tel Hashomer and Wolfson hospitals, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service. Two men, “approximately 30 years old,” were pronounced dead at Ichilov Hospital.

Three people in serious condition — a 20-year-old man, 28-year-old woman and 38-year-old man — were being treated for serious injuries, according to the medical service. Four others were being treated for mild injuries.

Several other people at the scene were being treated for “stress symptoms,” according to Magen David Adom.

Israeli security forces tracked down and killed the alleged assailant in a shootout early Friday near a mosque in Jaffa, an Arab neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv, according to statements from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet. The suspect was identified by Shin Bet as a 29-year-old Palestinian man from Jenin, in the occupied West Ban.

Israeli officials said “several” shootings took place at Dizengoff Street, Gordon Street and surrounding areas in Tel Aviv. Dizengoff Street is a major street that runs through Tel Aviv and has many shops, bars and restaurants and would have been bustling with activity on a Thursday night.

“It has been a very difficult night,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wrote on Twitter. “I send my condolences to the families of those who were murdered, and I pray for the complete recovery of the wounded. Security forces are in pursuit of the terrorist who carried out the murderous rampage tonight in Tel Aviv. Wherever the terrorist is — we will get to him. And everyone who helped him indirectly or directly — will pay a price.”

The deadly shooting on Thursday night was one of several recent terror attacks in Israel. There were three fatal terror attacks at the end of March. On March 30, five people were shot to death in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, by a man on a motorcycle who was later killed by police. One of the victims was a police officer, according to Magen David Adom.

Two days earlier, on March 28, two police officers were shot to death and four others were wounded in an attack. Then, a week prior, four people were killed in a stabbing attack in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. The suspect was shot dead.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.

“Americans are, once again, grieving with the Israeli people in the wake of another deadly terrorist attack, which took the lives of two innocent victims and wounded many more in Tel Aviv,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the families and other loved ones of those killed, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured. We are closely following developments and will continue to be in regular contact with our Israeli partners, with whom we stand resolutely in the face of senseless terrorism and violence.”

“Horrified to see another cowardly terror attack on innocent civilians, this time in Tel Aviv,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides wrote on Twitter. “Praying for peace, and sending condolences to the victims and their families. This has to stop!”

ABC News’ Nasser Atta, Bruno Nota, Christine Theodorou and Jason Volack contributed to this report.

Jackson’s road to confirmation reveals divergent paths for 2022 and 2024

April 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Supreme Court confirmation battles are typically remembered for a few searing or pithy exchanges — or, just as likely, not at all.

The memories of and lessons drawn from Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s successful nomination, though, are likely to be as divided as the political climate that produced them. That means partisan takeaways that confirm particular worldviews of 2022 — and, just maybe, a different path that points toward a less overheated political climate.

Jackson’s nomination elicited soaring pride from many Democrats, an emotional reaction driven by her unique life story, deep qualifications, and, with Thursday’s 53-47 Senate vote, her place in history. The Supreme Court will now have its first Black woman justice, and Jackson will serve on the first-ever high court where white men constitute a minority of the membership.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., quoted a famous Maya Angelou poem in celebrating Jackson’s committee vote on Monday: “You may try to write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me down in the very dirt. But still, like dust, I rise.”

It’s fair to say that most Senate Republicans saw the moment differently. For them, Jackson’s nomination was a chance to prosecute Democratic policies and settle scores from past nomination fights — with sometimes strange detours into matters including sentencing for child porn offenses, defining what a woman is and determining whether babies are racist.

Speaking on the Senate floor this week, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., drew an explosive historical through-line connecting the late Justice Robert Jackson to the woman who will now be the newest Justice Jackson, referencing her work as a federal public defender on behalf of suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay.

“The last Judge Jackson left the Supreme Court to go to Nuremberg and prosecute the case against the Nazis. This Judge Jackson might have gone there to defend them,” Cotton said.

President Joe Biden’s decision to name a Black woman to the court meant that it was perhaps inevitable that the confirmation battle would showcase racial tensions as well as political opportunism.

With Democrats controlling 50 Senate votes as well as the vice-presidential tiebreaker, there was little doubt from the start that Jackson would be confirmed. But three Republican senators wound up breaking with their party and voting for her — not a huge number, yet a significant marker for who they are and where they want to go from here.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, break fairly regularly with their party on judicial appointments. Both support abortion rights and had voted to confirm Jackson less than a year ago to her most recent federal judgeship, and both said they felt that Jackson’s qualifications merited her confirmation.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined them in voting for Jackson last year for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He made clear in his questioning last month, though, that she would be held to account, in part, for how Democrats handled previous Supreme Court confirmations. In explaining his “no” vote now, he blamed what he called her “judicial activism” as well as sentencing in child pornography cases that were part of the public record before last year.

The biggest surprise came from Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who did the opposite of Graham in voting for Jackson on Thursday after voting against her last year. Romney said he dug into her record and met with her to help establish in his mind that she is “within the mainstream” and therefore worthy of confirmation.

Like Collins and Murkowski, Romney expressed concern about what it means to have Supreme Court justices confirmed strictly along party lines.

Romney offered a characteristically understated indictment of his colleagues in explaining his vote to reporters: “Perhaps we are going to have to reconsider the process that we are going to pursue in the future.”

Romney was the most recent Republican nominee for president before former President Donald Trump, though that description significantly overstates his sway in the modern GOP. It’s also worth noting that Trump’s three Supreme Court nominees got a total of five Democratic votes, picking up four for Justice Neil Gorsuch, one for Justice Brett Kavanaugh and then zero for Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Modern court confirmation battles combine some of the worst grievances and grudges accumulated over decades with some of the worst new tactics of demonization. Another lasting image of Jackson’s confirmation might be the shot of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, checking his Twitter mentions moments after an aggressive round of questions directed at his former Harvard Law School classmate.

In another slice of choose-your-own-reality politics, Jackson’s ascension to the high court may change nothing in terms of the Supreme Court’s ideology, given that she is replacing Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she once clerked for and remains close with. At the same time, it may change everything when it comes to representation on the court.

Similarly, the process that got her to the Supreme Court speaks volumes about the state of modern politics without changing very much at all. As with so much in 2022, you can watch the same events play out and come away with starkly divergent views of why it matters.

Amir Locke’s mom pushes for end to ‘no knock’ warrants after cop not charged in son’s death

April 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) — Amir Locke’s mother said she doesn’t want her son’s death to be in vain and is calling on lawmakers to reform one of the most controversial police tactics.

Karen Wells spoke with ABC News Live’s Stephanie Ramos Wednesday, just hours after Minnesota prosecutors announced they wouldn’t charge the officer who shot Locke during a “no knock” warrant in February.

Locke, 22, wasn’t under investigation for the Saint Paul case which led to the warrant, investigators said.

Wells told ABC News that such warrants, which allow law enforcement members to enter someone’s home without announcing their presence, should be banned from Minnesota.

“They’re not good for my son. They’re not good for anybody else. Because in the end, it doesn’t do anything. It brings harm, it brings death, which is what happened with my son,” Wells told ABC News.

Locke, who legally owned a gun, was sleeping under a blanket on the couch on Feb. 2 when the officers came into the apartment and executed the warrant. Police body camera footage shows a gun was in Locke’s hand when he began to sit up as police approached him.

Minneapolis Police Department officer Mark Hanneman fired three shots killing Locke, according to investigators.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and Minnesota Attorney General’s office reviewed all the evidence surrounding the shooting, and said that there was insufficient evidence to charge the officer.

“Specifically, the State would be unable to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements of Minnesota’s use-of-deadly-force statute that authorizes the use of force by Officer Hanneman. Nor would the State be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a criminal charge against any other officer involved in the decision-making that led to the death of Amir Locke,” the DA and AG’s offices said in a joint statement Wednesday.

Wells said she spoke with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison before the announcement was made.

“I reiterated to him that I was not disappointed. I was disgusted with the decision,” she said.

“No knock” warrants have come under scrutiny over the last couple of years due to high profile shootings of Black victims.

Louisville, Kentucky banned “no knock” warrants in 2020, a few months after Breonna Taylor was killed by police in her sleep when they executed an order. Activists and elected officials have pushed other states and the federal government to follow suit.

Ben Crump, Wells’ attorney, told ABC News that 82% of “no knock” warrants are done on Black residents’ homes.

“Until we can have it where it is done equally and justly then the Department of Justice needs to review everything that Minneapolis has done executing these warrants,” he told ABC News.

In the meantime, Wells said she hopes all elected officials take a long hard look at the police policy and think about her son’s life.

“Amir had a beautiful spirit. He had a beautiful smile. He was my baby boy,” she said.

COVID cases tick up in Philadelphia as officials recommend masks indoors

April 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(PHILADELPHIA) — Officials in Philadelphia are recommending residents start wearing masks indoors again due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Data shows the city is currently averaging 94 new cases of COVID-19 per day.

This marks a 50% increase in infections over the last 10 days.

Additionally, over the last two weeks, 3.3% of COVID-19 tests in Philadelphia have come back positive compared to 1.4% just one month earlier.

“It’s not huge numbers we’re seeing, but it’s enough to take notice,” Dr. Darren Mareiniss, an emergency medicine and infectious disease expert at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, told ABC News.

Earlier this year, Philadelphia set three COVID-19 benchmarks, and two would have to be met to trigger the return of indoor mask mandates.

These benchmarks include average new daily cases above 100 but below 225; hospitalizations above 50 but below 100; and cases increasing by more than 50% in the previous 10 days.

So far, just one benchmark has been met: the increase of cases by more than 50%.

However, the city is closing in on meeting the hospitalization benchmark. As of Monday, 48 patients are hospitalized in Philadelphia with COVID-19.

This has led officials to recommend residents wear masks indoors ahead of a potential mandate going into effect.

“As we see more cases of COVID-19 in the city, everyone’s risk goes up,” Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, commissioner for the city’s Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “That means that now is the time to start taking precautions. It’s not required yet, but Philadelphians should strongly consider wearing a mask while in public indoor spaces.”

The department did not return ABC News’ request for comment.

Mareiniss believes the increase is partly due to the spread of BA.2, a subvariant of the original omicron variant.

BA.2 makes up more than 84% of COVID-19 samples in the Northeast that have undergone genome sequencing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This has closely mirrored what’s occurred in several countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom, which hit a record-high 1 in 13 people being infected with the virus last week, according to the government’s Office for National Statistics.

Mareiniss added that the rise in cases in Philadelphia is also because several mitigation measures have been relaxed since the end of the omicron wave.

“We’ve relaxed a lot of restrictions, people are not masking indoors; it’s much easier to transmit the virus when people are indoors unmasked,” he said. “So, we’re going to see an uptick. The question is how much of an uptick.”

He stressed the importance of people getting vaccinated if they haven’t already and said to follow the health department’s recommendations of wearing masks in indoor settings.

“Right now, I would recommend indoor masking for everyone given the rise of cases,” Mareiniss said. “Your behavior should be dictated by the level of disease in the community … and, as levels rise, you should consider masking. I would try to mask indoors and avoid indoor dining.”

Alabama legislature passes ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ trans care and bathroom ban bills

April 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) — The Alabama legislature has passed two bills focusing on transgender youth: SB 184, which would ban gender-affirming care, and HB 322, which would ban trans students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. HB 322 also limits LGBTQ content in classrooms due to a last-minute amendment.

SB 184, the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, states that anyone who provides gender-affirming care — including puberty blockers, hormone therapy or physical gender-affirming surgeries — to anyone under 18 could be convicted of a felony and face up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Several Alabama physicians has said the legislation is riddled with misinformation about how gender-affirming care actually affects children.

“When lawmakers attempt to practice medicine with a life without a license, they realize quickly that there was a lot more they didn’t understand than what they thought they did,” Morissa Ladinsky, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, previously told ABC News.

For instance, the bill would ban minors from receiving gender-affirming “surgical procedures,” but in Alabama, such surgeries aren’t allowed until a patient reaches the age of legal majority for medical decisions, which is 19.

The legislation also makes the claim that puberty blockers can cause infertility or other health risks. According to Ladinsky, these potential side effects only present real risks after puberty and are not a risk to youth taking puberty blockers.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Shay Shelnutt, has called gender-affirming health care “child abuse.”

“We don’t want parents to be abusing their children. We don’t want to make that an option, because that’s what it is; it’s child abuse. This is just to protect children,” Shelnutt said Feb. 23 on the state Senate floor.

Courtney Roark, the Alabama policy & movement building director for the youth-led reproductive rights nonprofit URGE, slammed the bill’s passage as an attack on bodily autonomy for trans youth and their families.

“In yet another attack on our bodies, our autonomy, and our desire to live happy and healthy lives, Alabama politicians have passed and signed into law a bill that would criminalize doctors, principals, teachers, school counselors and nurses for providing gender-affirming care and support to trans and non-binary youth,” Roark said. “Trans and non-binary youth in our state and across the country already face extraordinary barriers to accessing the liberated and joyous lives they deserve.”

HB 322 would require students in public K-12 schools to only use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their assigned sex at birth.

Alabama state Rep. Scott Stadthagen, the sponsor of the bill, said the bill does not target transgender students.

“Almost every school district in this state is dealing with this issue with opposite genders wanting to use opposite bathrooms,” Stadthagen has said in debate. “I find this to be a safety issue. It is for protection of our students.”

An amendment to this bill would also prohibit classroom instruction or discussion on sexual orientation or gender identity for students in kindergarten through the fifth grade in public K-12 schools. The language mirrors the controversial so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bills popping up across the country.

LGBTQ suicide awareness group The Trevor Project condemned the passage of such bills.

“On likely the last day of Alabama’s legislative session, lawmakers have added last-minute votes to push the most extreme anti-transgender agenda we’ve seen to date — all within a matter of hours,” said Sam Ames, director of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project.

“These policies are not only cruel and unnecessary, they are unpopular among a majority of Americans,” they continued. “Criminalizing doctors, isolating trans youth from their support systems and stigmatizing conversations around LGBTQ identity will only fuel more bullying, anxiety and suicide risk among these youth.”

Washington elite faced with a growing resurgence of COVID-19 infections

April 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — With masks no longer required and mitigation measures seen by some as a thing of the past, a coronavirus resurgence is spreading among the tight circles of the Washington elite.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the latest high-profile Washington dignitary to test positive for COVID-19.

Pelosi, 82, is currently asymptomatic, according to a spokesperson for her office.

“The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided,” the spokesperson said Thursday. She said Pelosi received her second booster shot last month.

Pelosi’s positive test comes amid a flurry of other positive cases among individuals who attended the elite Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington on Saturday.

As of midday Thursday, at least 32 guests at Saturday’s dinner have tested positive for COVID-19, Tom DeFrank, the president of the Gridiron Club, told ABC News.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Jamal Simmons, the communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris, were among the guests at the dinner who announced this week that they have tested positive.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of two Republican lawmakers to attend the dinner, also announced late Thursday she tested positive.

“Senator Collins has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently experiencing mild symptoms. The Senator will isolate and work remotely in accordance with CDC guidelines,” a statement from her office said.

Although some attendees were wearing face coverings, most guests were not wearing masks, DeFrank said.

In recent weeks, a growing number of positive COVID-19 infections have also affected members of President Joe Biden’s inner circle, with the White House acknowledging many close calls following meetings or events with individuals who subsequently tested positive.

Pelosi attended an event at the White House on Tuesday where she interacted with former President Barack Obama, who tested positive last month, as well as Biden. She also attended an event at the White House Wednesday where she again interacted with Biden. She was maskless at both events, as were other attendees.

Asked about Biden’s contact with Pelosi, White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday said Biden tested negative on Wednesday night and insisted Biden wasn’t a CDC “close contact” because they weren’t within six feet for 15 minutes.

Among those close to Biden who have tested positive is his sister, Valerie Biden Owen, who also attended the dinner Saturday. She is experiencing mild symptoms, her publisher said in a statement on Thursday.

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., who attended the Tuesday event with Biden and Harris, announced she tested positive Thursday and was experiencing mild symptoms.

Psaki, who recently tested positive for a second time, told reporters on Wednesday that the White House continues to take “stringent” and “strict” protocols to protect the president from potential infection.

“We take additional measures that go beyond what the C.D.C. protocols and requirements are to ensure that we are doing everything we can to keep the principals safe, the president, the vice president and others in the building,” Psaki said.

When asked by ABC News whether the White House plans to test the president daily in the coming weeks, given the uptick in COVID-19 cases seen across Washington, Psaki said that such measures have “not deemed to be necessary at this point.”

The vice president also had brushes with the virus in recent weeks. In addition to Simmons testing positive this week, her husband Doug Emhoff contracted the virus in mid-March.

Harris will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends that individuals who are up to date on their vaccinations get tested at least five days after interacting with someone with COVID-19, according to her office. As no quarantine is needed, she will continue with her public schedule.

Separately, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser joined the growing list of those infected with COVID-19, tweeting on Thursday morning that she had tested positive for the virus.

The mayor said she is experiencing “allergy-like symptoms.”

The District of Columbia in February officially ended its district-wide mask mandate. The White House and the U.S. Capitol quickly followed suit to make face coverings optional.

The district is currently at a “low” community level for COVID-19, per CDC standards.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Justin Gomez, and Mariam Khan contributed to this report.

10 people shot in terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel

April 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(TEL AVIV, Israel) — Ten people were shot in a terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday night, according to authorities.

All of the victims were taken to Ichilov Hospital, with at least two in critical condition, according to the hospital and Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service.

The emergency service said two of the victims were found unconscious on the sidewalk and underwent resuscitation, while four others taken to the hospital were conscious when medical personnel arrived at the scene.

Several other people at the scene were being treated for “stress symptoms,” according to Magen David Adom.

A gunmen has not been apprehended. Israeli police said they are searching for a single suspect.

Officials said “several” shootings took place at Dizengoff Street, Gordon Street and surrounding areas in Tel Aviv. Dizengoff Street is a major street that runs through Tel Aviv and has many shops, bars and restaurants and would have been bustling with activity on a Thursday night.

The attack Thursday is one of several recent terror attacks in Israel. There were three fatal terror attacks at the end of March. On March 30, five people were shot to death in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, by a man on a motorcycle who was later killed by police. One of the victims was a police officer, according to Magen David Adom.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.

ABC News’ Jason Volack, Christine Theodorou and Bruno Nota contributed to this report.

6 people shot in terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel

April 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(TEL AVIV, Israel) — Six people were shot in a terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday night, according to authorities.

Two people were taken to Ichilov Hospital in critical condition, one was conscious but in serious condition and three others were in moderate condition, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service.

The emergency service said two of the victims were found unconscious on the sidewalk and underwent resuscitation, while the four others taken to the hospital were conscious when medical personnel arrived at the scene.

Several other people at the scene were being treated for “stress symptoms,” according to Magen David Adom.

A gunmen has not been apprehended.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

NY Attorney General files motion to hold Trump in contempt for ignoring subpoena

April 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump should be held in contempt for failing to respond to a subpoena as instructed, the New York Attorney General’s office said Thursday in a new court filing.

New York Attorney General Letitia James also asked the judge to impose a daily $10,000 fine until Trump complies.

The subpoena, issued as part of James’ civil investigation into the way Trump values his real estate portfolio, sought personal documents from Trump, including tax records and statements of financial condition. The original deadline of March 3 was pushed to March 31 after Trump asked for an extension.

“The judge’s order was crystal clear: Donald J. Trump must comply with our subpoena and turn over relevant documents to my office,” James said in a statement.

Trump raised new objections to the document requests on March 31, which James’ office said is impermissible.

“This Court’s order was not an opening bid for a negotiation or an invitation for a new round of challenges to the subpoena. It was, rather, a court order entered after full briefing and argument during which Mr. Trump could have, but did not, raise any of the purported objections or assertions he has now raised,” the attorney general’s motion said.

Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Thursday’s filing.

Trump has asked a state appellate court to quash a separate subpoena that required him and his two eldest children to sit for depositions, arguing, in part, that the subpoenas result from an investigation driven by James’ political animus. James’ office rejected the claim.

Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen testified before Congress in 2019 that the former president valued his real estate holdings differently depending on whether he was seeking loans or tax deductions.

Cohen provided the House Oversight Committee with copies of Trump’s financial statements that he said misrepresented the values of Trump assets to obtain favorable terms for loans and insurance.

Trump and his children have denied any wrongdoing.

Here’s how Chris Smalls, who was fired from an Amazon Warehouse, beat the retail giant

April 7, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Chris Smalls was fired from his Amazon warehouse job in 2020, after leading a protest over fears working conditions could lead to a coronavirus outbreak at the Staten Island, New York, facility.

Now, Smalls has a new job: president of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU).

Smalls’ Amazon story begins in 2018, when he says he helped open the New York warehouse while employed as a supervisor for the online retailer. That’s when he founded the ALU, bringing together a scrappy group of former and current warehouse workers.

It was that Staten Island group that made history on April 1, after going head-to-head with Amazon in a union vote, and winning. This marked the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history.

“After I was terminated, they had a meeting about me – [Amazon founder] Jeff Bezos, and the general counsel — calling me not smart or articulate,” Smalls said in an interview on ABC News Live April 6. “And, ironically, they also said to make me the face of the whole unionization efforts.”

Following his termination, Smalls traveled across the country, protesting and advocating for workers’ rights. He said his mission was to educate Amazon workers on the benefits of unionizing, in hopes of encouraging them to fight for a change at their warehouses, too.

After months on the road, Smalls returned to New York, to finish the job of unionizing the Staten Island warehouse.

“We live the reality of the warehouse lifestyle. And we felt that this was the best way to go to try to unionize Amazon and it absolutely worked for us,” said Smalls, remembering the countless protests and walk-outs he’s participated in over the last two years.

Warehouse workers cast 2,654 votes in favor of a union, giving the fledging Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory. According to the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing the process, 2,131 workers rejected the union bid.

“We’re fortunate enough to have enough to win, but I think it would be a lot higher had Amazon not been able to spend millions of dollars trying to stop this campaign,” Smalls told ABC News Live.

Sixty-seven ballots were challenged by Amazon or the ALU, which wasn’t enough to affect the outcome of the vote. About 57% of the more than 8,300 workers on the voter list cast their ballot.

Despite victory in the union vote, Smalls blames Amazon for the overall results, saying the winning percentage would have been higher if the corporation hadn’t discouraged the unionization among employees.

“Amazon spends millions of dollars on union busting; they put these workers into captive audiences 24/7. Workers go to these trainings where there’s drilled anti-union propaganda all day and all night,” Smalls claimed.

Amazon did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on Smalls’ claims.

After the historic union vote, Amazon posted the following statement on its website: “We’re disappointed with the outcome of the election in Staten Island because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees. We’re evaluating our options, including filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence by the NLRB that we and others (including the National Retail Federation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce) witnessed in this election.”

Smalls responded to the statement during his interview with ABC News Live, saying “the workers spoke for themselves.”

“To be disappointed that their own workers voted yes is utterly ridiculous if you asked me. And the workers said that they want a union and they voted in that favor, and that they should just acknowledge that, and accept that, and recognize the union in Staten Island,” Smalls added.

Since the vote on April 1, Smalls said he’s heard from Amazon workers across the U.S., asking for help with organizing a union at their warehouses. But right now, the ALU has its hands full with the New York warehouse and a neighboring facility slated to have a separate union election later this month.

The ALU is also preparing for a challenging negotiation process for a labor contract. The group has demanded Amazon officials come to the table in early May, but experts say the retail giant, which has signaled plans to challenge the election, could stall the process.

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