News – Page 2865 – 105.7 WDNY

Republicans Romney, Murkowski announce support for Jackson Supreme Court nomination

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s first nominee to the Supreme Court, was expected to pass a major milestone Monday on her way to expected Senate confirmation later this week.

At the same time, two more Republicans — Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah — announced they would vote for Jackson’s confirmation when the full Senate is expected to vote later this week.

“After multiple in-depth conversations with Judge Jackson and deliberative review of her record and recent hearings, I will support her historic nomination to be an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court,” Murkowski said in a statement.

“My support rests on Judge Jackson’s qualifications, which no one questions; her demonstrated judicial independence; her demeanor and temperament; and the important perspective she would bring to the court as a replacement for Justice Breyer,” she said.

“It also rests on my rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year. While I have not and will not agree with all of Judge Jackson’s decisions and opinions, her approach to cases is carefully considered and is generally well-reasoned,” she continued. “She answered satisfactorily to my questions about matters like the Chevron doctrine, the Second Amendment, landmark Alaska laws, and Alaska Native issues. The support she has received from law enforcement agencies around the country is significant and demonstrates the judge is one who brings balance to her decisions.”

Romney issued his statement minutes later.

“After reviewing Judge Jackson’s record and testimony, I have concluded that she is a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor. While I do not expect to agree with every decision she may make on the Court, I believe that she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity. I congratulate Judge Jackson on her expected confirmation and look forward to her continued service to our nation,” he said.

Their statements came hours after, as anticipated, the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked along party lines in an 11-11 vote Monday on whether to send Jackson’s nomination to the full Senate.

The tie vote forced Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to file a discharge motion to bring the nomination before the full Senate in order to get it out of committee and Democrats were expected to prevail on the procedural move Monday evening — especially now with support from Romney and Murkowski.

Earlier, only one Republican, Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins, has said she would vote for Jackson.

Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced after the committee kicked off its business Monday morning that he will vote no on Jackson’s nomination, paving the way for the 22-member, evenly-split committee to end in a tie vote.

But there was also an unintended delay forced by a Democratic senator.

“We have a problem,” said Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill, explaining that Sen. Padilla, D-Calif., whose presence is needed for the vote, was delayed when an overnight flight from Los Angeles had to return to the airport for a medical emergency, so the committee is in recess until he returns.

As the committee ticked through opening statements Monday, Republicans continued to raise issues with Jackson’s record, and Democrats defended Jackson from what they recalled as “hurtful” questioning from GOP senators.

“We are going to have our political substantive disagreements, but it was the treatment in some of these questions that triggered a hurt in so many people I know and have encountered,” said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., reflecting on the hearings. “How qualified do you have to be?” he asked, going on to repeat her qualifications and fact that’s she been confirmed three times on a bipartisan vote before the Senate.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., meanwhile, said in his time that if Republicans had controlled the Senate, Jackson would have never been given hearings. Notably, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell recently refused to say if Biden Supreme Court nominees would be considered if Republicans retake the Senate.

“If we get back the Senate and we are in charge of this body and there is judicial openings, we will talk to our colleagues on the other side,” he said. “But if we are in charge, she would not have been before this committee. You would have had somebody more moderate than this.”

Even without Republican support, Democrats have the power to push her nomination forward. The final vote, while bipartisan, will likely be narrower than what the White House had hoped for.

“What I know is she will get enough votes to get confirmed,” White House chief of staff Ron Klain told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “In the end, I suppose, that’s the only thing that matters. But I wish more Republicans would look at the case here, look at the record and vote to confirm Judge Jackson.”

With a two-week Easter in sight for senators, Democrats are hoping for a final vote before the weekend.

If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

ABC News’ Trish Turner contributed to this report.

Biden calls Russia’s killing of Ukrainian civilians a war crime but not genocide

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The killing of Ukrainian civilians committed by Russian forces in Ukraine is a war crime, President Joe Biden said Monday — repeating his accusation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “war criminal” who needs to be held “accountable.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “genocide” on Sunday after hundreds of Ukrainian civilians were found killed in Bucha, a suburb of the capital Kyiv that was retaken by Ukrainian forces. Some of the civilians were buried in mass graves, others found dead in the street with their hands tied behind their backs.

“These are war crimes, and they will be recognized by the world as genocide. You are here today and can see what happened. We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women, murdered children. I think it is more than — this is a genocide,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Bucha Monday.

The U.S. has stopped short of using the term “genocide” because of its strict legal definition and the heavy implications it carries. Asked whether the latest reported atrocities are genocide, Biden told reporters, “No, I think it is a war crime.”

He called again for an investigation and trial, even seeming to suggest that Putin himself should face trial himself.

“We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight, and we have to gather all the detail so this can be an actual — have a war crimes trial,” Biden said.

“This guy is brutal and what’s happening with Bucha is outrageous, and everyone’s seeing it,” he added.

While stopping short of labeling it “genocide,” Biden’s call for for a possible war crimes trial raises the pressure on the international community’s response to Russia’s war, which has killed thousands and displaced more than 10 million people in less than six weeks.

Biden said he would seek more sanctions against Putin and his government over the atrocities in Bucha, although it’s unclear if more economic pressure will do anything to bring an end to Putin’s campaign, even as it has shifted away from the Kyiv area to the south and east.

In Bucha and other towns outside Kyiv, the U.S. has also seen “credible reports of torture, rape, and civilians executed alongside their families,” according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price — all of which would be considered war crimes under international law. In southern Ukraine, especially around the besieged city Mariupol, the U.S. is aware of “reports of tens of thousands abducted or deported by Russia’s forces and shocking descriptions of rape, assaults, and murders perpetrated by Russia’s forces,” Price added.

The Kremlin has suggested that the scenes out of Bucha, reported publicly by eye witnesses, reporters, and Ukrainian government officials, were fabricated — a tactic used repeatedly by Russian officials.

Last month, the State Department announced it had made a legal assessment that Russian forces were committing war crimes in Ukraine, including targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure and indiscriminately firing on civilian areas. That assessment was based on public reporting and U.S. intelligence, including intercepted communications between Russian forces, according to U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack.

That could implicate Putin himself, according to Van Schaack, who told reporters it depended on what jurisdiction was hearing cases. Her office at the State Department has continued to document and analyze evidence in preparation for trials.

But while her office also assists in genocide determinations, U.S. officials have so far avoided using the term.

“We have seen atrocities. We have seen war crimes. We have not yet seen a level of systematic deprivation of life of the Ukrainian people to rise to the level of genocide, but again, that’s something we’ll continue to monitor,” Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday.

Genocide is an attempt “to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group,” according to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the 1948 treaty that banned it.

It can involve acts of killing or harm, as well as preventing births, forcibly transferring children, or imposing dire conditions that are “calculated to bring about its physical destruction,” per the treaty.

While Russian forces have targeted Ukrainian civilians, including now with executions, it seems that for U.S. officials, the scale is at this point not large enough to prove an intent to destroy the Ukrainian people.

Sullivan used the terms “mass death” and “mass incarceration” and added that if there is “a level of atrocity, a level of killing, a level of intentional activity that rises to meet our definition of genocide, we’ll call it for what it is.”

There are several international investigations underway right now into potential war crimes in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court, which conducts individual prosecutions, launched an investigation in early March, while the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to create a panel of experts to investigate, finally naming its members last week.

The U.S. is also supporting a multinational team of independent war crimes investigators, including American experts, that are working with Ukraine’s prosecutor-general on her office’s probe of Russian war crimes, Price announced.

But while the State Department supports those various investigations, its genocide determinations can take years to complete.

Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he had determined that Myanmar’s military had committed genocide against the Rohingya — nearly five years after the Muslim ethnic minority faced a campaign of terror that killed thousands and displaced nearly one million to neighboring Bangladesh.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle contributed to this report from the White House.

Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocks on Jackson Supreme Court nomination

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

As anticipated, the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked along party lines in an 11-11 vote Monday on whether to send Jackson’s nomination to the full Senate, ahead of a possible final confirmation vote possibly on Friday.

The tie vote forced Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to file a discharge motion to bring the nomination before the full Senate in order to get it out of committee. While Democrats are expected to prevail on the procedural move Monday evening — maybe with some Republican support — the move comes with four hours of floor debate, and some other Republicans could try to slow down the process.

While confirmation is nearly certain for Jackson, it’s unclear how many Republicans will cross the aisle to vote for her.

So far, only one, Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins, has said she would vote for Jackson.

But there was also an unintended delay forced by a Democratic senator.

If Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska or Mitt Romney of Utah were to vote to advance Jackson’s nomination out of committee on the full floor vote, it may signal how they will vote later in the week when the Senate formally considers Jackson’s nomination to the high court.

But even without Republican support, Democrats have the power to push her nomination forward. The final vote, while bipartisan, will likely be narrower than what the White House had hoped for.

With a two-week Easter in sight for senators, Democrats are hoping for a final vote before the weekend.

If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

ABC News’ Trish Turner contributed to this report.

Senate negotiators strike deal for $10 billion in COVID funding

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Senate negotiators strike deal for billion in COVID funding

(WASHINGTON) — Key Senate negotiators have announced that they have struck a deal to move forward on legislation that will provide an additional $10 billion in COVID relief.

Half of the funds will go to development and the purchase of therapeutics. The other half of the funds will be given to HHS for use with slightly broader COVID-related discretion.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Severe weather to hit South while high heat strikes West

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After two weeks of deadly storms ripping through states in the South, another severe storm is headed toward Texas, Louisiana and Florida.

On Monday, a new storm will begin to move into the South with severe thunderstorms expected from Dallas to Shreveport, Louisiana, and into Jackson, Mississippi. There is a strong possibility for damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes as well.

Already in the last 24 hours, there has been pingpong ball-sized hail falling across Florida and western Texas.

On Tuesday, severe weather is expected in the Gulf Coast and the Southeast, from New Orleans to Charleston, South Carolina. Several tornadoes will be possible in Montgomery, Alabama, central Georgia and into South Carolina.

Another storm system from the West will begin to move into the same areas Wednesday, potentially bringing more damaging winds, a few tornadoes and large hail from Birmingham, Alabama, to Atlanta and into Asheville, North Carolina.

In the West, an atmospheric river is pounding Washington and Oregon with up to several feet of snow in the mountains, and there is the threat of flooding in lower elevations around the states as well as the coast. Gusty winds from this storm will stretch from Washington to Wyoming, where gusts could reach as high as 100 mph.

Snow totals in the Cascades in Washington and Oregon could reach several feet in the next 48 hours. In the Rockies, up to a foot of snow is possible from Idaho to northern Colorado.

Meanwhile, in the Southwest, particularly in parts of California, record-breaking heat is expected by the end of the week, with temperatures rising into the mid- to upper 90s. Triple digits are possible Thursday in areas such as Burbank, Sacramento and San Jose.

Police arrest suspect in downtown Sacramento shooting that killed 6

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Sacramento police have arrested a suspected gunman in the shooting that killed six people in a popular nightlife area over the weekend.

Dandre Martin, 26, was identified as a “related suspect” in the shooting, which broke out on K Street in downtown Sacramento early Sunday morning just after a fight took place, the Sacramento Police Department said. Martin was arrested on assault and illegal firearm possession charges, police said.

More than 100 shell casings were recovered from the scene, according to police. Investigators believe multiple gunmen are responsible for the shooting and are sifting through hundreds of pieces of evidence, Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said during a press conference Sunday afternoon.

Video posted on Twitter on Sunday showed people running through the street as the apparent sound of rapid gunfire could be heard in the background.

The victims were identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s office on Monday as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; and Devazia Turner, 29.

At least a dozen people were injured in the shooting, Lester said. The conditions of the injured victims were not immediately known, police said.

It is not known whether the alleged gunmen knew each other, Lester said. A large crowd was present at the time of the shooting, she added.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg condemned the shooting during a news conference Sunday afternoon, describing it as “a senseless and unacceptable tragedy.”

“And I emphasize the word unacceptable,” Steinberg said. “Thoughts and prayers are not nearly enough. We must do more as a city as a state and as a nation.

ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson, Zohreen Shah and Jennifer Watts contributed to this report.

New COVID-19 variant XE identified: What to know and why experts say not to be alarmed

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A new COVID-19 variant has been identified in the United Kingdom, but experts say there is no cause for alarm yet.

The variant, known as XE, is a combination of the original BA.1 omicron variant and its subvariant BA.2. This type of combination is known as a “recombinant” variant.

Public health experts say that recombinant variants are very common and often crop up and disappear on their own.

“Right now, there’s really no public health concern,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. “Recombinant variants happen over and over. In fact, the reason that this is the XE variant recombinant is that we’ve had XA, XB, XC, XD already, and none of those have turned out to be any real concern.”

According to an update last week from the U.K. Health Security Agency, 637 cases of XE have been identified as of March 22, with the earliest detected Jan. 19.

An early indication from the U.K. suggests XE could be slightly more transmissible than BA.2, but the World Health Organization said more research is needed.

Meanwhile, XE makes up less than 1% of total COVID-19 cases that have undergone genomic sequencing in the U.K., and there is no evidence to suggest that the variant can escape vaccines, cause more severe disease or is more deadly.

“This particular recombinant, XE, has shown a variable growth rate, and we cannot yet confirm whether it has a true growth advantage,” Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for UKHSA, said in a statement.

So far, no cases of the recombinant variant have been reported in any other country, including the United States.

Brownstein said there are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding XE, but that — in the U.S. — there is a high level of protection both from vaccines and from natural immunity during the omicron wave.

“It’s possible it may be more transmissible, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s more severe,” he said. “And given the sheer number of infections we’ve already seen with omicron, it’s really unclear whether even being slightly more transmissible means we’ll see any impact of this variant whatsoever.”

Brownstein said one of the reasons the U.K. was able to pick up on the variant as quickly as it did is because of its robust surveillance system.

According to the global database GISAID, the U.K. has submitted more than 1 million omicron samples for genomic surveillance. The U.S. has submitted more than 781,000.

“The U.K. has done a phenomenal job of sequencing a large number of cases, doing analyses and producing the output of that work,” he said. “So you could see the identification of XE actually as a positive because it shows that our public health systems are working, identifying new variants even when the case numbers are super small.”

Brownstein added, “This shows that some of these variants can be needles in a haystack, and here we have an example of one being identified very early on.”

The World Health Organization released its own report saying it is monitoring XE, but there is no evidence yet that it is a variant of concern like alpha, delta and omicron.

“WHO will continue to closely monitor and assess the public health risk associated with recombinant variants” and will “provide updates as further evidence becomes available,” the organization said in a report published March 29.

Brownstein said variants will continue to emerge, but it is important for people to follow COVID-19 mitigation measures so they don’t get a chance to spread.

“Being vaccinated and boosted, as well as practicing good hygiene and following public health recommendations all help to drive transmission down in the community,” he said. “When we have uncontrolled spread, that’s when the virus is given chances to mutate.”

The UKHSA said it is also monitoring two other recombinant variants known as XD and XF, both of which are a combination of the delta variant and BA.1.

To date, only 38 cases of XF have been identified in the U.K. and none since mid-February while the XD variant has only been identified in global databases in 49 cases, mostly in France.

‘Sickening’ atrocities in Bucha, nearly 70% of Russian troops near Kyiv have withdrawn: Pentagon update Day 40

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.

Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Monday on Day 40:

Nearly 70% of Russian troops near Kyiv have withdrawn

About two-thirds of the Russian forces that were arrayed against Kyiv have withdrawn toward Belarus, according to the official. This up from an estimated 20% late last week.

Before repositioning, there were close to 20 Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) bearing down on Kyiv from the north and northwest, with each group comprised of 700-900 troops. Roughly 13 of those BTGs are now either in Belarus or on their way there, the official said.

The Pentagon believes these forces will be resupplied and possibly reenforced in the north before heading back into Ukraine to fight elsewhere.

“Our best assessment — and it is only an assessment — is that they will be applied in the eastern part of the country in the Donbas region,” the official said.

The U.S. has also seen some Russian troops leave the Ukrainian city of Sumy to head north to the Russian border, according to the official.

Despite these movements, the official said the “vast majority” of the more than 125 BTGs that Russia committed to the invasion are still inside Ukraine.

‘Sickening’ Russian atrocities in Bucha

The official said that while the U.S. cannot independently verify Ukrainian claims of Russian atrocities committed against civilians in Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv recently retaken by Ukrainian troops, there is no reason to doubt them.

“It’s sickening, it’s disgusting,” the official said, adding that the claims should be included in the growing list of alleged Russian war crimes to be investigated.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the town, where he accused Russia of genocide. Ukrainian officials have said more than 400 civilians were found dead there, many with hands tied behind their backs, shot at close range.

“We have long said that the Russians would be brutal in their execution of this war. They have been,” the senior U.S. defense official said. “We said more than a week ago that we clearly believe the evidence pointed to war crimes by Russian forces. And what we’re seeing out of Bucha certainly reinforces those concerns.”

President Joe Biden put blame on Russian president Vladimir Putin while speaking to reporters Monday.

“You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal,” Biden said. “Well, the truth of the matter, you saw what happened in Bucha … he is a war criminal.”

Russia shifting airstrikes

In addition to moving some of its troops away from the capital, Russia has also refocused its long-range strikes elsewhere, largely in the eastern and southern parts of the country, the official said.

“Clearly they’re still hitting Mariupol, but we have not seen the same level of airstrike activity on Kyiv,” the official said. “So there’s been a declination there over the last few days.”

Russia has fired more than 1,400 missiles against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion.

Military aid being rushed into Ukraine

The U.S. has continued to rush small arms, anti-tank and aircraft missiles and medical supplies into Ukraine, and has coordinating shipments from a half dozen other donor nations in the last 24 hours, according to the senior defense official.

“Everything we’re doing with respect to Ukraine is being expedited — everything,” the official said.

Walt Disney World Resort to be powered up to 40% by the sun

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Walt Disney World Resort is adding two 75-megawatt solar arrays to its renewable energy portfolio that, combined with existing infrastructure, will provide 40% of the park’s electricity.

The announcement comes at a time when energy prices across the country, coupled with record-high inflation, are soaring and climate change is pressuring consumers to reduce emissions.

“This latest step will help us further accomplish our goal of net zero emissions by 2030,” Jeff Vahle, president of the Walt Disney World Resort, told ABC News. “Our commitment to the environment goes beyond imagining a brighter, more sustainable future by putting possibility into practice to ensure a happier, healthier planet for all.”

The Walt Disney World Resort currently has two solar arrays, including one shaped like a giant Mickey, that generate a total of 55-megawatts of solar power and provide 10% of the park’s energy.

The two new solar installations won’t be located on park property; they will be built in Gilchrist and Polk Counties, covering more than 1,000 acres. Both are expected to come online by early 2023. By placing the solar facilities elsewhere in Florida, the Walt Disney World Resort will not need to rely on sunny skies in one area for reliable solar energy. The addition will also make Disney World the largest commercial consumer of solar power in the state of Florida.

The two new solar arrays will be capable of producing more than 375,000 megawatt hours of energy in its first year, which is the equivalent of removing 29,500 vehicles from the road annually.

The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News.

Biden calls Russia’s killings of Ukrainian civilians a war crime but not genocide

April 4, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The killings of Ukrainian civilians committed by Russian forces in Ukraine is a war crime, President Joe Biden said Monday — repeating his accusation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “war criminal” who needs to be held “accountable.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “genocide” on Sunday after hundreds of Ukrainian civilians were found killed in Bucha, a suburb of the capital Kyiv that was retaken by Ukrainian forces. Some of the civilians were buried in mass graves, while others were found dead in the street with their hands tied behind their backs.

The U.S. has stopped short of using the term “genocide” because of its strict legal definition and the heavy implications it carries.

“This guy is brutal and what’s happening with Bucha is outrageous. And everyone’s seeing it,” Biden said.

“We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight, and we have to gather all the detail so this can be an actual — have a war crimes trial,” Biden told reporters Monday, but when asked if it were genocide, he said, “No, I think it is a war crime.”

Still, Biden’s call for for a possible war crimes trial raises the pressure on the international community’s response to Russia’s war, which has killed thousands and displaced more than 10 million people.

Biden said he would seek more sanctions against Putin and his government over the atrocities in Bucha, although it’s unclear if more economic pressure will do anything to bring an end to Putin’s campaign, which has shifted away from the Kyiv area to the south and east.

+ More