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After 20 years, US ground troops leave Afghanistan, but Americans left behind

August 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(TAMPA, Fla.) — When it came to announcing that all U.S. troops had left Afghanistan, concluding America’s military ground presence there — and after 20 years the end to America’s longest war — word came not from President Joe Biden, who set the deadline, but from the top general overseeing the rushed and dangerous evacuation.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, spoke to reporters from his headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida.

“I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third-country nationals and vulnerable Afghans,” he said, appearing on a television screen in the Pentagon Briefing Room.

To mark the moment for history, McKenzie noted the exact time the last U.S. military plane had cleared the skies over the land where the U.S. had spent so much time, money, and most of all, American blood.

“The last C-17 lifted off from Kabul airport this afternoon at 3:29 p.m. East Coast Time and the last manned aircraft is now clearing airspace above Afghanistan,” he said, which would have one minute before midnight in Kabul.

“Tonight’s withdrawal signifies both the end of the military component of the evacuation, but also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after Sept. 11 2001. It’s a mission that brought Osama Bin Laden to justice, along with many was Al Qaeda co-conspirators, and it was not — it was not a cheap mission,” he said.

The cost, in American lives, he said, was 2,461 U.S. service members killed and more than 20,000 wounded, including the 13 service members killed and at least 20 wounded in Thursday’s ISIS-K suicide bomber attack outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

“No words from me could possibly capture the full measure of sacrifices and accomplishments of those who served, nor the emotions they’re feeling at this moment. But I will say that I’m proud that both my son and I have been a part of it,” McKenzie said.

And while the military prides itself on leaving no one behind, McKenzie said Americans in “the very low hundreds,” who had wanted to leave, couldn’t get to the airport.

“There is a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure,” McKenzie said. “We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out. But I think if we stayed another ten days, we would not get everybody out that wanted to get out. It’s a tough situation,” McKenzie said.

He said that in the five final flights that took off, no Americans made it on board. The U.S. had continued to reach out to Americans still there, he said, and the military was “prepared to bring them on,” but none made it.

“While the military evacuation is complete, the diplomatic mission to ensure additional U.S. citizens and Afghans who want to leave continues,” he said.

It’s unclear what the evacuation picture will look like now that the U.S. military is gone. McKenzie repeated the U.S. is working with international partners to pressure the Taliban to ensure safe passage for those who want to leave, but the Taliban have also said at recent press conferences that they do not want Afghans to take their talents out of the country.

Biden, who has long opposed the war in Afghanistan, stuck to his decision to withdraw troops by the end of the month as the U.S. approaches 20 years since the Sept. 11 attacks, despite pressure from lawmakers and other allied nations to extend the mission.

The president did not speak on Monday, instead releasing a written statement following McKenzie’s remarks thanking commanders and service members for completing the withdrawal on schedule and “with no further loss of American lives” and praising the evacuation effort as “the largest airlift in US history.”

He said he would address the American people on Tuesday on his decision not to extend the U.S. military’s presence.

“For now, I will report that it was the unanimous recommendation of the Joint Chiefs and of all of our commanders on the ground to end our airlift mission as planned,” he said in the statement, although military leaders had lobbied Biden earlier this year to leave a residual U.S. force in Afghanistan to support the Afghan army and government.

He closed by listing the names of the 13 service members in last week’s attack “who lost their lives last week to save tens of thousands.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in remarks Monday following a virtual meeting with allied nations on Afghanistan, announced the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was moved to Doha, Qatar.

“A new chapter of America’s engagement with Afghanistan has begun — one in which we’ll lead with diplomacy. The military mission has ended, new diplomatic mission has begun,” he said.

Blinken said that the exit of U.S. diplomats was the “prudent” step to take because of the security threat.

Ambassador John Bass — the former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan who returned to Kabul to oversee the evacuation operation — will lead an ongoing effort to get Americans, Afghans and other foreigners out of Afghanistan in the weeks to come, Blinken announced.

“We will continue our relentless efforts to help Americans, foreign nationals and Afghans leave Afghanistan if they choose,” Blinken said.

Overall, Blinken said he believes there is still a “small number of Americans — under 200, and likely closer to 100 — who remain in Afghanistan and want to leave.”

Even for those who have said they want to stay, Blinken said, the U.S. would still work to get them out if they changed their minds.

He also pledged to the Afghans who worked alongside the U.S., who wanted to leave but were unable to get out, the U.S. would continue to try to help them.

“Our commitment to them has no deadline,” he said.

He did temper expectations.

“We have no illusion that any of this will be easy,” Blinken said. “Or rapid. This will be an entirely different phase from the evacuation that just concluded. It will take time to work through a new set of challenges.”

Following the Pentagon’s announcement, GOP lawmakers blasted Biden for withdrawing troops despite not having all Americans evacuated with Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., calling the evacuation a “national disgrace” and a “direct result of President Biden’s cowardice and incompetence.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also said in a statement that Biden “will forever be remembered for leaving American citizens and U.S. legal permanent residents behind and in harm’s way in Afghanistan.”

The end of the war

In the final days, as the U.S. was set to withdraw forces, the Taliban seized and overtook the presidential palace in Kabul on Aug. 15 after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled his home country for the United Arab Emirates, leading to the collapse of the Afghan government.

The Pentagon sent in 6,000 troops, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul was evacuated and chaos has since enveloped the capital city, bringing the 20-year war to a grim end.

Since Aug. 14, U.S. military aircraft have evacuated more than 79,000 civilians from Hamid Karzai International Airport, including 6,000 Americans and more than 73,500 third-country nationals and Afghan civilians, including Special Immigrant Visa holders, consular staff, at-risk Afghans and their families, McKenzie said on Monday.

In total, U.S. and coalition aircraft combined to evacuate more than 123,000 civilians.

ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and a sworn enemy of both the U.S. and the Taliban, claimed responsibility for attacks on American forces amid heightened fears fighters will force Afghanistan to break out into another civil war.

Over the weekend, the U.S. struck two ISIS-K targets in Afghanistan, including a person it said was involved in planning future attacks.

An Afghan health official reported that in one of those strikes, just hours before the U.S. would end its longest war, at least six Afghan civilians were also killed, including four children.

Six taboo facts women should know about alcohol and their health

August 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — From popular sayings like mommy juice, wine down, rose all day and happy hour to T-shirts that read “Mama needs wine,” the marketing of alcohol towards women in America is omnipresent.

And while women have historically consumed less alcohol than men, that trend is changing, increasingly to the detriment of women’s health, data shows.

The increases in alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and alcohol-related health issues are largely driven by women in their 30s and 40s. Over the past 20 years, as alcohol consumption among women has increased, the rates of death involving alcohol increased 85% among women, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

And this spring, amid the coronavirus pandemic, doctors across the country warned of anecdotal evidence showing increases in the number of hospitalizations and deaths caused by alcohol-related liver disease over the past year, particularly among young women.

Women have increased their consumption of alcohol during the coronavirus pandemic, data shows.

The increase in drinking among women comes as research shows that even one alcoholic drink per day can contribute to an increased risk of breast cancer for women. Women are also, research shows, at greater risk than men for health risks like alcohol-related cardiovascular diseases, liver disease and alcohol use disorder.

While the impacts of marketing and societal pressures have combined to make alcohol a common topic among women, talking honestly about how much they may be drinking and how it is affecting their bodies is still taboo, according to Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News chief medical correspondent and a board-certified OBGYN.

“This is something that is really, really ripe with questions, emotions, myths, misconceptions, and unfortunately, stigma and taboo,” said Ashton. “There is a taboo about alcohol for women that is oftentimes not spoken about at all, or if it is spoken about, it’s whispered about.”

“Alcohol is, in fact, a type of drug, and yet, it is socially acceptable in our country, in our society, in our culture,” she added. “That can set up a potentially precarious situation, or relationship, for anyone.”

Here are six things women should know and talk about with their friends when it comes to alcohol, according to Ashton.

1. Serving size matters.

For women, a moderate alcohol intake per week is defined as seven servings of alcohol or less, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One serving of alcohol is defined as five ounces for wine and just one-and-a-half ounces for hard alcohol, far less than what is typically served in bars, restaurants and at home.

“You can do this experiment for yourself at home with water or wine, but let’s start with water,” explained Ashton. “You can take water, pour it into your wine glass to the amount that you think that you would serve yourself.”

“If you were having a glass of rose, for example, and then pour that water into a measuring cup, chances are it is going to be significantly more than five ounces. It might even be twice that amount,” she said. “So what you think is one drink, i.e., one serving, could actually be one-and-a-half or even two servings.”

Ashton continued, “It doesn’t matter whether it is one [alcoholic drink] a day or all on the weekends or spread out over a couple of days. If you’re drinking let’s say a margarita that’s made with three ounces of tequila, because it’s served in a giant, supersize, pretty glass, your seven drinks might actually be 21 drinks, 21 servings, and that qualifies as heavy alcohol consumption for a woman.”

For women, even eight or more drinks qualify as heavy alcohol consumption.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shares this graphic on how much alcohol a drink contains.

Ashton said that participating in Dry January — not consuming any alcohol for the month of January — for several years herself has taught her to keep a “mental tally” of the servings of alcohol she has per week.

“Now I kind of keep a mental tally of my servings per week so that I’m under that seven number that’s recommended, or acceptable, in the medical literature for alcohol consumption for women,” she said. “I just am aware of it very much like I would be aware of spending habits or my cardio exercise.”

2. Drinking alcohol can cause cancer.

Drinking alcohol is listed by the Department of Health and Human Services as a known human carcinogen.

“That means it’s known to be a contributing agent in the formation or development of various types of cancers,” said Ashton, noting that those cancers include cancer of the esophagus, liver cancer, colon cancer and breast cancer.

Women who consume about one alcoholic drink per day have a 5 to 9% higher chance of developing breast cancer than women who do not drink at all, and that risk increases for every additional drink a woman has per day, according to NIAAA.

3. Alcohol affects women differently than men.

Men can drink double the servings of alcohol each week and still stay within the moderate alcohol intake limits because their bodies metabolize alcohol differently than women, according to Ashton.

“Generally, women are smaller, the body fat distribution in a woman is different and their metabolism is different,” Ashton said. “So in general, two drinks for a woman could give you the blood alcohol level equivalent of one drink for a man.”

“That’s [why] it’s important to take a gender-specific approach to this issue and not lump men and women together,” she said.

4. The health effects of alcohol are worse than a hangover.

While women may talk or joke about the hangovers they have after drinking too much alcohol, what often goes unsaid, or even unknown, is what alcohol is doing inside their bodies.

“When you look at the possible effects of excessive alcohol consumption or heavy alcohol consumption for women, it ranges from head to toe,” said Ashton, citing health consequences including brain atrophy, cognitive issues, weight gain, negative effects on the heart and cardiovascular system, increased risk of alcoholic liver disease and fatty liver, increased risk of cancers and increased risks of accidents based on alcohol intoxication.

And just as women metabolize alcohol differently than men, they also face more serious health consequences, research shows.

Women are more susceptible to alcohol-related heart disease than men; alcohol misuse produces brain damage more quickly in women than in men; women may be more susceptible than men to alcohol-related blackouts, or gaps in memory; and women who regularly misuse alcohol are more likely than men who drink the same amount to develop alcoholic hepatitis, a potentially deadly condition, according to the NIAAA.

“We have to remember that almost anything, if done to excess, has the potential to be bad for us,” said Ashton.

5. Not all women may safely consume alcohol.

For women especially, there are times in their lives when it is not medically safe to consume alcohol.

Women who should completely avoid alcohol are those who are under age 21, the legal drinking age, those who are pregnant and those taking medications that can interact negatively with alcohol.

When it comes to pregnancy, research has proven that any amount of alcohol intake at any point in pregnancy can be harmful, according to the CDC. Still, CDC data shows that as many as one in nine women report drinking while pregnant.

Doctors advise against drinking while pregnant because alcohol in the mom’s blood passes through the umbilical cord to the baby and can cause everything from miscarriage and stillbirth and can increase the risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders which can cause physical, cognitive, and behavioral problems in children, according to the CDC.

Drinking during pregnancy is also associated with an increased risk of premature, or early, birth.

6. There are flags women can look for to know when drinking is too much.

“At this point, it’s pretty well known that it was a strategic marketing campaign on the part of the alcohol industry to target women, in particular moms, to make alcohol consumption cooler, more hip, more current,” said Ashton. “In terms of the medical, physical, psychological and societal implications of that, I think it’s really up to women that we have to be able to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, ‘Why am I reaching for this glass? Why am I reaching for this drink?'”

As a physician, Ashton said a red flag for her would be if a woman is answering that question all the time, “I feel so tense. I feel so stressed. I need it to help calm me down.”

Another “glaring red flag” for Ashton is if women find themselves drinking alone, looking to drink in more covert or hidden or cryptic environments or in situations where they’re hiding it from people.

For both of those red flag cases, Ashton suggests seeking medical help.

A “pink flag” for Ashton as a physician is if a woman answered the question of why she reached for an alcoholic drink by saying, “‘Because I feel like I deserve it. Because it’s been a tough year-and-a-half. Because it’s just the low-hanging fruit for me, and it’s better than doing something else.”

“That may be a time to say, ‘Is there something else going on emotionally, psychologically, in your environment, behaviorally, that could be targeted so that there are less potentially negative behaviors involved,” she said.

The good news for women is that help is available, and it starts by talking about their drinking, be it with a doctor, with a friend, with a loved one or with a mental health professional, according to Ashton.

“I can’t encourage women enough to speak up and seek help,” she said. “It takes massive courage. It can be incredibly scary. But the health consequences will sneak up on someone who is consuming too much alcohol.”

Describing the dangers of waiting too long to get help for drinking, Ashton continued, “Ultimately, it’s like a marble rolling off the edge of a table. Once it gets to that edge, it’s much harder to stop it.”

If you or someone close to you needs help for a substance use disorder, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov, SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator.

Unresponsive lawyer for Jan. 6 defendants leaves cases at a standstill, prosecutors say

August 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department on Monday alerted several federal judges that an outspoken attorney representing at least 17 alleged rioters charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is reportedly hospitalized and possibly incapacitated after testing positive for COVID-19, leaving the bulk of his cases effectively at a “standstill” and his clients “without counsel.”

The California-based attorney, John Pierce, currently represents more defendants charged in the riot than any other defense lawyer — including multiple alleged members of the Proud Boys group and a number of individuals accused of assaulting law enforcement officers.

Pierce, whose firm has previously represented former President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani and Trump’s former campaign adviser George Papadapoulos, had been fundraising for his efforts defending accused rioters through a new organization he set up.

But in a filing made Monday in multiple Jan. 6 cases in which Pierce is involved, the Justice Department said that Pierce has been unresponsive to the government for a week, and that phone numbers for his practice have been disconnected.

In recent weeks, an associate at Pierce’s law firm, Ryan Marshall, has appeared in Pierce’s place during multiple hearings, where he offered conflicting reports about the status of Pierce’s health.

Marshall told a judge during an Aug. 25 hearing that Pierce was on a ventilator suffering from COVID-19 and was nonresponsive, a statement later contradicted by another colleague of Pierce’s who said he was hospitalized but had not contracted COVID-19. The next day Marshall told that same judge that he had not had any direct contact with Pierce, but that one of Pierce’s friends had told him Pierce was sick with COVID-19 while another one said he was not.

With Pierce’s condition unclear, some of his clients have begun to worry. Paul Rae, an alleged Proud Boy from Florida who has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts related to the riot, told ABC News on Monday he was “a bit concerned” about the situation after he learned of the government’s filing from the news. Pierce’s associate, however, subsequently reassured him on Monday evening that Pierce was not on a ventilator and was on the mend, Rae said.

“Unless I’m being lied to, I’m hearing ‘Don’t be concerned,'” Rae told ABC News. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

Prosecutors in Monday’s filing took issue with Marshall stepping in for Pierce, noting that Marshall is not a licensed attorney and is currently facing felony criminal fraud charges in a state court in Pennsylvania. Prosecutors told the judge they would no longer be corresponding with Marshall.

Earlier this month, one of Pierce’s clients had removed Pierce from his case. Ryan Samsel, who is charged with assaulting an officer on Jan. 6, directly called the judges’ chambers in July, according to his case docket, to say that he was removing Pierce. A person familiar with the call said Samsel expressed that he had been unable to get in contact with Pierce regarding his case.

ABC News repeatedly tried to reach Pierce, with no response. The office number listed on his website is disconnected, and a message on the cellphone number listed on his website says the number no longer belongs to him.

Pierce, 49, is a civil litigator from California with a degree from Harvard Law and partnerships at three white-shoe law firms on his resume. He first came to national prominence last summer after signing on to represent Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager accused of homicide during a violent night of protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“[Rittenhouse] did nothing wrong. He defended himself, which is a fundamental right of all Americans given by God and protected by law,” Pierce wrote in an August 2020 press release trumpeting his hiring by the Rittenhouse family. “Kyle now has the best legal representation in the country.”

Although Pierce appeared to have little known criminal trial experience, he helped galvanize public support for Rittenhouse, a high-school senior who quickly became a cause célèbre among conservatives, by heralding Rittenhouse as a modern-day militiaman at the start of a “Second American Revolution against Tyranny.”

“Kyle Rittenhouse will go down in American history alongside that brave unknown patriot who fired ‘The Shot Heard Round the World’ on Lexington Green on April 19, 1775,” Pierce proclaimed last summer in a since-deleted tweet.

Pierce has also espoused conspiratorial views related to the Jan. 6 riot, according to two emails obtained by ABC News. “THIS WHOLE THING WAS A … SET UP,” Pierce wrote in an email that was sent to a Listserv of D.C. lawyers representing Jan. 6 defendants and obtained by ABC News. “AND WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO PROVE IT.”

Prior to his reported health issues, Pierce pushed conspiracy theories surrounding the insurrection on his Twitter account, where he also espoused anti-vaccination conspiracy theories.

Pierce’s emergence in the politically charged Rittenhouse case came just a few months after his previous law firm, Pierce Bainbridge, faced accusations of financial misconduct.

Pierce boasted to The American Lawyer in 2018 that the firm was “the fastest-growing law firm in the history of the world.”

“We’re looking for Navy Seal, Army Ranger types — really aggressive litigators who want to be on a great platform and litigate great cases,” Pierce told the publication of his efforts to challenge the dominance of the traditional titans of business litigation.

But after three years, nearly all of the firm’s roughly 70 attorneys had left as several lawsuits against Pierce and his firm brought accusations of financial misconduct and debts exceeding $60 million, according to court records.

Over the past two years, at least ten lawsuits have been filed against Pierce and his former firm, according to records from courts in Massachusetts, Texas, Arkansas, California and New York. The plaintiffs included a digital marketing company, legal support vendors, lenders, and a former law partner.

Last year, Pierce signed a “confession of judgment” in a New York court, acknowledging a debt of nearly $4 million to a merchant lender on a high-interest loan against his law firm’s assets and personally guaranteed by Pierce.

Pierce’s early representation of Rittenhouse earned him guest spots on conservative media outlets, which Pierce used to raise money for Rittenhouse’s legal defense and the teen’s $2 million bail. He assailed the charges against his client as a politically motivated rush to judgment.

“I think we’ve reached a watershed moment here in America,” Pierce told Breitbart Radio last year. “If this is not self-defense under these circumstances for Kyle Rittenhouse, then no one can defend themselves, and no one can defend this country.”

Last December, after Pierce filed a notice of appearance in Rittenhouse’s criminal case in Wisconsin, Kenosha County prosecutor Thomas Binger took the highly unusual step of advocating against Pierce’s request for admission to the criminal case, a procedural measure required of out-of-state lawyers that would typically be granted without objection.

In his seven-page filing, Binger cited numerous public statements by Pierce that Binger claimed could “materially prejudic[e]” the case, along with reports of the collapse of Pierce’s law firm earlier this year “under a cloud of debt,” and several lawsuits alleging Pierce defaulted on hundreds of thousands of dollars in business and personal loans.

Pierce’s “personal financial difficulties raise significant ethical concerns,” Binger wrote in the filing, contending that Pierce could “personally benefit” from his close ties to the “#FightBack Foundation,” a Texas organization co-founded by Pierce and lawyer Lin Wood. The organization raised money for Rittenhouse’s defense until last fall, when Pierce posted $2 million raised by the foundation to bail the teenager out of jail.

Though Pierce stepped down from the foundation board in September, Binger noted in his court filing that Pierce continued to urge his 32,500 Twitter followers to send donations for Rittenhouse.

“This creates a potential conflict of interest for Attorney Pierce,” Binger alleged in the court filing. “Given his own substantial personal debts, his involvement with an unregulated and opaque ‘slush fund’ provides ample opportunity for self-dealing and fraud. Money that should be held in trust for the defendant may instead be used to repay Attorney Pierce’s numerous creditors.”

In the wake of the opposition from the prosecutor, Pierce withdrew his application to represent Rittenhouse in the criminal case, without responding to the allegations raised in the prosecutor’s filing.

“So that it does not take Kyle’s supporters by surprise, effective immediately I am taking over all civil matters for Kyle including his future defamation claims,” Pierce wrote on Twitter after filing his notice of withdrawal. “I will also be orchestrating all fundraising for defense costs.”

A Wisconsin-based criminal defense attorney, Mark Richards, took over Rittenhouse’s criminal case, which is scheduled for trial in November.

Pierce was ultimately let go in February by Rittenhouse, whose family has since replaced Pierce with Robert Barnes, another California lawyer, to handle possible civil litigation after Rittenhouse’s trial concludes. Prior to joining the case, Barnes had publicly criticized virtually every move Pierce had made, including a failed attempt to challenge Rittenhouse’s extradition from Illinois to face the charges in Wisconsin.

“He created the narrative of this second American Revolution against tyranny, and that the Constitution allows for a 17-year-old to serve in a militia,” Barnes told ABC News. “Those things all seem to be things that came out of Pierce’s head rather than being based on any kind of conversations or consultation with the client. Kyle has nothing to do with militias.”

“Throughout the entire representation, John Pierce’s behavior elevated the interest of John Pierce over his client. And once that became crystal clear that he would just continue to do so, Kyle and his mom made the choice that they made to get rid of him,” Barnes said, adding that Pierce was “utterly unqualified for any role” in Rittenhouse’s defense.

Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy, told ABC News earlier this year that Pierce seemed fixated on the potential for the family to shop their story and to reap a windfall from civil lawsuits.

“He would say, ‘You’re going to have a lawsuit. You’re going to be a millionaire. You’re not going to have to work anymore,'” she said. “‘And Kyle’s going to have books. He’s going to have movie deals of his life. He’s going to be a billionaire.'”

“All he did was talk about money, money, money, money,” she said. “To me, I don’t care about that. I care about Kyle’s freedom.”

Pierce’s termination from the case was made public in a Feb. 4 statement from the family-approved fundraising account, “FreeKyleUSA.” A few hours later, Pierce responded with a summation of his own performance in the high-profile case.

“John Pierce freed Kyle. John Pierce fought with every fiber of his being for Kyle,” he wrote in a tweet. “John Pierce wants nothing but for Kyle to be acquitted and live a healthy, happy life. John Pierce is ferociously loyal to all of his clients, including all former clients. Mission accomplished.”

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ criminal trial begins

August 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Jury selection for the trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes begins Tuesday in San Jose, California, following Holmes’s allegations of abuse against her former boyfriend and Theranos COO, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, that came out over the weekend.

Holmes is charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud stemming from a “multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud investors, and a separate scheme to defraud doctors and patients,” according to the Northern District of California United States Attorney’s Office.

The pair were originally charged together, but the trials were severed in January 2020 for a reason that was undisclosed until newly unsealed court documents revealed that Holmes alleged just seeing Balwani could trigger “debilitating PTSD symptoms.” Her team has also signaled that Holmes will likely be testifying at the trial, which would be hindered if Balwani were present.

One filing states that Holmes and Balwani “had an abusive intimate-partner relationship” and that Balwani had “psychological” and “emotional” control over Holmes, creating a pattern of “abuse and coercive control.”

The documents detail evidence that Holmes plans to introduce, including claims that Balwani controlled “what she ate, how she dressed, how much money she could spend, who she could interact with.” They allege Balwani “monitored her calls, text messages and emails and was physically violent — throwing hard, sharp objects at her, restricting her sleep and monitoring her movements.”

“The defense made this argument that Elizabeth has suffered so greatly at the hands of Balwani … and that therefore she couldn’t even maintain her composure physically at the trial. That’s a pretty devastating allegation to me,” criminal defense attorney Caroline Polisi told ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis on “The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial.”

ABC News reached out to Balwani and his counsel, but requests for comment were not returned.

Back in December of 2019, Holmes’s team shared that they intended to introduce expert evidence from clinical psychologist Dr. Mindy Mechanic, who specializes in the psychological consequences of violence against women. Her testimony will concern the alleged abuse Holmes claims to have suffered at the hands of Balwani. Court documents show that Mechanic evaluated Holmes for 14 hours and interviewed her parents and brother.

Balwani’s lawyer Jeffrey Coopersmith has called Holmes’s allegations “salacious and inflammatory.” He said the claims are “deeply offensive to Mr. Balwani, devastating personally to him.” Balwani denies all allegations of abuse.

One former Theranos employee told ABC News he finds the allegations hard to believe given what he witnessed at the company. “Did I see any of the alleged abuse toward Elizabeth? No. In fact he seemed to defer to her in public,” said Kevin Hunter. “And remember, when push came to shove, she fired him.”

Hunter, a lab consultant who worked with Walgreens to vet Theranos technology, also said it seemed clear to him that Holmes was in charge.

“Sunny [Balwani] was a distant second … she came up with the plans and the strategies and he helped execute them. He was the bad guy, but she ran the meetings. He rarely participated unless it had something to do with IT. … It was clearly the Elizabeth show. There’s no question about it,” Hunter told Jarvis on “The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial.”

Legal experts say that the prosecution will be able to introduce evidence of Holmes’s behavior before Balwani joined the company and after leaving Theranos.

“They are really going to have to make an effort not to be perceived as victim blaming,” Polisi said, adding that the prosecution needs to acknowledge the alleged abuse inflicted on Holmes, “while simultaneously really maintaining their argument that it did not negate her state of mind, that she still knew that she was misleading investors.”

Holmes’s defense team fought to keep the documents sealed until after a jury was selected because of the anticipated media coverage, but the judge presiding over the case, United States District Judge Edward Davila, ultimately ruled it appropriate to unseal ahead of jury selection.

Approximately 200 potential jurors have filled out jury questionnaires from both the prosecution and the defense prior to selection. Both sides must agree on 12 jurors and five alternates.

Davila heavily edited the questionnaire originally proposed by the defense, cutting it nearly in half from 45 pages to 28 pages, according to court filings. Many of Davila’s changes were related to the specificity with which the defense was asking potential jurors about their media habits, court filings said.

For example, the defense originally presented potential jurors with a list of 46 different periodicals and magazines, which the judge removed.

“Rather than give them a list, I’ve taken and asked them to take the affirmative duty to inform us, what do you read? What do you watch? What do you listen to?” Davila explained in a pre-trial hearing in June.

Despite initial fears from Holmes’ defense team regarding the ability to find unbiased jurors due to the extensive media coverage of Holmes, more than half of the prospective jurors who have filled out questionnaires said they have never heard of Holmes, according to the government during a pre-trial hearing.

Potential jurors will be ushered in 50 at a time, and voir dire or jury examination will be held in three separate sessions.

“Jury selection really is one of the most, if not the most, important parts of the trial, because it only takes one juror to get that hung jury or get a not guilty verdict,” Polisi said.

“They [the defense] don’t want to let anybody in who may harbor feelings of resentment or ill will toward Elizabeth Holmes just based on reporting that they’ve read,” she said. “Their ideal person, perhaps is somebody who either A. doesn’t know much about this story, which is going to be hard to find, or B, actually feels some sense of fondness towards Elizabeth Holmes or has something in common.”

Many potential jurors have already been dismissed because of the amount of information they’ve consumed about Holmes. Her rise and fall captivated the country. She was the Stanford dropout who claimed to have created revolutionary blood testing technology that was poised to change the future of health care. Her company, Theranos, was once valued at nearly $10 billion, which, at the time, made her the youngest self-made female billionaire. She graced the covers of magazines, spoke at conferences and appeared on most major news outlets. But Holmes faced a massive fall from grace when insiders within the company exposed that the technology didn’t work.

It’s been more than three years since Holmes was charged with multiple counts of fraud, which could send her to prison for decades if convicted. Throughout it all, she has maintained her innocence and seemingly has been living life to the fullest.

She is married to hotel heir William “Billy” Evans, and the pair welcomed their first child, William Holmes Evans, on July 10. The announcement of her pregnancy during a pretrial hearing in March delayed her trial, which was previously delayed due to the pandemic, for the fourth time.

But now, 1,266 days since being charged, Holmes is going to trial.

Holmes and her counsel did not respond to ABC News’ repeated requests for comment.

Afghanistan updates: All US troops have departed, Pentagon says

August 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, boards a C-17 cargo plane at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. Donahue is the final American service member to depart Afghanistan, Aug. 30, 2021. – U.S. Central Command

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Chaos enveloped Kabul after Afghanistan’s government collapsed and the Taliban seized control. Now with the U.S. military withdrawal complete, America’s 20-year campaign ends as it began: under Taliban rule.

Officials said the terror group ISIS-K carried out what the Pentagon called a “complex attack” outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 13 American service members and wounding 20, among scores of Afghan casualties.

When President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House, the president’s first interview since the withdrawal from Afghanistan, he warned of the threat of attacks on the ground and said he did not see a way to withdraw from Afghanistan without “chaos ensuing.”

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern.

Aug 30, 9:19 pm
Taliban wield American-supplied equipment, uniforms after withdrawal

Moments after the last U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan, Taliban fighters entered the Kabul airport, wielding American-supplied weapons, equipment and even uniforms.

Aug 30, 8:59 pm
Military releases image of last soldier out of Afghanistan

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, of the 82nd Airborne Division, was the last American service member to depart Afghanistan, according to Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command.

“On the last plane out was General Chris Donahue, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and my ground commander, and he was accompanied by our — our charge d’affaires, Ambassador Ross Wilson, so they came out together,” McKenzie said at the Pentagon briefing. “So the state and defense team came out on the last aircraft and were in fact the last people to step on the ground.”

Aug 30, 8:04 pm
US engaging Taliban, but not recognizing it

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will continue to engage the Taliban going forward — engagement that will be “driven by one thing only — our vital national interest.”

“The Taliban seeks international legitimacy and support. Our message is any legitimacy and any support will have to be earned,” he said. “The Taliban can do that by meeting commitments and obligations on freedom of travel; respecting the basic rights of the Afghan people, including women and minorities; upholding its commitments on counter-terrorism; not carrying out reprisal violence against those who choose to stay in Afghanistan; and forming an inclusive government that can meet the needs and reflect the aspirations of the Afghan people.”

But the Taliban have already violated many of those — denying freedom of travel to some, violating their commitments on counter-terrorism, carrying out reprisal violence and more.

Aug 30, 7:37 pm
Commitment to Afghans who worked with US ‘has no deadline’: Blinken

For Afghans who worked alongside the U.S. who wanted to leave but weren’t able to get out, the U.S. would continue to try to help them, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in remarks Monday evening.

“Our commitment to them has no deadline,” he said.

To that end, he thanked Qatar and Turkey for trying to make the Kabul airport operational soon, allowing safe passage to these people.

“This would enable a small number of daily charter flights, which is a key for anyone who wants to depart from Afghanistan moving forward,” Blinken said. “We’re also working to identify ways to support Americans, legal permanent residents and Afghans who have worked with us to depart via land routes.”

But he tempered expectations.

Aug 30, 5:01 pm

Number of Americans left in Afghanistan in the ‘low 100s’

There are still Americans left in Afghanistan that the United States is trying to get out of the country, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said.

“I believe our Department of State is going to work very hard to allow any American citizens that are left, and we think the citizens that were not brought outnumber in the low — very low 100s,” McKenzie said. “I believe that we’re going to be able to get those people out.”

There were no evacuees left at the airport when the last U.S. flight left, he said.

McKenzie also said the U.S. would also “negotiate very hard, and very aggressively, to get our other Afghan partners out.”

Aug 30, 4:35 pm

All US troops have departed Afghanistan: Pentagon

All U.S. troops have departed Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense, concluding America’s military ground presence there and its longest war.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, made the announcement from the headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida, after being introduced in the Pentagon Briefing Room by press secretary John Kirby.

Acknowledging that the withdrawal has been completed, McKenzie said the last U.S. military plane has cleared Afghan airspace.

He said that the U.S. military’s 20-year mission in Afghanistan is over.

Shake Shack, Milk Bar churn up two new birthday-inspired shakes

August 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Shake Shack’s sweet and creamy blended treat lineup is expanding in a new collaboration with New York City-based dessert destination — Milk Bar.

The two brands teamed up to blend Shake Shack’s frozen custards with Milk Bar’s modern desserts to add two new shakes to the menu.

Christina Tosi, Chef and Founder of Milk Bar told Good Morning America she happily jumped at the opportunity “to make milkshake dreams come true with our BFFs at Shake Shack.”

One is a chocolate birthday cake shake featuring Milk Bar B’Day crumbs, the gourmet version of funfetti cake, and Milk Bar B’Day frosting hand-spun with chocolate cake frozen custard.

The other is a cornflake chocolate drizzle shake made with Milk Bar’s signature Cornflake Crunch, hand-spun with vanilla frozen custard and topped with Milk Bar chocolate fudge drizzle and mini marshmallows.

“We settled on our hand-spun shakes as the muse, and then Christina and her team at Milk Bar did what they do so well – crafting fun and delicious takes on some of their most legendary baked goods, but in our frozen custard,” Shake Shack culinary director Mark Rosati said. “We had a great time working on this and can’t wait for our fans to stop by, order one or two shakes, and enjoy!”

The shake duo will hit menus on Sept. 3 at Shake Shack locations nationwide and for pickup and delivery on Shake Shack’s website or app. Fans who use the Shack App can snag exclusive early access starting Aug. 31.

To sweeten the deal, Shake Shack announced that it will give away free shakes to lucky fans in honor of their birthdays. Every Friday in September, customers can check Shake Shack’s Instagram Stories where the company use its B’Day Randomizer feature to select a few random dates. If your birthday is selected and you’re one of the first 50 followers to slide into Shake Shack’s DMs, the brand will send a discount code to redeem on the app for a free shake.

Louisiana power outages may last weeks: How to stay safe during a blackout

August 30, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(LA.) — Utility companies warned residents in Louisiana it may take weeks before power can be restored to their homes following the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida.

As of Monday morning, over 888,000 customers don’t have power, and that number is growing as the storm moves its way into the country.

“It will likely take days to determine the extent of damage to our power grid in metro New Orleans and far longer to restore electrical transmission to the region,” Entergy New Orleans, the city’s utility, tweeted.

The blackout is coinciding with a forecast that predicts temperatures in the high 80s.

Here are some crucial safety tips for anyone whose home doesn’t have power.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency advises people to ensure their portable devices have batteries as close to fully charged as possible.

New Orleans’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness recommends communicating via SMS text messaging, because that uses the least amount of cell phone battery power.

If you are using a generator to power appliances or your home, make sure it is positioned outside in a well-ventilated area, as fumes from the generator could result in carbon monoxide poisoning, emergency experts said.

Refrigerators and freezers should be kept closed during the outage.

“The refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours. A full freezer will keep the temperature for about 48 hours. Use coolers with ice if necessary,” FEMA advises.

If it appears at all that a food item is spoiled, emergency management experts say it’s best to not take any chances and throw it out.

Affected residents should rely on canned food and other non-perishable food items.

If you need to cook any food, charcoal grills are more efficient for cooking during a power outage. The grills should be used outdoors to prevent any carbon monoxide poisoning.

When it comes to the heat, emergency management experts emphasize constant hydration and wearing thin and comfortable clothes.

The use of battery-powered cooling devices, such as portable fans, is encouraged to beat the heat, according to experts.

If possible, affected users should head to the closest cooling center, such as a library or public pool, to avoid heatstroke or overheating.

FEMA warns that senior citizens are most vulnerable to these conditions during a blackout.

Air quality in Lake Tahoe area considered extremely unhealthy due to Caldor Fire: WHO

August 30, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(CALIF.) — Due to the thick smoke from the Caldor Fire, the air quality near the Lake Tahoe area is nearly 40 times what the World Health Organization deems unhealthy, according to data from IQAir.

For over two weeks, the Caldor Fire has swept across 177,260 acres of Northern California and only 14% of the fire is currently contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

As of Monday, over 500 structures have been damaged or destroyed and at least three first responders and two civilians have been injured, according to the state.

Statewide, over 15,000 firefighters are currently battling a total of 15 large wildfires. In total, 1.7 million acres have been burned in 2021, according to the state.

With windy conditions, firefighters are facing challenging weather this week as the Caldor Fire spreads throughout the Lake Tahoe area. The fire is threatening more than 20,000 structures in its current path.

Ida adds pressure on Louisiana hospitals amid COVID-19 surge

August 30, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(LA.) — Medical facilities in Louisiana are reeling from Ida, which demolished coastal regions of the state after making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday afternoon. Ida, now a tropical storm, is one of the strongest hurricanes on record to touch down in Louisiana.

Ochsner Health System, a not-for-profit health care provider, is almost completely relying on emergency power generators following the storm, according to Mike Hulefeld, the chief operating officer. Thousands of homes and businesses are also without power, and the outages may last for days, according to local utility companies Entergy and Cleco.

At Ochsner’s Kenner facility, parts of the roof came off the building as workers sheltered inside the building, and almost all of Ochsner’s facilities have suffered from roof or water damage, Hulefeld told reporters in a press conference.

Since city and parish water systems are damaged, local hospitals are also relying on their own well systems to supply water to their locations. These damages — and more — reflect regionwide issues that health care workers are having to tackle amid the Ida aftermath.

“People will get tired, and they have been challenged by COVID, but we had 100% of our staff show up … when we called essential personnel,” Hulefeld said, “and that speaks to the commitment that our people have.”

The storm and its subsequent destruction came as the state struggled to contain its fourth COVID-19 wave, putting hospitals on the brink.

About 90% of beds in Louisiana’s intensive care units are filled, according to Johns Hopkins University, and only about 41% of the population is vaccinated. New Orleans specifically is experiencing a severe outbreak, according to the mayor’s office, with a seven-day average of 220 new infections.

There were at least 2,684 people in Louisiana hospitals due to COVID-19 before the storm hit, the mayor’s office reports.

The storm has only intensified the pressure on the state’s health care system to tackle the virus.

“This fourth surge we went through was the most difficult one that we’ve experienced since COVID started in March 2020,” Hulefeld said. “Now we have a major hurricane that ends up being a little worse than we anticipated going into it …. So, I think staff are challenged.”

More than 100 patients have been evacuated from Ochsner and its partner facilities to safety — but officials remain wary about the pressure on hospitals to perform.

FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told “Good Morning America” that most medical facilities in the region are running off generators and have seen major damage to their facilities.

Criswell said her “biggest concern is still the fragility of our health care system” following the hurricane, warning that it has been “stressed from COVID-19, and the occupancy has been full.”

With two deaths reported in the region so far, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told MSNBC that he expects the death toll to go up as search and rescue efforts continue.

At a press conference on Monday, New Orleans Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Collin Arnold warned residents to stay away from the post-hurricane aftermath.

“There’s not a lot open right now, there’s not a lot of fuel resources. There are not a lot of reasons to come back,” Arnold said. “With COVID, if you get hurt while you’re here, from debris … Hospitals are strained right now, so it’s just not a good time, if you’re out of the area, to come back in.”

The storm hit New Orleans on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a deadly storm that highlighted the vulnerable infrastructure of the port city. More than 1,800 people died in the storm.

After Ida, Mayor LaToya Cantrell applauded the evacuation and safety efforts of New Orleans and its people.

“We did not have another Katrina, and that’s something we should all be grateful for,” Cantrell said.

Ida live updates: New Orleans ‘did not have another Katrina,’ mayor says

August 30, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Ida is barreling through Louisiana after making landfall in the state as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on Sunday afternoon.

It was one of the strongest hurricanes on record — by both wind speed and pressure — to roar ashore in Louisiana.

Ida, now a tropical storm, is hitting on the 16-year anniversary of Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane that ravaged the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina unleashed a series of events, taking the lives of more than 1,800 people and leaving more than $100 billion worth of damage in its wake.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:

Aug 30, 3:38 pm

911 service restored in New Orleans

Emergency 911 service has been restored in New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.

9-1-1 emergency services have been fully restored in the @CityOfNOLA.

Please call 9-1-1 for emergencies and 3-1-1 (504-658-2299) for non-emergencies‼️

Thank you @opcd911 @nolaready

— Mayor LaToya Cantrell (@mayorcantrell) August 30, 2021

As recovery efforts get underway, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Tuesday morning to meet with Gov. John Bel Edwards and survey damage, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell will go to Jackson, Mississippi, Tuesday evening to meet with Gov. Tate Reeves.

Aug 30, 3:05 pm

Louisiana damage ‘catastrophic,’ governor says

In a briefing with governors and mayors affected by Hurricane Ida, President Joe Biden vowed full government support.

“We’re there to help you get back on your feet,” Biden said.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said he estimated nearly 2 million are without power.

Biden said, “We’re in close contact with local electric providers to see what they need. They are all private providers. We don’t control that, but we’re doing all we can to minimize the amount of time it is going to take to get power back up.”

In the meeting, Edwards touted the success of the levee system, saying none of them were breached. But, he added, “Damage is still catastrophic.”

Edwards said a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued seven patients from a hospital in Lafourche Parish after its roof was ripped off by the powerful winds.

Aug 30, 2:38 pm

At least 1 dead in New Orleans

At least one death has been reported in New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said. Details have not been released.

This brings Ida’s death toll to at least two. A 60-year-old man in Ascension Parish died Sunday when a tree fell on a home, officials said.

At an emotional news conference Monday, Cantrell said the “worse-case scenario” with Ida “did not happen.”

“We did not have another Katrina … we should all be grateful,” she said.

Cantrell said New Orleans has a few collapsed buildings but not widespread destruction.

However, power is out throughout the city, 911 is not available and there are small pockets of standing water from blocked drains. The mayor stressed that residents should shelter in place.

Aug 30, 2:15 pm

Ida’s latest forecast

Ida, one of the strongest hurricanes to make landfall in Louisiana, has dropped 18 inches of rain on parts of the state.

New Orleans has been hit with 13.7 inches of rain.

Numerous flash flood warnings remain in effect across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

Ida is expected to weaken to a tropical depression Monday before bringing heavy rain and possible flooding to the Tennessee Valley Monday night through Tuesday.

By Wednesday and Thursday, the storm will hit the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. The forecast calls for 4 to 6 inches of rain and possible flash flooding.

Aug 30, 1:40 pm

Coast Guard conducting search and rescue flights

The Coast Guard is conducting search and rescue flights across the devastated Gulf Coast.

The Coast Guard is also assessing damage and working to make sure ports can reopen.

President Joe Biden is set to hold a virtual meeting Monday afternoon with FEMA and leaders from areas impacted by Ida.

Aug 30, 1:05 pm

Hospital patients evacuated

Ida significantly damaged Louisiana’s Ochsner Health system, though neither patients nor employees have been injured, hospital officials said Monday.

About 65 patients at two of Ochsner Health’s facilities have been evacuated, they said. Ochsner Health officials said they’ve also been asked to help evacuate about 100 patients from Terrebonne General Health System in Houma, Louisiana.

Aug 30, 12:45 pm

AT&T wireless at 60% in Louisiana

AT&T said its Louisiana wireless network is operating at 60%.

“We had key network facilities go offline overnight, and while some have already been restored, some facilities remain down and are inaccessible due to flooding and storm damage,” AT&T said in a statement.

Aug 30, 12:24 pm

New Orleans to evacuees: Do not return until further notice

New Orleans residents who evacuated their homes should not return until further notice, the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said.

“There is widespread debris, power remains out, and emergency services are working to respond to those still in the city,” city officials said. “We will let you know when it is safe to come home.”

If you have evacuated out of #NOLA, we request that you DO NOT RETURN until further notice. There is widespread debris, power remains out, and emergency services are working to respond to those still in the city. We will let you know when it is safe to come home. #Ida pic.twitter.com/r6rSzGxLX0

— NOLA Ready (@nolaready) August 30, 2021

Aug 30, 11:32 am

Ida’s latest forecast from South to Northeast

Tropical Storm Ida, now about 40 miles southwest of Jackson, Mississippi, is still bringing flash flood warnings to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Monday.

Up to 18 inches of rain has pummeled Louisiana. Up to 9 inches fell in Mississippi.

A tornado watch remains in effect in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

By Tuesday, Ida will move northeast into the Tennessee River Valley.

By Wednesday night into Thursday, Ida will track into the Northeast, dropping up to 6 inches of rain. Major flooding is possible along the Interstate 95 corridor from New York City to Philadelphia.

Aug 30, 10:40 am

New Orleans airport expects all flights to be canceled

The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is conducting damage assessments and said it expects all flights to be canceled Monday.

The airport added that passengers should check directly with their airlines for more information.

Aug 30, 10:29 am

Historic landmark tied to Louis Armstrong collapses

The Karnofsky Tailor Shop, a historic national landmark in New Orleans, is one of the multiple buildings that collapsed when Ida walloped the city.

The brick two-story shop, a former tailor business in the Central Business District of the city, dates back to 1913 and is where Louis Armstrong worked before embarking on his legendary jazz career.

The family that owned the shop provided a second home for Armstrong and loaned him money to purchase his first cornet, according to the National Park Service.

Aug 30, 10:17 am

Governor expects death toll to go up ‘considerably’

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told MSNBC Monday that search and rescue efforts are ongoing and he expects Ida’s death toll to “go up considerably throughout the day.”

Helicopters are surveying damage because it will take “many days” to reach Louisiana’s southern coastal areas by ground, he said.

Nearly all of southeast Louisiana is without power, the governor said. All eight major lines that feed electricity to the New Orleans area have failed.

Aug 30, 8:20 am
‘We’re a broken community right now’

The president of hard-hit Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Monday that all communication lines with Grand Isle were down.

Cynthia Lee Sheng said about 40 people are believed to have stayed on the barrier island, located about 100 miles south of New Orleans.

“We have lost contact with them since yesterday afternoon,” Sheng said. “We have first responder teams out there planning their strategy for today, ready to go out.”

Sheng also said there were concerns about Lafitte, Louisiana, saying officials had received reports of people trapped in their attics by high water.

“This is an area if you want to think of it like swampland, there’s alligators out there,” Sheng said.

She said rescue workers have not been able to reach the area due to darkness and downed power lines.

In addition to thousands in the area losing power, Sheng said the parish was losing pressure in its water system.

“We’ve had a lot of water main breaks,” she said. “Our water system is losing pressure and so in order to be able to fight fires, that is a very critical element. So, we’re trying to clear roads to do those water repairs.”

Sheng added, “We’re a broken community right now.”

Aug 30, 7:33 am
Over 1.1 million customers without power in 2 states

Ida, with its blustery winds and torrential rain, has left more than 1.1 million utility customers without power in Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday morning.

More than 1 million customers were without electricity in Louisiana, mostly in the southeast part of Bayou State where Ida made landfall, according to state emergency management officials.

In Mississippi, another 105,417 homes and businesses were without electricity, state officials said.

Aug 30, 5:41 am
Ida downgraded to tropical storm

About 16 hours after making landfall in Louisiana, Ida was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm early Monday morning.

As of 4 a.m. CT, Ida was moving north at 8 miles per hour with the eye of the storm located about 95 miles south-southwest of Jackson, Mississippi, and 50 miles north-northeast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The storm’s maximum sustained winds have decreased near 60 miles per hour with higher gusts, according to an advisory from the National Weather Service.

The storm surge warning has been discontinued from Morgan City to Grand Isle, Louisiana. The hurricane and tropical storm warnings have been discontinued west of Grand Isle. The hurricane warning has been replaced with a tropical storm warning from Grand Isle to the mouth of the Pearl River, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans. Storm surge and tropical storm warnings remain in effect for Grand Isle to the Alabama-Florida border, according to the National Weather Service.

Meanwhile, 16 states from Mississippi to New Jersey are still on alert for flash flooding. A flash flood watch is in place from the Gulf Coast to New Jersey.

So far, the highest rainfall total was recorded in LaPlace, Louisiana, which received 15 inches. A flash flood emergency remains in effect there, according to the National Weather Service.

Ida is forecast to rapidly weaken even more over the next day or so, becoming a tropical depression by Monday evening.

The storm will move farther inland over southeastern Louisiana early Monday and into southwestern Mississippi later in the morning. Ida is then forecast to move over central and northeastern Mississippi on Monday afternoon and evening before moving across the Tennessee Valley on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Aug 30, 4:40 am
Tornado warning issued for parts of southern Mississippi

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for eastern Harrison County and northwestern Jackson County, both in southern Mississippi.

As Hurricane Ida approaches the Magnolia State, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located via radar over Biloxi in Mississippi’s Harrison County early Monday at 2:46 a.m. CT. The “tornadic thunderstorm” was moving north at 65 miles per hour, according to an alert from the National Weather Service, which urged people to “take cover now!”

“Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows,” the National Weather Service said. “If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.”

The storm could impact the Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport as well as several miles of Interstate 10 and 110 in Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado warning will remain in effect until 3:45 a.m. CT.

“Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter,” the National Weather Service warned. “Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.”

Aug 30, 4:16 am
New Orleans ‘experiencing technical difficulties’ with 911 system

The emergency communications center for New Orleans said it is “experiencing technical difficulties” with its 911 system, after the city lost power due to Hurricane Ida.

“If you find yourself in an emergency, please go to your nearest fire station or approach your nearest officer,” the Orleans Parish Communication District announced via Twitter early Monday. “We will update you once this issue has been resolved.”

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