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COP26 live updates: World leaders converge upon Glasgow for historic climate summit

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Leaders from nearly every country in the world have converged upon Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference that experts are touting as the most important environmental summit in history.

The conference, delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was designed as the check-in for the progress countries are making after entering the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, a value that would be disastrous to exceed, according to climate scientists. More ambitious efforts aim to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Not one country is going into COP26 on track to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, according to experts. They will need to work together to find collective solutions that will drastically cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.

“We need to move from commitments into action,” Jim Harmon, chairman of the World Resources Institute, told ABC News. “The path to a better future is still possible, but time is running out.”

All eyes will be on the biggest emitters: China, the U.S. and India. While China is responsible for about 26% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, more than all other developed countries combined, the cumulative emissions from the U.S. over the past century are likely twice that of China’s, David Sandalow, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told ABC News.

Latest headlines:

Nov 01, 1:39 pm
Biden meets leaders from Indonesia, Estonia

President Joe Biden met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, exchanging general pleasantries and discussing next year’s G20 summit, which will be held in Bali, Indonesia.

Widodo congratulated Biden on his January 2020 victory, to which he replied, “Thank you very much. Thank you for recognizing it.”

Although not a part of his official COP26 schedule, Biden also met with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

Estonia was one of the last G20 countries to sign on to the agreement, along with Ireland and Hungary.

According to a readout sent by the White House, the leaders spoke about the cooperation between the two countries on climate and defense.

Biden “conveyed his support for Prime Minister Kallas’ efforts to promote trusted connectivity and high-standards infrastructure investment in Europe and around the world,” the readout said.

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle and Sarah Kolinovsky

Nov 01, 1:33 pm
‘It’ll take trillions,’ Jeff Bezos says of his $10 billion climate pledge

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos may be donating $10 billion to aid the global climate fight, but the second richest man in the world acknowledged that it will take much more to slow down global warming.

When asked by ABC News’ Maggie Rulli whether $10 billion will “make a dent in climate change,” Bezos replied, “It’ll take trillions of dollars to make a dent in climate change.”

“And it’s gonna take nation states, it’s gonna take companies, and it’ll take NGOs and nonprofits as well,” Bezos said. “What philanthropic dollars can do is move very quickly. There’s things we can do.”

In February 2020, Bezos announced his $10 billion pledge to climate change but updated that commitment in March to say he would spend the $10 billion by 2030.

-ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs, Bruno Roeber and Maggie Rulli

Nov 01, 1:23 pm
US submits long-term strategy to UN

The U.S. submitted a revised strategy to the United Nations that lays out how the nation will meet its climate goals

Officials have submitted two documents to the UN that are part of updating its commitments to the Paris Agreement. This is the first time the U.S. has updated these submissions to the UN since 2016.

The country’s path to net zero by 2050 requires “transformative actions” this decade, according to the report. The transition will rely on five key areas: Decarbonizing electricity and installing more wind and solar energy; switching to cleaner fuels and electrifying wherever possible, like in transportation and buildings; cutting energy waste and moving to energy sources that can fill the same energy demand more efficiently; reducing methane and other types of emissions that cause even more warming than carbon dioxide; and scaling up carbon dioxide removal technology.

“Near-term actions to accelerate this transition are being implemented rapidly, rooted in actions from across the federal government and other governmental and non-governmental actors in the United States,” the long-term strategy states.

-ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs

Nov 01, 12:54 pm
Biden apologizes for Trump administration pulling out of the Paris Agreement

President Joe Biden apologized to fellow world leaders at COP26 for the decision made by his predecessor to pull out of the Paris Agreement.

Following his planned remarks at the summit, he made unscripted remarks at a smaller session hosted by U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, where he offered a candid apology for the lack of leadership from the U.S. in the climate fight.

“I guess I shouldn’t apologize, but I do apologize for the fact the United States, the last administration, pulled out of the Paris Accord and put us sort of behind on the eight ball,” Biden said.

Biden was forthcoming with world leaders that he will need to convince Congress to approve additional funding to help nations around the world fight climate change.

In June 2017, then-President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw from the agreement claiming that could be economically detrimental and cost 2.5 million Americans their jobs by 2025.

The withdrawal became official on Nov. 4, one day after Election Day.

Re-entering the Paris Accord was among the first actions Biden took upon swearing in as president on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle and Sarah Kolinovsky

Nov 01, 12:36 pm
Bloomberg pledges $10 million to ‘America is All In’

Mike Bloomberg, a member of the UN Special Envoy, and Gina McCarthy, the White House’s national climate adviser, were some of the guests that joined the Biden administration on stage for the launch of the U.S. Center, a public diplomacy initiative, at COP26.

Highlighting the goal to cut emissions by 50% in nine years by 2030, Bloomberg said the world can’t set goals for 2050, a year “which, I at age 79, am not likely to see.”

Bloomberg announced Bloomberg Philanthropies’ intention to close a quarter of all the world’s existing coal plants and cancel all proposed new coal plants by 2025. He also committed $10 million to the “America is All In” coalition to mobilize climate action.

“Of course, now that we have a strong partner in the White House, we can raise the bar higher, we can do more and we can do it faster,” Bloomberg said. “What we can’t do is sit back and wait for Congress to act.”

Nov 01, 11:51 am
Biden emphasizes urgency to fight climate change: ‘The science is clear’

President Joe Biden addressed leaders at the COP26 conference, declaring that countries need to act and act now.

“It’s simple,” the president said. “Will we act? Will we do what is necessary? Will we seize the enormous opportunity before us? Will we, or will we condemn future generations to suffer?”

The upcoming decade will determine whether collective transformative action around the globe will be enough to curb global warming, Biden said.

“We only have a brief window left before us to raise our ambitions,” Biden said, adding that the time frame is “rapidly narrowing.”

The effects of the pandemic made “painfully clear” that “no nation can wall itself from borderless threats,” Biden said, adding that no one can escape the worse consequences of climate change.

But it is in the self-interest of every country to create green energy and healthier ecosystems for the planet, he said.

“We’re standing at an inflection point in world history,” Biden said.

Biden stated that the U.S. will be able to meet its ambitious target to reduce emissions by 50% to 52% by 2030 but called on the rest of the world to do the same.

“We can do this, so let’s get to work,” the president said.

Nov 01, 10:48 am
Greta Thunberg leads demonstrations in Glasgow

Youth climate activist Greta Thunberg has been making has been making her way around the COP26 summit.

Thunberg was seen meeting with Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and also took part in a student-led climate demonstration, leading the rally near the COP26 venue.

Nov 01, 9:38 am
David Attenborough calls for a new industrial revolution of sustainable innovation

British natural historian and broadcaster Sir David Frederick Attenborough told leaders at COP26 that we should be motivated by hope rather than fear.

Humanity can “turn this tragedy into a triumph,” Attenborough said.

“We are after all the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on Earth,” he said. “We now understand this problem and know how to stop this number rising and put it in reverse.”

He pointed to world leaders in the room, saying, “That desperate hope is why the world is looking to you and why you are here.”

-ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs

Nov 01, 9:29 am
‘Time has run out’: Prince Charles addresses COP26

In lieu of Queen Elizabeth II, who canceled her COP26 appearance due to health risks, Prince Charles gave a speech during the conference’s opening session.

Addressing the global leaders in attendance, Charles said, “I know you all carry a heavy burden on your shoulders and you do not need me to tell you that the eyes and hopes of the world are upon you.”

Charles highlighted the importance of collaboration and pleaded with world leaders to come together to fight climate change.

“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the private sector is ready to play its part and to work with government to find a way forward,” he said.

Nov 01, 9:08 am
COP26 opening ceremony commences

After a quick greeting with Biden, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson kickstarted COP26 with opening remarks.

Johnson said that while the average age of leaders in the room was over 60, the results of the COP26 conference will be judged by the young people outside and children who are not yet born.

“If we fail they will not forgive us. They will know that Glasgow was the historic turning point when history failed to turn,” Johnson said.

U.N. Secretary-General Anthony Guterres echoed the need for urgency in his remarks, highlighting the need to mitigate and reduce global emissions by 45% by 2030.

“Enough of treating nature like a toilet,” Guterres said. “Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves.”

ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs contributed to this report.

Nov 01, 8:54 am
Seen at COP26: Summit provides reusable coffee cups, water bottles to attendees

Organizers of COP26, the most crucial climate conference, have gone the extra mile and placed carts for the its reusable coffee and tea cups around the venue.

Nov 01, 8:37 am
China’s President Xi will not attend

The president of the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions will not be present at COP26.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has not left the country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be absent from the conference. He will instead send the country’s influential climate envoy Xie Zhenhua, according to reports.

Nov 01, 7:58 am
Harris, Granholm to announce $199 million stimulus to reduce car, truck emissions

Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm will announce the U.S. Department of Energy’s $199 million funding package for projects to reduce emissions from cars and trucks today.

The money will fund 25 projects which aim to lower carbon emissions through alternative-fuel technologies, the electrification of long-haul trucks and the improvement of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

“This investment and the innovations that come from it will help shape our clean energy future and strengthen domestic manufacturing that support good-paying careers for hardworking Americans,” Granholm said in a statement.

The funding is split between the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s ongoing SuperTruck Initiative and the Low Greenhouse Gas funding selections.

According to the press release, carbon pollution from transportation accounts for nearly 29% of all U.S. emissions, more than any other single sector.

Nov 01, 7:31 am
Biden arrives in Scotland for conference

President Joe Biden has landed in Edinburgh, Scotland, ahead of the COP26 summit.

Air Force One landed just before 7 a.m. ET. Biden traveled to the United Kingdom after attending mass in Rome Monday morning at the Villa Taverna in observance of All Saints Day.

The president did not take any questions after he arrived but chatted briefly with the greeters before getting in his motorcade.

-ABC News’ Molly Nagle

Nov 01, 7:13 am
US on ‘strong footing’ going into COP26, White House officials say

President Biden is entering the COP26 summit on “strong footing” due to his unprecedented efforts on climate change, including the Build Back Better framework that marks the largest investment in climate policy in history, said White House National Climate adviser Gina McCarthy told reporters on Monday.

“This is a message you’re going to see from the president over the next two days and from dozens of Cabinet officials will be in Glasgow over the next two weeks,” McCarthy said. “The United States is back at the table. We’re back hoping to rally the world to tackle the climate crisis. And we’re going to bring back jobs and economic prosperity to our workers in our families in the United States.”

On Monday, the U.S. will release its long-term strategy report that details how the country will achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The report illustrates the actions needed — including decarbonizing the power sector, electrifying transportation and buildings, transforming industry reducing non-CO2 emissions and reinvigorating natural lands — to reach carbon neutrality within the next three decades.

The release of the report is part of a deal the U.S. made with China, McCarthy said.

-ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs

“We’re blinking code red,” President Biden looks to put the US back at center of climate change fight

November 1, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(GLASGOW, Scotland.) — COP26 is underway with President Biden looking to put the United States back at the center of the global effort on climate change.

After leading the globe with the signing of the Paris Climate Accords, a groundbreaking climate agreement changed signed by nearly 200 countries during the Obama presidency, The United States took a step back when President Trump was in office. The former president pulled the United States out of the Paris agreement, removed clean water protections, and opened up federal land for gas and oil drilling.

President Biden has put climate change at the center of his domestic agenda and foreign policy and has re-entered the Paris agreement. The president has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, and the president’s human infrastructure bill would put $555 billion toward clean energy and climate investments.

Climate experts say that may not be enough.

“We do need to find a way to increase our ambition in the US,” said Radley Horton, a climate scientist at Columbia University. “People are looking to the US. Historically, the US has been responsible for an outsized share per capita of greenhouse gas emissions.”

President Biden will sit down with world leaders at COP26, but he will not be able to sit down with the leaders of two high-pollution, China and Russia. Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be participating virtually, citing the Covid situation in each country.

The goal of COP26 is to set new targets for cutting emissions to limit warming to 1.5 degrees celsius and recommitting to help developing nations tackle climate change.

“Responsibility rests with each and every country, and we must all play our part. Because on climate, the world will succeed, or fail, as one,” said Alok Sharma, President of COP 26, during a recent speech.

Climate activists are calling for immediate, large-scale action to cut emissions and reverse global warming trends.

“They need to show they’ve understood the science, listen to their people and go much further than they’ve been stating thus far,” said Jennifer Morgan, the executive director of Greenpeace International.

World leaders hope to build on the 2015 Paris agreement when they pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit the warming of the planet to below 2 degrees Celsius, the number scientists say is needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

But experts say the commitments are inadequate.

“It’s been estimated that very few countries, just a handful, had large enough ambitious enough targets, to begin with,“ said Horton.

A recent analysis by the United Nations found that even if nations meet their current promises, the planet will still be on pace to see an average temperature increase of 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. The UN Emissions Gap report found that current commitments will only reduce greenhouse gases by 7.5% by 2030 when 55% percent is needed to achieve the Paris goal.

“The climate crisis is pummeling the planet,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during his speech at the UN General assembly.

Climate activists say the Glasgow Summit needs to produce significant actions and not just rhetoric from world leaders.

“All we hear from our so-called leaders is words — words that sound great but so far has led to no action,” said teen activist Greta Thunberg, during the Youth4Climate conference in Milan, Italy earlier this month. “Our hopes and dreams drown in their empty words and promises.”

The United States has seen the effects of climate change first hand this year. Nearly every part of the country has seen record-breaking wildfires, storms, or flooding this year.

“[The] extreme weather that we’re seeing is only going to come more frequently and with more ferocity,” the president said during a trip to Colorado in September. “We’re blinking code red as a nation.”

As of October 8th, the United States has seen 18 weather or climate events that have caused at least a billion dollars in damages, according to NOAA. This year is outpacing 2021, which had 22 billion-dollar disasters, the most of all time.

Biden reflects on American leadership, progress made at G-20 summit

October 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ROME) — President Joe Biden reflected on progress he made with other world leaders at this weekend’s G-20 summit, including ways to combat climate change, as the event wrapped up in Rome on Sunday.

Kicking off his first solo press conference in four months, Biden characterized his meetings over the last five days as “productive” and said America has reclaimed its role on the world stage working with its allies.

Biden touted goals that were accomplished during the summit, including endorsing the global minimum tax and coordination addressing the supply chain crunch.

During the summit, Biden highlighted American leadership on the world stage, a campaign pledge he was looking to deliver on.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to make progress on critical global issues as we head off to Glasgow because of what we’ve seen again here in Rome, what I think is the power of America showing up and working with our allies and partners to make progress on issues that matter to all of us,” Biden said

The president in particular lauded his in-person meetings with the world leaders.

“There’s really no substitute for face-to-face discussions and negotiations among the leaders when it comes to building understanding and cooperation,” Biden said. “When you’re looking at someone straight in the eye when you’re trying to get done — they know me, I know them, we can get things done together.”

He also spoke about his meeting with the E3 countries — France, Germany and the U.K. — on the state of the Iran nuclear program and returning to the table for negotiations.

“We came together to reiterate our shared belief that diplomacy is the best way to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, and we discussed how best to encourage Iran to resume serious good faith negotiations,” Biden said of the meeting.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Texas Halloween party shooting leaves 1 dead, 9 injured, search for gunman ongoing

October 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(TEXARKANA, TX.) — A search is ongoing in eastern Texas for a gunman who opened fire at a Halloween party attended by “at least a couple hundred” revelers, killing one and injuring nine, according to police.

The shooting started around 11:56 p.m. Saturday at Octavia’s Activity Center in Texarkana, according to a statement Sunday morning from the Texarkana Police Department.

“When they (police officers) got there, they encountered a large number of people running from the building and several inside suffering from gunshot wounds,” the police statement reads.

The gunman left the venue in a vehicle, setting off a massive search in eastern Texas.

A 20-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was mortally wounded and later pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.

Nine other people wounded in the shooting were taken to Wadley Regional Medical Center and CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital by ambulance and private vehicles, authorities said. None of them initially appeared to suffer life-threatening injuries, police said.

Officer Shawn Vaughn of the Texarkana Police Department said numerous 911 calls were made, prompting all patrol officers working at the time to respond, while another patrol shift was summoned to handle calls on the street, according to ABC affiliate station KTBS in Shreveport, Louisiana.

“When we got here, I understand there was a large crowd in the parking lot involved in several fights,” Vaughn said. “So, we requested assistance from any and everybody that was available.”

Fight isn’t over for Marine who lost limbs in Kabul suicide attack

October 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — There was a sense of danger and urgency in the air at Hamid Karzai International Airport on the evening of Aug. 26. Sixteen hours earlier, the U.S. Embassy had warned American citizens to stay away from the airport, and intelligence suggested an attack could be imminent.

But Marine Sgt. Tyler Andrews had decided to use his down time from his sniper team’s overwatch position at Hamid Karzai International Airport to help get Afghans inside to safety and eventual evacuation from a country taken over by the resurgent Taliban.

A fellow serviceman and friend of Andrews was walking toward Abbey Gate, along the southeast edge of the airport, to meet up with him when an ISIS-K terrorist detonated his suicide vest, killing 13 U.S. troops and nearly 170 Afghan civilians.

“It knocked me to the ground,” the friend, who asked not to be named, told ABC News. “I got up and turned around, and then I see the plume of smoke behind me.”

Looking toward the gate he saw a Marine engulfed in flames being pushed to the ground and rolled. He saw another running in his direction, covered in blood, calling for a corpsman. Eventually, among the casualties, he saw Andrews.

His friend was alive.

Though he survived, Tyler lost his entire left leg and his right arm just above the elbow. He was first moved to Germany for treatment, and later to the esteemed Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he continues to receive “emergency medical care,” according to the family.

The 23-year-old Marine made his first public statement since the attack on social media earlier this month, posted along with a photo from his hospital chair.

“Let me start by saying that these past almost 2 months have indeed been hard. I have been trying to figure out what I want to say and how to say it. The outpouring of support from friends, family, organizations, and even just complete strangers has been unreal. I won’t ever be able to thank everyone enough, but still, thank you,” Andrews wrote.

In a particularly wrenching segment of his statement, Andrews expressed his difficulty in sharing the recent picture.

“I hate the way I look right now and I’m working mentally on coming to terms with loss of my right arm and my left leg,” he wrote.

Putting aside the hospital setting and obvious injuries, Andrews looks like a model infantry Marine — tattooed, fit, with a well-manicured mustache and full coif of hair. Only when compared to older images does the extent of the change become evident.

A video shot at a gym in Saudi Arabia two weeks before the bombing shows Andrews deadlifting 530 pounds — arms, shoulders, chest bulging from his tank top.

“Laying in bed for almost 2 months has caused me to lose everything I had worked for physically,” he wrote.

Tyler has undergone 29 surgeries so far, “with numerous more ahead,” according to a family statement given to ABC News.

“His recovery efforts include extensive physical therapy and will take many years,” the statement said.

Despite all this, Tyler conveys a remarkably dogged, even humorous tone.

“Some days are better than others, but you best believe I will still strive to be the best version of myself regardless of these injuries. I just have new challenges now and physically am a different person, but I’ll see how far I can go with this new body haha,” Tyler wrote.

And he’ll have help throughout his recovery.

“He’s as tough as they come,” said Faun O’Neel, who runs a military and first responder support organization called Warfighter Overwatch with her husband, Danny.

The nonprofit has raised more than $25,000 to directly support Tyler and his family, according to O’Neel. A GoFundMe campaign created by members of Tyler’s unit has itself garnered more than $360,000 for the family.

Andrews is the last of the Marines injured in the Kabul suicide blast still at Walter Reed, which is far from both his hometown of Folsom, California, and his former duty station with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, at Camp Pendleton.

Visits and calls from comrades help stave off loneliness, and Warfighter Overwatch has used the funds it helped raise to rent an apartment just across from the hospital for his mother, an attorney in Folsom, as long as she needs it.

Warfighter Overwatch has also paired with Folsom-based Design Shop to renovate the family home to make it as comfortable as possible for his eventual return, O’Neel said.

Given the extent of his injuries, Andrews could be at Walter Reed for years.

But the last thing Andrews wants is pity, according to the friend who was walking to meet him when the bomb detonated in August. Based on recent phone calls to Walter Reed, Andrews sounds like a much better source of inspiration than pity.

“When we talked to him he was already like, ‘Yeah, man, I only got about a year and then I can start lifting again,'” the friend said.

Explosion in Mexico destroys at least 30 buildings, leaves 1 dead, 15 injured

October 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(MEXICO CITY) — A large explosion attributed to a gas leak in east-central Mexico’s Puebla state has left at least one dead, 15 injured and damaged between 30 to 50 buildings, local government authorities are reporting.

Search and rescue crews are working to find people who could be trapped under collapsed buildings.

Around 1:34 a.m. local time, a gas leak was reported and around 2,000 people within 1 kilometer of the leak were evacuated, Puebla State Government officials said at a press conference Sunday.

The first of three explosions happened at 2:50 a.m., which officials said may have been caused by an illegal tap.

Of those hospitalized, four are minors and seven are adults. Five people are listed in serious condition, officials said.

“It is regrettable that one person has lost his/her life so far, and fifteen more are injured, due to the explosion of a Pemex pipeline in Puebla,” Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a statement Sunday. “Pemex has the fire under control and will ensure that families evicted from their homes remain safe.”

ABC News’ Anne Lauren contributed to this report.

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

Buttigieg defends bipartisan infrastructure bill, ‘optimistic’ it will pass

October 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is “optimistic” that the bipartisan infrastructure bill will pass the House and Senate, he said Sunday.

“We’re very optimistic the president put forward this framework because he believes that it will pass the House in the Senate and can get to his desk, and as soon as it does, it’s going to make such a difference in the lives of Americans,” Buttigieg told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos.

Congress was not able to reach a deal on President Joe Biden’s $1.1 trillion infrastructure bill as the House pushed off the vote before Biden left for his trip to the G20 summit in Italy.

In her dear colleague letter that she sent out Thursday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reiterated members’ support for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, even though the vote has been postponed.

“The good news is that most members who were not prepared for a yes vote today have expressed their commitment to support the BIF.”

Even though there seems to be consensus among House members that they are prepared to pass the infrastructure bill, Stephanopoulos pointed out that a new ABC News/Ipsos poll shows that 69% of the public does not know much about what is in the bill, and 32% believe the bill will hurt them.

Buttigieg responded by focusing on the family-focused aspects of the bill, such as affordable child care, universal preschool and a possible child tax credit expansion. He addressed the audience directly saying, “[if] you have kids, nine out of 10 chance that you will personally benefit to the tune of hundreds or thousands of dollars from that child tax credit expansion.”

Stephanopoulos pressed Buttigieg over paid family leave being dropped from the bill and asked if there’s any chance of bringing the provision back.

“It’s definitely something that we believe in, and so while it is not in this framework, we’re gonna keep fighting for it,” Buttigieg said.

Despite the changes to the framework, Buttigieg defended the current state of the infrastructure package and said there’s a “sense of urgency” to get the bill passed because “American people are impatient to see pro-family policies.”

“It is the most transformative legislation for families, for health care, [and] for climate that we’ve seen, certainly in my lifetime, and it’s going to be an extraordinary achievement,” he said.

The secretary also mentioned an almost $12,500 discount on electric vehicles in an effort to “benefit the climate” and create more American jobs.

“So, look, whether you’re a policy wonk or whether you’re just trying to get through life raising your family, anybody who has ever driven on a road or a bridge, anybody who drinks water … anybody concerned about internet access coming to a neighborhood near you, this bill is for you,” Buttigieg said.

Even though Buttigieg is optimistic the bill will pass, Stephanopoulos pointed out that we have yet to see support for the bill from Democratic moderates Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

“Again, we’re the closest we have ever been,” Buttigieg said. “The president put forward this framework having talked to them and others throughout the progressive and moderate wings of our party, confident that it will pass.”

“I know you’re confident, but what are the consequences of failure?” Stephanopoulos pressed.

“Look, we just have to get this done. And I’m not just saying that politically. … We need bold action to set us up for success, not just getting through the winter but getting through the next decade and beyond,” Buttigieg said.

ABC News’ Quinn Scanlan contributed to this report.

Cokie Roberts’ husband: Part of her legacy was telling women ‘you can do this’

October 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Legendary ABC News journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts has “two legacies,” said her husband of more than 50 years.

“The public Cokie and the private Cokie,” fellow journalist Steven Roberts said in an interview with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz. “The public Cokie was someone who was such a role model for women … but that was only half of her legacy.”

“The other half … [was her belief that] everybody can be a good person. Everybody can learn something about those private acts of generosity and charity and friendship,” he continued. “She lived the gospel every day, and some might say that’s the most important legacy she leaves.”

Cokie Roberts was a fixture on national television and radio for more than 40 years. She won countless awards, including three Emmys, throughout her decades-long career. She was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and was cited by the American Women in Radio and Television as one of the 50 greatest women in the history of broadcasting. She also wrote five best-selling books focusing on the role of women in American history.

“I had so many people say to me, ‘I went to journalism because of Cokie,'” Steven Roberts said. “Countless young women saw her on TV, heard her on radio, and said, ‘I can be her, I could be that strong. I could be that smart. I don’t want have to hide who I am. I can be myself. I could be a strong independent woman.'”

His book, “Cokie: A Life Well Lived,” available Tuesday, is a tribute to his beloved wife after losing her to breast cancer in 2019. It documents their 53-year marriage, her public achievements as well as private life, which he feels was even more inspirational.

Cokie and Steven Roberts met very young while in college. He was 19 and at Harvard. She was 18 and attending Wellesley.

“We were at a student political meeting. I had known her sister. She had known my twin brother,” he recalled. “Our dorms back in Boston are only 12 and a half miles apart.”

Cokie was the daughter of political scions. Her parents, Hale and Lindy Boggs, both served in Congress, representing the city of New Orleans for a total of almost 50 years.

“The speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn, was a frequent dinner guest during her childhood in the 1950s (in the home I still live in), and President and Mrs. Johnson came to our wedding in 1966 (in the garden of that home),” writes Steven Roberts.

He joked that he fell in love with his future mother-in-law first and “eventually got to Cokie.”

She was a staunch Catholic, and he was Jewish. Roberts said it took him three years to propose. He was 23 and she was 22 at the time.

“My mother often said that the first Passover Seder she ever attended was at her Catholic daughter-in-law’s … and there was a joke in the family. She was the best Jew in the family,” he said.

After they got married, Steven Roberts said the couple moved four times over the next 11 years for his job as a New York Times correspondent, and yet, “everywhere we went, [Cokie] worked somehow.” She started her career as a radio foreign correspondent for CBS in the 1970s.

“When we lived in Greece … there was a coup in Cyprus. I flew off to Cyprus, but then … the Greek government fell and after seven years of military rule, it was the biggest story in the world that week,” he said. “[Cokie] started covering it for CBS… I come back to find I’m married to a veteran foreign correspondent.”

Cokie Robert then joined NPR as a full-time staff journalist, covering Capitol Hill and reporting on the Panama Canal Treaty. She was only 34 years old. In 1987, she was brought in for a onetime trial for ABC News’ “This Week’s” roundtable. It was the number one Sunday morning show, but it featured three white men — Sam Donaldson, George Will and David Brinkley — and there was pressure on ABC to make the cast more diverse.

Her one-time trial became a weekly appearance and she ultimately earned her chair at the table. Roberts co-anchored ABC’s “This Week” with Donaldson from 1996 to 2002. She also served as polictical commentator, chief congressional analyst and a commentator for “This Week” during her three decades at ABC.

Her husband believes that the real core of her appeal was to other women, who thought, “wait, somebody who thinks like me, somebody talks like me, somebody who sees the world the way I did.”

“And that was really the base of her success of ABC,” Roberts said.

He explains that in those days women thought they had to choose between a professional career and having a personal life. Cokie Roberts, with two children, six grandchildren and a long marriage, still managed to have the career she did.

Steven Roberts said she would tell women all the time as she helped them in their navigate the pitfalls and obstacles.

“She said, ‘you can do this. It is not possible to have everything all the time, but you can have it most of the time,’” he said.

Cokie Roberts was also, according to her husband, “very tough on men who she felt were dissembling or mistreating women.”

When President George W. Bush nominated former Sen. John Tower, R-Texas, for Secretary of Defense, Sam Donaldson brought up rumors of “womanizing” on the show. Tower turned to Roberts and demanded a definition of the term “womanizing.” She quickly retorted in one of the most memorable moments on television, “I think most women know it when they see it Senator.”

Steven Roberts noted that the reaction was “phenomenal,” particularly among women.

Cokie Roberts was also open about her long battle with breast cancer. She was first diagnosed in 2002, but long before then, she had become an advocate for breast cancer research when two of her friends, in their 50s, died of breast cancer in the same week.

“When she was diagnosed herself she knew all about it, and it was a devastating blow,” Steven Roberts said. “But she got a lot of good treatment and she lived for 14 years within remission.”

In “Cokie,” Steven Roberts wrote of his simple goal in honoring his wife.

“To tell stories, some will make you cheer or laugh or cry,” he wrote. “And some, I hope, will inspire you to be more like Cokie, to be a good person, to lead a good life.”

Kinzinger speaks out on leaving Congress, ‘cancer’ in the Republican Party

October 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said Sunday he, Rep. Liz Cheney and “a few others” are the only House Republicans “telling the truth.”

“You can fight to try to tell the truth, you can fight against the cancer in the Republican Party of lies of conspiracy of dishonesty,” Kinzinger told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview. “There are about 190 people in the Republican Party that aren’t going to say a word, and there’s a leader of the Republican caucus that is embracing Donald Trump with all he can.”

Kinzinger announced Friday he will not seek reelection to Congress next term. Among House Republicans, the Illinois congressman is one of the most prominent critics of former President Donald Trump and was one of 10 Republicans in the House to vote to impeach Trump following the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Kinzinger, who serves on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, said in a video posted to Twitter the “time is now” to move on from serving in Congress.

“In order to break the narrative, I cannot focus on both a real election to Congress and a broader fight nationwide,” he said in the five-minute video. “I want to make it clear, this isn’t the end of my political future, but the beginning.”

Stephanopoulos pressed Kinzinger on what led him to make the decision.

“Just a month ago, you were confident you were going to run again, what changed? Was it the redistricting plan that was put forward by Democrats in Illinois that basically squeezed you out of your district?” Stephanopoulos asked.

“It’s a couple of things — it’s sitting back and saying, ‘OK, what happens if I win again?’ I go back, and Republicans will probably be in the majority,” Kinzinger responded. “I’m going to be fighting even harder on some of these things, and it’s been obvious over the last 10 months that nobody … I haven’t seen any momentum in the party move away from lies and toward truth.”

“Ten years ago, the Democrats in Illinois came after me, and threw me with an incumbent Republican, and they did it again — I’m not complaining, it’s redistricting,” he added. “But when Democrats do say they want Republican partners to tell the truth, and then they specifically target me, it makes you wonder.”

Responding to the news, Trump wrote “2 down, 8 to go!” in a statement referencing the 10 GOP representatives who voted to impeach him. Kinzinger became the second of the group to announce they would not run for reelection after Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, did so in September.

Stephanopoulos pressed Kinzinger on whether his announcement hands Trump “another win.”

“Potentially, but I don’t think it was my decision that would hand Donald Trump a win,” Kinzinger responded. “I think it is — it’s the situation we find ourselves in.”

Kinzinger said if Trump runs for president again in 2024, “he’ll be the front-runner no doubt.”

“The Republican establishment now — whether it’s the [National Republican Congressional Committee], whether it’s Kevin McCarthy — have held onto Donald Trump,” he said. “They have continued to breathe life into him, and so actually, it’s not handing a win as much to Donald Trump as it is to the cancerous kind of lies and conspiracy” that are now the “mainstream argument of the Republican Party.”

“It’s not on Liz Cheney and I to save the Republican Party,” Kinzinger added. “It’s on the 190 Republicans who haven’t said a dang word about it, and they put their head in the sand and hope somebody else comes along and does something.”

Kinzinger and Cheney are the sole Republicans on the Jan. 6 committee. A new court filing released early Saturday morning revealed some of the records Trump is attempting to block the National Archives from turning over to the committee.

“I think if you look at that archive request and what the former president is trying to block, it is very telling,” Kinzinger said. “We are going to fight as hard as we can to get that, and the president has no grounds to claim executive privilege as he is today.”

Pressed by Stephanopoulos on whether the committee will have enough evidence to prosecute the former president, Kinzinger said he’s not comfortable making that statement yet but said the committee is continuing to learn new information every day.

“If the president was aware of what was going to happen, didn’t do anything — didn’t lift a finger to do anything about it, that’s up to the DOJ to make that decision,” he said.

What you need to know about the COP26 climate summit

October 31, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — For the next two weeks, governments around the world will convene for a highly anticipated summit on climate change that has been billed as the “last best chance” to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and prevent the worsening effects of climate change.

Here’s how to make sense of all the news around the COP26 summit.

What is the climate summit?

The climate summit in Glasgow is called COP26, which stands for the 26th “Conference of the Parties” and represents a gathering of all the countries signed on to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Agreement.

The group meets every year to discuss progress on the fight against climate change and negotiate how to fulfill the terms of climate agreements.

Last year’s in-person meeting was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic so COP26 will be the first time countries have met since the U.N.’s latest climate science report issued a dire warning that the impacts of climate change are getting more severe and that time is running out to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

COP26 President Alok Sharma said the pressure is on world leaders to ramp up their ambition to tackle the climate crisis at the summit.

“We still have some of the most difficult questions to answer. And we’re effectively in the last half hour of the exam,” he told reporters at a press conference organized by Covering Climate Now, an organization that collaborates with journalists and newsrooms on climate coverage.

Who will be there?

President Joe Biden and more than 100 world leaders will speak in the first two days of the summit to lay out their countries’ plans to reduce emissions and possibly announce new goals or commitments on climate issues.

But some important leaders from countries that contribute the most global greenhouse gas emissions like President Xi Jinping of China and Russian President Vladimir Putin are not expected to attend, citing concerns about COVID-19.

Influential figures like former President Barack Obama and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are also expected to attend to discuss the importance of taking action to limit the impacts of climate change. Climate activists like Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg are expected to lead large protests outside the official venue, pressuring world leaders to do more.

After the high-profile remarks to start the summit, other officials and negotiators from each country will hammer out technical documents detailing their agreements on climate policy and higher-ranking officials like Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will meet with their counterparts to try to negotiate any sticking points.

What’s on the agenda?

Negotiators for this year’s climate summit will face questions about how to limit the impact of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as how to help countries adapt to climate change in parts of the world where the effects are getting more severe.

The most critical item on the agenda for the climate summit is increasing nearly every country’s commitments to decreasing climate-warming emissions as quickly as possible. Even with current promises to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, the U.N. says the world is set to miss that goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The latest U.N. analysis says current commitments put the world on track for 2.1 to 2.7 degrees Celsius of warming, which would trigger more dangerous impacts of climate change like worsening severe weather and drought conditions that could start to hamper food production in parts of the world or make it more difficult for communities to survive.

“The time has passed for diplomatic niceties,” U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at a U.N. meeting on climate action this week.

“If governments — especially G-20 governments — do not stand up and lead this effort, we are headed for terrible human suffering,” he added.

In addition to ramping up efforts to prevent climate change from getting worse, negotiators will also confront questions about how to deal with impacts of climate change that are already being felt and how to support vulnerable countries struggling with changes like worsening storms and sea-level rise.

The Paris Agreement promised $100 billion a year in financial support for developing countries to combat climate change, but wealthier countries expected to contribute the most to that goal have not followed through, so negotiators will need to come up with a plan to meet that goal as well as discuss how much to increase it going forward as the impacts of climate change continue to worsen. That funding is meant to both help poorer countries build renewable energy infrastructure to avoid expanding fossil fuel use and make changes to adapt.

But representatives of those countries say even that isn’t enough.

Pelenise Alofa, national coordinator for the Climate Action Network in Kiribati, said COP26 will be important for the future of her island nation and the conversation about climate finance should include compensating countries experiencing effects of climate change for helping residents relocate or recover from worsening or more frequent severe storms.

Alofa said Kiribati and other island nations face an existential threat from climate change as sea-level rise and worsening tropical storms threaten their ability to live and produce food.

“As someone living in the islands in Kiribati, loss and damage from climate change is now a permanent feature of our lives. It is not about a one-time event or disaster. It is about rising sea levels that threaten to totally swallow our homes,” she told reporters in a briefing.

What does success look like?

The U.N. secretary general has said there is a “high risk of failure” from COP26, but there is not a single outcome that will solve all the challenges that come with the global climate crisis.

Experts say they’ll be watching to see if the Glasgow negotiations make tangible progress toward the goals of the Paris Agreement, including watching whether countries like China increase their commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and burning fossil fuels, and if parties are able to agree on steps that can lead to real, measurable results.

But ultimately, even a successful COP26 will still be more of a step in the right direction than a final solution to the climate crisis.

“We have to have significantly turned the corner by next year or the year after or else we have no shot of keeping 1.5 [degrees Celsius] alive,” Jake Schmidt, senior director of the international climate program from the Natural Resources Defense Council, told ABC News.

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