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Key takeaways from US military leaders on Afghanistan withdrawal

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — In their first appearance before Congress since the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan, the nation’s top military leaders candidly admitted to lawmakers that they had recommended to President Joe Biden that the U.S. should keep a troop presence there, appearing to contradict his assertions.

The testimony by Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, was at odds with Biden’s comments earlier this year to ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that his military commanders did not recommend keeping a residual force.

The revelations came during at a six-hour hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee where Milley also characterized that the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan had been “a strategic failure” and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acknowledged that it was time to acknowledged some “uncomfortable truths” about the two decade U.S. military mission in Afghanistan.

Here are some key takeaways:

Military commanders wanted to keep at least 2,500 troops in Afghanistan

While Milley and McKenzie said they would not disclose the content of private conversations with Biden, both generals offered their personal opinions that they said matched their recommendations.

“My assessment was back in the fall of ’20 and remained consistent throughout that we should keep a steady state of 2,500, could bounce up to 3,500,” Milley told Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

“I recommended that we maintain 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, and I also recommended early in the fall of 2020 that we maintain 4,500 at that time, those were my personal views,” McKenzie said.

The generals’ statements were at odds with what Biden had told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an interview on Aug. 18.

“No one told — your military advisers did not tell you, “No, we should just keep 2,500 troops. It’s been a stable situation for the last several years. We can do that. We can continue to do that?,” Stephanopoulos asked Biden.

“No,” said Biden. “No one said that to me, that I can recall.”

Biden also said his military advisers were “split” on the matter.

McKenzie said he had also warned that the withdrawal of U.S. troops “would lead inevitably to the collapse of the Afghan government and the Afghan military.”

“I also had a view that the withdrawal of those forces would lead inevitably to the collapse of the Afghan military forces and eventually the Afghan government,” he said.

‘A strategic failure’

Austin and Milley told senators that the sudden collapse of the Afghan government, as well as the U.S. military’s mission in Afghanistan over the past two decades, should be examined to learn what may have gone wrong.

Milley became the first U.S. military leader to describe the American military mission in Afghanistan as “a strategic failure” that had developed over time.

“Outcomes in a war like this, an outcome that is a strategic failure — the enemy is in charge in Kabul, there’s no way else to describe that — that is a cumulative effect of 20 years,” Milley said.

The general speculated that the U.S. had trained an Afghan Army that “mirrored” the American military without taking into account local and cultural traditions and allowed it to becoe too dependent on American technology.

“We helped build a state, but we could not forge a nation,” said Austin. “The fact that the Afghan army, we and our partners trained, simply melted away – in many cases without firing a shot – took us all by surprise. It would be dishonest to claim otherwise.”

“We need to consider some uncomfortable truths,” he added. “That we did not fully comprehend the depth of corruption and poor leadership in their senior ranks, that we did not grasp the damaging effect of frequent and unexplained rotations by President Ghani of his commanders, that we did not anticipate the snowball effect caused by the deals that Taliban commanders struck with local leaders in the wake of the Doha agreement, that the Doha agreement itself had a demoralizing effect on Afghan soldiers, and that we failed to fully grasp that there was only so much for which – and for whom – many of the Afghan forces would fight. We provided the Afghan military with equipment and aircraft and the skills to use them.”

“Over the years, they often fought bravely,” said Austin. “Tens of thousands of Afghan soldiers and police officers died. But in the end, we couldn’t provide them with the will to win. At least not all of them.”

US intelligence did not predict the Taliban’s swift takeover, the generals said

The three leaders expressed surprise at how Afghan forces had quickly fallen apart leading to a Taliban takeover of the country in 11 days.

“I did not foresee it to be days. I thought it could take months,” said McKenzie, who added that he had anticipated that the Afghan military would be able to hold out against the Taliban until later this year and possibly into early next year.

“We certainly did not plan against a collapse of the government in 11 days,” Austin said.

“There’s no intel assessment that says the government is going to collapse and the military is going to collapse in 11 days that I’m aware of. And I’ve read I think all of them,” said Milley, who later described the failure to predict the scope and scale of the Taliban takeover as “a swing and a miss.”

Revelations in ‘the book’

In his opening statement, Milley explained how his two phone calls to his counterpart in China, first described in the book “Peril” by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, were authorized by then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Milley also said that the Trump national security team was fully briefed on the calls that were intended to reassure China that then-President Donald Trump was not planning a military attack.

“I know, I am certain, that President Trump did not intend to attack the Chinese, and it is my directed responsibility and it was my directed responsibility by the secretary, to convey that intent to the Chinese,” Milley said. “My task at that time was to de-escalate my message again was consistent, stay calm, steady and de-escalate. We are not going to attack you.”

He pushed back on another story in the book that, in a phone call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, he agreed with her assessment that Trump was “crazy.”

“I’m not qualified to evaluate the mental fitness or the health of a former president, present president or anybody else or anybody in this room,” Milley said. “That’s not my job. That’s not what I do. And that’s not what I did.”

Several Republican senators took Milley to task for giving access to reporters and authors.

“I think what you did with making time to talk to these authors, burnishing your image, kind of building that bluster, but then not putting the focus on Afghanistan and what was happening there,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. “General Milley, this is disappointing to me. I know it’s disappointing to people that have served with you or under you, under your command. It does not serve our nation.”

“You’re doing these interviews and doing them in 2021. Makes me wonder the books, were you a little distracted about what was going on in Afghanistan?” said GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri who then demanded that Austin and Milley should resign.

Gabby Petito’s parents ask public to help authorities find Laundrie, aid in helping other missing people

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The parents and stepparents of slain travel blogger Gabby Petito not only asked on Tuesday for the public to help authorities locate Brian Laundrie, who has been named a person of interest in their daughter’s homicide, but also assist in helping other families find their missing loved ones.

“I want to ask people to help all of the people that are missing and need help,” Petito’s father, Joe Petito, said during a news conference at the office of the family’s lawyer in Long Island, New York. “It’s on all of you, everyone in this room, to do that and if you don’t do that for other people who are missing, that’s a shame because it’s not just Gabby that deserves that.”

Joe Petito joined his wife, Tara Petito, Gabby’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, her husband, Jim Schmidt, at the news conference in showing tattoos they each got Monday night to honor their daughter.

The parents each had the words “Let it Be” tattooed on their right forearms like one their daughter had. They also had tattoos on their left arms of flowers and the word “Believe” they said their daughter designed.

“I wanted to have her with me all the time,” Nicole Schmidt said of why she got the tattoos. “I feel that this helps that.”

Nicole Schmidt said she has been deeply moved by letters and messages her family received from people worldwide, touched by her daughter’s zeal for life and travel, and heartbroken by her death.

“I just hope that people are inspired by her,” the mother said. “It’s hard to put into words, but it means a lot to me that she’s touched so many. I’m so proud for her and we’re going to keep that light going and help a lot of people if we can.”

Rich Stafford, a lawyer for the family, said the parents have complete faith in the FBI to achieve justice for their daughter. However, he said the FBI has asked the family to refrain from speaking publicly about Laundrie and their relationship with his family.

“Justice for Gabby is that we see justice for her homicide,” Stafford said.

He also had a message for Laundrie if he was listening.

“Brian, we’re asking you to turn yourself into the FBI or the nearest law enforcement agency,” Stafford said.

Stafford declined to answer questions concerning Laundrie’s parents. Law enforcement officials have said they were uncooperative in their search for Petito after her family reported her missing on Sept. 11.

“The Laundries did not help us find Gabby. They are sure not going to help us find Brian,” Stafford said.

The Laundrie family issued a statement Monday evening through their attorney reiterating they do not know of their son’s whereabouts.

“They are concerned about Brian and hope the FBI can locate him,” the statement reads.

In response to a question from ABC News on whether the parents are bothered that the FBI has yet to name Laundrie as a suspect in their daughter’s death, Stafford would only say, “The parents are 100% happy with the FBI. They’ve been with us at every single step of the way.”

Jim Schmidt said the family has yet to bring their daughter’s remains back to New York from Wyoming, where they were recovered on Sept. 19 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. He said the FBI and law enforcement agencies working on the homicide investigation in Wyoming asked the family if they could hold on to their daughter’s remains.

“We want to make sure that no matter what, we do not impede their investigation in any way,” Schmidt said. “We wanted her home immediately but we understand their position and we know that she’s safe with them.”

On Sunday, hundreds of friends, family, and strangers, some from as far away as California and Florida, attended a funeral for the 22-year-old woman near the Long Island town where she was raised.

The parents also spoke of the Gabby Petito Foundation they have established to assist other families going through the turmoil of having a loved one missing.

“We can’t let her name be taken in vain. We need positive stuff,” said Joe Petito. “Anything we can do to bring that up and help people, that’s what we want.”

Treasury secretary warns of ‘calamity’ if Congress doesn’t raise debt limit

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling by the deadline it would be a ‘calamity.’

Testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs alongside Federal Reserve System Chairman Jerome Powell, Yellen said the U.S. would hit its debt limit in less than three weeks, on Oct. 18.

“This would be a manufactured crisis we had imposed on this country, which has been going through a very difficult period and is on the road to recovery,” she said. “This would be a self-inflicted wound of enormous proportions.”

The United States has never defaulted on its debt. Congress has voted 80 times to raise or suspend the debt limit since 1960.

Yellen has previously laid out the consequences to lawmakers of missing the deadline. She has said nearly 50 million seniors could temporarily stop receiving Social Security checks, troops could go unpaid and millions of families who receive the monthly child tax credit could experience delays. A default could also trigger a spike in interest rates and result in a steep drop in stock prices and other financial turmoil, reversing the current economic recovery into a recession, with billions of dollars of growth and millions of jobs lost.

Yellen painted a grim picture again Tuesday.

Even if Congress increases the debt limit but does so too close to the deadline, it could cause economic fallout, Yellen said.

“Furthermore, we know from previous debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise borrowing costs for taxpayers and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States for years to come. Failure to act promptly could also result in substantial disruptions to financial markets, as heightened uncertainty can exacerbate volatility and erode investor confidence,” Yellen outlined in a letter to congressional leadership.

Yellen also reiterated that raising the debt limit has nothing to do with future government spending — a point some Republicans have tried to push as reason for not supporting a debt-limit hike as Democrats on the Hill scramble to try to pass both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a larger social spending package.

“I want to see that the debt ceiling is raised. I believe that it would be catastrophic not to do so. But I equally believe that deficits have been under both Democratic and Republican administrations, it’s important to recognize that, and that means paying the bills for those deficits is a shared responsibility,” Yellen testified.

ABC News’ Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott contributed to this report.

Family of missing 19-year-old Miya Marcano hoping for safe return

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ORLANDO, Fla.) — Family members of Miya Marcano said they’re holding out hope the 19-year-old woman missing since Friday will be found safe.

Caili Sue, a cousin of Marcano, spoke to reporters in Orlando on Tuesday as she and other relatives put up posters with Marcano’s photo and searched the woods near her apartment.

“I’m determined, and I’m still very hopeful we’re going find her,” Sue said.

Marcano, a Valencia College student, was last seen at approximately 5 p.m. on Friday at the Arden Villas apartments in Orlando, where she lived and worked, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Armando Manuel Caballero also worked in the building as a maintenance employee and had expressed interest in Marcano, but she rebuffed his advances, police said.

Sue told reporters that Caballero, 27, was constantly texting Marcano, and that he “made her uncomfortable.”

Investigators said Caballero’s job included use of a key fob to access apartments, and his was used at Marcano’s unit just before her disappearance. Family who entered Marcano’s apartment after she went missing discovered broken jewelry on dirty floors and a messy bed, Sue said.

“It looked like there was a struggle because of the dirt and jewelry on the ground,” she continued. “The family is very meticulous with cleaning and keeping their place clean, so bed unmade and things scattered was odd.”

Caballero, identified as a person of interest in the case, was found dead on Monday from an apparent suicide, authorities said.

“I was really angry,” Sue said, “because if he knew anything, he took that information with him and could have given us a lead.”

Sue and other relatives said they urging anyone who may have any information to call the police. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said anyone with details can call them at 407-836-4357.

Pilots warn vaccine mandate could cause holiday travel chaos

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The unions representing American and Southwest airlines pilots are asking lawmakers and the White House for an exemption or an alternative to the federal mandate requiring companies with more than 100 people to get vaccinated.

Roughly 30% of American Airlines pilots are not vaccinated, according to the Allied Pilots Association, the union representing American’s 14,000 pilots. Southwest’s pilot union could not say how many of its members were unvaccinated.

“Some of APA’s members are unable to undergo vaccination for documented medical reasons, while others are reluctant to get vaccinated based upon concerns about the potential for career-ending side effects,” union president, Captain Eric Ferguson wrote in a letter to more than 15 people at the DOT, White House, and Congress.

Commercial airline pilots adhere to strict medical requirements and some pilots fear vaccine side effects like blood clots or heart problems could prevent them from maintaining a medical clearance, thus ending their careers as pilots.

The CDC reports there have been more than 200 million doses of vaccine administered already in the U.S. and serious safety problems are very uncommon.

Most side effects from COVID vaccines are mild and temporary and include things like soreness at the injection site or fatigue, headaches, chills and nausea. These side effects usually go away within a day or two.

There have been rare adverse events of blood clots — about 7 per million vaccinated women between 18 and 49 — with the J&J vaccine. Women in that age range may want to select a different vaccine.

There have been a small number of temporary heart problems associated with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for young men. These reports are rare and the known and potential benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks of getting COVID — which include myocarditis or pericarditis.

The union representing Southwest’s pilot’s echoed American’s request to the federal government, saying in a statement: “Our pilots have shouldered an elevated risk of illness from the start of the pandemic, including well before the vaccines became available. And we are hopeful that our contributions are recognized and accounted for as we seek approval of an alternate means of compliance and an operationally feasible implementation period.”

Both unions say the 60-day-timeline for the requirement to get vaccinated could have a significant impact on holiday travel if pilots who choose not to get vaccinated are forced off the job.

“We are also concerned that the Executive Order’s anticipated 60-day implementation period for mandatory vaccinations could result in labor shortages and create serious operational problems for American Airlines and its peers. Airlines generate a substantial portion of their annual revenue during the holiday period, with a great many travelers depending on us to get them to their destinations. Our nation’s airlines, and the traveling public, cannot afford significant service disruptions due to labor shortages,” Ferguson wrote in the letter.

Meanwhile, United Airlines says 98.5% of its employees are now vaccinated after the company mandated the shot. At least seven United employees are suing the company to avoid getting the vaccine.

Delta Air Lines will soon charge unvaccinated employees $200 more per month for health insurance. The company says at least 82% of its employees are vaccinated.

How New York is avoiding potential health care worker shortages as vaccine mandate takes effect

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — All eyes are on New York as its vaccination mandate for health care workers — among the first in the nation — takes effect on Tuesday.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order just before midnight on Monday that aims to alleviate potential health care staffing shortages as the mandate takes effect. The order removes barriers and expands eligibility to allow additional health care workers to provide care.

The executive order, which also allows many out-of-state and out-of-country health care workers to practice in New York, waives re-registration fees and expedites the re-registration process for retirees looking to re-enter the workforce, and it allows practitioners to work or volunteer in certain facilities.

Moreover, it allows physician visits in nursing homes to be done using telemedicine and allows New York State-licensed providers without current registration to practice without potential penalties. It also lets recent grads in a variety of health care programs to get straight to work.

Finally, it removes barriers for EMTs to practice and assist in additional settings and allows basic EMTs to vaccinate and test for COVID-19. It also expands the scope of practice to let midwives, registered nurses, physicians and nurse practitioners to more easily administer and order COVID-19 vaccinations and tests, as well as flu vaccinations.

Hochul also said she plans to work with the federal government to look at ways to expedite visa requests for medical professionals from other countries.

Northwell Health, New York’s largest employer of health care workers with more than 74,000 staffers, said in a statement on Monday that almost 91% of its workforce had been vaccinated.

“Northwell wants to reassure the public that patient care will not be affected by the New York State’s 9/27 vaccine mandate,” the statement said. “A system-wide workforce planning taskforce is working on contingency plans to ensure that we can meet staffing needs.”

Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, similarly downplayed any risk of a health care worker shortage, saying at a conference Monday, “I do believe that that hospitals will be prepared to get through this, again without a major impact to patient care.”

On Tuesday, all city-run and private hospitals appeared to be operating normally. About 500 nurses for New York City Health and Hospitals were not at work, but they had been preemptively replaced.

“We anticipated there would be some losses of staff. We knew that no matter what our efforts, some people would not get vaccinated, we planned appropriately,” Health and Hospitals President Dr. Mitch Katz said at a Tuesday news conference.

The sweeping action from Hochul’s office comes as small factions of health care workers in New York are still resisting the vaccine, despite a resurgence of virus cases linked to the highly contagious delta variant.

Despite some pushback, preliminary data from Hochul’s office indicates the mandate has been effective in boosting vaccination rates. The percentage of nursing home staff who had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose was at 92% as of Monday evening, up from 70% on Aug. 15, before to the mandate was announced. Moreover, 89% of adult care facility staff members have received at least one dose of the vaccine, up from 76% on Aug. 15.

Some 92% of hospital staff in the state had received at least one dose as of Monday evening, and 84% had been fully vaccinated as of Sept. 22 — up from 77% on Aug. 10.

“The only way we can move past this pandemic is to ensure that everyone eligible is vaccinated, and that includes those who are taking care of our vulnerable family members and loved ones,” Hochul said in a statement accompanying the executive order.

Hochul said she’s also directed an “around-the-clock operations center to assist local partners and troubleshoot staffing issues in real time.”

Workplace vaccine mandates have courted controversy for months despite assurances from public health officials that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.

The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission said employers legally can require COVID-19 vaccines to re-enter a physical workplace as long as they follow requirements to find alternative arrangements for employees unable to get vaccinated for medical reasons or because they have religious objections. Still, the mandates have spurred a handful of lawsuits across the U.S.

As of Monday, 83.7% of New Yorkers 18 or older had received at least one dose, and 75.1% were fully vaccinated. Nationally, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data indicated that 77.1% of the population ages 18 and up had received at least one dose, and 66.6% were fully vaccinated.

-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Matt Foster contributed to this report.

Dad builds space for immunocompromised kids to safely play

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(Az.) — One Arizona dad wants to give immunocompromised kids some of their childhood back by creating a hyper-clean space where they can safely play.

Brad Taylor’s daughter, Lily, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was 3 years old in December 2017. The diagnosis came after the family took Lily to the hospital for what they thought was an ear infection.

“We went into the hospital with an ear infection expecting to get some antibiotics and go home,” Taylor, 41, told “Good Morning America.” “We were told our daughter has cancer at 10 o’clock at night and by the following morning, she was in surgery. That’s how fast it changed my life.”

For the next two and a half years, Taylor said Lily underwent a treatment program that included chemotherapy and she became immunocompromised as a result.

“When Lily would go through chemotherapy, her body would go in and out of a place called neutropenia, which means you have no immune system,” he said.

According to the National Cancer Institute, leukemia is the most common cancer found in children ages 0-19. The main treatment for the disease is chemotherapy, though depending on the case, treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy, targeted therapy drugs, immunotherapy, and stem cell transplants.

“Chemotherapy is going to kill the cancer cells, but it’s also going to kill some good cells along the way,” Dr. Bijal Shah, of the Moffitt Cancer Center, told “GMA.” “For folks who are neutropenic, when those neutrophil cells are low, it sort of unlocks the barriers, so when you’re exposed to infection, it’s much more easy to succumb to that infection.”

Being immunocompromised meant the things Lily could do were heavily impacted, from playing in public spaces to interacting with people outside her home and the hospital to the food she could eat.

“We try to do a lot of things to protect our patients,” Shah said. “Normally, we tell them to avoid fruits and vegetables unless their parents can wash them at home. With meats, it has to be well done — no medium, no rares, nothing. We have to be very careful, even on a fundamental dietary level. And if anyone’s sick, you can’t be around them.”

How Lily’s Pad came to be
The idea for Lily’s Pad came after one particular day in Lily’s cancer journey.

“Lily had no life, so I asked the doctors, ‘We’ve watched all the YouTube videos, we’ve watched all the shows, we’ve played all the games. There’s got to be somewhere I can take her,'” Taylor recalled. “They said, ‘Why don’t you take her on a drive? That way you can at least have her in a confined area.'”

While on a drive through a quiet residential area full of nature, Taylor said they passed by what looked like a brand-new park and Lily was “begging to get out of the car” to go play in it.

“By that time, she had kind of learned the rules like we couldn’t go to public places,” he said. “She finally was at her breaking point and lost it. She was throwing shoes at me from the back, just furious that I wouldn’t stop the car. She cried herself to sleep, she was so worked up.”

The next day, Taylor began researching to see if there was a space specifically for immunocompromised kids to play in so that he could take Lily to it. When he saw that there really wasn’t anything available, he decided to make it happen himself.

“I had checked with social workers and they had never heard of anything like it,” he said. “So that’s where the concept of Lily’s Pad was born. I just wanted to give her back a piece of her childhood.”

A healing space for kids to just be kids and a resource for caregivers
One of the hardest things for Taylor, he said, was seeing Lily go to chemotherapy and then have nothing afterward for her to look forward to.

“After the hospital, what do you do?” Taylor said. “So kids have to suit up every single day to go through painful procedures and then to look forward to what? To go home? So we’re trying to give them an opportunity to mentally heal along with physically.”

In addition to the physical changes brought on by chemotherapy, Taylor noted that Lily was affected mentally and emotionally as well.

“My child went from the leader of the pack to a very shy child,” he said. “She never spoke like a child anymore. Her friends and playmates were nurses and doctors.”

On a psychosocial level, the idea of Lily’s Pad is hugely profound, according to Shah.

“When you’re getting this kind of therapy, there’s lots of changes that occur — like losing hair — and you become very conscious of it,” Shah said. “Being able to be in a particularly fun space outside of the hospital where you can interact with others who may be going through similar issues without having to think twice is amazing.”

“My daughter was the only bald one in her school, and that was devastating for her,” Taylor said. “It became a fight every day to get her to school.”

Another of Taylor’s goals for Lily’s Pad is to give caregivers a place to rest and regroup. There will be a parent lounge, marriage and grievance counseling, and information on financial resources available.

“One of the hardest things my wife and I dealt with was there’s no time when the child is not begging for your attention or comfort because they don’t feel good and they’re going through really tough times,” he said. “So this would give parents time to step away from the battle for a minute.”

To protect the immunocompromised kids that will be visiting Lily’s Pad, Taylor said he consulted the medical community on the feasibility of the space as well as safety measures needed to operate.

“We’re having an HVAC system designed right now that’s similar to a hospital so it’s got HEPA filters in it and it’s got UV cleaning in it as well,” he said.

When completed, Lily’s Pad will offer three 90-minute play sessions daily, which parents have to reserve online in advance, with a maximum of 15 kids allowed per session. Kids will be looked after by the qualified nursing students on staff. The facility will be cleaned with Decon7 in between each session, with a deep cleaning in the evening. Masks will also be required.

“We wanted to give kids back a chance to go to the park — a chance to go to a playground,” Taylor said. “My daughter is so excited to be able to open this place and point to the name on the wall and say ‘I’m Lily, and you can beat this.'”

Construction on the 5,800-square-foot space was scheduled to begin in April 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor now hopes to finish everything by April 2022, for the two-year anniversary of Lily’s last chemotherapy treatment.

MAC Cosmetics announces upcoming Whitney Houston makeup collection

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Whitney Houston will always be remembered as an extraordinary musician, actress and beauty icon.

MAC Cosmetics is honoring her life and legacy by launching a makeup collection that’s being created through a long-term collaboration with the Whitney Houston Estate.

The collection is slated to launch in 2022 and will support Houston’s upcoming biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” through makeup support, and recreating some of Whitney’s most iconic looks of all time.

“Whitney Houston is a true legend whose talent has and will continue to transcend decades,” said Aïda Moudachirou-Rebois, chief marketing officer, MAC Cosmetics, in a statement.

She continued, “Just like the depths of her vocal range, she was a true beauty and MAC lover who could seamlessly go from a natural ‘no makeup-makeup look’ to full glam and bold colors without missing a beat. We are honored to support Whitney’s upcoming biopic and to continue to help tell her beauty story in many moments to come.”

While this is the first time MAC Cosmetics is creating a makeup line inspired by Houston, the brand has launched other collections inspired by musical greats such as the late Mexican-American singer Selena as well as singer and actress Aaliyah who died in 2001.

Now, Houston will join the brand’s lineup of dedicated makeup collections honoring some of the most beloved beauty chameleons.

On behalf of The Whitney Houston Estate, her sister, Pat Houston, shared in a statement, “Whitney possessed once-in-a-lifetime inner and outer beauty. As the film begins production, it’s so gratifying to develop a brand partnership with MAC Cosmetics. MAC was Whitney’s favorite cosmetics line and I know they will honor her legacy and her beauty.”

Caitlyn Jenner says she’d run for office again, but GOP needs to be more inclusive

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Caitlyn Jenner, a candidate in California’s recent gubernatorial recall election, said Tuesday on “The View” that she would run for office again, advocating for greater inclusivity among “old school” Republicans who are hurting the party.

This month’s attempted recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom failed by more than 24%, with some votes left to count. Jenner did not finish among the top 10 replacement candidates.

“Even though it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to in the end, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” Jenner said.

“Would I run again? Yes. I want to stay involved,” she added. “But there’s other things that I would like to do, and that is — one is — try to get the Republican Party to be more inclusive.”

Jenner, a transgender woman, had defended former President Donald Trump while he was in office, but later she said she could no longer support him after he “relentlessly attacked” the trans community. She said on Tuesday that she thinks the media doesn’t give Republicans a “fair break.”

“Trump certainly had his messaging issues,” Jenner said. “I will agree with you on that.”

“He had an insurrection issue and a couple of impeachment issues as well,” co-host Sunny Hostin added.

“We need better candidates,” Jenner responded, adding that “old school” Republicans are hurting the party.

“Honestly,” Jenner continued, “I feel like [they] are destroying the Republican Party in so many ways, they have to move on. There’s got to be a next generation to come in, and I think they’re out there. And I’m hopeful that they’re out there, but we have to change, we have to do a better job.”

Co-host Joy Behar asked Jenner her thoughts on the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection in Washington.

“Did that bother you too?” she asked Jenner.

Jenner said that Jan. 6 “obviously wasn’t right. And we can’t have that in our country.”

“We need to bring people together is what we need to do. We have a tendency in this country to put everybody in a box,” she said. “And the Republican party needs to change, and to be honest with you, I am the poster child for change.”

Milley defends calls to China amid concerns about Trump

September 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pushed back strongly Tuesday on recent characterizations of his phone calls to China’s top military official and denied that he had placed himself in the chain of command for nuclear launch protocols following a phone call from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“My loyalty to this nation, its people, and the Constitution hasn’t changed and will never change as long as I have a breath to give, My loyalty is absolute, and I will not turn my back on the fallen,” Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“The calls on 30 October and 8 January were coordinated before and after with Secretary Esper and Acting Secretary Miller’s staffs and the interagency,” he told the committee. “The specific purpose of the October and January calls was generated by concerning intelligence which caused us to believe the Chinese were worried about an attack on them by the U.S.

Milley’s phone calls were first made public in the new book “Peril” by the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

“I know, I am certain, that President Trump did not intend on attacking the Chinese and it was my directed responsibility by the secretary to convey that intent to the Chinese,” said Milley. “My task at that time was to de-escalate. My message again was consistent: calm, steady: De-escalate. We are not going to attack you.”

“At Secretary of Defense Esper’s direction, I made a call to General Li on 30 October. Eight people sat in the call with me, and I read out the call within 30 minutes of the call ending,” he said.

ABC News had previously reported that former Defense Secretary Mark Esper had directed Milley to contact his Chinese counterpart as part of a coordinated effort after the U.S. intelligence reports emerged suggesting China’s concerns about a military strike.

Milley added that the second call on January 8 was prompted by a Chinese request for him to call again that had been made on December 31, 2020

“Eleven people attended the call with me. Read-outs of this call were distributed to the interagency that same day,” he said. “Shortly after my call ended with General Li, I informed both Secretary of State Pompeo and White House chief of staff Meadows about the call among other topics. Soon after that, I attended a meeting with Acting Secretary Miller where I briefed him on the call.”

Milley also explained how later that day he received a call from Pelosi inquiring “about the president’s ability to launch nuclear weapons. I sought to assure her that nuclear launch is governed by a very specific and deliberate process.”

“She was concerned and made various personal references characterizing the president,” said Milley. “I explained that the president is the sole nuclear launch authority and he doesn’t launch them alone. And that I am not qualified to determine the mental health of the president of the United States.

“There are processes, protocols, and procedures in place and I repeatedly assured her there is no chance of an illegal, unauthorized, or accidental launch,” he told the committee.

After the phone call Milley said he met with key staffers “to refresh all of us on these procedures, which we practice daily at the action officer level. “

He rejected criticism of that meeting that he was placing himself in the chain of command for nuclear attack protocols.

“At no time was I attempting to change or influence the process, usurp authority, or insert myself into the chain of command, but I am expected to give my advice and ensure that the president is fully informed on military matters,” said Milley.

He told the committee that after his staff meeting he notified Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller about Pelosi’s calls.

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