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Mom shares warning about extreme thirst, wet diaper after son diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes

July 16, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A California mom is sharing a warning for other parents after her 16-month-old son’s wet diapers ended in a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease.

Courtney Moore, of Sacramento, said she began to notice in early July that her son, Maddox, was waking up with soaking wet diapers each morning.

She also noticed the toddler was waking up each morning extremely thirsty.

“When he woke up he would be so ferociously thirsty and reaching for my water bottle and chugging it,” Moore told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “I knew that wasn’t normal.”

Moore said she reached out to fellow moms on Facebook for ideas and searched the internet on her own, but did not believe Maddox’s symptoms were signs of Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas makes little to no insulin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“When you do a Google search, what pops up is Type 1 diabetes, but we don’t have a family history of that,” she said. “Since we had no knowledge of Type 1 diabetes, I could justify all the different signs we were seeing.”

Moore said that, for example, she and her husband, Jason, attributed Maddox’s thirst to the hot weather of summer and the slight weight loss they noticed to the fact that he was an active toddler who was now walking.

After noticing that Maddox seemed more and more “off,” according to Moore, they took him to the doctor for bloodwork.

One hour later, Moore said she received multiple calls from the doctor’s office telling her to take Maddox to the emergency room because his blood glucose, or blood sugar, level was nearly 700. A normal blood glucose reading for a toddler Maddox’s age is 100 to 180.

“They said I needed to take him to the emergency room right away and my world just stopped,” said Moore. “I can’t imagine had we waited any longer.”

Maddox was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and was immediately treated for diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes that happens when the body doesn’t have enough insulin to allow blood sugar to be used as energy, according to the CDC.

He spent two nights in the hospital and then was sent home, where Moore and her husband are now overseeing Maddox’s regimen of insulin shots and blood glucose monitoring.

“I’m very blessed that he’s as young as he is in a sense because he doesn’t understand and he’s so resilient,” said Moore. “Yes, our lives got turned upside down but he’s happy and he’s doing really well.”

Moore took to Facebook to share what happened to Maddox in hopes of warning other parents to not ignore symptoms their children may be experiencing, like thirst.

“I’m sharing this because what we could’ve written off as being due to warmer weather and being an active toddler literally could’ve killed our son,” she wrote. “Moral of the story, parents, pay attention to your kids and trust your gut. We got very lucky.”

Describing why she spoke out about her family’s experience, Moore told GMA, “My point is not to scare people but just [remind them] to be very aware and keep tracking those things.”

What parents should know

Moore’s Facebook post highlighted how symptoms of Type 1 diabetes can be mistaken for other conditions or overlooked, especially in young children.

“It’s really hard at [Maddox’s] age when he can’t talk,” said Moore. “I fear for the parents who may not be adding things up and having something detrimental happen to their child.”

In addition to excessive thirst, frequent urination and unexplained weight loss, symptoms of Type 1 diabetes can include dry mouth, fatigue and weakness, increased appetite and slow-healing cuts, according to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on research and advocacy for Type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes, previously called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes, is a chronic disease for which there is currently no cure.

It is usually diagnosed in children, teens and young adults, but can develop at any age. Approximately 1.6 million Americans are living with Type 1 diabetes, including about 200,000 people under the age of 20, according to JDRF.

The disease is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction that destroys the insulin-making cells in the pancreas, according to the CDC. As a result, people with Type 1 diabetes must remain dependent on insulin, delivered via shots or an insulin pump, to stay alive.

In addition to taking insulin, people with Type 1 diabetes, like Maddox, must measure their blood glucose levels multiple times a day, by either finger pricks or wearing a continuous glucose monitor.

Unlike Type 2 diabetes, which is brought on by lifestyle factors, there is no known way to prevent Type 1 diabetes, according to the CDC. Family history of type 1 diabetes or any other autoimmune disease is commonly seen.

Common complications of Type 1 diabetes include hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, and diabetic ketoacidosis. Long-term complications from the disease can include increased risk of nerve damage, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Gaetz campaign paying former Epstein lawyer amid sex trafficking investigation

July 16, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As Rep. Matt Gaetz faces an ongoing federal investigation into alleged sex trafficking, a new campaign finance report reveals how the Florida congressman is spending the funds that he’s raised amid the scandal.

Since news broke in late March that the Justice Department was investigating whether Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him, the congressman has launched a nationwide rally tour and has fundraised off the allegations.

From March 30 through the end of June, his campaign has brought in roughly $1.4 million, a drop from $1.8 million that the campaign took in over the first three months of this year, the filing shows. But the campaign’s spending has jumped since the probe was made public, with $1.9 million in expenditures from April through June, compared to $1.3 million in the first three months of this year, according to the filing.

As the investigation has ramped up, Gaetz has beefed up his legal spending, with his campaign paying $50,000 to law firms in June alone.

Half of that went to the law office of New York criminal defense attorney Marc Fernich, who lists on his website “notable clients” that include convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Mexican drug lord El Chapo, former mobster John A. “Junior” Gotti, and “alleged propagandist in Nazi Hungary” Ferenc Koreh.

Fernich did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

The other $25,000 went to the Baltimore office of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, according to the filing, though it doesn’t say who specifically from the firm was representing the campaign.

The latest legal expenditures bring the Gaetz campaign’s legal spending to $135,000 in just the past year. Between 2016 and 2019, the campaign had spent less than $10,000 on legal bills.

Gaetz has also continued to pay political operative Roger Stone amid the ongoing investigation. The congressman first paid Drake Ventures, an LLC connected to Stone, $5,000 on March 24 of this year for “strategic campaign consulting,” and since then has made three subsequent payments totaling $20,000.

In April, the Department of Justice sued Stone and his wife for using Drake Ventures to avoid reporting taxable income to the federal government and for failing to pay $2 million in taxes from 2007, 2011 and 2018. Stone has denied any wrongdoing and said that the lawsuit is “politically motivated.”

Former President Donald Trump commuted Stone’s prison sentence in December 2020 after Stone was charged and convicted on a seven-count indictment of obstructing justice, witness tampering and multiple counts of lying to Congress in the course of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. ABC News previously reported that Gaetz sought a blanket presidential pardon from the Trump White House, which was ultimately not granted. A spokesperson for Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing, said at the time that the congressman’s request was conflated with a general push for pardons.

“Our FEC filings speak for themselves,” a Gaetz spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News when asked about the new financial filing. “Despite an endless stream of lies from the media, Congressman Gaetz continues to be among the most prodigious fundraisers in Congress and is the only Republican who doesn’t accept donations from federal lobbyists or PACs. He thanks his tens of thousands of donors and promises to always fight for them.”

During the three months after news broke of the scandal, the Gaetz campaign’s biggest payments — more than $825,000 for advertising and strategic consulting — went to a firm named Logan Circle Group, a newly-hired PR group led by Harlan Hill, the filing showed.

Another big chunk went to fundraising consulting, with $120,000 being paid to a new vendor named Trishul LLC and just under $100,000 paid to Red Rock Strategies, according to the filing.

The Gaetz campaign also spent a total of $800 at the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C., for “meal expenses” and a “parking fee” in April and May, the campaign reported in its filing.

Multiple sources have confirmed to ABC News that the DOJ’s ongoing investigation involves Gaetz and former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, who in June pled guilty to crimes including sex trafficking a minor, and agreed to help prosecutors in the probe.

Gaetz has not been charged with any crime and has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. He has repeatedly denied ever paying for sex or having sex with a minor, and has at times joked about the allegations.

“Today is my birthday […] I already know how CNN is gonna report it: ‘Matt Gaetz has wild party surrounded by beautiful women in The Villages,'” the congressman said at a rally at a Florida retirement community in early May.

Nestle debuts pumpkin spice cookie dough and other new seasonal treats

July 16, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — For anyone who prefers cool crisp autumn air and warm baking spices, there’s a new treat hitting shelves this fall that will make the change of the season an extra sweet transition.

Nestlé Toll House announced its all-new seasonal cookie doughs and Morsels & More flavors and yes, that means pumpkin spice.

In addition to the fan-favorite seasonal coffee drink flavor, there will also be a classic and nostalgic flavor combo — peanut butter and jelly.

Check out the full lineup of offerings below that will be available starting in August for a limited time at grocery stores and retailers nationwide:

PB&J Cookie Dough: A combination of peanut butter cookie dough and sweet strawberry-flavored pieces.

Pumpkin Spice Cookie Dough: Pumpkin spice-flavored cookie dough mixed with premier white morsels.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Flavored Morsels & More: A one-of-a-kind assortment of premier white morsels, mini coffee biscuits and pumpkin spice-flavored chunks.

Cinnamon Roll Cookie Dough: Cinnamon sugar cookie dough mixed with naturally flavored cream cheese pieces.

Trick or Treats Cookie Dough: Indulgent fudge cookie dough topped with festive Halloween sprinkles.

Cuba protestors demand answers for economic crisis

July 16, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Thousands of Cubans have been protesting food, vaccine and medicine shortages, in the one of the country’s largest demonstrations in decades.

Some residents went days without power in the summer heat, while others continue to be forced to wait in long lines for basic goods, as prices continue to rise. Activists say COVID-19 has exacerbated other structural issues, like health care and poverty, and the extended electricity outages signal a breaking point.

The country is facing a surge of COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heightening concerns about government protection and services.

Chanting “freedom,” “enough” and “unite,” protestors started taking to the streets on Sunday, July 11, in Cuba and the U.S., blocking traffic to demand action from the Cuban government and President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Cuban historian and activist Marley Pulido told ABC News this hasn’t been an organized effort, but that the government’s continued inaction in addressing inequality has forced many to take the streets.

The August 1994 uprising was the last anti-government protest of this magnitude — when Cuba fell into an economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to Pulido.

Cuba’s economic crisis

During a December 2020 parliament session, Cuba’s Economy Minister Alejandro Gil announced that Cuba’s economy shrank 11% during the pandemic, worsened by the U.S.-imposed trade embargo. The trade embargo, which first began in the early 1960s, bans American businesses from working with Cuban interests.

At the event, he also reported that imports were down 30% in 2020 compared to 2019.

Rising international food and shipping prices have continued to worsen the country’s access to goods from overseas, according to Gil.

More than 70% to 80% of Cuba’s food is imported onto the island, according to World Food Programme. So that 30% reduction in imports led to a scarcity in food, as well as medicine, fuel and more that it imports.

On top of a lack of access to basic needs, Cuba declined to import foreign vaccines through a World Health Organization-led COVAX dose sharing initiative, which provides free or reduced cost vaccines to low resource countries. Instead, the country opted to create its own vaccine.

However, as cases continue to rise on the island of roughly 11 million people, a shortage of syringes has hindered the vaccine rollout, according to Global Health Partners, a non-profit dedicated to public health in Latin America.

The compounding issues have resulted in unrest across the island.

“There is definitely a disconnect between the government and the people,” Pulido said. “People have the right to be heard and people have the right to hold their government accountable.”

How the government has responded

In April 2020, amidst the global coronavirus pandemic and the ever-growing economic struggles, Raul Castro stepped down as head of Cuba’s Communist Party despite the Castros’ decades-long leadership of the party.

The Castros’ nominated successor, Díaz-Canel, condemned the protests in a televised appearance, calling on supporters to counter-protest and confront the anti-government demonstrations.

“The combat order is given: To the streets, revolutionaries,” Díaz-Canel said. “We’re calling on all of the revolutionaries in the country, all of the communists, to come out onto the streets and to go to the places where these provocations are going to take place.”

As videos and posts documenting the protests in Cuba went viral on social media, several activists say that internet service was shut down, which also left residents with limited access to resources outside of the island.

A heavy police presence also trailed protesters. Officials say they began arresting demonstrators and journalists after public property was damaged and police officers were attacked. Cuban officials have not reported how many people were arrested.

One man is confirmed to have died in connection with the protests, according to Cuba’s Interior Ministry.

The Cuban president blamed the unrest on U.S. forces, claiming that Cubans in America used social media to prompt demonstrations and blamed the trade embargo for the country’s economic crisis.

“Who is bothered by the regime, the alleged regime, in Cuba? Who is bothered by the Cuban political system, the way we do things? Not our people, not the majority of our people, because they are the ones who have built that system,” Díaz-Canel said.

US involvement and what’s to come

Though the Obama administration loosened the sanctions against the island government in 2014, former President Donald Trump reversed America’s position and introduced new sanctions to continue to put pressure on the Cuban government.

President Joe Biden has yet to address the call to end the embargo and its role in the country’s economic challenges. However, Biden has voiced his support for Cuban protestors when speaking to reporters on July 12 at the White House.

“The United States stands firmly with the people of Cuba as they assert their universal rights,” he said. “We call on the government, the government of Cuba, to refrain from violence and their attempts to silence the voice of the people of Cuba.”

“The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves,” Biden said.

As for Cubans trying to seek refuge in the United States from the unrest via boat, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas warned against it.

“Allow me to be clear: if you take to the sea, you will not come to the United States,” Mayorkas said. “Anyone intercepted at sea, regardless of their nationality will not be permitted to enter the United States … To those who risk their lives doing so, this risk is not worth taking.”

Ten injured, dozens pepper-sprayed in altercation at Los Angeles County jail, authorities say

July 16, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — At least 10 people were injured in an altercation between sheriff’s deputies and inmates at a Southern California jail on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The disturbance occurred as deputies were conducting security checks at the North County Correctional Facility, one of four jails located within the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. During the checks, a deputy was assaulted by an inmate inside one of the dormitories, prompting “multiple” other inmates to become involved, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which runs the jail.

Additional deputies were called in for back up “to prevent escalation between the inmates and restore order,” the sheriff’s department said. The deputies initially used verbal commands in an effort to get the situation under control but ultimately had to deploy pepper spray on approximately 20 to 25 inmates, according to the sheriff’s department.

Seven deputies and one custody assistant were injured during the incident. The custody assistant and six of the deputies were transported to a local hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Two inmates were also taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the sheriff’s department.

The facility was under lockdown due to the disturbance.

Suspect who shot four officers, killed one after barricading himself inside Texas home, in custody

July 16, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(LEVELLAND, Texas) — Four law enforcement officers were shot and one was killed by a suspect barricaded in a home in Levelland, Texas.

Levelland police officers came under fire at about 1 p.m. Thursday from a person who was locked and barricaded inside a home, police said. They had previously received a call from a citizen who said their neighbor was “acting strange and appeared to be walking around with a large gun,” police said. The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team was called to assist Levelland police officers at 2:15 p.m. local time.

Officers made brief contact with the suspect, but they said he was very hostile and didn’t want to talk to police. Minutes later, they said “he opened the front door of his residence and opened fire. Officers returned fire but suspect did not appear to be hit.”

SWAT Commander Sgt. Josh Bartlett was struck by gunfire shortly after arriving to help the Levelland Police Department. He was taken to Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock where he was later pronounced dead, according to the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office.

“We appreciate the public’s support during this difficult time and ask for continued prayers for his family, both blood and blue,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Three other law enforcement officers, including one other Lubbock sheriff’s deputy, a Hockley County sheriff’s deputy and a Levelland police officer, were shot, according to officials.

One of the injured officers, Sergeant Sean Wilson, is out of surgery and is in critical but stable condition, authorities said. The others were treated and released.

The suspect was arrested following an 11-hour standoff with police.

Levelland Police Chief Albert Garcia and Lubbock County Sheriff Kelly Rowe said at a press conference Friday morning, around 1:30 a.m. ET, that the standoff was over, and the suspect was in custody. He has now been identified as Omar Soto-Chavira, 22.

Police said Soto-Chavira is known to law enforcement and they have had prior contact with him.

“Our community mourns the loss of Sgt. Josh Bartlett, with the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team,” the Levelland Police Department said in a statement. “He gave his life in the defense of the citizens of Levelland today. We send our heartfelt prayers to his family, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service, Sgt. Bartlett. It is a debt we can never repay.”

“The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office continues to work with The Levelland Police Department, The Texas Department of Public Safety, The Lubbock Police Department, Hockley County Sheriff’s Office, ATF, Homeland Security, FBI, and US Marshal’s office to find a resolution to the current situation,” the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Levelland is located about 30 miles west of Lubbock.

Prosecutor calls request for new trial by Mollie Tibbetts killer a ‘fishing expedition’

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(DES MOINES, Iowa) — An Iowa judge is expected to decide as early as Friday if he will grant a request from the attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera the man convicted of murdering University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, to compel law enforcement agencies to allow them to review evidence in a purported sex trafficking investigation and the search for a missing 11-year-old boy.

Attorneys for Bahena Rivera argued on Thursday that they suspect the two cases are linked to a man they say could be Tibbetts’ killer.

“There’s something rotten in this area,” defense attorney Chad Frese said, saying that the sex trafficking investigation and the disappearance of Xavior Harrelson both occurred in the same rural area where Tibbetts, 20, was abducted while out for a jog in 2018 and murdered.

The request to review records in both cases came as part of a motion made by Bahena Rivera and his attorneys for a new trial based on evidence revealed by two independent witnesses who claim the same man told them he and a 50-year-old sex trafficker kidnapped Tibbetts and then killed her when the search for her whereabouts drew national attention.

Poweshiek County, Iowa, Judge Joel Yates said he will decide by the end of this week whether to force law enforcement agencies to allow the defense attorneys to review evidence in investigations that prosecutors say have no link to the Tibbetts case.

“We resist providing anything that they’re asking for. There is no discovery post-trial,” prosecutor Scott Brown, an assistant Iowa state attorney general, told Yates, calling the defense request “a fishing expedition.”

“If they want to go and knock themselves out trying to find out all of this confusing information that has been presented to the court, go right ahead and do that,” Brown said of the defense. “But there is nothing in the rules, nothing in the case law that compels the state to chase its tail because they’re asking us to do it.”

Yates has tentatively scheduled a second hearing for July 27 on the remaining part of the defense motion for a new trial.

Yates had been scheduled to sentence Bahena Rivera on Thursday, but he postponed it to hear the defense argue its motion.

During Thursday’s hearing, Bahena Rivera sat handcuffed at the defense table wearing black-and-white striped prison clothes and listening to the proceeding with the aid of a Spanish interpreter.

A jury convicted Bahena Rivera, a 27-year-old Mexican national farmworker, in May of first-degree murder. Bahena Rivera, 27, is facing a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The defense attorneys requested a new trial after Brown informed them before the verdict was announced that an inmate at a local jail came forward to authorities claiming his cellmate told him he and a 50-year-old alleged sex trafficker killed Tibbetts and framed a Hispanic man.

Bahena Rivera’s attorneys filed a motion Tuesday alleging prosecutors failed to disclose a separate investigation was occurring at the time of Tibbetts’ disappearance involving a man, who is now in prison on a gun charge, allegedly operating a sex trafficking “trap house” in New Sharon, Iowa, which is 27 miles from where Tibbetts went missing on July 18, 2018. The man, according to the defense attorneys, had once been the live-in boyfriend of the mother of Xavior Harrelson, who has been missing since May 27.

The defense attorneys also presented Yates with a search warrant executed in 2019 on the suspected sex-traffickers house that they say corroborates what the witness claims his cellmate told him. The witness purportedly claimed his cellmate, who defense attorneys named in their motion and in their arguments in court, told him he saw Tibbetts bound and gagged at the trap house and that he participated in her murder.

A second witness contacted authorities within hours of the first witness claiming the same man told her a similar story, defense attorneys said.

“That evidence is exculpatory and it has not been produced,” defense attorney Jennifer Frese, who is married to Chad Frese, said of the investigations into the sex trafficking trap house and the disappearance of the missing boy.

Brown said he disclosed the information to the defense about the jailed witness coming forward as soon as he learned about it, which he claimed was on the day the defense rested its case. He said he offered to request a halt to the trial while the new evidence was being checked out but Chad Frese declined the offer because, according to Brown, the information was “it was inconsistent to what the defendant said.”

During the trial, Bahena Rivera took the witness stand and testified that he was kidnapped by two masked men who forced him to drive them to where Tibbetts was expected to be jogging. He claimed that when they found Tibbetts, one of the men stabbed her to death, put her body in the trunk of Bahena Rivera’s car and made him drive to a cornfield, where the young woman’s badly decomposed remains were discovered a month after she went missing.

Bahena Rivera admitted on the witness stand that he placed Tibbetts’ body in the cornfield but said he was not involved in her murder. In addition, Bahena Rivera claimed during his testimony that he didn’t tell investigators about the masked men because they threatened to harm his former girlfriend, the mother of his daughter, if he did.

“There is no connection between anything with Xavior Harrelson and Mollie Tibbetts’ disappearance,” Brown said. “Wow is all I can say with regard to their (the defense’s) request to go down that road.”

COVID-19 heightened racial issues in the US: Report

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After a turbulent year that exacerbated and highlighted long-standing structural issues across the United States, the National Urban League, a civil rights advocacy organization, said in its annual “State of Black America” report released Thursday that COVID-19 has worsened racial issues in the country.

In partnership with the Brookings Institution, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity and Center for Policing Equity, the report analyzed the devastation in Black communities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Structural racism is not new to many of us. For centuries and even today, Black lives continue to be subject to laws, policies and practices that have created and sustained systematic oppression that impacts every facet of our lives,” Tracie Keesee, co-founder and senior vice president of social justice initiatives at the Center for Policing Equity, said at a virtual event Thursday discussing the release of the report.

The report highlighted three main issues in the Black community right now, including economic injustice, racism in policing and health care inequality.

COVID-19 has proven flaws in the U.S. health care system, the report asserts. Black and brown victims are disproportionately dying from the virus, compared to other white populations, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Black individuals are two times more likely to die from COVID-19 than people who are white, and Hispanics are 2.3 times more likely to die, according to CDC data.

And even though the percentage of Black and white people who are vaccine hesitant or refusing to get the vaccine are roughly the same, vaccinate rates are much lower among Black populations. The report states that disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates indicate inequities in vaccine distribution and access for Black populations.

The group’s research also found that Black people are more likely than whites to live more than 10 miles from a vaccine facility.

Poor access to health care is just one result of structural racism, the report states. Economic inequality is another, which was also worsened by COVID-19.

The typical African American household had less than 15% of the median wealth of a typical white household, and Black workers face significant pay gaps in the workforce, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank.

And during the COVID-19 pandemic, almost 17% of Black households lacked basic financial services, compared to only 3% of white households, according to the Brookings Institution.

Experts at the National Urban League said the existing inequalities can be fixed by closing the racial wealth gap, reparations and more.

“We need to look at wage suppression, and wage in equity as a racial issue in and of itself,” Jennifer Jones Austin, the CEO and executive director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, said Thursday on the panel discussing the report. “Why can’t we increase wages at the federal level? It is because this nation has determined that there will always be an underclass. And disproportionately that underclass represents Black and brown Americans.”

Police brutality and violence have also been a consequence of structural racism, according to the report.

Even as the racial reckoning took over the country following the death of George Floyd, killings of Black people at the hands of police continued, including Daunte Wright, Ma’Khia Bryant and others.

Black people are not only more likely to be killed by police, but according to the Center for Policing Equity, Black people were also about 6.5 times more likely to be stopped while driving and 20 times more likely to be searched than their white counterparts.

To solve this, the National Urban League recommended reenvisioning public safety and what its structure and function in communities looks like.

The organization also recommended holding officers accountable for misconduct, changing divisive policing policies, requiring transparency, reporting and data collection and improving training standards.

Not much has improved since last year’s “State of Black America” report, experts on the panel said, but with the data and knowledge that has been gathered this year on structural racism and how it impacts people of color, some community leaders have hope.

“Dismantling structural racism — identifying and repairing the cracks in our national foundation — will result in more resilient and dynamic institutions that expand opportunity for everyone,” Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said in the report. “As the pandemic becomes more of a memory, we are challenged to keep the same energy and finish what we started.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits White House before leaving office

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the White House Thursday for talks with President Joe Biden.

The two leaders held a meeting in the Oval Office before participating in a joint press conference in which they addressed COVID-19 travel bans, relations with China and Russia, protests in Cuba, Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda and more.

On Cuba, Biden said, “Communism is a failed system, a universally failed system. And I don’t see socialism as a very useful substitute, but that’s another story.”

Following the press conference, Biden and Merkel were having dinner with a variety of leaders. Vice President Kamala Harris, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Democratic nominee for president Hillary Clinton and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy were slated to attend.

After deciding not to seek another term in office, her trip likely marks a farewell to Biden and served as a chance for the longtime acquaintances and partners to reaffirm the strong U.S.-Germany bond in the face of global challenges, such as the coronavirus pandemic and rising autocratic influences.

“Chancellor Merkel has been a true friend to the United States, a strong advocate for the transatlantic partnership for multilateral cooperation, as well as for our shared priorities,” a senior administration official said ahead of the meeting. “In their meeting, I expect that President Biden will convey gratitude for her leadership role, in Europe and around the world, as she prepares to depart the German political stage, following their elections this September.”

The visit has also been an opportunity for the pair to hash out some areas of concern before Merkel’s tenure ends.

Merkel kicked off her day in Washington having breakfast with the vice president and then attending both a one-on-one and a larger group meeting at the White House with Biden. And invited to the dinner for her were “a range of individuals who have long been strong supporters of Germany and the bilateral relationship, which will further demonstrate the close and continuing ties between our countries,” a senior administration official said ahead of the chancellor’s visit.

Despite the warm welcome, challenges remain.

One sticking point between the two countries is Nord Stream 2, a pipeline to move gas directly from Russia, under the Baltic Sea and into Germany. Biden is opposed to the pipeline, as are many Republicans in Congress, because it could give Russia increased influence in Europe and more control over energy reserves. The pipeline will likely deprive other countries, such as Ukraine, of badly-needed oil revenues and some experts fear Russia could shut off the gas supply to certain countries in retaliatory moves.

Biden lifted U.S. sanctions on companies helping to build the pipeline in May as a goodwill gesture to European allies, as he worked to get them on board with his tough-on-Russia policies and in a tacit admission that U.S. sanctions ultimately failed to halt construction. That was a move some Republicans, including Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, criticized.

“Instead of treating Putin like a gangster who fears his own people, we’re giving him his treasured Nord Stream 2 pipeline and legitimizing his actions with a summit,” Sasse said.

It’s a topic Biden was expected to bring up with Merkel on Thursday.

“I do expect that President Biden will raise his long-standing concerns with Chancellor Merkel during their meeting about Russia’s geopolitical project and about the importance of developing concrete mechanisms to ensure that energy is not used as a coercive tool against Ukraine, our eastern flank allies or any other country. We believe that the sanctions waivers that we announced in May have given us diplomatic space to be able to work with Germany to have these conversations to try and find ways to address the negative impacts of the pipeline,” the official said.

However, there was no formal announcement on Nord Stream following the meeting.

The official did preview that Biden and Merkel would release a so-called Washington Declaration, “which will outline their common vision for cooperation to confront policy challenges,” and provide guiding principles for years ahead, even as Merkel’s successor takes the helm. The official also anticipated a climate and energy partnership to be announced, though they provided no further details on what that will look like.

Another area of difference between the two leaders is China’s rising global influence. While Biden has seen China as a competitor that must be curtailed, Merkel is friendlier towards a rising China, believing their success and a balanced trade relationship between the two countries, will benefit Germany.

Other agenda items included the pandemic and security challenges in Afghanistan.

9 protesters arrested on Capitol Hill, including Rep. Joyce Beatty

July 15, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus was among nine protesters who were arrested by U.S. Capitol Police after leading a peaceful demonstration to advocate for voting rights inside the Hart Senate Office Building.

At least 20 Black women activists joined Thursday to rally against legislation across the country which Democrats argue is restricting Americans’ right to vote. They called for federal intervention and specifically the end to the filibuster rule, so the U.S. Senate may pass the For The People Act.

Protesters walked hand in hand into the Senate office building Thursday, singing and chanting, “Let the people vote!”

“This afternoon, nine people were arrested for demonstrating in a prohibited area on Capitol Grounds. At approximately 3:30pm, the United States Capitol Police responded to the Atrium in the Hart Senate Office Building for reports of illegal demonstration activity,” a U.S. Capitol Police statement said.

“After officers arrived on the scene, they warned the demonstrators three times to stop. Those who refused were arrested for D.C. Code §22-1307. Two males and seven females were transported to USCP Headquarters for processing,” the statement continued.

Leading the demonstration was LaTosha Brown, cofounder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, Tamika Mallory, founder of Unit Freedom, Dr. Johnetta Cole, national chair and president of the National Council of Negro Women, Cora Masters Barry, CEO of the Recreation Wishlist Committee, Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, CEO and co-founder of the Skinner Institute, and Melanie Campbell, president of the National Coalition of Black Civic Participation.

The demonstration comes just two days before the one-year anniversary of the death of the late Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon who marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, on “Bloody Sunday” in the Civil Rights movement.

Following her arrest, Beatty tweeted in Lewis’ honor with the caption, “#goodtrouble.”

ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel and Libby Cathey contributed to this report.

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