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Republicans, Democrats battle over new House mask mandate

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Republicans and Democrats on Wednesday battled over the new House of Representatives’ new mask mandate, with more than a dozen Republicans voting twice without masks, despite new guidance from the Capitol physician aimed at preventing fast-spreading COVID-19 infections.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy “such a moron” Wednesday morning when asked about his criticism of the new mask mandate in the House.

“That’s the decision from the Capitol physician, a mandate from him,” Pelosi told reporters. “I have nothing to say about that, except we honor it.”

Asked about McCarthy saying the decision was not “based on science,” she replied, “He’s such a moron,” as she got into her car.

In a directive issued Tuesday night, The Office of the Attending Physician, Dr. Brian Monahan, said it was now required that all members and staff wear “medical-grade” masks throughout the House, unless members are speaking in the halls of the House or individuals are alone.

Members and staff will once again be prohibited from stepping on the floor to vote without a mask, or risk incurring fines.

The directive cited the increasing threat from the delta variant and noted House members travel weekly to and from areas of both high and low rates of disease spread. It also mentioned the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mask guidance for vaccinated people to wear masks indoors in where transmission is high or substantial, as well as recommending universal masking in schools.

“The same bureaucratic ‘public health experts’ who completely upended our society by pushing lockdowns and yearlong school closures now want to force Americans to return to pre-vaccine control measures. By forcing vaccinated Americans to return to masks, the Biden administration is not only casting doubt on a safe and effective vaccine, but contradicting why vaccines exist,” McCarthy said in a statement in response. “Make no mistake — the threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state.”

After meeting with the top doctor on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon, McCarthy took to the House floor to decry the return of the House mask mandate and to slam Pelosi for calling him a “moron.”

“Today, the Speaker who didn’t know her own science, and said names to people, broke her own rules. Twice today, I saw the speaker in a crowded room without a mask. Less than 24 hours after imposing a mask mandate,” he said.

“You don’t know the facts or the science!” he said. “Do you know what frustrates Americans the most? Hypocrisy.”

McCarthy claimed the vaccination rate for members of Congress is over 85 percent. “And, as of today, the transmission rate on the Capitol campus is less than 1 percent,” he continued. “Well, the facts would tell us this isn’t a hot spot, so the CDC recommendation doesn’t apply to us!”

Republicans derailed the House floor schedule twice earlier on Wednesday, by forcing procedural votes protesting the new requirements.

At one point, the House was forced to vote on a motion to adjourn offered by Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas to disrupt proceedings, ostensibly over the mask mandate.

“This sham of an institution is doing nothing for the American people!” Roy yelled.

“We have people infected with Covid coming across the southern border,” he added, demanding that Dr. Fauci appear before Congress to testify about natural immunity. “Which is it? Vaccines or masks?”

“I don’t believe that masks make any difference,” Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., told ABC News when asked why he wasn’t wearing a mask. “If they’ve been vaccinated, what are they worried about a threat from me?”

When asked if he had been vaccinated, he said, “I don’t answer that question because it’s no one’s business.”

Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, another unmasked member, said he had “double immunity” from the vaccine and a prior COVID-19 infection.

“I’ll pay the fines, I’m not wearing a damn mask,” he said.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., another unmasked and unvaccinated member, got into a shouting match with liberal Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who told him to “get vaccinated,” and continued the feud on Twitter.

“You can’t compel people to put something in their own body. People have to decide to do that for themselves,” Donalds said. “I’m 42, healthy, and I already had COVID.”

Asked about his colleague Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who was hospitalized despite believing he already had COVID, he said, “The reality is that people are going to make their own decisions.”

As for the possibility of spreading the disease to vulnerable people with preexisting conditions, he said, “Anybody would be concerned about that.”

“What we’re doing is shifting the goalposts to eliminating COVID. And I want to eliminate COVID but we can’t be just shifting the goalposts on every American,” Higgins said. “If you have symptoms, go get tested. If you test positive, go isolate. This is not hard.”

Among the Republicans bristling at the return of the mask mandate on Wednesday was longtime opponent Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who was seen throwing a mask back at a House staffer who offered her one.

According to two people who saw the exchange, Boebert threw a mask back at a staffer on the House floor and refused to put one on to comply with the latest rules. One person said she threw the mask on the ground.

Boebert’s office did not dispute the exchange, saying in a statement, “Rep. Boebert refuses to comply with Speaker Pelosi’s anti-science, totalitarian mask mandate. When offered a mask, she returned it with a quick slide across the table.”

Boebert could receive a $500 fine for breaking the new mandate. GOP Reps. Roy, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who also appeared on the floor without masks, could be fined as well.

Members can appeal the fines to the ethics committee, and receive $2500 fines for subsequent offenses.

Blinken warns of ‘deeply, deeply troubling’ reports of atrocities in Afghanistan amid US withdrawal

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged Wednesday during a joint press conference in India that the situation in Afghanistan is headed in the wrong direction — noting the Taliban is “making advances” and calling reports that the group has committed atrocities “deeply, deeply troubling.”

They “certainly do not speak well of the Taliban’s intentions for the country as a whole,” he told ABC News.

Blinken made a quick visit to New Delhi, where he and senior Indian officials focused on deepening U.S.-Indian cooperation on key challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, China, and climate change. But with the security situation in nearby Afghanistan deteriorating quickly, their meetings also focused on the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the Taliban’s swift efforts to control more territory.

As he and other Biden officials have argued, however, he said that the international community would make a “pariah state” of an Afghan government that “does not respect the rights of its people, an Afghanistan that commits atrocities against its own people.”

“The Taliban says that it seeks international recognition, that it wants international support for Afghanistan,” and that it wants sanctions and travel bans on its leaders lifted, he added, saying there’s “only one path” to achieving those aims, “and that’s at the negotiating table.”

But it doesn’t seem that the Taliban — which now control nearly half of the country’s districts since launching their offensive in May, according to the Pentagon — agrees.

The group’s leadership has also denied responsibility for the atrocities Blinken mentioned, including extrajudicial killings, forced displacements and attacking civilian infrastructure — a sign that their promises remain empty and they do believe they can take power by force or that they don’t have full control of their fractured forces across the country.

President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops before the 20th anniversary, this fall, of the Sept. 11th attacks that brought American forces to Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaida’s operations there and topple the Taliban government that gave them sanctuary.

In the weeks since then, the Taliban have won control of dozens of districts by force or through surrenders, as they dawdle at negotiations with the Afghan government meant to secure a ceasefire and decide on the country’s future government.

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, agreed with Blinken that, despite the deadlock in those talks, they were the only solution to Afghanistan’s fighting. But he declined to say how concerned India’s government is now about the deteriorating security situation, instead calling it “natural” and “inevitable” that “there will be consequences” to the U.S. military withdrawal.

“What is done is done. It is a policy taken, and I think in diplomacy, you deal with what you have,” he told ABC News – agreeing with Blinken that negotiations are the only solution.

But he subtly took issue with Pakistan, India’s neighbor and long-time adversary, adding that “not everyone who agrees … does what they say they will do.” Without a direct mention, he called its support for the Taliban a “reality of the last 20 years.”

A senior State Department official said after the day’s meetings that the two sides made no specific asks of one another, but committed to deepening cooperation and information-sharing on the situation.

“It’s a chance for us to talk about, sort of, the way forward and really where we can find points of leverage to try to bring the Taliban along and get toward a negotiated settlement,” they said.

The two foreign ministers were chummy after their day of meetings — cracking jokes and praising U.S.-Indian cooperation. Jaishankar said the two powers had “entered a new era,” with cooperation on COVID-19, defense, trade and investment, climate change, and regional issues.

In particular, Blinken said the two countries “will be leaders in bringing the pandemic to an end,” as India ramps up vaccine production and exports, and the U.S. launches the first of the 500 million doses next month that Biden promised during the G-7 summit.

The Biden administration had hoped to share three million of those doses with India, but they remain held up by Indian bureaucracy, which must first approve their import, according to the senior State Department official, who added they hoped for “some movement soon.”

While the increasing U.S.-India partnership has irked the Chinese government, which has accused both countries of trying to “contain” it, Jaishankar shot back Wednesday — saying, “People need to get over the idea that somehow other countries doing things is directed at them.”

“For groups of countries to work together is not strange. It’s the history of international relations,” he added, earning a laugh from Blinken.

But much of this visit has been focused on China — including Blinken’s meeting Wednesday morning with the Dalai Lama’s representative, Central Tibetan Administration Representative Ngodup Dongchung. It’s the first high-level engagement from the Biden administration with the Tibetan leader and his team — one that is sure to anger Chinese officials who have long opposed U.S. support for the spiritual figure.

The senior State Department official tried to downplay the meeting, saying they met “very briefly” so that Dongchung could present Blinken with a scarf as a “gesture of good will and friendship.”

Blinken also tried to send a message with another meeting Wednesday morning, starting his day before the cameras with a group of Indian civil society leaders. Before the press, he talked about how both countries’ democracies “are works in progress. … Sometimes that process is painful, sometimes it’s ugly, but the strength of democracy is to embrace it.”

That process in India has been particularly ugly in recent years. Earlier this year, Freedom House, the U.S. think tank, rated India as “partly free” for the first time in its annual global survey, as the government of Narendra Modi has been accused of curtailing minorities’ rights, especially Muslims; attacking political opponents and the free press; and restricting human rights groups and NGOs.

With his morning meetings, Blinken tried to send a message about that, talking up the importance of “a vibrant civil society” and talking openly about American democracy’s struggles and faults — including the events of Jan. 6.

But during their presser, Blinken was more conciliatory than critical of Modi and Jaishankar’s administration, saying Americans “admire” India’s “steadfast commitment to democracy, pluralism, human rights, fundamental freedoms.”

“As friends, we talk about these issues. We talk about the challenges that we’re both facing in renewing and strengthening our democracies, and I think humbly, we can learn from each other,” he added, clearly highlighting the common ground, rather than risk alienating this critical new partner.

Jaishankar had a sharper edge in response to the question — telling the reporter who asked that Modi’s changes are an effort to “really right wrongs when they have been done” — the kind of ‘don’t question’ attitude that critics say is at the heart of Modi’s democratic back-sliding.

Target, Staples, Barnes & Noble And More Offer Back-To-School Discounts For Teachers

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the end of summer approaches, teachers are already preparing for the school year ahead, which is happening again this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

To help teachers, select retailers are offering special back-to-school deals and discounts. Here are some of the retailers offering special deals now for teachers.

Target
Target is offering teachers a one-time, 15% discount on select classroom supplies and essentials now through July 31. Teachers need to sign up for Target Circle and verify their teacher status to be eligible.

All K-12 teachers, homeschool teachers, teachers working at daycare centers and early childhood learning centers, university or college professors and vocational/trade/technical school teachers are eligible, according to Target.

Staples
At Staples stores across the country, teachers and school administrators can get 20% off select purchases now through Sept. 30.

Parents can also help support teachers through Staples’ Classroom Rewards program, which gives a percentage of their qualifying purchase made at a Staples store back to an enrolled teacher or school administrator of their choice, according to the company.

To start getting discounts, parents, teachers and school administrators must download the Staples Connect app and enroll in Classroom Rewards.

Abt Electronics
Teachers who purchase $500 worth of Abt Electronics supplies are eligible for a $50 discount. This offer applies to teachers, teachers aides, teaching assistants, educational assistants, lifetime teaching credential holders, professors, speech pathologists and school administrators.

To use the discount, teachers must verify that they are eligible when they check out. Then, they will receive a promotion code to access their discount.

Meijer
Teachers can now get 15% off back-to-school supplies with a coupon at Meijer. The coupon covers 1,500 items that teachers can use in the classroom.

Michaels
Teachers are eligible year-round for a 15% discount at Michaels after verifying their profession and creating a Michaels account. The discount will apply if they provide their phone number or email at checkout online or in-person.

JOANN
By signing up for the Teacher Rewards Digital Discount Card, teachers can receive a 15% year-round discount at JOANN. To register for the card, teachers must show a valid educator identification.

Barnes & Noble
Teachers will receive 20% off qualifying book purchases at Barnes & Noble if they sign up to become a B&N Educator. The sign-up process, while free, must be done in-person at a Barnes & Noble location.

Dollar General
Dollar General is offering teachers a 30% discount on back-to-school supplies until Sept. 6. Teachers can use the discount after signing up for a Dollar General account, completing a teacher verification process and waiting 24 to 48 hours.

The discount applies to the purchase of pens, pencils, crayons, paper, notebooks, scissors, binders, folders glue, rulers, backpacks, lunch boxes and more.

Office Depot
Through Sept. 30, teachers who are Office Depot OfficeMax Rewards members are eligible for a coupon that allows them to earn 20% back in rewards when completing in-store purchases.

Teachers can also receive a 40% discount for school supplies such as classroom posters, instructional materials and name tags when completing an in-store purchase. For the discount to apply, teachers must show a valid teacher ID at checkout.

Spelman College is latest HBCU to cancel tuition balances

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — Spelman College announced it will use federal funding to clear outstanding tuition balances for the past academic year of to address the financial hardships of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The historically Black college based in Atlanta, Georgia, will also offer a one-time 14% discount on tuition for the 2021-2022 academic school year and rollback mandatory fees to the 2017-2018 rate.

“This reset to the lower tuition rates of four years ago will have a long-term impact on affordability,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman, in a statement Tuesday.

The Spelman College financial relief comes after Clark Atlanta University, a neighboring HBCU in Atlanta, announced it would cancel outstanding tuition balances for the spring 2020 and summer 2021 semesters.

“We understand these past two academic years have been emotionally and financially difficult on students and their families due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why we will continue to do all we can to support their efforts to complete their CAU education,” Dr. George T. French, President of Clark Atlanta University, said in a statement last Friday.

For Ta’Lar Scott, a 21-year-old junior at Clark Atlanta University, having her $500 tuition balance canceled was the fresh start she needed to re-enroll to finish her undergraduate degree in social work after taking a semester off.

Like thousands of HBCU students, Scott has relied on federal grants and student loans to pay for her college education. With aspirations of becoming a teacher and now as an expectant mother, paying for school expenses in addition to re-enrollment was so daunting she considered not attending the fall semester.

“I was going to take this semester off and it was really because I knew I had a balance,” Scott told ABC News. “The university clearing my balance up kind of pushed me and let me know that I can do this. I’ll be fine. Regardless, I’ll have to learn how to adjust, which I’ve been doing all my life.”

HBCUs received approximately $2.6 billion through the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, a $40 billion funding allocation set aside for higher education as part of the American Rescue Plan.

Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College are the latest of over 20 HBCUs using federal funding to provide financial relief and emergency funds for students in recent months. South Carolina State University, Delaware State University and Wilberforce University used federal COVID relief dollars to cancel student loan debt for eligible students.

ABC News’ Jianna Cousin contributed to this report.

Tokyo reports record number of COVID-19 cases as Olympic games continue

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(TOKYO) — Tokyo reported a record number of 3,177 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday as the Olympic games remain underway.

It’s the second day in a row in which Japan’s capital reported record-breaking cases. On Tuesday, the city reported 2,484 COVID-19 cases, which exceeded its previous record of 2,520 cases set on Jan. 7, 2021, according to Kyodo News.

Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Disease (NIID) has estimated that the highly contagious delta variant is responsible for nearly 80% of infections in Tokyo.

Patients who make up the new cases mainly involve people ranging in age from their 20s to 40s, according to the NIID, which reported an increase in hospitalization in people under the age of 50.

As of Wednesday, at least 27% of the country has had at least one dose of the vaccine, according to a government report at the beginning of the month. Tokyo remains under its fourth coronavirus state of emergency.

Last week, the International Olympic Committee reported that nearly 80 people accredited to the games had tested positive for the virus, including more than two dozen athletes.

Although Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga urged people during a press conference Tuesday to avoid non-essential travel, he said there is no reason to consider suspending the Games at this time, saying, “Please watch the Olympic Games on TV at home.”

Jan. 6 select committee to meet on next steps, move on subpoenas

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A day after its first hearing with emotional testimony from police officers brought the Jan 6. Capitol attack back into the national spotlight, the House select committee investigating the assault will meet this week on possible next steps, including issuing subpoenas.

“I have no reluctance whatsoever in issuing subpoenas for information,” Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told MSNBC’s Morning Joe Wednesday morning, asserting the committee “absolutely” has the authority. “Nothing is off limits in this investigation.”

His comment comes after the Department of Justice said in letters to former DOJ officials and provided to congressional committees that they can participate in investigations related to the Jan. 6, according to sources and letters reviewed by ABC News Tuesday, which the House Oversight Committee later confirmed. Therefore, if witnesses try to fight subpoenas, they may have to do so on their own dime.

“Members of Congress have already admitted that they talked to the White House while it was going on. Now many of them are trying to walk back the conversation they had,” Thompson said. “We plan to pursue it.”

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who sits on the committee, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that the committee had not ruled out calling Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who has criticized the committee and was vetoed from it by House Speaker Pelosi over comments she said would damage its credibility, to testify.

Jordan admitted on Tuesday evening that he — like GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy — spoke to former President Donald Trump on the phone on Jan. 6, and in another interview Wednesday with Ohio Spectrum News reporter Taylor Popielarz, confirmed he spoke to Trump on Jan. 6.

Asked by Popielarz if he spoke to Trump before during or after the attack, Jordan said he didn’t remember.

“I spoke with him that day. After? I think after. I don’t know if I spoke with him in the morning or not. I just don’t know,” he said.

Fox News host Brett Baier also pressed Jordan Tuesday on whether he spoke to Trump that day, and Jordan repeatedly deflected, saying he’s “talked to the former president umpteen times — thousands, countless times.”

Baier followed up, “But I mean on January 6, congressman.”

“Yes,” Jordan said. “I mean, I’ve talked to the president so many — I can’t remember all the days I’ve talked to him, but I’ve certainly talked to the president.”

Conversations in Trump’s orbit, such as the apparent call with Jordan, are key to what the committee is seeking to investigate, with Cheney saying Tuesday that Americans should know what happened “what happened every minute of that day in the White House.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi affirmed the committee’s subpoena power in her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill, but distanced herself from the committee itself as House Republican leaders disparaged the two GOP members who joined the panel as “Pelosi Republicans.”

When asked what will happen if House members don’t comply with subpoenas, Pelosi emphasized she is not involved with the select committee and “has not been a party to any of those decisions, so I cannot tell you what they might decide.”

The speaker also dismissed concerns that there will be political backlash if the committee’s work drags out or loses momentum, asked if she would like to see the committee move more expeditiously.

“They will take the time that they need,” she said. “We were very late in getting to this because we were striving for the bipartisan commission, which we thought was very possible.”

While lawmakers have a seven-week recess coming up, Thompson said Wednesday that the committee will meet again to discuss its next steps this week.

“We’ll have a meeting before we break for the August recess, but in reality, I think you know we’ll be back during that recess doing our work because we have to get to the bottom of it,” he told MSNBC. “Our democracy depends on it.”

At its first hearing, the committee heard from four officers who recounted they feared for their lives on Jan. 6 as they were brutally beaten and outnumbered by a pro-Trump mob. One officer described fearing he would be “torn apart” and chants of “kill him with his own gun.” Another said he was taunted with racial slurs in uniform for the first time in his career.

They all criticized lawmakers who have downplayed the attack and pleaded with the panel to uncover if those in power aided and abetted rioters, including the former president.

“There was an attack on Jan. 6, and a hit man sent them,” said Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn. “I want you to get to the bottom of that.”

Democrats are already coming to the defense of the officers after right-leaning cable news hosts attacked the testimonies as performative Tuesday night.

“Stupidity has no reach. It can go anywhere. It’s unfortunate that people would interpret the brave people who defended the Capitol as somehow disingenuous in their presentations,” Thompson said Wednesday.

While Capitol police officers watched the hearing on TVs and phones in the hallways of the building that was attacked, Republican leaders who blocked efforts to investigate the day dismissed the hearing as a political play and said they didn’t watch.

Senate GOP Mitch McConnell, who said after the attack that the “mob was fed lies” and “provoked by the president and other powerful people,” said he was “busy doing work” during the hearing.

“I don’t see how I could have expressed myself more forthrightly than I did on that occasion, and I stand by everything I said,” he said.

McCarthy, who held an event outside the Capitol ahead of the hearing as a preemptive strike to the officers’ testimony, told a Politico reporter he wasn’t able to because he was stuck in “back-to-back meetings.”

Notably, McCarthy has suggested Pelosi didn’t do enough to secure the Capitol that day, but McConnell, as leader of the Senate, has not faced the same criticism. Security at the Capitol is controlled by the Capitol Police Board.

GOP Rep. Matthew Rosendale of Montana told ABC News he only watched the opening statement from Cheney, who was ousted as the No. 3 House Republican earlier this year following her criticism of Trump’s role on Jan. 6.

“I was quite disappointed,” he said, before launching into a series of questions he wanted to be answered.

But because Republicans gave up their ability to participate in the hearing, with McCarthy withdrawing all of his members, they couldn’t lead the discussion in their preferred direction.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif, who sits on the committee, blasted Republicans to ABC News who chose not to hear from the officers who helped protect them.

“For Kevin McCarthy and for my colleague from Montana to just say, ‘Oh I didn’t have the time to watch this hearing,’ you know, is just unfortunate and sad, and they just want to play politics with this,” he said. “That’s all this is.”

Aguilar added the public can expect more public hearings to come, though the date for the committee’s next hearing has not yet been announced.

ABC News’ Alex Mallin, Katherine Faulders and Ben Siegel contributed to this report.

DOJ issues guidance cautioning states on so-called election ‘audits’

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department on Wednesday released guidance intended to caution states embarking on so-called post-election ‘audits’ of vote counts for the 2020 presidential election that they must not run afoul of federal voting laws.

The guidance, previously previewed last month by Attorney General Merrick Garland in his policy address on voting rights, outlines federal statutes that the department says elections officials must adhere to during such “audits,” such as preserving all federal elections materials and making sure they’re not tampered with.

“This document sets down a marker that says the Justice Department is concerned about this, and we will be following this closely,” a DOJ official told reporters on a media conference call Wednesday.

The guidance echoes a warning sent by the department back in May to the Republican-run audit in Arizona, warning officials there that all election records must be preserved and expressing concern about the state handing over election materials to the private contractor group Cyber Ninjas.

After the department’s letter, Arizona officials backed off of a plan to send contractors from the group to visit homes in the state’s largest county of Maricopa to ask voters whether or not they had cast ballots. The Wednesday guidance includes a warning that officials who seek to embark on such “audits” can’t do so in a way that will intimidate voters.

DOJ officials on Wednesday declined to provide any update on the department’s review of the Arizona “audit.” But the guidance comes as Republicans in several other states have expressed interest or are already moving forward with similarly partisan reviews of the 2020 vote count in certain jurisdictions — despite lacking any evidence of widespread fraud.

The department also issued separate guidance Wednesday that outlines the range of federal laws protecting voting by different methods.

“It’s responsive to the fact that more Americans than ever are voting, not on Election Day in person in a polling place, but that are voting at voting centers or voting early or voting by mail,” one official said.

An official said that the second set of guidance should be a note of caution to states that might be looking to roll back policies that expanded access to voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The official gave the example of the election bill passed this year by Republicans in Georgia that implemented voting restrictions the department is now suing over, alleging it unlawfully targets minority communities.

“You should not assume that if you abandon the practices that have made it easier for people to vote, that abandonment is not going to get scrutiny from the Department of Justice,” an official said.

Iceland hotel seeks photographer to capture northern lights

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(HELLA, Iceland) — Hotel Rangá in Iceland is looking for a photographer to chase the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis.

This dream job consists of three weeks chasing the lights from September to October.

The hotel is located in the Icelandic countryside, where temperatures typically average 40 to 50 degrees during the fall season.

The photographer chosen for the job will be required to provide high-quality photos and videos in order to receive travel to and from Iceland.

The requirements also include giving the hotel “unlimited license to mutually agreed-upon photographs and videos.”

“In exchange for providing content of the northern lights at the hotel, this seasonal employee will receive free room and board along with access to the hotel‘s stargazing observatory and hot tubs, not to mention the opportunity to explore the photogenic land of fire and ice on their days off,” the hotel wrote on its website.

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In Iceland, aurora borealis can be seen between September and March.

The lights can appear at any time of the night and the hotel even has a so-called “aurora wake-up service” so guests don’t miss the lights.

Interested photographers can apply for this dream job now at hotelranga.is/lights-catchers-wanted.

Indianapolis FedEx facility mass shooter wanted to ‘demonstrate his masculinity,’ FBI says

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit concluded that the shooter who killed eight at a FedEx facility in April carried out the shooting as “an act of suicidal murder.”

“The shooter decided to commit suicide in a way which he believed would demonstrate his masculinity and capability of fulfilling a final desire to experience killing people,” FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Paul Keenan said at a press conference announcing the results of the investigation Wednesday.

In April, Brandon Scott Hole allegedly opened fire outside the building and in a locker room area of the FedEx facility just outside of Indianapolis.

Hole was “indiscriminate” at who he shot at both inside and outside of the facility, adding that he was outside for a total of three minutes before walking back into the locker room and taking his own life, Craig McCartt, deputy chief of investigations for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said.

He was stopped from entering the facility by the physical security barriers put in place.

“It certainty could’ve been much worse had he gotten access to the back part of that facility where there was a lot of other employees,” McCartt said.

Acting U.S. Attorney John Childress said Hole was “exacerbated by mental health issues.”

The Behavioral Analysis Unit concluded that shooter “did not appear” to be motivated by the need to address any injustices, nor did the shooter “appear to have been motivated by bias, or desire to advance any ideology.” Four of the victims of the shooting came from the area’s Sikh community.

The FBI said that after examining over 175,000 files on his computer they found 200 files of “mainly German military, German Nazi things.”

“But there was no indication that there was any animosity towards the Sikh community or any other group for that matter,” Keenan said.

The FBI said there wasn’t any evidence to suggest he targeted the FedEx facility other than that is a location he knew well. Also, the FBI said 73% of mass shooters carry out an attack at a place with which they are familiar. Hole had worked at the facility from August to October 2020.

“He also incorrectly believed he had identified a vulnerability which would have given him unobscured access to many potential victims,” Keenan said.

McCartt also said that Hole’s mother reported him to the IMPD in March 2020, saying he might want to carry out suicide by cop after which the department confiscated a shotgun belonging to Hole. A police report from that incident showed that officers also observed white supremacist material on Hole’s computer.

“He never got that gun back in his possession, but then some months later he was able to buy more firearms,” McCartt explained.

The FBI said Hole started acquiring guns that were used in the eventual shooting in July 2020.

The shooter simply just stopped showing up for work and that is why he lost his job, McCartt explained, adding Hole acted alone in his efforts.

“In talking with other employees and FedEx personnel, he had never had any kind of issue there,” McCartt added.

Bipartisan infrastructure deal reached: Negotiators

July 28, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Negotiators say they have a deal on bipartisan infrastructure.

A redo of last week’s failed test vote is expected Wednesday evening. Republican negotiators, all of whom blocked the procedural motion last week, said they’re ready to vote tonight, though a Democratic leadership aide said a time has not yet been set for the vote.

Negotiators also said they expect enough Republicans to support beginning debate.

Democrats called a special lunch to talk about the proposal behind closed doors this afternoon. Many say their support will hinge upon what is discussed during the meeting.

Details about the agreement are still emerging, but an aide close to the talks confirmed to ABC News that the topline value for new spending has decreased from $579 billion to $550 billion.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., the chief Democratic negotiator, told reporters that she expects some of the bill text to be available Wednesday, with further updates released as remaining details are worked out.

A “small tiny thing” related to transit and a “small thing” related to broadband must still be addressed, Sinema said.

Sinema said she spoke with President Joe Biden and said he is “very excited” about and “committed to” the plan.

Sen. Rob Portman, who has been the chief negotiator for Republicans on the bill, announced the agreement flanked by the four other Republicans in the core negotiating group.

“As of late last night and really early this morning we now have an agreement on the major issues we are prepared to move forward,” Portman said. “We look forward to moving ahead and having the opportunity to have a healthy debate here in the chamber regarding an incredibly important project to the American people.”

Democrats who are part of the negotiations confirmed that a deal had been struck.

Sen. Joe Manchin, asked if it was his understanding that a bipartisan deal had been reached, replied “That sure is.”

It’s still not clear if all Democrats are going to support the bipartisan deal. Democratic Whip Dick Durbin Wednesday morning said it was an “unanswered question” whether all Democrats back the deal.

“I don’t believe we certainly don’t have a whip or people signing on the dotted line,” Durbin said. “We need some assurances that we are all in this together.”

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