News – Page 456 – 105.7 WDNY

RFK Jr. says people should not take medical advice from him, defends HHS cuts during congressional hearings

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the nation’s most publicly recognized vaccine skeptics, took a softened approach on vaccines when he answered questions before a House committee Wednesday morning, saying, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.”

Kennedy, who also testified before a Senate committee the same day, defended the massive cuts to the department’s workforce and laid out his priorities for the Trump administration’s proposed budget.

Kennedy’s congressional committee appearances marked the first time he testified before Congress since his confirmation hearings in late January, and forced Kennedy to confront statements he made that critics said were evidence of promises broken.

Kennedy says his ‘opinions about vaccines are irrelevant’

During the House hearing, Kennedy avoided sharing his own thoughts about vaccines — which have previously invited skepticism — instead deferring to the doctors running the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Asked by Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan if he would today vaccinate his own children for measles and chickenpox, Kennedy said “probably” for measles, but that “what I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant.”

“I don’t want to seem like I’m being evasive, but I don’t think people should be taking advice, medical advice from me,” Kennedy said.

He said he has directed NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya to try to “lay out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, accurately as we understand them, with replicable studies,” for people to “make that decision.”

His comments mark a departure from his strong opinions about vaccines before taking office as HHS secretary.

During his confirmation hearing in January, Kennedy said that he supports vaccines, although he refused to unequivocally say that vaccines don’t cause autism, despite numerous existing studies already showing there is no link. However, in March, the HHS confirmed that the CDC will study whether vaccines cause autism.

Shortly after Kennedy said people should not take his medical advice, some public health experts criticized the comments — with one saying that giving people guidance “is [Kennedy’s] job.”

“The problem is that is his job — the top line of his job description — is the nation’s chief health strategist. That is the top line of every health official, federal, state, local leader. That is his job, is to give people the best advice that he can. I believe that he’s giving up on, in my view, his chief responsibility,” Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told reporters on a call in which he and other health leaders responded to Kennedy’s testimony in front of the House Appropriations Committee.

Benjamin pointed out that Kennedy has, in fact, seemed to advise people on how to treat measles, leading them toward unproven remedies.

Democrats push Kennedy on cuts: ‘You can’t fire 90% of the people and assume the work gets done’

Democrats on both the House and Senate committees questioned Kennedy about cuts to HHS — with several testy exchanges.

In April, HHS began laying off about 10,000 workers and consolidating 28 institutes and centers into 15 new divisions.

Including the roughly 10,000 people who have left over the last few months through early retirement or deferred resignation programs, the overall staff at HHS is expected to fall from 82,000 to around 62,000 — or about a quarter of its workforce.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, quoting ABC News’ reporting last week, asked Kennedy about cuts to the CDC’s lead poisoning prevention program.

Though the program has been completely gutted and the expert staff has been laid off, Kennedy said he believes lead poisoning to be an “extremely significant concern” and said he does not intend to eliminate the program.

Kennedy suggested that HHS would still spend the money appropriated to the program — but didn’t offer any details on how the work would continue without any expert staff.

In another heated exchange, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray asked Kennedy about cuts to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, including the reinstatements that are mostly in Ohio and West Virginia. She said no one has been reinstated in the Western states, including at the Spokane, Washington, office that does research into miner safety.

“The work in NIOSH will not be interrupted,” Kennedy said. “We understand it’s critically important function, and I did not want to see it end.”

Murray quipped back, “I would just say you can’t fire 90% of the people and assume the work gets done.”

During the earlier House hearing, Kennedy continued to maintain that widespread cuts at HHS have not impacted key health programs, saying he has not withheld any funding for lifesaving research at NIH and continues to prioritize pillars such as Head Start, Medicare and Medicaid.

But in a tense back-and-forth with Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, she demanded Kennedy’s assurance that he would not cut programs that have been approved and funded by Congress, which has “the power of the purse” ascribed to it in the Constitution.

Kennedy said he would spend appropriated money — which drew repeated exasperation from DeLauro, who pointed to $20 billion in cuts to NIH.

Kennedy asserted that his goal at HHS is to focus on the chronic disease epidemic and deliver effective services for those who rely on Medicare, Medicaid and other services by cutting costs to taxpayers.

“We intend to do more, a lot more with less. The budget I’m presenting today supports these goals and reflects two enduring American values, compassion and responsibility,” Kennedy said.

DeLauro slammed Kennedy and the Trump’s administration for the cuts to HHS, including the elimination of entire divisions.

“Mr. Secretary, you are gutting the life-saving work of the Department of Health and Human Services and its key agencies while the Republicans in this Congress say and do nothing,” DeLauro said. “Because of these cuts, people will die.”

DeLauro also finished the hearing with an impassioned plea for Kennedy to stop cutting programs, telling him he does not have the authority to go against what Congress allocated in the budget.

“You do not have the authority to do what you are doing,” she said.

Kennedy defends measles outbreak response, measles vaccine stance

Kennedy rebuked criticism of his agency’s response to the measles outbreak, which has surpassed 1,000 cases for the first time in five years, according to the CDC.

A total of 92 patients have been hospitalized over the course of the outbreak and two school-aged children died in Texas. Both were unvaccinated and had no known underlying conditions, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“We are doing a better job at CDC today than any nation in the world controlling this measles outbreak,” Kennedy said.

DeLauro hit back, saying that Kennedy’s comparison of the U.S. response to measles to the response of other countries was unfair.

“Mr. Secretary, you keep comparing the U.S. to other countries, compare us to Europe, but the Europe you are referring to is the WHO European region, [which] has 53 countries in Europe and in Asia, including those with low … vaccination rates like Romania and that has never eliminated measles,” she said. “If you compare us to western Europe countries that we often compare ourselves to, like Great Britain, they have seen no measles death.”

Kennedy argued that the U.S. is doing better than other countries in the Americas with smaller populations, including Canada and Mexico.

DeLauro scolded Kennedy for promoting vaccine skepticism in the wake of a measles outbreak spreading across the U.S.

Kennedy has shared contradicting views about vaccines. In a post on X on April 6, Kennedy said that the “most effective way to prevent the spread of measles” is to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, in a post later that evening, he said more than 300 children have been treated with an antibiotic and a steroid, neither of which are recognized treatments or cures for measles.

A particularly heated moment occurred when Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told Kennedy that the secretary has equivocated when discussing the measles vaccine. Murphy noted instances in which Kennedy has touted the effectiveness of the vaccine before listing its potential harms.

Kennedy, angry at the line of questioning, interrupted Murphy, claiming his prior comments were true.

When Murphy pressed for Kennedy to say directly whether he recommended the measles vaccine for people, Kennedy, who told CBS News in an April interview that he did recommend the shot, said, “I am not going to just tell people everything is safe and effective if I know that there’s issues. I need to respect people’s intelligence.”

Vaccine specialists say the measles vaccine is durable and two doses in your youth is sufficient for lifelong protection without the need for a booster. The CDC notes on its website that the agency “considers people who received two doses of measles vaccine as children according to the U.S. vaccination schedule protected for life, and they do not ever need a booster dose.”

Numerous studies over decades across multiple countries have confirmed the safety and efficacy of the MMR vaccine, the American Academy of Pediatrics notes. Additionally, monitoring for the safety of a vaccine does not end after the shot has been licensed for use. There are federal health databases in which anyone can report side effects or reactions following a vaccine — officials are then able to review these reports and identify any potential safety issues.

Mother allegedly buys ammunition, tactical gear for son’s planned ‘mass targeted violence’ at middle school: Officials

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(SAN ANTONIO, Texas) — A Texas mother has been arrested and charged for allegedly buying ammunition and tactical gear for her son’s planned “mass targeted violence” at his middle school, officials said.

Ashley Pardo, 33, was arrested on Monday and charged with aiding in commission of terrorism after she allegedly provided ammunition and tactical gear to her son, whose behavior demonstrated plans for a “mass targeted violence” aimed at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.

Back in January, Pardo’s son was first contacted in reference to “drawings of the local school he currently attended,” the affidavit said. These drawings included a map of the school — labeled “suicide route” — and the name of the school written beside a rifle, the affidavit said.

The son, who was not named in the affidavit, was contacted by officials at the time and described a “fascination with past mass shooters,” according to the affidavit.

In April, the son was found researching the 2019 Christchuch mosque shooting in New Zealand — a tragedy that killed 51 people — on a school-issued computer, the affidavit said.

He was “subsequently suspended and later in the day attempted suicide with a straight razor causing significant injuries and requiring over 100 stitches,” the affidavit noted. The boy attended an alternative school until May 7, according to officials.

His grandmother, with whom he had been staying “on various occasions,” contacted police on Monday after she found her grandson “hitting a live bullet with a hammer,” the affidavit said.

The middle schooler told his grandmother he received the bullet from Pardo and that she had “guns and ammunition at her house,” according to the affidavit.

The grandmother told officials Pardo had been taking the boy to a local surplus store and bought him magazines, a tactical black vest “capable of concealing ballistic plates,” a tactical black helmet and various army clothing, the affidavit said.

On Monday, the boy told his grandmother he was “going to be famous” before being picked up by his mom and taken to school, according to officials.

The grandmother then looked through the boy’s bedroom, where she found magazines loaded with live rifle ammunition and pistol magazines loaded with live ammunition, the affidavit said.

She also found an “improvised explosive device” — a mortar-style firework wrapped in duct tape — among the boy’s belongings, the affidavit noted. The explosive device had the words “For Brenton Tarrant,” referencing the shooter in the 2019 mosque attack, along with multiple “SS” symbols and “14 words” — referencing white supremacy — written on it, according to the affidavit.

Along with the weaponry, the grandmother found a handwritten note referring to previous mass shootings, mass shooting suspects and the number of victims in each incident, the affidavit said.

Pardo had been aware of the threats made by her son, expressed to the school her support of his “violent expressions and drawings” and said she did not feel concerned for his behavior, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit noted that Pardo was purchasing the gear and ammunition for her son in exchange for babysitting his younger siblings.

Democrats say it’s a ‘sad day for DHS’ under Kristi Noem’s leadership in fiery House hearing

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem came under fire from House Democrats while testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee on her department’s 2026 budget on Wednesday.

The hearing quickly turned to immigration and featured back-and-forths with Democrats on the committee, with ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., telling Noem that under her leadership, it is a “sad day for DHS.”

“Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like this that served as a lead Democrat on this committee. Even when, madam secretary, my Republican colleagues and I had strong disagreements, we still have productive conversations and did our duty keep America safe. But that’s not the case any longer,” Thompson told Noem, adding that he is glad that Noem “found time among your many photo ops and costume changes to testify.”

“On your watch, the department is breaking the law, it’s hurting people, and it’s making America less safe,” he added. “The Trump administration is outright lying to the courts and the American people.”

Noem was asked about what occurred last week in New Jersey as three members of Congress attempted to gain access to Delany Hall, a private detention center that is holding ICE detainees, and testified that it was “lawless.” The incident outside the detention center resulted in a melee and ended with the Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat who is also running for New Jersey governor, getting arrested.

“We have footage of those members of Congress slamming their bodies into our law enforcement officers, shoving them screaming profanities in their faces, striking them with their fists and otherwise assaulting law enforcement,” Noem testified. “The behavior was lawlessness, and it was beneath this body. Members of Congress should not break into detention centers or federal facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we certainly would have facilitated a tour.”

Delany Hall falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the members of Congress argued they had a right to conduct lawful “oversight” on the facility through their congressional responsibilities.

“They were cooperating with criminals to create criminal acts. This wasn’t oversight. This was committing felonies,” Noem said earlier this week on Fox News. “This was going out and attacking people who stand up for the rule of law, and it was absolutely horrible.”

Later in the hearing, Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., slammed Noem for what he said was a lack of access to legal counsel.

“You are deporting children with cancer, children who are U.S. citizens, a gay makeup artist who committed no crime and didn’t even enter the country illegally,” Magaziner told Noem. “Instead of focusing on real criminals, you have allowed innocent children to be deported while you fly around the country playing dress-up for the cameras.”

Meanwhile, Noem and House Republicans highlighted what she called “total operational control” of the southern border. Noem said she doesn’t know how many immigrants lacking legal status to be in the U.S. were released into the country during the Biden administration and touted that the Trump administration has focused on fixing the border crisis.

“We truly don’t have any idea how many dangerous individuals are still in the United States of America. Since President Trump has been in office, just in these few short months, we have deported over 250 known terrorists out of the country,” she said.

Noem was also pressed on whether everyone ICE has arrested has received due process — and she answered yes, through the tools that Congress has given it, arguing that expedited removal is a tool that Congress has allowed.

Later in the hearing, the DHS chief was asked about suspending habeas corpus, which ensures people are not unjustly detained or imprisoned, and whether it falls under the constitutional guidelines that a president can suspend it.

“I’m not a constitutional lawyer, but I believe it does,” Noem said, adding that it isn’t her authority to do so. “Well, this is something that’s not in my purview to weigh in on. This is the president’s prerogative, and he has not indicated that they will or will not be taking action.”

Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff, has floated this idea.

Sparking a contentious back-and-forth, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., showed Noem a picture of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s hand that appeared to have the letters MS-13 on his hands to represent what the tattoos mean.

Noem would not answer the question as to whether the photo was edited or manipulated to put the letters on his knuckles, and she appeared to avoid analyzing the photo.

“You won’t look at the photo, and we will not be bringing was it doctored or not in staying here, and you look to your right, the photo in front of madam secretary,” Swalwell said. “Can you look to the right at the photo in front of you?”

“And the letters MS and the numbers 13 — are those doctored or not?” he asked.

“I don’t have any knowledge as to this photo,” she said, adding it is “unbelievable” that Swalwell wanted to focus on Abrego Garcia.

Supreme Court to weigh blocks on Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Thursday over President Donald Trump’s emergency request to roll back nationwide injunctions blocking his executive order to end birthright citizenship.

The rare May sitting of the court sets the stage for a decision by this summer on whether Trump can move forward with plans to limit U.S. citizenship only to children born on American soil to lawful permanent residents.

The case is also expected to address the legality of individual district court judges single-handedly blocking a presidential policy nationwide. Trump is seeking to dissolve judicial orders preventing mass federal layoffs, funding freezes, and expedited deportation protocols.

For more than a century, courts and the government have interpreted the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause to apply to anyone born in the U.S., regardless of the citizenship status of a child’s parents.

The Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, states that all “persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order unilaterally declaring that only newborns whose parents have permanent legal status are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. and therefore eligible to be citizens.

“This administration believes that birthright citizenship is unconstitutional,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained during a February briefing.

Three different sets of plaintiffs sued to block the order, including a group of 22 states, immigrant advocacy groups, and pregnant women whose soon-to-be-born children would be affected.

“Birthright citizenship is at the core of our Nation’s foundational precept that all people born on our soil are created equal, regardless of their parentage,” attorneys for the immigrant advocates wrote in legal briefs.

An estimated 150,000 children are born each year in the U.S. to parents who are not legal permanent residents, according to government data.

“Instead of the right to full participation and belonging in their home country — the United States — these children will be forced to live in the shadow,” the states warned in court filings, “under the constant risk of deportation while the appeals run their course.”

Federal judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state — and three federal appeals court panels — have issued nationwide injunctions keeping the Trump policy on hold during litigation, concluding that it very likely violates the Constitution and high court precedent.

“I have been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the case presented is as clear as it is here,” said Judge John Coughenour of the Western District of Washington during a January hearing in the case. “This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.”

In 1898, the Supreme Court directly addressed the question of citizenship for children born to non-citizens on U.S. soil, ruling in the landmark case U.S. v Wong Kim Ark that they are Americans under the law.

“The [14th] Amendment, in clear words and in manifest intent, includes the children born, within the territory of the United States, of all other persons, of whatever race or color, domiciled within the United States,” wrote Justice Horace Gray for the 6-2 majority. “Every citizen or subject of another country, while domiciled here, is within the allegiance and the protection, and consequently subject to the jurisdiction, of the United States.”

The issue arrives back at the high court in an unusual posture.

Neither side has briefed the justices on the constitutionality of the executive order. Instead, the primary dispute is over the scope of injunctions issued by individual district court judges.

“It focuses only on whether it is appropriate for courts to issue nationwide injunctions against the President’s egregiously unconstitutional executive order, as opposed to remedies limited to people directly involved in the litigation or those living in states that have sued the government,” said Ilya Somin, a constitutional scholar at the Cato Institute.

The Trump administration has complained that judges should only be allowed to block a contested policy insofar as it impacts the actual plaintiffs who brought the case — not block it universally.

“Only this Court’s intervention can prevent universal injunctions from becoming universally acceptable,” acting solicitor general Sarah Harris wrote in the government’s application to the court.

Many of the administration’s high-profile attempts to reshape the federal government, sharply curtail federal spending, transform immigration policy, and limit protections for LGBTQ people have been blocked by nationwide injunctions issued by district courts.

Justice Department attorneys from administrations of both political parties have long complained about the overuse of nationwide injunctions and alleged incursion on executive branch power. The court may use this case to articulate parameters for when such sweeping injunctions are warranted and when they are not.

“This Court should declare that enough is enough before district courts’ burgeoning reliance on universal injunctions becomes further entrenched,” Harris said, calling on the justices to narrow the injunctions applied to the birthright citizenship order.

Immigrant advocates, civil rights organizations, and Democratic state attorneys general have warned that blocking Trump’s birthright citizenship in some places but not others — or, exempting a small group of plaintiffs but not others — would create chaos.

“A situation where Trump’s order is in force for some people, but not others (or, alternatively, in some states but not others), creates obvious confusion and anomalies,” he said, “especially when it comes to a policy (citizenship rules) that is supposed to be uniform throughout the nation.”

Some legal scholars say it may be impossible for the court to address the question of nationwide injunctions without also resolving the underlying dispute over Trump’s attempt to redefine birthright citizenship.

“They’re going to have to address the whole thing,” said Josh Blackman, a constitutional law scholar and professor at South Texas College of Law. “The only way to avoid the scope of the injunction question is to rule on the merits. I believe they’re going to roll against Trump. He gets maybe one or two votes but not much more than that.”

A decision in the case is expected by early summer.

Menendez brothers win resentencing fight: What’s next for their case?

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — Erik and Lyle Menendez have been resentenced to 50 years to life in prison, which makes them immediately eligible for parole — a vindication years in the making for the brothers and their family.

But that doesn’t mean an automatic release from prison.

Here’s a look at what’s next:

The new sentence

Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were arrested in March 1990, were initially sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The brothers said they committed the murders in self-defense after years of abuse by their father.

At the conclusion of Tuesday’s resentencing hearing, Judge Michael Jesic granted them a new sentence of 50 years to life in prison, which follows the recommendation made in October by then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

Gascón recommended the brothers’ sentences of life without parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which is 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they’re eligible for parole immediately under California law.

Gascón’s office said its resentencing recommendations took into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the brothers’ conduct in prison, saying they rehabilitated themselves and started programs to help other inmates.

In November, Gascón lost his reelection bid to Nathan Hochman, who in March filed a motion to withdraw the resentencing petition, calling the brothers’ claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” The judge denied Hochman’s request.

The brothers, who appeared via video at Tuesday’s hearing, addressed the judge directly.

“I killed my mom and dad,” Lyle Menendez told the judge. “I give no excuses.”

He also admitted to committing perjury by lying in court in the ’90s. He apologized to his family for years of lies and the shock and grief of the crimes.

“I committed an atrocious act,” Erik Menendez told the judge. “My actions were criminal, selfish and cowardly. … No excuse.”

He admitted to lying for years and apologized.

What’s next — resentencing case

It could take months before Erik and Lyle Menendez are assigned a parole date for the resentencing case. They are eligible for that parole date right away, as inmates with a sentence of 25 years-to-life or longer can get their hearing during the 25th year of incarceration, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The brothers will likely each have their own individual hearings in front of a three-member parole board at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, the San Diego prison where they’re both housed, according to ABC News legal analyst Matt Murphy.

Murphy said the California Board of Parole’s newly completed risk assessment — which was conducted as a part of the brothers’ separate clemency path — does raise serious red flags that the parole board will take under consideration.

The risk assessment concluded that Erik and Lyle Menendez pose a moderate risk to the community if they’re released, noting that the brothers didn’t follow rules in prison so there’s a likelihood they won’t follow the law outside of prison.

The assessment revealed the brothers possessed illegal cellphones. Erik Menendez had a phone as recently as January of this year, which Hochman stressed was during the resentencing effort when he should have been on his best behavior.

“Cellphones are very dangerous in prison because they can be used to commit crime — they can be used to put hits on people, they can be used to intimidate witnesses,” Murphy explained.

For most prisoners, being caught with a cellphone is enough to be denied parole, Murphy said.

Erik Menendez also allegedly bought and traded drugs and allegedly helped inmates commit tax fraud years ago, according to the assessment.

“Simply because they’re eligible does not mean they’ll be released,” Murphy said. “A majority of life prisoners serving time for murder with parole dates are not released if they’ve had problems in prison.”

The parole board is also likely to weigh if the brothers have taken full responsibility, Murphy said.

The brothers admitted to the crime and admitted to lies in court Tuesday, and their family said they’ve “apologized to all of us” and “spent the last 35 years becoming better men worthy of a second chance.” But the DA insists that they’ve still “failed to come clean with the full extent of their criminal conduct, their cover-up, their lies and their deceit.”

The psychologists also found Lyle Menendez to be narcissistic. The brothers will undergo further psychological evaluations beyond the risk assessment, Murphy said.

If granted parole, they’d be eligible for release immediately after the decision is finalized, which takes about five months, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. If parole is denied, the denial could be for either three, five, seven, 10 or 15 years, according to the department.

What’s next — clemency case

In the meantime, the brothers have a special parole hearing on June 13 regarding their bid for clemency from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. As they did Tuesday, the brothers are expected to appear via video from prison.

The clemency path is separate from the resentencing path. The brothers’ defense team submitted the request for clemency in October 2024 and Newsom can grant clemency at any time.

After the June 13 hearing, Newsom will “submit that report to the judge for the resentencing, and that will weigh into our independent analysis of whether or not to move forward with the clemency application to support a commutation of this case,” the governor said in March on his “This is Gavin Newsom” podcast.

The bigger picture

In an exclusive statement to ABC News hours after the resentencing decision, Erik Menendez said he hopes his case can serve as “one step on the path of widespread justice reform that will give us and so many hopeless souls in prison the continued hope to earn personal redemption.”

“My goal is to ensure there are no more people spending 35 years in prison without hope,” he said. “That possibility of having hope that rehabilitation works is more important than anything that happened to me today.”

The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, agreed, saying their case “encourages people who are incarcerated to make the right decisions, to take the right path.”

But Murphy said he’s concerned the brothers’ win on Tuesday shows the success of victim-blaming.

The brothers have “continued to insist that they believe that Kitty Menendez posed a threat of imminent death or great bodily harm to them, which was rejected by every single appellate court,” Murphy said. Now Murphy predicts “every lifer in the state of California is going to ask for their resentencing.”

Federal court rules against attempt to withhold Endangered Species Act protections from Joshua tree

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK CITY) — A federal court in California sided with environmentalists, striking down a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) attempt to withhold protections for the Joshua tree under the Endangered Species Act.

The Central District of California ruled on Monday that the FWS decision to not provide ESA protections for the Joshua tree is unlawful and sidesteps climate science.

Known for its twisted stalks and unusual outline, the Joshua tree is native to the arid southwestern U.S. and thrives in harsh desert environments.

In 2015, WildEarth Guardians, an environmental nonprofit group, petitioned the FWS to list Joshua trees as a threatened species, but a second 2023 species status assessment by the FWS found that neither Joshua tree species — Yucca brevifolia and Yucca jaegeriana — requires protections.

The FWS said it looked at threats from wildfire, invasive grasses, climate change and habitat loss and fragmentation. It found that none of the threats rose to the level to meet the definition of a threatened or endangered species throughout all or a significant portion of their ranges, according to the assessment.

“Through our scientific assessment, the Service determined that Joshua trees will remain an iconic presence on the landscape into the future. Although the two species do not need the protections of the Endangered Species Act, the Service cares deeply about Joshua trees and their roles in the desert environment,” said Service Pacific Southwest Regional Director Paul Souza in a statement in 2023.

“We are coordinating closely with partners to ensure the long-term conservation of these species, including the National Park Service and other Federal agencies, and the State of California, which is also considering measures for the protection of Joshua trees.”

However, multiple studies have shown that shifts in climate in the Mojave Desert is a major contributor to weather events that threaten Joshua trees, including wildfires.

“The agency’s decision, for a second time, reflected a massive disconnect from what the best available science shows — that climate change and wildfire will prevent Joshua trees from successfully recruiting new generations over the coming years,” Jennifer Schwartz, managing attorney for WildEarth Guardians, said in a statement sent to ABC News.

After the FWS analysis was released, WildEarth Guardians sued the FWS “for its failure to follow federal law” in denying protections for the Joshua tree.

The Central District of California ruled in favor of the environmental nonprofit’s claims, writing in the decision “that the Service has not provided a rational explanation as to why climate change alone does not threaten the species to become threatened or endangered.”

“The Service provides no explanation as to why it did not use current trends and standards regarding greenhouse gas emissions as a basis for its decision, when this data currently is available,” the decision states.

The court also noted that when assessing the “foreseeable future” of the Joshua tree, the FWS only looked to the middle of the 21st century, while the end of the 21st century is the commonly used timeline for most scientific assessments.

“It is essential that the Service considers climate change’s effect on habitat suitability in relation to young Joshua trees, and not just the persistence of stronger, adult Joshua trees,” the order states.

The federal court has instructed the FWS to reconsider whether the Joshua tree should receive ESA protections with more scientific analysis.

The ruling “serves as yet another reminder that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must completely grapple with the ongoing and incoming threats from human-created climate change,” Casey Bage, legal fellow for WildEarth Guardians, said in a statement sent to ABC News.

Bage noted that the science “is clear” in this case.

“We must face these facts head-on in order to protect Joshua trees — and other species — to give them the fighting chance that they deserve,” Bage said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

RFK Jr. says people should not take medical advice from him, defends HHS cuts during House hearing

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the nation’s most publicly recognized vaccine skeptics, took a softened approach on vaccines when he answered questions before a House committee Wednesday morning, avoiding sharing his personal views and instead deferring to the doctors running the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kennedy also defended the massive cuts to the department’s workforce and laid out his priorities for the Trump administration’s proposed budget.

After he appeared before the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday morning, he will head to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the afternoon. The appearances mark the first time Kennedy has testified before Congress since his confirmation hearings in late January, and force him to confront statements he made that critics say are evidence of promises broken.

Kennedy says his ‘opinions about vaccines are irrelevant’

During the House hearing, Kennedy avoided sharing his own thoughts about vaccines — which have previously invited skepticism.

“I don’t want to seem like I’m being evasive, but I don’t think people should be taking advice, medical advice from me,” Kennedy said.

His comments mark a departure from his strong opinions about vaccines before taking office as HHS secretary.

Shortly after Kennedy said people should not take his medical advice, some public health experts criticized the comments — one of whom said that giving people guidance “is [Kennedy’s] job.”

Benjamin pointed out that Kennedy has, in fact, seemed to advise people on how to treat measles, leading them toward unproven remedies.

‘Because of these cuts people will die’

Kennedy continued to maintain that widespread cuts at HHS have not impacted key health programs, saying he has not withheld any funding for lifesaving research at NIH and continues to prioritize pillars such as Head Start, Medicare and Medicaid.

Kennedy said he would spend appropriated money — which drew repeated exasperation from DeLauro, who pointed to $20 billion in cuts to NIH.

In April, HHS began laying off about 10,000 workers and consolidating 28 institutes and centers into 15 new divisions.

Kennedy said his goal at HHS is to focus on the chronic disease epidemic and deliver effective services for those who rely on Medicare, Medicaid and other services by cutting costs to taxpayers.

“We intend to do more, a lot more with less. The budget I’m presenting today supports these goals and reflects two enduring American values, compassion and responsibility,” Kennedy said in his opening statement.

DeLauro slammed Kennedy and the Trump’s administration for the cuts to HHS, including the elimination of entire divisions.

DeLauro also finished the hearing with an impassioned plea for Kennedy to stop cutting programs, telling him he does not have the authority to go against what Congress allocated in the budget.

“You do not have the authority to do what you are doing,” she said.

Kennedy defends measles outbreak response

Kennedy rebuked criticism of his agency’s response to the measles outbreak.

“We are doing a better job at CDC today than any nation in the world controlling this measles outbreak,” Kennedy said.

DeLauro hit back, saying that Kennedy’s comparison of the U.S. response to measles to the response of other countries was unfair.

“Mr. Secretary, you keep comparing the U.S. to other countries, compare us to Europe, but the Europe you are referring to is the WHO European region has 53 countries in Europe and in Asia, including those with low vaccine vaccination rates like Romania and that has never eliminated measles,” she said. “If you compare us to western Europe countries that we often compare ourselves to, like Great Britain, they have seen no measles death.”

Kennedy argued that the U.S. is doing better than other countries in the Americas with smaller populations, including Canada and Mexico.

DeLauro scolded Kennedy for promoting vaccine skepticism in the wake of a measles outbreak spreading across the U.S.

In the wake of several ongoing measles outbreaks across the U.S. and over 1,000 cases so far this year, Kennedy has shared contradicting views about vaccines.

In a post on X on April 6, Kennedy said that the “most effective way to prevent the spread of measles” is to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, in a post later that evening, he said more than 300 children have been treated with an antibiotic and a steroid, neither of which are recognized treatments or cures for measles.

Dentist questions Kennedy’s fluoride comments

Kennedy’s controversial moves on fluoride came up with Republican Rep. Mike Simpson, a dentist, telling Kennedy he was concerned about the secretary’s comments on it.

Last month, Kennedy said he plans to assemble a task force and ultimately change the CDC’s guidance to stop recommending adding fluoride to drinking water and other products. He has claimed that fluoride in drinking water affects children’s neurological development.

The Food and Drug Administration said it will conduct a scientific review of fluoride-containing supplements sometimes used to strengthen children’s teeth by late October with the aim of removing them from the market.

“I’ve seen the benefits having been a practicing dentist for 22 years. … You don’t prevent cavities by fluoride killing the bacteria in the mouth,” Simpson said. “What it does is make the enamel more resistant to decay. So, I want to see the studies on this and where we’re headed with this.”

Previous reviews by public health experts and dental professionals have not shown any serious health risks with the addition of fluoride.

ABC News’ Sarah Beth Hensley and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

Venezuelan toddler who was kept in US after parents were deported is returned to Venezuela

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Venezuelan 2-year-old who was kept in U.S. government custody after her parents were deported has been returned to Venezuela.

In a video posted to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s YouTube page, Maduro is seen greeting the toddler upon the toddler’s return.

The toddler, Maikelys Antonella Espinoza, is seen in the video being carried by Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores before being handed over to the toddler’s mother, Yorley Inciarte, who had been deported two weeks ago from the United States.

Espinoza’s return comes after Maduro and other Venezuelan government officials accused the Trump administration of kidnapping the 2-year old.

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security labeled Inciarte and her partner Maiker Espinoza Escalona as “Tren de Aragua parents,” alleging the two are members of the Venezuelan criminal gang.

Escalona was sent to the CECOT mega-prison in El Salvador on March 30 under Title 8 authorities. Inciarte was deported two weeks ago to Venezuela without her daughter.

“The child’s father, Maiker Espinoza-Escalona is a lieutenant of Tren De Aragua who oversees homicides, drug sales, kidnappings, extortion, sex trafficking and operates a torture house,” DHS said in a statement. “The child’s mother, Yorely Escarleth Bernal Inciarte oversees recruitment of young women for drug smuggling and prostitution.”

“Everything is false,” Inciarte told ABC News in an interview last week. “Here I am waiting for the evidence they have because if they are accusing me, it’s because they have proof of what they are saying — but here I am waiting.”

“When my partner and my daughter arrive here, the only thing I think about is staying here in my country, because the only one who supported me and fought alongside me was my country, no one else,” Inciarte said. “And I will never, ever abandon my homeland. I won’t even mention the United States, it will never come up. Because what I experienced in that country was so horrible, I don’t even want to talk about how bad it is.”

Recession warnings fade after Trump rolls back tariffs

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Recession alarms blared across Wall Street in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement last month, but a recent trade agreement between the U.S. and China has dialed back many of those warnings.

JPMorgan on Tuesday lowered its odds of a recession this year from 60% to below 50%, meaning the U.S. is more likely to grow in 2025 than enter a downturn. Similarly, Goldman Sachs reduced its chances of a recession this year from 45% to 35%.

Stock market gains reflected such optimism. The S&P 500 soared in the immediate aftermath of the U.S.-China agreement, shrugging off previous tariff-induced losses and bringing the index into positive territory for 2025.

The accord between the world’s two largest economies slashed U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while cutting Chinese levies on U.S. products from 125% to 10%.

The previous set of sky-high tariffs had threatened a surge in prices, a disruption of global trade and a possible U.S. recession.

“The risk of a recession over the next 12 months looks substantially lower following the tariff cuts,” Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, told ABC News in a statement.

The drawdown of U.S.-China tariffs marks the latest softening of Trump’s levies.

The White House last month paused far-reaching “reciprocal tariffs” on dozens of countries, just hours after the measures took effect. Trump has also eased sector-specific tariffs targeting autos, and rolled back duties on some goods from Mexico and Canada.

“These massive tariff reductions at this time likely take a recession off the table for now,” Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush, told ABC News in a statement on Monday.

Still, an array of tariffs remain in place. An across-the-board 10% levy applies to imports from nearly all countries. Additional tariffs have hit auto parts, as well as steel and aluminum.

Even after the pullback, a 30% tariff on China far exceeds the level before Trump took office, posing a risk of price increases for a large swathe of products that includes apparel, toys and some electronics.

The rollback of levies on Chinese goods is expected to reduce the average cost of tariffs per household nearly by half but the cost burden will still reach $2,800 in 2025, the Yale Budget Lab found.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned last week of a possible tariff-induced bout of “stagflation,” a term that describes a rise of inflation alongside a slowdown of the economy.

Under such a scenario, the central bank could face difficulty as it weighs a choice between lower rates intended to boost the economy or higher rates aimed at easing inflation.

“If the large increase in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they’re likely to generate a rise in inflation and a slowdown of economic growth,” Powell said. “All of these policies are evolving, however, and their effects on the economy remain highly uncertain.”

For now, the economy has defied inflation fears. Inflation eased in the aftermath of the tariff escalation last month, reaching its lowest level since 2021, government data on Tuesday showed.

The path forward for tariffs remains uncertain, however, clouding the economic outlook, some analysts told ABC News.

The lowered U.S.-China tariffs will remain in place for 90 days while the two sides negotiate a wider trade deal. The White House says it has launched trade discussions with dozens of countries in an effort to strike trade agreements before a pause of the “reciprocal tariffs” lifts in July.

“Will the unpredictable nature of U.S. policy continue or are we now on a more conventional path?” Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank Research, said in a note to clients this week, just hours after the U.S. and China announced the trade agreement. “Not sure I have the answers.”

Israel reports 3 Houthi missiles fired in 24 hours amid plans to expand Gaza offensive

May 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces issued evacuation warnings for three ports in Houthi-controlled Yemen after intercepting two of three ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-backed group in the past 24 hours. The IDF said one Houthi missile misfired on Tuesday.

The IDF said in a post to X that the third missile launched toward Israel on Wednesday was intercepted just before 8 a.m. local time. Air raid sirens rang out from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, sending several million Israelis rushing for cover. About two hours later, IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee ordered those present at the Red Sea ports of Ras Isa, al-Hudaydah and al-Salif to evacuate the area.

“Due to the terrorist Houthi regime’s use of seaports for its terrorist activities, we urge all those present at these ports to evacuate and stay away from them for your own safety until further notice,” Adraee wrote in a post to X.

The IDF routinely issues such evacuation orders ahead of planned airstrikes. The IDF’s first such warning for Yemen was issued on May 6, before Israeli strikes on the Sanaa International Airport in the Yemeni capital.

The spate of Houthi missile attacks came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would enter Gaza with “full force” in the coming days. Last week, Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved plans to expand the IDF’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu said Wednesday that intensified military action is required “to accomplish all of Israel’s war goals, including the release of all our hostages, destroy Hamas’s military and governance capabilities and ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel.”

The Houthis have been attacking U.S. military and global commercial shipping and launching drones and missiles toward Israel since Hamas’ deadly surprise attack on Israel in October 2023. The Houthis say their attacks are a protest of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Last week, the Houthis agreed to end attacks on American commercial shipping in the region in exchange for an end to the intense U.S. airstrikes against them, a campaign President Donald Trump began in March. The Houthis have clarified that this agreement struck with the U.S. does not include stopping its attacks on Israel.

Trump announced the agreement on May 6. Over the next two days, the Houthis launched an attack drone and a ballistic missile toward Israel, both of which the IDF said were intercepted.

While traveling to Saudi Arabia to begin a tour of Gulf nations on Monday, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity of the Houthis, “You know, they’re tough fighters. They can take a lot of punishment.” Asked if the ceasefire would hold, he responded, “With respect to America, they say it’s true. We’ll see.”

The Houthis have vowed to continue attacks on Israel until it ends its operation in Gaza and the blockade of humanitarian aid into the strip. The Israeli war on Hamas began after the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

The attack killed nearly 1,200 people in Israel with 253 others abducted as hostages, the Israeli government said. Fifty-seven hostages remain in Gaza, including 20 who are believed to be alive.

IDF soldier Edan Alexander — the last living U.S. citizen being held hostage in Gaza — was freed on Monday after direct talks between Hamas and the Trump administration. U.S. officials told ABC News that Alexander’s release was viewed as a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration and a potential opening to jumpstart talks on a Gaza ceasefire.

After Netanyahu met top U.S. officials in Israel Monday ahead of Alexander’s release, the Israeli leader announced he would send an Israeli negotiating team to Doha, Qatar, for ceasefire talks. Indirect talks with Hamas entered their second day on Wednesday.

But Netanyahu said Tuesday that any new ceasefire deal reached — for example to facilitate the release of more living hostages — would be temporary. “There will be no way we will stop the war,” Netanyahu said. “We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we’re going to the end.” Netanyahu has repeatedly said that Hamas cannot remain in power in the Mediterranean exclave.

Also on Tuesday, a series of airstrikes targeted the European Hospital near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Mohammad Sinwar — the leader of Hamas in Gaza and the brother of former leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the IDF in October — was the target, an Israeli source familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The IDF has not confirmed Mohammed Sinwar was the target and it is not yet clear whether he was killed in the attack. Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health said that at least six people were killed and 40 others were wounded in the strike.

The IDF claimed its “precise strike” targeted “Hamas terrorists in a command and control center located in an underground terrorist infrastructure site beneath the European hospital.”

The IDF routinely alleges that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, for military activities — allegations Hamas denies.

The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza said Wednesday that at least 70 people were killed and dozens injured in overnight Israelis strikes on various targets across the strip.

At least 50 people — including 22 children — were killed by Israeli attacks on houses in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern part of the strip, the ministry said, citing local hospital officials.

The total death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, now stands at 52,928 people, according to the Ministry of Health, with another 119,846 people injured. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant dead.

+ More