News – Page 615 – 105.7 WDNY

Measles death of unvaccinated child is 1st fatality in West Texas outbreak

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people.

Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday.

In a press release, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said the child was hospitalized in the northwestern city of Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles.

As of Wednesday, 124 cases of measles have been confirmed associated with the outbreak, according to data from DSHS.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 18 people have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.

Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 62, followed by 39 cases among children ages 4 and under.

The outbreak began in Gaines County, which has become the epicenter, with 80 cases confirmed among residents, according to DSHS.

The outbreak has since spread to several counties in the region and is “suspected” to have spread into New Mexico, according to New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). Nine cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders Texas. Of the nine cases, four are among children, according to NMDOH.

“This death underscores the real danger of measles — it’s a severe disease that can take lives despite being preventable with vaccination,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and ABC News contributor. “Every new case is a reminder of why vaccination is critical. Tragically, with an outbreak of this scale, a fatal case was not unexpected, especially among those unvaccinated. Given how contagious measles is, we anticipate more cases in the coming weeks.”

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The CDC currently recommends people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years.

About 93% of kindergarteners nationwide received select routine childhood vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, for the 2022-23 school year, according to a November 2023 CDC report.

This is about the same as the previous school year, but lower than the 94% seen in the 2020-22021 school year and the 95% seen in the 2019-2020 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter percentage had been the standard for about 10 years.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

White House formally instructs agencies to prepare for ‘large-scale’ layoffs and reorganization

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is directing all federal agencies to “promptly” begin preparations for large-scale layoffs and restructuring, and submit plans for doing do so by March 13, according to a new memo obtained by ABC News.

The memo, from White House budget director Russ Vought, and Charles Ezell, the head of the Office of Personnel Management, was issued Wednesday morning, and includes instructions for agencies to follow as they work to downsize their workforces, and in some cases, physical footprints.

The move could formally clear the way for the administration to begin dismantling or shrinking agencies like the Department of Education and will likely prompt a new flurry of lawsuits as the process takes shape.

“President Trump required that ‘Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with applicable law.’ President Trump also directed that, no later than March 13, 2025, agencies develop Agency Reorganization Plans,” the memo states.

“Pursuant to the President’s direction, agencies should focus on the maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required functions,” the letter adds.

The memo encourages agencies to “consolidate” areas that are “duplicative,” and “implement technical solutions that automate routine tasks,” a directive that aligns with Elon Musk’s public statements about automating some of the work conducted by government workers.

The memo includes some exemptions: positions related to law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement and public safety roles. Military personnel and all uniformed personnel are also exempt — including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Public Health Service and commissioned officers in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

The directive also exempts the U.S. Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President and any presidential appointments and Senate-confirmed roles.

The memo also states that “agencies or components that provide direct services to citizens,” including Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ health care, should not begin any restructuring without sign off from the Office of Management and Budget or OPM.

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

1st measles death linked to outbreak in Texas confirmed in child

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people.

Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday.

In a press release, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said the child was hospitalized in Lubbock, located in northwestern Texas, last week and tested positive for measles.

As of Wednesday, 124 cases of measles have been confirmed, according to data from DSHS.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 18 people have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.

Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 62, followed by 39 cases among children ages 4 and under.

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

‘There is no more American dream’: Migration into US slows, reverses south

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Migration to the United States has largely stopped, frozen in place amid prohibitive new restrictions put in place by President Donald Trump’s administration. Thousands of migrants are now giving up mid-journey and going home.

From Mexico to Panama, a region dominated in recent years by migrant flows heading north, reverse migration is in full swing. The exact number of people going south is impossible to count, but anecdotally there is no question the numbers are in the thousands and quickly rising.

“There is no more American dream,” one migrant told international news agency AFP. “There’s no hope now, none.”

Former President Joe Biden’s administration also played a big role in slowing down arrivals to the southern border. And though funneling asylum claims through the CBP One app was enough to stop most migrants from moving forward toward the border, it did not persuade them to go back home. There was still hope.

But through fast action and strong deterrents, Trump has been remarkably effective at curbing irregular migration to the United States. As important to that effort as actual policy changes has been the public messaging surrounding it.

With migration trending back southward, it is apparent that migrants have lost hope.

Each day, hundreds of migrants line up outside an immigration office in southern Mexico.

They’re putting their names on a list for future repatriation flights sponsored by the Mexican government. They are primarily Venezuelan and Colombian, the two biggest recent emigration hot spots.

However, little info about the flights is available — so many are choosing not to wait, instead walking and riding buses along the same path that took them north just a few months ago.

As a result, at border checkpoints in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, there are now migrants walking south.

In a tiny Indigenous town along the Panamanian Atlantic coast, hundreds of migrants sit and wait to board rickety boats that will cross the sea, landing in Colombia. Each ticket costs $250.

For those that don’t have the money, they will have to walk back through the Darien Gap jungle, the perilous land bridge between Central and South America that many crossed just months before.

It’s entirely possible that February numbers will reflect that, for the first time, more migrants will head south through the Darien Gap than north.

Crossings north into Panama last month were down 94% year over year, the lowest total crossings since February 2021.

The reason everyone is going home is twofold: One, the Trump administration has effectively made it impossible to apply for asylum, blocking nearly all entries to the U.S. Two, the climate of fear among migrants in the U.S. is palpable.

Migrants know the hostile environment that awaits them and are instead choosing the better of two bad options: Head back home and tough it out.

Menendez brothers: Newsom orders parole board to investigate whether they’d pose ‘unreasonable risk’ to public if released

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom told the Menendez brothers’ attorney he’s ordering the parole board to launch a “comprehensive risk assessment” investigation into whether the brothers pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if released.

“The Governor’s primary consideration when evaluating commutation applications is public safety, which includes the applicant’s current risk level, the impact of a commutation on victims and survivors, the applicant’s self-development and conduct since the offense, and if the applicant has made use of available rehabilitative programs, addressed treatment needs, and mitigated risk factors for reoffending,” the governor’s office said in the letter to defense attorney Mark Geragos. “The Governor’s Office will make the findings of the Board’s risk assessment investigation available to the court and the District Attorney.”

Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, have submitted a request for clemency to Newsom. In November, the governor said he’d defer to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s “review and analysis” of the case before making any decisions.

Besides clemency, the brothers have been pursuing two other paths to freedom.

One is the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which was filed in 2023 for a review of two new pieces of evidence not presented at trial: a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father, and allegations from a former boy band member who revealed in 2023 that he was raped by Jose Menendez.

Hochman announced Friday he’s asked the court to deny the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, arguing the new evidence isn’t credible or admissible.

The other is resentencing.

In October, then-LA County District Attorney George Gascón announced he supported resentencing for the brothers. Gascón recommended their sentences of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.

The DA’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

Weeks after Gascón’s announcement, he lost his race for reelection to Hochman.

When Hochman came into office on Dec. 3, he promised to review all the facts before reaching his own decision. Hochman has yet to announce if he is in support of or against resentencing for the brothers.

A hearing regarding the resentencing case is set for March 20 and 21.

The Menendez brothers’ case began in 1989, when Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, shot and killed their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, in the family’s Beverly Hills home.

The defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father. Prosecutors alleged they killed for money.

Their first trial ended in a mistrial. Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted in 1996 following their second trial.

The brothers were sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.

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

Ceasefire depends on security guarantee, Zelenskyy says, amid mineral deal bargaining

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(KYIV and LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday that Ukraine has been working on a “preliminary framework” for a minerals sharing deal with the U.S., but again warned that no agreement can succeed without sufficient Western security guarantees.

“Without future security guarantees, we will not have a real ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said. “And if we don’t have it nothing will work. Nothing will work.”

The president told ABC News that Trump will face a “lot to challenges” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “It is very difficult really. I understand President Trump wants to do it quickly.”

“But this is not dialogue with somebody,” Zelenskyy added. “He will have a lot of challenges with Putin, because he doesn’t want to end the war.”

“The most important is to end the war yesterday,” the president continued. “We need to focus to get peace without any possibility to get back to the war. That is why we are focusing on just peace and lasting. This is more important than weeks. Of course we want within days.”

Zelensky also said he is ready to be “flexible” about security guarantees, suggesting the U.S. didn’t need to be at the center of them but could contribute alongside other countries. The president added that he wants to ask Trump if the U.S. might stop American military aid in the future. For now, he said, there is no freeze in aid.

Zelenskyy stressed that any minerals deal cannot put Ukraine in debt for previous wartime American grants. That would open a “Pandora’s box,” he said, allowing other nations to demand repayments.

A Ukrainian official described to ABC News details of a potential U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal, sharing points that appear to suggest Kyiv has succeeded in significantly improving the terms, perhaps staring down some of the Trump administration’s more onerous demands.

The $500 billion demanded by Trump no longer features in the draft, a Ukrainian official told ABC News. The fund that Ukraine will pay into is also no longer going to be 100% U.S. owned, the official said.

The two countries have agreed to a deal relating to critical minerals and other resources, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump did not confirm the U.S. had agreed, instead saying he had heard that Zelenskyy will visit Washington, D.C., to finalize the deal on Friday and that “it’s OK with me if he’d like to.”

The terms of a final agreement haven’t yet been disclosed.

The Ukrainian official said the resources that the agreement will apply to are only those not currently contributing to the Ukrainian budget, which means no oil and gas, or likely the majority of the country’s mineral resources.

If the final deal remains close to those terms, the deal may actually be quite restricted in real economic terms.

Carl Bildt, the former Swedish prime minister and co-chair of the European council on foreign relations, told BBC News that the mineral seems like a “sideshow” and was mostly designed to “keep Mr Trump happy.”

“But it is not going to give a lot of money to the U.S., and I don’t see it having any materially economic effect for very many years,” Bildt told the BBC.

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

ABC News’ Will Gretsky contributed to this report.

Why Trump’s ‘very big’ Ukraine minerals deal may not be an easy win

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — President Donald Trump’s pursuit of a deal to access Ukrainian mineral resources has upended America’s transatlantic ties in recent weeks, with the White House unsettling European allies and Ukrainian partners with a push for future profits.

Trump on Tuesday lauded the draft agreement as a “very big deal,” one that he said will grant Kyiv “military equipment and the right to fight on.”

Various estimates suggest there could be hundreds of billions — perhaps even trillions — of dollars worth of rare earth minerals under Ukrainian soil. Among them are thought to be significant deposits of lithium, titanium, copper, nickel, cobalt, graphite and uranium.

Just before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his nation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Svetlana Grinchuk said her nation was one to “about 5% of all the world’s ‘critical raw materials.'”

Nonetheless, there is a paucity of information on the extent and accessibility of Ukrainian mineral resources.

“Unfortunately, there is no modern assessment” of rare earth reserves in Ukraine, Roman Opimakh — the former director general of the Ukrainian Geological Survey — told S&P Global Commodity Insights this month. “And there is still restriction to make this information public.” Current estimates are based on Soviet-era mapping and exploration methods, he added.

Indeed, the section of the Ukraine’s State Service of Geology and Subsoil website detailing the country’s potential reserves is not currently accessible. “In accordance with legal requirements, open access to this section of the site is limited for the period of martial law,” a message reads.

The resources that are there will not necessarily be easy to reach, Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz of the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote this month.

The financial returns of Trump’s would-be deal are “unlikely to be consequential in the medium term given the barriers to investment,” they wrote.

The war has wiped out “essential” mining infrastructure, they added, as well as the power generating capabilities needed to feed intensive mining projects. “There will need to be a significant buildout of energy infrastructure” for mineral exploration or production to commence,” the authors said.

The development of a single mine can cost up to $4 million, Oleksandr Vodoviz — the head of the chief executive officer’s office at Metinvest Group — said. Developing a facility akin to the coking coal plant in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine — which is the largest enterprise in Ukraine — would require around $10 billion.

Persistent security risks may also deter required investment. “While Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy may reach a peace deal, the threat of further conflict and land expropriation will loom given the long-standing nature of the conflict,” Baskaran and Schwartz said.

The geographical spread of Ukraine’s minerals complicates the security picture. Many concentrations of the most valuable resources are in the east of the country, including in territory currently occupied by Russian forces and along the devastated front line, within range of Russian weapons.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seemingly aware of the global appeal of Ukraine’s natural resources, cited them in his October 2024 “Victory Plan.”

The fourth of its five points noted Ukrainian natural resources as “our opportunity for growth,” and offered its strategic partners investment opportunities in this arena. This point also had a secret annex that was only shared with designated partners.

The U.S. is set to lead the foreign investment charge. A senior Ukrainian official told ABC News on Tuesday that the two sides had agreed the terms of the proposed deal.

Trump did not confirm the U.S. had agreed, instead telling reporters he had heard that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington, D.C., to finalize the compact on Friday. “It’s OK with me if he’d like to,” Trump said.

The president has framed the minerals deal as a means to recoup American wartime aid to Ukraine, claiming — without offering evidence — that the U.S. has contributed $350 billion to Kyiv over three years.

The deal foresees the creation of a jointly-owned U.S.-Ukrainian reconstruction investment fund, through which resources can be owned and developed.

A Ukrainian government source told ABC News that the latest version of the agreement does not include the initial U.S. demand of access to resources worth $500 billion, nor the opening position that the U.S. would entirely own the proposed investment fund.

It also appears that the resources the agreement does not cover resources that currently contribute to the Ukrainian budget — that means no oil and gas, or likely the majority of the country’s mineral resources.

Carl Bildt, the former Swedish prime minister and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, told BBC News the mineral deal seems like a “sideshow” and mostly designed to “keep Mr. Trump happy.”

“But it is not going to give a lot of money to the U.S., and I don’t see it having any materially economic effect for very many years,” Bildt said.

Ukraine is demanding security guarantees as part of the deal, though ABC News understands that provision is not currently part of the draft agreement. Zelenskyy and Trump are expected to discuss the issue when the former travels to Washington, D.C. on Friday.

ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Patrick Reevell and Natalia Popova contributed to this report.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams asks court to toss case against him due to prosecutorial misconduct

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams should be dropped because of “an extraordinary flurry” of leaks by prosecutors, his attorney said in a new court filing Wednesday.

The attorney, Alex Spiro, accused “someone within the government” of leaking a letter written by then-acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, who resigned in protest of an order to dismiss the bribery and campaign finance charges.

The letter, dated Feb. 12, said the Justice Department agreed to dismiss criminal charges as part of a quid pro quo to secure the mayor’s help with President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

“The disclosure of this letter to the press was part of an extraordinary flurry of leaked internal Justice Department correspondence that included memoranda from the Acting Deputy Attorney General to the Southern District and an unhinged resignation letter by one of the former line prosecutors on this case,” Spiro said.

The line prosecutor Spiro references is Hagan Scotten, whose resignation letter said only a “fool” or “coward” would carry out the order to drop the mayor’s case.

“In addition to violating Mayor Adams’s fundamental constitutional rights and ability to receive a fair trial, the government’s leaks violated numerous statutory and court rules, including the Justice Department’s own longstanding policies aimed at curbing prosecutorial misconduct,” Spiro said. “Simply put, the government’s conduct has destroyed whatever presumption of innocence Mayor Adams had left.”

The judge, Dale Ho, declined to immediately grant the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss the case and appointed Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general, to examine the government’s motives.

In the new motion filed first thing Wednesday morning, Adams asked the court to toss the case for a new reason — prosecutorial misconduct.

“The Court should act swiftly and dismiss this case with prejudice to prevent further irrevocable harm to Mayor Adams,” the motion said.

Ukrainian official suggests US mineral deal terms improved for Kyiv

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(KYIV) — A Ukrainian official described to ABC News details of a potential U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal, sharing points that appear to suggest Kyiv has succeeded in significantly improving the terms, perhaps staring down some of the Trump administration’s more onerous demands.

The two countries have agreed to a deal relating to critical minerals and other resources, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump did not confirm the U.S. had agreed, instead saying he had heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington, D.C., to finalize the deal on Friday and that “it’s OK with me if he’d like to.”

The terms of a final agreement haven’t yet been disclosed.

If the final deal remains close to those terms, the deal may actually be quite restricted in real economic terms.

“But it is not going to give a lot of money to the U.S., and I don’t see it having any materially economic effect for very many years,” Bildt told the BBC.

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

ABC News’ Will Gretsky contributed to this report.

Trump to hold 1st Cabinet meeting; Elon Musk will be there, too

February 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is holding the first Cabinet meeting of his second term on Wednesday.

Joining the group will be Elon Musk, the lead adviser of the Department of Government Efficiency whose high status inside the administration has caused some confusion and court challenges.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Musk would be present during Tuesday’s briefing.

“Considering he is working alongside the president and our Cabinet secretaries, this entire administration will be in attendance tomorrow just to talk about DOGE’s efforts and how all of the Cabinet secretaries are identifying waste, fraud and abuse at their respective agencies,” Leavitt told reporters.

The meeting will take place amid DOGE’s effort to implement mass federal workforce cuts. Mixed signals have come from Musk and the administration after a Musk-directed ultimatum to federal workers to essentially prove their worth through email or face termination.

Leavitt said on Tuesday that Trump was deferring to Cabinet secretaries to enact the Office of Personnel and Management guidance, but claimed the administration was unified on the issue and that agency heads were not caught off guard.

“Let me be very clear, the president and Elon, and his entire Cabinet, are working as one unified team and they are implementing these very common-sense solutions,” Leavitt said.

When Musk posted on X last weekend that all federal employees would soon receive an email demanding details of their work from the past week, senior White House officials — who had not been fully briefed on the plan — were initially caught off guard, multiple sources told ABC News.

Musk’s email then set off widespread confusion across the federal government. It created tension among members of Trump’s Cabinet, as multiple agency heads told their employees to hold off on replying until they themselves were briefed on the situation.

The Senate has confirmed Trump’s nominees at a fast pace, approving 18 individuals to date. By comparison, at this point in 2021, the Democrat-led Senate had only confirmed 10 of former President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees.

The quick pace comes despite some of Trump’s picks being considered controversial choices to lead their respective agencies.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News host, overcame several misconduct allegations to be confirmed after Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., under criticism for his past anti-vaccine views, was narrowly confirmed in a 52-48 vote as was Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

When Trump first publicly held court with his Cabinet in 2017, during his first presidency, members heaped praise on him.

One by one, members thanked Trump and complimented his leadership for several minutes in front of reporters before the meeting shifted to behind closed doors. “Thank you, Mr. President. This is the greatest privilege of my life,” then-Vice President Mike Pence said as he kicked things off.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, then the majority leader, mocked the administration with a spoof video recreating the scene with his own staff.

Trump on Tuesday said his Cabinet had some “great people” but that he believes this bench is “deeper.” Trump has said the biggest mistake of his first term was installing “disloyal people.”

“I think it’s better,” he said of this Cabinet. “I had some people I didn’t really like so much in my Cabinet. But I didn’t know Washington then, I was a New York person.”

+ More