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Harris to hold rally in Georgia as campaign continues to make battleground state push

July 30, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is holding a rally in Atlanta on Tuesday, marking her 15th trip to Georgia since taking office and her first trip to the battleground state since launching her own presidential bid.

On a call with reporters ahead of her trip, Harris’ campaign said Georgia, a formerly red state that voted blue in the last presidential election, is still “in play.”

“The vice president is energizing and mobilizing our base,” said Dan Kanninen, the campaign’s battleground states director. “Having a candidate who can mobilize our key Biden-Harris coalition, talking about the issues that resonate with Georgians … make that state in play.”

Since President Joe Biden announced earlier this month that he was leaving the 2024 race, Harris has secured commitments from enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee if they all honor their commitment when voting, according to ABC News reporting.

The trip comes as the campaign reported raising $200 million in less than a week since Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Harris. The campaign is also boasting 170,000 new volunteers who have signed up to back Harris. This past weekend to commemorate the 100-day mark from November’s election, the campaign hosted 2,300 events across the battleground states with more than 29,000 volunteers participating.

Harris — who will be introduced by a graduate of Morehouse College, a historically Black university — will be joined by Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock as well as former Rep. Stacey Abrams along with several other special guests. One of those special guests will rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who is expected to give a special performance at the rally, a source confirmed to ABC News.

Harris’ remarks at the rally will follow a meeting with local reproductive rights leaders and activists.

Georgia played a crucial role in Biden’s 2020 victory, going blue for the first time since 1992 due, in significant part, to organizing efforts from Abrams, who spent years spearheading get-out-the-vote efforts in Black communities. Harris’ campaign will be looking to replicate success in Georgia by shoring up support among Black voters, a key group of voters that both Harris and former President Donald Trump will work to connect with as the November election approaches.

Biden only won the state by some 12,000 votes in 2020, a win heavily contested by Trump, who is currently in the midst of an election interference case in the state. Trump hasn’t held a campaign event in Georgia since his debate with Biden in June.

Kanninen said although the Harris campaign has achieved an impressive fundraising haul in a short amount of time, they are not getting “comfortable.”

“I continue to be very clear with our partners and with our own staff. This campaign will not get comfortable. We jumped in with just 100 days ago against an opponent who has shown he’s willing to do anything to win,” said Kannien. “This is going to be an incredibly close race just like it was in 2020. But just like four years ago, we are going to win this thing.”

The Harris campaign told reporters they expect the state to be just as “competitive” this election, claiming that their infrastructure in the state gives them an advantage.

“We expect it to be as close as competitive this year,” said Communications Director Michael Tyler. “That’s why we have the team and the operation in place to make sure that we can turn out every single Harris voter in the state of Georgia.”

According to the campaign, they have more than 170 coordinated staff and 24 offices across the state with three of those opening this past weekend. The Trump campaign only recently opened its first campaign office in the state in June.

“We’re making these investments across the entire map because the data is clear. We have multiple pathways to 270 electoral votes,” said Kanninen. “The vice president is strong in both the blue wall and in the Sun Belt and we are running hard in both.”

Woman found dead on picnic table at park pavilion

July 30, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(GREENSBORO, N.C.) — A 19-year-old woman has been found dead on a picnic table under a pavilion at a park in North Carolina, police say.

The woman was found on Sunday at approximately 7:27 p.m. when officers from the Greensboro Police Department responded to the 2900 block of Haig Street after a caller expressed concern about “a person lying on a picnic table under a pavilion in the park at that location,” according to a statement from the Greensboro Police Department detailing the incident.

“The caller advised that the person was not moving. The caller said they had heard what they thought were fireworks about an hour earlier,” the statement said. “On closer inspection, the caller reported that the person was not breathing and had injuries that the caller described as gunshot wounds.”

Responding officers immediately went to the scene where they located the victim — later identified as 19-year-old Jakala Marie Goode — and pronounced her deceased at the scene.

Police are investigating Goode’s death as a homicide but did not disclose any potential motives or suspects in the case.

This is the 22nd homicide in Greensboro this year and police are asking for anybody with information to call Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000.

All tips to Crime Stoppers are completely anonymous and the investigation is currently ongoing.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper withdraws from race to be Harris’ vice presidential running mate

July 30, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statement on Monday night signaling that he’s removed himself from contention as a vice presidential running mate for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

“I strongly support Vice President Harris’ campaign for President. I know she’s going to win and I was honored to be considered for this role. This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket,” he said in a post on X.

“As l’ve said from the beginning, she has an outstanding list of people from which to choose, and we’ll all work to make sure she wins,” he added.

Moments after Cooper issued his statement, he delivered remarks on a “White Dudes for Harris” Zoom call, but did not address withdrawing as a possible running mate. The governor instead took the time to boost Harris’ candidacy, saying, “We know that this country needs Kamala Harris more than ever right now, and we can hold the key now.”

Cooper previously announced his support for Harris’ presidential campaign. On July 21, he formally endorsed the vice president, writing, “Kamala Harris should be the next President. I’ve known @VP going back to our days as AGs, and she has what it takes to defeat Donald Trump and lead our country thoughtfully and with integrity. I look forward to campaigning for her as we work to win NC up and down the ticket.”

Cooper, who is the former chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, was seen as a possible top contender for Harris’ 2024 election ticket to expand the Democratic Party’s reach into swing states.

If Cooper were to join Harris’ campaign, however, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson would become active governor while on the campaign trail, under constitutional law.

Robinson is the Republican party’s nominee for governor in the state, in the race to replace Cooper who is term-limited from running for a third time.

Other rumored contenders for Harris’ running mate include Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

Harris is expected to announce her VP nomination by Aug. 7, ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which will kick off in Chicago on Aug. 19.

Twelve-year-old killed by gunmen on jet skis targeting rival drug dealer, officials say

July 30, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A 12-year-old boy was killed on a beach in Cancun after gunmen on jet skis opened fire, allegedly targeting a rival drug dealer, according to Mexican officials.

The incident, which took place on Kukulcán Boulevard in the municipality of Benito Juárez on Sunday, is now under investigation by the Attorney General’s office.

Prosecutors said they believe “attackers arrived by sea, aboard a jet ski shooting at some people presumably in dispute for drug sales.”

The 12-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, is not believed to have been purposefully targeted by the shooters.

“The authorities arrived immediately and the minor was transferred to the hospital where, unfortunately, he lost his life,” prosecutors said.

The boy and his family, who were present at the time of the shooting, are Mexican and from the municipality.

New Jersey woman fatally shot by police during ‘mental health crisis,’ attorney general says

July 30, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Police in Fort Lee, New Jersey, fatally shot a woman who was experiencing a mental health crisis on Sunday, the state attorney general’s office said.

The woman has not been publicly identified. The incident is now under investigation.

Fort Lee Police Department officers responded to a home at about 1:25 a.m. Sunday after a man called 911, saying his sister was having a mental health crisis and needed to go to the hospital, according to the attorney general’s office. The man said she was holding a knife, the attorney general’s office said.

In the hallway outside the apartment, the man who called 911 spoke to a responding police officer, at which point the officer opened the door to the unit and saw two women inside, according to the attorney general’s office.

The two women, one of whom was believed to be the 911 caller’s sister, “told the officer not to come in and shut the door,” the attorney general’s office said.

The officer knocked on the door, asking the women to open it, but they allegedly did not comply, the office said. More officers then arrived and breached the door.

The sister then “approached the officers in the hallway,” at which point one officer “fired a single shot, striking the female in the chest,” the attorney general’s office said.

It is unclear if the woman was holding a knife at the time she approached the officers, the attorney general’s office said.

Officers then began rendering medical aid to the woman, who was then transported to the hospital, officials said.

She was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1:58 a.m.

The attorney general’s office said a knife was recovered at the scene.

All deaths that take place during law enforcement encounters are required to be investigated by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

Where do Trump and Harris stand on cryptocurrency?

July 29, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump told the audience at a cryptocurrency conference in Nashville, Tennessee, over the weekend that he wants to turn the U.S. into the “crypto capital of the planet.”

The remarks thrust digital currency into the forefront of a presidential campaign in which both major candidates are seeking to draw contrasts on hot-button issues. The political attention comes during an upswing for bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, which has surged 60% in value this year.

Trump, who opposed crypto as president, has recently undertaken a campaign blitz in support of digital assets. By contrast, likely Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has remained quiet on the issue since President Biden ended his reelection bid more than a week ago and endorsed the vice president in his place.

“This is a really live issue,” Aaron Klein, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institute, told ABC News, pointing to key constituencies that disproportionately trade cryptocurrency, such as young voters.

In response to ABC News’ request for comment, the Trump campaign touted the candidate’s support for crypto and the wider tech industry.

“As the Bitcoin conference demonstrated, President Trump wants our nation to regain the global lead for technology, innovation, and manufacturing. That includes crypto and other sectors,” senior adviser Brian Hughes told ABC News in a statement. “Crypto innovators and others in the technology sector are under attack from Kamala Harris and the Democrats who’ve placed obstacles and unnecessary burdens in the way of our nation’s next generation of industry leaders.”

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment on the issue.

Here’s what to know about where Trump and Harris stand on cryptocurrency:

Where does former President Donald Trump stand on cryptocurrency?

While in office, Trump sharply criticized crypto. In 2019, he derided digital assets in a post on X as “highly volatile and based on thin air.”

“Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade,” Trump added.

Lately, however, Trump has voiced full-throated support for crypto. Speaking at the annual Bitcoin Conference on Saturday, Trump vowed to ease regulation of cryptocurrency and establish the federal government’s first National Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Trump also said he would replace Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who many crypto proponents dislike for his robust approach to crypto regulation.

“Trump seems to have had a change of heart and is going all-in on crypto,” Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University who studies digital assets, told ABC News.

In recent weeks, Trump has received endorsements from some major figures in Silicon Valley who back crypto, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a prominent crypto supporter. Other Trump supporters include Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, billionaire crypto entrepreneurs who gained prominence in the early 2000s after suing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

In a post on X on Monday, Cameron Winklevoss said, “We’re going to make America and Bitcoin greater than ever before.”

Prasad said Trump’s about-face on crypto aligns with his effort to appeal to Silicon Valley donors and signal a deregulatory approach toward business.

“He seems to view the crypto industry as a source of financing for this campaign and also as lining up with his anti-big government message,” Prasad said.

It remains difficult to discern exactly where Harris stands on crypto, experts told ABC News.

Where does Vice President Kamala Harris stand on cryptocurrency?

The Biden administration has been widely perceived as tough on crypto, they noted, citing the federal prosecution of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and cryptocurrency regulations enforced by Gensler. However, experts told ABC News, it isn’t clear how closely Harris intends to align herself with Biden on the issue.

Democrats are divided over crypto policy, said Klein, of the Brookings Institute. Progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has been a forceful critic of crypto, for instance, while tech entrepreneur and Harris supporter Mark Cuban has sought a friendlier stance on digital assets, Klein noted.

“The Democratic party has a split,” Klein said.

Harris ultimately may seek to soften the Biden administration’s position on cryptocurrency, experts said. The Harris campaign has contacted top crypto firms in an effort to “reset” relations between the industry and the Democratic Party, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

“I suspect Harris’s campaign will have some level of strategic ambiguity between the Biden administration’s line and what the cryptocurrency industry wants,” Klein told ABC News.

Mark Meadows asks Supreme Court to intervene in Fulton County case, citing Trump immunity decision

July 29, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Mark Meadows, the one-time chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, is continuing his monthslong effort to move the Fulton County criminal case against him into federal court, asking the Supreme Court in a new appeal to intervene on a lower court’s ruling they claim was “dangerously” wrong.

In a filing, dated Friday, Meadows’ attorneys say the lower court erred when it rejected Meadows’ request to move his case out of state court and into federal court, in part by pointing to the court’s recent landmark ruling granting Trump some immunity for official acts

“Just as immunity protection for former officers is critical to ensuring that current and future officers are not deterred from enthusiastic service, so too is the promise of a federal forum in which to litigate that defense,” the 47-page filing states.

Meadows for months has sought to move his case into federal court based on a law that calls for the removal of criminal proceedings when someone is charged for actions they allegedly took as a federal official acting “under color” of their office.

Both a lower court and appeals court have rejected that claim, with one judge writing that Meadows’ actions charged in the indictment “were taken on behalf of the Trump campaign” and not his official duties.

Now, Meadows has appealed the issue up to the Supreme Court, arguing the appeal court’s ruling that the statute does not apply to former officers “defies statutory text, context, history, and common sense.”

“The decision [of the lower court] is not just wrong, but dangerously so,” Meadows’ attorneys continued, again referencing Trump’s immunity ruling. “The Court should grant review, or at the very least vacate and remand in light of Trump.”

The Fulton County election interference case against Trump and 14 others is largely on pause pending an appeal of the disqualification issue. An appeals court has scheduled oral arguments for December.

Meadows has pleaded not guilty.

The historic Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity referenced by Meadows’ lawyers outlined the boundaries of presidential power, making clear for the first time that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity for “core” official acts but have no immunity for “unofficial” acts.

US officials voice ‘serious concerns’ over contested Venezuelan election results

July 29, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Following an election clouded by irregularities, the Biden administration on Monday called on Venezuela’s electoral authority to release detailed polling data to support its claim that the country’s autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro has secured a third six-year term — a contested outcome that could have significant ramifications for the region and fuel debate over immigration in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election.

“We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a news conference in Tokyo.

“It’s critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently that election officials immediately share information with the opposition and independent observers without delay,” he continued.

Despite challenges from Maduro’s political opposition and unanswered questions from South American officials acting as impartial observers, Venezuela’s electoral council, which is aligned with Maduro’s regime, formalized the results of the vote, effectively handing the ruler another six-year term.

Maduro has responded with defiance.

“We have always been victims of the powerful,” Maduro asserted during a nationally televised ceremony on Monday. “An attempt is being made to impose a coup d’état in Venezuela again of a fascist and counterrevolutionary nature.”

María Corina Machado, the opposition popular leader, asserted that, despite Maduro’s claims, her party’s candidate had won an “overwhelming” victory and that the reported polling results were “impossible.”

In the weeks preceding the election, the prospect of Maduro clinging to power has stoked fears of increased economic turmoil and political violence that experts say could spark another exodus from the country.

Almost 8 million Venezuelans — roughly a quarter of the country’s population — have left the country over the last decade, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

That diaspora has exacerbated irregular migration to the U.S. In 2023, border patrol agents encountered Venezuelan migrants attempting to enter through the southern border nearly 335,000 times, data from the Department of Homeland Security shows.

The Biden administration has attempted to curb the number of crossings through multiple initiatives, including by introducing a new policy allowing Venezuelans to apply for entry to the U.S. from abroad, resuming deportations of Venezuelan migrants, and even using diplomatic leverage to push Maduro to hold the country’s most recent election.

Despite the changes and modest improvements to Venezuela’s economy, data shows that the number of the country’s nationals crossing between checkpoints on the U.S.-Mexico border has remained elevated. Polling conducted by a Venezuelan-based research firm earlier this year found that roughly a quarter of the country’s current population was considering emigrating if Maduro won the election.

Senior Biden administration officials defended their handling of Maduro’s government, including using economic incentives to entice Maduro to take steps aimed at moving the country towards democracy.

“That Venezuela did, in fact, hold an election yesterday, which allowed an opposition candidate to be on the ballot and for a voting process to unfold only came about as a result of the calibrations that we’ve done with our sanctions policy over the last year,” one official said.

The driving factors behind Venezuela’s immigration crisis are also complicated. A high-ranking State Department official who served under President Donald Trump told the Washington Post he warned the former administration that imposing hardline sanctions would “grind the Venezuelan economy into dust & have huge human consequences, one of which would be out-migration.”

The Biden administration has largely kept Trump’s economic penalties on Venezuela in place, but it has made some notable carveout, including granting authorizations to select companies permitting them to operate in the country’s lucrative oil sector.

In the wake of Maduro’s handling of the election, officials indicated that they would not revoke existing sanctions but that they would rethink their approach to Venezuela based on whether the government increases transparency surrounding the election.

“We’re watching. The world watching. I won’t get ahead of a decision hasn’t been made here in terms of consequences. We’re going to hold our judgment until we see the actual tabulation of the results,” National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.

Biden to speak on civil rights, Supreme Court proposals at LBJ Presidential Library

July 29, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Monday will visit the LBJ Presidential Library to mark the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and give remarks on his new proposals to reform the U.S. Supreme Court.

The remarks, slated for 4:30 p.m. ET, will be Biden’s first major speech since his Oval Office address last week on his decision to exit the 2024 race.

In Austin, he will discuss his administration’s work to protect civil rights and his calls for reforms to the nation’s highest court, including term limits and an enforceable code of conduct for justices as well as a constitutional amendment against presidential immunity.

The setting for Monday’s remarks is also significant, as Biden is the first sitting president since Lyndon B. Johnson to not seek a second term.

In stepping away from the campaign trail, Biden’s focus is now shifted to how to “finish the job” in the final few months of his presidency and cement the legacy of his decades-long political career.

“The president is focused like a laser beam on making sure that the next six months matter to the American people,” Stephen Benjamin, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, told reporters on Monday. “He is soliciting the ideas and thoughts of the best and brightest people in this administration, but also from across the country, asking people, ‘What is left undone, what else do we need to work to secure?'”

Benjamin said he expects the president to continue to work on accountability for the Supreme Court, fortifying the economy, lowering prices for American families and more.

But Republicans in Congress signaled they are ready to challenge Biden’s agenda.

House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed the proposed Supreme Court reforms, which Biden is floating after several court controversies this term, as “dangerous” and said they are “dead on arrival in the House.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also argued in floor remarks that the administration is pushing for reform because they don’t agree politically with the court’s recent decisions.

“Why is the Biden Harris administration so willing to put the crown jewel of our system of government, the independent judiciary, to the torch? Because it stands in their way,” McConnell said.

ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.

At least 8 stabbed in ‘major’ incident in United Kingdom, 17-year-old arrested

July 29, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with a stabbing that injured at least eight people in the United Kingdom, police and emergency officials said Monday.

The incident isn’t being treated as terror-related and no other suspects are being sought, police said. A motive isn’t clear, police added.

“Armed police have detained a male and seized a knife. He has been taken to a police station,” the department said in a statement.

Officers responded just before noon local time to reports of a stabbing at a property on Hart Street in Southport, a seaside town about 20 miles north of Liverpool, according to Merseyside police.

The eight injured people were transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby hospital, the North West Ambulance Service said on social media. The patients’ conditions and ages were not immediately released.

Thirteen ambulances had been dispatched to the scene, along with a Hazardous Area Response Team, an Air Ambulance and and Merit Doctors, emergency officials said.

Officials at Alder Hey said they were “working with other emergency services to respond to this incident and our Emergency Department is currently extremely busy.” The Liverpool hospital said it had declared Monday’s stabbing a “major incident.”

“We ask parents to only bring their children to the Emergency Department if it is urgent,” the hospital said in a statement.

“Horrendous and deeply shocking news emerging from Southport,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on social media. “My thoughts are with all those affected. I would like to thank the police and emergency services for their swift response. I am being kept updated as the situation develops.”

The town of Southport sits in the county of Merseyside, in England’s northwest.

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