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Israel-Gaza-Lebanon live updates: Hamas, Hezbollah fire rockets on Oct. 7 anniversary

October 7, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Israel is marking the first anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack as its Lebanon operation continues and leaders consider their response to Iran’s latest long-range missile attack.

Hundreds of Iranian missiles were fired into the country last week, according to Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Iran said the unprecedented attack was retaliation for a wave of assassinations carried out by Israel over the last several weeks targeting Hezbollah, including leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Most of the missiles were intercepted, but “several hits were identified, and the damage is being assessed,” an Israeli security official said.

Israel intercepts missile fired from Yemen, IDF says

Air alert sirens sounded across central Israel on Monday due to a missile launch from Yemen, the Israel Defense Forces said.

“The air force successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen,” the force wrote on X.

Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly targeted Israel using missiles and drones. Israel has launched airstrikes on Houthi military and infrastructure sites in response.

Airstrike hits close to Beirut airport

Two more powerful strikes hit Beirut on Monday morning as Israel’s air campaign continued, including one that impacted close to the city’s international airport.

The strikes sent towering pillars of smoke and dust rising above the capital and Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport.

The airport is located south of the city center close to the Dahiya suburb, which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold and has borne the brunt of Israel’s attacks on the city.

Beirut’s airport is still functioning despite nearby airstrikes, though major international carriers have frozen operations there due to the deteriorating security situation.

Lebanon-based Middle East Airlines now accounts for most flights landing at and departing the airport, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes in 2006 during the last major cross-border conflict.

-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Morgan Winsor

World must condemn Iran on Oct. 7 anniversary, Blinken says

Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked the first anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack by calling on the international community to “condemn Iran’s support for Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region that are responsible for so much death, destruction and instability.”

“Today, we mark a devastating and tragic anniversary,” Blinken said in a statement published by the State Department. “The depravity of Hamas’ crimes is almost unspeakable.”

The Oct. 7 attack “unleashed a year of conflict, with tragic consequences for the Palestinian people,” Blinken said.

“The United States mourns the death of every innocent who died on Oct. 7 and in the year since. It is time to reach a ceasefire agreement that brings the hostages home, alleviates the suffering of the Israeli and Palestinian people and ultimately brings an end to this war.”

Blinken called on other nations to “stand steadfast in the face of terrorism and violent extremism, including the sources of support for groups like Hamas,” specifically Iran.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to lasting peace and stability across the region and for a common future for Israelis and Palestinians with equal measures of security, dignity, opportunity and freedom,” Blinken added.

Netanyahu attends Oct. 7 Jerusalem memorial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a ceremony at the “Iron Swords” monument in Jerusalem to commemorate Israelis killed since Oct. 7, 2023.

The monument was unveiled in September to remember those from Jerusalem killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and in the subsequent fighting.

“On this day, in this place, and in many places in our country, we remember our fallen, our abductees — whom we are obliged to return — and our heroes who fell for the defense of the homeland and the country,” Netanyahu said.

“We went through a terrible massacre a year ago and we stood up as a people, as lions.”

“A nation of wolves will rise and a lion will soar,” Netanyahu said.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti

US will help deter Iran, Austin tells Gallant

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday to reiterate U.S. support ahead of Monday’s Oct. 7 one-year anniversary.

Austin “reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself and noted that the United States maintains significant capability in the region to defend U.S. personnel and facilities, provide further support for Israel’s self-defense and deter further escalation,” a readout provided by Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.

The two “reiterated their commitment to deterring Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies from taking advantage of the situation or expanding the conflict,” the readout added.

Austin also “expressed his condolences” for two Israeli soldiers killed in a drone attack launched by Iran-aligned Iraqi militants on Oct. 3.

U.S. and Israeli officials are in close contact as the latter consider how to respond to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Biden says US ‘fully committed’ to Israel one year after Oct. 7

The White House released a statement Monday to mark the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, with President Joe Biden condemning “the unspeakable brutality” of the 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

“One year later, Vice President [Kamala] Harris and I remain fully committed to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel and its right to exist,” Biden said.

“We support Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and Iran,” the president added, noting the U.S. role in responding to Iran’s most recent ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.

“We will never give up until we bring all of the remaining hostages home safely,” the president said of the 101 captives still in Gaza.

Biden condemned the “vicious surge in anti-semitism in America and around the world,” which he called “unacceptable.”

For Palestinians, too, Biden said Oct. 7 should be remembered “as a dark day.”

“Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict — and tens of thousands have been killed, a human toll made far worse by terrorists hiding and operating among innocent people,” he said.

“Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live in security, dignity, and peace. We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm and allow residents on both sides to return safely to their homes.”

-ABC News’ Lauren Minore

Hamas marks Oct. 7 anniversary with rocket attack

Hamas released a statement Sunday to mark the first anniversary of its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

The statement attributed to leader Yahya Sinwar and deputy leader Khalil Al-Hayya described the attack as a “glorious” operation that “shattered the illusions the enemy had created for itself.”

The Hamas attack killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw some 250 people taken to Gaza as hostages.

Monday’s statement said Hamas was ready “for an agreement that achieves the cessation of aggression, ends the siege and leads to a serious exchange deal,” accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “procrastinating and obstructing” negotiations.

Hamas claimed responsibility for rocket fire that set off alarms in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel on Monday. One projectile landed south of Tel Aviv and wounded at least two people, emergency responders said.

The rockets were fired from the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said 41,802 Palestinians have been killed in the strip since Oct. 7, 2023.

-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Matt Gutman and Sohel Uddin

Hezbollah vows to repel Israel despite ‘heavy’ losses

Hezbollah acknowledged “heavy” losses within its “leadership structure” and “military and material structure” during its ongoing conflict with Israel, in a statement issued Monday to mark the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack.

The group said it is “confident” in the “ability of our resistance to repel the aggression” in Lebanon in a message posted to one of its official Telegram channels.

One year of war, the group claimed, has shown Israel to be “a fragile entity that is unable to survive and continue without American support.”

The U.S. and its allies “bear full responsibility for the killing, criminality, injustice and shocking human tragedies” experienced by the Palestinian and Lebanese people, the statement added.

-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Morgan Winsor

Hurricane Milton tracker and forecast: Record-breaking storm surge expected

October 7, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) — Hurricane Milton strengthened to a Category 4 storm Monday morning as it takes aim at Florida’s west coast.

Landfall is expected as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

Milton is closing in as Floridians are still recovering from the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene.

University of Florida cancels classes

The University of Florida is canceling classes on Wednesday and Thursday due to Hurricane Milton. The school plans to reopen on Friday morning, officials said.

Biden approves Florida emergency declaration

President Joe Biden has approved an emergency declaration for Florida to allow federal assistance to begin supplementing local efforts ahead of Hurricane Milton.

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Milton expected to strengthen to Category 5 hurricane

Milton — currently a high-end Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds — is forecast to strengthen in a few hours to a Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds.

The storm will then weaken slightly as it approaches Florida on Wednesday night.

Milton is forecast to make landfall Wednesday night into Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds.

Counties issue evacuation orders

Evacuation orders have been issued in counties along Florida’s west coast, including Charlotte, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota.

DeSantis: ‘Time is going to start running out very, very soon’

Fifty-one out of Florida’s 67 counties are under a state of emergency as the state braces for Hurricane Milton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.

The governor urged residents to pay attention to evacuation orders.

“Time is going to start running out very, very soon,” he warned.

“Please, if you’re in the Tampa Bay area, you need to evacuate,” Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida Emergency Management, urged at a news conference.

“Drowning deaths due to storm surge are 100% preventable if you leave.”

Waste removal trucks are urgently trying to get debris from Hurricane Helene off the streets of coastal communities before Milton hits.

DeSantis said debris will continue to be cleared until it’s no longer safe to do so.

Nearly 500 truckloads of debris from the barrier islands and Pinellas County have been moved to debris landfills in the last 24 hours, he said.

St. Pete-Clearwater, Tampa airports to close

The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, just outside of Tampa, Florida, will close at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and stay shut on Wednesday and Thursday.

“The airport is in a mandatory evacuation zone and is not a public shelter,” airport officials tweeted. “Prepare and stay safe.”

Tampa International Airport will suspend operations beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday and stay closed “until it can assess any damage after the storm,” airport officials said.

Milton strengthens to Category 4

Milton rapidly intensified to a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds Monday morning.

Within hours, Milton strengthened to a Category 2, then a Category 3 and then a Category 4.

Latest forecast: Landfall expected Wednesday night

Hurricane Milton is forecast to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday morning as a Category 3 hurricane. Landfall is expected anywhere between just north of Tampa to south of Sarasota.

A record-breaking storm surge of 8 to 12 feet is forecast for the storm surge-prone city of Tampa. This comes just after Hurricane Helene brought a record storm surge of 6 to 8 feet to Tampa Bay.

A hurricane watch was issued for Tampa Bay and Fort Myers, while a tropical storm watch is in effect from Apalachicola to Key West.

Water inundation from Fort Myers to Tampa could be higher than the record-breaking 7 feet recorded during Helene.

Flooding is also a threat since a separate storm has dumped rain on Florida for the last several days.

Milton strengthens to Category 3

Hurricane Milton early on Monday strengthened to a major Category 3 hurricane, with wind speeds of about 120 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

Milton strengthens to Category 2 hurricane

Hurricane Milton strengthened rapidly early Monday, with wind speeds climbing to 100 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.

A hurricane watch was issued for the area around Tampa Bay, along Florida’s western coast.

The storm, which is in the Gulf of Mexico, is forecast to become a major hurricane on Monday, meaning its winds are expected to reach or exceed 111 mph.

Landfall is expected on Wednesday night, with the storm expected to be a Category 3 storm with winds of about 125 mph.

-ABC News’ Max Golembo

Milton forecast to be major hurricane

Hurricane Milton, which strengthened on Sunday into a Category 1 storm, is forecast to make landfall as a “major” hurricane on Florida’s west coast this week, the National Hurricane Center said.

“While it is too soon to specify the exact magnitude and location of the greatest impacts, there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning early Wednesday,” the center said in a late Sunday advisory.

What does Gaza’s future look like after a year of war?

October 7, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Smoke and question marks still hang over the devastated Gaza Strip a year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack touched off a regional firestorm.

The fighting in Gaza continues, though the epicenter of the broader conflict has now shifted north to the Israel-Lebanon border where Hezbollah is maintaining the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance” second front.

Cease-fire negotiations appear stalled. The majority of Gaza’s population remains displaced. Swaths of its homes and infrastructure are leveled. More than 46,000 are dead, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

In the ruins, sporadic battles continue between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas.

Around 100 of the 250 hostages — kidnapped during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people — remain in captivity in Gaza. Only half are thought to still be alive.

Israel launched its military response to the massacre without publicly laying out a detailed post-war vision.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as early as November 2023 that Israel requires “overall security responsibility” for the strip “for an indefinite period.”

That would include an expanded “security perimeter” around Gaza’s frontiers and control of the Philadelphi Corridor area along the Egypt-Gaza frontier, Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu has said his envisioned “total victory” is close. Current Israeli deployments in the strip hint at its eventual shape.

“Israel holds two narrow territorial strips — Philadelphi and Netzarim,” Michael Milshtein, a former head of Palestinian affairs for Israeli military intelligence, told ABC News.

The former is around 9 miles long and runs along the entire border with Egypt. The latter runs around 2.5 miles east to west from Israel to the Gaza coast, bisecting the strip.

“The IDF is really in these corridors and around the boundaries of Gaza,” said Orna Mizrahi, who served in the Israeli prime minister’s office as deputy national security adviser for foreign policy.

Units can launch operations deeper into Gaza from these staging points “according to the intelligence that they have,” Mizrahi said.

A year of fighting has already changed the physical and demographic map of Gaza, Milshtein said.

“Eight percent of the people who lived in Gaza before Oct. 7, they do not live in Gaza or exist in Gaza anymore,” he said, with tens of thousands having been killed or fled.

The majority of Gazans have been displaced, some repeatedly. Continued Israeli operations may force more mass movements.

Netanyahu is now considering the so-called “Generals’ Plan,” in which the IDF would evacuate all remaining civilians from the north of the strip and lay siege to the militants — and the civilians — who stay behind.

Retired Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland said the plan would turn the northern strip into “a military zone” in which “every figure is a target and, most importantly, no supplies enter this territory.”

“I’m not sure that it will really defeat Hamas,” Milshtein said of the proposal. “And of course, it won’t bring the release of the hostages.”

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told ABC News in September that Hamas is “almost finished.”

Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in July. The same month, the IDF claimed to have killed infamous Hamas military leader Mohamed Deif, though the group said he survived the attempt.

Only Yahya Sinwar — Hamas’ leader in Gaza — is still thought to be alive, likely in the sprawling network of tunnels beneath the strip and possibly surrounding himself with hostages.

But Israel’s military planning does not appear to have yet given way to the political.

U.S.-sponsored efforts to build an international coalition to rebuild — and perhaps also oversee — Gaza has thus far proved fruitless.

So, too, have suggestions that the Palestinian Authority — which partially controls the West Bank in cooperation with Israel, is led by President Mahmoud Abbas and is dominated by the Fatah party — take control.

Meanwhile, far-right Israeli settler groups — among them influential members of Netanyahu’s government — are pushing to revive and expand settlements abandoned when Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

“Can you take all the tactical and military achievements, and translate them to the strategic?” Milshtein asked. “This is much more complicated.”

Also complicated is the concept of total victory over Hamas, which remains active despite reportedly massive casualties.

“They have no battalions, but that’s okay, because they rely on cells, platoons and smaller units,” Milshtein said.

“I really don’t see when or if we will see any white flag or announcement about ‘total defeat’ and ‘giving up.’ I’m not sure that it’s going to happen very soon — or at all.”

Kamala Harris slams Sarah Huckabee Sanders comments on Call Her Daddy podcast: ‘This is not the 1950’s’

October 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris, in an appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, slammed Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently suggesting the presidential candidate isn’t humble because she doesn’t have biological children.

Speaking to “Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper, who asked about Huckabee Sanders’ remark, “My kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble,” Harris suggested the governor is caught in the past.

“I don’t think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who, one, are not aspiring to be humble, two, a whole lot of women out here who have a lot of love in their life, family in their life, and children in their life,” Harris told Cooper on “Call Her Daddy,” which Spotify says is the most-listened-to podcast by women. “And I think it’s really important for women to lift each other up.”

Harris, who is stepmother to two now-adult children from her marriage to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, said family comes in many forms.

“We have our family by blood, and then we have our family by love, and I have both, and I consider it to be a real blessing,” she said. “And I have two beautiful children, Cole and Ella, who call me Momala. We have a very modern family. My husband’s ex-wife is a friend of mine.”

She continued, “Family comes in many forms and I think that increasingly, all of us understand that this is not the 1950’s anymore. Families come in all shapes or forms and they are family nonetheless.”

During the 40-minute interview, Cooper also asked Harris about Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, having previously complained he didn’t want the country run by “childless cat ladies.”

“I just think it’s mean and mean-spirited,” Harris told Cooper. “And I think that most Americans want leaders who understand that the measure of their strength is not based on who you beat down; the real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”

Harris spent much of the interview discussing abortion rights and what statewide abortion bans can mean for people living in those states — including mothers, who may need to arrange childcare and travel out of state for the procedure.

“Let’s talk about how it affects a real person. The majority of women who receive abortion care are mothers,” Harris said. “So imagine she’s in a state with an abortion ban — one out of three women are, by the way, in our country — and she’s a mom. She’s going to have to figure out, one, God help her if she has affordable childcare, God help her if she has paid leave, and then she’s going to have to go to the airport, stand in a TSA line, sit on a plane next to a perfect stranger, to go to a city where she’s never been to receive the care she needs … and that’s all if they can even afford a plane or a bus ticket.”

Harris made her appeal to listeners who might not personally believe in abortion, emphasizing that women should have the right to choose for themselves.

“You don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that government shouldn’t be telling her what to do. If she chooses, she’ll talk to her priest, her pastor, her rabbi or Imam, but not the government telling you what to do,” Harris said. “And that’s what’s so outrageous about it, is a bunch of these guys up in these state capitals are writing these decisions because they somehow have decided that they’re in a better position to tell you what’s in your best interest than you are to know what’s in your own best interest.”

She continued: “This is not about imposing my thoughts on you in terms of what you do with your life or your body. … It’s actually quite the opposite. It’s saying the government shouldn’t be telling people what to do.”

She also hit back against Trump’s false claim at last month’s presidential debate that some states allow post-birth abortions.

“That is not happening anywhere in the United States. It is not happening, and it’s a lie — it’s a bald-faced lie that he is suggesting,” she said. “Can you imagine, can you imagine — he’s suggesting that women in their ninth month of pregnancy are electing to have an abortion. Are you kidding? That is so outrageously inaccurate, and it’s so insulting to suggest that that would be happening and that women would be doing that. It’s not happening anywhere. This guy is full of lies.”

Harris railed against Trump’s baseless claims about abortion, calling him “careless and irresponsible and reckless.”

Asked by Cooper how she was feeling in the last few weeks of the campaign, Harris said she was feeling both “great” and “nervous.”

“You know, there’s this old adage: there are only two ways to run: without an opponent or scared. So there you go,” Harris said. “The only thing that matters is really just spending as much time as I can, as much time as I possibly can, meeting with people and talking with them about the stakes and their future.”

Walz tries to do cleanup on falsehoods in Fox News interview

October 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Gov. Tim Walz, in his first Sunday show appearance and only fourth national media interview that’s aired since he was selected to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, addressed the mounting pile of false statements that have surfaced since he joined the Democratic ticket in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”

Fox’s Shannon Bream, asked the governor why he thought the American people should trust him amid the falsehoods — about being in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre, about his military service, about he and his wife using in vitro fertilization when they’d really used intrauterine insemination — when he could be in the line of succession for commander in chief should Harris win in November.

The factual inaccuracies Walz has racked up came to a head during Tuesday’s vice presidential debate with GOP nominee JD Vance. Walz called himself a “knucklehead” for making those mistakes and then made another gaffe during the broadcast.

When talking about gun control, he said he’s become “friends with school shooters” instead of saying he was friends with the victims of school shootings — something he tried to straighten out later in a gaggle with media: “I sat as a member of Congress, with the Sandy Hook parents and it was a profound movement. David Hogg is a good friend of mine,” Walz said.

Walz said on Sunday that he thought the country “heard him” in his cleanup efforts during the debate, and that he’s not afraid to “own up” when he makes a mistake — insinuating that those falsehoods are better than “disparaging” people the way former President Donald Trump does or denying the results of the 2020 election, like Vance.

“Well, I think they heard me. They heard me the other night speaking passionately about gun violence and misspeaking,” Walz said, saying then that he didn’t think people “care” whether he used IUI or IVF when Trump could pose a threat to both fertility treatments if he returns to the White House.

“Look, I speak passionately. I had an entire career decades before I was in public office… I have never disparaged someone else in this. But I know that’s not what Donald Trump does. They disparage everyone, the personal attacks. I will own up when I misspeak. I will own up when I make a mistake,” Walz said in the Fox interview on Sunday.

“Let’s be very clear — on that debate stage the other night, I asked one very simple question, and Senator Vance would not acknowledge that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. I think they’re probably far more concerned with that than my wife and I used IUI to have our child, and that Donald Trump would restrict that,” he went on.

Walz’s response to his sloppiness with facts has been fine-tuned in the days since the debate. When he spoke to reporters the day after the broadcast, he sought to clean up the issue over when exactly he was in China in 1989, a topic that surfaced last week with reports that he had appeared to falsely claim he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square massacre in June of that year.

“Yeah, look, I have my dates wrong,” he acknowledged on Sunday. During the debate, he wan’t as direct: “All’s that I said on this was I got there that summer and misspoke on this, so I will just that’s what I said… So I was in Hong Kong and China during the democracy protest,” he said.

On Saturday, while speaking at a Cleveland fundraiser, Walz also directly addressed the recent reports that he’d inaccurately told certain stories, spinning the trait in a way that criticized the Trump-Vance ticket over Project 2025.

“Working with high school kids, I speak really quickly, and then I say, I stick my foot in my mouth — I have to go back and correct it again,” Walz said.

“So I said one time — they don’t have a plan. That’s untrue. I misspoke on that. They most certainly do have a plan. It’s called Project 2025,” he continued.

Walz’s “Fox News Sunday” interview comes as the Harris-Walz campaign said the governor would be ramping up his relatively quiet national media strategy in a post-debate blitz. He’s also recorded an interview for a CBS’s “60 Minutes” election special on Harris. He’ll be doing the late night show “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Monday.

Boys, 12 and 13, arrested in street attack on former NY Gov. David Paterson and stepson

October 6, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Two boys, ages 12 and 13, have been arrested and charged in a street attack last week on former New York Gov. David Paterson and his 20-year-old stepson that unfolded on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, according to officials.

The two children, whose names were not released, were arrested around 8 p.m. Saturday after turning themselves in at a police precinct with their parents, the New York Police Department said.

A third child initially wanted in the attack also turned themself in but was not charged after officers determined he was not involved, officials said.

The 12-year-old suspect was arrested on a charge of second-degree gang assault while the 13-year-old was charged with third-degree gang assault, according to the NYPD.

“Governor Paterson and his family are glad to see the suspects turned themselves in,” Sean Darcy, spokesperson for Paterson, told New York ABC station WABC. “We hope that the young people involved learn something from this unfortunate encounter.”

The attack occurred around 8:35 p.m. on Friday on 2nd Avenue near 96th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, according to the NYPD.

The confrontation began as a “verbal altercation” between the suspects and the 70-year-old former governor and his stepson, the NYPD said. Police initially said that up to five suspects were involved in the attack.

The suspects had had “a previous interaction” with the stepson, Paterson’s spokesperson told WABC, noting that the attack took place near the victims’ home.

The suspects hit the victims in the face and body, police said.

Paterson and his stepson managed to fight off the attackers, the spokesperson said, and the suspects fled on foot, according to police.

The investigation of the attack is ongoing and more arrests could be made, police said.

Paterson and his stepson were both taken to the hospital in stable condition, police said, and they’ve since been released, the former governor’s spokesperson said.

Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor of New York from 2008 to 2010. He was New York’s first African American governor and the nation’s first legally blind governor.

ABC News’ Matt Foster and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.

Trump’s return to Butler marked by heightened security and reflective supporters

October 5, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(BUTLER, Pa.) — Former President Donald Trump is set to return to the site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, for a rally marked by enhanced security measures around the fairground as supporters call Saturday’s rally a healing moment.

With security at the forefront of people’s minds, officials have taken extra precautions to keep Trump and his supporters safe in the wake of enhanced threats. Semi-trailers have formed a perimeter around the fairgrounds so nobody outside can see in, a contrast to the summer’s rally where spectators had a clear vantage point inside from outside the rally perimeter.

Additionally, the unmanned building that Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to scale and get a clear shot at Trump is now barely visible, with semi-trailers and a tall riser placed in between. Multiple counter snipers are making themselves very visible on the roof of every surrounding building.

Saturday’s rally is expected to feature extensive programming focused on remembering the events of July 13, as well as honoring the resiliency of the Butler community before the former president takes the stage to finish his speech from the summer.

The campaign is also dedicating several moments throughout the program to Corey Comperatore, the rallygoer who was killed while shielding his family. His firefighter uniform is in the stands of where he was sitting in July in memory of him.

Several first responders spoke ahead of Trump, including the doctor who was attending Trump’s rally and attempted to save Comperatore’s life along with Sally Sherry, an ER nurse who helped treat Trump.

“The man that we all see on TV with the strong personality, who sometimes doesn’t mince words, or who is seen as a wealthy, powerful businessman, was not the man that I stood beside that evening. What I saw was a man that in the aftermath of one of the most terrifying experiences of his life, showed resiliency,” Sherry said.

“He showed strength and courage. He showed that his family was at the forefront. He was a husband, a father and a grandfather. He was compassionate and grateful,” she continued.

Many of the rally attendees ABC News spoke with on Saturday said they were here in July, clearly remembering the moment shots rang out in the midst of Trump’s speech nearly three months ago.

They said the violence and tragedy that took place here on July 13 did not discourage them from coming back, instead the experience reinforced their support for Trump.

“There’s an electricity that’s here in this crowd,” said Barry Murray, 29, of Butler, Pennsylvania, who was at the July rally with his girlfriend. “I think a word that could describe it is, altogether, is just strength – strength and unity. I think one of the main goals of being the leader of a nation like America is to be able to unite people, not divide people.”

Brooke Goshen of Beaver, Pennsylvania – a mother of four – attended the July rally with two of her teenage kids and came back to Butler Farm Show with one of them.

“I knew that the security presence was gonna be upgraded a lot this time, so we decided to give it a shot and come back to this historic rally,” Goshen told ABC News about her decision to come back. She also said she was excited to see Elon Musk.

Dave Nacey of Apollo, Pennsylvania, wasn’t at the July Butler rally but decided to attend today’s rally because he felt the need to show more support today.

“I feel that the support needs to be there 100% from everybody,” Nacey said.

Trump’s return to Butler marked by heightened security and reflective supporters

October 5, 2024 by WDNY Radio

“He showed strength and courage. He showed that his family was at the forefront. He was a husband, a father and a grandfather. He was compassionate and grateful,” she continued.

Many of the rally attendees ABC News spoke with on Saturday said they were here in July, clearly remembering the moment shots rang out in the midst of Trump’s speech nearly three months ago.

They said the violence and tragedy that took place here on July 13 did not discourage them from coming back, instead the experience reinforced their support for Trump.

Brooke Goshen of Beaver, Pennsylvania – a mother of four – attended the July rally with two of her teenage kids and came back to Butler Farm Show with one of them.

Dave Nacey of Apollo, Pennsylvania, wasn’t at the July Butler rally but decided to attend today’s rally because he felt the need to show more support today.

“I feel that the support needs to be there 100% from everybody,” Nacey said.

How Michael Oher’s feel-good story turned into ‘Blind Side’ battle

October 5, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — It was a story tailor-made for Hollywood: A wealthy white family takes in a Black teenager, guiding his football career from a high school standout to Ole Miss to the NFL. However, years later now Michael Oher claims he was blindsided by the movie that so many of us know and love, underscoring the importance of his perspective for a balanced narrative.

The Tuohy family and Michael Oher’s inspiring story was a book by acclaimed author Michael Lewis and then a blockbuster movie — “The Blind Side.”

The movie premiered in 2009 and reportedly earned $300 million at the box office. Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for portraying Leigh Ann Tuohy, a strong and determined character not to be underestimated.

Audiences embraced the movie’s message of racial harmony, but now the retired NFL star, who is a Super Bowl champion offensive tackle, is questioning everything he thought was true.

“The movie is something that will shadow Michael Oher for life because people think they know his story,” Michael Sokolove, a New York Times journalist and author who interviewed and spent time with Oher, said. “But that’s not actually Michael Oher.”

In a surprising turn, Oher is now suing the family that took him in.

An “IMPACT x Nightline” episode, now available to stream on Hulu, unpacks how such a feel-good story ended up mired in contentious litigation and looks at how everything went so wrong.

In his lawsuit, Oher alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy saw him as a “gullible young man whose athletic talent could be exploited for their own benefit,” and that the Tuohys claimed he was their adopted son when, in reality, he wasn’t.

“What happened is that he entered a conservatorship with the Tuohys, which is wildly different than an adoption,” ESPN reporter Kelley Carter said.

Oher and his attorneys filed a 15-page petition against the Tuohys, alleging that they and their children have made millions of dollars off Oher’s name and story while Michael Oher has made comparatively little.

The petition also accuses the Tuohys of negotiating a movie deal where they would reap millions while Oher and others received nothing.

Oher seeks a full accounting of the money earned from using his story and unspecified damages.

Oher said he did not wish to respond when ABC News reached out to him for comment.

The lawyers for the Tuohys stated that each family member, including Oher, made an equal amount of money from the film.

In court filings, the Tuohys submitted an accounting statement showing they made full payments to Oher for his equal share. The amount was a little over $138,000, one-fifth of the money they say they all made from the movie.

The Tuohy family is claiming that Oher is trying to extort them. Text messages they say are between them and the former NFL star allegedly show Oher demanding they pay him millions, writing in a text, “If something isn’t resolved this Friday, I’m going to go ahead and tell the world how my supposed-to-be parents robbed me. That’s the deadline.”

“Whether we agree with how he sees it, I think it’s understandable that someone would feel differently as a 38-year-old adult than they would as an 18-year-old or even a 26-year-old in the midst of trying to stay in the NFL,” Sokolove said.

The Tuohys filing states that the term “adopted” was always used in its colloquial sense and was never intended as a legal term of art.

“This is a sad day,” Steve Farese Sr., lawyer for the Tuohy Family, said. “It’s devastating to the family. And we hope that it doesn’t have a chilling effect on others who want to help needy individuals.”

The Touhys declined to comment to ABC News, but in an interview with The Daily Memphian last year, Sean Tuohy said lawyers advised them that they couldn’t adopt Oher since he was over the age of 18. However, it is legal to adopt an adult in Tennessee.

Attorneys for the Tuohys say Oher always knew he was in a conservatorship.

“Fact of the matter is, he wrote a book in 2011,” Randall Fishman, attorney for the Tuohy family, said. “And in 2011, he acknowledged in that book, on three separate occasions in that book, that he — that there was, in fact, a conservatorship.”

In the book “I Beat the Odds,” Oher explains that the term “adoptive parents” pretty much means the same thing as “legal guardians,” but the laws were written to consider his age. He didn’t care about the terminology which was explained to him that way by the Tuohys; he was just happy that no one could argue that they weren’t legally what they already knew was real: a family.

“Ultimately, Michael Oher did win a victory, maybe just a moral victory, in getting the Tuohys to pull down any mention that Michael Oher is their adopted son and to stop saying that going forward,” ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire said.

Just last year, at Oher’s request, the probate court judge dissolved the nearly 20-year conservatorship. The Tuohy family also agreed to remove all mentions of Oher’s supposed adoption from their websites, and not to mention adoption in public speeches.

“People don’t know anything about me,” Oher told ABC News’ Deborah Roberts in a 2009 interview. “I mean, you might see something on TV and think you know, but you gotta get to know me as a person. But you’ll never know a person by watching a movie or reading a book.”

Now, as the legal case wends its way through the court system, Oher is moving on to the next season of his life. Since 2022, Oher has been the president of the Oher Foundation, a nonprofit set up to empower economically disadvantaged kids through high school scholarships.

In an interview last year with “Good Morning America,” Oher said, “I shouldn’t be a miracle. And no kid — we shouldn’t be miracles. We should have opportunities and resources to live a normal, young adult, child life and grow up and be successful.”

ABC News’ Kevin Rochford, Kelley Robinson, Claire Pedersen and Jaclyn Skurie contributed to this report.

Former New York Gov. David Paterson, stepson assaulted on Manhattan street

October 5, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — New York City police are searching for five suspects wanted in a “gang assault” on former New York Gov. David Paterson and his 20-year-old stepson on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, according to officials.

The attack, which unfolded around 8:35 p.m. Friday by 96th Street and 2nd Avenue, began as a “verbal altercation” between the suspects and the 70-year-old former governor and his stepson, the NYPD said.

The suspects had had “a previous interaction” with the stepson, Paterson’s spokesperson told ABC New York station WABC, noting that the attack took place near the victims’ home.

The suspects hit the victims in the face and body, police said.

Paterson and his stepson managed fight off the attackers, the spokesperson said, and the suspects fled on foot, according to police.

Paterson and his stepson were both taken to the hospital in stable condition, police said, and they’ve since been released, the spokesperson said.

Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor of New York from 2008 to 2010. Paterson was New York’s first African American governor and the nation’s first legally blind governor.

Paterson and his wife “are thankful for the quick response time from the police and the outpouring of support they have received,” Paterson’s spokesperson said, adding, “The Governor’s only request is that people refrain from attempting to use an unfortunate act of violence for their own personal or political gain.”

“Governor Paterson’s main concern today is Kodai Senga and the New York Mets, but we will provide any additional updates as necessary,” the spokesperson added.

The NYPD asks anyone with information to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or submit information online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org.

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