Biden to kick off first reelection campaign rally after rolling out major union endorsements

Biden to kick off first reelection campaign rally after rolling out major union endorsements
Biden to kick off first reelection campaign rally after rolling out major union endorsements
John Moore/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is set to speak before an audience of union members in Philadelphia Saturday in what will be his first rally since he declared his bid for a second term and comes as his campaign engagements ramp up.

Biden begins his 2024 campaign in the same way he kicked off his run in 2020: in front of Pennsylvania laborers.

“I am a union man, period,” Biden said at a union hall in Pittsburgh during his first rally in 2019.

And just as he did then, Biden is accompanying the rally with a roll out of union endorsements. The AFL-CIO, a federation of 60 national and international labor groups — including the national teachers’ and government workers’ unions — endorsed Biden on the eve of the rally. The federation, which represents 12.5 million workers, is hosting the rally.

“The President and Vice President are humbled to have earned this historic groundswell of support nearly 17 months before the 2024 election,” Julia Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, said in a statement.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia on Saturday, Biden received a helicopter tour of the collapsed portion of I-95 in Philadelphia and said “there’s no more important project right now in the country” than rebuilding the highway.

The president said he’s directed his team to “literally move heaven and earth” to get the rebuilding done as soon as possible and pledged federal assistance.

“The federal government got committed, we’re going to reimburse 100% this phase of the work, and well over the first 200 days, and then after that, 90% of the work,” the president said. “We’ll be here until the end. We won’t leave until it’s finished.”

Biden leaned on labor groups in his run for the White House in 2020, earning back some Rust Belt blue-collar support Democrats lost in 2016 — and these groups are prepared to use their vast political networks to turn out voters for the president once again.

Pennsylvania, the state Biden was born in, has not only played a significant role in the president’s political career, but also in national politics. Since 1920, candidates who won Pennsylvania were elected president 81% of the time, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

“If I’m gonna be able to beat Donald Trump in 2020, it’s gonna happen here,” Biden said, launching his last campaign. Pennsylvania would later carry Biden across the finish line.

Biden’s reelection campaign’s activity has been slow since the president announced his decision nearly two months ago — though the announcement’s timing was on par with the reelection campaign announcements of former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

But in recent days, the campaign has kicked into another gear. The president attended a fundraiser in Connecticut on Friday, with receptions in Maryland and California scheduled later in the month, while first lady Jill Biden had a fundraising swing through New York and California earlier this week. Biden also addressed environmental groups Wednesday and accepted their endorsement.

The campaign trail is bound to be more demanding than last time. The COVID-19 pandemic allowed the Biden campaign to go virtual for much of 2020, with socially-distanced events in the final weeks of the race.

Biden, who would be 86 years old at the end of a second term, acknowledged in a February interview with ABC News’ David Muir that concerns about his age are “legitimate,” though he said it was not a consideration for him. Two months later, on the day after his reelection campaign launched, however, the president said his age was a factor in his decision-making.

“I respect them taking a hard look at it,” Biden said in April. “I’d take a hard look at it as well. I took a hard look at it before I decided to run.”

Biden instead wants voters to focus on the work he’s done, centering his campaign on what he sees as his accomplishments and behind a message that Americans should give him four more years to “finish the job.”

ABC News’ Amanda Maile contributed to this report.

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Funeral held for 8-year-old who died in Border Patrol custody

Funeral held for 8-year-old who died in Border Patrol custody
Funeral held for 8-year-old who died in Border Patrol custody
Mario Tama/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Relatives and friends poured into a funeral home in the Bronx Friday to pay respect and condolences to the family of Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez, an 8-year-old girl who died in U.S. Border Patrol custody in Texas last month.

Teddy bears and pink balloons featuring Minnie Mouse surrounded the casket. A Honduran flag was prominently placed near the front of the chapel during the service.

Anadith was a Panamanian national and her parents are Honduran.

“We are not going to bury her. We are planting her. May the future generations know who she was,” said Pastor Arnold Ciego.

Her father shared that Anadith was a caring girl who would turn to him and say “let’s help them” when she saw people in need on the street.

Anadith died on May 17 and an ongoing investigation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which upholds the agency’s ethical standards, has resulted in several of the medical providers involved in the incident being prohibited from working in CBP facilities.

A CBP official told ABC News the agency’s top medical officer, Dr. David Tarantino, has been temporarily reassigned, but did not disclose what his new roles would be.

“Dr. David Tarantino has played a key role in significantly expanding the provision of medical care to individuals in CBP custody. As CBP works to implement required improvements to our medical care policies and processes, including from the ongoing investigation into the tragic in-custody death of a child in Harlingen, we are bringing in additional senior leadership to drive action across the agency,” CBP said in a statement.

Anadith’s parents and two siblings were taken into custody near Brownsville, Texas, on May 9, according to CBP. During a medical screening the next day, the family reported Anadith suffered from sickle cell anemia and heart disease. CBP says Anadith complained of abdominal pain, nasal congestion, and a cough on May 14 and tested positive for influenza.

Medical personnel gave Anadith flu and nausea medication and transferred the family to a Border Patrol station in Harlingen, Texas, that is used for detainees that need medical isolation or who have been exposed to communicable diseases.

Between May 14 and the early hours of May 17, medical personnel had around 9 encounters with the girl and her mother, Mabel, the preliminary CPB report said.

On May 16, she had a fever of 104.9 degrees, the review said. Personnel treated her with ice packs, fever reducing medications and a cold shower.

“Despite the girl’s condition, her mother’s concerns, and the series of treatments required to manage her condition, contracted medical personnel did not transfer her to a hospital for higher-level care,” CBP said in a statement.

The OPR investigation found that Anadith was seen by a nurse four times after she complained of stomachache, nausea, and difficulty breathing on May 17.

The nurse “reported denying three or four requests from the girl’s mother for an ambulance to be called or for her to be taken to the hospital,” CBP said.

The investigation also found the nurse had “declined” to review a “pile of documents” that were in the family’s possession, but gave the girl a folic acid tablet upon her mother’s request. By 1:55 PM, Anadith “appeared to be having a seizure” and became unresponsive. Doctors at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen declared her deceased by 2:50 p.m.

CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement earlier this month, that in addition from barring some of the medical providers involved in the incident from working at CBP facilities, the agency is addressing “deficiencies.”

The agency is now deploying clinicians from the United States Public Health Service to CBP facilities across the country and it has ordered a review of the medical contractor’s practices, Miller said.

The ongoing investigation also revealed that medical personnel “failed to document numerous medical encounters, emergency antipyretic interventions, and administrations of medicine.”

“Ana’s death could have been prevented if her and her mother’s cries for medical attention were not dismissed while in CBP custody. When it comes to Black people, we always must fight to prove our humanity and even then, our humanity is denied. No mother and father should have to endure this immense pain,” said Guerline Jozef, the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Haitian Bridge Alliance.

OPR said records indicated here was an outage of the camera surveillance system at Harlingen Station during the time of the incident and that it was not reported to them as required.

“The recent in-custody death of an eight-year-old child in our custody in Harlingen, Texas was a deeply upsetting and unacceptable tragedy. We can —and we will— do better to ensure this never happens again,” Miller said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

More than 80 letters with ‘suspicious’ white powder sent to state officials, Kansas authorities say

More than 80 letters with ‘suspicious’ white powder sent to state officials, Kansas authorities say
More than 80 letters with ‘suspicious’ white powder sent to state officials, Kansas authorities say
Jordan McAlister/Getty Images

(TOPEKA, Kan.) — The FBI and multiple state agencies are investigating after dozens of letters containing a “suspicious” white powder were sent to Kansas state legislators and public officials on Friday, law enforcement said.

More than 80 such letters have been reported across the state, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in an update on Saturday.

“Law enforcement is working to safely collect the letters and investigate the incidents,” the agency said in a statement. “Currently, no injuries have been reported, but we ask everyone to remain vigilant in handling mail.”

The FBI, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Kansas Highway Patrol and multiple local authorities have responded to reports of unidentified government officials receiving mail containing a white powder.

Kansas state Rep. Tory Marie Blew indicated in a social media post that she received one of the letters, while sharing a photo of a white envelope addressed to her state district office.

“This is not okay,” Blew, a Republican who represents the Great Bend area, said in the post. “I’m very thankful for our first responders — words can’t describe my gratitude after this event.”

The investigation remains ongoing, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said.

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

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More than dozen people injured in crash involving Baltimore bus, two vehicles: Police

More than dozen people injured in crash involving Baltimore bus, two vehicles: Police
More than dozen people injured in crash involving Baltimore bus, two vehicles: Police
Kali9/Getty Images

(BALTIMORE) — More than a dozen people were injured in a crash involving a public bus and two vehicles in Baltimore on Saturday morning, police said.

The incident occurred around 10:15 a.m. and involved a Maryland Transit Administration CityLink Blue bus, the Maryland Department of Transportation said.

The bus collided with a Lexus and then struck a Nissan, before coming to a stop in a building in the city’s Central District, Baltimore police said.

Sixteen people suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the incident and were transported to local hospitals, according to the Baltimore City Fire Department.

Baltimore City Police, Maryland Transit Administration Police, Baltimore City Fire Department medics and building inspectors are at the scene, police said.

The building was evacuated amid the response, fire officials said.

The cause of the crash is unknown at this time. Maryland Transit Administration and Baltimore police are investigating.

ABC News’ Clara McMichael contributed to this report.

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

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More than 40 million Americans under heat alerts as high temperatures hit South

More than 40 million Americans under heat alerts as high temperatures hit South
More than 40 million Americans under heat alerts as high temperatures hit South
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — More than 40 million Americans are under heat alerts as scorching high temperatures continue for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. Meanwhile, a multi-day severe weather outbreak is stretching from the plains into the south.

Excessive Heat warnings are in effect for major cities like Houston, San Antonio and New Orleans.

The combination of heat and oppressive humidity will lead to heat index values of 110 degrees to 120 degrees on Saturday afternoon.

Overnight, low temperatures have been setting records for how warm they are. Houston didn’t drop below 82 degrees on Friday and San Antonio tied a “warmest low temperature” record for the month of June at 80 degrees.

This cumulative heat offers no relief, and often contributes to potentially deadly heat exhaustion.

Since Tuesday, there have been well over 1,000 severe storm reports, ranging from damaging wind and flooding in Pensacola, Florida, to the deadly EF-2 tornado in Perryton, Texas. There was even a confirmed EF-0 tornado in New Jersey on Friday, but that severe weather threat in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast has since ended.

Saturday’s risk covers a huge area and includes more than 36 million Americans from Colorado to Florida. Damaging winds and large hail are the main threats for most of this area, but there is a risk for powerful tornadoes around Oklahoma.

On Sunday, there is yet another chance for significant storms. An Enhanced Risk is already in the outlook from Arkansas to Alabama. All modes of severe weather are possible in this area.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Kourtney Kardashian announces pregnancy with “All the Small Things” reference at Blink-182 show

Kourtney Kardashian announces pregnancy with “All the Small Things” reference at Blink-182 show
Kourtney Kardashian announces pregnancy with “All the Small Things” reference at Blink-182 show
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are expecting their first child together.

The 44-year-old reality star revealed the news in an Instagram video showing her holding a sign reading “Travis I’m pregnant” during Blink-182‘s concert in Los Angeles on Friday, June 16. The clip also shows Barker, 47, seeing the sign and jumping off stage to embrace his wife.

The announcement was a reference to Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” video, in which a woman also holds up a sign reading “Travis I’m pregnant.”

Kardashian and Barker got married over three ceremonies in 2022, which were documented in the Til Death Do Us Part Hulu special.

Both Kardashian and Barker have three children each from previous relationships.

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Brad, featuring Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard, releases new song, “Hey Now What’s the Problem?”

Brad, featuring Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard, releases new song, “Hey Now What’s the Problem?”
Brad, featuring Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard, releases new song, “Hey Now What’s the Problem?”
Loosegroove Records

Brad, the band featuring Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, has released a new song called “Hey Now What’s the Problem?”

The track will appear on the upcoming album In the Moment That You’re Born, which features vocals recorded by late singer Shawn Smith prior to his death in 2019.

You can listen to “Hey Now What’s the Problem?” now via digital outlets.

In the Moment That You’re Born will mark the final Brad album. It arrives July 28. That same day, Brad will also release a 30th anniversary reissue of their 1993 debut, Shame.

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Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo respond after Ted Cruz suggests her music is evil

Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo respond after Ted Cruz suggests her music is evil
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo respond after Ted Cruz suggests her music is evil
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Pat Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo have appeared to respond after Sen. Ted Cruz invoked Benatar’s name in a rant against Democrats and President Joe Biden.

It happened during an appearance on Joe Pagliarulo’s conservative talk show, after the host asked Cruz whether there was any chance of seeing a Biden impeachment and conviction.  

“I don’t think Senate Democrats, if you had video of Joe Biden murdering children dressed as the devil under a full moon while singing Pat Benatar, they still wouldn’t vote to convict,” Cruz responded, baffling many who couldn’t understand why he chose to single out Benatar’s music as being a symbol of evil.

As for Benatar and Giraldo’s response, they took to Facebook and simply posted, “Nice Try.” And while they didn’t specifically say they were replying to Cruz, it’s clear by all the comments people believe that was the reason for the post. Variety notes that Benatar’s publicist said she wouldn’t comment further on the subject.

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French Montana hopes his ‘For Khadija’ documentary helps people work through the impossible

French Montana hopes his ‘For Khadija’ documentary helps people work through the impossible
French Montana hopes his ‘For Khadija’ documentary helps people work through the impossible
NBC

French Montana‘s For Khadija documentary premieres Friday, June 16, at the Tribeca Festival. It captures the sacrifices his single mother made after his family emigrated from Morocco to New York, and the lifestyle he temporarily turned to to help put an end to her suffering: drug dealing.

French tells People it was only a means to an end and not something he planned on doing forever. “I knew that everything I was going to do was going to be out of the ordinary and I would have to sacrifice to get where I needed to go. Sacrificing was me being in the streets, because I hated to see my mother working 12 hours for $100,” he says.

“I knew that after all the sacrificing I was doing, after all the drugs we were selling … that it was going to be a point in time where I would have to stop that. [I would] just use whatever capital to invest into myself, to start the DVDs, or start the rap career,” he continues, noting his drug dealing was done to help his family and work toward his goal of becoming “the first one to break that generation gap.”

French hopes For Khadija shows people that “when it seems like it’s impossible, that there’s a way you could still make it happen.” 

Though it focuses primarily on his immigrant story, he says there may be a future documentary that “covers the real s***,” like his rockstar life, the time he crashed, his rehab and his brother’s deportation.

“We’ve got a lot more things to accomplish,” he tells Variety. “There’s always new things with your career, opportunities present themselves every day. But the first doc is like your first album — you cover things that you really want people to see.”

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Bob Dylan covers Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” in Spain

Bob Dylan covers Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” in Spain
Bob Dylan covers Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” in Spain
Michael Kovac/WireImage

Bob Dylan has plenty of his own songs he can play in concert, but at his show at Plaza de Toros Alicante in Spain Thursday, June 15, he broke out a surprise cover of someone else’s classic. Fan-shot footage posted to YouTube shows Dylan performing Van Morrison’s 1970 track “Into The Mystic.”

While this is the first time Dylan has performed the tune, it’s not the first time he’s covered one of Morrison’s songs, with Rolling Stone noting he’s covered tunes like “Crazy Love,” “Carrying A Torch” and more in the past.

Morrison has also been covering Dylan tracks for years, including “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” which appeared on his 1966 album, Them Again, as well as “Just Like A Woman” and “I Shall Be Released.” In 1998 the pair even toured together. 

Dylan is currently on the European leg of his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. He plays a second night at the Plaza de Toros Alicante on Saturday, June 17. A complete list of dates can be found at bobdylan.com.

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