Page 5398 – 105.7 WDNY

Texas mall shooting suspect’s alleged extremism part of growing trend in US: DHS bulletin

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(ALLEN, Texas) — The suspect accused of shooting and killing eight people at a mall in Allen, Texas, earlier this month “fixated on mass shootings and held views consistent with racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist … ideologies,” according to a new bulletin released Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.

ABC News has previously reported the suspect in the Allen, Texas, mall shooting had tattoos of Nazi symbols on his body, and on a call with reporters, senior DHS officials told ABC News the shooter in Texas had a “neo-Nazi ideology.”

“Recent tragic events highlight the continued heightened threat environment our nation faces, and these threats are driven by violent extremists who seek to further their ideological beliefs and personal grievances,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Officials said it is a pattern they have seen in the United States and internationally.

“It is something unfortunately that we are seeing with greater frequency,” a senior official said. “And not just here in the United States, but it’s something that seems to be gaining frequency internationally as well.”

The bulletin says the U.S. is in a “heightened threat environment.”

“Lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and personal grievances continue to pose a persistent and lethal threat to the Homeland,” the bulletin says. “Both domestic violent extremist (DVEs) and those associated with foreign terrorist organizations continue to attempt to motivate supporters to conduct attacks in the Homeland, including through violent extremist messaging and online calls for violence.”

The updated National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) bulletin says the coming months could be dangerous.

“Factors that could mobilize individuals to commit violence include their perceptions of the 2024 general election cycle and legislative or judicial decisions pertaining to sociopolitical issues. Likely targets of potential violence include US critical infrastructure, faith-based institutions, individuals or events associated with the LGBTQIA+ community, schools, racial and ethnic minorities, and government facilities and personnel, including law enforcement,” it said.

In particular, officials said that a candidate who casts doubt on the election system “would contribute to the potential of violent acts.”

Other incidents that were mentioned in the bulletin are the Nashville Christan school, plots against power substations and foreign terrorists who “continue to use media to call for lone offender attacks in the West, condemn US foreign policy, and attempt to expand their reach and grow global support networks.”

Officials said that while they didn’t include it in the NTAS, they are concerned that violent extremists could still target the border because of the rhetoric they are seeing online.

McCarthy sends GOP negotiators to White House 8 days before potential default

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — After three weeks of negotiations and eight days from a possible default, as of Wednesday there was still no breakthrough in talks to avert potential financial catastrophe as soon as June 1.

Shortly before noon, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters he was sending his House Republican bargaining team to the White House “to try to finish out negotiations.”

“There’s a number of places that we are still far apart,” he said. “I mean, it didn’t seem like it’d be this hard.”

Lead GOP negotiator Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina said he was “hopeful that we can get this resolved” as he left the Capitol, a notable shift from Tuesday night when he was clearly more frustrated. But he and his fellow negotiator Garrett Graves of Louisiana acknowledged there’s little time left.

The Republican team was seen leaving the White House after about fours and made no comment.

The House is set to leave Washington Thursday for a week-long Memorial Day recess, although members have been warned they could be called back.

“Look, you can start counting the days and there’s no question, we’re getting to crunch time,” said another GOP negotiator, Graves said. “We’ve been trying to look at things differently, trying to come up with new ideas. We recognize the urgency here, but we also recognize the House with a solid package on the table that saves funds.”

Earlier, as McCarthy made his way into the Capitol, ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott asked him where things stand.

“I still feel they’re productive — the talks,” he said, but there were no signs the talk were any closer to a deal.

In fact, McCarthy said he has not spoken to President Joe Biden since Monday.

Both sides appeared to be waiting for the other to blink.

“I’m hopeful that they come back that they realize what the American public is telling them as well, that you cannot have the highest percentage of debt and spend the most amount of money while you’re getting the most amount of revenue in, that you got to change that behavior, just like you would do in any household,” McCarthy said. “And I’m hopeful as they come, if they come back today that they realize that.”

As the standoff over federal spending continued, the White House has offered to freeze spending while Republicans are demanding deep cuts, according to a source familiar with the discussions. McCarthy is “beholden” to MAGA extremists, the source said.

“Well, the point you have to make, here we are eight days away. Why are we here? The Democrats do not want to come off their spending addiction,” McCarthy said.

Asked how much in federal spending Republicans want to cut, he said, “Well, that’s part of negotiation. Democrats don’t even want to spend less, they want to spend more, that’s unreasonable,” he said.

He again made it clear increasing tax revenue is not on the table.

“Find ways to eliminate the waste. And that’s what we’ve been doing. That’s why on February 1, I sat with the president. That’s exactly what I said to him. We can’t raise taxes, and what’s he talking about now? We need to raise more because I want to spend more after you’ve already done that, you set all the records you want to set, once the Democrats took the majority, this is what they brought us. And in doing so they brought us inflation, hurting every family,” he said.

The frustration among some Democrats was palpable as over 20 members of the House Progressive Caucus voiced their concerns Wednesday over the debt ceiling negotiations.

“We will not let Speaker McCarthy burn the House to the ground and then try to get away with blaming the firefighters,” Caucus Whip Rep. Greg Casar said. “I will be clear, working families will not be taken hostage. Progressives will continue standing strong and we will do everything we can to hold them accountable.”

With time running short, caucus members are standing firm members in saying they will not support a deal that has stricter work requirements for some Americans getting government aid.

“Our overwhelming majority of Progressive Caucus members — of 102 members — answered that question already and said that is unacceptable,” chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told ABC’s Scott.

“We have continued to make our position clear to the White House and I think you’ve seen that they’ve heard us and they’ve made a number of statements,” she said.

“The bottom line is we just don’t share their values,” Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said of House Republicans. “And you know, and I have to tell you, if we’re not about defending the most vulnerable in this country, and helping to uplift them, then I don’t know what the hell we’re here for.”

Both Biden and McCarthy will need some House Democrats to help pass any deal.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday tripled down on her warnings that June 1 might be the day the U.S. could default on its debt, even, she said, if it’s “hard to be precise” about what happens around that date.

Yellen, speaking at a Wall Street Journal forum, was reluctant to discuss a “day-after” scenario in the wake of a U.S. default but allowed that Treasury would have to be ready to prioritize some bills over others.

She said payment prioritization is “not operationally feasible” — emphasizing how unprecedented a default would be.

ABC News’ Lauren Peller, Justin Gomez and Chris Boccia contributed to this report.

Liam Neeson’s sequel to cult hit ‘Ice Road’ sets record at Cannes

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

At the Cannes International Film Festival, a showcase for celebrities and big-name “prestige” pictures, a sequel to a pulpy Liam Neeson movie called The Ice Road just set a record.

Behind the famous red carpets, the festival is where moviemakers, both famous and not, try to sell their movies, both celebrated and not, to a distributor. Deadline reports Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky just sold for around $17 million to Amazon Prime Video.

The 2021 original, which had a brief run in theaters before taking off on Netflix, has Neeson playing Mike McCann, another guy with a particular set of skills — this one driving trucks on, well, icy roads. He later undertakes a rescue mission of a group of trapped miners whose accident may not have been an accident.

According to the trade, the sequel sees McCann trading in the tundras for Nepal, plying his skills as a tour bus driver on the treacherous mountain roads in the Asian country. There, he must save his passengers from a group of mercenaries.

George Floyd’s death offers lessons on how to stop cycle of police violence: AG

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Three years ago this week, George Floyd died while in police custody in Minneapolis after Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was the lead prosecutor in the case against Chauvin, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison in 2021.

Ellison’s new book, “Break the Wheel Ending the Cycle of Police Violence,” explores the George Floyd case and offers insights for future cases of police brutality, aiming to foster justice, accountability and the end of the violent cycle within the criminal justice system.

Ellison spoke with ABC News Live Tuesday about the book and the anniversary.

ABC NEWS LIVE: So you transformed your personal diary entries from the Derek Chauvin trial into this book…documenting every step of the way. That had to change your perspective from the start of the trial to the end of the trial. What was your perspective like toward the end of the trial?

KEITH ELLISON: I was ready for it to be over. I can tell you that when we received the jury instructions and the jury was given the case and told to go to the jury room, we were sitting there on pins and needles.

And I had no idea what the outcome was going to be. In fact, I presumed that the odds were in Derek Chauvin’s favor.

ABC NEWS LIVE: Really? No inclination at any point thinking it was going to go in one way or another.

ELLISON: I did not know, but I thought if history was any judge and we looked at the first George Floyd state trial acquittals, Walter Scott hung jury. You had the Philando Castile case which happened in Minnesota acquittals. And when the jury, when the judge read the verdict, guilty, guilty, guilty on all counts, I was surprised, but I wasn’t necessarily joyful about it.

I was relieved that it was over, and I was relieved that the jury saw what we were trying to tell them, which is that this was a criminal act and they needed to say so. That’s what a verdict is, the truth.

ABC NEWS LIVE: Do you think the landscape of the Derek Chauvin trial changed other police brutality cases or will change them in the future?

ELLISON: I think the answer to that is yes, and I’ll tell you why. If you look at this tragedy involving Tyre Nichols in Memphis, I’m impressed by how the police chief got out there, [and] released the video fairly quickly. The county attorney gave people confidence that there was going to be real accountability in this matter.

I think we’ve turned the corner in terms of how we handle these things, but I must say, we have not turned the corner in terms of police deaths. We have not reduced the number of in-custody shootings or officer-involved-of deadly force encounters. And so we still have a lot of ways to go before we break the will.

ABC NEWS LIVE: Well, let’s talk about the potential conflict of interest between prosecutors and police. You write in the book, “It’s hard to prosecute police for a number of reasons. But one of the more notable is that police and prosecutors enjoy a close professional relationship, which prosecutors often use to protect their police officer allies.” So what steps do you believe need to be taken to address that potential conflict of interest?

ELLISON: Well, one thing we have to do is just remind prosecutors you are to pursue justice and truth without fear or favor of anyone. If you feel you can’t do that, move the case to another county, [or] send the case to the attorney general’s office. But if you have any relationship issues which make you have to back off pursuing justice, you should transfer that case out of your office.

ABC NEWS LIVE: You mentioned police deaths, still people dying at the hands of police. According to the website Mapping Police Violence, police have killed at least 363 people so far this year. How can law enforcement officers be held more accountable for acts of violence that do possibly cross the line?

ELLISON: Let me say, those 363, maybe some of those shootings or deaths are within the law. Police officers are allowed to use force, including deadly force, if their lives are threatened or if the lives of others are threatened. So I don’t want to say all of those are bad. But I would say that it’s very unlikely that, really, too many of those, more than maybe 2%, will ever be held accountable because of just the way we do it.

ABC NEWS LIVE: What do you do in that situation if you are that young officer that is looking up to someone like Derek Chauvin, who’s in charge and is doing the wrong thing. What do you do in that situation?

ELLISON: What we say now is you better do something because you have a duty to intervene. If you’re seeing your officers doing something that you can plainly see is against policy, you may be held accountable yourself if you don’t do something.

What if they just said, “You know what? He’s subdued,” and stood up. Now, you might not be popular back at the station, but maybe George Floyd would be alive right now.

The music of ELO celebrated on Julianna Hatfield covers album

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

The music of Electric Light Orchestra is going to be the subject of a new album by ’90s rocker Julianna Hatfield.

Hatfield, best known for her 1993 hit song “My Sister,” is set to drop the all-ELO covers album, titled Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO, on November 17.

“Overall, I stuck pretty close to the originals’ structures while figuring out new ways to express or reference the unique and beloved ELO string arrangements,” Hatfield says. “An orchestra would have been difficult or impossible for me to manage to record, nor did I think there was any point in trying to copy those parts as they originally were. Why not try to reimagine them within my zone of limitations?”

The album features covers of such ELO tunes as “Strange Magic” and the just-released “Don’t Bring Me Down.”

Hatfield has previously released full covers albums of The Police and Olivia Newton-John. Her most recent original record is 2021’s Blood.

Biden calls for end of gun violence ‘epidemic’ a year after Uvalde shooting

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden, marking one year since the Uvalde school shooting, on Wednesday called on Republicans in Congress to act to end the “epidemic” of gun violence in the United States.

Before delivering somber remarks, Biden and first lady Jill Biden honored the lives lost with a display of 21 candles assembled at the base of the White House grand staircase.

“Remembering is important but it’s also painful,” he said with the first lady standing by his side. “One year ago today, Robb elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, turned into another killing field in America.”

Nineteen fourth graders and two teachers were killed when a gunman stormed Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. Seventeen others were injured.

Biden renewed his call for an assault weapons ban, universal background checks, national red flag laws and other gun control measures.

“In over the last year since Uvalde, our country’s experienced a staggering 650 mass shootings. Well over, it’s hard to say, well over 40,000 deaths due to gun violence,” Biden said.

“We can’t end this epidemic until Congress has some commonsense gun safety laws to keep weapons of war off our streets and out of the hands of dangerous people,” he continued. “Until states do the same thing, how many more parents will live their worst nightmare before we stand up for gun lobbying?”

Biden on the day of the shooting in Uvalde spoke of how he was “sick and tired” of gun violence, saying we “can do so much more.” The shooting came 10 days after a gunman attacked a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people.

The president and the first lady traveled to Uvalde days after the shooting and met with the victims’ families.

“Standing there in Uvalde, Jill and I couldn’t help but think that too many schools, too many every day places have become killing fields in communities all across every part of America,” he said on Wednesday. “And in each place, hear the same message. Do something. For God’s sake, please do something.”

Biden also took a few moments Wednesday to connect with those grieving families by speaking to the loss of their son Beau, who died on May 30, 2015.

“Everyone’s pain is different,” he said, adding that one day their memory will bring a smile to their face “before it brings a tear to your eye.”

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that the president believes the Uvalde shooting and the Buffalo supermarket shooting were the catalyst for Congress passing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

“While he’s very, he’s very appreciative of what Congress was able to do, there’s so much more to be done … We need to see Congress do something more, do more,” she told ABC News. “Put forward some commonsense, gun reform. That’s what these families deserve. That’s what they should be able to see.”

Biden emphasized Wednesday that “it’s time to act.”

“It’s time to make our voices heard. Not as Democrats or as Republicans. But as friends, as neighbors, as parents, as fellow Americans and I’m being deadly earnest when I say that,” he said.

Taylor Lautner calls out hateful comments about his appearance, talks mental health

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Taylor Lautner is opening up about hateful comments he’s received about his appearance and shared an important message on mental health.

The Twilight alum, 31, posted a video to Instagram Monday sharing some of the remarks people have made, including ones that said he “did not age well.”

Lautner began the video saying he’d just gotten back from a run and was “feeling really good about myself, trying to stay healthy both physically and mentally,” which made him want to address the comments head-on.

Some of the remarks were about his hairline; another that he “aged like a raisin.”

Lautner said in the past, comments like this “really would have got under my skin, and it would have caused me to want to just go in a hole and not go outside.”

However, he’s “in a different place” these days and has worked on himself to stop putting “value in the wrong things.”

“You find value where you put it,” he explained. “And if you put your value in what other people think of you, that’s how you’re going to feel. But if you put your value in you knowing who you are, what’s important to you, what you love, that kind of stuff won’t get to you.”

Lautner continued, “I’m just so thankful I’m in the place I am today where I can see that. I’m not gonna lie and say it doesn’t bug me, but it doesn’t make me question who I am, and it doesn’t take anything away from me.”

The actor ended his video asking his followers to “just think about and remember where you put your value in life.”

“And also, just be nice,” he added. “It’s not that difficult. Let’s be nice to each other. Let’s spread love and positivity. It’s that simple.”

Family of Brianna Grier, Georgia woman who fell out of moving police vehicle, files wrongful death lawsuit

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(MACON, Ga.) — Family members of Brianna Grier, the Georgia woman who died last year after falling out of a moving police vehicle, said they are filing a lawsuit against the officers involved in the incident.

The complaint, which was obtained by ABC News, names Lt. Marlin Primus, Deputy Timothy Legette and Hancock County Sheriff Tomlyn Primus as defendants.

The lawsuit claims that deputies “unlawfully and willfully seized and restrained the decedent, falsely arrested the decedent, unnecessarily handcuffed the decedent, picked her up and dropped her multiple times, ignored her cries for help and deprived her of medical assistance, caused injury to her head and brain and ultimately caused her death.”

Mary Grier, Brianna Grier’s mother, spoke out at a press conference on Wednesday, saying the officers were aware of Grier’s mental health issues. “I don’t think they did her right,” she said.

According to Mary Grier, her daughter “was a good person” who struggled with her mental health and what happened to her “wasn’t her fault.”

Mary Grier said that when her granddaughters — Brianna Grier’s twin daughters — asked about their mother, “we tell them that she’s gone home to live with God.”

ABC News’ requests for comment to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office were not responded to.

ABC News’ attempts to directly reach the officers named in the lawsuit were unsuccessful. It is unclear if they have retained attorneys.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which conducted an independent investigation into the incident, closed Grier’s case last year and found that she fell out of the moving police vehicle because the door wasn’t closed properly.

Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale III reflected on his decision not to bring the case to a grand jury last November in an interview with Macon, Georgia, ABC affiliate WGXA, saying his decision came after his office reviewed the GBI report.

“We didn’t make a decision lightly,” he said. “There’s nothing criminal on the part of those two deputies based on the facts and evidence we have.”

ABC News has reached out to Barksdale for further comment but has not received a response.

Grier, a 28-year-old mother of two, was arrested by Primus and Legette on July 15, 2022, after Grier’s mother called 911 to report that her daughter was experiencing a mental health crisis.

Body camera footage released on July 29, 2022, by the GBI shows Grier resisting officers as they tried to put her in the patrol car. The 10-minute clip shows officers struggling to get Grier into the back seat of the police car but does not show how she ended up falling out of the moving vehicle.

A summary of the final GBI report on Grier’s death said “the only possible way Grier exited the vehicle was through an already opened, not latched, rear passenger side door at the time of arrest. It was clear from the investigation that Deputy Legette and Lt. Primus were unaware the door was not closed.” The report also said “a ‘door open’ indicator light could be seen on the cluster of the vehicle.”

A medical examiner at GBI’s Division of Forensic Sciences found that Grier’s cause of death was “blunt force head trauma” with “delayed complications” and her manner of death was ruled “accident.” An independent autopsy ordered by Grier’s family also lists Grier’s cause of death as severe blunt force injury to the head.

Barksdale told WGXA that he understands why the family would file a civil lawsuit but added that “what the community needs to understand is that I’m committed to following the law and applying the evidence and facts.”

He added that Grier’s case highlights the need for mental health care reform and “the need for more resources to be poured into this state to address those needs.”

ABC News’ Kendall Ross contributed to this report.

History-making general expected to be picked as next head of Joint Chiefs

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is expected to nominate Gen. “CQ” Brown, current Air Force chief of staff, to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a senior administration official said, elevating the four-star general to be the senior military adviser to the president and White House.

At 61, Charles Quinton Brown Jr. would succeed Gen. Mark Milley as chairman if the Senate confirms him, and would be the second Black Joint Chiefs chairman after Army Gen. Colin Powell. Also, for the first time in history, the Pentagon’s top two leaders, the current secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, and the Joint Chiefs chairman, would be Black men.

An Air Force F-16 fighter pilot who became an officer after completing his undergraduate degree in engineering in 1984, Brown rose through the ranks to become a general in 2009. He held senior leadership roles in the Middle East beginning in 2015, and in 2018 took command of Pacific Air Forces, America’s presence in the skies of the Indo-Pacific.

After being nominated by former President Donald Trump in 2020, the Senate confirmed Brown 98-0 to be chief of staff of the Air Force. His nomination now to lead the military’s service chiefs comes as Milley’s tenure comes to a mandated end in September. Milley came to have a notoriously strained relationship with Trump, who had chosen him to be chairman.

As Biden’s senior adviser in uniform, Brown would be called to contend with a growing Chinese military presence where he once led American airmen, the Indo-Pacific.

Heather Wilson, a former congresswoman and secretary of the Air Force who served with Brown, told ABC News his experience in the region makes him a good fit for the moment.

“There is no more important adversary or potential adversary now than China,” she said. “And he has that experience. I think even more than just understanding the strategic landscape of the Pacific, he has started to build relationships with our allies. And one of the things that America has that’s an advantage is that we have allies. China generally does not. Their neighbors are afraid of them.”

Brown’s personal character would be a plus, Wilson said.

“This position, if he’s confirmed, has a role in relationships with our allies in deepening those partnerships of trust. And if there’s one thing CQ Brown has demonstrated it’s that he’s a man that you can trust. And I think that will be very important as we deepen our alliances in the Pacific,” she said.

The threat is different from the one U.S. leaders have come to know in the Middle East, according to Wilson.

“I think that’s a challenge because for the last thirty years, we have really been focusing on terrorist threats all around the world and not necessarily crisis or conflict with a near-peer adversary. That’s different. Particularly, a technologically advanced near-peer adversary. So, he has to think about warfare in all of its domains. When we have not had to do that against ISIS and Al Qaeda,” she said.

Brown, in a video message spread widely in June 2020, reckoned publicly with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, an injustice he felt compelled to discuss as a senior military leader who was often the first or the only Black man in his position. He said his son asked him how the Air Force would respond to Floyd’s killing, and he knew he needed to speak out.

“I’m thinking about how full I am with emotion not just for George Floyd, but the many African Americans that have suffered the same fate as George Floyd,” he said. “I’m thinking about a history of racial issues and my own experiences that didn’t always sing of liberty and equality.”

When Wilson saw the video, she said she “was really proud of him. He had a sense of what airmen needed to hear from him. And as a leader, he was in a unique position to stand up and say so. And – I think – I was really proud of him.”

Wilson pointed to the admission of women to service academies for the first time in 1976 as the sort of breakthrough Brown’s nomination represents.

“I think this country has benefited from that. We have a stronger national defense because you use the gifts that everyone brings to the table,” she said.

Joining ABC’s “GMA3” last February, Brown told ABC News, “You can only aspire to be what you can see. And hopefully by me being in this position, I’ll inspire many young people to open doors for not just in the military, but just really across the country, to be in a great position to — just like this.”

Brown’s “style is different,” Wilson said. “But that’s okay…Different secretaries of defense and different presidents need different things.”

“One of the things that CQ does well is listen, and this is in a town where there’s a lot more people who want to talk than listen and who listens and understands and synthesizes problems. He asks good questions and then is able to crystallize what the big issues are.”

ABC News’ Matthew Seyler contributed to this report.

Tour the Ryman for free during Ryman Community Day

May 24, 2023 by WDNY Radio

If you’re going to be in Nashville this Memorial Day weekend, then be sure to stop by the Ryman Auditorium for Ryman Community Day.

Happening on Sunday, May 28, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the family-friendly event will include free tours of the historic music venue, fun activities, food and drinks, and live music. Face painting, balloon animals and caricatures will also be available for kids.

The event is free to all Tennessee residents.

For more information and to reserve tickets for the free event, visit ryman.com.

+ More