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Trump could still be elected president if indicted or convicted, experts say

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — According to law, former President Donald Trump can be elected president if indicted — or even convicted — in any of the state and federal investigations he is currently facing, experts tell ABC News. But there are practical reasons that could make it a challenge, experts say.

Trump said over the weekend at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that he would “absolutely” stay in the race for president even if he were to be criminally indicted.

“I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” Trump told reporters ahead of his speech on Saturday. “Probably it will enhance my numbers.”

Special counsel Jack Smith is currently investigating Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as his handling of classified material after he left office. Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, have been investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. And in New York, the attorney general and the Manhattan district attorney have been probing Trump’s personal finances and those of his namesake real estate company.

In all cases, Trump has denied wrongdoing and has characterized the probes as part of a “witch hunt” against him.

The U.S. Constitution does not list the absence of a criminal record as a qualification for the presidency. It says only that natural born citizens who are at least 35 years old and have been a resident of the U.S. for 14 years can run for president.

Constitutional experts also told ABC News that previous Supreme Court rulings hold that Congress cannot add qualifications to the office of the president. In addition, a state cannot prohibit indicted or convicted felons from running for federal office.

“Some people are surprised to learn that there’s no constitutional bar on a felon running for president, but there’s no such bar,” said Kate Shaw, ABC News legal analyst and professor at Cardozo School of Law.

“Because of the 22nd Amendment, the individual can’t have been twice elected president previously,” Shaw said. “But there’s nothing in the Constitution disqualifying individuals convicted of crimes from running for or serving as president.”

Shaw said that while incarceration “would presumably make campaigning difficult if not impossible,” the impediment would be a “practical problem, not a legal one.”

James Sampler, a constitutional law professor at Hofstra University, told ABC News that the Constitution sets the minimal requirements, but leaves the rest up to the voters.

“It depends on the wisdom of the people to determine that an individual is not fit for office,” Sampler said. “So the most fundamental obstacle that President Trump has in seeking office in 2024 is the obstacle that anyone has, but he has it in a different and more pronounced way — which is proving to the voters that the individual deserves the office.”

If Trump were to be indicted or convicted and prevented by law from traveling out of state, Sampler said, that would impose a practical limitation on his ability to travel the country and campaign — but it wouldn’t prohibit him from running.

Sampler also pointed out an irony in the electoral system, in which many states bar convicted felons from voting. According to the Sentencing Project advocacy group, 48 states have laws that ban people with felony convictions from voting.

“It is a sad day for a country that ostensibly values democratic participation and equality, that individuals who’ve been convicted of a felony can be prohibited from participating even as voters in our democracy, but a president convicted of a felony is still allowed,” he said.

Jessica Levinson, a professor of election law at Loyola Law School, agreed.

“You could conceivably have a situation where the president of the United States is not disqualified from being president … but can’t vote for himself,” Levinson told ABC News.

“The interesting thing about the qualifications like you have to be born here, you have to live here for a certain amount of time … all of that is kind of getting at the idea that we want you to be loyal to our country,” Levinson said. “But you could conceivably be convicted of crimes against our country, and still be able to serve as president.”

Hiker collapses and dies on rugged desert trail with no shade

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A 64-year-old woman collapsed and died while hiking on an exposed and rugged desert trail in Texas, officials say.

The incident occurred at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Monday when Big Bend National Park’s Communications Center received a call requesting emergency assistance for a 64-year-old female who had collapsed and was unresponsive on the park’s Hot Springs Canyon Trail — a three mile trail that takes hikers through rugged desert and rocky cliffs above the Rio Grande.

“A team of Park Rangers and a U.S. Border Patrol Agent responded and reached the patient by 3:30 pm and immediately began CPR,” read a statement from Big bend National Park following the incident. “A U.S. Border Patrol helicopter was called in to provide emergency transport of the patient.”

All attempts to revive the hiker, however, were unsuccessful.

“Big Bend National Park staff and our partners are saddened by this loss,” stated Acting Deputy Superintendent Rick Gupman. “While we can’t conclude that weather was a factor in this incident, March reminds us that the beauty of spring often brings dangerously hot temperatures to Big Bend. Our entire Big Bend family extends our deep condolences to the hiker’s family and friends.”

Park officials warn that no shade or water along the trail the hiker was on can often make it dangerous to attempt in the heat of the afternoon.

With approximately 581,000 visitors in 2021, Big Bend National Park is the 15th largest in the national park system at 1,252 square miles and was authorized by Congress in 1935 to “preserve and protect a representative area of the Chihuahuan Desert along the Rio Grande.”

Four dead in small plane crash over central Florida, officials say

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WINTER HAVEN, Fla.) — Four people have died after two planes crashed over Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven, Florida, on Tuesday, law enforcement officials said.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has identified Faith Irene Baker, 24, a pilot and flight instructor with Sunrise Aviation; Zachary Jean Mace, 19, a student at Polk State College; and Randall Elbert Crawford, 67, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, as three of the people who died in the collision.

“My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who were killed in today’s crash. The NTSB and FAA will be investigating the cause and circumstances of the collision,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “Please keep the families in your prayers during this difficult and stressful time.”

Police are working to identify the fourth person, authorities said. Baker and Mace were in a Cherokee Piper 161, while Crawford and the fourth victim were in a Piper J-3 Cub, according to the sheriff’s office.

Search and rescue operations have ceased, as all four people are believed to be the only occupants of the two aircraft, police said.

“Our Polk State College family is devastated by this tragedy,” Angela Garcia Falconetti, the school’s president, said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends and colleagues.”

One of the planes was operated by Sunrise Aviation on behalf of Polk State College, while the other was run by Jack Brown’s Seaplane Base, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News in a statement.

Police responded to a 911 call at 2:04 p.m. local time about the crash.

One plane was floating below the surface of the water while the other sat 21 feet on the lake bed, according to police.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were en route to Lake Hartridge to investigate the collision.

Rupert Murdoch said Trump, Giuliani were ‘both increasingly mad’ in wake of 2020 election, new documents show

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch privately bashed then-President Donald Trump and his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, following the 2020 election, according to court records made public on Tuesday as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

Murdoch wrote that Trump and Giuliani were “both increasingly mad” — using the British expression for “crazy” — in an email whose contents were read during a deposition taken as part of the lawsuit.

The voting machine company has filed court documents containing private communications from Fox News personnel appearing to cast doubt on claims that Dominion’s voting machines had somehow rigged the presidential election in Joe Biden’s favor.

Tuesday’s newly unveiled records included additional correspondence between Fox network executives and on-air hosts regarding Trump’s claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.

“The real danger is what he might do as president,” Murdoch wrote of Trump, according to a transcript of the deposition. “Apparently not sleeping and bouncing off walls!”

Murdoch also acknowledged in a Jan. 21, 2021, email to a Fox News executive that “maybe Sean and Laura went too far,” referring to Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, two primetime hosts who echoed Trump’s claims of election fraud. The email was sent in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

“All very well for Sean to tell you he was in despair about Trump, but what did he tell his viewers?” Murdoch wrote.

The thousands of pages of new documents provide additional evidence that network leaders privately acknowledged that Biden had won the election despite what Fox News’ on-air personalities told their viewers.

In response to the documents, Fox News officials said that Dominion was misleading the public by not providing the full context behind some of the quotes. In one example, Hannity’s statement about election fraud that he “did not believe it for one second,” which was included in an early Dominion filing, was only a partial quote and did not include that he said that he “waited for the proof.”

“Thanks to today’s filings, Dominion has been caught red-handed using more distortions and misinformation in their PR campaign to smear FOX News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press,” Fox News officials said in a statement. “We already know they will say and do anything to try to win this case, but to twist and even misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our company is truly beyond the pale.”

Other documents released Tuesday show one of Fox’s biggest stars, Tucker Carlson, privately saying that he hated Trump “passionately.”

“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” Carlson privately wrote on Jan. 4, 2021, according to the documents. “I truly can’t wait.”

“I hate him passionately,” he said.

Separately, in a group chat between Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham, the Fox News hosts vented privately about the network, its declining ratings, and their fellow employees in mid-November, the records show.

“We are all officially working for an organization that hates us,” Ingraham wrote on Nov. 16, 2020, according to the documents. “My anger at the news channel is pronounced,” she said later.

“I’m disgusted at this point,” Hannity said later in the conversation, per the records.

The new material also documents backlash to Fox News’ decision to call Arizona for Biden before other networks had done so. After Fox News made the call, Bret Baier, the network’s chief political anchor, urged executives to “back off AZ” and retract the call.

“The sooner we pull it — even if it gives us major egg … the better we are. In my opinion,” Baier wrote on Nov. 5.

Murdoch also said during his deposition as part of the lawsuit that he “never” believed the theory that the voting company was involved in an effort to “delegitimize and destroy votes for Donald Trump.”

“I never believed it,” he said during his deposition on Jan. 19, 2023, according to a more complete transcript that was released as part of the newer documents.

But elsewhere in the deposition, Murdoch acknowledged Trump’s importance, saying “nobody wants Trump as an enemy.”

When asked why, Murdoch said “because he had a great following, big.”

“Seventy-five million people voted for him,” Murdoch said.

Bindi Irwin says she underwent surgery for endometriosis

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Bindi Irwin shared a major health update with the world on Tuesday, saying she recently underwent surgery for endometriosis.

“Dear Friends, I battled for a long time wondering if I should share this journey with you in such a public space,” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram caption alongside a photo of her in a hospital bed. “It came down to the responsibility I feel to share my story for other women who need help.”

Irwin, 24, said she has “struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea” for the last 10 years, attempting to “remain a positive person & hide the pain.”

The Dancing with the Stars alum said a doctor told her “it was simply something you deal with as a woman,” which caused her to give up “entirely, trying to function through pain.” Irwin said that her friend, Leslie Mosier, helped her navigate endometriosis, which helped set her on a “path of regaining my life.”

Irwin ultimately decided to undergo surgery because she said she “couldn’t live like I was.”

“Every part of my life was getting torn apart because of the pain,” she said. “To cut a long story short, they found 37 lesions, some very deep and difficult to remove, and a chocolate cyst.”

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), endometriosis occurs in about 1 out of 10 women of reproductive age and is a condition in which the type of tissue that forms the lining of the uterus (the endometrium) is found outside the uterus.

Even though that tissue is outside of the uterus, it can still respond to hormones during the menstrual cycle, causing irritation, bleeding, pain and scarring. That scarring can also lead to infertility, health expert said.

There isn’t a cure for endometriosis, but there are treatments for pain and infertility, according to ACOG. Treatments include hormone therapy like birth control pills, pain medications and surgery.

The TV personality said she now feels “validation for years of pain” and thanked her family and friends who have been by her side as she battled endometriosis over the years. She also thanked her doctors and nurses.

Irwin’s post comes during National Endometriosis Awareness month, a time to raise awareness about the gynecological disease. As the mother to 2-year-old Grace Warrior Irwin Powell, whom she shares with her husband, Chandler Powell, Irwin ended her post by putting a spotlight on endometriosis and reaching out to women who are also dealing with the disease.

“Things may look fine on the outside looking in through the window of someone’s life, however, that is not always the case,” Irwin said. “Please be gentle & pause before asking me (or any woman) when we’ll be having more children. After all that my body has gone through, I feel tremendously grateful that we have our gorgeous daughter. She feels like our family’s miracle”

“I’m aware of millions of women struggling with a similar story,” she added. “There’s stigma around this awful disease. I’m sharing my story for anyone who reads this & is quietly dealing with pain & no answers. Let this be your validation that your pain is real & you deserve help. Keep searching for answers.”

Is Lainey Wilson “borderline psycho?” No, she’s just got a “Heart Like a Truck”

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

If you talk to Lainey Wilson, you’ll likely realize that “Heart Like a Truck” is a lot more than just her latest hit.

It reflects the steely determination that kept the CMA Female Vocalist of the Year going when it looked like she’d never make it.

“There’s definitely been times where I probably should have given up. I mean, common sense would tell you to take it to the house and be done,” she laughs. “I guess I was a little borderline psycho. I don’t really know.”

“But I hope people can see that, you know, first of all, nothing happens overnight,” she tells ABC Audio. “The squeaky wheel gets the grease at the end of the day. Like, if it’s in your heart and in your soul, then stick it out.”

As Lainey uses “Heart Like a Truck” to inspire others, she also remembers how her own strong will played out in her career.

“Every time somebody told me no, I never actually took it as a no,” she confesses. “I always took it as, well, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to even get in front of them in the first place if it was really a no.”

“It’s a yes, they just don’t know it’s a yes yet,” she says, laughing again.

This week, Lainey confirmed she’ll head out with her “wait in the truck” partner HARDY on the fall leg of his the mockingbird & THE CROW tour.

Will Jonas Brothers “dress for the era” at their Broadway residency next week?

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Each night of the Jonas Brothers‘ upcoming Broadway residency will feature the guys playing songs from a different album — ranging from their self-titled debut right up to their upcoming release, The Album. But it appears the guys may be contemplating actually dressing to match, too.

On Instagram, the guys posted a video captioned, “When you’re trying to convince your brother to dress for the era* — *including the scarves — at the NYC shows next week.” It shows Joe and Kevin attempting to convince Nick by lip-syncing to that clip of Harry Styles in Don’t Worry Darling saying, “Not everyone gets this opportunity! And if you keep talkin’ like this, you’re gonna put it all at risk!”

Whether or not the guys don scarves and suit vests for their performances, their looks from each era — captured in their album artwork — are prominently displayed on the covers of the Playbills that will be distributed at each show. There will be different Playbills for each night, but you can purchase them all together in one bundle now, or individually.

On the Bros’ website, there’s also a capsule collection of Broadway merch, including tees that feature the different Playbill covers.

The residency kicks off March 14 with a performance of songs from Jonas Brothers, followed by A Little Bit Longer, Lines, Vines and Trying Times, Happiness Begins and The Album. The group also promises to play “all our greatest hits,” as well as the album material, so don’t worry about missing out on those if you don’t go to every show.

The Zombies’ Colin Blunstone looking forward to another “exciting” South By Southwest

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

South By Southwest kicks off Friday and Rock & Roll Hall of Famers The Zombies will be there for several shows, which frontman Colin Blunstone is thrilled about.

“It’s a very exciting place to be, Austin at South by Southwest,” Blunstone tells ABC Audio. “There are bands playing everywhere, in every doorway and every bar.”

And as it turns out, when he says everywhere he means it.

“I remember one of our early ones, I really hope we play back there, it’s someone’s bicycle shop, you know, Fred somebody’s bicycle shop,” he recalls. “And somebody said to me afterwards, ‘What a great name for a club.’ And I said, ‘No, it’s not a club, it’s a bicycle shop. We just play in there amongst the bicycles.’” He adds, “You know you just play in the strangest places and in some ways, it sort of adds to the excitement really.”

The Zombies will also be celebrating their new documentary, Hung Up On A Dream, which will have its world premiere at the festival on March 12, with another screening on March 17.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Blunstone says of the doc. “They did follow us, there will be some live playing in it and there is some old video, as well. I’m sure it’ll be great. The people who filmed it are wonderful professionals and made us feel very easy.” (

Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein on the possibility of more ‘Ted Lasso’ following show’s third and final season

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Will the upcoming season 3 of Ted Lasso be the end? The first episode debuts a week from Wednesday on Apple TV+, and the answer about an ending is complicated.

It seems as if this is the end of the story they want to tell, but the show could continue on in either a different iteration or a spinoff or something else. ABC Audio asked star and co-creator Jason Sudeikis if he could clear up the confusion — is this the final season or not?

“It is as far as I know. Yes. Yeah… I’m editing this one and you know, we have not rented any studio space.” Sudeikis declared, before joking, “Everybody is doing different projects. Nobody would call me back. You know, that’s a good sign, right? When the cast stops being, you know, getting back to you right away. I’m like, Oh, it must be over.”

Show writer and co-star Brett Goldstein had even less to offer in the way of clarity, offering only that “It is an ending…a completion of a story. So I’d say prepare for the end. An end. A end. Apple?”

Sudeikis says they always envisioned a three-season arc, which they “sort of modeled it after the British Office, how they had two seasons and then like a Christmas special,” but they never anticipated how popular the show would be.

“You know, things morphed and changed in many, many ways, with the influence of our writers and certainly the people that we cast as these various characters and we got to stay open to the discovery, it would be silly not to,” he explains. “But yeah, at this point the trilogy if you will…you know, we’re trying to wrap up those stories as the best we can.”

Tessa Thompson looks back on some of her iconic characters

March 8, 2023 by WDNY Radio

Tessa Thompson‘s range has been displayed as she’s taken on a variety of characters. In the latest issue of Look Back At It, she reflects on some of her iconic roles, including Nyla in For Colored Girls, Diane in Selma and, of course, Bianca in the Creed series.

When Tessa portrayed Nyla, she worked with an “incredible ensemble” featuring Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, Loretta Devine and Thandiwe Newton. It was her “first time working with an all-female cast in terms of the leads.” “It was incredible to be on set with women who defined my idea of Black femininity at every turn,” she says, noting her love for Janet, Ntozake Shange‘s book and Phylicia Rashad.

Selma‘s Diane impacted Tessa’s life, as it “really challenged me to think about how I show up in these moments now as a Black American.” She says the “film was such an honor to work on” and notes she made some lifelong friendships while shooting the movie.

As for Bianca, fans have gotten pretty familiar with the character, as she’s appeared in three Creedmovies. Tessa says “there’s been so much personal growth” in the film’s characters, adding, “They’re postcards to me because I see my own growth inside of the span of these nine years.” She notes she’s “incredibly proud to be part of” Michael B. Jordan‘s journey.

Tessa also discusses being in Thor: Ragnarok, which she believes is connected to Creed.

“I never ever thought that I would occupy these kinds of spaces or be in big superhero movies,” she says. “But in connecting the dots, I know that Dear White People put me on Ryan Coogler’s radar and I know that Creed put me on Marvel’s radar because all of us joined the MCU.”

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