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Government ‘weaponization’ subcommittee holds 1st hearing: ‘I have never seen anything like this’

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — At the first public hearing by the House Judiciary subcommittee committee on the alleged “weaponization” of the federal government, Republicans on Thursday continued to make arguments criticizing federal agencies and “big tech” companies like Twitter while Democrats called the hearing an effort to “showcase conspiracy theories.”

Much of what Republicans said at the hearing — which lasted more than three hours — echoed familiar claims they have made on other panels since taking control of Congress, including Wednesday’s House Oversight hearing on Twitter’s handling of a story about Hunter Biden’s purported laptop.

The list of witnesses on Thursday included two Republican senators, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (who recently left the Democratic Party), former FBI agents Thomas Baker and Nicole Parker and Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University Law School professor and Fox News contributor.

Before Thursday’s hearing, subcommittee member Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., had suggested billionaire businessman and Twitter CEO Elon Musk might be the first witness. However, that ended up being Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley.

The panel has a broad purview, including the ability to investigate how any part of the federal government collects and analyzes information on Americans, along with “ongoing criminal investigations” and civil liberties issues.

The subcommittee also gets access to highly classified information shared only with the House Intelligence Committee.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana has compared its work to the so-called Church committee of the 1970s, in which Democratic Sen. Frank Church led an investigation of intelligence abuse by the executive branch.

“We’re going to set up that Church committee to look at some of these federal agencies that are weaponizing government to go after families across this country based on their political views. That’s not what the government should be doing,” Scalise said last month.

The subcommittee’s chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, maintained in his opening remarks that “dozens and dozens” of FBI agents had come to him and other Republicans “talking about what’s going on, the political nature at the Justice Department.”

“I have never seen anything like this. Dozens and dozens of whistleblowers, FBI agents, coming to us,” Jordan claimed, adding, “Not Jim Jordan saying this, not Republicans, not conservatives — good, brave FBI agents.”

In one heated exchange, however, New York Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman — who served as an impeachment manager against then-President Donald Trump — called out Jordan, contending that the chairman had not provided Democrats on the panel with information regarding any discussions with the alleged FBI agents.

U.S. Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett, the Democrats’ ranking member, who also served as a Trump impeachment manager, said in her remarks that the subcommittee was “weaponizing Congress” and that Republicans were using their newfound power in the majority to “settle scores” and “showcase conspiracy theories.”

“I’m deeply concerned about the use of this select subcommittee as a place to settle scores, showcase conspiracy theories and advance an extreme agenda that risk undermining Americans’ faith in our democracy,” Plaskett said.

Later in the hearing, Goldman ripped into Republicans’ witnesses — including former FBI agent Baker — pointing out similarities between Baker’s opening statement and a book he previously published.

“Next time, make sure you give us a heads up and we can set up a table for you to have a book signing after this,” Goldman said.

ABC News’ Libby Cathey and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.

House votes to block 2 DC bills, drawing some local outrage and calls for statehood

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — After months of contention which began shortly after the midterm elections, the House, led by the Republican majority, voted Thursday to prevent a pair of local Washington, D.C., bills from going into effect.

One of the bills would allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections. The other, more controversial bill would update Washington’s criminal code for the first time since 1901.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged all of his colleagues to approve resolutions disapproving of the two measures.

“Under the Constitution, Congress — not the city council — has the final say over the laws governing the nation’s capital,” McCarthy said in remarks on the floor. “We have a responsibility to hold Washington, D.C., accountable and stop the new criminal code from taking effect.”

The move is a defeat for local officials who, shortly after the midterm elections, called on the Republican-led House to give the city sovereignty and not to meddle in their laws.

But the district’s lack of statehood has consistently made it a target of some Republican lawmakers. Congress has ultimate jurisdiction over the district.

“I think these resolutions are emblematic of why D.C. needs statehood,” Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district’s non-voting representative, told ABC News.

Despite the Democratic Party’s general support for statehood, 42 Democrats joined Republicans to reject D.C. legislation allowing non-citizen voting and 31 Democrats voted to reject the city’s new criminal code.

The resolutions blocking the legislation now head to the Senate, where they need a simple majority vote to pass and go to President Joe Biden’s desk.

The Biden administration said in a statement Monday that the White House opposed both resolutions, describing them as “clear examples of how the District of Columbia continues to be denied true self-governance and why it deserves statehood.”

“That gives me some hope that this will not pass and this will not become law,” Norton said.

However, the administration’s statement did not explicitly say whether Biden would veto the resolutions if they came to his desk.

Controversy over D.C.’s new criminal code

The so-called crime bill, which has been worked on for more than 16 years by local officials and was unanimously passed by the city council last year, has come under fire from some lawmakers and activists in D.C. — including Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat.

Bowser publicly opposed the legislation, citing concern that the new requirement for jury trials for misdemeanor offenses would cause the courts to be overburdened. She also took issue with the reduction of penalties for certain crimes.

After much public discourse, Bowser vetoed the bill, but her decision was overridden by the city council.

Despite Bowser’s opposition to parts of the criminal code, the mayor slammed the action taken by the U.S. House on Thursday.

“We know that the Congress, especially the Republicans, will attack largely social things or they will try to do things in the district that they can’t do at home to score points, and so I think that’s what you’re seeing in this debate today,” she said.

D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwab similarly accused House Republicans of “political grandstanding.” Schwab earlier this week wrote a letter to Speaker McCarthy urging him not to take up the issue.

“Today’s move to overturn our laws is not about making the District safer or more just … District residents are on notice that lawmakers seek to undermine our democratic process to gain political favor and are substituting uninformed politics for the views of those impacted most, DC residents,” Schwab said.

House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., told fellow lawmakers that the new code would turn “this crime crisis into a catastrophe.”

Del. Norton, in turn, noted to her colleagues that the new law would toughen some sentencing in the district. The maximum punishment for charges such as attempted murder increased to 23.5 years from five years. Attempted sexual assault, which currently has a five-year maximum sentence, now would be punished by up to 15 years.

Where statehood stands

Josh Burch, the founder of the advocacy group Neighbors for D.C. Statehood, told ABC News that he was “disgusted but not surprised” by Thursday’s action.

The resolutions, Burch said, were “a fulfillment of the promises that [some Republicans] already were making before the election to attack” the district’s autonomy under the 1973 Home Rule Act.

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., recently reintroduced legislation to make Washington, D.C., the 51st state. Norton has introduced a statehood bill in the lower chamber, which twice passed her proposal when it was under Democratic control.

Bowser said Thursday that they “will continue the fight” for statehood. But with a Republican-led House, neither measure is likely to make it to Biden’s desk.

“In some ways, the next two years are going to be a little bit of a defensive, being on defense against any democratic aggressions led by House Republicans. But we also need to use those opportunities to highlight just how undemocratic it is,” Burch said.

New Jersey leaders mourn councilman killed in workplace shooting

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(MILFORD, N.J.) — New Jersey leaders are mourning the loss of a councilman who was killed in what police said was a targeted workplace shooting on Wednesday.

Russell Heller was fatally shot outside utility company PSE&G’s Somerset Central Division Headquarters in Franklin Township, where he was the senior distribution supervisor, officials said.

Heller, 51, was also a councilman in Milford, a small borough in Hunterdon County.

“The Milford Borough Council is deeply saddened by the loss and our hearts go out to his family,” Milford Mayor Henri Schepens said in a statement. “He was so full of life, it’s just unbelievable that he’s gone. Something like this has never happened in borough history. We are very shaken by this.”

Heller, a Republican, was first elected to the Milford Borough Council in 2017 and re-elected in 2020.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Russell Heller’s family and friends in the wake of this tragic act of gun violence,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted.

Franklin Township police responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting victim in the parking lot of the PSE&G location around 7 a.m. Wednesday, the department said. Heller was found dead from a gunshot wound, police said.

Investigators determined that a former PSE&G employee — identified as Gary Curtis, 58, of Washington, New Jersey — allegedly approached Heller in the parking lot and shot him while he was outside his vehicle, police said.

Curtis was tracked to a parking lot in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, within an hour of the shooting, according to police. As law enforcement officers approached they “observed him suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound” and he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office along with Franklin Township Police are continuing to investigate the homicide.

“Preliminary investigation has revealed that the shooting was an isolated incident and Mr. Heller was the intended target,” the Franklin Township Police Department said in a statement.

A motive is under investigation. Investigators have determined that the shooting was not connected with Heller’s “elected office or political affiliation,” Deputy Chief Frank Roman Jr. with the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Thursday.

PSE&G said it was “heartbroken” over the death of Heller, who had been a supervisor with the company for over 11 years.

“This event is tragic and disturbing, and we are offering support to our employees as they process this,” PSE&G said in a statement.

New Jersey Congressman Tom Kean said he was “shocked and saddened by the tragic murder” of Heller.

“Russell was an outstanding public servant who proudly represented the river town he loved,” Kean tweeted.

The incident comes one week after the separate, fatal shooting of another New Jersey council member.

Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was shot and killed on Feb. 1 while sitting inside her SUV outside her home, police said.

Dwumfour sustained multiple gunshot wounds in her SUV and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Dwumfour — the mother of a 12-year-old daughter and leader of her church — was elected into office in 2021 and worked as a business analyst and part-time emergency medical technician.

No arrests have been announced in the case.

ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.

Yahoo to lay off 20% of its workforce by the end of the year

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Yahoo will lay off 20% of its workforce by the end of the year, including 1,000 employees this week, the company announced Thursday.

The cuts are focused on the company’s ad tech division, Yahoo for Business, which will reduce its workforce by nearly 50% by the end of 2023 amid a restructuring of the company’s ads business, a Yahoo spokesperson said.

“These decisions are never easy, but we believe these changes will simplify and strengthen our advertising business for the long run, while enabling Yahoo to deliver better value to our customers and partners,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The company’s current ads business strategy has not been profitable, the spokesperson said. As part of a revamped approach, a new division, known as Yahoo Advertising, will focus on its demand-side platform, with its ad sales teams prioritizing Yahoo-owned-and-operated properties, including Yahoo Finance, Yahoo News and Yahoo Sports, the spokesperson said.

The company will also sunset its supply-side platform while fully shifting its native advertising efforts to its 30-year partnership with advertising company Taboola, which was announced in November, the spokesperson said.

The cutbacks arrive amid a string of layoffs in the media and tech industries.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Dotdash Meredith and Vox Media are among the companies that have slashed jobs in recent months.

On Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger also said the company is set to eliminate 7,000 jobs in targeting a total of $5.5 billion in cost savings. In all, $3 billion in cuts will come from content, excluding sports, he added; while $2.5 billion will come from non-content cuts.

The eliminated jobs amount to roughly 3% of the company’s 220,000 workers worldwide, according to a securities filing made in October.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News.

Sen. John Fetterman remains hospitalized but no signs of ‘new stroke,’ staff says

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Sen. John Fetterman, D.-Pa., remained hospitalized in Washington on Thursday after he was admitted because he felt lightheaded during a Democratic retreat on Wednesday, his staff said.

Fetterman’s spokesman, Joe Calvello, said in a statement that an MRI done on Fetterman at George Washington University Hospital “along with the results of all of the other tests the doctors ran” had ruled out “a new stroke.”

“John is being monitored … for signs of seizure – so far there are no signs of seizure, but he is still being monitored. Our team will continue to provide information as it comes in and we will have more updates as we get them,” Calvello said.

Fetterman, who was elected in November after a widely watched race against TV personality and celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, had a stroke during his campaign due to a heart condition, his campaign said at the time.

A Pittsburgh doctor who treated Fetterman wrote in October that he had “no work restrictions” and could “work full duty in public office.”

Calvello had said in an initial statement Wednesday night that Fetterman became lightheaded that day at the retreat.

“He left and called his staff, who picked him up and drove him to The George Washington University Hospital,” Calvello said then.

Doctors on Wednesday ran initial tests, but didn’t see signs of a stroke, Calvello said. More tests were underway and Fetterman was staying in the hospital overnight “for observation,” he said.

“He is in good spirits and talking with his staff and family,” Calvello said. “We will provide more information when we have it.”

ABC News’ Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

‘Most oppressive legislation’: Mississippi House passes controversial bill

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(JACKSON, Miss.) — The Mississippi House passed a controversial bill that would form a court system of unelected judges and prosecutors to preside over part of the majority-Black city of Jackson.

Black residents make up 82.8% of the city’s population, according to the U.S. Census.

The bill would expand the city’s capitol complex improvement district, which “was created by the Mississippi Legislature to establish regular funding and administration of infrastructure projects within a defined area of the city of Jackson,” according to city documents.

Instead of giving the city’s majority-Black residents an opportunity to vote for judges and prosecutors in the court, the Republican-backed bill would require government officials to choose who fills those positions.

This court system would preside over the district expansion, according to one of the bill’s sponsors, Republican Sen. Trey Lamar.

The legislation would also expand the capitol police force.

The bill’s details include: the state’s supreme court chief justice wouls appoint two judges; the attorney general would appoint two prosecutors; the state public defender would appoint public defenders; and the Mississippi public safety commissioner would have authority over capitol police.

The state’s supreme court chief justice, the AG, the state public defender and the public safety commissioner currently in office are white.

Lamar, the bill’s sponsor, does not live in Jackson and represents a majority-white district in Mississippi.

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba called it “the most oppressive legislation that we have seen in our city’s history.”

“It’s oppressive because it strips the right of Black folks to vote and it’s oppressive because it puts a military force over people that has no accountability to them,” he told reporters. “It’s oppressive because there will be judges who will determine sentences over people’s lives. It’s oppressive because it redirects their tax dollars to something they don’t endorse or believe in.”

Lawmakers intensely debated the bill on the House floor Tuesday.

Lamar said the effort hopes to address crime in Jackson, as well as help with “a backlog, a need for assistance in the Hinds County judiciary.”

“The people who voted for this bill are trying to make Jackson safer, that’s all they’re interested in and if you’re not committing crimes in Jackson, you really don’t have anything to worry about,” said Lamar.

Critics argued that the bill was targeting the Black community, and stripping residents of their “consitutional right” and voting power.

Several lawmakers compared the bill to Jim Crow-era laws and racist legislation of the past: “I’ve been here since — for 74 years and one thing I can do is recognize a racist when I see one,” Democratic state Rep. Solomon C. Osborne said on the House floor,

“In my humble opinion, I think that House Bill 1020 is simply a power grab,” said John G. Faulkner, another Democratic member of the Mississippi House of Representatives.

Lamar waived concerns, citing the courts lower or “inferior” status, which means that decisions will be subject to scrutiny from a higher court.

The bill will now head to the Senate floor, where the Republicans also hold the majority of seats.

Minnesota factory employees praised for disarming colleague who shot at, chased co-worker

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK MILLS, Minn.) — Authorities are praising a group of factory employees they say disarmed a 21-year-old colleague who allegedly shot at and chased a co-worker at a boat manufacturing facility in northern Minnesota on Thursday morning.

According to the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, an employee at Lund’s Boat Factory, in the city of New York Mills, pulled a handgun during a verbal argument with a 31-year-old co-worker shortly after 7:00 a.m. and fired at him.

The bullet missed the victim, who ran outside the building with the suspect allegedly chasing him, possibly firing more shots, the sheriff’s office said.

An employee blocked the door while others ran down the suspect and subdued him before law enforcement arrived and arrested him.

The sheriff’s office late Thursday identified the suspect as David Jeremiah Gadsden. County records show Gadsden is facing four counts, including second degree assault with a dangerous weapon, second degree intent to murder, carrying/possessing a gun without a permit and intentionally pointing a gun.

“Had it not been for the quick actions of Lund staff members, the outcome may have been much worse,” the sheriff’s department said in a press release.

Lee Gordon, a spokesperson for Brunswick Corporation, which owns the factory, said in an email to ABC News that there were “no issues that we are aware of” during Gadsden’s employment at the facility.

The plant was closed after the incident and will reopen Monday with increased security, the company said in a statement.

“The health and safety of our employees and the New York Mills community is our number one priority, and we are fortunate that there were no injuries during this morning’s incident,” the company said. “We are working very closely with local law enforcement in Otter Tail County and will continue to support them in their investigation.”

The statement added, “We want to thank our employees who worked quickly to respond to the situation and appreciate the outreach and support from the local community.”

Mike Pence subpoenaed by special counsel overseeing Trump probes: Sources

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel overseeing probes into former President Donald Trump, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

It’s not immediately clear what information the subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith is seeking, but it follows months of negotiations between federal prosecutors and Pence’s legal team.

Smith was appointed in November to oversee the investigation into Trump’s potential mishandling of classified documents after leaving the presidency and obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve them — as well as a separate probe into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

A spokesperson for Pence did not respond to a request for comment by ABC News. The special counsel’s office also declined to comment.

A spokesperson for Trump also did not immediately respond.

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

Music notes: The Jonas Brothers, Dionne Warwick, Sam Smith, Dua Lipa and Pink

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

The Jonas Brothers finally gave us a release date for their new song, “Wings,” and it’ll be here by month’s end. Fans can pre-save the song now, which arrives February 24. The band also shared the song’s artwork.

Dionne Warwick honored late composer Burt Bacharach, who died Wednesday. He was 94. “Burt’s transition is like losing a family member,” Warwick said in a statement. “These words I’ve been asked to write are being written with sadness over the loss of my Dear Friend and my Musical Partner. On the lighter side we laughed a lot and had our run ins, but always found a way to let each other know our family, like roots, were the most important part of our relationship.”

Sam Smith will be on the cover of Perfect magazine, which hits the shelves February 18. Sam shared the magazine’s sensual cover, which sees them in a barely-there pink latex outfit as they rest provocatively on the floor. The shoot was apparently titled “Honey roasted Sam.”

Dua Lipa helped “Habits” singer Tove Lo write her new single, called “Borderline.” Tove Lo shared a brief clip of the ’80s-sounding track on Twitter and also wrote, “tons of love to @DUALIPA for trusting me with this baby!! This is the very first song we wrote together and the very start of our friendship so this feels extra special.”

Pink‘s new song, “Trustfall,” becomes her first track to chart in the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs’ top 10. The track has risen to #8 after fans streamed it 3 million times and purchased 6,000 copies over the past week. That sales number has allowed “Trustfall” to become her first #1 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart.

Music notes: The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Sam Smith, Dua Lipa, Tove Lo and Pink

February 9, 2023 by WDNY Radio

The Jonas Brothers finally gave us a release date for their new song, “Wings.” Fans can now presave the song, which arrives February 24. The band also shared the song’s artwork, which features Nick, Joe and Kevin Jonas standing in front of rose gold clouds and a blue sky.

Demi Lovato flexed their makeup skills by showing off how they do their own glam. Demi shared two back-to-back selfies to their Instagram Story, with one makeup-free and the other where they’re dolled up, with manicured eyebrows, red lips and dramatic eyeshadow. “Did my own glam,” Demi captioned the latter photo.

Sam Smith will be on the cover of Perfect magazine, which hits the shelves February 18. Sam shared the magazine’s sensual cover, which sees them in a barely there pink latex outfit as they rest provocatively on the floor. Apparently the shoot was titled “Honey roasted Sam.”

Dua Lipa helped “Habits” singer Tove Lo write her new single, called “Borderline.” Tove Lo shared a brief clip of the ’80s-sounding track on Twitter and also wrote, “tons of love to @DUALIPAfor trusting me with this baby!! This is the very first song we wrote together and the very start of our friendship so this feels extra special.”

Pink‘s new song, “Trustfall,” becomes her first track to chart in the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs’ Top 10. The track has risen to #8 after fans streamed it 3 million times and purchased 6,000 copies over the past week. That sales number has allowed “Trustfall” to become her first #1 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart.

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