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White House blasts what it calls Trump’s ‘antisemitic’ comments

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Monday blasted former President Donald Trump for a weekend post on his social media platform telling American Jews to “get their act together.”

“Donald Trump’s comments were antisemitic, as you all know, and insulting, both to Jews and to our Israeli allies. But let’s be clear for years, for years now, Donald Trump has aligned with extremist and antisemitic figures,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. “It should be called out … just like we called out our Democratic friends and colleagues last week and we will condemn and call this out as well.”

“We need to root out antisemitism everywhere it rears its ugly head. We need to call this out,” she said. “With respect to Israel, our relationship is ironclad. And it’s rooted in shared values and interests. Donald Trump clearly doesn’t understand that either.”

The rebuke comes after Trump knocked Jews on Truth Social over a perceived lack of loyalty to Israel, hitting on an antisemitic trope of dual loyalty that has plagued Jews across the world for centuries.

“No President has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.,” Trump wrote.

“Those living in Israel, though, are a different story – Highest approval rating in the World, could easily be P.M.! U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel – Before it is too late!” Trump added.

The comment led to other criticism, including from the Jewish Democratic Council of America, which called the post “more unabashed antisemitism from GOP leader Donald Trump.”

“His threat to Jewish Americans and his continued use of the antisemitic dual loyalty trope fuels hatred against Jews. We will not be threatened by Donald Trump and Jewish Americans will reject GOP bigotry this November,” the council tweeted.

“We don’t need the former president, who curries favor with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the U.S.-Israel relationship. It is not about a quid pro quo; it rests on shared values and security interests. This ‘Jewsplaining’ is insulting and disgusting,” Anti-Defamation League’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt also said Sunday.

“When the president says, ‘before it’s too late,’ it sounds like a threat in an environment where Jews already feel threatened,” Greenblatt added on CNN Monday. “It is bewildering that President Trump, who has Jewish children and Jewish grandchildren, continues to evoke age-old antisemitic tropes.”

Monday was not the first time Trump faced criticism over his comments on Jews.

He sounded a similar note in 2019 when he said Jewish people who back Democrats are disloyal.

“I think Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in response to policies from some Democrats to curtail aid to Israel.

“There’s people in this country that are Jewish — no longer love Israel. I’ll tell you, the evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country,” he added in an interview released in December.

“It used to be that Israel had absolute power over Congress. And today, I think it’s the exact opposite,” Trump said. “And I think Obama and Biden did that. And yet in the election, they still get a lot of votes from Jewish people, which tells you that the Jewish people, and I’ve said this for a long time, the Jewish people in the United States either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel.”

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Monday’s White House rebuke.

Radioactive waste found at Missouri elementary school: Report finds

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ST. LOUIS, Mo.) — A considerable amount of radioactive waste was found at a Missouri elementary school near St. Louis, according to a new report.

In August, Boston Chemical Data Corp. studied soil, dust and plant samples at Jana Elementary School in Florissant, Missouri, according to the company’s report.

Boston Chemical Data’s finding coincides with findings from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which first detected radioactive contaminants near the school in 2018 and again in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the report said.

“The results show the presence of low-level radioactive contamination on this property located in the banks of Coldwater Creek within the property boundary,” the Army Corps told the superintendent of the Hazelwood School District earlier this year, according to the report.

The company said that it tested soil samples from as much as six feet below the ground surface, but it’s unclear how deep the radioactive contamination goes.

The school is in the flood plain of Coldwater Creek, which was contaminated with uranium and other radioactive waste during World War II.

According to the reports, engineers studied samples from homes in the same neighborhood of the school facing the creek. They found the same type of radioactive material discovered at Jana Elementary, both outside and inside the homes in the neighborhood.

In 2019, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found that the waste would enter homes from the creek because of flooding, Boston Chemical Data Corp. said.

The Hazelwood School District, where Jana Elementary School is located, said in a statement that it’s aware of the report concerning the radioactive waste.

“Safety is always our top priority, and we are actively discussing the implications of the findings,” the district said. “The Board of Education will be consulting with attorneys and experts in the area of testing to determine next steps.”

Cigna received millions of Medicare dollars based on invalid diagnoses, lawsuit claims

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Health care giant Cigna improperly obtained tens of millions of dollars in Medicare funding by making certain Medicare Part C recipients seem sicker than they actually were, the federal government alleged in a civil lawsuit filed Monday.

Cigna submitted false and invalid diagnoses to artificially inflate the payments it would receive for providing insurance coverage to its Medicare Advantage plan members, the suit said.

The lawsuit resulted from a whistleblower complaint and seeks damages and penalties.

“CIGNA knew that, under the Medicare Advantage reimbursement system, it would be paid more if its plan members appeared to be sicker,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. “This Office is dedicated to holding insurers accountable if they seek to manipulate the system and boost their profits by submitting false information to the Government.”

Cigna relied on diagnoses based solely on forms completed by vendors retained and paid by the company to conduct in-home assessments of plan members, according to the lawsuit.

The nurse practitioners who typically conducted these home visits did not perform or order the testing or imaging that would have been necessary to reliably diagnose the serious, complex conditions reported, the lawsuit claims.

The nurse practitioners spent limited time with the patients and did not conduct a comprehensive physical examination. Instead, they relied largely on the patient’s own self-assessment and their responses to various basic screening questions, the government said.

There was allegedly no access to the patient’s full medical history and they typically did not obtain or review relevant medical records in advance of the visit.

Still, Cigna submitted these diagnoses to Medicare to claim increased payments and falsely certified on an annual basis that its diagnosis data submissions were “accurate, complete, and truthful,” the lawsuit said.

In response to the lawsuit, Cigna said in a statement: “We are proud of the high-quality, affordable Medicare Advantage benefits we are privileged to provide to beneficiaries nationwide in compliance with government rules. We reject these allegations and will vigorously defend our Medicare Advantage business against them. Our focus remains on serving our Medicare customers and advancing our mission of making health care more affordable, predictable, and simple for all.”

Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, provides health insurance for tens of millions of Americans who opt out of traditional Medicare through private insurers like Cigna. They receive payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based on demographic information and the diagnoses of each beneficiary.

CMS then uses the diagnosis data, in conjunction with demographic factors, to calculate a “risk score” for each beneficiary and, in turn, the amount of the monthly payment the private insurer will receive for covering that beneficiary. The model is intended to pay more to provide health care for sicker enrollees.

According to the government’s lawsuit, Cigna structured home visits for the primary purpose of capturing and recording lucrative diagnosis codes that would significantly increase the monthly capitated payments it received from CMS.

When identifying plan members to receive home visits, the lawsuit said Cigna targeted individuals who were likely to yield the greatest risk score increases and thus the greatest increased payment.

Jury begins deliberations in case against ‘Steele dossier’ ‘collector’

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ALEXANDRIA, Va.) — A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, is deliberating the fate of Igor Danchenko, the Russian national accused of lying to federal investigators about information he collected in 2016 for former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele that was compiled in Steele’s now-infamous “dossier” detailing Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.

A Washington-based think tank analyst, Danchenko was hired by Steele to contribute intelligence information to Steele’s research. He became a primary source to what came to be known as the “Steele dossier,” which included explosive and unproven claims about Trump.

In a November 2021 indictment, prosecutors accused Danchenko of misleading FBI agents about his sources of information. Danchenko has pleaded not guilty.

Danchenko’s trial is the final case of three prosecutions secured by special counsel John Durham in his years-long probe into alleged misconduct by the FBI and intelligence community in their investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia.

On Monday, Durham himself questioned prosecution witnesses and delivered the prosecution’s rebuttal at the end of closing arguments.

Danchenko served as a paid FBI informant from 2017 to 2020, when the bureau was pushed to sever its relationship with him after the Justice Department named him as a source for the Steele dossier.

Federal prosecutors have argued during the trail that Danchenko misled the FBI during three days of voluntary interviews in January 2017 about where the dossier’s information came from and about his contact with other individuals. They said Danchenko told a “shifting story” to the agents who were trying to trace the source of the information.

The government alleges that false information provided to the FBI by Danchenko was used to renew the bureau’s application to continue its secret surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page after Page’s visits to Moscow.

After the prosecution rested its case Friday, the defense asked U.S. Judge Anthony Trenga to dismiss all five counts in the indictment against Danchenko, saying that Durham did not prove Danchenko lied to the FBI and obstructed its investigation into Trump’s alleged Russian ties.

Trenga dismissed one count: the prosecutions’ accusation that Danchenko falsely told the FBI that he never spoken with “a long-time participant in Democratic Party Politics” about any allegations included in the dossier. The judge ruled that Danchenko’s denial was “literally true” because the communication occurred over email and not via the spoken word.

In the defense’s closing argument, Danchenko attorney Stuart Sears accused prosecutors of being on a “mission to prove [Danchenko] a liar” and said they failed to present evidence which “doesn’t support their narrative that he’s a liar.”

Sears also pointed to the defense’s cross examination of the prosecution’s FBI witnesses, during which they spoke of the value of Danchenko’s contributions as an intelligence source and said that his outing as a source had damaged U.S. national security.

“They didn’t say what [the prosecution] wanted them to say,” said Sears, who contended that the prosecutor’s own evidence “proves the defendant is not guilty.”

In the government’s closing argument, prosecutors told jurors that Danchenko’s “own words” in emails from 2016 demonstrate that he provided misleading statements to investigators.

“You didn’t check your common sense at the courthouse door. You need to use it,” prosecutor Michael Keilty told the jury.

Missouri police allegedly dismissed claims about abducted Black women before woman escaped from basement

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo.) — Missouri police officers have faced criticism from some members of the community after they were accused of dismissing claims about the abduction of Black women weeks before a woman made a dramatic escape from a basement she was being held captive in.

Excelsior Springs, Missouri, resident Timothy M. Haslett, 39, was arrested on Oct. 7 after a woman escaped his home, according to a probable cause affidavit for the arrest.

She told neighbors that she had been held captive for a month in the basement.

After the 22-year-old woman fled, she showed up at the front door of a neighbor’s home wearing lingerie, a metal collar with a padlock and duct tape around her neck, according to the court document.

“It was readily apparent that she had been held against her will for a significant period of time,” Excelsior Springs Police Lt. Ryan Dowdy told reporters during a news conference on Oct. 7, according to ABC News Kansas City affiliate KMBC.

Last month, The Kansas City Defender, a nonprofit media startup, posted to Twitter and TikTok alleging that a serial killer had been targeting young Black girls in the area, The Kansas City Star reported.

The post, which has since been deleted, alleged that four girls have been killed and three went missing in the area. In response to the claim, a Kansas City Police Department spokesperson said in a statement there was “no basis to support this rumor,” according to The Star.

In the video posted to TikTok, Bishop Tony Caldwell, a local Kansas City community leader, said he was one of many in the area who had made reports to police of numerous murdered and missing Black women who had been taken from an area on Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, according to the Kansas City Defender.

After the video went viral, Kansas City Police Department spokesperson Donna Drake said in a statement there was “no basis to support this rumor,” according to The Kansas City Star.

The woman who escaped, who is Black, told investigators that Haslett allegedly picked her up on Prospect Avenue in September and then kept her in a small room in a basement he built. Haslett allegedly kept her restrained by her feet and ankles and whipped her repeatedly, according to the probable cause affidavit.

She was only able to escape when Haslett left to take his child to school, the woman said, according to the court document. She was treated at the hospital and released on Oct. 7, Excelsior Chief of Police Greg Dull told ABC News last week.

After the victim escaped and searched for help, she told neighbors that her friends “didn’t make it,” alleging that Haslett killed them, Ciara Tharp, whose grandmother provided shelter for the victim until police arrived, told CBS Kansas City affiliate KCTV. Excelsior Springs police confirmed to the Daily Mail that detectives are actively investigating the possibility of two more victims.

Kansas City Police Department spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News that there have been no reports of missing persons, more specifically women missing from Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, filed to the department.

“In order to begin a missing person’s investigation, someone would need to file a report with our department identifying the missing party,” the statement read. “Again, we notify the media/public anytime our department responds to a homicide in our city and none match, or have been reported to what has been described.”

Dull declined to provide any further updates as to the status of the investigation.

Haslett was charged with first-degree rape or attempted rape, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault, to which he has entered a not guilty plea. A search of his home revealed a small room in the basement that was consistent with what the victim described, the affidavit stated.

Several items were taken from the home as evidence, Dull said.

ABC News could not immediately reach an attorney for Haslett, who is currently being held in a Clay County jail on $500,000 bond. He has been assigned a public defender and will appear for a bond reduction hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

The Kansas City Defender did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on why the original post to Twitter and TikTok was removed.

ABC News’ Matt Foster, Sabina Ghebremedhin and Kendall Ross contributed to this report.

4 friends killed in ‘violent’ shooting, dismembered, thrown in Oklahoma river; person of interest named

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(OKMULGEE, Okla.) — Four close friends who mysteriously disappeared in Oklahoma were killed in a “violent” shooting at a scrapyard, dismembered and thrown in a river, according to police.

The owner of the scrapyard, Joe Kennedy, is a person of interest in the quadruple murder, Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said at a news conference Monday.

Prentice said authorities want to speak to Kennedy, who is missing, and stressed that he has not been named a suspect.

The victims, Mark Chastain, 32, Billy Chastain, 30, Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29, were last seen leaving one of their homes in Okmulgee on the night of Oct. 9, reportedly riding bicycles, according to Okmulgee police.

“I’ve worked over 80 murders in my career … but this case involves the highest number of victims and it’s a very violent event,” the chief said.

The victims planned to commit a crime that night, Prentice said Monday, citing an individual who had been asked to participate but declined. Police do not know what the alleged planned crime involved.

Their four dismembered bodies were found in a river on Friday.

There’s nothing to indicate any relationship between Kennedy and the victims, Prentice said. Kennedy has denied knowing them, he added.

The victims’ bicycles remain missing, police said.

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

AXS TV announces “Heavy Metal Halloween” event featuring GN’R, Sabbath, Maiden docs & concert films

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Raise your devil horns this Halloween with AXS TV’s “Heavy Metal Halloween” event.

On Saturday, October 29, the channel will be running an all-day marathon of documentaries and concert films dedicated to the biggest names in hard rock and metal, including Guns N’ Roses, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, KISS, Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper.

Among the films shown will be Sabbath’s The End of the End doc, which captures the “Iron Man” legends’ 2017 farewell concert.

You can tune into “Heavy Metal Halloween” starting at noon ET.

From the Windy City to Sin City: Chicago lines up 2023 Las Vegas residency

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Chicago will return to Las Vegas’ Venetian Theatre for an eight-show residency in February and March 2023.

Marking the sixth consecutive year the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees will visit the theater, which is located inside The Venetian Resort, the performances are scheduled for February 24 and 25, and March 1, 3, 4, 8, 10 and 11.

Tickets for the new Vegas shows will go on sale to the general public on Monday, October 24, at 10 a.m. PT. Chicago fan club members will be able to buy presale tickets starting Thursday, October 20, at 10 a.m. PT. Live Nation and Ticketmaster customers and members of The Venetian Resort’s Grazie loyalty program can purchase presale tickets beginning Friday, October 21, at 10 a.m.

You can purchase tickets via Ticketmaster.com, VenetianLasVegas.com, the box offices at The Venetian and by calling 702-414-9000 or 866-641-7469.

Chicago, which released new studio album Born for This Moment in July, has 10 U.S. tour dates left on its 2022 schedule. The shows run from an October 20 concert in Memphis, Tennessee, through a November 2 performance in Lubbock, Texas.

“Ralphie Returns”: HBO Max releases teaser to ‘A Christmas Story Christmas’

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

On Monday, HBO Max released a teaser to its upcoming holiday film A Christmas Story Christmas.

The snippet opens with a nostalgic trip through the home seen in the beloved 1983 film, as audio clips — such as “‘Fra-gee-lay.’ That must be Italian” and others — play.

“On November 17, the wait is finally over,” a title card reads. “Ralphie Returns” follows next, complete with a now all-grown-up Peter Billingsley smiling and putting on his character’s glasses, as his younger self says, “Oh … Fudgeee.”

Lil Uzi releases new track “Just Wanna Rock”

October 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Lil Uzi‘s keeping the music coming with their latest single, “Just Wanna Rock.”

After amassing over 500 million views on TikTok, the new song serves as the official follow-up to their Red & White EP, which dropped earlier this summer — the rapper’s first full-length project since Pluto x Baby Pluto with Future.

Upon its release Monday, Lil Uzi promoted the track on Instagram by sharing a snippet of the audio and the single’s cover art.

“OUT NOW !!!!! 🕺🏾🛸 👽 JUST WANNA ROCK🙊♥️ LETS GOOOO!!!!!” he captioned the post.

“Just Wanna Rock” is also one of the first projects to drop since the artist updated the pronouns on their Instagram profile to “they/them.”

“Just Wanna Rock” is available for streaming now.

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