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Who is going to debate in key midterm races in battleground states

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — With the primaries nearly all finished, it will soon be time for the general election debates — except there may not be all that many debates to tune into.

Across nine key battleground states, five debates for major offices have so far been confirmed for the fall, according to an ABC News count.

A bulk of the resistance is coming from Republican candidates who, they say, wish to debate on their own terms. While that’s not a stunning split from cycles past — for example, Trump’s team in 2020 tried to make demands of what the final presidential debate covered — it’s more than possible that in at least a handful of races pivotal to who holds the balance of power in Washington, such efforts will lead to no formal TV debates at all this fall.

Few swing states have confirmed events on the calendar. In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke will debate at the end of September in the Rio Grande Valley.

In Florida, potential face-offs are anticipated, but not certain. The Sunshine State hosted two gubernatorial debates in 2018 and while there’s been no official word if the candidates have agreed to debate this year, host group “Before You Vote” has begun marketing events in the contests for both governor and senator.

From there, the logistics become more contentious.

Here’s the breakdown in major battlegrounds:

Arizona

Arizona Republicans Kari Lake and Blake Masters — gubernatorial and Senate hopefuls, respectively — have deployed a campaign strategy to paint their opponents, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Sen. Mark Kelly, as having something to hide in lieu of debate RSVPs, while the Democrats’ teams say they’re negotiating terms with the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, the leading group in the state for the last 20 years. The commission has asked for RSVPs by the end of the week.

So far, only in the Arizona secretary of state race have both candidates, Republican Mark Finchem and Democrat Adrian Fontes, committed to debating.

Lake formally committed to debating Hobbs on Wed., Oct. 12, after taunting her in a viral Twitter video while Hobbs’ team told ABC they “would like to participate” but “are asking them for some format tweaks.” Masters has used a similar strategy to Lake, challenging Kelly over Twitter to four debates — but so far only committing himself to one, on Thursday, Oct. 6, which Kelly’s team says they’re also planning to attend “pending some final discussions with the hosts.”

The debate for Arizona attorney general is being rescheduled from Aug. 29 to Sept. 28. In response to questions from ABC News, Hamadeh’s team said they were working with the clean elections commission to secure a date that worked for both parties, which the commission confirmed. Democrat Kris Mayes committed to the original date weeks ago.

Pennsylvania

Another state rife with squabbles is Pennsylvania. This month, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Senate Republican nominee, released a list of five debates he has agreed to attend and called upon his opponent, Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, to disclose whether or not he will participate. Fetterman’s team has been mostly silent: The candidate, who has been recovering from a stroke he suffered in May, did not answer questions after a recent event in Pittsburgh but a spokesman, Joe Calvello, told reporters, “We are up for debating Oz.”

During the Democratic primary, Fetterman called debates “an important part of history” and that “voters deserve no fewer than three network televised debates.”

In late July, a local Pittsburgh station KDKA-TV invited the candidates to a debate it plans to host on Sep. 6 but has heard back from only the Oz campaign, an editor at the station told ABC News. By comparison, the candidates for Senate in the Keystone State debated twice in 2018.

Meanwhile, Doug Mastriano, the Republican state senator running for Pennsylvania governor, last week proposed rules that would ban news outlets from holding exclusive broadcast rights over debates with his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, and would let each candidate choose a moderator. A Shapiro spokesman called the proposal “a stunt” and an excuse to avoid questions by the far-right Mastriano, who has shunned nearly all traditional media while he pivots his campaign message away from the hardline stances he took during the primary — instead, for example, focusing on inflation and economic worries.

No debates have been announced publicly.

Ohio

Ohio Republican Senate nominee JD Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of his plans for general election debates. His Democratic challenger Rep. Tim Ryan’s campaign has agreed to three televised conversations.

“It’s well past time for JD Vance to venture out from his San Francisco mansion, pay Ohio a visit, and actually speak directly to the people he says he wants to represent. And once JD agrees to these three debates, Tim Ryan will debate JD any other time and place,” Ryan’s campaign director, Dave Chase, told ABC News.

Georgia

Another push-and-pull is in Georgia, where Herschel Walker, the Republican Senate candidate, has agreed to take part in a debate on Oct. 14. That agreement comes after pressure from his opponent, Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, who accused him of dodging debates in a campaign ad released last month.

However, the debate Walker is proposing to have is not one of the ones that Warnock had already agreed to: Warnock previously accepted invitations to debate in Savannah, Macon and Atlanta in October while Walker hasn’t committed to any of those invitations — another layer of discord.

Nevada

Both Nevada’s gubernatorial and Senate debates have been set — but the participation from candidates remains unclear. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak and his Republican challenger, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, are set to face-off on Oct. 2.

As for the Senate race, a spokesperson for Republican nominee Adam Laxalt tweeted that while he “looks forward” to debating Democratic incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto, Laxalt’s team has “not agreed to any debate invitations at this time and still reviewing all debate options.”

North Carolina

Democratic Senate candidate Cheri Beasley accepted the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters’ invitation to a debate in October — but there’s been no confirmation yet from her opponent.

Republican Senate candidate Ted Budd told ABC News he is open to debating but would not make decisions until after Labor Day. Budd did not debate any of his primary opponents and has made no indication that he would accept a general election debate invitation.

Michigan

Further disputes persist in the gubernatorial race in Michigan, where Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican nominee Tudor Dixon are locked in an argument over which dates are best, with Whitmer’s team confirming to ABC News that she has accepted two debates: on Oct. 13 in Grand Rapids and on Oct. 25 in Detroit.

Dixon’s team pushed back on the dates, however, writing on Twitter that “debates must start BEFORE voting begins, not after as Whitmer is demanding.” Dixon further argued that her opponent “wants to hide, but the people deserve answers.”

In response to Dixon’s comments, Whitmer’s campaign told ABC News that “for more than a decade, Michigan has held one to two statewide televised gubernatorial debates in October. Governor Whitmer looks forward to continuing that tradition with debates on October 13th and October 25th so Michiganders have an opportunity to see the clear contrast between the candidates as they make their decisions in this crucial election.”

Wisconsin

Neither Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes nor Republican incumbent Ron Johnson responded to requests for comments about their debate plans. Johnson previously debated his opponents in the 2016 and 2010 races.

The big picture

Last April, the national arm of the Republican Party walked away from the Commission on Presidential Debates, cutting ties with the general election debate process and dismantling a bipartisan process 30 years in the making.

The Republican National Committee voted unanimously at the time to leave the group, which they claimed was biased.

“We are going to find newer, better debate platforms to ensure that future nominees are not forced to go through the biased CPD in order to make their case to the American people,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement at the time.

“The CPD’s plans for 2024 will be based on fairness, neutrality and a firm commitment to help the American public learn about the candidates and the issues,” the CPD responded at the time.

With enough monkeypox vaccine finally in hand, US seeks to make more shots at home

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After securing enough doses in the national stockpile to vaccinate the most at-risk Americans against monkeypox, the federal government says it has begun training its sights on the next steps of the outbreak.

“We’re watching this very, very closely and will be prepared to move out against any outbreak that might happen in additional populations,” Assistant Secretary for Response and Preparedness Dawn O’Connell told ABC News.

That includes watching college campuses as students head back to school and keeping an eye on cases that spill outside of the current at-risk community of mostly gay and bisexual men.

“If we begin to see an outbreak in a college campus, we will make vaccines available on that college campus — absolutely,” said O’Connell, who leads monkeypox response within the Department of Health and Human Services.

At the same time, with cases in the U.S. passing 17,000, there are “very active internal conversations” about expanding the targeted population for vaccines, O’Connell said.

Those conversations are only possible because of the milestone the administration hit on Friday when it announced that — while facing criticism from advocates over the response so far — there were finally enough vaccines in the strategic national stockpile to fully inoculate all of the nearly 1.7 million Americans that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has deemed at-risk.

But it’s been a rocky four months to get to that point. The Biden administration had only a few thousand vaccines on hand when the first monkeypox case was detected in the U.S. The rest of the stockpile — 1.1 million vials — was abroad in Denmark, where supply was bottlenecked with Bavarian Nordic, the only manufacturer of the JYNNEOS vaccine in the world.

The U.S. began to ease those supply constraints with a new dose-stretching policy authorized earlier this month by the Food and Drug Administration, which has allowed clinics to start extracting up to five doses from each vial by using a shallower injection method that the FDA says is just as safe and effective.

The U.S. is also underway on starting up the very first domestic facility to begin manufacturing monkeypox vaccine doses outside of Denmark, using raw materials from Bavarian Nordic but completing the “fill and finish” process in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Grand Rapids Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM), which O’Connell visited on Monday, will be up and running in about three months — one-third of the typical time it takes to build out a process to make vaccine, the company said.

GRAM is expected to have doses ready to ship out sometime in December, contingent on final approval from the FDA.

By March, the Michigan-based manufacturer hopes to have shipped out about 2.5 million vials, which could be used as up to 12.5 million shots under the new dose-stretching strategy.

It’s all part of an effort to move public health preparedness onto U.S. soil, O’Connell told ABC, rather than rely on other countries for resources that become scarce when they’re needed most.

“Every time I sit down with a member of Congress, I talk about the needs that I have. The strategic national stockpile is at the top,” O’Connell said.

“Making sure that the stockpile is well-funded is one of the cornerstones of my tenure in [my] position,” O’Connell said.

The stockpile, she said, has “been chronically underfunded, and it is responsible for maintaining preparedness against multiple threats.”

And while O’Connell defended the country’s early monkeypox response, saying the federal government ordered 36,000 vaccines when there were only two known cases in the U.S., she also acknowledged that there were some “lessons learned.”

“That’s not to say we haven’t made mistakes,” she said.

“I’m always worried about preparedness — making sure that I have enough for wherever this disease may go,” she said.

Still, the millions of doses being manufactured in Michigan this winter will be coming after thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Americans have already been infected.

To that, O’Connell said it’s about the medium- and long-term preparedness.

“That’s one of the reasons why I’m here is to make sure we’ve got this capacity now and in the future coming online and ready to go against whatever population is affected next,” O’Connell said, referring to the Grand Rapids facility.

Monsoon rains, flooding in Pakistan kill 75 people in one day, death toll hits more than 1,000

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Seventy-five people have died and 59 have been injured in Pakistan over the last 24 hours due to severe weather, further devastating a country that’s experiencing historic rain and flooding, according to the country’s National Disaster Management Authority.

About one-third of Pakistan is under water, the country’s federal minister for climate change, Sherry Rehman, wrote on Twitter Monday, saying in an interview that Pakistan is experiencing a “climate catastrophe.”

Rehman said that Padidan, in Pakistan’s Sindh Province, received an “unheard of” nearly 70 inches of rain in one day.

In the last day, 59 people were injured and more than 58,000 homes destroyed due to monsoon rains and flooding, the National Disaster Management Authority said. Since June 14, 1,136 people have died, 1,634 people have been injured and more than one million homes have been destroyed because of flash floods, the agency said.

The monsoon rains occurred a month early this year, causing rivers and dams to overflow and impacting all four of Pakistan’s provinces.

In a statement, the climate minister called the flooding a “climate-induced humanitarian disaster of epic proportions.”

“Frankly, no one has seen this kind of downpour & flooding before, and no one country can cope alone with the multiple, cascading effects of extreme weather, climate events,” Rehman wrote.

The rains have impacted 33 million people in Pakistan and have forced thousands of people to evacuate.

Pakistan’s government deployed soldiers to help with search-and-rescue operations, with army helicopters airlifting people to safety.

Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann set to become first Native American woman in space

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann is set to become the first Native American woman in space when NASA launches its new crew to the International Space Station this fall.

Mann will serve as commander on the SpaceX Crew-5 mission and will be joined by three others, astronaut and pilot Josh Cassada, astronaut Koichi Wakata from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.

“I feel, I think in one word, just absolutely excited,” Mann, an enrolled member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, told ABC News. “The training that we’ve been through the launch with this crew, it’s going to be an incredible mission.”

Born in California, Mann graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, where she was the varsity women’s soccer captain. She earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford and later became a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. She has been deployed twice aboard aircraft carriers, flying missions in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was awarded six medals for her service.

“Teamwork is so important to human spaceflight,” she told ABC News. “And I think my background in the Marine Corps and also playing soccer on a team really helped develop that.”

The expedition will be Mann’s first space flight since she became an astronaut in 2013. She is one of eight members of NASA’s 21st astronaut class, nicknamed the “Eight Balls,” formed for space station operations and potential future assignments to the Moon and Mars.

During the upcoming mission, which is set for launch on Monday, Oct. 3, the team will conduct scientific experiments to benefit life on Earth and prepare for human exploration of outer space. Their preparation included instruction in space station systems, Russian language and robotics, as well as science and physiological and survival training.

“We’ll get a chance to do a couple of spacewalks, flying the robotic arm, and so there’s a lot that goes into that preparation to be ready for your mission,” Mann said.

Cassada, who along with Mann are the last two in their class to fly to space, described her as “incredibly capable” and one of his “closest friends.”

“Her ability to shift gears is really interesting — this ability to say, ‘OK, Josh, you’re joking. We’re done joking. We’re focusing and we are 100% operational this moment,'” he told ABC News. “And it’s really neat that it takes us all in the exact same direction just very organically.”

In his allocated 3.3 pounds of personal items, Cassada said he plans to pack 1980s movies for the team to watch every Friday, teasing Mann for never understanding his movie references and jokes, despite growing up in the ’80s.

Mann, on the other hand, said she will bring her wedding ring and a gift from her mother when she was young: a dream catcher, which in some Native American cultures symbolizes unity and provides protection.

In 2002, when John Herrington, an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, became the first Native American man to fly into space, he carried the Nation’s flag and a traditional flute on his 13-day voyage.

At the end of the day, Mann said, it “really doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man or what country you’re from, or your gender or your race.”

“We are coming together as a human race,” she said, “And our mission on board the International Space Station of developing this technology and research to benefit all of humankind is really what brings us together.”

Pumpkin Spice Lattes, fall flavors back on the menu at Starbucks

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Although temperatures are still above 70 degrees in a majority of the U.S., with a little under a month left of summer, Starbucks has already kicked off the unofficial start of fall with the return of Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

Starting Tuesday, the iconic “PSL” — made with Starbucks Signature Espresso, steamed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, real pumpkin, topped with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spices — will officially return to the coffee chain’s menu for its 19th year.

For customers not quite ready to turn to hot drinks just yet, the fall-flavored drink is available in iced or blended form as well.

The limited time lineup also includes the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, which is sweetened with vanilla syrup, topped with pumpkin cream cold foam and a dusting of pumpkin spice.

The Apple Crisp Macchiato — inspired by the layered apple, cinnamon and brown sugar flavors of apple crisp — will also return to the menu after its debut last season. This year, the drink is made with oat milk and Starbucks Blonde Espresso as its standard recipe.

Harvey Rojas Mora, Starbucks beverage developer, said in a statement that the “oatmilk adds a creaminess and brings forward the oat flavors of a traditional apple crisp topping.”

The Apple Crisp Macchiato will also be available hot, iced or blended throughout the season.

As for the pastry case, pumpkin is up for grabs in muffin form as well as a Pumpkin Scone and Pumpkin Loaf. The Seattle-based coffee shop chain has also added an Owl Cake Pop, made with vanilla cake and buttercream that’s dipped in purple chocolate coating.

To help celebrate the start of the fan-favorite season, Starbucks has created a “Pumpkin Portal to Fall,” a quiz-style game that tests customers’ knowledge of emojis, pop culture and Starbucks.

The company has created new designs for its whole bean coffee packages, inspired by the people and stories associated with the blends’ origin and flavor. The artwork and color scheme of supermarket Starbucks products have also been designed to help shoppers find the perfect coffee for brewing at home.

Founding Byrds, Eagles members to help celebrate opening of new LA country-rock exhibit in Nashville

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

A major new exhibition called “Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock” will open at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on September 30.

“Western Edge” will look at the country-influenced artists who emerged from the L.A. rock scene between the 1960s and the 1980s and helped create the country-rock genre, including The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Gram Parsons, the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt.

To mark the arrival of the new exhibit, a series of special events are scheduled to take place at the institution from September 30 to October 2, including panel discussions, concerts, film screenings and more.

On September 30, a concert will be held at the CMA Theater that will include performances by original Byrds member Chris Hillman, founding Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon, founding Buffalo Springfield singer/guitarist Richie Furay, Vince Gill, members of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and others.

On October 1, Furay will host a songwriter’s session at Ford Theater, while Hillman, Leadon, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s John McEuen and others will participate in a discussion about bluegrass music’s influence on the L.A. country-rock scene at the same venue.

On October 2, the 2019 documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice will be screened at Ford Theater and a reunion concert by Hillman’s post-Byrds group The Desert Rose Band will be held at CMA Theater.

The exhibit itself will feature such artifacts as stage costumes belonging to The Flying Burrito Brothers, a Fender Telecaster that Leadon played with the Eagles, a stage costume worn by The Monkees‘ Michael Nesmith and much more.

Meanwhile, a “Western Edge”-inspired playlist has debuted at Amazon Music, and a companion book will be released on September 30, coinciding with the exhibit’s opening.

Visit CountryMusicHallofFame.org for more information.

Remy Ma returns for VH1’s ‘My True Crime Story’ season 2, loves all the “twists and turns”

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Season two of VH1’s My True Crime Story is in full swing and Remy Ma is back to narrate the intoxicating docuseries.

This eight-episode batch tells the thrilling tales of ordinary people who got caught up in outrageous, unlawful crimes ranging from drug trafficking and steroid production to counterfeiting and jewelry theft.

While Remy finds that there is something that piques her interest in each story, she tells ABC Audio the thing that keeps her coming back to host the series is that it gives people “the opportunity to tell their story.”

“We’re giving people a chance to tell their story, What happened from their perspective, what happened before we even got to the happening. What was your life like? How did you grow up?” she explains. “And also where are you now, though, after all of that?”

“I love all of those little twists and turns that we’re able to take,” the rapper adds.

Not only does My True Crime Story allow people to share their lives, they’re able to do so from a first-person perspective, which Remy says “matters a lot.”

“You know, it’s one thing if you’re hearing about it from a media outlet or you’re hearing about it from somebody who was there or from somebody who heard the story,” she says. “You’re hearing about this from the person who actually went through it.”

Season two of VH1’s My True Crime Story airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET.

Alex Jones’ second defamation trial over Sandy Hook massacre to move forward

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The parent company of InfoWars has agreed to face a second defamation trial over the false claims its founder, conspiracy theorist and right-wing provocateur Alex Jones, made about the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Free Speech Systems said at a bankruptcy court hearing in Houston on Monday it would no longer oppose the trial in Connecticut despite the company’s bankruptcy proceeding, which would ordinarily offer a reprieve from legal action.

“The parties have reached a settlement on this. This will help facilitate the trial in Connecticut,” U.S. bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez said on Monday. “The fact that the parties reached agreement on this, I want to thank all the professionals.”

The Connecticut trial is expected to begin in September.

Judge Barbara Bellis found Jones liable in a defamation lawsuit for calling the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School a hoax. The trial in Connecticut does not involve a question of guilt or innocence, but rather, of damages, as the judge already determined that Jones is guilty.

In exchange for allowing the second trial to move forward, the families agreed not to oppose the company’s choice of lawyers, both of whom are under investigation for leaking sensitive medical records about the plaintiffs, something Bellis said “gravely concerned” her at a court hearing earlier this month.

Jones was successfully sued by the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the massacre after he claimed that the shooting — where 20 children and six adults were killed — didn’t happen. Jones later said at trial he thinks the shooting was “100% real.”

The plaintiffs, immediate family members of children and educators killed in at Sandy Hook as well as one first responder, successfully sued Jones for defamation in November 2021 and are seeking to hold him financially liable for his comments, which include calling them “crisis actors,” saying the massacre was “staged” and “the fakest thing since the three-dollar bill.”

At issue in the Connecticut trial, is how much Jones and Free Speech Systems will have to pay the families of children killed in the massacre.

Jones’ attorney did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Earlier this month, a Texas jury decided Jones should pay the parents of the 6-year-old victim $45 million in punitive damages and $4 million in compensatory damages.

One killed in Texas train derailment

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(EL PASO, Texas) — One person has died after a train derailed in El Paso, Texas, Monday night, the El Paso Fire Department said.

“Nearby homes are being evacuated as a safety precaution. Please avoid the area of Franklin and Barton as it is an active emergency scene. TXGas en route,” the fire department tweeted.

There were no other injuries reported at this time, according to the fire department.

Story developing…

Scoreboard roundup — 8/29/22

August 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Toronto 5, Chi Cubs 4

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota 4, Boston 2
LA Angels 4, NY Yankees 3

NATIONAL LEAGUE
LA Dodgers, 3 Miami 2
St. Louis 13, Cincinnati 4
Milwaukee 7, Pittsburgh 5
Arizona 13, Philadelphia 7
San Diego 6, San Francisco 5

+ More