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What Kansas’ abortion vote could mean for other states

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After Kansas voters decisively rejected a bid to remove abortion protections from its state constitution earlier this week, researchers and activists say state lawmakers are likely to continue efforts to restrict access to abortion.

The Kansas vote was the first state-level test after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving it up to states to regulate access to abortion. At least four other states will have abortion-related questions on the ballot this November, leaving voters to decide on access to abortion in some areas.

As of Thursday, ABC News reported that 59% of Kansas voters voted “No” to repealing the right to abortion access in the state’s constitution. Researchers told ABC News the margin by which the vote was won was surprising.

The vote came after the state’s Supreme Court decided in 2019 that the Kansas constitution establishes a fundamental right to abortion.

Not the end of the story in Kansas or elsewhere

Despite that ruling, a majority of lawmakers in the state Senate oppose abortion rights and have passed several laws that restrict access to abortion, which are being challenged in the courts, Elisabeth Smith, the director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told ABC News in an interview.

“We have seen lawmakers hostile to abortion rights in Kansas and other states, continuously enact unconstitutional abortion bans and restrictions,” Smith said.

She added, “It would not surprise me if anti-abortion legislators in Kansas continued to push the issue by passing unconstitutional bans that then the state has to pay to defend, by potentially continuing to attack the state Supreme Court or utilizing other tactics to try and enforce their — clearly unpopular — view.”

Elizabeth Nash, principal policy associate for state issues at the Guttmacher Institute, which researches reproductive rights, said this vote is not the end of the story.

“What we’d seen for the past decade are four other states that adopted similar measures — in Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and West Virginia — and all of them were approved by voters,” Nash said.

Nash said the margin with which the amendment was rejected was surprising because she said lawmakers had “stacked the deck” against the vote, putting it on a primary ballot and in somewhat confusing language. She said it is likely people started to get a better sense of the harm abortion bans can bring.

The Value Them Both coalition that supported the amendment blamed the results of the vote on “misinformation from radical left organizations.” The group vowed in their statement: “We will be back.”

Despite the vote, Kansas already has a number of restrictions in place with abortions currently banned after 22 weeks. According to Guttmacher, restrictions in place in Kansas include patients having to wait 24 hours after counseling before they can receive abortion, state Medicaid coverage of abortion care is banned except in very limited circumstances, and medication abortions must be given in person because of state bans on telehealth and mailing pills.

What does this vote mean for other states?

Voters in California and Vermont will vote on whether to add protections for abortion to their state constitutions. In Kentucky, voters will decide whether to amend their constitution to say abortion is not a constitutional right. Meanwhile, Montana voters will vote on a statute that says infants born alive at any stage of development are legal persons.

There is also an effort in Michigan to get a proactive constitutional amendment protecting abortion on the ballot. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has filed a lawsuit blocking a 1931 abortion ban already on the books, asking a court to determine whether it is constitutional. A judge granted a temporary pause on enforcement of the law after state prosecutors had said they plan to use it to to bring charges against abortion providers.

While every state is different, Smith said it is very likely that other states that put abortion to a vote could have a similar result to Kansas, but it is unlikely more states will put abortion on the ballot this year. Nash also said elections will be key on abortion issues for years to come.

Kimberly McGuire, the executive director of pro-abortion rights group Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, which was on the executive committee for the campaign to vote no on the Kansas measure, hailed the vote as a victory.

She also highlighted efforts in other conservative states to enact protections despite bans, including that legislators in San Antonio, Texas, voted to enact protections for abortion Monday, and legislators in Atlanta, Georgia, enacted legislation to provide funds for abortions.

“This is a taste of what is to come. People across the country, in particular young people, are angry about the attacks on abortion rights, they’re angry about abortion bans, and they are fired up,” McGuire said.

McGuire said the results of the Kansas vote are in line with the popularity of abortion rights among Americans.

An ABC News poll released in May showed that 57% of Americans oppose a ban on abortions after 15 weeks and 58% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Nash said a lot of political back and forth can be expected as abortion policy continues to be “in flux” across the country.

Hurdles to access in and around Kansas

An updated map from Guttmacher shows abortion is highly restricted in states surrounding Kansas.

“Most of the states touching Kansas are states that either have implemented abortion bans or are seeking to implement abortion bans. And so it’s really Colorado to the west that will maintain abortion access,” Nash said.

Nash said there is limited access to abortion in the western half of Kansas as well, so maintaining the limited access in the state is “incredibly important.”

She described abortion access in the region as “absolutely bleak.”

“Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri, have total criminal abortion bans in effect right now, and other surrounding states are moving in that direction,” Nash said. “So Kansas has always been and will continue to be an incredibly important access point for abortion care.”

Music notes: Lizzo, J-Hope, The Chainsmokers, Camila Cabello, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and more

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Lizzo is telling naysayers who claim “About Damn Time” isn’t the song of the summer to prove it — because J-Hope of BTS revealed he’s obsessed with the song. She took to TikTok to share the video of the K-pop sensation singing the track and saying it’s his “favorite song.”

How far would you run to meet The Chainsmokers? They revealed on TikTok a fan ran 2 miles behind their car to take a selfie with them — and the guys were so impressed, they gave him a snack! Well, it was a bite of Drew Taggart‘s hot dog, but the fan was so stoked, he began singing “Closer.”

Camila Cabello saluted the fifth anniversary of her breakout solo single “Havana” by reminding fans of when the unedited version of the music video’s dance scene was released by accident.

If someone runs up to you on the street, sticks a microphone in your face and tells you to sing an Ed Sheeran song — do it. Sheeran revealed on TikTok he does watch those videos and is judging people on how well they know his songs’ lyrics.

Speaking of Ed, he has a tattoo of a Heinz ketchup bottle — and Sam Smith just raised him a jar of Marmite. The singer revealed on TikTok that they got a jar of Marmite tattooed on their left calf.

The first slate of performers has been announced for the 2022 MTV VMAs and on the roster is J Balvin, Marshmello, Khalid, Panic! at the Disco, Anitta and Ryan Castro. The ceremony airs Sunday, August 28, on MTV.

New Rolling Stones docuseries, ‘My Life as a Rolling Stone,’ premieres Sunday

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The first episode of the recently announced four-part Rolling Stones docuseries My Life as a Rolling Stone gets its U.S. television premieres on EPIX this Sunday, August 7, at 9 p.m. ET.

As previously reported, the series, which was produced to coincide with the British rock legends’ 60th anniversary, features four hourlong episodes, each focusing on one of the band’s four main members — singer Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, and late drummer Charlie Watts.

The first episode profiles Jagger, and looks at how important the frontman’s creative vision and commercial sensibilities have been in guiding the band throughout its massively successful and influential career.

The Jagger episode will be available to watch for free via various cable and streaming services for 90 days after it premieres. The episodes focusing on Richards, Wood and Watts will debut on EPIX on August 14, August 21 and August 28, respectively.

My Life as a Rolling Stone will feature new interviews with Mick, Keith and Ronnie, as well as with Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Chrissie Hynde, Jon Bon Jovi, Joe Walsh, AC/DC‘s Brian Johnson, Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits and Dan Aykroyd. The series is narrated by actress Sienna Miller.

At least three dead, several unaccounted for after house fire in Pennsylvania, police say

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NESCOPECK, Pa.) — At least three people are dead and several remain unaccounted for after an intense fire tore through a home in central Pennsylvania on Friday, authorities said.

Crews responding to the early morning fire in Nescopeck could not initially get inside the home due to the flames and heat, according to Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Derek Felsman.

Three bodies have been found so far, with the victims ranging in age from 6 to 70, Felsman said. More fatalities are expected, he said.

Nescopeck volunteer firefighter Harold Baker, one of the first on scene, said 14 people were in the home, many of them family. He has not heard from 10 of them and expects he lost his son and daughter as well as several grandchildren and his father-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law.

“When we came, pulled up, the whole place was fully involved,” Baker told Scranton ABC affiliate WNEP. “We tried to get into them; there wasn’t no way we could get into them.”

The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

ABC News’ Leo Mayorga contributed to this report.

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

Biden, testing positive Friday, plans to visit Kentucky Monday

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to eastern Kentucky Monday to visit flood victims, the White House announced, despite another positive COVID-19 test Friday.

Physician to the president Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a letter Biden’s cough “has almost completely resolved” and he will continue with “strict isolation measures,” after testing positive for the seventh day in a row Friday.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quarantine and isolation guidelines recommend that people who test positive for COVID-19 isolate for at least five days after a first positive test and avoid traveling for a full 10 days.

The Bidens will join Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and his wife Britainy Beshear in meeting with families affected by the devastating flooding, according to the White House. At least 37 people died and at least two more remained unaccounted for as of a Friday morning news conference.

Over 500 people were being housed in state-run emergency shelters Friday. Biden declared a state of emergency in Kentucky on July 29, ordering federal aid to the affected counties and deploying a team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist in rescue efforts.

“Our hearts break for the families of those who have lost their lives or are missing, and to all those who have been impacted,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a briefing the same day.

The trip will be the second disaster-related visit to Kentucky during Biden’s presidency. He traveled there in December after declaring a state of emergency over the deadly tornadoes that ravaged the region.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Will Gretzky and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.

The team jockeys for leadership in season 13 trailer of ‘Archer’

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

FX Networks has dropped the trailer to season 13 of Archer.

With Malory Archer’s exit — prompted by the real-life death of her alter-ego, Jessica Walter — the team on Archer is now jockeying for the leadership position of their spy agency.

Meanwhile H. Jon Benjamin‘s Sterling Archer vows to “keep my mother’s legacy alive” — by downing multiple drinks at the bar.

The new trailer has the team trying to outplay each other to take the big job, while of course taking part in your usual save-the-world spyjinks.

At one point, Lucky Yates‘ Dr. Krieger is shown being awoken from one of the hypersleep pods, as seen in Alien — to which he decries his lack of “me time,” and Archer is shown wearing boxers on a horse, jousting an enemy’s car with a lance tucked under his bare arm.

Archer is also seen jumping out of a plane, screaming the name of the FBI agent Keanu Reeves played in Point Break: “Johnny Utah!!!”

“Until now, I’ve been the careful, rule-respecting Archer,” he later intones with zero self-awareness. “But that is over!”

The new season kicks off Wednesday, August 24, at 10 p.m. ET on FXX and streams the next day on Hulu.

Biden touts unexpectedly strong jobs report and movement on Senate spending bill

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Friday celebrated stronger than expected job growth in July as a strong economic sign as Democrats look to pass a major spending bill focused on climate, health care and tax policies.

Speaking from the Blue Room Balcony because he’s still isolation with COVID, Biden said the 528,000 jobs added in July marks 10 millions jobs created since he entered office.

“That’s the fastest job growth in history,” he said. “Today, we also matched the lowest unemployment rate in America in the last 50 years: 3.5%.”

White House officials initially prepared reporters for data indicating a slowdown in growth but the Bureau of Labor Statistics report marked a significant increase from the 372,000 jobs added in the month of June.

In marking a week of political wins, Biden also took a victory lap on lower gas prices, as costs at the pump have declined for 50 straight days.

JUST IN: Pres. Biden hails strong July jobs report: “Today there are more people working in America than before the pandemic began. In fact, there are more people working in America than at any point in American history.” https://t.co/u0fZFR8Yed pic.twitter.com/lkGEyaIQMm

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) August 5, 2022

Still, he acknowledged that a lot of Americans are still feeling the pain of inflation.

“Now, I know people will hear today’s extraordinary jobs report and say they don’t see it, they don’t feel it in their own lives,” he conceded. “I know how hard it is. I know it’s hard to feel good about job creation when you already have a job, and you’re dealing with rising prices, food and gas and so much more.”

More relief could soon be coming, he said, from the Inflation Reduction Act — a $740 billion spending bill Democrats are looking to pass through a fast-track process known as reconciliation.

Biden homed in on provisions in the bill that will allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and provide incentives for Americans to invest in clean energy.

The president said they’re “on the cusp” of passing the legislation after Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., announced Thursday she would move forward with the bill after getting a tax provision she opposed removed from the legislative text.

Sinema was the last holdout and is a critical vote as Democrats need the support of all 50 caucus members to pass the bill amid expected unanimous opposition from Republicans in the chamber.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has teed up the first vote to begin debate on the bill on Saturday afternoon.

Biden said the bill is a “game changer for working families and our economy.”

“You know, I know most families are focused on just putting three meals on the table, taking care of their kids and paying their bills,” he said. “Helping you do that is my job.”

Bow Wow tapped as host for BET’s ‘After Happily Ever After’ dating series

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Bow Wow is returning to BET after an eight-year hiatus, and no, it’s not for a 106 & Park revival. Deadline reports the star, whose birth name is Shad Moss, will host the network’s new unscripted dating series, After Happily Ever After, set to premiere this fall.

The show will see exes set their past lovers up in an effort to “help them move on and find love once again.”

As the host of the series, Bow will arrange singles parties attended by potential prospects and exes who are scouting matches for their former partners. The exes will then invite one of the prospects back to the house for a two-day period in which their past lovers will determine whether or not they’ll “keep the prospect or send them back to the singles pool.”

A few celebrity daters will make appearances, Deadline reports, though names have not been disclosed.

“We look forward to airing this entertaining dating series that will help singles find love. This show promises to be full of surprises, twists, and turns that will leave viewers asking for more,” said Tiffany Lea Williams, executive vice president of BET Unscripted Programming. “We are also thrilled to welcome Bow Wow home to BET and to partner with Bunim/Murray Productions, who has been creating unscripted hits for three decades and always delivers their latest guilty pleasures to viewers. We can’t wait to add After Happily Ever After to our winning portfolio of acclaimed unscripted shows that engage and delight fans across all of our platforms worldwide.”

Bow Wow previously hosted 106 & Park and expressed a desire to revive the music video show, but said BET wasn’t interested.

Diplomatic and military tensions continue to rise in wake of Pelosi’s Taiwan visit

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Fallout continued Friday from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan as China announced it is canceling dialogue with the United States on military talks and climate change.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Friday that working meetings with the U.S. Department of Defense and China-U.S. Maritime Military Security Consultation Mechanism have been canceled as a result of Pelosi’s visit.

The ministry said it will also no longer be cooperating with the U.S. on climate change talks, drug control, repatriation of illegal immigrants, criminal investigations and combating transnational crimes.

These were seen as the remaining guardrails to a fraught U.S.-China relationship, but Beijing has long said that the only guardrail that matters is the “One China” principle — that the U.S. recognizes the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China but only acknowledges the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China.

The action raises questions on the potential impact for global climate benchmarks, as China and the U.S. are the world’s top climate polluters. Just last year, the U.S. and China issued a joint pledge to take “enhanced climate actions” to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement of limiting warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.

The White House “summoned” China’s ambassador Qin Gang over China’s provocative actions overnight, spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement.

“We made clear to the Ambassador that Beijing’s actions are of concern to Taiwan, to us, and to our partners around the world,” Kirby said.

Kirby also reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the One China policy, as has Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Pelosi and members of a congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday despite warnings not to from mainland China. Pelosi, the highest-ranking American official to visit Taiwan in decades, said the trip — which also includes stops in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia — is about “advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

In response, China has also ramped up military drills and imposed new trade restrictions on Taiwan.

Kirby confirmed on Thursday that China launched an estimated 11 ballistic missiles towards Taiwan, impacting areas to the northeast, the east and southeast of the island.

“We condemn these actions, which are irresponsible and at odds with our long-standing goal of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and in the region,” Kirby said, calling China’s response an overreaction to Pelosi’s visit.

The U.S. expects these actions to continue over the coming days, Kirby said, noting the U.S. is “prepared” for what Beijing decides to do.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense released new numbers on Friday stating China’s deployed 68 fighter jets, 13 warships to the areas and waters around Taiwan. Taiwanese President President Tsai Ing-Wen said the nation remains on high alert.

Kirby said Thursday The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and its strike group would remain in the “general area to monitor the situation” and would actually “conduct standard air and maritime transits through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks.”

Blinken on Friday called China’s response a “serious overreaction.”

“The fact is, the speaker’s visit was peaceful,” the secretary of state said in between meetings at the ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference in Cambodia. “There is no justification to this extreme, disproportionate and escalatory military response.”

Pelosi herself commented on China’s reaction to the trip during a press conference Friday alongside the rest of the congressional delegation, stating Beijing was “probably using our visit as an excuse” for their missile strikes.

“Our friendship with Taiwan is a strong one,” she said. “It is bipartisan in the House and the Senate, overwhelming support for peace and the status quo in Taiwan.”

Republicans in Congress this week have applauded Pelosi’s trip, with more than half the GOP caucus in the Senate signing onto a statement backing her decision to go to Taiwan.

Pelosi has also been sanctioned by China, which means that neither she nor her family will be able to visit Mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Lauren Minore and Joe Simonette contributed to this report.

Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout off to sluggish start with just 7,000 doses in arms

August 5, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Following its emergency authorization last month, just 7,300 doses of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Americans across the country, newly updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals.

According to John Brownstein, Ph.D., an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor, the sluggish start may be, in part, due to the fact that the vaccines were not immediately made available after authorization, and thus, there could be some reporting delays

The total Novavax doses represent just a fraction of the shots put into arms each day, though the overall number of vaccines administered has plummeted in recent months.

In addition, the vaccine has not been widely available, with just 385 sites initially offering the Novavax vaccine out of the more than 53,000 locations with COVID-19 vaccines, Brownstein said. However, in recent days, that number has jumped to 986 sites, which Brownstein suggested may help boost uptake.

“A mix of lower access, limited promotion and a slowing of the vaccination campaign means that Novavax has not been of high priority for remaining unvaccinated Americans,” Brownstein said. “As supply increases, we could see increased access but it’s unlikely to make a real dent.”

In July, the Biden administration secured 3.2 million doses of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, in hopes that some unvaccinated Americans would get the shot.

A number of health experts had expressed their hope that some of the individuals, who are still hesitant to be vaccinated, would be more inclined to get the Novavax vaccine, because it is based on a more traditional protein-based technology, one already used for the flu vaccine and other shots, while Pfizer and Moderna vaccine platforms tapped a new genetic technology — with messenger RNA — to produce their vaccines.

“A more traditional delivery route has to be seen as incentive to convince those that have yet to roll up their sleeves,” Brownstein explained.

However, early indicators suggest that the authorization has yet to substantially move the needle with the most hesitant Americans.

Even so, health experts previously told ABC News that no matter how widespread the use of Novavax’s vaccine is, it will still save lives.

Nationally, there are still more than 26 million American adults who remain completely unvaccinated.

There has not been a significant bump in the number of people receiving a first COVID-19 dose since November 2021. Since then, the average number has steadily fallen to around 50,000 first shots, administered across all eligible age groups, each day.

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