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Juneteenth: a teachable moment of forgotten history

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

While most Americans prepare to celebrate the country’s freedom on July 4, many Black people in the United States recognize June 19 as their independence day.

What’s widely known as Juneteenth, but also referred to as Jubilee Day or Black Independence Day, is the significant date in Black history when the last enslaved African Americans found out about their freedom. The news was delivered to Black people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which lawfully marked the end of slavery for those of the Southern Confederate states.

With Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to hold the second-highest office in the executive branch, by his side, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law last year, on June 17, 2021. But the African American community had been celebrating long before Juneteenth was made a federal holiday.

Those celebrations normally include music, food, and traditions such as the singing of the national Black anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” But some stars, like Naomi Raine of the Grammy-winning gospel group Maverick City Music, plan to commemorate the holiday differently this year. Raine will open up honest conversations with her children.

“I think everybody’s kind of evolving how they’re celebrating this holiday because some of it is just coming to light for many of us,” Raine told ABC Audio. “Now, it’s more about educating my children and letting them know the roots of our nation and talking about how freedom is for everybody.”

The country’s delayed acknowledgement of what has long been an erased part of American history encourages Black people to research and educate themselves on unknown facts about their ancestry.

The 157th anniversary of Juneteenth is this Sunday, June 19.

Phil Rosenthal shares more of ‘Earth’s greatest hits’ in new season of ‘Somebody Feed Phil’

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The new season of Somebody Feed Phil, where host Phil Rosenthal travels the world and discovers delicious bites, is out now on Netflix.

Since the show has been airing, Rosenthal tells ABC Audio he’s gotten some insight into which locations have been fan favorites.

“There was one city that we went to that became the #1 place that people tell me they went to because of the show. And that’s Lisbon,” he says. “You don’t think of it. We say you go to Europe or you go to Paris, Barcelona, you know, Rome. Lisbon doesn’t come to the front of the list. Now it’s on the top of the list because they saw it. And once you see it and you see it’s almost an amalgam of all the great other European cities and not as crowded, you’re like, ‘We got to go there.’”

This season, Rosenthal visits Maine; Oregon; Oaxaca, Mexico; Helsinki, Finland; and Madrid, Spain. Of all the places he’s traveled to, he shares that his favorite dish was right here in the USA.

“There’s a lobster roll in Maine that’s pretty awesome, at Red’s Eats,” he says. “It’s undeniable. I mean, if there’s a heaven, that’s one of the places that’s like God’s favorite hangout.”

Still, Rosenthal is certain there’s more to see. He shared that if Netflix renews the show for another season there will be many more scenic destinations and, of course, amazing eats.

“We start with Earth’s greatest hits. Even though we’ve done about 30 of these, we still haven’t scratched the surface of the Earth in terms of the great places to go,” Rosenthal says. “There’s … countries, whole countries, that we haven’t even set foot in yet that I can’t wait to go to. I guess the longer we go, the less well-known the places will become.”

Scoreboard roundup — 6/15/22

June 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

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

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City 3, San Francisco 2
Cleveland 7, Colorado 5
LA Dodgers 4, LA Angels 1

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Chi White Sox 13, Detroit 0
Houston 9, Texas 2
Minnesota 5, Seattle 0
Toronto 7, Baltimore 6
NY Yankees 4, Tampa Bay 3
Boston 10, Oakland 1

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 3, Miami 1
Arizona 7, Cincinnati 4
Milwaukee 10, NY Mets 2
Atlanta 8, Washington 2
Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 4
San Diego 19, Chi Cubs 5

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Colorado 4, Tampa Bay 3 (OT) (Colorado leads 1-0)

WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Las Vegas 92, Dallas 84
Phoenix 93, Indiana 80
Connecticut 105, Atlanta 92

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Orlando City 1, New England 1 (Tie)

US military ground raid in Syria captures top ISIS leader

June 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A rare U.S. military ground raid in northwestern Syria has captured a top ISIS leader, according to the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition.

A U.S. defense official said there were no injuries to U.S. military personnel or aircraft involved in the raid.

“Coalition forces detained a senior Daesh leader during an operation in Syria June 16,” Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement. “The detained individual was assessed to be an experienced bomb maker and facilitator who became one of the group’s top leaders in Syria.”

“The mission was meticulously planned to minimize the risk of collateral damage, particularly any potential harm to civilians,” it said. “There were no civilians harmed during the operation nor any damage to Coalition aircraft or assets.”

U.S. military ground operations in northwestern Syria have targeted top ISIS leaders, most notably Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, who killed himself during an October, 2019 raid near the border with Turkey that was carried out by the elite Delta Force.

His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, detonated himself with an explosion during a similar raid in February this year.

“Coalition forces will continue to hunt the remnants of Daesh wherever they hide to ensure their enduring defeat,” Operation Inherent Resolve added.

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

Baltimore police investigate potential arson after 4 homes, Pride flag burn in same area

June 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BALTIMORE) — Authorities are investigating potential arsons in Baltimore where, in the same area, four homes and an LGBTQ Pride flag were all on fire Wednesday morning.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s office said in a news release that the pre-dawn incidents were separate, clarifying early reports that they were linked. A Baltimore Police spokesperson initially told ABC News that “officers were informed that the Pride flag was set on fire at the location.”

The mayor’s office said later Wednesday that firefighters found the house fires and the Pride flag fire separately — across the street from each other.

Three people were injured: a 74-year-old man, a 57-year-old man and 30-year-old woman. As of Wednesday afternoon, according to the mayor’s statement, the woman had been released from the hospital while the two men remained hospitalized in critical condition.

Officials have not commented on any potential suspects or potential motive.

“At this point, we cannot confirm that this was a hate crime,” Scott said in his statement Wednesday afternoon. “However, my agencies will bring every appropriate resource to bear to get to the bottom of this tragic event. Regardless, I continue to stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community.”

Scott also announced a joint investigation by the fire and police departments along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI.

Residents of the area told ABC News affiliate WMAR that they believed one of the homes may have been targeted because of a Pride banner on its porch.

The fires come during the middle of Pride Month.

ABC News’ Davone Morales, Leonardo Mayorga, and Lauren Minore contributed to this report.

Officer charged with murder in fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya has been fired

June 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — A Michigan police officer charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop in April has been fired, city officials said.

Christopher Schurr was terminated after waiving his right to a discharge hearing, Grand Rapids city manager Mark Washington said in a statement Wednesday. The termination was effective June 10.

The Grand Rapids Police Department chief and the city’s Labor Relations Office had recommended Schurr’s termination, Washington said.

“Due to the on-going criminal matter and the potential for civil litigation, I will not be providing any additional comment concerning Mr. Schurr at this time,” Washington said.

The termination comes about two months after Schurr fatally shot Lyoya, 26, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the back of the head after pulling him over on April 4 for an unregistered license plate.

Body-worn camera footage of the traffic stop released by the police department showed Schurr struggling with Lyoya, eventually forcing him to the ground and shouting “Stop resisting,” “Let go” and “Drop the Taser,” before shooting him.

Lyoya was shot in the back of the head, according to both an independent autopsy report backed by Lyoya’s family and the Kent County medical examiner.

The shooting prompted protests throughout Grand Rapids, and the Kent County prosecutor charged Schurr with second-degree murder in connection with Lyoya’s death last week.

Schurr, a seven-year veteran of the Grand Rapids Police Department, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Friday. If found guilty, he could face up to life in prison.

Schurr’s lawyers, Mark Dodge and Matthew Borgula, said in a statement to Grand Rapids ABC affiliate WZZM that Lyoya’s death “was not murder but an unfortunate tragedy, resulting from a highly volatile situation.”

The Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association has defended Schurr in the wake of the shooting.

“As tragic as this case is all the way around, we feel a thorough review of this entire situation will show that a police officer has the legal right to protect themselves and community in a volatile dangerous situation such as this, in order to return to his/her family at the end of their shift,” the association said in a statement in April.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, had called for the officer’s prosecution and termination.

“Officer Schurr must be held accountable for his decision to pursue an unarmed Patrick, ultimately shooting him in the back of the head and killing him — for nothing more than a traffic stop,” Crump said in a statement to ABC News following the charging decision.

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

Hazmat incident at Virginia pool leaves over a dozen kids hospitalized

June 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(CHESTERFIELD, Va.) — Fifteen kids and one adult were taken to the hospital on Wednesday after a hazmat incident at a neighborhood pool in Chesterfield, Virginia.

Emergency crews initially responded to reports that children were experiencing nausea and respiratory issues, a Chesterfield Fire and EMS official told ABC affiliate WRIC.

Four kids and one adult were reportedly transported by ambulance, while the remaining kids were driven to the hospital by their parents.

First responders sprayed down 25 people at the scene, took their blood pressure and monitored their breathing.

The Chesterfield Fire Department did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment on what may have caused the hazmat incident.

An emergency vehicle responding to the hazmat incident at the pool also crashed into a pickup truck. No injuries were reported in the crash.

Encrypted planning, high-power firearms make extremist threat in US unique: DOJ official

June 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The United States is facing the most “complex” threat landscape in quite some time, a top Justice Department official told a conference in Washington, D.C., Wednesday.

Lone-wolf actors, and their access to high-capacity firearms — like what allegedly occurred in Buffalo, New York — are very difficult for law enforcement to combat, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division Matthew Olsen told attendees at the George Washington University Program on Extremism symposium.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced hate crime charges Wednesday morning against the alleged shooter accused of storming a Tops grocery store on May 14 and gunning down 10 people, all of whom were Black.

“Once these individuals decide to carry out an act of violence, once they’ve moved on that path from being radicalized to being mobilized to violence, they pose significant challenges to law enforcement,” Olsen said.

Encrypted planning communications and access to high-capacity firearms are two of the most pertinent issues that work against law enforcement, he said.

“There are fewer opportunities for us to detect and disrupt their plots before they happen,” Olsen explained. “The ability to gain access to military-grade weapons makes the job of law enforcement very hard when it comes to violent extremists.”

The threat of domestic violent extremists is not new: the Biden administration has focused on combatting DVEs by establishing a unit at the DOJ and providing grant money through the Department of Homeland Security.

The assistant attorney general said it is “beyond dispute” that the ability to get military-grade weapons gives DVEs the ability to “carry out attacks on a scale that they couldn’t otherwise carry out and that we don’t see in other countries.”

Olsen said his newly established domestic violent extremist unit at the Justice Department, which he announced in January and was stood up a month ago, will not only be prosecuting domestic violent extremist cases, but also training others in identifying DVEs.

“This unit can be a critical safeguard because domestic terrorism cases raise issues about First Amendment and some difficult legal judgements and policy judgements,” Olsen said.

Olsen said attorneys have come in from around the country to work on the unit.

He said the DOJ is well-versed in prosecuting extremist cases given their experience in fighting the war on terror.

Slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee condemns Biden’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia in powerful video

June 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The fiancee of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi said Wednesday she was “very disappointed” in President Joe Biden’s plan to meet with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the U.S. has determined ordered the operation that killed Khashoggi in 2018.

“Mr. Biden, you’ll soon visit Saudi Arabia as president, where you’ll meet with Jamal’s heartless executer (sic), dishonoring yourself and Jamal by meeting MBS,” said Hatice Cengiz in a video message posted by Democracy for the Arab World Now, a nonprofit Khashoggi founded in 2018.

Cengiz asked Biden to press for more answers in the death of her fiance when he meets with Mohammed during a visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, next month.

“If you have to put oil over the principles, and expediency over values,” she says, “can you at least ask, ‘Where is Jamal’s body? Doesn’t he deserve a proper burial? And what happened to his killers?” she implored.

As a candidate, Biden once pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over its human rights abuses. Soon after he took office last year, his administration released a U.S. intelligence report that assessed Mohammed had ordered the operation that resulted in Khashoggi’s murder in Istanbul. Khashoggi was a Washington Post columnist who lived in Virginia.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News that she could not say whether Biden would specifically ask the questions raised by Cengiz but said the president was a “straight shooter.”

“I cannot read out right now or lay out what the agenda is going to be, or what the conversations are going to be,” she said. “But I can assure you, I can assure you that when it comes to human rights, this is something that is a priority for this president.”

She said “just hearing” Cengiz’s comments was “devastating.”

“Clearly, our hearts go out to her and her pain that she’s currently going through,” Jean-Pierre said.

Cengiz’s comments come in the wake of the White House’s announcement that Biden will visit Saudi Arabia in July.

The anticipated trip has drawn ire for the potential message a diplomatic trip could send to a country accused of involvement in the murder of Khashoggi, as well as numerous human rights violations.

But the president is also struggling to reign in sky-high inflation and gas prices, a political liability.

Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer, chairs the Gulf Cooperation Council grouping of oil-producing Arab nations. Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration have both said energy security will be part of discussions during Biden’s visit.

Cengiz also made a personal appeal to Biden.

“President Biden, I know you have experienced the unimaginable pain of losing a loved one,” she said.

Cengiz also tweeted Wednesday that she was “very disappointed” to hear about Biden’s Saudi Arabia travel plans. “A US resident was murdered for defending democracy and human rights in the country and now Biden is legitimizing this action,” she wrote.

Cengiz recently criticized professional golfers who joined LIV Golf, the Saudi Arabian-backed competition that’s drawn some of the biggest names in golf to the league.

“If they still carry on and play as if everything is normal, then they should be banned from playing in the world’s major tournaments,” she said in an email, according to reporting by USA TODAY Sports.

The White House has said Biden plans to discuss “a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues,” in Saudi Arabia including the Saudi truce with Yemen, and “deterring threats from Iran.”

ABC News’ Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.

Georgia Senate hopeful Herschel Walker acknowledges 2nd son, insists he wasn’t ‘hiding’ him

June 15, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Georgia Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker on Wednesday acknowledged he has a 10-year-old boy, about whom he hasn’t spoken publicly.

The revelation that Walker has a younger son was first reported Tuesday by The Daily Beast and confirmed by Walker’s campaign.

The issue of Walker’s involvement as a parent has brought renewed focus to the fact that Walker has repeatedly talked about the importance of being an active father and, in particular, has said, “the fatherless home is a major, major problem” for Black people. It is, however, unclear what role Walker has played in the life of his 10-year-old son.

He also has an older son, Christian, with his first wife.

A court order obtained by ABC News shows Walker admitted in 2013 to being the younger boy’s father after the boy’s mother filed a paternity petition that April.

In a statement on Wednesday, Walker’s campaign manager, Scott Paradise, pushed back on the idea that the boy was being hidden.

“Herschel had a child years ago when he wasn’t married. He’s supported the child and continues to do so. He’s proud of his children,” Paradise said. “To suggest that Herschel is ‘hiding’ the child because he hasn’t used him in his political campaign is offensive and absurd.”

Paradise pointed to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s court fight with his ex-wife over their child custody arrangement. (Walker hopes to unseat Warnock in November.)

A spokeswoman for Warnock, Meredith Brasher, told ABC News he is a “devoted father who is proud to continue to co-parent his two children as he works for the people of Georgia.”

Walker, a businessman and college football legend in Georgia who easily won the Republican nomination in the state’s primary in May, has previously faced scrutiny about his personal life. That includes allegations of violent behavior and his diagnosis with dissociative identity disorder, or D.I.D., a complex mental health condition characterized by some severe and potentially debilitating symptoms.

Walker has denied some of the past allegations of domestic violence, physical threats and stalking; others he claimed not to remember.

His campaign previously referred ABC News to his 2008 memoir, which detailed his D.I.D. diagnosis, and a 2008 interview he did with ABC News in which he discussed its effects on his first marriage.

ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Pete Madden, Rick Klein, Stephanie Lorenzo and Brittany Shepherd contributed to this report.

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