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9/11 families respond to Biden Saudi Arabia trip: ‘Empathy is not enough’

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A coalition of families and survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden, during his visit to Saudi Arabia next month, to hold the kingdom accountable for its role in the terrorist strike that killed almost 3,000 people.

“We appreciate the president’s commitment to do everything he can to support the 9/11 family community, but empathy is not enough,” Terry Strada, the national chair of “9/11 Families United,” said in a statement. “President Biden must do what past presidents have not, which is to demand transparency from Saudi Arabia and accountability for those who supported al Qaeda and the hijackers who murdered our loved ones.”

The White House said Tuesday Biden would travel to Saudi Arabia next month for a summit of Arab leaders. The visit will include a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, as well as with the effective leader of the country, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to White House officials.

Strada was responding to a comment by White House spokesman John Kirby during an interview with CNN earlier in the day.

“What I can tell you is that the president will never shy away of representing the interests of the American people on a national security level wherever he goes,” Kirby said, when asked if he could assure the victims’ families that Biden would address some of their concerns with Mohammed.

“He continues to do everything he can to support the families of the victims of 9/11,” Kirby added. “He knows what a devastating grief they still endure, and he will not shy away from representing them and their concerns.”

Biden has come under intense criticism for agreeing to meet with Mohammed, whom the U.S. has assessed ordered the operation that murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

As a candidate, Biden pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over its human rights abuses.

But the president has also struggled to rein in sky-high inflation. While many ways out of his control, the rapidly rising cost of goods is weighing on Americans’ wallets and proving to be a major political liability for Biden and Democrats heading into this fall’s midterm elections.

Biden is seeking ways to relieve high gas prices, which have in large part been pushed higher by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions on Moscow’s oil and gas sector.

A major oil producer, Saudi Arabia chairs the Gulf Cooperation Council grouping of oil-producing Arab nations.

The White House has welcomed increased oil production with the hope it would drive down gas prices in the U.S. Biden authorized a historic release of oil from the nation’s strategic reserve of petroleum, and his White House welcomed a decision by the OPEC+ oil cartel to boost its production levels.

While Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration have both said energy security will be part of Biden’s discussions during his visit, the White House has sought to avoid the negative optics of an American president flying to Saudi Arabia in a bid for more oil.

“Of course, he will be — they will discuss energy with the Saudi government,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. “I think what I’m trying to say is to look at this trip as it being only about oil is not — it would be simply wrong to do that.”

The president had even danced around whether he was even going to go to Saudi Arabia at all; “I have no direct plans at the moment,” he said on June 3, after multiple reports said he planned to travel there.

But while Biden once pledged to isolate Saudi Arabia, Jean-Pierre said Tuesday he was “not looking to rupture relationships.”

Asked if Biden would bring up Khashoggi during his meeting with the crown prince, Jean-Pierre would not directly answer.

“Human rights is always part of the conversation in our foreign engagements,” she told reporters on Air Force One, en route to Philadelphia. “So, that will always be the case.”

Biden will also travel to Israel and the West Bank during the trip, which will take place July 13 to 16, according to the White House.

Bear euthanized after ripping into tent, injuring mother and daughter in Tennessee

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A Great Smoky Mountains bear has been euthanized after officials said it attacked a mother and her daughter while they were camping in the national park on Sunday.

A family of five was sleeping in their tent at the Elkmont Campground when the bear ripped into it at approximately 5:20 a.m.

The park said after an investigation and on site monitoring, wildlife biologists successfully captured the bear.

The black bear, was euthanized due to risk to human safety on Monday, the park said.

“The bear weighed approximately 350 pounds, which is not standard for this time of year, suggesting the bear had previous and likely consistent access to non-natural food sources,” Lisa McInnis, chief of resource management, said in the park’s statement. “In this incident, the bear was likely attracted to food smells throughout the area, including dog food at the involved campsite. It is very difficult to deter this learned behavior and, as in this case, the result can lead to an unacceptable risk to people.”

The park reports the family was inside the tent, with their dog, sleeping when the bear ripped through and entered the tent. Once inside, the bear scratched a three-year-old girl and her mother.

After several attempts, the father was able to scare the bear from the tent and campsite. The family left a note at the campground’s office before leaving the site to seek medical attention.

Both the three-year-old and her mother sustained superficial lacerations to their heads.

Once alerted to the incident at approximately 8:50 a.m., park staff monitored the site for bear activity and set traps in the area.

Park rangers closed the immediate area, interviewed the father and other campers and collected site information such as bear tracks and other identifying markers.

Reportedly, a male bear who matched the father’s description entered the area of the incident and exhibited “extreme food-conditioned behavior and lack of fear of humans, boldly entering the trap without weariness.”

Park officials said the bear’s behavior did not appear consistent with predatory behavior, but rather that of a food conditioned bear.

This is the second bear from the park to be euthanized because of its condition due to being fed human food this month.

According to park officials, human-bear conflicts peak in late May and June when natural foods such as berries are not yet available. As a result, bears are attracted to the smell of food in the park’s developed areas, including campgrounds and picnic areas.

The park encourages campers to take necessary precautions to properly store food while in bear country.

The park stated its staff would continue to track reports of bear activity in campgrounds and other more populated areas to notify the public regarding any site warnings or closures.

Donald Trump, eldest children to give sworn depositions in real estate investigation

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — New York’s highest court declined to take up an appeal by former President Donald Trump and two of his adult children, a decision that obligates the Trumps to sit for depositions next month in the ongoing civil investigation into how they valued their real estate holdings.

The New York Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal “upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.”

Former President Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump have now exhausted their appeals and must sit for depositions beginning July 15, according to a previous stipulation filed in the case.

The New York Attorney General’s Office has been investigating potential discrepancies in how the Trump Organization valued certain assets when seeking loans or when pursuing tax breaks.

Trump has long denied any wrongdoing in the yearslong investigation.

A state appellate court ruled in May that the subpoenas for their testimony were not, as the Trumps argued, part of a politically motivated investigation into how the family valued its real estate holdings.

The New York Court of Appeals had given the Trumps until Monday to submit an appeal, shooting it down one day later — on Donald Trump’s 76th birthday.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has argued her office has found “significant evidence” of fraud in the investigation into how Trump and the Trump Organization valued real estate holdings in the state. The investigation has reviewed whether the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading valuations of its holdings in different ways to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions.

Among the real estate holdings being investigated are 40 Wall Street, in Manhattan’s Financial District; Seven Springs, Trump’s estate in Westchester; Trump Park Avenue; and even Trump’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower.

A parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has already led to charges of tax fraud against Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, and the company itself.

They have both pleaded not guilty. A trial is expected to take place in the fall.

Millie Bobby Brown is “down” to play Halsey in biopic

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Looks like we might see Halsey collaborate on something with Millie Bobby Brown after all …

The singer guested on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Monday and spoke about wanting the Stranger Things actress to play them in a biopic. Halsey said it “would be great” if Brown wanted to do something like that, but admitted they might not be “famous enough to cast Millie.”

“Millie would be so great. It’s kind of uncanny how much we look alike!” Halsey said of their similarities. “We actually look like sisters.”

Well, it looks like Halsey might get their wish because Brown has responded.

The young actress shared the viral clip of Halsey’s dream casting to her Instagram Stories and wrote, “sooooo down.”

While this may be the first time the actress has referenced the pair’s uncanny resemblances, Halsey has been aware of it for a while and tweeted out earlier this month, “When are Millie Bobby Brown and I gonna play sisters in something this is getting out of hand.”

So far nothing appears to be in the works, but fans are hopeful the ball is officially rolling on some sort of collaboration.

Trailer debuts for Issa Rae’s new series, theater renamed after Lena Horne, and more

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

— The trailer for Issa Rae’s new comedy series, Rap Sh!t, has arrived. The show, coming to HBO Max on July 21, follows two former high school besties – played by Aida Osman and KaMillion – who come together to form a rap group. Rae is executive producing, along with Yung Miami and JT of City Girls. Insecure’s Syreeta Singleton serves as showrunner and will be executive producing, as well.

— Tyler Perry is donating $500,000 to the Apollo Theater, the filmmaker announced Monday during the venue’s annual spring benefit gala. According to Variety, he made the announcement while accepting the Apollo’s Impact Award from presenter Whoopi Goldberg. The Apollo ended up raising $3.7 million, which includes Tyler’s gift.

— Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theatre is being renamed after legendary performer and civil rights activist Lena Horne, making her the first Black woman to have a Broadway theater named after her. According to Deadline, The Lena Horne Theatre will be made official this fall. The theater is currently home to the musical Six.

Nashville notes: Luke Bryan in Vegas, Breland’s debut album & more

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Carrie Underwood is performing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight, June 14. It airs at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.

Presale tickets for the six new dates of Luke Bryan‘s Las Vegas residency are available now through Sunday. Tickets go on sale to the general public Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

Breland has announced that he’ll release his debut album, Cross Country, on September 9. It features his brand new single, “Natural.”

Folds of Honor Tennessee raised more than $65,000 at the Rock N’ Jock Celebrity Softball Game last week. Kane Brown, Hardy, Jameson Rodgers and Ernest were among the participants.

1st federal prison to experience COVID-19 outbreak now short-staffed: Officials

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The first federal prison to experience a COVID-19 outbreak in March of 2020 is now severely short-staffed, the Louisiana congressional delegation and members of the Bureau of Prison union say.

FCI Oakdale in Louisiana experienced a severe COVID-19 outbreak in March of 2020, so bad the Justice Department inspector general was critical of the BOP for how it failed to separate inmates at the facility during the first weeks of the pandemic.

The Louisiana congressional delegation, led by Republican Sen. John Kennedy, wrote to the Bureau of Prisons to make sure it takes care of the staffing issues at the facility.

“FCC Oakdale faces unsustainably low staffing levels that is nearing crisis,” the congressional delegation writes. “These vacancies force FCC Oakdale to rely on mandatory overtime in order to meet the basic safety needs of the mission.”

They say they are concerned about the staffing levels and want to know what the Bureau is doing to address it.

“Staffing conditions at FCC Oakdale have understandably forced many veteran staff members to actively seek opportunities for promotion or transfer to other federal prison facilities and agencies or even retire.”

The Bureau of Prisons told ABC News it received and is reviewing the congressional letter. “We have no additional information to provide at this time,” the BOP said.

Federal prisons that are short-staffed are not a new problem, which is something the national BOP union has pointed out.

The local union president at FCC Oakdale tells ABC News FCC Oakdale was the first to experience a major outbreak of COVID-19 and staff worked overtime to provide coverage for the prison.

“During that time, as your aware, the staff worked an extreme amount of overtime to provide security coverage to the inmates at outside hospitals while receiving treatment for COVID,” Ronald Morris, AFGE Local 1007 President told ABC News. “This was a very hard mission staffing wise due to having inmates in the outside hospital, attempting to cover the post at the institution through augmentation and dealing with staff out due to COVID. Fast forward two years and it seems that the staff have not been able to recover. We are still short-staffed,” he said.

FDA committee clears the way for kids 6-17 to get another vaccine option in Moderna

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A committee of advisers at the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of authorizing the Moderna vaccine for kids ages 6 through 17, paving the way to add one more vaccine to the options available for this age group.

Currently, only Pfizer’s vaccine is available for kids over 5 years old. Moderna’s vaccine, which was stalled in the regulatory process for months, would give parents another option.

The process to get Moderna’s vaccine out to pharmacies and clinics now moves to FDA leadership, which must decide whether to issue an official emergency use authorization of the vaccine.

After that, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s team of advisers will review Moderna’s data, and finally, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will issue her recommendation.

It’s not clear whether adding Moderna as another option in the vaccine arsenal will move the needle for uptake in the kids and adolescent age group.

More than 25.4 million eligible kids between the ages of 5 and 17 are still unvaccinated, and only about 44% have been fully vaccinated.

At the meeting before FDA’s advisory committee on Tuesday, though, Moderna representatives argued there was a significant need for a second vaccine because of the continued threat of COVID-19 among kids.

“Recent data have shown that approximately 25% or one in every four children and adolescents hospitalized due to COVID-19 require ICU intervention,” said Carla Vinals, Moderna’s vice president of regulatory affairs strategy for infectious diseases.

Emory associate professor Dr. Evan Anderson, who works with Moderna, presented an analysis showing that COVID-19 is worse than the flu — killing more children ages 5 to 17 than any other vaccine-preventable disease.

Moderna scientists said their vaccine would prevent pediatric hospitalizations if authorized. They estimate the two-dose Moderna vaccine would prevent 95 hospitalizations per 1 million kids ages 5 to 11 and 200 hospitalizations per 1 million kids ages 12 to 17.

The FDA also cleared the air on the issue that delayed Moderna’s authorization for this age group — the potential for the rare incidence of heart inflammation called myocarditis.

Data for international surveillance had suggested a higher risk for myocarditis following vaccination with Moderna compared to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. But after looking into it, those concerns subsided.

The FDA did not find a “statistically significant” difference in risk when comparing the two vaccines, officials said Tuesday.

The risk of myocarditis is also primarily seen among males 18 to 25. Moderna’s vaccine is only for kids and adolescents ages 6 to 17.

If authorized, Moderna’s vaccine dosing would be 100 micrograms for 12- to 17-year-olds, or the same as the adult dose, and 50 micrograms for 6- to 11-year-olds, which is half the adult dose.

Congress passes bill to provide more security for Supreme Court justices’ families

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The House on Tuesday approved a Senate bill to provide more security for the families of Supreme Court justices, sending the measure to President Joe Biden’s desk after Democrats and Republicans could not agree over whether to extend the increased protections to the families of court clerks.

The bill — first approved unanimously by the Senate a month ago — was passed by the House nearly a week since an armed man was arrested near Brett Kavanaugh’s home and charged with attempted murder of the Supreme Court justice after allegedly telling authorities he was suicidal and wanted to kill Kavanaugh, police have said.

“By passing this bill as is, we are sending a clear message to the left-wing radicals you cannot intimidate the Supreme Court justices. I hope we all take that message to heart,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on the House floor on Tuesday.

Supreme Court justices are already provided with security; however, the Supreme Court Police Parity Act would expand security to the justices’ families. The legislation had been stalled in the House over proposed amendments by House Democrats to extend protections to the families of Supreme Court employees. as well.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Monday night that no changes to the Senate-passed bill would be tolerated.

“The right bill passed the Senate. We’re not going to pass this House bill if it comes over,” McConnell said.

Sen John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the House was “playing with fire,” adding, “All we’ve tried to do is give the justices the very same protection that’s available to members of Congress.”

The stalemate came as Republicans accused Democrats of delaying taking up the legislation amid new threats to the high court — which has seen renewed protests by advocates ahead of major opinions on polarizing issues including gun rights and abortion access.

Democrats, in turn, said the GOP was ignoring the wider problem.

“Let me tell you why it took us a few weeks rather than just one week to pass this legislation: It’s because Republicans refuse to protect the families of Supreme Court employees who are at risk,” California Rep. Ted Lieu said.

“We understand that there was Republican opposition to that aspect of the bill, and in the interest of protecting the justices’ families, we can no longer delay in passing the only version of the bill they would apparently agree to.” Lieu added.

The legislation gained momentum in the House after 26-year-old Nicholas Roske was charged with attempted murder last week when he showed up armed to the Maryland home of Justice Kavanaugh, according to authorities.

Roske was angry over the recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the leaked draft of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent submitted in support of a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

Roske was allegedly spotted by two U.S. Marshals wearing black clothes and carrying a backpack getting out of a cab in front of Kavanaugh’s house at approximately 1:05 a.m. Wednesday, according to the affidavit.

A Glock 17 pistol, two magazines, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crowbar, pistol light and duct tape were in Roske’s backpack, according to the affidavit.

The suspect then allegedly called the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center to say he wanted to kill a Supreme Court justice, according to the affidavit. (He agreed to remain in custody until a preliminary hearing currently scheduled for June 22.)

The Department of Homeland Security has already warned that there could be an increase in threats against Supreme Court justices over the leaked draft of the Roe v. Wade decision, which has not yet been formally issued.

A bulletin obtained by ABC News in May said the draft leak “prompted a significant increase in violent threats — many made online via social media and some of which are under investigation — directed toward some U.S. Supreme Court Justices and the Supreme Court building.”

The National Capital Threat Intelligence Consortium identified at least 25 violent threats on social media that were referred to partner agencies for further investigation, the bulletin said.

“Some of these threats discussed burning down or storming the U.S. Supreme Court and murdering Justices and their clerks, members of Congress, and lawful demonstrators,” the bulletin said.

U.S. Marshals bolstered their protective details for the justices and began guarding their homes around the clock in the wake of the leaked draft, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday.

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ debuts at the top of Vudu’s streaming chart

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Michelle Yeoh‘s madcap multiverse movie Everything Everywhere All at Once took viewers on a trip in its first week on streaming.

That’s according to Fandango’s streaming service Vudu, which showed the movie — which has the global superstar and Crazy Rich Asians lead playing multiple versions of herself and which also stars Jamie Lee Curtis — debuted in the top slot for June 6-12.

Coming out in second place is Nicolas Cage‘s comedic action movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

Incidentally, both movies have both leads playing alternate versions of themselves, and another thing they have in common are “Certified Fresh” scores on the ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Everything Everywhere‘s score stands at a stellar 95%, one of the highest of the year.

In third place on Vudu’s chart for the week was Downtown Abbey: A New Era, with the animated film The Bad Guys and The Lost City with Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Brad Pitt rounding out the Top 5.

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