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‘Democracy is on the line’: Election officials face ongoing threats for doing their jobs

November 20, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Al Schmidt had a front-row seat to history when a batch of votes in Philadelphia tipped the state of Pennsylvania, and the 2020 presidential election, toward Joe Biden.

As Philadelphia’s Republican city commissioner, Schmidt had been holed up for days in the convention center, making sure every vote, mail-in or in-person, was counted.

“For us, it’s really never about who wins and who loses,” Schmidt told ABC News. “It’s really about counting, counting the votes.”

He defended the vote count and integrity of the election — only to find himself a target of former President Donald Trump. Four days after the race was called, Trump tweeted at Schmidt saying, without evidence, that he had refused to look at “a mountain of corruption and dishonesty.”

Schmidt said that’s when the threats against his life and his family started to ramp up.

“They became a lot more specific, a lot more graphic, largely targeted at my family, my kids,” he said. “Mentioning my children by name, my address, pictures of my house. Like the people who sent them had clearly done their homework.”

Schmidt is among a long list of state and local election officials facing increasing threats, fueling what some say is an unprecedented exodus.

A recent survey by the Brennan Center for Justice found 1 in 3 election officials nationwide feels unsafe at work. Nearly 1 in 5 called threats to their lives a job-related concern.

“There is, I’m sure, no election official in the country that when they ran for the job … ever contemplated death threats, let alone death threats to their children as being part of that job description,” Schmidt said.

In Pennsylvania, nearly half of county election directors have resigned since 2019, according to Lisa Schaefer of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. She said many others cite personal and violent threats.

“These are people who are getting called and yelled at constantly by their friends and their neighbors for things that are often out of their control,” Schaefer said.

It’s not just local election officials in swing states getting targeted.

Democrat Roxanna Moritz resigned in the wake of the 2020 election as the auditor and commissioner of elections in Scott County, Iowa, after more than a decade on the job. She cited a culture of bullying toward election officials, who often work long hours with little pay, because “we care about our democracy.”

“The personal attacks on each and every one of us has made of us aware this maybe isn’t where we want to be,” Moritz told ABC News.

Election experts warn about the loss of institutional knowledge in this wave of resignations from roles that are historically above the political fray.

Another concern, according to Elizabeth Howard of the Brennan Center for Justice, is who will replace the officials who resign.

“We’ve seen, for instance, some candidates for secretary of state, which is generally the chief election official in the state, who have come out and said that they basically believe in the ‘Big Lie,'” that Trump was cheated out of an election win, Howard said.

ABC News has previously reported on new state laws that shift election administration to highly partisan bodies, as part of a broader effort to shift power away from officials who refuted the “Big Lie.” Some of these changes to election laws appear to be in direct retaliation of officials who defended the integrity of the 2020 results.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, Bill Gates is a Republican on the board of supervisors overseeing elections. His county has become a hotbed of election misinformation despite several recounts and audits confirming President Joe Biden’s win.

“I have to plead with these folks to listen to me to the truth that I’m telling them, because they’ve been told lies for a year now, and they believe it,” he told ABC News.

More than a year after the election, Gates said he’s still targeted daily online, and called a traitor who should be jailed.

“There have been evenings where we have literally spent the night at an Airbnb because of threats,” he told ABC News. “There are nights where we have slept with sheriff’s deputies outside of the house because of these threats.”

Gates and Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt both said fighting election misinformation is proving to be a critical test of American democracy.

“I think there is an additional obligation on Republicans like myself to speak the truth about the 2020 election and to stand up in the face of all of these lies, regardless of what the consequences are for any of us,” Schmidt said. “With our democracy on the line, pretty much anything, it’s worth it.”

Should you get a booster shot? Experts say it’s time

November 20, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Millions more vaccinated adults across the U.S. became eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot on Friday. And yet, the vast majority of vaccinated Americans were already eligible — many just didn’t know it.

According to an October survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 in 10 vaccinated adults were unsure if they qualified for a booster. So far, just 32 million Americans have received a booster, or around 18% of the more than 182 million adults who are fully vaccinated.

In announcing the latest recommendations, public health experts at the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC expressed hope that they would cut through the confusion, simplifying the decision for Americans who are wondering: Do I need a booster shot?

Here’s what the experts say.

Should you get a booster?

The question has been hotly debated for months but a larger pro-booster consensus has formed over the last week.

Why? A number of reasons, including rising cases in more than half of U.S. states right before a busy holiday travel season and lower temperatures pushing people indoors.

The FDA and CDC made the updated recommendation on Friday. It expanded booster access to all adults who were vaccinated with Moderna or Pfizer over six months ago, and while the recommendation was stronger for everyone over 50 to go get a boost, it applies to everyone 18 to 49.

For Johnson & Johnson recipients, the recommendation already applied to everyone over 18, anytime two months after their shot.

For experts who have long been loud proponents for booster shots, it was a long time coming.

“Enough is enough. Let’s get moving on here,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the White House and a leader at the National Institutes of Health, said at an event Wednesday, before the FDA and CDC made the final call.

“There’s no doubt that immunity wanes. It wanes in everyone. It’s more dangerous in the elderly, but it’s across all age groups,” Fauci said, citing data from Israel and the U.K., where more people were vaccinated sooner and began to first document waning immunity.

Others, like Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, called the decline “both predicted and predictable.”

“And the way you fix it is you give that third immunization,” he said.

Both Hotez and Fauci believe the vaccines should be used not just to prevent hospitalizations and death, but also infection — particularly because of the risk of long-COVID, a concerning side effect of the disease that is rare in vaccinated people but can include long-term fatigue, brain fog and shortness of breath.

“When I got my third immunization, why was I so eager to do it? Well, of course I didn’t want to go to the hospital or ICU, but also I didn’t want to get COVID,” Hotez said.

“I didn’t want to get gray matter brain degeneration and cognitive decline and have a brain scan that looks like somebody 20 years older.”

But for those still on the fence about the personal choice, Dr. Anna Durbin, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, laid out risk scenarios to consider.

“It really comes down to your comfort level and just what’s going to make you as a person feel safer,” Durbin said.

If you’re traveling overseas or live in areas of high transmission, if you’re elderly or have underlying conditions or are frequently out in the community for work, those are all reasons to get a booster, Durbin said.

For young, healthy people who don’t feel at risk, Durbin said to keep an eye on rising cases in your area. Consider getting a booster to help tamp down transmission, but also to protect yourself ahead of a surge, Durbin said.

“If we’re gonna see a new wave, it’s going to be over the winter months most likely. And if you get boosted now, that’s going to provide you really good protection through that period of time,” Durbin said.

That said, don’t panic if you can’t book an appointment right away — particularly as demand surges with the new recommendation, experts say.

“I would not view it as an emergency that people need to line up on the day of approval and get their boosters necessarily that weekend,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

It’s still far more important for unvaccinated people to get vaccinated, Barouch said, particularly ahead of the holidays.

“The most important thing is for everybody who will be celebrating to be vaccinated, if they’re eligible to be vaccinated. Now, additional boosts may be useful. But the most important thing is that people be vaccinated primarily,” he said.

Why has it been so confusing?

To put it simply: “The reason why there is some confusion is because it has been confusing,” Barouch said.

“Guidelines are changing,” Barouch said. “And in some cases, the guidelines are changing for good reasons: They’re changing because what we’re seeing is a changing pandemic.”

Last week, a patchwork of booster guidance emerged as governors in over a dozen states called for all adults to get a booster before the federal agencies weighed in, acting to combat spiking cases and overwhelmed hospitals.

Hotez commended the states for making the “medically correct” decision and being “more nimble” than the original decision from the CDC and FDA, but acknowledged the schism it created in the public health guidance.

“Not as elegant as you’d like — to have the states be out front by a week or so, but you know, when you’re in the middle of a pandemic, sometimes things don’t go smoothly as you’d like,” Hotez said.

Some, like Hotez, have always believed boosters would be necessary, even before data started to trickle in on waning immunity, and think confusion could’ve been avoided if the public was always told to expect a booster.

“It should have been messaged to the American people from the beginning that, by the way, don’t be surprised when the call comes out to get a third immunization,” he said.

Still, there’s a fine line to walk in urging booster shots for those vaccinated six months ago while also encouraging the most impactful group, unvaccinated people, to get their primary vaccinations. The vaccines continue to protect well against hospitalization and death for many months.

“We can give all the booster doses we want and until we get people vaccinated, or they all get infected, we’re going to continue to see transmission of COVID,” Durbin said.

Family separated at southern border reacts to possibility of government payouts

November 20, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Leticia works at a bakery helping to prepare the pastries that hungry New Yorkers order with their coffee in the morning. At first glance, she’s like any other person in the city. But in 2017, she fled Guatemala with her son Yovany and made her way toward the border in Texas.

“At the moment we crossed, we were happy. We thought our lives were saved, that all the danger was behind us,” she said in Spanish in an interview with ABC News’ Zachary Kiesch. “We couldn’t imagine that a greater pain, a stronger pain, was ahead of us.”

Once they crossed, she and her son were detained by Border Patrol agents and quickly separated as they tried to submit an asylum claim. Leticia, whose last name is being withheld for privacy, was deported and Yovany was placed in foster care. They did not see each other for over two years.

They were among the first migrant families subjected to a pilot program for what later became the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy.

Leticia and Yovany could be one of the families qualifying for compensation if the Biden administration decides to make settlement payments to migrants who were separated from their children by the Trump administration.

Now reunited in the United States, mother and son continue to live in fear of being separated again while their asylum case is pending.

“It was a pain that I still carry with me. It’s still hurting me,” Yovany said in Spanish. “I continue living with that fear that I will be separated from her again.”

The potential settlement payments, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, are part of an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union seeking damages for separated families. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden dismissed reports that payments of up to $450,000 were being discussed, but expressed his support for some kind of compensation.

“If, in fact, because of the outrageous behavior of the last administration, you coming across the border, whether it was legally or illegally, and you lost your child — you lost your child — it’s gone. You deserve compensation no matter what the circumstance,” Biden said. “What that will be, I have no idea. I have no idea.”

In 2019, a federal judge ruled that Leticia’s deportation had been unlawful because she did not voluntarily accept deportation and sign away her parental rights. Immigration officials did not provide her an interpreter or explain that they were separating her from Yovany.

“It was totally in English. I didn’t know what I was signing,” Leticia said. “Even today I still don’t know what it is I signed.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week, with support for the reported settlements appearing to fall along party lines.

ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said the reports about settlements have been politicized and that there is no time frame on when a decision will be made in regards to the amount of money families would receive and who would be eligible.

“This is not about whether we all agree on macro-immigration policy. This is whether the United States is going to make little children pawns in this political fight,” Gelernt said. “These families, according to all of the medical experts, have suffered severe trauma — literally being pulled away.”

Leticia said she draws strength from her Indigenous roots, but her courage and faith were tested during those long months when she didn’t know where her son was located. Despite the close bond they continue to share, she said there was some initial distrust when they were finally reunited.

“When I saw him, I noticed there was a feeling of ‘Why would you leave me?'” she told ABC News. “He didn’t tell me with his words but as a mother, I knew.”

Fear of abandonment, depression and anxiety are just a few of the challenges families like Leticia’s face when they’re finally reunited.

“Money is not everything in the world,” Leticia said of the possible payments. “It won’t return our happiness, it won’t return our health. But it can help start to remediate the trauma and the pain they caused us when they violated our human rights.”

The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project has been helping support her and Yovany while they wait for their asylum case to be heard.

“Reunification is truly only the first step that the government must take for these families. After they reunify, these families have to navigate a complex immigration system that is stacked against them in every way,” said Leidy Pérez-Davis, policy director at the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.

The Biden administration’s reunification task force has found that more than 3,900 children were separated under by the “zero-tolerance” policy. Gelernt estimated that there are still over 1,000 families that have yet to be reunited and at least 270 that have not even been located.

“I hope this serves as an example for future governments to never repeat the same damage and trauma they’ve caused,” said Leticia.

1st injectable, bimonthly HIV treatment approved in UK

November 20, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — The UK approved a new HIV treatment that requires an injection every other month, rather than the current routine of taking pills every day.

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimated that around 13,000 people will now be eligible for cabotegravir with rilpivirine, the injectable medication.

There were around 103,000 people living with HIV in the UK in 2018, according to the British government’s statistics.

“It is an exciting and progressive step in the fight against HIV,” Dr. Todd Ellerin, director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health and ABC News contributor said. Ellerin is also on the speakers bureau of ViiV Healthcare which helped develop the injectable HIV treatment.

Besides the new revolutionary injection method, the current treatment for HIV is lifelong antiretroviral tablets that are taken each day. The medication suppresses the virus in the blood to undetectable levels, thereby preventing AIDS from occurring and eliminating transmission.

The injections block the same enzymes as the pills do, as Ellerin explained, but allow the medication to stay in the body much longer permitting monthly or bimonthly re-dosing, so patients don’t need to take pills every day.

The shot called Cabenuva (a combination of cabotegravir and rilpivirine) was already approved by the FDA in January, though with a more frequent dosage of once a month.

“[The] thing I like about injectables is less is more,” Ellerin said. “The medication approved in the UK will be once every two months, which makes it easier for the patients to come to the office rather than coming every month,” he added.

“For many, taking daily pills is not easy. Sometimes they forget, some may have other issues with taking pills, but the injection is suitable for those who prefer a more intermittent method,” he added.

However, there are challenges to this method. One, is the logistics of the injection, as the jabs must be administered at the health care provider’s office for now, Ellerin said.

“The biggest challenge is the logistic hurdle for giving these [shots] in the office, especially in the pandemic,” said Ellerin.

Also, if patients don’t show up for their injection, that increases the risk of viral replication rebound, Ellerin said. With pills, you can remember to take them the next day and have a stock of them at home.

Both in Britain and the United States, cabotegravir and rilpivirine can be prescribed and used after an initial oral (tablet) lead-in period.

“This is why people who are newly diagnosed with HIV can’t start their treatment with injection,” Ellerin said.

There are hopes that by the first quarter of 2022, the FDA also approves the bimonthly injection, and with that more patients might choose this method over pills, especially if the COVID-19 situation eases, according to Ellerin.

“As of now, this is not a preventive method. It is just for maintenance treatment. There are also injections for prevention down the way. But that is another story,” Ellerin said.

Ellerin also said that the reason the injections are available at clinics only is that this is the way it was studied in clinical trials and that these are buttocks injections that are difficult to self-administer at home.

Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal sparks protests across US

November 20, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Demonstrations sprang up nationwide in protest of the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict Friday night, after a Wisconsin jury found the 18-year-old not guilty for the killing of two men and the wounding of another during political unrest in Kenosha last summer.

The verdict sparked outrage among those who feared an acquittal would embolden vigilantism, and anger in the families of the men shot who were seeking accountability and justice. Others, including pro-gun conservatives, have hailed Rittenhouse as a hero who was protecting private property from rioters.

In Kenosha, protesters gathered outside the courthouse, reacting in anger and frustration to the verdict. Outside a local church, pastors led residents in a prayer vigil Friday night, with some toting signs that said “Heal Kenosha.”

“Profoundly disappointed, sad, angry, crying, grieving and also looking to the future. Like OK, we’ve got work to do,” Rev. Monica Cummings, of Bradford Community Church, told Reuters of the mood that night. “And at the top of the list is healing. Our community can now begin the long process of healing and looking at how we want to be as a community together.”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers had activated some 500 National Guard members to be on standby to support public safety efforts if needed, though there were no major clashes reported in the wake of the verdict.

In Portland, Oregon, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office declared a riot “after a violent, destructive group began to breach the gate into the Multnomah County Detention Center,” the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement.

About two dozen people had gathered in front of the gate around 9 p.m. local time, with some allegedly heard saying, “Burn it down,” according to the sheriff’s office.

The rear window of a Portland Police vehicle was shattered, as well as the windows on a local business, during the incident, according to police.

Police issued five citations and 17 warnings, and one person was arrested for a warrant, authorities said.

Meanwhile, in New York City, hundreds of demonstrators marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and gathered outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, holding signs with photos of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, the two men Rittenhouse killed.

Nearly 100 people took to the streets of Oakland, California, shouting “Revolution nothing else” while marching in response to the verdict, ABC San Francisco station KGO reported.

Demonstrators also gathered in Chicago to denounce the acquittal.

Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.

During his testimony, Rittenhouse said he shot Rosenbaum, Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz, who survived, in self-defense.

“I didn’t intend to kill them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me,” Rittenhouse repeatedly said, at one point breaking down and sobbing on the witness stand.

Rittenhouse feels “a huge sense of relief,” his attorney, Mark Richards, told reporters Friday, adding, “He wishes none of this ever happened.”

The ruling in the closely watched trial prompted a response from President Joe Biden, who said in a statement, “While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken.”

Britney Spears seemingly criticizes Christina Aguilera, praises Lady Gaga for conservatorship comments

November 20, 2021 by WDNY Radio

Britney Spears seems to be keeping careful track of who she feels is on her side when it comes to her years-long battle to free herself from her conservatorship.

On her Instagram Story on Friday night, Britney posted a video of her former Mickey Mouse Club co-star Christina Aguilera at the Latin Grammys being asked about her. Christina’s publicist interrupts and says, “We’re not doing that.” An apologetic Christina is led away, saying, “But I’m really happy for her.”

Britney captioned the video, “I love and adore everyone who supported me…but refusing to speak when you know the truth is equivalent to a lie !!!! 13 years being in a corrupt abusive system yet why is it such a hard topic for people to talk about??? I’m the one who went through it!!!! All the supporters who spoke up and supported me thank you…Yes I do matter !!!!!”

She then posted a video clip of Lady Gaga answering a question about Britney while promoting her new film House of Gucciy. “The way that she was treated in this business was really wrong,” says Gaga. “And the way that women are treated in the music industry is something that I wish would change. I think that she will forever be an inspiration to women.”

Britney captioned that video, “Thank you @ladygaga for genuinely taking your time to say something so kind. You made me cry!!! I love you!!!”

Christina’s fans were quick to point out that Christina did speak out about Britney in June, tweeting a thread that stated, in part, “It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live life as they wish…[Britney] deserves all the TRUE love and support in the world.”

Biden gets first physical as president, power transferred to VP Harris

November 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — It was a question that plagued Joe Biden’s presidential campaign: Could a 77-year-old man — who at age 78 would be the oldest person ever to assume the presidency — handle the rigors of the job?

Candidate Biden acknowledged it was legitimate for Americans to question his fitness for office.

“The only thing I can say is watch. Watch! Check my energy level, determine whether I know what I’m talking about,” he told voters during the 2020 campaign.

Now, on Friday, nearly a year into his term, Biden has gotten his first physical as president at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

It came the day before he turns 79.

After about five hours inside, Biden walked out giving two thumbs up.

“I’m doing great!” Biden told ABC News Correspondent Karen Travers, when asked how he was feeling. “I’ve had a great physical and a great House of Representatives vote. Good day,” Biden said, referring to House Democrats passing his “Build Back Better” plan earlier in the day.

Shortly before he arrived, the White House revealed that for some of the exam he would be under anesthesia and would briefly transfer power to Vice President Kamala Harris.

“This morning, the President will travel to Walter Reed Medical Center for a routine physical. While he is there, the President will undergo a routine colonoscopy,” press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

“As was the case when President George W. Bush had the same procedure in 2002 and 2007, and following the process set out in the Constitution, President Biden will transfer power to the Vice President for the brief period of time when he is under anesthesia. The Vice President will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” she said.

Around noon, the White House said it sent letters at 10:10 a.m. to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Patrick Leahy, president pro tempore of the Senate, to inform them Biden was going under sedation. The House speaker is second in line to the presidency after the vice president and the president pro tempore of the Senate is third in line under the 25th Amendment dictating the order of presidential succession.

Psaki tweeted that Biden had spoken with Harris and chief of staff Ron Klain at approximately 11:35 a.m., saying “@POTUS was in good spirits and at that time resumed his duties.”

Letter to the Speaker of the House on the Temporary Transfer of the Powers and Duties of President of the U… by ABC News Politics on Scribd

Late Friday afternoon, the White House put out a promised detailed medical summary.

Biden is a ‘healthy, vigorous 78-year-old man,” who is “fit for duty” and “fully executes all of his responsibilities without exemptions or accommodations,” the president’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor wrote.

While Biden got a mostly clean bill of health, O’Connor — who has been Biden’s doctor since 2009 — noted two specific observations: his frequent throat clearing, and a stiffened gate, compared to last year.

“The president has exhibited increasing frequency and severity of “throat clearing” and coughing during speaking engagements,” O’Connor wrote. “He has exhibited such symptoms for as long as I have known him, but they certainly seem more frequent and more pronounced over the last few months.”

O’Connor noted that Biden being president and the increased attention could be playing into the perception of the symptoms, but required further investigation. Ultimately though, O’Connor said that his initial assessment that “gastroesophageal reflux” was to blame for the cough still stands.

Of his stiffened gate, O’Connor said Biden acknowledges that he is stiff in the morning, though it improves over time. O’Connor said that after a battery of tests, general “wear and tear” of the spine was partly to blame– though no specific treatment was needed.

A new finding for Biden was a “mild peripheral neuropathy in both feet.”

“He did not demonstrative any motor weakness, but a subtle difference in heat/cold perception and great toe proprioception could be elicited,” O’Connor wrote, noting this, along with the wear and tear could contribute to the stiffened gate, and “Physical Therapy and exercise prescription will continue to focus on general flexibility and proprioceptive maintenance maneuvers.”

Biden’s regular screening colonoscopy found a 3mm benign-looking polyp was identified in the in ascending colon, and was removed without difficulty, the report said.

To date, the most recent physical and medical report was one his campaign released in December 2019: a three-page summary that declared Biden “a healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”

At the time, Biden was said to be under treatment for four different conditions: non-valvular atrial fibrillation — a type of irregular heart rhythm, hyperlipidemia — higher concentrations of fats or lipids in the blood, gastroesophageal reflux and seasonal allergies.

The most notable health incidents in Biden’s past were the two cranial aneurysms he suffered in 1988.

Since winning the presidency, Biden suffered a fractured foot after falling while chasing his dog Major at his Wilmington, Delaware, home last Thanksgiving. He had to wear a walking boot for the injury, and was said to be “healing as expected,” according to scans from a follow-up appointment in December.

Biden named O’Connor as his White House physician shortly after taking office.

O’Connor has served as Biden’s primary care physician and was appointed physician to the then-vice president in 2009. Biden chose him for the new role due to their long history and personal relationship, according to a White House official.

Questions about fitness for office are far from exclusive to Biden — President Donald Trump, who was the oldest president elected before Biden, also faced questions about his mental and physical fitness.

Trump faced particular scrutiny for the first physical of his administration in January 2018, which his then-White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, said went “exceptionally well.”

He came under fire for his effusively rosy outlook on Trump’s health while briefing reporters afterward.

In other recent administrations, physicals have generally been conducted within a president’s first year in office.

President George W. Bush got a physical in August 2001, and was found to be “fit for duty” with “every reasonable expectation that he will remain fit for duty for the duration of his Presidency.”

President Barack Obama received his first physical in office just over a year into his presidency, in February 2010. He also was found to be in “excellent health,” although doctors told hi to stop smoking.

At her news briefing Friday, Psaki declined to detail any actions Harris took during her 85 minutes as “acting president,” but observed the moment’s historic nature.

“I will leave that to her team to characterize. I know that other people have been talking about this and a woman myself, I will note that the president, when he selected her to be his running mate, obviously knew he was making history that was long overdue in our view,” she said.

“Part of that was selecting someone who would serve by your side as your partner, but also … step in if there was a reason to,” Psaki said.

ABC News’ John Parkinson contributed to this report.

Women say pain was dismissed in lawsuit alleging fentanyl switch at fertility clinic

November 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A group of seven women are suing Yale University, claiming they underwent invasive and painful procedures for in-vitro fertilization and received saline instead of fentanyl, an opioid painkiller.

According to the complaint, the women received saline after a nurse at the Yale University Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Clinic stole fentanyl for her personal use last year and replaced it with saline.

As a result, the women underwent a fertility procedure — oocyte retrieval — without pain management, according to the complaint, which described the process as “excruciating.”

“Oocyte egg retrieval is an extremely invasive procedure,” the law firm representing the women said in a statement. “Doctors and nurses explained to these patients that this surgery would require a dose of fentanyl to alleviate pain. However, each was then unknowingly treated with saline instead.”

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in state court in Waterbury, Connecticut, by the women and their spouses, accuses Yale University of failing to follow protocols and thereby allowing the fentanyl to be tampered with.

The complaint also alleges there were “hundreds” of incidents in which saline was substituted for fentanyl.

“Yale University takes no responsibility for the hundreds of fentanyl substitution events that took place at the REI Clinic; it blames the single nurse who was able to steal the fentanyl, unabated, for more than twenty weeks,” the complaint said.

“But for years, Yale University recognized the lurking danger of opioid diversion and the catastrophic injuries posed by healthcare worker opioid substitution,” according to the lawsuit.

The nurse, Donna Monticone, pleaded guilty in March to one count of tampering with a consumer product and surrendered her nursing license. She was sentenced in May to four weekends in prison, three months of home confinement and three years of supervised release.

A Yale University spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit.

In March, following Monticone’s guilty plea, a Yale spokesperson issued a statement stating patients had been informed and that “changes are underway.”

“Yale has informed patients that there is no reason to believe that the nurse’s action harmed their health or the outcome of their treatment. The Fertility Center routinely uses a combination of pain medications during procedures and modifies the medications if there are signs of discomfort,” the spokesperson said in March, according to the New Haven Register. “Changes are underway in procedures, recordkeeping, and physical storage that will prevent this type of activity from happening again.”

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, also alleges that the women’s concerns and reports of “torturous pain” were dismissed.

“Yale University providers were alerted to the problem with its supply of fentanyl, the sole analgesic administered to women during oocyte retrievals, through patients’ intraoperative screams and postoperative reports of torturous pain, but, upon information and belief, Yale University never investigated these reports,” the complaint said. “Instead, pain was minimized as ‘normal’ for the invasive procedure, or attributed to the unavailability of an anesthesiologist on Saturdays and Sundays.”

The allegation of pain being dismissed is one that may ring true for many women, according to Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a board-certified gynecologist and chief medical officer of Verywell Health, an online medical resource.

Shepherd is not affiliated with Yale University and has no involvement with or direct knowledge of the case.

“Usually the key complaint is feeling dismissed, that patients haven’t been heard,” she said of her own personal experience with female patients who have sought her care. “It’s one thing to be able to express what you’re feeling, but even after that, what are the actions that are taken in order to reach some joint resolution of decreasing discomfort, addressing the situation, finding alternatives.”

Research through the years has also shown that women’s pain is often interpreted differently than men’s by medical providers.

A study published in April in the Journal of Pain, for instance, found that when the same level of pain was expressed by female and male patients, female patients’ pain was viewed as less intense than men’s. The study also found that female patients were prescribed more psychotherapy for for their pain, while male patients were prescribed more pain medication.

In another study, women were found to have had to wait nearly 15 minutes longer to receive pain medication in an emergency room setting than men.

“It’s a subjective symptom so it’s hard to put objectivity to it, like you would say, blood pressure, or pulse,” Shepherd said of pain. “And I think there are stereotypes about pain sensitivity and endurance of pain, so from a female perspective, it may be looked at not being able to endure as much pain, but that’s not really how pain should be monitored or evaluated.”

US Capitol Christmas Tree arrives from California

November 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — After nearly a year of planning and a more than 4,500-mile trek across the country, the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree arrived in Washington Friday, just in time for the holiday season.

Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton accepted the tree from Forest Supervisor Ted McArthur of the Six Rivers National Forest in Northern California, overseen by the U.S. Forest Service.

“We are glad to have such a beautiful Christmas tree that all Californians and, frankly, all Americans can be proud of,” Blanton said.

This year’s tree is an 84-foot white fir nicknamed “Sugar Bear.”

After being harvested on Oct. 23, it made stops at various communities along the continental U.S. on its way to the nation’s capital.

The Six Rivers National Forest said the motto for this year’s donation was “Many Peoples One Tree.”

Over the next few days, the tree is expected to be decorated with LED lights and ornaments made in different California communities.

The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree tradition started back in 1964 when then-Speaker of the House John W. McCormack, D-Mass., placed a live tree on the Capitol lawn.

The tree lived for a few years before succumbing to wind and root damage.

In order to keep the tradition alive, in 1970 the Architect of the Capitol asked the U.S. Forest Service to provide a Christmas tree and since then, a different national forest is chosen each year to provide “The People’s Tree.”

A lighting ceremony is expected to happen in early December with the Architect of the Capitol and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

County to investigate care given to Turpin siblings after rescue from abusive parents

November 19, 2021 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — New details were revealed Friday about an outside independent probe launched to investigate the treatment of the Turpin siblings since their dramatic 2018 escape from captivity, casting new light on how a Southern California county is grappling with allegations that the 13 siblings have been mistreated under its care.

Nearly four years ago, the Turpin children escaped from their Perris, California, home where they were subjected to brutal violence and deprived of food, sleep, hygiene, education and health care. At the time, advocates and county leaders assured the siblings — and a concerned public — that help was on the way. But some officials and some of the Turpin children are speaking out to say they still don’t have access to many of the resources and services guaranteed to them.

An ABC News investigation found that some of the Turpin children continue to face challenges and hardships since they were rescued and placed in the care of the county. Some of them have even faced assault and alleged child abuse again.

Watch the Diane Sawyer special event, “Escape From A House Of Horror,” on Friday, Nov. 19 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and stream on Hulu.

In a statement to ABC News earlier this week regarding the Turpin siblings’ treatment, Riverside County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen acknowledged that “there have been instances in which those we seek to protect have been harmed,” and said his office has hired a law firm to “conduct an independent and comprehensive investigation” into what happened in the cases of the 13 Turpin children.

Officials told ABC News on Friday that Van Wagenen initiated the investigation on Oct. 28, one day after ABC News requested an interview with him to discuss the Turpin case.

As part of the probe, the California law firm Larson LLP “will be seeking” to interview the Turpin children, the county said. Current county employees will be “directed to participate in this investigation,” but not required to do so. Former county employees and those who do not work for Riverside County will be asked to cooperate with the probe as well, officials said.

The results of the inquiry will be released publicly when the investigation concludes, which officials said would be in March.

The county has not imposed a budget on the law firm, which “has been instructed to take all reasonable steps consistent with best practices in conducting its investigation,” the county said.

Mike Hestrin, the district attorney who prosecuted the Turpins’ parents, said the mistreatment of the 13 siblings has exposed serious systemic fissures that exist across the American social services system — where the most vulnerable should be able to seek help in their time of need.

“If we can’t care for the Turpin victims, then how do we have a chance to care for anyone?” Hestrin told ABC News’ Diane Sawyer in an interview for the 20/20 special event, “Escape From A House Of Horror.”

The investigation into the Turpins’ treatment will be led by former U.S. District Judge Stephen G. Larson, who served nearly 10 years on the bench in California, including three years in district court after being appointed by George W. Bush in 2006, according to his bio.

ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Josh Margolin and Allison Hope Weiner contributed to this report.

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