Month: November 2024

President-elect Donald Trump has selected House Republican Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, of New York to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik is Trump’s first Cabinet pick for his second term in the White House.

Trump said in a statement: “I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”

Stefanik told the New York Post that she was “truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” adding that when speaking with Trump, she “shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.”

Stefanik, 40, is a Republican congresswoman from New York’s 21st District (which covers upstate NY), and was elected last week to her sixth term in the House. She joined House leadership in May 2021, when she was elected as chair of the House Republican Conference, replacing former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy) in the role. Stefanik has served in the House since 2015; at the time of her election in 2014, she was the youngest woman to ever win a seat in Congress.

Stefanik has also been a staunch defender of Israel in its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks and has been outspoken over the last year about antisemitism on college campuses. Stefanik reiterated her call for the defunding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East before last week’s election, alleging that it has been infiltrated by Hamas.

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An 18-year-old  New York State Forest Ranger and state employee was killed on Saturday  while battling a wildfire in Orange County’s Sterling Forest, near the New York-New Jersey border.

According to state police, Dariel Vasquez, a Parks and Recreation aide employed by the New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Department, was helping mitigate the forest fire in Greenwood Lake (about 35 miles northwest of New York City.). when he was killed. Greenwood Lake Mayor Tom Howley wrote in a statement “Sadly, we have received news of the line-of-duty death of a NYS Forest Ranger Volunteer. Our deepest condolences go out to their family and fellow rangers.”

Orange County’s Sterling Forest fire is also affecting Passaic County, New Jersey — where it’s been dubbed the Jennings Creek Wildfire, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. The Jennings Creek Fire is burning in the area of Greenwood Lake Turnpike and East Shore Road in West Milford, Passaic County, as well as in Orange County, New York.  The NJ Fire Service said that the Jennings Creek Fire has burned 2,500 acres and was 0% contained as of Sunday afternoon. The fire service added that about 25 structures are threatened, though none have been evacuated. The NJ Forest Fire Service said on X: “Multiple fires are burning in Orange County, where County Executive Steve Neuhaus is encouraging residents living near the fires to have an evacuation plan. Forest Fire Service helicopter capable of dropping 350 gallons of water is on scene.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Sunday: “I am deeply saddened by the passing of one of our New York State Parks employees while responding to a wildfire in Orange County yesterday. My prayers go out to his family, friends and coworkers during this difficult time. With recent drought conditions, there have been multiple wildfires ignited across the state, and we have deployed state assets and agencies to coordinate with local first responders in fighting these fires while closely monitoring air quality as a result of them. The safety of all New Yorkers is my top priority, and I urge everyone in impacted areas, especially those vulnerable, to stay alert, monitor air quality, and take necessary precautions to stay safe.”

The Jennings Creek Fire was one of several blazes in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast this weekend amid an ongoing drought, dry air and high winds with 11 million people remaining under fire alerts as of Sunday. Cities under fire alerts include Boston and Hartford.  A slow-moving moisture front is continuing to advance east, bringing much-needed precipitation to the eastern third of the country, which includes the Northeast. Showers will move into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic later Sunday evening and overnight, but rainfall totals will be relatively light, ranging from 0.5 inches to 1 inch.

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An arrest has been made in the shooting at Tuskegee University in Alabama early Sunday that left one dead and 16 injured. The shooting happened as the historically Black university’s 100th Homecoming Week was coming to an end.

The 25-year-old male suspect was found with a weapon while leaving the shooting scene at the university early Sunday; he has been arrested and charged with a federal offense.  A statement released by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency identified the man in custody as Jaquez Myrick of Montgomery and said he was found in possession of a handgun with a machine gun conversion device. The statement did not say whether Myrick was a student at Tuskegee University; he faces a federal charge of possession of a machine gun (per AP News.).

In a statement the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), which includes the State Bureau of Investigation, said that special agents were notified about multiple people shot on the university’s campus at around 1:40 a.m. An 18-year-old was pronounced dead on the scene, the agency said, who identified the victim as “a non-university individual.” Twelve people, including Tuskegee University students, sustained injuries in the shooting and were hospitalized at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and Baptist South Hospital in Montgomery. Four others were injured in the incident but not by gunfire, per the ALEA.

Tuskegee University said in a statement on Sunday afternoon that classes would be canceled on Monday “to ensure the officers and their law enforcement partners are able to continue the investigation as easily as possible. The administration joins the students in mourning the event after such a joyous weekend and will provide grief counselors on Monday in the chapel for students who would like to come together to discuss what has happened. Students should not hesitate to reach out for help through the Student Health Center if they choose to do so privately.”

Emergency responders secured the scene with help from campus authorities and local law enforcement, with Alabama’s State Bureau of Investigation opening a probe into the shooting, which remains active.

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President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Thursday, after former President Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s presidential election.  Biden urged Americans to “accept the choice the country made” and encouraged Democratic supporters to “get back up.”  The president’s speech came exactly four years to the day he was declared the winner of the 2020 election against Trump.

Biden said in brief remarks from the White House Rose Garden: “We accept the choice the country made. I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree  Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable. We all get knocked down, but the measure of our character, as my dad would say, is how quickly we get back up. Remember, a defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up .. For over 200 years, America has carried on the greatest experiment in self-government in the history of the world, where the people, the people vote and choose their own leaders and they do it peacefully. And where in a democracy, the will of the people always prevails.”

In his remarks, the president also praised Harris’ campaign: “She ran an inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I learned early on to respect so much — her character. She has a backbone like a ramrod, she has great character, true character. She gave her whole heart and effort, and she and her entire team should be proud of the campaign they ran.”

Harris conceded the election to Trump by phone on Wednesday morning and addressed her supporters in remarks at her alma mater, Howard University. She said: “Earlier today, I spoke with President-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power. A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results.”

Biden added that he also called Trump personally to congratulate him on his victory, and has invited President-elect Trump to meet with him in the White House at a date to be determined.

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The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) said on Thursday that they will seek to pull the common ingredient phenylephrine off the market. Phenylephrine in many popular over-the-counter cold and allergy medications, however per the FDA, the ingredient fails to actually relieve nasal congestion.

The agency said an extensive review of available data determined that that oral phenylephrine doesn’t actually relieve nasal congestion. The FDA said the proposed order is not based on safety concerns, but a final order from the FDA would force pharmacies to cease from selling hundreds of products containing oral forms of the ingredient, which is found in versions of drugs such as NyQuil, Benadryl, Sudafed and Mucinex.

Phenylephrine is thought to relieve congestion by reducing the swelling of blood vessels in the nasal passages. Without oral phenylephrine on the market, patients will need to seek out spray versions of the drug, or other medications with different ingredients. Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a news release: “Based on our review of available data, and consistent with the advice of the advisory committee, we are taking this next step in the process to propose removing oral phenylephrine because it is not effective as a nasal decongestant.”

Retail pharmacy chain CVS said last year that they had already moved to pull certain medicines containing oral phenylephrine; a final order from the FDA would also require drugmakers such as Procter & Gamble, Bayer, and Johnson & Johnson spinoff Kenvue to reformulate many of their oral cold and allergy products.

The meeting of FDA advisors last year was prompted by researchers at the University of Florida, who found in studies that products containing phenylephrine failed to outperform placebo pills in patients with cold and allergy congestion.  In briefing documents posted ahead of the panel meeting last year, FDA staff concluded that oral formulations of phenylephrine do not work at standard or higher doses, with only a very small amount of phenylephrine actually working to relieve congestion.

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