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National News - 1540 WADK Newport

Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images(ATLANTA) -- Former President Donald Trump, in a court filing Wednesday, asked the judge overseeing his Georgia election interference case to dismiss two more counts against him.Trump's filing urges the judge to dismiss counts 15 and 27 of the indictment, which charge him with conspiracy to commit filing of false documents as well as the filing of false documents.The first charge relates to the so-called alternate elector plot, and accuses Trump and other defendants of mailing false documents related to that effort to the chief judge of U.S. district court in Georgia, as an alleged "substantial step."The second charge accuses Trump and attorney John Eastman of filing a document that included "materially false statements" in a federal lawsuit.Trump's attorneys claim those charges must be dismissed because the state "lacks the authority" to punish conduct that is related to the federal government. They claim the statue used in the indictment "reaches too far" and that the state "has no jurisdiction or authority to enforce federal criminal law.""As such, the state is without jurisdiction or authority to prosecute President Trump when the plain purpose of doing so is to protect the integrity of federal matters," the filing states.The filing comes after the judge in the case previously dismissed six counts in the indictment, three of which were against Trump. The former president initially faced 13 counts in the case, and now faces 10.Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty last August to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Scott Hall subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.The former president has blasted the district attorney's investigation as being politically motivated.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Atlanta , Georgia , United-states , Sidney-powell , Scott-hall , Jenna-ellis , John-eastman , Kenneth-chesebro , Donald-trump , President-donald-trump , President-trump

Politics News - 1540 WADK Newport

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden on Wednesday needled rival Donald Trump, laying into the former president as he welcomed the North America's Building Trades Union's endorsement."You're the best in the world," Biden said while addressing the NABTU's legislative conference in Washington, D.C. "You know, you had my back in 2020 and because of you, I'm standing here as president of the United States of America. … Because of you, in 2024 we're going to make Donald Trump a loser again! Are you ready?""So, it's either Scranton values or Mar-a-Lago values," Biden went on to say, drawing a contrast between his background and Trump's as he repeated an economic argument rolled out during campaign stops in Pennsylvania last week. "These are competing visions of the economy at the heart of this election."Polling shows that economic issues are top of mind for many voters in what is expected to be a close race, though surveys have found Trump getting more favorable marks than Biden on the economy.The president doubled down on his differences with Trump later in his speech on Wednesday and said working-class voters are probably familiar with the kind of elites that Biden argued Trump represents."Folks, the choice is clear: Donald Trump's vision of America is one of revenge and retribution, a defeated former president who sees the world from Mar-a-Lago and bows down to billionaires, who looks down on American union workers," Biden said."Think about the guys you grew up with [that] you'd like to get into the corner and just give them a straight left," Biden said. "I'm not suggesting we hit the president."Biden -- who has been hammered by Trump and Republicans over high inflation and cost of living issues -- said Trump repeatedly promised to focus on so-called infrastructure week when he was president but in four years "he never built a damn thing," compared with the Biden White House's successful push for new infrastructure investment.Biden also slammed his predecessor for Trump's alleged treatment, as a businessman, of contractors: "He didn't keep his word.""The guy has never worked a day in working man's boots," he said of Trump.Biden also sarcastically took shots at Trump's history of outlandish comments -- reversing a frequent attack from Trump on Biden's own well-known habit of verbal gaffes and misstatements."Donald Trump still thinks windmills cause cancer," Biden said to laughter as he made the sign of the cross. "That's what he said. And by the way, remember when he was trying to deal with COVID, he suggested just inject a little bleach in your veins? He missed it -- it all went to his hair. Look, I shouldn't have said that."In the audience, many members wore T-shirts that read "Joe walks the line," with a depiction of the president wearing his signature aviator sunglasses.NABTU President Sean McGarvey praised Biden in a statement on Wednesday announcing the union's endorsement, which adds to the list of labor groups backing Biden.NABTU also endorsed Biden over Trump in the 2020 election. Trump has been supported by some other high-profile unions, including those representing Border Patrol agents and police.Family of man killed when Chicago police fired 96 times during traffic stop file wrongful death suit"Joe Biden has proven to be the perfect leader at the perfect time for this country and the working men and women who have built it," McGarvey said in his statement.He said NABTU, a coalition of unions that boasts 3 million members, plans to mobilize its members to vote for Biden in the fall.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

United-states , Chicago , Illinois , Washington , Pennsylvania , America , American , Donald-trump , Joe-biden , Sean-mcgarvey , America-building-trades-union , North-america

Entertainment News - 1540 WADK Newport

Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesDate Night co-stars Tina Fey and Steve Carell will reunite for Fey's eight-episode Netflix comedy series called Four Seasons, ABC Audio has confirmed. The series is based on actor/director Alan Alda's 1981 film of the same name, which also starred Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Sandy Dennis and Len Cariou.Fey co-created and will star in the show, which centers on three married couples who vacation together every season and how the collective relationship is strained when one of the partners strays with a younger woman. The film was also adapted into a CBS TV show in 1984. Fey co-created the show with Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield, with whom she worked on her Emmy-winning NBC comedy 30 Rock. Fisher co-created Never Have I Ever, which ran for four seasons on Netflix, and Wigfield created Great News and Saved by the Bell for the streaming service.Emmy and Oscar nominee Carell previously appeared in Netflix's comedy series Space Force.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Sandy-dennis , Tracey-wigfield , Lang-fisher , Rita-moreno , Steve-carell , Sylvain-gaboury-patrick-mcmullan , Alan-alda , Len-cariou , Tina-fey , Carol-burnett , Netflix , Patrick-mcmullan

1540 WADK Newport

1540 WADK is a radio station located in Newport, RI, in the United States. The station broadcasts on 1540am and 101.1fm, and is popularly known as WADK. The station is owned by 3G Broadcasting and offers a News/Talk format.

Pablo-cuadra-filmmagic , Ben-stiller , David-duchovny , Fail-better , Radio-station , Ews-talk , Ews , Alk , Ewport , Hode-island , I

World News - 1540 WADK Newport

Robert Deyrail/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images(LONDON) -- An Iranian court sentenced outspoken rapper Toomaj Salehi to death after his arrest over songs that criticized the government, his lawyer said Wednesday."The primary court sentenced Toomaj Salehi to the harshest punishment, death, on the charge of 'corruption on Earth,'" Salehi's lawyer, Amir Raesian, said in an interview with Iranian news outlet Shargh Daily.The sentence by the Islamic Republic Revolution Court of Isfahan contradicted an Iranian Supreme Court ruling that said Salehi's case qualified for amnesty, Raesian said. The lawyer criticized the "obvious legal conflicts" in the revolutionary court's decision. "We will definitely appeal this sentence," he added.Salehi, who has been arrested multiple times by Iranian forces, frequently called out the regime's corruption and suppression of dissent in his music and shamed the regime's apologists who "whitewash" those crimes. He is one of the most prominent artists arrested by the Iranian regime over the past few years for his work.In one popular song, "The Mouse Hole," Salehi addresses those who collaborate with the Islamic Republic, warning that they better find a place to hide as they will be punished soon for their wrongdoings."Corporate journalist, cheap informer, court artist, buy a mouse hole," the lyrics read.Despite being arrested and released in 2021 for releasing songs denouncing the government, Salehi continued to post music videos expressing his opposition to the Iranian regime.In 2022, he voiced support for protests in Iran that were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who died in police custody after she was arrested for allegedly not complying with the country's hijab laws.Iranian rap music has become a vehicle for criticism of the regime amid the protests, placing several rap stars in the crosshairs of the regime.Despite the regime's crackdown, news of Salehi's sentence drew a wave of support from across the Iranian music world.Mehdi Yarrahi, an Iranian pop singer, described Salehi's sentence as a "black comedy" in a post on X. Yarrahi himself was arrested last August by the Islamic Republic for his songs in support of the Mahsa Amini protests."Release my brother unconditionally, or the smoke of this fire will burn your eyes," he wrote Wednesday, joining many other Iranians demanding Salehi's freedom.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Mouse-hole , Cornwall , United-kingdom , London , City-of , Iran , Isfahan , Esfahan , Iranians , Iranian , Mehdi-yarrahi , Toomaj-salehi

Local News - WSMI AM 1540 | Country FM 106.1

Local News - WSMI AM 1540 | Country FM 106.1

Dominican-republic , Greenville , Illinois , United-states , University-hall , Free-methodist-church , Indiana , Tennessee , University-of-illinois , Springfield , Ivan-filby , Suzanne-allison-davis

Health - 1540 WADK Newport

Isabel Pavia/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The overall number of births in the United States dropped in 2023 as teenage births reached a record low, according to new provisional federal data published early Thursday.In 2023, there were 3.59 million births recorded, a 2% decline from the 3.66 million recorded in 2022, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.This follows what has been a general decline since the mid-2010s. Between 2015 and 2020, the number of births fell an average of 2% per year from 2015 to 2020, including a decline of 4% from 2019 to 2020.Births slightly rose, by 1%, from 2020 to 2021, and the number remained generally steady from 2021 to 2022, according to the report.By maternal age, provisional birth rates declined for several age groups including teenagers between ages 15 and 19. For this group, the rate in 2023 was 13.2 births per 1,000 females down 3% from the rate of 13.6 per 1,000 in 2022, another record low for that age group.Aside from an increase in 2006 and 2007, the teen birth rate in the U.S. has been continuously declining since 1991. From 2007 through 2023, rates for younger teens (ages 15-17) and older teens (ages 18-19) declined by 8% and 6% per year, respectively, the report found.Reasons for the decline in teen pregnancy are not clear but the CDC says evidence suggests it's due to a mix of more teens abstaining from sexual activity, and more sexually active teens using birth control.Birth rates also declined for women between ages 20 to 29 and ages 30 to 39. For pre-teens and teens between ages 10 and 14 and women aged 40 and older, rates were relatively unchanged from 2022 to 2023.Additionally, the fertility rate for women between ages 15 and 44 was 54.4 births per 1,000, down 3% from 2022, the report said. Similarly, the fertility rate had been declining from 2014 to 2020, rose from 2020 to 2021, and then began declining again."The total fertility rate in 2023 remained below replacement -- the level at which a given generation can exactly replace itself (2,100 births per 1,000 women)," the report read. "The rate has generally been below replacement since 1971 and consistently below replacement since 2007."When broken down by race/ethnicity, nearly every group saw a decline in the provisional numbers of births with the biggest drop being 5% for American Indian and Alaska Native women. Hispanic women were the only group to see births rise, increasing by 1%, and the number was essentially unchanged for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander women.The report also looked at Cesarean delivery rates and found that in 2023, the overall rate increased to 32.4%, from 32.1% in 2022. According to the report, this is the fourth annual consecutive increase after the rate had been in decline since 2009 and the highest rate since 32.7% in 2013.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

United-states , Alaska , American , Isabel-pavia-getty , Centers-for-disease , Health-statistics , Prevention-national-center , Disease-control , National-center , American-indian , Alaska-native , Native-hawaiian

Politics News - 1540 WADK Newport

Former president Donald Trump speaks to the press during his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, Apr. 22, 2024. (Angela Weiss/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)(WASHINGTON) -- Against the backdrop of a divisive 2024 presidential campaign, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday will take up the monumental question of whether a former president turned presumptive GOP nominee can be criminally prosecuted for his efforts to stay in power after the last election.The case, Donald J. Trump v. United States, presents an unprecedented constitutional quandary for the court brought about by equally unprecedented actions by former President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden by a margin of seven million popular votes.The outcome could determine whether Trump faces a federal trial this year on four felony counts pressed by special counsel Jack Smith, including conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and obstruction of an official proceeding, for his attempts to overturn the electoral vote count certifying Biden's victory.Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, is seeking to quash the case on the claim that as a former president he enjoys "absolute immunity" from criminal prosecution for any "official acts" during his tenure. He is the first American president -- current or former -- to ever face criminal charges."The President cannot function, and the Presidency itself cannot retain its vital independence, if the President faces criminal prosecution for official acts once he leaves office," Trump's attorneys wrote in their opening brief to the high court."Denial of criminal immunity would incapacitate every future President with de facto blackmail and extortion while in office, and condemn him to years of post-office trauma at the hands of political opponents," they argued.Two courts have resoundingly rejected the former president's immunity arguments, including a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia."Former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant," the panel wrote. "Former President Trump lacked any lawful discretionary authority to defy federal criminal law and he is answerable in court for his conduct."The appeals court warned that if Trump's constitutional theory were accepted, it would "collapse our system of separated powers" by putting a president above the law.Smith, the special counsel, argues in his brief to the high court that Trump's assertion lacks any historical precedent and undermines the founders' vision of a presidency restrained in power."The effective functioning of the presidency does not require that a former president be immune from accountability for these alleged violations of federal criminal law," he wrote the justices. "To the contrary, a bedrock principle of our constitutional order is that no person is above the law -- including the President."A trial date in Smith's federal election case against Trump was initially set for March 4 in U.S. District Court but was delayed awaiting a final decision by the Supreme Court. A ruling on the immunity claim is expected before July, as soon as mid-May.The justices could uphold the appeals court decision in its entirety, clearing the way for a trial this summer, or they could take a middle-road approach, spelling out what actions qualify for immunity and which do not, sending the case back to lower courts for further proceedings. Such an outcome could rule out a trial before the November election.Most legal analysts say it's highly unlikely the Supreme Court -- with its conservative majority and three Trump appointees -- will endorse Trump's sweeping assertion of "absolute immunity." In a 2020 decision, the same court rejected a similar immunity claim by Trump in his attempt to reject a grand jury subpoena for his tax returns.A majority of Americans (51%) think the federal indictment of Trump related to Jan. 6 and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election is very serious, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll from late last year.Just over half of respondents -- 52% -- think Trump should have been charged with a crime in this case, while 32% said he should not have been. At the same time, 46% think the charges against Trump are politically motivated, while 40% do not, per the poll conducted using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel.Trump's legal team has argued that the impeachment process is the only check on a president's conduct allowed by the Constitution, even as they concede that a president who is impeached, convicted and removed from office could subsequently face criminal prosecution for the same acts.Trump was impeached by the House in 2021 over his efforts to overturn results of the 2020 election but later acquitted by the Senate after he had left office. The former president argues that his actions were part of a legally legitimate effort to ensure election integrity.Smith insists former presidents have never been immune from prosecution and have always been aware of the potential for prosecution. He cites in court briefs the case of former President Richard Nixon accepting a pardon from President Gerald Ford as evidence that Nixon believed prosecution was possible after he had resigned.While Supreme Court precedent has limited civil litigation against presidents, the special counsel contends criminal matters are different -- and that there are layers of legal safeguards in the system to prevent partisan harassment and protect due process."Even if liability could not be premised on official acts," Smith wrote the justices in his brief, "the case should be remanded for trial, with the district court to make evidentiary and instructional rulings in accordance with this Court's decision. Petitioner [Trump] could seek appellate review of those rulings, if necessary, following final judgment."After oral arguments on Thursday, the justices will vote during their weekly private conference and begin drafting opinions. They are expected to be released before the court's term ends in June.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

United-states , District-of-columbia , Washington , American , Americans , Joe-biden , Jack-smith , Gerald-ford , Richard-nixon , Donald-trump , While-supreme-court , Us-court

National News - 1540 WADK Newport

Audubon Aquarium Rescue(NEW YORK) -- A juvenile bottlenose dolphin was found shot to death with bullets lodged in its brain, spinal cord and heart and now authorities are offering a handsome reward for information on who committed the gruesome act.Authorities from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received a report on March 13 that a juvenile bottlenose dolphin was found washed ashore on West Mae’s Beach in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and that it had injuries consistent with being shot by a firearm.“A member of the public reported the stranding to the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline,” read a statement from the NOAA released on Tuesday. “NOAA’s stranding network partner, Audubon Aquarium Rescue, recovered the animal and transported it to the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans for a necropsy.”The necropsy, or animal autopsy, revealed “multiple bullets lodged in the carcass, including in the brain, spinal cord, and heart of the dolphin,” according to the NOAA, and the animal appeared to have died from the trauma which occurred at, or near, the time of death.NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement is now actively investigating the death and are asking the public for any information about who may have been involved in the death of the young dolphin with a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to a criminal conviction or the assessment of a civil penalty.“Harassing, harming, killing, or feeding wild dolphins is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act,” said the NOAA. “Violations can be prosecuted civilly or criminally and are punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to 1 year in jail per violation.”Anyone with information about this incident should call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964. People can leave tips anonymously but to be eligible for the reward you must include your name and contact information.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Louisiana , United-states , New-orleans , Audubon-nature-institute , Office-of-law-enforcement , Atmospheric-administration , National-oceanic , Audubon-aquarium , West-mae , Cameron-parish , Southeast-marine-mammal-stranding-hotline

Entertainment News - 1540 WADK Newport

Scott Kowalchyk/CBSIdina Menzel will be bringing Broadway hits to the concert stage.The Rent star announced her Take Me or Leave Me Tour on Tuesday, which will be kicking off in mid-July and running through the summer. It will feature hits from Broadway classics Rent and Wicked, as well as more music.Along with Broadway hits, the tour will feature music from her 2023 dance album, Drama Queen.Menzel will perform in 21 cities, beginning on July 19 in Seattle, Washington, and culminating on August 18 in Greensboro, North Carolina.Artist presale tickets, along with VIP packages, will go on sale April 24, while general tickets will be available on April 26.Menzel won a Tony Award in 2004 for her role as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in Wicked. Prior to that, Menzel gained prominence for originating the role of Maureen in the Broadway classic Rent. Menzel's other prominent roles include playing Elsa in Frozen and Frozen II.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Seattle , Washington , United-states , North-carolina , Idina-menzel , Leave-me-tour , Tony-award , Wicked-witch , Radio-station , Ews-talk , Ews