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Classic Hits - HITS FM

Bruce Glikas/Getty ImagesSting is set to headline the Germania Insurance Super Stage during the Formula One Pirelli United States Grand Prix, happening October 18-20 in Austin, Texas.Sting is set to perform on Friday, October 18, with Eminem booked for Saturday, October 19.Tickets to the Grand Prix include entry to the shows. Single-day tickets are on sale now.Up next, Sting is set to headline Beachlife Festival in Redondo Beach, California, on May 3, followed by shows in St. Petersburg, Florida, May 9 and 10.In addition to three shows with Billy Joel this fall, Sting will kick off his Sting 3.0 tour on September 17. The tour will have him backed by guitarist and longtime collaborator Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas. A complete list of dates can be found at sting.com.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Petersburg , Sankt-peterburg , Russia , California , United-states , Florida , Texas , Germania , Redondo-beach , Billy-joel , Bruce-glikas-getty , Dominic-miller

National - HITS FM

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Todd Blanche, attorney for Trump, right, leave Manhattan criminal court in New York, U.S., on Friday, April 26, 2024. (Curtis Means/Daily Mail/Bloomberg via Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial in New York centers on dozens of business records, testimony from witnesses who prosecutors acknowledge might have "baggage," and a maze of emails and text messages that prosecutors hope to weave into a sturdy case against the former president.But during their opening statements last week, prosecutors simplified their case down to just seven words for the jury."It was election fraud -- pure and simple," prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said.Over the first four days of testimony in the trial, prosecutors have begun to lay the groundwork of their case as they try to show Trump attempted to illegally influence the 2016 election and falsified business records to hide the true purpose of payments to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen in 2017."This case is about a criminal conspiracy and a cover-up, an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of a presidential election, and then the steps that Donald Trump took to conceal that illegal election fraud," Colangelo said.Defense lawyers told the jury that the prosecutors got their story wrong, recasting the allegations as Trump trying to protect his family against false allegations as he was trying to win an election."President Trump fought back, like he always does, and like he's entitled to do, to protect his family, his reputation and his brand, and that is not a crime," defense lawyer Todd Blanche said.Jurors have so far heard from three witnesses -- the former publisher of the National Enquirer, Trump's longtime executive assistant, and Michael Cohen's banker -- and testimony in the case is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.Trump takes a hardline defenseTrump attorney Todd Blanche laid out a hardline defense in his opening statement, arguing that Trump never committed any crimes and characterizing Stormy Daniels' allegations of an affair with Trump as a "false claim of a sexual encounter.""The story that you just heard, you will learn, is not true," Blanche told jurors. "None of this is a crime."Blanche appeared to admit that Trump and the National Enquirer worked together to avoid bad press ahead of the 2016 election, but he argued the agreement was fully legal and routine for politicians."There is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It's called democracy," Blanche said. The prosecution, he said, "put something sinister on this idea, as if it was a crime. You'll learn it's not."When addressing the allegations that Trump falsified business records in 2017, Blanche argued that Trump was too busy "running the country" to be concerned with invoices requested by Cohen and processed by Trump Organization accountants.Notably absent from Blanche's opening was any suggestion that the criminal case amounted to election inference ahead of the 2024 election. In filings over the last year, defense lawyers had rigorously argued that the case was politically motivated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, but Judge Juan Merchan precluded defense attorneys from making that argument to the jury.Blanche also described Trump as a family man in his opening statement, not only to humanize Trump but to suggest his motivation to kill negative stories was to "protect his family.""He's not just our former President. He's not just Donald Trump that you've seen on TV and read about and seen photos of," Blanche said. "He's also a man. He's a husband. He's a father. And he's a person, just like you and just like me."The campaign's 'eyes and ears'In deciding on their first witness -- a choice that often sets the tone for the trial -- prosecutors turned to former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.Prosecutors alleged that Pecker engaged in a conspiracy with Trump and Cohen to influence the 2016 election -- including flagging negative stories about Trump's alleged interactions with women, running negative stories about Trump's rivals, and pushing positive stories about Trump himself -- that began with a meeting at Trump Tower in August 2015."They asked me what can I do and what my magazines could do to help the campaign," Pecker testified about the meeting where he said he agreed to be the "eyes and ears" of Trump's presidential campaign."If I hear anything negative about yourself or if I hear anything about women selling stories ... I would notify Michael Cohen and then he would be able to have them killed in another magazine or have them not be published or somebody would have to purchase them," Pecker said about his agreement with Trump and Cohen.Pecker testified that his company, American Media Inc., paid a former Trump Tower doorman $30,000 for a false story that Trump had an illegitimate child, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for the exclusive rights to her story of a months-long affair with Trump, which he has denied.According to Pecker, the motivation to catch the stories was mainly to honor his agreement with Trump."We didn't want the story to embarrass Mr. Trump or embarrass or hurt the campaign," Pecker said when asked about the McDougal story.Defense lawyers attempted to characterize the National Enquirer's actions on Trump's behalf as business decisions that are routine for politicians and celebrities. Pecker also testified that some of the stories he ran for Trump -- including articles attacking his opponents -- were "mutually beneficial" because they helped the National Enquirer sell more copies.While Pecker said that AMI coordinated hundreds of thousands of nondisclosure agreements, he testified that the Trump arrangement was unique."How many of those other NDAs had ... you, the CEO of AMI, coordinated with a presidential candidate for the benefit of the campaign?" prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked."It's the only one," Pecker said.Pecker also offered his take on Trump's business approach that appeared to contradict the hand-offs approach that defense attorneys suggested in their opening statement, in which they argued that Trump was not intimately involved in paying the fraudulent invoices at the center of the case."I would describe him as almost as a micromanager from what I saw," Pecker said.Contact entries in the computer systemTrump's longtime executive assistant Rhona Graff took the stand on Friday as the second prosecution witness. She testified pursuant to a subpoena and said her lawyers were paid by the Trump Organization.Graff -- who served as Trump's gatekeeper as he ascended from real estate mogul to reality television star to president -- testified that she created contact entries for both McDougal and Daniels in the Trump Organization's computer system for Trump. McDougal's contact entities included multiple addresses, a phone number, and email. Daniel's contact was listed as "Stormy" and had one cell phone number.Graff also testified that she had a "vague recollection" of seeing Daniels in Trump Tower on the same floor as the former president's office. She suggested that Trump was considering casting Daniels on the Celebrity Apprentice at the time.In her book, Daniels recounted a meeting in Trump Tower in 2007 when Trump was flirting with the idea of casting her in his television series."He met us, so excited to show us all the memorabilia in his office, which seemed cluttered," Daniels wrote in her book.During cross-examination, Graff served functionally as a character witness for the former president, describing Trump as a kind boss who respected her intelligence."Sometimes, if it was a long day in the office ... he poked his head in and would say, 'Go home to your family," Graff said. "It was very thoughtful of him."Graff, who for decades sat just feet from Trump's office, testified that becoming a television star changed the publi

Manhattan , New-york , United-states , Trump-tower , American , Joshua-steinglass , Donald-trump , Matthew-colangelo , Michael-cohen , Karen-mcdougal , Rhona-graff , Alvin-bragg

Politics - HITS FM

Luke Barr/ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Emerging technologies in artificial intelligence will make it easier for bad actors to "conceptualize and conduct" chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attacks, according to a report released by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday.Selected excerpts of the report to President Joe Biden were made public after he signed an executive order three months ago on artificial intelligence.The lack of regulations in existing U.S. biological and chemical security, combined with the increase in using AI, when combined with the increased use of AI tools "could increase the likelihood of both intentional and unintentional dangerous research outcomes that pose a risk to public health, economic security, or national security," according to the DHS report."The responsible use of AI holds great promise for advancing science, solving urgent and future challenges and improving our national security, but AI also requires that we be prepared to rapidly mitigate the misuse of AI in the development of chemical and biological threats," said Assistant Secretary for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Mary Ellen Callahan."This report highlights the emerging nature of AI technologies, their interplay with chemical and biological research and the associated risks, and provides longer-term objectives around how to ensure safe, secure and trustworthy development and use of AI," she said.DHS also said that the diverse approaches of AI developers make it crucial that the U.S. and international partners communicate and harness "AI's potential for good.""The degree to which nation states or groups interested in pursuing these unconventional weapons capabilities will harness such AI tools remains unclear, however, since there are various technical and logistical hurdles that have to be met to develop fully functioning weapons systems that can be used," Javed Ali, the former senior counterterrorism coordinator on the National Security Council, told ABC News. "That said, it is more likely that AI tools will be more helpful on the research and theoretical design end of the spectrum than the actual manufacture and deployment of such weapons, especially with respect to nuclear weapons."A separate DHS report produced by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) last week highlighted that some attacks could be carried out of helped by using AI -- including those targeting critical infrastructure."It is clear that foreign intelligence services, terrorist groups and criminal organizations have embraced the power of technology and incorporated the use of advanced computing capability into the tactics they use to achieve their illegal objectives," John Cohen, the former Acting Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis at DHS, said. "Terrorists, criminals and other threat actors can use AI to acquire the instructions on how to develop explosives and other weapons of mass destruction. They can also glean greater insights on potential targets, and on delivery methods to use to achieve the greatest possible disruptive result."Last year, the European Parliament approved landmark legislation that aimed to regulate the use of AI and promote "trustworthy" uses.Last week, the DHS announced the creation of a new AI board that includes 22 representatives from a range of sectors, including software and hardware companies, critical infrastructure operators, public officials, the civil rights community and academia.Some notable members of the board include: Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI; Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta Airlines; Satya Nadella, the chairman and CEO of Microsoft; Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet; and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.The board, according to the agency, will help DHS stay ahead of evolving threats posed by hostile nation-state actors and reinforce national security by helping to deter and prevent those threats.Cohen, now an ABC News contributor, said the board is a good step, but there is more to be done."In many respects, we are using investigative and threat mitigation strategies that were intended to address the threats of yesterday, while those engaged in illegal and threat related activity are using the technologies of today and tomorrow to achieve their objectives," he said.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Washington , United-states , Maryland , Sundar-pichai , Joe-biden , Wes-moore , Ed-bastian , Sam-altman , Mary-ellen-callahan , Satya-nadella , John-cohen , Javed-ali

World - HITS FM

Prince William and Catherine Middleton leave Westminster Abbey following their Royal Wedding in London, England, April 29, 2011. (Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)(LONDON) -- Prince William and Kate, the princess of Wales, are celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary.The couple, who wed on April 29, 2011, marked the occasion publicly by sharing on social media a never-before-seen portrait of themselves taken on their wedding day inside Buckingham Palace.The photographer who took the photo, Millie Pilkington, shared the photo on her own social media, writing on Instagram, "Wishing the @princeandprincessofwales the very happiest wedding anniversary.""Can’t believe it is 13 years ago almost to the hour, that I took this portrait," she captioned the photo, which shows a smiling William with his hands resting on the waist of Kate, who is also smiling and holding her wedding bouquet. "So excited and honoured that they should wish to share it."William and Kate were married in Westminster Abbey, which on Monday shared a video on X of the couple leaving the church on their special day.The Waleses were married in front of nearly 2,000 people inside Westminster Abbey, and in front of a global TV audience of millions that also watched them say their vows.After the wedding, William and Kate traveled by carriage to Buckingham Palace, where they kissed on the balcony.Over one decade later, William and Kate are now the Prince and Princess of Wales, titles they were given after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and the parents of three children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte.The couple celebrated Louis's sixth birthday on April 23, and will celebrate Charlotte's ninth birthday later this week, on May 2.George, their eldest child, will turn 11 on July 22.The celebrations of birthdays and William and Kate's wedding anniversary comes amid a difficult year for both the Wales family and their extended royal family.Kate announced in late March that she was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing abdominal surgery in January.The type of cancer has not been disclosed. According to Kensington Palace, Kate started a course of preventative chemotherapy in late February.Kate is continuing to take time off public duties, while William returned to work in mid-April for the first time since Kate's diagnosis.Just a few weeks before Kate announced her cancer diagnosis, Buckingham Palace revealed her father-in-law, King Charles III, was diagnosed with cancer.The palace has not specified the type of cancer Charles was diagnosed with, the stage of cancer or the type of treatment he is undergoing.Charles, who celebrated his 19th wedding anniversary with his wife, Queen Camilla, on April 9, is expected to resume a modified schedule of public duties this week, beginning with a visit to a cancer treatment center on Tuesday.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

London , City-of , United-kingdom , Buckingham-palace , Westminster , Queen-camilla , Millie-pilkington , Instagram , Westminster-abbey , Queen-elizabeth , Princes-george , Kensington-palace

Entertainment - HITS FM

FXThe Handmaid's Tale Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss stars in FX's new spy thriller series The Veil, debuting with two episodes on Hulu on Tuesday.She plays Imogen Salter, an agent with the U.K.'s MI6 agency who is tasked with trying to thwart a terror attack — and yes, she performs with an English accent.Moss tells ABC Audio, "I worked on it for six months before we started shooting. And it was difficult to drop at the end, actually.""It was hard to come out of because I just did it so much by the end that I found it was actually getting harder to speak in my own voice, which I've never had happen with an accent," Moss expresses.The series was something of a bucket-list check for Moss, who is a fan of the genre. "There's a glamor to it, obviously, when you're talking about Bond or Bourne or Mission Impossible," Moss says."I've always wanted to do something in the spy genre. I love that genre. I love spy movies, and I've always wanted to play a spy," she continues. "But here was this kind of incredibly complicated character with so many layers to her and so much to discover."Recalling a real-life scene at a Paris bar that would have been at home in a spy series, producer Denise Di Novi revealed how The Veil came to be. "There was a retired French intelligence officer who'd had a few too many glasses, or bottles, of wine and started sharing stories with me," she explains.Even between spies from allied nations "there were a lot of conflict and, animosity and competition," she says. "My producer brain just went: 'Ding ding ding!'" Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Paris , France-general- , France , French , Elisabeth-moss , Imogen-salter , Denise-di-novi , Bond-or-bourne-mission-impossible , Tale-emmy , Mission-impossible , Hits-fm-hit-music-covering-5-decades-michigan-wqlb-wkjz-greatest-of-all-time

Classic Hits - HITS FM

Virgin EMI/Mercury RecordsDef Leppard guitarist Phil Collen has fond memories of working on their Diamond-certified album Pyromania, which was released 40 years ago.The album was Collen’s first with the band. He was hired during the middle of the recording process to replace original guitarist Pete Willis, which is why he says it wasn’t too difficult of an album for him to make. “For me, I didn't have to do the heavy lifting,” he tells ABC Audio. “All the songs had been written, all the anguish and pleasure about writing songs, I didn't have to do any of that.” Pyromania was a huge hit for the band, peaking at #2 thanks to hit songs “Photograph,” “Rock of Ages” and “Foolin.” Collen says that while those songs were being played all over the radio and on MTV, it wasn’t until they toured the United States that they realized how big a hit they had.“When we got to the States, that's when we noticed that there was something really weird going on because we were getting a teenybop girl thing, kind of like the Duran Duran vibe,” he says. “But you'd also get rock fans, you know, guitar freaks and people who wanted to hear this other thing.”He adds, “So that really worked well and worked in our favor.”To celebrate the anniversary, Def Leppard just released a 40th anniversary deluxe edition of Pyromania featuring unheard demos from the band’s archives. Front man Joe Elliott took a very hands-on approach to finding these unreleased tracks, which according to Collen probably wasn’t too difficult for him.“Every band, if they're lucky, they have a geek who collects everything, and that's Joe ... he’s very meticulous,” Collen says. “So he gets the run of that and we trust him.” Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

United-states , Phil-collen , Joe-elliott , Pete-willis , Duran , Def-leppard , Hits-fm-hit-music-covering-5-decades-michigan-wqlb-wkjz-greatest-of-all-time ,

World - HITS FM

Palestinian medics rush to the site of an Israeli strike on al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 22, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (AFP via Getty Images)(NEW YORK) -- Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran on Friday, a senior U.S. official told ABC News. The strike followed Iran's April 13 attack, when Tehran sent a volley of more than 300 drones and missiles toward targets in Israel, according to Israeli military officials.Iran's attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of Gaza.Here's how the news is developing:Apr 25, 7:08 PMUS pier in Gaza on track to begin humanitarian assistance in early MayA senior U.S. military official shared an update on the temporary pier intended to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza in a briefing for Pentagon reporters Thursday."We are on track to begin delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza from the sea in early May," the military official said.Once operational, the U.S. expects the pier will be able to handle about 90 trucks a day and then quickly build up to 150 trucks worth of humanitarian aid, the official added.The official explained how the flow of aid will be transferred via the pier, saying, supplies will be unloaded onto a floating platform located miles off the Gaza shore and then a smaller watercraft carrying five trucks will be offloaded onto the floating pier that will be anchored to the shore.From there, the trucks will drop off their cargo in a secure area for future distribution and constantly repeat that process, according to the official.The truck drivers will not be U.S. military personnel but the drivers, from an undisclosed country, will have their own security, according to the official.Apr 25, 3:16 PMUS begins building pier off coast of Gaza: PentagonThe U.S. military has begun to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to help deliver humanitarian aid, the Pentagon's top spokesperson confirmed at a press briefing Thursday."We are aware of the significant interest in this important effort and will provide much more information in the very near future as we work alongside the international community to rush aid to the people of Gaza," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.In the wake of a mortar attack in the general vicinity of where the pier is located near Gaza City earlier Thursday, Ryder said the pier and causeway are being built miles offshore and are "nowhere near mortar range."The incident "in no way delays our efforts to establish the maritime corridor," Ryder said.The pier should be ready to off-load humanitarian aid from ships by early May, he said.-ABC News' Luis MartinezApr 25, 9:34 AMUS, 17 other countries call for immediate release of hostagesPresident Joe Biden and the leaders of 17 other countries -- Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand and the U.K. -- are calling for the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in a new statement released Thursday.“The fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern," they said in a statement released Thursday. "We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged cease-fire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities.""Gazans would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions. We strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts in order to bring our people home. We reiterate our call on Hamas to release the hostages, and let us end this crisis so that collectively we can focus our efforts on bringing peace and stability to the region," the statement read.Apr 25, 7:45 AMVideo of kidnapped son brings 'total mix' of emotions, say parents of Hamas hostageThe parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas more than six months ago, felt a "total mix of emotions" when a new video of their son was released on Wednesday."First and foremost, just a huge sense of relief and gratitude to both see him and hear him. Something about that multi-sensory was really overwhelming. He's alive," Jon Polin, his father, said in an interview on ABC News' Good Morning America on Thursday. "Assuming this video is current, which we believe it is, he's alive."A video released on Wednesday on a Hamas-run Telegram channel showed a man who identified himself as Goldberg-Polin, a 24-year-old American who was captured at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7.In the heavily edited video, the Israeli-American hostage asks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to continue working to secure the release of the hostages.Rachel Goldberg, his mother, she said on Thursday she couldn't pay attention to the words her son was saying when she first watched the new video."I wasn't even listening to the content, I was just hearing my only son's voice. Seeing him move and try to look into his eyes," she said. "Any parent, anyone, anyone who has parents, can imagine after 201 days, more than half a year of doubt and fear and angst and trauma to have that, it was very bittersweet. And it was truly overwhelming."Goldberg-Polin's parents in a GMA interview in October described their son as a "curious" and a "laid-back person."Goldberg said at the time that her mantra had become, "Stay strong, survive. Stay strong, survive."She repeated that mantra on Thursday."We love you, stay strong, survive," she said. "And I definitely, you know, more than ever, after seeing him and seeing that he is clearly medically compromised, medically fragile, that is my continued plea to him, to his soul."Apr 24, 6:25 PMNew video claims to show American hostage in GazaA video showing a man who identifies himself as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 24-year-old American who was captured at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, and made under duress, was released Wednesday on a Hamas-run Telegram channel.According to the video, his left arm has been amputated at the forearm. Goldberg-Polin suffered a serious injury to that arm before being captured, his parents told ABC News in an interview in Israel just days after the attack. His family said Wednesday they wanted the video and its message published.In the heavily edited video made under duress, he denounces Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to secure the release of the hostages.It is unclear when the video was filmed. In the video, he makes reference to a holiday and says he has been held for nearly 200 days."Hirsch's cry is the cry of all the abductees - their time is up! The State of Israel has no more time to waste, the abductees must be put first, without them the State of Israel will have no resurrection and no victory. All must be brought home - the living for rehabilitation, the murdered for a dignified burial," a spokesperson for the Hostage Release Center said in a statement Wednesday.Apr 24, 12:06 PMGaza could surpass famine thresholds in six weeks, WFP official saysThe World Food Programme warns that famine in the Gaza Strip is getting closer by the day and it could surpass famine thresholds of food insecurity, malnutrition and mortality in six weeks, according to an official."We estimate 30% of children below age of two is now acutely malnourished or wasted, and 70% of the population in the north is facing catastrophic hunger. There is reasonable evidence that all three famine thresholds -- food insecurity, malnutrition, mortality -- will be passed in the next six weeks," said Gian Carlo Cirri, the director of the World Food Programme's Geneva office."The conflict makes it so difficult and sometimes impossible to reach

Israel , West-bank , Iran , Gaza , Israel-general- , Rafah , Gaza-strip-general- , Gaza-strip , Brazil , Poland , Hungary , Romania

National - HITS FM

ABC NewsSevere weather left a trail of destruction in the Heartland on Friday with 83 reports of tornadoes across five states.The multi-day tornado outbreak continued Saturday, with powerful storms expected from Texas to the Great Lakes.Emergency officials in Hughes County, Oklahoma, confirmed one death due to storms in Holdenville.There is a tornado watch in effect for parts of six states, from Texas to Iowa into the late evening. This watch will likely expand east slightly as the day wears on.A moderate risk -- level 4 out of 5 -- is in the outlook for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri Saturday, with storms expected to flare up again in the afternoon and evening across a huge area of the country. There is a chance for strong long-track tornadoes as well as very large hail up to 3 inches in diameter and thunderstorm winds up to 80 mph.In addition to dozens of tornado reports, Friday saw 33 damaging wind reports and 60 large hail reports.In Iowa, four people were injured Friday and approximately 120 structures were damaged after severe weather hit Pottawattamie County, officials in that county said.The city of Minden was the hardest hit area in Friday's storms, according to the county. Gas and power have been disrupted, and a 10 p.m. curfew has been issued until further notice.Gov. Kim Reynolds, Pottawattamie County, and the City of Minden have all declared a state of emergency.Severe damage was also reported across eastern Nebraska, including Douglas County, where hundreds of homes were damaged in the Omaha area Friday.Preliminary information suggests that two "strong, rare tornadoes" touched down in Douglas County, Chris Franks with the National Weather Service said during a press briefing on Saturday. The National Weather Service found evidence of EF-2 and EF-3 tornado damage there following Friday's storms, Franks said.No fatalities have been reported so far following the storms, officials said."For that big of a storm, to have the property damage that was so extensive, without the loss of life," Douglas County Emergency Management Paul Johnson said at the press briefing. "It's a tremendous attribute to the city of Omaha."Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen urged people to continue to stay safe as the storm threat continues into Saturday evening.There have been seven tornado reports so far Saturday. One tornado emergency was issued for Knox City, Texas, where a large and damaging tornado was reported near the town. Baseball-sized hail was also reported with this tornadic storm.A tornado was confirmed Saturday near the intersection of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. The confirmed tornado was eight miles north of Robinson, Kansas.All modes of severe weather are likely on Saturday.Damaging winds, huge hail, and long-track tornadoes are all in the cards, especially in Kansas, Oklahoma and northeast Texas. Overall, there is a severe weather threat stretching across the central U.S. from Canada to Mexico.The threat for these dangerous storms continues into the overnight hours.In addition to the thunderstorm threat, there is also a flash flood risk with this major storm system.A flood watch is in effect for eight states from Texas to Iowa until Monday afternoon. This is because heavy downpours may dump significant rainfall in a short time and lead to dangerous flash flooding.More than 2 to 5 inches of rain may be falling in a short period of time, prompting the Weather Prediction Center to issue a Moderate Risk for Excessive Rainfall from Texas to Missouri."Confidence continues to be high in a major flash flood event unfolding for portions of east-central Oklahoma with higher end rainfall totals Saturday beginning late this evening into Saturday night," the Weather Prediction Center said.A "high risk" for excessive rainfall is the greatest level threat possible. One-third of all flood-related fatalities occur in high-risk areas. It is a rare and serious life-threatening flood event forecast that leads to a high-risk issuance.The National Weather Service will be conducting damage surveys this weekend to determine the number of confirmed tornadoes, as well as the intensity ratings and other details.On Sunday, the threat is reduced, but still there is a chance for damaging wind, large hail and a few tornadoes from Austin, Texas, to Davenport, Iowa, and includes Shreveport, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri.ABC News' Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Iowa , United-states , Little-rock , Arkansas , Kansas-city , Kansas , City-of-minden , Oklahoma , Mexico , Hughes-county , Pottawattamie-county , Missouri

Politics - HITS FM

ABC NewsAs protests over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza and the treatment of civilians continue at dozens of colleges and universities across the country, the White House says that President Joe Biden respects the right of demonstrators to make their voices heard -- peacefully -- but "we don't want to see anybody hurt in the process" as some protests are met with police crackdowns."The president knows that there are very strong feelings about the war in Gaza. He understands that, he respects that, and as he has said many times, we certainly respect the right of peaceful protest. People should have the ability to air their views and to share their perspectives publicly, but it has to be peaceful," White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told ABC News "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.Kirby did sound a warning, though, that some language heard in the mushrooming demonstrations crossed a line with the administration."We absolutely condemn the antisemitism language that we've heard of late, and we certainly condemn all the hate speech and the threats of violence out there. These protests, we understand they're important, but they do need to be peaceful," he said.Many of the groups behind the pro-Palestinian demonstrations, some of which have turned into ongoing encampments, have denounced antisemitism and sought to distance themselves from any such conduct, saying it's not representative of their goals or values in calling attention to the civilian toll in Gaza.The protests have largely been peaceful, according to officials.There have also been mass arrests, drawing its own criticism, with police accusing some demonstrators of trespassing, resisting arrest and other crimes.After more than 80 people were detained this weekend at Washington University in St. Louis, the school said in a statement, in part, "We are firmly committed to free expression and allow ample opportunity for voices to be heard on our campus. However, we expect everyone to respect our policies and we will take swift action to enforce them to their fullest extent."Pressed about the police response on "This Week," Kirby told Stephanopoulos: "We'll leave it to local authorities to determine how these protests are managed, but we want them to be peaceful protests and obviously we don't want to see anybody hurt in the process of peacefully protesting."The demonstrations and the ensuing responses have set off a debate over free speech on college campuses and again elevated domestic tensions around the war in Gaza, which was set off by Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military response, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.Kirby said Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be pushing hard for a six-week cease-fire in a trip to the region this week, and the administration hopes that could turn into a more lasting halt to the fighting."We want it to last for about six weeks. It will allow for all those hostages [held by Hamas] to get out and, of course, to allow for easier aid access to places in Gaza, particularly up in the north. So, he's going to be working on that very, very hard," Kirby said of Blinken.The White House has been pushing for such a deal for months. An earlier cease-fire agreement, in which Hamas also freed some of the hostages it took on Oct. 7, was briefly in effect late last year."What we're hoping is that after six weeks of a temporary cease-fire, we can maybe get something more enduring in place. We want to see an end to the conflict as soon as possible," Kirby said on "This Week."He also said Blinken intends to learn more about what the Israelis plan to do regarding the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the country's forces must go into Rafah as part of the fight against Hamas, though hundreds of thousands of civilians are also thought to be sheltering there.Kirby conceded on Sunday that while the U.S. will be able to have its say before Israel begins its operations in Rafah, the administration does not have a firm grasp of what the Israeli military's goals and intentions are.Stephanopoulos noted that in the event of an invasion of the city, "any prospect of any short-term -- of a short ending to the war is completely over.""We have to have a better understanding from the Israelis about what they want to do," Kirby said, adding, "They've assured us they won't go into Rafah until we've had a chance to really share our perspectives and concerns with them. So we'll see where that goes."A large-scale incursion of Rafah risks exacerbating a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with international observers warning of disease and potential famine.Kirby praised the U.S. military's building of a pier off the Gaza shore -- "probably to two to three weeks" away from operation -- to help deliver aid but said nothing would replace increases in distribution of assistance over land routes."And I will say that they have been increasing the amount of trucks that have been getting into Gaza," Kirby said of the Israelis. "Now, there are still challenges on the ground in getting it up into the north, but that's starting to happen."Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

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Classic Hits - HITS FM

Big Machine RecordsAnother track from the upcoming Tom Petty tribute album, Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, has just been released.The latest is Chris Stapleton’s take on “I Should Have Known It,” a song from Petty's 2010 album Mojo. This is the third track from Petty Country that’s been released, following Dierks Bentley’s take on “American Girl” and Dolly Parton’s cover of “Southern Accents.” You can listen to “I Should Have Known It” now via digital outlets.Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty will be released June 21, featuring 20 Petty covers. Other artists on the album include Luke Combs, Brothers Osborne, Willie Nelson, Lady A and Thomas Rhett.The album also features guest appearances by Petty’s Heartbreakers bandmates Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. Campbell appears on “Ways to Be Wicked,” sung by Margo Price, while Tench appears on “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” covered by Rhiannon Giddens and Silkroad Ensemble. Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty is available for preorder now.
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United-states , American , Mike-campbell , Thomas-rhett , Chris-stapleton , Benmont-tench , Willie-nelson , Tom-petty , Rhiannon-giddens , Dolly-parton , Big-machine