Currents News for Friday, November 15, 2019

On the newscast: The TV battle over impeachment heats up today when President Trump fired off a tweet against a witness as she was testifying; The President is turning to the Supreme Court for help as he fights to keep his taxes secret; Eating in the mass transit system gets a man busted. The video has gone viral; Bishop DiMarzio has an update on shutting down the city’s most notorious prison… and reaction to the move.

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Following the Faith, Singer Serves Others Through Music

Currents News Staff

Inspired during a spiritual retreat, Colombian singer-songwriter Cristina Quintero realized her life mission: to use her musical talent to serve others.

Despite initial fear and insecurity, she decided to follow what she considers “God’s dreams” for her life.

“I felt something in my heart telling me, ‘You can’t do it.’ It was like my mind was saying what I was doing was silly, impossible, too difficult. I felt Jesus answering, ‘Yes you can,’ and I would say ‘No I can’t.’ Then Jesus would say ‘Yes you can. You can because I will help you,” Cristina said.

She has recorded her first album, and many of her videos have gathered thousands of views on YouTube. She wants her songs to bring people closer to the faith, going beyond the initial emotion that music evokes.

“Our objective as Catholic singers is not simply to entertain with a song. The idea is for the message to transcend and reach the heart, to not only affect the emotions, but to truly move the will to something, in this case to love God,” she explained.

For Cristina, it is incredible what God can do through music. She recalled a girl who wrote to her saying she almost committed suicide, but then changed her mind after watching her sing.

“God touched her heart and she abandoned the horrible idea to take her own life. She told me to keep making music and to not stop uploading videos. It was like a confirmation of God’s call to me to make music,” Cristina said.

Two months ago she released a new version of her song “Cuanto Vale” with Costa Rican singer Luis Mauricio Vargas. The song talks about the need to above all, feel loved by God.

Former Ambassador to Ukraine Testifies as Impeachment Hearings Continue

Currents News Staff

Just last month, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified before House lawmakers behind closed doors.

During her nearly ten hour deposition, she told lawmakers that President Trump wanted her out of her job over what she called, “unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives.”

Nov. 15 she faces lawmakers and the cameras in a public hearing which comes on the heels of testimony from Bill Taylor – the top U.S. diplomat in the Ukraine – and George Kent, who oversees U.S. policy in the Ukraine for the State Department.

Their testimony shed more light on the president’s direct involvement in the push to get the Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.

“A member of my staff could hear President Trump on the phone asking Ambassador Sondland about the investigations. Ambassador Sondland told President Trump that the Ukrainians were ready to move forward.”

But republicans seem more focused on who they won’t be able to question.

“They won’t bring in front of us, they won’t bring in front of the American people, that’s the guy who started it all. The whistleblower,” said Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio.

On Thursday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi fired back, saying, “the president’s own appointee describing bribery, and threatening in the course of it, threatening the identity of the whistleblower is just shameful behavior.”

California High School in Mourning After Mass Shooting

Currents News Staff

Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California is the latest to feel the shock from being the site of a mass school shooting.

The shooting suspect – a student at the high school – carried out the deadly attack Nov. 15 on his sixteenth birthday. In a matter of seconds, lives in the town 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles were forever changed.

“He was just standing in the middle of the quad really not saying or doing anything. He had a backpack on. At one point he took off the backpack, he retrieved a .45 semi auto pistol,” said Sheriff Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“He shot one round, fired at one student, injured that student. and then appeared to clear some sort of jam in the weapon and then fired an additional four rounds at four other students before turning the gun on himself. That ended it all in 16 seconds,” he said.

“I’ve known him his whole life. I remember holding him as a baby. I kinda looked at him as a younger brother,” said Jared Axen, the suspect’s neighbor.

As the suspect lies in grave condition at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head, everyone is wondering: Why?

“At this time, we have no reason to believe that the subject is acting on behalf of any other group or any ideology,” said Paul Delacourt of the FBI.

The Los Angeles county sheriff says the suspect’s father died of natural causes two years ago. His mother and his girlfriend were interviewed by detectives.

Currents News for Thursday, November 14, 2019

On the newscast: It’s happened again… a deadly school shooting. This time at a California high school. A suspect’s in custody. He’s sixteen; A big controversy over Google getting its hands of medical records for millions of Americans. An expert will join us; The Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury are planning a mission of peace together to a war-ravaged nation; The puppy with something special on his head.

Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City area on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.

Investigation Underway Following Deadly Shooting at California High School

Currents News Staff

Just after 7:30 a.m. local time, students at Saugus High School in southern California were forced to run or hide, faced with the sound that no student wants to hear.

“We heard the one shot and then four after, and we just started running. And all I heard was all these kids running and just screaming and calling their parents,” said Riley, a student at the high school.

“It was bang and then bang, bang, bang,” said Emily Saugus, another student.

Some were unable to escape.

“Within two minutes, at 7:40 a/m., our first units arrived on scene and encountered in the quad area of the school, multiple victims,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

Officials have confirmed that two students died after being treated, others remained at the hospital.

The shooter is also among the injured.

“Detectives have reviewed the video at the scene which clearly shows the subject in the quad withdraw a handgun from his backpack, shoot and wound five people, and then shoot himself in the head,” said Los Angeles County Police Captain Kent Wegener

Authorities are continuing their investigation and combing though social media in an attempt to figure out how and why.

“We will run all the leads to ground but at this point we don’t have any indication of motivation or ideology,” said FBI Special Agent Paul Delacourt.

Google Joins With Health Care Providers in Data Sharing Deal

Currents News Staff

There’s controversy swirling over a new deal by Google that will allow the tech giant to get it hands on the medical records of millions of Americans.

The deal involves Ascension, a Catholic health care provider that wants to consolidate the data in one place: on Google cloud.

Neither patients nor doctors have been formally notified of the Google arrangement, and the federal government has reportedly launched an investigation into the patient data deal..

The move raises a lot of questions, and John Brehany of the National Catholic Bioethics Center joins Currents News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with some answers.

Local Artist Hopes to Create New NYC Statue Honoring Mother Cabrini

By Emily Drooby

Local artist Scott LoBaido, who dreams of a full-sized version of a Mother Cabrini sculpture one day gracing the streets of New York City, was inspired to create one himself on a smaller scale because his family was touched by the saint.

“My grandmother used to take us on the ferry through a train up to Washington Heights to see the Cabrini shrine every year,” he recalled.

His mother told him the wonderful story behind those trips.

“The story is, ‘Your great grandmother was in the tenements. She had consumption. She had a knock at the door going around the tenements.’ Mother Cabrini prayed over my great-grandmother, and she claimed that she cured her,” he explained.

Mother Cabrini then became like the family’s patron saint. When a city-run statue contest snubbed her, Scott knew he had to join other New Yorkers and do something.

“She won hands down and the mayor and his wife said no, and that hurts,” he said.

While some marched behind Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio’s leadership and spoke out, Scott decided to use his art, building a sample sculpture depicting Mother Cabrini shielding a child with a cloak.

As the first U.S. citizen to be canonized, she’s known for her work with both immigrants and orphans.

Scott placed the model on display in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the saint’s Feast Day, November 13.

Peggy Padovano is one New Yorker who knows Scott’s work well, and braved the cold for a look.

“This statue is amazing, and when I saw the child underneath it hit me right here. And that’s what it should do: hit you right here. You shouldn’t have to think about what the statue is built, you should feel why the statue is built.”

Scott says he will submit the sculpture to the Mother Cabrini statue commission created by Governor Andrew Cuomo, but he’s also looking into private funding.

“Why not have one up right away,” he asked.“I and I know there’s a lot of private organizations out there that are interested in getting something done quicker.”

‘Unicorn’ Rescue Puppy on the Lookout for His Forever Home

Currents News Staff

The 10-week-old named Narwhal is not the unicorn of the sea, but a unicorn puppy with what appears to be a tail growing from his forehead.

Narwhal was rescued by Rochelle Steffen, the founder of Mac the Pitbull Facebook page and a non-profit that brings life to dogs with special needs.

“How does this not like melt? How does this not melt you, he’s just so adorable,” said Rochelle.

Dr. Brian Heuring — a local veterinarian — has never in his 16 years of caring for animals seen something like this, but doesn’t see a reason to remove Narwhal’s tail.

“He’s got an extra, what looks like a perfect tail, sitting in the center of his forehead,” said veterinarian Dr. Brian Heuring.

“It doesn’t appear to be causing any problems or complications at this time. We went as far as shooting radiographs or x-rays. There are no bony attachments, there are no vertebrates in what looks to be a tail.”

But for Rochelle, “he’s perfect.”

“Why remove it and give him an undo surgery and then why take away his specialty? He makes everybody smile,” she added.

“Now if it were in his eyes or if we all thought that it was gonna grow — ‘cause he’s got a normal tail — so if we thought it was going to grow, we would address it.”

Narwhal isn’t even bothered by his extra tail.

Rochelle see the tail as just a part of him and says he is up for adoption, but she’s getting worried.

“Part of our concern would be somebody adopting him and wanting to cut the tail off,” she explained, adding that until the right person comes along, Narwhal is hers.

“I don’t want to have to break out the mama bear claws and have to hurt somebody if they want to hurt him.”

But she is hopeful he and his tail will find a forever home. “He’s going to be pretty spoiled, no matter where he ends up,” she added.

First Day of Public Impeachment Hearings Concludes

Currents News Staff

The first day of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry of President Trump began with a startling revelation for House investigators.

Top diplomat to the Ukraine, Bill Taylor, described a phone call between President Trump and the u-s ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, overheard by his aide one day after Trump’s July 25 phone call with the Ukrainian president.

“Ambassador Sondland told President Trump the Ukrainians were ready to move forward. Following the call with President Trump, the member of my staff asked Ambassador Sondland what President Trump thought about Ukraine,” Taylor said. “Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for.”

Trump denied that call, saying, “I know nothing about that — first time I’ve heard it.”

House Democrats say Taylor’s latest information helps make their case that Trump abused his oath of office even stronger.

“What this call indicates as other testimony has likewise indicated is that the instructions are coming from the president on down,” said Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, Chairman of House Intelligence.

Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent described what they encountered as the Trump administration used military aid and a meeting at the White House as leverage for the Ukraine to begin investigations for the president’s political gain.

“To withhold that assistance for no good reason other than help with a political campaign made no sense. It was illogical. It could not be explained. It was crazy,” said Taylor.

Kent expressed his concerns about Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani’s involvement in U.S. relations with the Ukraine, including helping lead a smear campaign against then U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

“I became alarmed as these efforts bore fruit. They led to the ouster of Ambassador Yovanovitch and hampered U.S. efforts to establish rapport with the new Zelensky administration,” he said.

House Democrats like Representative Val Demings also asked about Giuliani’s intent.

“I believe he was looking to dig up political dirt against a potential rival in the next election cycle,” Kent said when asked by Demings regarding what interest he believed Giuliani was promoting.

When asked by Demings, Ambassador Taylor agreed with Kent’s statement.

Meanwhile Republicans are defending Trump, casting the hearing as a partisan show. And arguing the two witnesses lack first-hand knowledge.

“The main performance, the Russia hoax, has ended. And you’ve been cast in the low-rent Ukranian sequel,” said Republican Representative Devin Nunes, a ranking member of House intel.

“I‘ve seen church prayer chains that are easier to understand than this,” said Republican Representative Jim Jordan.

“No pressure, no demands, no threats, no blackmail, nothing corrupt,” Representative John Ratcliffe.

But House Democrats are standing firm. “This what we want a president to do, to leverage their power?” asked Representative Eric Swalwell. “ I think for most Americans, that’s sinking in.”

After this week, lawmakers expect at least one more week of public hearings.