NICOLE LA FIANDRA: Welcome in to today’s NCC News podcast, we’re your hosts. I’m Nicole La Fiandra.
PORTER HOLT: And I’m Porter Holt. Today is Wednesday, April 5th, 2023.
LA FIANDRA: Today feels nice and breezy. We have our weather woman, Wanshi Zhang, here to tell us a little more about what the rest of the day has in store. Wanshi?
WANSHI ZHANG: Yes, it is currently cloudy right now, but it probably will be rainy later. The bad news is that thunderstorms will hit Central New York in the next few days. So by the way, don’t forget your umbrella.
HOLT: Yeah, it seems like even when we get that little bit of a respite of a nicer day here in Syracuse, you know the rain is always around the corner, and today it’s gonna be pretty much night and day in terms of afternoon into evening. So, can’t be too surprised, but certainly something to be ready for with those thunder storms coming up.
LA FIANDRA: Let’s start pivoting away from weather and start getting into today’s top stories.
HOLT: Yeah, well there’s some interesting news today for high schoolers and college students in particular as Chuck Schumer has called on the FDA to ban Elf Bar vapes. So Schumer expressed concerns that Elf Bar could become “the next Juul but even worse” due to the company’s poor manufacturing and its strategies for advertising to teens. Now NCC News’ Colin Bock is reporting on this developing story and the effect of a possible ban on the university community. You’ll be able to find his full coverage online at NCCNewsonline.com.
LA FIANDRA: And a new report reveals that New York takes fourth place in sexually transmitted diseases. The study by BackgroundChecks.org found that there are over 1,600 STD cases per 100,000 people in New York State. The most prominent STD in the state is HIV. This number is likely due to the popularity of dating apps encouraging New Yorkers to have multiple sexual partners, and the CDC recommends that adults regularly get tested to help prevent the spread of STDs.
HOLT: We’ll turn to world news now. Finland has joined NATO. The country had operated on a strict military non-alignment policy since 1945. Russia has threatened counter-measures in response to Finland’s move, saying that this could cause the Ukraine conflict to escalate. Sweden is also expected to join NATO in the coming days.
LA FIANDRA: And pivoting over to the sports world, our Ben Berkson is here to chat about some of today’s biggest stories. Ben?
BEN BERKSON: Thank you guys for having me. Yesterday, I was at the Syracuse Mets home opener against the Rochester Redwings, where they won 5-0 in a shutout for their home opener. And I talked to a member of the Mets organization who said the reason this team is better than last year’s is because they have a lot of younger talent who are some of the top prospects in the MLB. And on top of that, they believe their defense will be better because of that. On top of that story, the Lakers and Clippers play later tonight with huge NBA playoff implications on the line. The winner of this game will move up to the sixth seed and will not have to play in the play-in tournament for the upcoming NBA Playoffs.
HOLT: Well thanks, Ben. Always exciting when both L.A. teams are good and certainly excited to hear more about the Syracuse Mets after that season-opener.
LA FIANDRA: Well, that’s all the time we have for this edition of the NCC News Podcast. Be sure to follow us on Twitter at NCCNewsOnline, and check out more of our content online at NCCNewsOnline.com.
