Neil A. Carousso produces and co-hosts WCBS Newsradio 880’s Small Business Spotlight series with Joe Connolly. Click here to watch the weekly video segments featuring advice for business owners on survival, recovery and growth opportunities.

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    Super Tuesday 2020: Sanders Wins Prized California Primary As Biden Surges Nationwide

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    NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Super Tuesday seemed to turn into a two-man battle between former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders early in the night, despite five candidates vying for delegates from 14 states and one U.S. territory.

    About one-third (1,344) of all delegates were up for grabs and it takes 1,991 pledged delegates to win the nomination.

    Biden saw a surge of support Tuesday after gaining endorsements from Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Monday night.

    RELATED: What You Need To Know On Super Tuesday

    Early in the night, Biden scored a series of wins taking Alabama, Oklahoma and the battleground states of North Carolina and Virginia. CBS News then projected the former Vice President to win the Tennessee primary and the Associated Press projected him to win Minnesota and Arkansas. He also took Massachusetts, upsetting Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her home state.

    Meanwhile, Sanders claimed the biggest Super Tuesday prize with the Associated Press projecting he would take California, which has 415 delegates up for grabs. Sanders also pulled off an expected home-state win in Vermont and took another victory in Colorado, which has 67 delegates at stake, as well as Utah.

    Maine and Texas were too close to call after midnight, with Biden holding a slim lead in Maine (about 2,000 votes) and a growing lead in Texas (about 25,000 votes).

    Votes were still being called early Wednesday, but the Associated Press allocated 362 delegates to Biden, 285 to Sanders, 30 to Bloomberg, 20 to Warren and one for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

    Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, appeared on the ballots for the first time on Super Tuesday, but saw a poor performance overall.

    While he took at least five delegates from American Samoa, according to the Associated Press, the former New York City mayor will reassess whether he will continue his bid for president on Wednesday.

    Hawaii Sen. Tulsi Gabbard remains in the race but has not reached double-digits – nor has any other candidate that has since dropped out.

    California poll numbers suggest Sanders also has the most support among potential voters with 35%. He is followed by Warren at 14%, Biden at 13% and Bloomberg at 12% support.

    Despite struggling in the polls, Warren vowed to remain in the race. Early results showed her polling in third in her home state, and that could be a bad look for her campaign.

    “Symbolically it’s bad. It hurts her narrative. The question then is if you can’t win in your home state where can you win?” CBS News reporter Zak Hudak told WCBS 880. “It’s embarrassing for her if that happens. Does it threaten her Senate seat in the future? I don’t know, maybe? At the very least it’s really embarrassing and it kind of creates this mentality of her own people, her own constituents, don’t want her to be president.”

     

    Neil A. Carousso is the 2020 Elections Producer for WCBS Newsradio 880, producing all multi-media content of WCBS’ Election Night special coverage.

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    New Hampshire Primary 2020: Sanders Declares Victory

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    CONCORD, N.H. (WCBS 880) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has won the New Hampshire primary.

    After a tight race, Sanders came out on top with over 69,000 votes in the first-in-the-nation Democratic primary. In second place was former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg followed by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

    Shortly after a number of outlets began to call the race, Sanders took to Twitter to declare his victory.

    “We are going to unite together and defeat the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country,” he told a cheering crowd of supporters in Manchester. “The reason I believe we are going to win is that we have an unprecedented grassroots movement from coast to coast of millions of people. The reason that we are going to win is that we are putting together an unprecedented multi-generational, multi-racial political movement. And this is a movement from coast to coast, which is demanding that we finally have an economy and a government that works for all of us, not wealthy campaign contributors.”

    CBS News estimates Sanders will walk away with at least 8 delegates, Buttigieg at least 7, and Klobuchar at least 4.

    A total of eight candidates had been vying for votes: Sanders, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former hedge fund investor Tom Steyer and former tech executive Andrew Yang — who decided to drop out of the race as polls closed.

    Michael Bennet, a 55-year-old senator from Colorado who entered the race in late April, also dropped out during the evening, after failing to stand out in the crowded Democratic field.

    Despite falling short, Klobuchar sounded confident when she addressed supporters as results continued to come in.

    “I came back and we delivered,” she said. “America deserves a president who is as resilient as her people.”

    She firmly stated that she would be the person to defeat President Donald Trump in the general election.

    Meanwhile, Warren vowed to continue her efforts in other states.

    “The fight we’re in, the fight to save our democracy, is an uphill battle, but our campaign is built for the long haul and we’re just getting started,” Warren said.

    At his election night event, Buttigieg didn’t seem too upset by the loss and said he “admired” Sanders as a teenager.

    “I respect him greatly to this day, and I congratulate him on his strong showing tonight,” Buttigieg said.

    Meanwhile, the night proved to be slightly disappointing for Biden, who did not attend any events in New Hampshire. Instead, the 77-year-old had gone to South Carolina to get a head start on campaigning in the state before it holds the second primary in a number of days.

    “We just heard from the first two of the states … where I come from, that’s just the opening bell, not the closing bell,” Biden said.

    Klobuchar surged in the race following a strong showing in the most recent debate.

    “This is a state that Bernie Sanders won last time over Hillary Clinton,” Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, said. “What we’re seeing is people like Peter Buttigieg and tonight Amy Klobuchar as clearly gotten into the top tier she’s broken away from the pack where Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden are dropping almost out of sight.”

    The first votes in the race were cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, where residents often take part in a tradition of casting their votes at midnight. There was one confirmed vote for Buttigieg, one vote for Sanders and two write-in votes for Mike Bloomberg, who received an extra vote from a Republican, even though he does not appear in the New Hampshire ballot.

    A new Quinnipiac University national poll had Bloomberg just a couple of points behind Biden, whose support among Democrats and independents has plummeted in the past two weeks.

    Earlier, exit polling from CBS News found almost half of Democratic primary voters decided on the candidate in the last few days, with many saying the most recent debate was an important factor in making their choice.

    Meanwhile, there seemed to be division among New Hampshire voters as to what kind of policies they want to adopt. About 40% say they want to return to Barack Obama’s policies, while 38% want to change to more liberal policies.

    The most unifying factor seemed to be the desire to vote President Donald Trump out of office. More than 9 in 10 voters in the New Hampshire Democrats primary said they were unhappy with the Trump administration – including 81% who are angry.

    Many also said they prefer a nominee who can beat Trump, a sentiment that was often observed by WCBS 880’s Steve Burns on the road in the state.

    Voters in New Hampshire say the most important issue is health care, followed by climate change, income inequality and foreign policy.

    President Donald Trump also made a stop in the Granite State on Monday night to rally supporters, and possibly sway some undecided Democrats to vote red.

    During the rally, the president focused on his goals should he be elected again in 2020 and took time to criticize House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for ripping up her copy of the State of the Union speech last week.

    The crowd responded with chants of “Lock her up.”

    Trump easily won New Hampshire’s Republican primary against minimal opposition.

     

    Neil A. Carousso is the 2020 elections producer for WCBS Newsradio 880, including producing and editing all video content.

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    3-Month-Old New Jersey Girl In Need Of Life-Saving Liver Transplant

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    RED BANK, N.J. (WCBS 880) — A New Jersey family is looking for an organ donor to save the life of a 3-month-old girl battling a devastating liver disease.

    Two weeks after Edie Rose O’Neill was born, she became sick with an undiagnosed liver disease.

    Her health quickly deteriorated on Jan. 11, and she was airlifted to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she is getting around-the-clock treatment in the pediatric intensive care unit.

    Her only hope now is a liver transplant.

    “All we can do from here is transplant her liver, there’s no other option,” her mother, Bridget O’Neill, of Red Bank, tells WCBS 880. “We’re talking about weeks instead of even months to work with.”

    Doctors are looking for a very specific donor profile and they’re hopeful they can find a living organ donor.

    “Someone between 21 and 30 years old, either an O blood type or an A blood type — so it could be positive or negative, and around 100 pounds or less, which is very difficult to find and we acknowledge that,” O’Neill said. “She receives blood and blood product every single day basically all day and that’s kind of keeping her plugging along for right now while we try to go through this process of finding either someone that matches or she’s also very high on the deceased donor list, but because she’s a baby it’s very difficult to find someone who meets the specifications of body type and weight that would be appropriate for her, she’s a little over 8 pounds.”

    The liver is the only organ in the body that can regenerate, meaning the livers of both the donor and the recipient can grow back to full size approximately three months after surgery.

    If you or someone you know can help this family, contact them directly at EdieTheExtraordinary@gmail.com.

    A GoFundMe page has also been set up to help raise money to pay for medical costs not covered by insurance.

     

    Neil A. Carousso produced this story and interviewed the family for WCBS Newsradio 880.

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    NYC Marathon: Debut Runner Wins Women’s Title In Upset, Men’s Champ Wins For 2nd Time

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    NEW YORK (WCBS 880/AP) – More than 50,000 runners made their 26.2-mile trek through the five boroughs on Sunday as part of the 49th annual TCS New York City Marathon.

    They hailed from all over the city and from around the world, kicking off the race at the Verrazzano Bridge on Staten Island at 8:30 a.m.

    The weather was perfect for the race, with temperatures rising from the 40s into the low 50s by afternoon under sunny skies.

    Like every year, the race has led to plenty of street closures. Find a complete list of the closures here.

    About a million spectators filled the streets surrounding the route, banging drums and cheering on the runners, from the brownstones of Fort Greene to the towering apartment buildings of Long Island City.

    Thousands of NYPD officers joined the spectators. Security was tight, with hundreds of blocker trucks and other safety measures protecting attendees.

    In the race, Joyciline Jepkosgei powered away from four-time winner Mary Keitany to win the women’s title at the New York City Marathon in her first race ever at 26.2 miles.

    Jepkosgei crossed the finish line in Central Park in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 38 seconds Sunday, seven seconds off the course record.

    The 25-year-old Jepkosgei holds the world record in the half-marathon but had never run this distance. The Kenyan pulled away from countrymate Keitany with about three miles to go. Keitany collapsed after finishing 53 seconds later.

    Jepkosgei is the youngest winner in New York since 25-year-old Margaret Okayo in 2001. She also won the New York City Half-Marathon in March and is the first runner to win both events.

    Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won his second men’s title in three years at the New York City Marathon.

    Kamworor crossed the finish in Central Park at 2 hours, 8 minutes and 13 seconds Sunday.

    He pulled away from countryman Albert Korir in the 24th mile. Korir finished second, and Ethiopian non-elite runner Girma Bekele Gebre was third.

    The 26-year-old Kamworor finished third last year after winning in 2017.

    He was greeted at the finish line by training partner Eliud Kipchoge, who completed the first sub-2 hour marathon last month — a feat accomplished under conditions so tightly controlled it didn’t qualify for the record books.

    Kamworor, also the world record holder in the half-marathon, is the 10th multi-time winner.

    Defending men’s champion Lelisa Desisa dropped out after seven miles, perhaps hurting following a grueling victory at the sweltering world championships last month.

    Desisa, who is from Ethiopia, was in 17th place at the seven-mile mark before leaving the course. It was 45 degrees F at the start of the men’s race, ideal for marathoning.

    Manuela Schär of Switzerland has won her third straight women’s wheelchair title at the New York City Marathon, giving her eight consecutive marathon major victories.

    After rolling ahead of the record pace for much of Sunday’s race, Schär crossed the finish about a minute off the mark at 1 hour, 44 minutes and 20 seconds.

    Daniel Romanchuk of the United States repeated as men’s wheelchair champion in another tight finish over Switzerland’s Marcel Hug.

    Romanchuk held off Hug with a final sprint through Central Park, crossing the finish line in 1 hour, 37 minutes and 24 seconds. Hug was one second behind for a second straight year, and Germany’s David Weir and American Aaron Pike were also within 10 seconds.

    Last year, Romanchuk became the first American and youngest competitor to win the men’s division as a 20-year-old. He followed with victories this year at the Boston and London Marathons. Hug took the New York title in 2016 and 2017.

    Among the runners was 86-year-old Ginette Bedard of Howard Beach. She’s the oldest person running in the race, and this is her 17th New York City Marathon. She said it helps her mentally and physically.

    Douglas Bonmon of Michigan was sporting a pink bathrobe as he waited to start the race. This was his seventh marathon, but his first in New York.

    “It’s like the United Nations of running,” said race director Jim Heim.

     

    Neil A. Carousso produced WCBS Newsradio 880’s team coverage of the 49th Running of the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 3, 2019.

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    Major Takeaways From The WCBS BNB Bank Business Breakfast

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    NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Two major themes emerged at Thursday’s WCBS BNB Bank Business Breakfast on Long Island — the advantages of being local and getting noticed with your own unique business story.

    Joe Connolly hosted the event at the Huntington Hilton and was joined by Mark Burford, co-founder of Blue Point Brewing Co., Kathleen King, founder of Tate’s Bake Shop, and Jaclyn Rutigliano, co-founder and CEO of Hometown Flower Collective, LLC.

    Burford said years ago people would ask if the locally made beer would make them sick and now local is a point of pride.

    King built a chocolate chip cookie and bakery empire from scratch, but it wasn’t always easy. She says when she was knocking on doors to get Tate’s cookies into stores, occasionally someone would say “What makes you think these are good?”

    Rather than debate with them she would just say, “I think they’re good” and walk out, thinking to herself, “They’ll be calling me someday!”

    King says, “You believe in your own product, you believe in yourself. I love proving people wrong.”

    Connolly reports it seemed like more business owners compared to the previous breakfast in Junesaid business is up — namely in financial services, aviation and technology.

    “When I asked is anybody seeing signs of a slowdown only two business founders raised their hand and one told me later the last eight months have been great it was due to slow,” Connolly said.

    When business owners asked for advice on how to get their business noticed, Rutigliano, a rising star in the Long Island business world, asked them, “What is your story?” She said it’s critical for business owner to tell their unique story on their website and “About Us” page because it will make them stand out.

    One new business that drew a lot of interest at the breakfast is 3MomsOrganics.com, which sells TickWise — a DEET-free all-natural tick and insect repellent. It was started by two moms from Long Island and they say the third mom is the customer. They’re registered to sell in New York and New Jersey.

    New York Mets legend and businessman Ed Kranepool, who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ’69 Miracle Mets Championship Season, made a special appearance and shared how to transfer a wining attitude and championship spirit in sports to business.

     

    Neil A. Carousso is the producer of the WCBS Business Breakfast programs hosted by Joe Connolly.

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