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Jobs report to show whether hiring stayed resilient in September

October 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

A jobs report on Friday will provide a key gauge of economic health as the United States weathers a surge of inflation set off by the Iran war seven months ago.

The fresh data is set to arrive weeks after the Federal Reserve imposed its first interest rate hike in three years. The move aims to dial back price increases, but it risks an eventual slowdown in hiring as borrowing costs weigh on businesses.

The economy has shown signs of strain in recent months, including a bond selloff that threatens to raise consumer borrowing costs and a resurgence in oil and gasoline prices.

Consumer sentiment dropped last month close to the lowest level ever recorded in the 74-year history of the University of Michigan’s survey.

Despite these headwinds, the labor market has proven sturdy so far this year — and such growth is expected to have continued in September.

Economists expect U.S. employers to have added 84,000 jobs in September, which would mark solid performance but a slowdown from 162,000 jobs added in August.

The U.S. added an average of about 80,000 jobs per month over the first eight months of this year, financial services firm Raymond James found in an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That pace exceeded Raymond James’ expectations of 70,000 jobs added each month over that period.

The Iran war drove up gasoline prices and catapulted inflation to a three-year high. Inflation eased over the summer, but continued fighting has kept prices increases well above pre-war levels.

The annual inflation rate stands at 3.4% as of August, the most recent month on record, putting inflation more than a percentage point above the Fed’s target rate of 2%.

The combination of elevated inflation and a resilient labor market prompted the Fed to raise interest rates a quarter of a percentage point last month.

Investors peg the chances of another rate increase in October at one in three, meaning borrowing costs could rise further within weeks, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

“The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long,” Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month.

An increase to the benchmark interest rate raises borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, which in theory should slash inflation by slowing the economy and eating away at demand.

The policy risks a downshift in hiring and an uptick in the unemployment rate, though such fallout typically takes hold after a lag time lasting several months.

By some measures, the economy remains robust.

Gross domestic product grew over three months ending in June, defying fear of a downturn triggered by the Iran war. Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.6% in August from July, the largest monthly increase since March 2025, government data on Wednesday showed.

New ICE facility to hold families, unaccompanied minors could open in Louisiana next week

October 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

A new facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, may begin receiving undocumented families with children, local officials and immigrant rights advocates say.

The 528-bed facility will house families with children, unaccompanied minors, and single adult females as they await removal inside renovated former Air Force barracks at England Airpark, a former military base that now houses the Alexandria International Airport and an immigration detention facility, according to a draft agreement between ICE and the England Economic and Industrial Development District (EEIDD) reviewed by ABC News.

A communications manager for EEIDD told ABC News the facility could start receiving people “within the next week or two.”

The facility would be the second constructed to house children since President Donald Trump’s second term began but is the first to hold unaccompanied minors who are usually held in shelters under the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services before deportation or release.

A board of commissioners that governs the airpark approved the facility in February amid protests from local residents.

The facility will be managed by LaSalle Family Foundation, a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison company that manages several immigration detention centers across the country. Daily operations will be run by Anovaeon, which describes itself as a humanitarian response company. The operators are calling the facility the Alexandria Family Staging Center and say it will house people who are voluntarily self-deporting or voluntarily leaving the country, for an average stay of under 48 hours.

Last week, Robert Hagen, the project manager for LaSalle Family Foundation told commissioners the facility was 95% completed.

During board meetings that have at times become contentious with police having to remove opponents of the plans, operators of the facility have attempted to push back against the notion that it’s a detention center.

“This project right over here is not a detention center, it’s a staging center for families who are voluntarily departing this country, admittedly through pretty crappy circumstances on their end. I acknowledge that,” Anovaeon CEO Eric Fritz said at a commissioner board meeting last week.

Fritz said the facility will provide medical care, mental health care, “quality meals,” soccer fields and free international calling, among other resources.

A pamphlet distributed during one of the board meetings and obtained by ABC News said migrant families will be held in a “non-detained” setting at the facility. However, during last week’s board meeting, Anovaeon Senior Director of Operations Jeffrey Lynch acknowledged operators would have to alert ICE if someone attempted to leave the facility.

“I think what we would do is, we would approach the individual, say ‘Look, you’re part of this program. It’s in your best interest to follow through with the program,'” Lynch said. “If they were adamant about it, I think we would open the gate but at the same time we would be in communication with ICE, letting them know what’s happening.”

There’s an ICE office “literally steps away” from the facility, Lynch added.

“They’re literally steps away and they would be there to either intervene, convince them to come back in, or take whatever steps they would take as part of their case management practices,” Lynch said.

A draft of the Intergovernmental Service Agreement between DHS and the EEIDD obtained by the advocacy group National Immigration Project and reviewed by ABC News said one of the purposes of the agreement is to provide “ICE alien detention in a secure environment under the authority of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

A communications manager for the EEIDD said she could not share the final agreement with ABC News, noting that ICE had to sign off before it could be shared.

At a press conference on Wednesday, immigrant rights groups and attorneys denounced the facility and raised concerns that the property was contaminated with PFAS.

“There can be no hiding what this is, this is a detention center. People are not free to leave,” said Stephanie Alvarez-Jones, Southeast Regional Attorney for the National Immigration Project.

DHS, EEIDD and Anovaeon did not respond when asked to address concerns about possible contamination, or whether people would be restrained at any point during their stay or during removal.

DHS did not provide an estimate of when the facility would open.

In a statement, an ICE spokesperson called it a “staging facility for deportations”

“A staging facility is where illegal aliens await their deportation flight to their destination country or transfer to a detention facility,” the spokesperson said.

ABC News’ Ely Brown and Laura Romero contributed to this report.

Jim Carrey marries Min Ah in small, private ceremony in Los Angeles

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Jim Carrey and Min Ah are married, a representative for the actor confirmed to ABC News.

The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind star recently married Ah in a small, private ceremony in Los Angeles, his rep added.

Carrey has been with Ah, an actress and artist, for years, but it’s unknown when the duo began dating.

In February 2026, they made their awards show debut at the César Awards in Paris, where Carey received an honorary lifetime achievement award for his cinema career.

During his speech, which he delivered entirely in French, Carrey thanked his family and Ah.

“Thank you to my wonderful family, my daughter, Jane, and my grandson, Jackson. I love you now and forever,” he said, according to Variety. “Thank you to my sublime companion, Min Ah. I love you, Min Ah.”

Carrey, who is known for his many films, including Bruce Almighty, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask, was married to Melissa Womer from 1987 to 1995, with whom he shares a daughter, Jane Erin Carrey.

He was also married to Lauren Holly from 1996 to 1997.

Carrey is next slated to star in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 alongside Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, Kristen Bell, James Marsden and more.

Trump defends spending millions on taxpayer-funded promotional ads: ‘For the country’

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is facing growing questions for spending millions of taxpayer dollars to air unusual TV ads promoting Trump and his administration in the weeks ahead of the midterm elections.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump defended the ads, saying they are “for the spirit of our country” and not a political endorsement for Republican candidates on the ballot this November or for his administration’s policies.

“You have to understand; I’m not promoting a candidate. I’m not promoting myself because I’m not running for office. I’m promoting the country,” Trump said to reporters during an event in the Oval Office.

“Now, if somebody said that that’s wrong, I’ll gladly pay the money. But these are ads for the country,” he said.

Trump has implored Republican voters to “pretend” that he is on the ballot in the November midterm elections to boost voter turnout for GOP congressional candidates.

At a separate event Wednesday, Trump again argued that his involvement on the campaign trail is crucial for party success.

“I hope you can believe that I’m running. They like to say, ‘Oh, nobody wants him.’ Well, everybody that has me wins,” Trump said.

The federal government has spent at least $2.5 million to air three different television ads, according to an estimate from AdImpact, an advertising agency that analyzes ad spending across television.

A total of $20 million from the Department of Homeland Security’s budget has been allocated for the effort.

Ethics watchdogs and several Congressional Democrats — as well as some Republicans — have said the ads are inappropriate. Some critics have said the ads could violate federal propaganda law.

“It’s a great message, I like the message, but it shouldn’t be paid for by taxpayer dollars,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Monday.

Four ads have been aired since last week. One of the ads features Trump in monochrome, slowly walking down a hallway, describing “the final battle” against “the deep state,” “the globalists,” and “the sick political class that hates our country.”

Another ad includes a montage of clips and images of Trump at events and rallies featuring onscreen text about the “largest tax cuts in history.”

The latest ad, released Wednesday, focuses on the U.S. war with Iran, now in its eighth month. Audio of Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plays in the background as U.S. military footage, including unclassified strikes, is displayed.

The video in the ad appears to be the same as one played during the Republican midterm convention last month. And it played Wednesday before Hegseth addressed 600 service members in his State of the Force speech at the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Virginia.

The ads all say “Paid for by the U.S. Government” across the bottom of the screen as they end.

The White House has defended these spots as educational public service announcements (PSAs) and has said the ads are “very clearly not campaign ads” and instead “a reminder for Americans to love their country and know why it’s worth defending.”

On Tuesday, Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Chris Murphy sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin accusing the department of “a shockingly corrupt misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

In the House, Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin and George Whitesides have asked federal watchdogs to investigate the ads.

Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and Whitesides wrote to the Government Accountability Office and U.S. Office of Special Counsel on Wednesday, describing the commercials as “desperate pre-election propaganda.”

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr said Wednesday that the ads paid for with government funds don’t “merit any sort of FCC review.”

“It doesn’t strike me as anything at all out of the ordinary,” Carr said of the ads, during a press conference with reporters.

Asked about allegations that the ads are “propaganda,” Carr laughed.

The White House has “explained that these are just normal-course public service announcements, PSAs, that you see all the time. I don’t think there’s anything unique or different about it,” he said.

Mullin says US ‘knew’ Iran would try to attack American assets in UK

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The United States knew Iran or its proxies were going to “try and do an attack, possibly on a United States asset in the [United Kingdom],” Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said Thursday of the arrest and release of five men near a Royal Air Force base used by the U.S.

Mullin told Fox News the U.S. “had already been watching” the situation with British officials and the U.S. was “giving them a heads-up.”

His comments come after U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Wednesday he believes Iran “played a part” in last weekend’s incident at a Royal Air Force base in England that hosts U.S. warplanes involved in the conflict with Iran.

“They were also feeding information to us, so this was something we were paying attention to already, we just didn’t know where it was coming from,” Mullin said, adding that Iran is always a threat to the United States and its allies.

“This was a little bit more specific, so we were on heightened alert about the direct threat we had here but didn’t know where it was coming from, so when we saw it we were able to act quick,” Mullin said.

Five British nationals from London between the ages of 23 and 25 were arrested early Sunday in possession of three vans near RAF Fairford, police said, which has long been a key hub for U.S. Air Force operations in the Middle East — including in the conflict with Iran.

Police said the men were suspected of terrorism and explosives offenses, prompting speculation that the detainees were planning to target the RAF base, possibly on behalf of a foreign power.

Investigators said a search of the suspects’ vehicles found no improvised explosive devices and authorities said they were released on bail on Monday after “extensive interviews.”

On Thursday, the U.K. Counter Terrorism Policing unit announced it had arrested another man — a dual U.K./Iranian citizen — in connection with the case on suspicion of “preparation of terrorist acts.” It also said a second man had been questioned “under caution” and that it had searched two properties.

Mullin expressed frustration that the five men were released, but, “It doesn’t mean these individuals are just running loose. We — as in our partners and us — have eyes on these five individuals. We not going to let them slip through the cracks.”

Asked if he planned any response to the possible attack, President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. is “studying it right now. We’re studying it. We’re studying it very hard.”

Asked about how the U.K. has responded, Trump said, “The U.K. did release a number of people that we caught wanting to blow up a base. We caught them early and I’m trying to figure out if that’s for real, if they actually did it.”

Burnham said Wednesday that his government believes Iran was involved.

“There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford, but of course it remains an ongoing complex and serious police investigation, and of course we are working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America,” Burnham said.

Reacting to those accusations, Iranian Foreign Minister Aragachi said, “I can confirm Iran’s belief that releasing supposed terrorists working for foreign states really says it all. You’re barking up the wrong tree.”

Trump administration implementing school choice tax credit

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is readying its new, controversial federal school choice program that administration officials contend will “supercharge” education for millions of families nationwide, while critics worry it could undermine funding for public schools.

Officials from the Treasury and Education departments on Thursday released the rules for its Education Freedom Tax Credit, a new program that allows students and families to use taxpayer-funded scholarships for the K-12 education of their choice. The program, passed into law in 2025 as part of the Republicans’ sprawling tax and spending bill, launches on Jan. 1.

The program works by creating incentives for individuals and organizations to donate money they would otherwise owe in taxes to non-profit charities known as Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). Those SGOs would in turn use the donations to fund K-12 student scholarships for students’ education, including tuition, academic services and supplies, as well as other equipment and services relevant to their enrollment in public, private, and other school options. The SGOs’ money can be used for everything from private school tuition to books and supplies for public school students to homeschooling needs. All spending from the SGOs would be reimbursed by the federal government.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service estimate the program will cost around $26 billion annually and fund as many as 2.2 million scholarships each year by 2030.

Public school advocates have expressed concern that the Education Freedom Tax Credit will steer government money away from state-funded public schools towards private schools.

The new rules are forcing skeptical Democratic governors to choose whether or not they want to opt in — choosing to walk away could mean the loss of millions of dollars in federal funding. They have until Jan. 1 to decide.

“It will be the largest budgetary shift for K-12 [education] certainly in 11 years,” Narric Rome, managing director for government relations at education nonprofit Accelerate, told ABC News.

“For some states, and for some parts of the country, this is a ‘Help is on the way,’ and for others, it’s a concern of where are their dollars going and are they going to the students that need it the most,” he said.

The Trump administration argues that if states opt-in to the program, funds can be used for both public and private school students and their educational needs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is transforming America’s education system to “meet the needs” of each student.

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., has decried the advancement of the tax credit — $1,700 for individuals or up to $3,400 for married couples filing jointly.

“It’s not for public schools,” said Moore, whose mother was a public school educator. “People will argue that they’re making an investment in education, but they’re only making an investment in these private academies.  They’re not making investments in public education,” she argued.

“People are not going to get a $1,700, 100% tax credit, which doesn’t exist anywhere else in tax law, which means it’s a direct pull from the treasury to go into one of these corporate entities for private schools,” she argued.

Many Republican-controlled states have already opted in to the program. As 28 million children in participating states will become eligible starting next year, conservatives argue it gives “countless students” the chance to pursue the education they deserve with less bureaucracy.

So far, Democratic governors in North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado and New York have indicated that they will participate.

“Education freedom is the key to unlocking opportunity and success for our next generation of students,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon told ABC News in a statement.

“I am profoundly grateful to President Trump and our partners at Treasury for ensuring that every child has access to the education they need, not one limited by ZIP code, family income, or government‑imposed barriers,” she wrote.

Under the proposed rules and safe harbors, approximately 96% of children in participating states would be eligible to receive the scholarship funds, according to the agencies.

The program establishes a new, permanent, dollar-for-dollar credit of up to $1,700 for individuals for donations to non-profit scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) or up to $3,400 for married couples filing jointly, according to the Treasury Department.

The regulations released on Thursday state that families’ income eligibility limit is three times the median income for the county or metro area they live in adjusted for family size. Eligibility is determined by families who live in states that have opted into the program.

There will be a 60-day comment period before final implementation of the program. Donations start Jan. 1, but states have until Feb. 15 to submit their list of SGOs.

Internal email points to Kennedy Center’s continued closure

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — An email sent to Kennedy Center staff earlier this week by the center’s executive director says the building will “remain temporarily closed” pending an ongoing safety assessment.

In the email, sent on Wednesday and obtained by ABC News, the center’s executive director and chief operating officer, Matt Floca, gave no indication that the building will be reopening anytime soon after the President Donald Trump-aligned Kennedy Center board voted last month to close it for renovations after a federal judge’s ruling blocked Trump’s name from appearing on the outside of the building.

Floca said no one can access the building’s grand hallways without permission and a hard hat, pointing to an ongoing “emergency egress assessment” of the building’s overhanging soffits — the underside of the building’s distinctive overhanging roof.

Floca said that the ongoing assessment will “determine whether, and under what conditions, the building can safely support occupants and be evacuated,” given that certain exits would be blocked during soffit repairs.

“We currently expect the assessment to be completed within the next one to two weeks and will share an update when it is complete, or sooner if the expected timing changes,” Floca wrote in the email. “This is an assessment timeline, not a reopening date. The immediate safety determination is separate from the scope and schedule of the broader renovation program.”

Floca said the main corridors of the building — the Hall of States, Hall of Nations and Grand Foyer — remain off limits, and that entry “requires express authorization and compliance with all prescribed safety controls, including hard hats and any other required personal protective equipment.”

Wearing such safety equipment “does not, by itself, authorize entry,” Floca noted.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered an update on the center’s closure by Friday, and Floca is expected to provide the judge with the same information he put in his Wednesday email, which was first reported by NBC News.

Floca, in a court filing last week, cited several “documented hazards” within the building as well as corrosion on the soffits around it.

In May, Cooper issued an order blocking the planned two-year closure of the center for renovations, saying the board had not properly weighed the impact of the closure on the center’s finances and programming when it voted on the plan in March.

The Justice Department has since asked the judge to dissolve that order so planned renovations can proceed. However, Cooper has yet to rule on that motion.

Trump has appealed the judge’s order that the board cannot re-add Trump’s name to the building.

In a TIME magazine interview out Thursday, Trump said he would be willing to save the Kennedy Center, but that it’s in “terrible, terrible shape,” adding that his administration should be recognized for stepping in to renovate.

He also refused to commit to not demolishing the performing arts center without the consent of Congress.

“I’m not committing to anything,” Trump told TIME. “We’re going to see how it plays out in court.”

Watch the new trailer for Marvel’s ‘VisionQuest’

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Feast your eyes on the new VisionQuest trailer.

The Marvel Television series sees Paul Bettany reprising his role as the the reformed weapon android Vision. After his system is rebooted, he begins to search for new meaning and consults with the various AI personas embedded in his programming.

Vision’s journey reunites him with the Marvel villain Ultron, once again played by James Spader, and sends him on the run with a mysterious boy who might be his son, played by Ruaridh Mollica.

According to the show’s logline, “As Vision evades capture, he must confront his nature, resist Ultron’s influence, and unravel the enigma that is his young companion if he’s to survive.”

VisionQuest is the conclusion to the trilogy that began with 2021’s WandaVision and continued with 2024’s Agatha All Along.

The first two episodes premiere on Disney+ Oct. 14.

Disney is the parent company of Marvel and ABC News.

Rapper Rick Ross appears in court after arrest on domestic violence, battery charges

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Rapper Rick Ross appeared in court Thursday after he was arrested on two domestic violence charges.

The “Hustlin'” rapper, whose legal name is William Leonard Roberts, voluntarily surrendered to police in Miami Beach early Thursday morning and was booked into jail on charges of felony battery by strangulation and misdemeanor battery, according to the Miami Beach Police Department.

In court, Ross’ attorney submitted a not guilty plea on his behalf.

The judge ordered Ross to stay away from the accuser, who was not publicly identified, and set bond at $5,000.

As he left jail later Thursday, Ross said he is “totally innocent.”

“I am totally innocent of these fabricated allegations made against me,” Ross said to reporters gathered outside.

ABC News has reached out to Ross’ attorney, Bradley Horenstein, for comment.

According to police, the charges stem from a domestic violence incident reported to police on Sept. 29. The alleged incident occurred Aug. 28 at a residence on Star Island, an exclusive neighborhood in Miami Beach.

The accuser told police that Ross “struck her multiple times during an altercation and restricted her breathing by twisting the collar of her hoodie” and provided photo documentation of her injuries, according to police.

According to the arrest affidavit, the accuser reported she and Ross had been in a relationship for the past year and lived together.

The woman told police that Ross accused her of lying to him.

Ross rose to fame with his 2006 debut studio album Port of Miami. He went on to start his own record label, Maybach Music Group, and has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards.

ICE sets limits on which officers can stop vehicles

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is changing its policy on which officers can stop vehicles, and what is required to do when they’re stopped, according to sources familiar with the change.

Formal guidance was issued to officers this week, sources said. This comes after several high-profile vehicle stops ended in shootings.

Only those ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers who have completed the relevant training may participate in the stops, according to the sources, who said others who aren’t properly trained could only offer assistance, but not be the main officer in charge of the stop.

In addition, only officers that have lights and sirens on their government-issued vehicles are allowed to stop cars, according to the sources.

Earlier this summer, in the wake of two back-to-back fatal shootings — one in Texas and one in Maine — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin temporarily paused traffic stops as ICE officers were set to receive new training.

However, President Donald Trump and others were reportedly furious about the pause, and Trump later overturned it, according to multiple sources at the time.

The new guidance doesn’t prohibit vehicle stops, according to sources.

ABC News has reached out to DHS for comment on the new policy.

The new changes were first reported by CNN.

Last month, A Venezuelan migrant delivering for DoorDash was shot by an ICE officer in Austin, Texas.

Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez has been charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer.

The criminal complaint alleges that during a traffic stop, immigration officers asked Wilber Garces-Perez “to place his vehicle in park and step out–orders which he allegedly ignored.”

The complaint alleges Garces-Perez led them on a high-speed chase before one of the officers “caught up to Garces-Perez, who allegedly attempted to strike the officer with his car, causing the officer to fire his pistol.”

Attorneys for Garces-Perez said he still has a bullet lodged in his back.

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