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House, Senate pass ‘National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk’ ahead of memorial service

September 19, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Days before a memorial service for Charlie Kirk, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed a “National Day of Remembrance” for the conservative influencer after he was killed on Sept. 10.

The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution marking Oct. 14, 2025 — Kirk’s birthday — a “National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk.”

While on the Senate floor, Sen. Rick Scott, the Florida Republican leading the passage of the resolution, said he is “proud to have the support of more than 20 of my colleagues to honor Charlie by dedicating his birthday” as this day of remembrance.

“Charlie was a good man — a devout husband, father, and friend. His life was shaped by his faith and the idea that in America, debate and discussion are crucial to the betterment of our country,” Scott said on Thursday.

In the approved resolution, the Senate “recognizes Charlie Kirk for his contributions to civic education and public service” and “encourages educational institutions, civic organizations and citizens across the United States to observe this day.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Thursday that the House of Representative will “soon pass a resolution honoring the life and legacy of our friend Charlie Kirk, and condemning the political violence that led to his untimely passing.”

On Friday, the House also approved the resolution, despite 96 Democrats declining to support it.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose husband Paul was the victim to political violence himself, was among the 22 Democrats who walked out without voting on the Kirk resolution, but did vote on the short-term government funding bill. Four Republicans also skipped the vote.

“We passed a resolution to honor the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk, my late friend, the friend of so many in this chamber, and we called out political violence in America,” Johnson told reporters following the vote.

The conservative influencer was shot and killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

After a two-day manhunt, Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested for allegedly shooting Kirk and charged on Tuesday with a slew of offenses, including aggravated murder, with prosecutors announcing the intent to seek the death penalty.

He was also charged with felony discharge of a firearm causing serious body injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering and commission of violent offense in the presence of a child, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced on Tuesday.

Robinson made his first court appearance on Tuesday. His next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Before he turned himself in to authorities, Robinson’s parents asked him why he committed this crime, to which he allegedly said “there is too much evil and the guy [Charlie Kirk] spreads too much hate,” according to charging documents.

The suspect also allegedly texted his roommate after the shooting that he “had enough of this hatred.”

“Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” one of the messages read, according to the charging documents.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI is investigating “anyone and everyone” involved in a chat on Discord — a group chat messaging platform — where the suspect allegedly sent messages two hours before he was taken into custody, admitting he shot Kirk.

“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all…It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” one of the messages allegedly read.

Patel said there are “a lot more” than 20 people linked to Robinson on Discord and that the FBI is “running them all down. He added that a “number of individuals” are currently being investigated.

Kirk’s memorial service will take place on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and members of the Kirk family are expected to attend.

Erika Kirk, the activist’s widow, is expected to speak on Sunday. On Thursday, she was “unanimously elected” as the new CEO and chair of the board for Turning Point USA, the organization her late husband founded.

The Department of Homeland Security has designated Charlie Kirk’s memorial service as a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1 event, which is “reserved for events of the highest national significance,” a department official said.

ABC News’ John Parkinson contributed to this report.

Trump poised to fire US attorney for resisting effort to charge NY AG Letitia James: Sources

September 19, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump is expected to fire the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after investigators were unable to find incriminating evidence of mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to sources.

Federal prosecutors in Virginia had uncovered no clear evidence to prove that James had knowingly committed mortgage fraud when she purchased a home in the state in 2023, ABC News first reported earlier this week, but Trump officials pushed U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert to nevertheless bring criminal charges against her, according to sources.

Administration officials have told Siebert of Trump’s intention to fire him, sources familiar with the matter said. Siebert’s last day on the job is expected to be Friday.

Abbe Lowell, an attorney for James, called the expected firing a “brazen attack on the rule of law.”

“Firing people until he finds someone who will bend the law to carry out his revenge has been the President’s pattern — and it’s illegal,” Lowell said Friday in a statement to ABC News. “Punishing this prosecutor, a Trump appointee, for doing his job sends a clear and chilling message that anyone who dares uphold the law over politics will face the same fate.”

The decision to fire Siebert could throw into crisis one of the most prominent U.S. attorney’s offices, which handles a bulk of the country’s espionage and terrorism cases, and heighten concerns about Trump’s alleged use of the DOJ to target his political adversaries.

Trump nominated Siebert for the position in May. Sources familiar with the matter said that the administration now plans to install a U.S. attorney who would more aggressively investigate James.

The move to fire Siebert because he refused to charge one of Trump’s political rivals would mark an escalation in what the president’s critics have called a retribution campaign, with ongoing investigations also targeting Sen. Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

Trump has repeatedly accused James — who successfully brought a civil fraud case against him last year and leads multiple lawsuits challenging his administration’s policies — of targeting him for political reasons, calling her “biased and corrupt.”

James is “a horror show who ran on the basis that she was going to get Trump before she even knew anything about me,” Trump said during his civil fraud trial in 2023. “This has to do with election interference, plain and simple. We have a corrupt attorney general in this state.”

Following a three-month trial, a New York judge concluded that Trump and his family had committed a decade of business fraud by overstating the value of their properties to get favorable loan terms, fining Trump and his sons nearly half a billion dollars. An appeals court subsequently tossed the financial penalty but upheld the finding that Trump committed fraud.

Trump administration officials have argued that James committed mortgage fraud because one of the documents related to her 2023 home purchase, they say, falsely indicated the property would be her primary residence. The investigation began after Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, sent the DOJ a criminal referral about James in April.

“I believe this is riddled with mortgage fraud, and frankly, I think that’s why she knew so much about the law in terms of how to go after President Trump,” Pulte told Fox News last month. “She was the fraudster, not President Trump.”

However, investigators have so far determined that the document — a limited power of attorney form used by James’ niece to sign documents on her behalf when James closed on the home — was never considered by the loan officers who approved the mortgage, sources said.

A former police officer with Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department, Siebert graduated from law school in 2009 and has worked as an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia since 2010. In addition to serving as a line prosecutor, Siebert headed the office’s organized drug crime task force and supervised the office’s Richmond division from 2019 to 2024.

Siebert began serving as the interim U.S. attorney on Jan. 21 after the late Jessica Aber, who ran the office from 2021-25, resigned following President Trump’s inauguration. Both of Virginia’s Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, recommended Siebert to Trump in April, and Trump nominated him for the position in May.

“Mr. Siebert has dedicated his career to protecting public safety, from his work with the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department to his handling of violent crimes and firearms trafficking as a line Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. With his experience and dedication to service, Mr. Siebert is equipped to handle the challenges and important obligations associated with this position,” Warner and Kaine said in a statement in May, pledging to support his nomination.

One of the most high-profile federal prosecutors’ offices in the country, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia serves over six million people with a staff of 300 prosecutors. Among the nation’s fastest-moving trial courts, the Eastern District of Virginia often handles significant terrorism and intelligence-related cases because of its proximity to Washington and the multiple government offices in its jurisdiction.

After his 120-day term as interim U.S. attorney expired in May, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia unanimously agreed to extend Siebert’s tenure in the position.

Senate passes ‘National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk’ ahead of memorial service

September 19, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Days before a memorial service for Charlie Kirk, the U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a “National Day of Remembrance” for the conservative influencer after he was killed on Sept. 10.

The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution marking Oct. 14, 2025 — the influencer’s birthday — a “National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk.”

While on the Senate floor, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who was leading the passage of the resolution, said he is “proud to have the support of more than 20 of my colleagues to honor Charlie by dedicating his birthday” as this day of remembrance.

The conservative influencer was shot and killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Robinson made his first court appearance on Tuesday. His next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.

The suspect also allegedly texted his roommate after the shooting that he “had enough of this hatred.”

“Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” one of the messages read, according to the charging documents.

“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all…It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” one of the messages read.

Kirk’s memorial service will take place on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and members of the Kirk family are expected to attend.

Erika Kirk, the influencer’s widow, is expected to speak on Sunday. On Thursday, she was “unanimously elected” as the new CEO and chair of the board for Turning Point USA, the organization her late husband was the founder of.

Several New York officials arrested in protest at Manhattan ICE office

September 19, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Several elected officials in New York were arrested Thursday during a protest at an immigration office in Manhattan, according to local media reports and the Department of Homeland Security.

Among those arrested at 26 Federal Plaza — a government building that houses an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office — were New York City Comptroller Brad Lander who was arrested at the same location in June while accompanying people to immigration court visits.

In a statement, DHS confirmed that a total of 71 people were arrested during the protest Thursday, including Lander, two New York state senators and nine New York State Assembly members.

Lander posted on social media that he and other elected officials were demanding access to the facility’s 10th floor, which operates as a holding facility for detained migrants, “to conduct oversight of conditions in ICE’s de facto detention facility.”

In the statement, DHS said: “Brad Lander showed up to 26 Federal Plaza unannounced with agitators and media and proceeded to obstruct law enforcement and cause a scene. He yelled inside the building that he was ‘not leaving’ until detainees were ‘released.'”

New York ABC station WABC reported Lander and the other elected officials who were arrested would be given police summonses and then be released.

Following the arrests Thursday, the building was later placed on a lockdown because of a bomb threat, DHS said.

The facility at 26 Federal Plaza has been the scene of numerous protests in recent months amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Lander was arrested during a protest in June after being accused of assaulting a law enforcement officer. Lander denied the allegation and said he was not charged following the incident.

Earlier this week, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to improve conditions for detained migrants at the holding facility inside the building.

Dept. of Homeland Security enhances security for Charlie Kirk’s funeral

September 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security has designated the upcoming funeral and memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk as a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event, a DHS official told ABC News.

The funeral will have the same level of security as the Super Bowl or the Boston Marathon.

SEAR 1 events are “reserved for events of the highest national significance and enable the federal government to provide the full range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event,” according to a DHS official.

President Donald Trump and other members of the cabinet are expected to attend the service at State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, on Sunday.

William Mack, the Secret Service special agent in charge of the Phoenix field office, said in a statement that the Secret Service has been designated as the federal coordinator for the funeral.

“Our teams are already on the ground in Phoenix and Glendale, working side-by-side with state, local, and federal partners,” Mack said. “Together, we are fully committed to ensuring that these solemn events receive the comprehensive protection and support they require.”

Some of those local police officers include officers from the Glendale, Arizona, police department.

The department is navigating a heightened security threat amid expectations of a massive crowd at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on Sunday.

“We will not be surprised if more than 100,000 people show up,” said Jose Santiago, public information officer for the Glendale Police Department.

He says they expect people to travel in from across the country and begin lining up for the first-come, first-served service by 2 a.m. on Sunday, if not before. The parking lot opens at 7:00 a.m., local time. Camping in the area will not be allowed.

“Officers will be anywhere the eye can see, and in places it can’t,” said Santiago, referring to aircraft, many drones in the air and helicopters at the ready.

The Department of Public Safety and Secret Service will be running the show inside State Farm Stadium.

Derek Mayer, the former assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Chicago field office, who oversaw large-scale events, told ABC News the designation allows for a “whole of government approach.”

“DHS regularly declares events around the nation as SEAR-level to ensure the safety of those in attendance,” Mayer, now the chief security officer and vice president of executive protection at P4 said.

“This designation allows for a ‘whole of government’ approach, which means many different local, state and federal agencies will supply resources and manpower to guarantee extra security measures are in place. With President Trump and many other high-profile individuals expected to attend, along with the amount of public attention focused on the funeral, it makes sense for DHS to declare this as a SEAR event,” Mayer added.

The funeral is open to the public, but those who plan to attend are asked to register with Turning Point USA.

Judge blocks administration from deporting unaccompanied minors to Guatemala

September 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from deporting unaccompanied minors to Guatemala, saying the government’s claims that it was simply reuniting children with their parents “crumbled like a house of cards.”

The move came 18 days after government officials put dozens of children on planes destined for their home country. An emergency order prevented the children from being removed.

During the initial emergency hearing on Aug. 31, the government claimed the children were being reunited with their parents in coordination with the Guatemalan government.

“But that explanation crumbled like a house of cards about a week later,” U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly wrote in Thursday’s ruling.

“There is no evidence before the Court that the parents of these children sought their return,” wrote Judge Kelly. “To the contrary, the Guatemalan Attorney General reports that officials could not even track down parents for most of the children whom Defendants found eligible for their ‘reunification’ plan. And none of those that were located had asked for their children to come back to Guatemala.”

The judge, a Trump appointee, noted the swift attempt by several government agencies to remove the children, who were in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Those agencies told the children’s caretakers, who were hearing about the plan for the first time, to have them ready for pickup in as little as two hours. The children were roused from their beds in the middle of the night and driven to an airport, where some were loaded onto planes,” Kelly wrote.

Responding to the ruling, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, “This judge is blocking efforts to REUNIFY CHILDREN with their families. Now these children will have to go to shelters. All just to ‘get Trump.’ This is disgraceful and immoral.”

In his ruling, Kelly barred the administration from deporting any unaccompanied Guatemalan child who has not received a final order of removal or permission from the attorney general to voluntarily depart. Kelly says the government is blocked from deporting these children while the case continues.

While Judge Kelly’s order only applies to Guatemalan children, attorneys for the minors had notified the court that other children from different countries could also be targeted for removal.

In one court filing, attorneys claimed a legal service provider in Illinois had been told by an Office of Refugee Resettlement official that “ICE may soon be taking into custody minors from the country of Honduras with the intent to repatriate them to their home country.”

Legal service providers also sounded the alarm about children from El Salvador being prepped for removal once their scheduled hearings were removed from the dockets, in a similar fashion to the Guatemalan children.

Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika elected as new CEO for Turning Point USA after husband’s death

September 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, was named the new CEO and chair of the board for Turning Point USA after her husband — the founder of the organization — was killed on Sept. 10, the board announced on Thursday.

“It was the honor of our lives to serve as board members at Charlie’s side. Charlie prepared all of us for a moment like this one. He worked tirelessly to ensure Turning Point USA was built to survive even the greatest tests. And now, it is our great pride to announce Erika Kirk as the new CEO and Chair of the Board for Turning Point USA,” the board announced in a letter shared on X on Thursday.

The board “unanimously elected” Erika Kirk, saying that “in prior discussions, Charlie expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted in the event of his death.”

Erika Kirk is scheduled to speak at her late husband’s memorial service on Sunday in Arizona alongside President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others.

The conservative influencer was shot and killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

After a two-day manhunt, Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested for allegedly shooting Charlie Kirk and charged on Tuesday with a slew of offenses, including aggravated murder, with prosecutors announcing the intent to seek the death penalty.

Robinson also made his first court appearance on Tuesday. His next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.

In her first public message since her husband’s death, Erika Kirk said “no one will ever forget my husband’s name.”

“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” Erika Kirk said Sept. 12.

ABC News’ Will Steakin contributed to this report.

Erika Kirk elected as new CEO for Turning Point USA after husband’s death

September 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Erika Kirk, the wife of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, was named the new CEO and chair of the board for Turning Point USA after her husband — the founder of the organization — was killed on Sept. 10, the board announced on Thursday.

ABC News’ Will Steakin contributed to this report.

Military helicopter crashes near base in Washington state, official says

September 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(THURSTON COUNTY, Wash.) — A military helicopter on a routine training flight crashed late Wednesday in a rural area near Joint Base Lewis–McChord in Washington state, officials said.

“This remains a developing situation, and no additional details are available at this time,” Scot Keith, a JBLM garrison public affairs officer, told ABC News.

The helicopter crashed at about 9 p.m. local time, Keith said.

A U.S. Army spokesperson said the helicopter was on a “routine training flight,” with air traffic controllers losing touch with the aircraft, indicating that something may have gone wrong.

Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said officials have been able to locate the crash site but have been “unable to continue rescue efforts as the scene is on fire and is starting to overheat their footwear.”

Initial reports said the crash may have occurred near Summit Lake, the sheriff’s office said.

“We have been advised that the military lost contact with a helicopter in the area, and we are working closely with JBLM to deploy any resources needed to assist,” the base’s public affairs office said in a social media post.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

Los Angeles home where D4vd has stayed searched after body of teen found in singer’s Tesla: Sources

September 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — A Los Angeles home where D4vd had been living was searched overnight, law enforcement sources told ABC News on Thursday, as authorities investigate the death of a teenage girl whose body was found in the trunk of a Tesla registered to the 20-year-old singer.

A search warrant was executed at a home in Hollywood Hills that the singer does not own but had been staying at, the sources said.

The development came after the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on Wednesday identified the female body discovered last week in the trunk of a towed Tesla registered to the singer as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas. The teen, from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, was reported missing last year, investigators confirmed to ABC News.

The body was discovered in the trunk of the Tesla on Sept. 8, two days after it had been towed from a Los Angeles street, police sources said.

The circumstances of how she died and ended up in the front trunk are unclear, investigators told ABC News.

The cause of death is still being determined.

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division is leading the death investigation. The case is not a homicide investigation because authorities do not yet know how she died, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The case relies on the medical examiner determining a cause of death, which is proving difficult, the sources said.

No arrests have been made.

The Los Angeles Police Department told ABC News on Thursday that they are following up on leads in the case as they try to move the investigation forward.

Police responded to an impound lot in Hollywood on Sept. 8 “for a foul odor coming from a vehicle,” Los Angeles police said.

Authorities located a body in the front trunk of the Tesla that was in a state of decomposition, LAPD sources said.

The victim was about 5-foot-1 with wavy black hair and was wearing a tube top, black leggings, a yellow metal bracelet and metal stud earrings, according to the medical examiner. She also had a tattoo on her right index finger that said “Shhh…”

The vehicle is registered to David Anthony Burke, known professionally as D4vd, according to a senior LAPD source. It is one of several vehicles owned by the singer, with many different people using any of the vehicles at any given time, the source added.

ABC News reached out to his representative and lawyer for comment but did not receive a response.

D4vd, who first went viral on TikTok, where he has 3.8 million followers, released his debut album in April. The singer, known for his indie, R&B and alt-pop sound, has been on tour since August. The tour’s stop in Seattle on Wednesday was canceled, with shows next set for San Francisco on Friday and Los Angeles on Saturday.

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