National – Page 32

Former sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson faces murder trial in fatal shooting of Sonya Massey

October 20, 2025 by WDNY Radio

<figure><img src=”https://s3.amazonaws.com/syndication.abcaudio.com/files/2025-10-20/N_SeanGrayson_102025.jpg” alt=””><figcaption>Sean Grayson fatally shot Sonya Massey while responding to her 911 call for help. (Sangamon County Sheriff's Office)</figcaption></figure>(PEORIA, Ill.) — Jury selection is set to begin on Monday in the trial of Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy who was charged with first-degree murder in connection to the July 6, 2024, fatal shooting of Sonya Massey.Grayson was <a href=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/illinois-deputy-charged-fatal-shooting-sonya-massey-woman/story?id=112058957″>charged with a total of three counts</a> in connection to Massey’s death – first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.Grayson’s attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment to ABC News but confirmed that his client has “pleaded not guilty to all charges.”The trial will take place in Peoria, Illinois, after it was moved from Sangamon County to Peoria County due to extensive media publicity.Body camera footage of the incident <a href=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/body-camera-footage-released-illinois-state-police-woman/story?id=112162337″>released by Illinois State Police on July 22, 2024,</a> shows Massey telling Grayson and another responding deputy, “Please, don’t hurt me,” once she answered their knocks on her door.”I don’t want to hurt you, you called us,” Grayson responded.Later in the video, Grayson, who was inside Massey’s home, points to a pot of boiling water on her stove and says, “We don’t need a fire while we’re in here.”Massey then pours the water into the sink and tells the deputy, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” according to the video.Grayson threatens to shoot her and Massey apologizes and ducks down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt, the video shows. As she briefly rises, Grayson shoots her three times in the face, the footage shows.Massey died by homicide due to a gunshot wound to her head, <a href=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/sonya-massey-woman-killed-home-police-died-homicide/story?id=112305250″>according to an autopsy report</a> released on July 26, 2024, Sangamon County coroner Jim Allmon confirmed to ABC News.Grayson <a href=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/sean-grayson-deputy-charged-sonya-massey-killing-fighting/story?id=113149639″>said he feared for his life</a> during his encounter with Massey, according to documents released by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in August of 2024.”While on scene, I was in fear Dep. (redacted) and I were going to receive great bodily harm or death. Due to being in fear of our safety and life, I fired my duty weapon,” Grayson wrote in his field case report.Attorney Ben Crump, who represents Massey’s family, said the autopsy confirmed that this was an “unnecessary excessive use of force, completely unnecessary, certainly not justified.”Crump said that Massey had struggled with her mental health.Prosecutors alleged that Grayson discouraged his partner from retrieving the medical kit to render aid to Massey after the shooting because he allegedly thought the injuries were too severe to revive her.The judge in the case ruled during a pre-trial hearing on Sept. 15, 2025, against the defense’s request to exclude body camera footage after Massey was shot, according to WICS, ABC affiliate in Springfield, Illinois.The body camera footage released by Illinois State Police shows the incident from the point of view of Grayson’s partner because Grayson did not turn on his own body camera until after the shooting, according to court documents reviewed by ABC News.A review of the case by Illinois State Police found Grayson was not justified in his use of deadly force. Grayson was fired in July 2024 by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office after he was indicted in this case.Grayson has been held in the Macon County jail ahead of his trial.Grayson’s attorneys revealed that he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer and argued for his pretrial release, claiming that he would not receive proper treatment in prison. An appellate court ruled on Nov. 27, 2024, that Grayson could be released on pretrial conditions but the ruling was paused last December after prosecutors appealed the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court.Prosecutors argued, in part, that Grayson acted “impulsively” and cannot be trusted to comply with conditions for pretrial release.Prior to Grayson’s time in public law enforcement, he was discharged from the U.S. Army for unspecified “misconduct (serious offense),” according to documents obtained by ABC News.ABC News also learned that Grayson was charged with two DUI offenses in Macoupin County, Illinois, in August 2015 and July 2016, according to court documents.He pleaded guilty to both charges. He paid over $1,320 in fines and had his vehicle impounded as a result of the 2015 incident. In 2016, Grayson paid over $2,400 in fines, according to court records.Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed new legislation on Aug. 12 inspired by Massey’s death, according to ABC station in Chicago, <a href=”https://abc7chicago.com/post/illinois-governor-jb-pritzker-set-sign-police-reform-bill-named-sonya-massey/17510474/”>WLS</a>. The law creates stricter hiring practices for law enforcement agencies by requiring departments to thoroughly investigate a candidate’s history before hiring them.”It means everything to me. Like to see my mom making some change … that means the world to me,” said Massey’s son Malachi Hill Massey.ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

3 injured in shooting outside Oklahoma State University residential hall: Police

October 20, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — At least three people were injured early Sunday in a shooting outside of a residential hall at Oklahoma State University, authorities said.

One of the injured victims is a student at the Stillwater, Oklahoma, school, according to the Oklahoma State University Police Department.

No arrests have been announced in the shooting.

The shooting was reported around 3:40 a.m. local time outside the Carreker East residential hall, according to the OSU police statement.

“Initial reports indicate a large, private party occurred at an off-campus location. After the gathering disbanded, some attendees returned to Carreker East, where the shooting occurred,” according to the police statement.

OSU Chief of Police Michael Beckner said one of the victims is known to be an OSU student.

All of the victims were taken to hospitals in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

There is no ongoing threat to the campus, according to the statement. Officials requested that anyone with information about the shooting contact the OSU Police Department.

Beckner said campus police officers first learned of the shooting when they overheard a radio call from a Stillwater police dispatcher of a gunshot victim at a McDonald’s several miles from the college.

He said campus officers went to the McDonald’s and found the person suffering from gunshot wounds and began to provide medical aid.

Beckner said that about the same time, campus police received calls of a shooting occurring on campus in the area of the residential halls.

Beckner said when officers got to the scene, people were leaving the area in cars, and officers stopped several of the vehicles at gunpoint. He said that no victims were at the scene when officers arrived.

But while on the scene, officers received word that a person shot at the school had been dropped off at the Stillwater Medical Center, and another victim of the shooting had shown up at the Tulsa Medical Center.

Beckner said all three victims of the shooting were in stable condition on Sunday afternoon.

While interviewing potential witnesses, officers learned that a shooting had just occurred in the parking out outside the Carreker East residential hall.

Beckner said witnesses told officers that the shooting stemmed from a dispute that had erupted earlier at a party at the Payne County Expo Center in Stillwater and spilled over to an after-party on campus.

Asked about the dispute by reporters, Beckner said, “A disagreement between several people. That’s as far as I’ll say.”

11 people injured, including infant, after car crashes into child’s birthday party in Maryland

October 19, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A suspect remained at large Sunday after allegedly crashing a vehicle into a child’s birthday party being held on the lawn of a Maryland home, injuring 11 people, including a toddler, according to police.

The incident occurred around 10:15 p.m. on Saturday in a residential neighborhood in Bladensburg, Maryland, a few miles northeast of the nation’s capital.

Of those injured, nine were children, ranging in age from 2 to 9, and two were adults, the Bladensburg Police Department said in a statement on Sunday morning.

“A vehicle that traveled from the area of Annapolis Road struck several individuals that were gathered in front of the residence for a child’s birthday party,” according to the police statement.

The Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department said in a social media post Saturday evening that of the 11 people taken to the hospital, nine were juveniles, including “1 infant.”

“1 juvenile female & 1 infant transported in critical condition,” according to the Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department post. The other victims have “serious but not life-threatening injuries,” according to the post.

Seven of the victims were taken to Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.; three were being treated at Capital Regional Medical Center near Landover, Maryland; and one was being cared for at Howard University Hospital, according to the Sunday police statement.

“The driver of the vehicle fled the scene on foot after the collision and the identity of the driver is still under investigation as well as the cause of the collision,” according to the police statement.

Central US states under severe thunderstorm watch

October 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — At least four U.S. states are under a severe thunderstorm watch.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center issued the watch for northwest Arkansas, southeast Kansas, southern Missouri and eastern Oklahoma until 6 p.m. CT. The storm is expected to bring hail and damaging winds.

Wind speeds could reach 75 miles per hour and hail might be as large as 1.5 inches in diameter, according to the forecast.

Most of these areas have seen growing drought conditions over the last two months, so one to two inches of rain expected across the area will be much needed and welcomed to these areas. However, some localized flash flooding will be possible.

The rain will reach from the Florida Panhandle up to the eastern Great Lakes Sunday by the afternoon.

While the severe threat is expected to be lower, some storms capable of producing strong winds and large hail are possible for the central Gulf Coast, as well as from northern North Carolina and eastern Kentucky up to western New York.

Mount Kilauea’s latest eruption on Hawaii’s Big Island seen in new images

October 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(HILO, Hawaii) — Mount Kilauea, a volcano that has been active in recent years, erupted again on Hawaii’s Big Island, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Sustained high fountains of lava flowed from Mount Kilauea’s two vents, according to the USGS.

This is the volcano’s 35th eruptive episode since Dec. 23, 2024, according to the USGS.

Fountains of lava rapidly grew to about 500 feet when the south vent began erupting at 8:50 p.m. local time on Friday, according to USGS.

The plume of gas above the fountains of lava extended to 16,0000 feet above ground level, according to USGS.

Tephra, or volcanic fragments, have reportedly fallen in the area, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense.

“Fine ash and Pele’s hair [a type of volcanic glass] can be carried long distances and may impact a broad area of Kaʻu along the southern and southwestern parts of Mauna Loa,” according to USGS.

Winter 2025 forecast: What to expect based on where you live in the US

October 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Some parts of the country are expected to face a colder and snowier season this year, but exact conditions will depend on which region you live in, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s winter season outlook.

The seasonal outlook from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, released Friday, predicts that the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest will experience possible cooler-than-average temperatures, while much of the southern and eastern United States will face potentially milder temperatures than what is usually expected during the winter season.

NOAA’s winter outlook predicts whether parts of the country will be above, below or near average when it comes to temperatures and precipitation — from December through February.

The outlook does not forecast weather variations that happen over days, weeks or over one month, but rather what the overall average would likely look like.

December, in a particular region, could feature typical winter conditions. However, January and February could still end up being warmer than normal, swaying the three-month average to “above normal” for the entire season.

On the opposite spectrum, prolonged cold spells could happen anytime during the winter and tip the three-month average to “below normal” for the entire season. What the outlook means for a specific local area depends on the typical climate around it.

What does winter look like in terms of snow?
While NOAA’s winter outlook does not predict snowfall for the season, it offers clues for what this winter could look like in terms of snowfall.

The outlook forecasts above-average precipitation possible for the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies, the Great Plains and the Great Lakes from December to February, which could come in the form of snow if cold enough conditions line up perfectly.

With the season’s snowfall dependent on storms that happen on a day-by-day basis, some of these areas could see these wetter conditions in the form of winter precipitation.

The southern half of the country — from Southern California through much of Texas, the exterior Southeast and the coastal Mid-Atlantic — will possibly see drier conditions than what is average for winter.

What previous winters have taught us
According to the Environmental Protection Agency and NOAA, the contiguous United States has been getting warmer every season since the early 1900s.

The EPA and NOAA also found that winters specifically in the contiguous United States have increased by about 3 degrees Fahrenheit — the most of all four seasons.

NOAA reported that winter 2023-24 was the warmest winter on average for the country in 130 years, with more than half of all U.S. states seeing their top-10 warmest winters on record.

The last few winters have featured several snow outliers across the country, including record-breaking snow in the south in late January 2025 that turned deadly and a snow drought in the northeast that lasted more than 700 days and ended for some in 2024.

A Climate Central analysis found that for more than 2,000 locations across the country, nearly two-thirds of them are seeing less snow than they did in the early 1970s.

What’s shaping this winter outlook?
A big part of what forecasters look for when predicting the seasonal trends are climate patterns, specifically in the Pacific Ocean.

The most influential one is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The ENSO is a natural variation of warmer, neutral and cooler waters along the equatorial waters of the eastern Pacific. This natural variation is one of the most significant driving forces of large-scale weather patterns over the Pacific Ocean, and eventually over North America.

Forecasters at the Climate Prediction Center say the ENSO has been in the cooler pattern, or La Niña, since September and expect it to continue for much of the winter before transitioning into a neutral pattern as spring begins.

This would likely put the U.S. in a dominant weather pattern for much of the winter that keeps the southern half of the country warmer and drier, while the Pacific Northwest out to the Great Lakes will likely be cooler and wetter than average.

George Santos released from prison after sentence commuted by Trump

October 18, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump said Friday evening he has signed a commutation releasing scandal-plagued former congressman George Santos from prison “immediately.”

Santos, 37, was less than three months into serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison after being convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The ex-lawmaker was released from prison just before 11 p.m. on Friday night and was picked up by his family, according to a statement from his lawyer, Joe Murray.

“Once they arrived, [Santos] walked right out and hopped into their car and drove home,” Murray said.

In a social media post, Trump said Santos, whom he called “somewhat of a ‘rogue,'” had the “Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”

“George has been in solitary confinement for long stretches of time and, by all accounts, has been horribly mistreated. Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!” Trump said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, which successfully prosecuted Santos, had no comment.

According to the clemency grant, a photo of which was posted on X by U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, Trump granted Santos an “immediate commutation of his entire sentence to time served with no further fines, restitution, probation, supervised release, or other conditions.”

An attorney for Santos told ABC News while en route to the federal prison that they expect he will be released Friday night but are waiting for official word.

The attorney said that Martin and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche were extremely helpful in getting the commutation across the finish line, and noted that several members of Congress, including Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Tim Burchett, were very aggressive in campaigning for his release.

Santos pleaded guilty to a series of fraud crimes and was sentenced in April to 87 months in prison — the maximum he faced — and two years of supervised release.

The commutation comes days after the South Shore Press published a “passionate plea” from Santos to Trump, in which he expressed his support and asked that the president “allow me the opportunity to return to my family, my friends, and my community.”

“During my short tenure in Congress, I stood firmly behind your agenda — 100% of the time,” Santos wrote in the letter, published Monday. “I championed policies that strengthened our economy, defended our borders, and restored America’s standing on the world stage. I did it proudly, Sir, because I believed — and still believe — in the mission you set out to accomplish for the American people.”

Santos said in the letter that he was being held in “complete isolation” following an alleged death threat.

“Mr. President, I have nowhere else to turn. You have always been a man of second chances, a leader who believes in redemption and renewal. I am asking you now, from the depths of my heart, to extend that same belief to me,” he wrote.

Rep. Greene, who had recently called on Trump to commute Santos’ sentence, thanked the president for doing so on Friday, saying on X that the former congressman was “unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!”

Santos pleaded guilty in August 2024, in which he admitted to claiming relatives had made contributions to his campaign when, in fact, they had not. Santos conceded he was trying to meet the fundraising threshold to qualify for financial help from the National Republican Congressional Committee.

He also stipulated that he committed other fraud, including charging donor credit cards without authorization and convincing donors to give money by falsely stating the money would be used for TV ads. He also stipulated he stole public money by applying for and receiving unemployment benefits during the pandemic to which he was not entitled.

As part of his plea deal, he agreed to pay nearly $600,000 in restitution and forfeiture.

Santos was expelled from Congress in December 2023, just under a year after assuming office to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

His expulsion from Congress followed accusations of ethics violations and other wrongdoing in a scathing report by the House Ethics Committee that claimed he was a fabulist and fraudster who used the prestige of political office to bilk tens of thousands of dollars out of other people.

Several New York House Republicans — who led the charge to expel George Santos from the House — criticized Trump’s commutation.

“George Santos didn’t merely lie — he stole millions, defrauded an election, and his crimes (for which he pled guilty) warrant more than a three-month sentence. He should devote the rest of his life to demonstrating remorse and making restitution to those he wronged,” New York GOP Rep. Nick LaLota, who represents a district on Long Island, said in a post on X.

New York GOP Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who is the current chair of the Homeland Security Committee and sat on the committee that investigated Santos, said in a statement that “less than three months” in prison is “not justice.”

Several House Democrats also condemned Trump’s move.

“Donald Trump has time to free serial fraudster George Santos from prison. But he can’t be bothered to address the Republican healthcare crisis crushing working class Americans. The extremists are insulting you every single day,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a post on X.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow National Guard deployment in Illinois

October 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) The Trump administration filed an emergency stay request Friday with the Supreme Court to undo a lower court order blocking the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago.

“This Court should stay the district court’s October 9 injunction in its entirety,” the filing, written by Solicitor General John Sauer, said.

Sauer argued the injunction “impinges on the President’s authority and needlessly endangers federal personnel and property.”

He said the Supreme Court should weigh in now “so that the National Guard may perform its protective function while any further litigation is ongoing. Given the pressing risk of violence, this Court should also grant an immediate administrative stay pending consideration of the present application.”

On Thursday, a three-judge panel on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said the Trump administration’s decision to deploy National Guard troops was a “likely violation” of the Tenth Amendment, which reserves certain powers to the states.

The panel, which includes a judge appointed by Trump, and presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, also found that the Trump administration was “unlikely to succeed” in proving that there is a “rebellion” against the authority of the U.S. government or that the president is unable to execute the law with regular forces.

A temporary restraining order blocking the deployment of the Guard remains in effect through Oct. 23. U.S. District Judge April Perry has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 22 to determine whether to extend the temporary order.

As of last week, there were about 200 federalized National Guard troops from Texas and 14 from California currently in Illinois, according to a declaration from a U.S. Army official. Another 300 Guardsmen from Illinois have been mobilized by the president over the objections of Gov. JB Pritzker.

President Donald Trump has said Guard troops are needed for crime prevention in Chicago, which he has described as a “war zone.”

Man convicted in Etan Patz’s murder must be re-tried by June or released: Judge

October 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Pedro Hernandez, the man convicted of abducting and murdering Etan Patz, must be re-tried by June 2026 or he will be released from custody, a federal judge in New York ruled on Friday.

This is the latest twist in what Judge Colleen McMahon called “the nearly half-century long saga of the disappearance and presumptive murder” of Patz.

Six-year-old Patz went missing while walking to his school bus stop alone in SoHo in 1979. He became the first missing child whose face appeared on a milk carton and changed the way the country responds to missing children cases.

Hernandez’s first trial ended in a hung jury. In 2017, after Hernandez’s second trial, he was convicted of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to 25 years to life. Because of a lack of physical evidence, the trial hinged entirely on purported confessions from Hernandez, who has a documented history of mental illnesses and a low IQ.

A federal appeals court ruled earlier this year that Hernandez was wrongfully convicted because of an error by the state court judge who oversaw his trial. The appellate court ordered Hernandez released or retried within a “reasonable” period of time.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office will be asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and, in the meantime, said it has not decided whether to put Hernandez on trial again.

McMahon said it was not her job “to read the tea leaves and make predictions,” though she expressed some sympathy for the “unusual, even extraordinary, difficulties” the district attorney’s office faces. All but one member of the original trial team no longer works there and dozens of long-scattered witnesses need to be found.

McMahon gave the district attorney’s office until June 1 to retry Hernandez. “If jury selection does not commence by June 1, 2026, Hernandez must be released,” McMahon said.

Pennsylvania teen dies from bacterial meningitis: School district

October 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LANGHORNE, Pa.) — A Pennsylvania high school student died from bacterial meningitis, according to the local school district.

Ryan Duffy, 18, a senior at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, contracted Streptococcus Pneumoniae Meningitis last week and was treated in the ICU before dying Tuesday, according to a letter sent to parents by the Neshaminy School District and obtained by ABC News.

“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of a member of our school community, Ryan Duffy, who passed away earlier today, October 14, 2025. Ryan’s family has given us permission to share with you that he became suddenly ill late last week and was admitted to the ICU at the hospital,” the letter read. “We hold the family in our thoughts and wish them strength in this difficult time. Ryan was diagnosed with Streptococcus Pneumoniae Meningitis.”

The Neshaminy School District is using enhanced cleaning protocols at Neshaminy High School, but the school said that Duffy’s form of meningitis is not typically contagious.

“It is important to note that this type of meningitis is not usually contagious in a school setting and does not typically spread through casual contact, such as being in the same classroom or cafeteria,” the letter continued.

According to the CDC, though this type of meningitis is spread through droplets that are released when you cough, sneeze, or talk, it is not highly contagious.

Parents in the community are mourning Duff’s death from the disease.

“These old diseases that have been around for years are still affecting people,” said Eddie Maurer, a parent from Bensalem, told ABC News affiliate ABC 6. “It just doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to believe.”

Bacterial meningitis causes inflammation of the brain’s protective lining and spinal cord and can lead to death in a few hours if not treated properly, according to the CDC.

Symptoms include severe headaches, high fevers, excessive vomiting, stiff neck and confusion, according to the CDC, and the best way to inoculate yourself against the disease is through vaccination.

“Most people recover from bacterial meningitis if managed properly,” the CDC page on the infection says, but “those who recover can have permanent disabilities.”

It is not yet known how Duffy contracted the infection.

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