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As ceasefire begins, some Iranians express relief after days of living in limbo

April 8, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — As President Donald Trump pulled back from threats to annihilate “a whole civilization” when the Iranian regime agreed to a ceasefire and open the critical Strait of Hormuz, some people in the Islamic Republic expressed relief after juggling feelings ranging from despair to doom.

Trump had given the Iranian regime a deadline of 8 p.m. ET Tuesday — which would have been Wednesday, April 8, at 3:30 a.m. in Tehran — for the Iranian government to strike a peace deal or risk the destruction of all bridges and power plants in Iran.

He later extended the deadline to two more weeks as Iran agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz and work to forge a peace deal.

Sohreh, a 33-year-old journalist and resident of Tehran, told ABC News she felt an immediate sense of “relief” when she heard that a ceasefire agreement had been brokered.

“My heart was about to stop,” Sohreh said in a written message to ABC News of the hours she and other Iranian citizens spent on Tuesday bracing for the massive U.S. to strike on its power plants, bridges and infrastructure before the attack was called off. “I cried all day for Iran and prayed to a God I don’t believe in: ‘A miracle, please, send a miracle. I can’t live after the destruction of Iran.'”

Leading up to the ceasefire announcement, Iranians who have been in contact with ABC News throughout the conflict, which began with a Feb. 28 U.S.-Israel joint attack, recalled moments of joy as it appeared the Iranian regime was about to be toppled and disappointment that the Islamic Republican Guard Corps (IRGC) had refused to give up the fight.

An internet blackout imposed by the regime has made it challenging to communicate with people inside Iran, so it’s difficult to gauge how people in the country are feeling. Some have managed to get messages to ABC News.

“I am against the regime and I want them gone with every cell of my body. I have participated in the protests against the regime. But by no means I agree with a foreign power destroying what has been built by my people, for my people, and for the future of our children,” Fatemeh, a 40-year-old engineer who lives in Tehran, told ABC News in a written statement on Monday.

Citing security reasons, Iranians like Fatemeh and Sohreh who have communicated with ABC News, spoke on condition that their real names not be used.

Sohreh recalled a rollercoaster of emotions since the conflict began, from hope that the regime would be toppled to despair that it was hanging on and prolonging the pain of regular Iranians.

“I danced so much to the news of Khamenei’s death, so much that my legs hurt and I fell,” Sohreh said in a message to ABC News on Monday, referring to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, who was assassinated in a strike on the first day of the conflict.

But as the war dragged on, Sohreh said she battled doubts that the U.S.-Israel attacks would bring the regime to its knees. “We ask ourselves what if the war continues?” she said.

“When they hit Asaluyeh, everyone was feeling terrible,” Sohreh said of Monday’s strike by Israel Defense Forces on Iran’s southern petrochemical infrastructure in the Persian Gulf port city of Asaluyeh. “We wonder what to do if they hit the infrastructure. They don’t belong to the Islamic Republic. They are built by our own children. They belong to Iran and the future of Iran.”

On Tuesday morning, Trump posted an ominous message on his social media platform, saying, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”

During a news conference on Wednesday morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared “a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield.

“A capital V military victory,” said Hegseth, adding that the U.S. military had “achieved every objective.”

Hegseth said that prior to the ceasefire being announced, the U.S. military was prepared to carry out the threat Trump made on Tuesday morning.

“Had Iran refused our terms, the next target would have been their power plants, their bridges and oil and energy infrastructure, targets they could not defend and could not realistically rebuild. It would have taken them decades. And we were locked and loaded,” Hegseth said.

He added, “President Trump had the power to cripple Iran’s economy in minutes, but he chose mercy. He spared those targets because Iran accepted the ceasefire under overwhelming pressure.”

Trump’s ominous statement on Tuesday came after he told reporters on Monday during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, “The Iranian people, when they don’t hear bombs go off, they’re upset.”

“They want to hear bombs because they want to be free,” Trump said without attributing where he was getting his information from.

He went on to claim that the only reason Iranian civilians have not taken to the streets en masse to demonstrate against the regime is that “they will be shot immediately, and that’s an edict. That’s in writing.”

Leila, a 36-year-old resident of Tehran who works as a manager of a shipping company, said she agreed with Trump, telling ABC News on Monday that when she doesn’t hear bombs, she feels “upset.” Leila, who described herself as anti-regime, said she longs for the day she sees American soldiers in Iran to save them.

In an earlier message Leila sent to ABC News on March 30, she said, “We don’t have fear from the missile attacks, we just get very happy to watch them burning the bases of the IRGC.”

Darius, a 38-year-old anthropologist from Tehran, told ABC News in a message sent on March 25 that he was initially anti-regime, but as the bombing continued, his opinion of the regime had started to change.

“The noise of the bombs and the fact that they are actually killing a lot of civilians pushes us more towards let’s say rallying around the flag,” Darius wrote. “We are fighting this war as a country and even though the Iranian state is not my cup of tea and even though I detest many of the things they do, still, I prefer to stand by their side against a Nazi in the White House.”

At least 3,546 people, including 244 children and 1,616 other civilians, have been killed in Iran due to the U.S.-Israeli strikes since the war began, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News agency reported on Sunday.

Stocks soar and oil prices plunge after US-Iran ceasefire

April 8, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Stocks soared and oil prices plunged in early trading on Wednesday, just hours after the U.S. and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire.

The Dow Jones Industrial average surged 1,215 points, or 2.6%, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 3.4%.

As part of the accord, Iran says it will allow tankers passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and gas, as long as they coordinate with the nation’s military. Investors appeared optimistic that the agreement would ease one of the worst global oil shortages in decades.

U.S. oil prices plummeted 18% on Wednesday, registering at about $92 a barrel. Still, the price of oil remained well above pre-war levels of about $67 a barrel.

President Donald Trump touted the ceasefire in a social media post on Wednesday, saying there would be “no enrichment of Uranium,” despite the Iranians claiming that the U.S. agreed to its plan, which includes numerous concessions.

The president added that “the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear ‘Dust.'”

The Iranian Supreme National Security Council’s statement on Tuesday included “acceptance of enrichment” in its 10-point plan.

Investors will likely pay close attention to a potential uptick in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Typically, scores of ships carry a fifth of the world’s oil through the strait each day, but Iran effectively closed the passage over the course of the war. That oil shortage sent crude prices soaring, and it threatened far-reaching price increases that some economists feared could tip the U.S. economy into a recession.

ABC News’ David Brennan, Jon Haworth and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.

Possible 2028 Democratic presidential hopefuls head to NYC for National Action Network convention

April 8, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — What is expected to be the biggest gathering of possible Democratic 2028 presidential hopefuls is set to happen at the convention for the National Action Network, an organization dedicated to fighting for civil rights and equality. In New York City this week, the potential candidates will gather to look to engage with Black civil rights leaders and voters.

The event, hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton, has become a hub for those considering a presidential run and will offer a preview of what the jostling for the Black vote in the 2028 election will look like.

“Two years out, we’ll see some of the people that have been thinking of running, and they’ll see us,” Sharpton told POLITICO in an interview about the gathering.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Ro Khanna are among the potential 2028 Democratic candidates who will attend the convention, according to the National Action Network website.

Nearly all of the lawmakers have either expressed interest or have not shut down the idea about running for president. All of them are set to take part in a conversation with Sharpton.

The four-day-long National Action Network’s 35th anniversary convention is an opportunity for potential 2028 presidential candidates to connect with Black voters and test out their messaging ahead of the 2028 cycle.

Harris has not closed the door on running for president again, saying in a February podcast interview that she has not yet decided whether she would run again, adding that she might.

Sharpton told POLITICO not to count Harris out, calling her a strong force in the Black community.

“I wouldn’t ignore the fact that she’s absolutely a potent force in the Black community,” Sharpton told POLITICO. “I do not have any idea whether she’s going to try to go again, but I think she’s due all the respect for what she did, and the fact that she got more votes than any presidential candidate in American history, other than Trump. I think she has been ignored, and we’re going to raise that at our convention.”

The 2024 election showed President Donald Trump — who made an appearance at the convention in 2002, 14 years before he was first elected president — made gains with Black voters, a group that has been critical to the Democratic Party for decades.

According to the Pew Research Center, Trump nearly doubled his support among Black voters between 2020 and 2024, with 8% voting for him in 2020 compared to 15% in 2024. Still, 83% of Black voters backed Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Janiyah Thomas, who served as Trump’s Black media director during the 2024 election, told ABC News in a phone interview that Trump’s gains with Black voters stemmed from his focus on issues that matter most to American households.

“Overall, the president made gains with Black voters because I think we cut out all the noise and just spoke to the kitchen table issues that really matter to all people, no matter what race, and I think people really love the president’s authenticity,” Thomas said.

And while Democrats are looking to win back Black voters who supported Trump, the convention will also give potential Democratic presidential candidates a chance to connect with the Black community, including those who previously struggled to garner support from Black voters.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a potential 2028 presidential candidate who struggled to garner support from Black voters during the 2020 presidential election, has increased his engagement with Black candidates by campaigning with Shawn Harris in his congressional election in Georgia and Chedrick Greene in his state Senate election in Michigan.

Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann returning to court, may change plea to guilty: Sources

April 8, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Accused Gilgo Beach, New York, serial killer Rex Heuermann might change his plea to guilty and admit to the murders at his scheduled court appearance on Wednesday, sources familiar with the case told ABC News.

Heuermann, a New York City architect, was arrested in 2023 and has pleaded not guilty to killing seven women whose remains were found on New York’s Long Island.

His trial is set for September.

The first victim was Sandra Costilla, killed in 1993. Valerie Mack was killed in 2000 and Jessica Taylor was killed in 2003. Partial remains of Taylor and Mack were found near Gilgo Beach and in Manorville on Long Island, while Costilla was found in North Sea on Long Island.

Maureen Brainard-Barnes was killed in 2007 and found near Gilgo Beach. Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Lynn Costello were killed between 2009 and 2010 and also recovered near Gilgo Beach.

‘Ketamine Queen’ set to be sentenced in connection with Matthew Perry’s overdose death

April 8, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The woman reportedly known as the “Ketamine Queen” is set to be sentenced on Wednesday for providing the ketamine that killed Matthew Perry.

Jasveen Sangha admitted in a plea agreement to working with another dealer to provide the “Friends” actor with dozens of vials of ketamine, including the dose that led to his fatal overdose in October 2023 at the age of 54.

Sangha pleaded guilty last year to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

Sangha faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday morning local time in Los Angeles federal court.

Prosecutors said in court filings ahead of Sangha’s sentencing that she should serve 15 years in prison for her “cold callousness and disregard for life,” and that she’s shown little remorse, pointing to recorded jail communications in which, they say, Sangha talked about “obtaining ‘trademarks’ and securing book rights on the events of the case.”

In a sentencing memorandum filed last month, prosecutors said Sangha ran a “high-volume drug trafficking business out of her North Hollywood residence,” where she stored, packaged and distributed drugs, including ketamine and methamphetamine, since at least 2019. Prosecutors said Sangha continued to sell “dangerous drugs” even after learning she had sold ketamine that contributed to the overdose deaths of two men: Perry and, years earlier, Los Angeles resident Cody McLaury. McLaury died hours after Sangha sold him four vials of ketamine in 2019, prosecutors said.

“She didn’t care and kept selling,” prosecutors wrote. “Defendant’s actions show a cold callousness and disregard for life. She chose profits over people, and her actions have caused immense pain to the victims’ families and loved ones.”

Sangha “had the opportunity to stop after realizing the impact of her dealing – but simply chose not to,” which warrants a “significant” sentence, prosecutors also said.

The defense, meanwhile, said Sangha, who has been behind bars since her arrest in August 2024, should receive a sentence of time served due to her “demonstrated rehabilitation.”

“She has maintained sustained and exemplary sobriety, and actively engaged in recovery-oriented and rehabilitative programming while in custody, and has tremendously strong family and community support to facilitate successful reentry and reduce the risk of recidivism,” her attorneys, Mark Geragos and Alexandra Kazarian, wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed last month.

In response to the defense sentencing memorandum, prosecutors continued to argue that Sangha has shown a lack of remorse and claimed she has attempted to minimize the harm she’s caused.

“For example, defendant harmed two overdose victims, but her sentencing briefing does not even mention Cody McLaury and only references Matthew Perry in passing, in the context of defendant attempting to downplay her role in his death and to heap the blame on others,” prosecutors wrote in their response, filed last week.

They also argued that Sangha “expressed a similar lack of remorse in recorded jail communications” – including one on Dec. 25, 2024, during which prosecutors said an individual stated, “We’re gonna sell those book rights,” and Sangha allegedly responded, “Oh I know, the plan is in, the f—— trademark is going down,” according to the filing.

“Even if said in jest, this conversation suggests defendant does not appreciate the severity of her offenses, and instead sees her crimes as a potential future revenue stream,” prosecutors wrote. “It also shows that time in custody has, thus far, failed in getting defendant to adequately reflect upon the grave harms she has caused.”

Geragos has previously said that Sangha “feels horrible.”

“She’s felt horrible from day one,” Geragos told reporters outside the courthouse last year following Sangha’s guilty plea. “This has been a horrendous experience.”

In a victim impact statement filed ahead of the sentencing, Perry’s stepmother, Debbie Perry, said the pain caused by the defendant is “irreversible.”

“Please give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours,” she wrote.

In addition to Sangha, four other people were charged and pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death: the other dealer, Erik Fleming; Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in personal assistant; and two doctors, Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia.

Prosecutors said Sangha worked with Fleming to distribute ketamine to Perry, and that in October 2023, they sold the actor 51 vials of ketamine that were provided to Iwamasa.

“Leading up to Perry’s death, Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with the ketamine that Sangha supplied to Fleming,” the DOJ said in a press release last year. “Specifically, on October 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, which caused Perry’s death.”

Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22.

Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death and is set to be sentenced on April 29.

Chavez and Plasencia have also been convicted for their roles in what prosecutors called a conspiracy to illegally distribute ketamine to Perry.

Chavez, who once ran a ketamine clinic, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and was sentenced to eight months home confinement in December 2025.

Plasencia, who briefly treated Perry prior to the actor’s death, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of distribution of ketamine and was sentenced to 30 months in prison in December 2025.

How the last-minute deal between Trump and Iran unfolded

April 7, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — An 11th hour plea from the prime minister of Pakistan appears to have swayed both President Donald Trump and the Iranian regime to agree to a two-week ceasefire deal in exchange for temporarily opening the Strait of Hormuz, at least temporarily staving off Trump’s promise to bomb Iran back to the “stone ages.”

With just hours to go until Trump’s 8 p.m. ET Tuesday deadline, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif — one of the key mediators attempting to the end the conflict — issued a public call to Trump, urging him to allow more time for negotiations.

“Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future,” Sharif said. “To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks.”

Sharif also implored Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz as a “goodwill gesture.”

Just after 6:30 p.m. ET, Trump posted on his social media platform that he would suspend military attacks.

“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two week,” he wrote.

“We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate,” Trump continued, referring to an Iranian counterproposal transmitted to negotiators after rejecting plans for a longer ceasefire on Monday. “Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two-week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”

Within the hour, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council claimed that the U.S. agreed to its plan which includes numerous concessions.

In a lengthy statement on Iranian state media, the council said the U.S. “committed in principle to non-aggression, continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions.”

Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, said Iran would agree to a ceasefire if attacks against it are halted. He also said passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be allowed during the two-week period if coordinated with Iran’s armed forces.

The White House did not respond to specific questions Tuesday evening on whether the U.S. agreed to Iran’s 10-point plan — which includes lifting all primary and secondary sanctions and withdrawing combat troops from the region — or what it made of Iran saying the Strait of Hormuz would open with coordination from Iran’s military.

In response, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement:

“President Trump’s words speak for themselves: this is a workable basis to negotiate, and those negotiations will continue. The truth is that President Trump and our powerful military got Iran to agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiations will continue.”

Despite Trump calling Iran’s counterproposal a “workable basis” for negotiations, it contains many terms the U.S. and the president himself have long rejected and was previously described by administration officials as “maximalist.”

After the two-week ceasefire was announced, mediators began making arrangements to hold the first round of talks following the implementation of the ceasefire on Friday in Islamabad, but the White House said late Tuesday that it had not yet committed to any plans.

Before Sharif’s proposal was made public, two U.S. officials cautioned that although talks showed signs of progress, the Trump administration and Iranian regime still appeared to be far apart on core issues, expressing doubt that a broad deal could be reached on such a tight timeline.

One U.S. official also said the dynamic proposed by Sharif mirrored confidence-building measures under discussion behind closed doors, but up until the president and Iranian authorities accepted the terms, it was unclear whether both sides could be brought on board.

Fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a top priority for U.S. officials, who indicated that any agreement with Iran would have to lead to near-immediate progress on that front.

Asked about the state of negotiations with Iran on Tuesday morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hoped “to have more news” later in the day and called Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz “a big problem for the world.”

“The whole world’s been impacted unfortunately because Iran is violating every law known by striking commercial vessels in the Straits of Hormuz,” he said. “I mean this is a regime that doesn’t believe in laws, rules or anything like that — it’s a State Sponsor of Terrorism, so it’s not surprising that they’re now conducting terrorist activity against commercial vessels.”

Iran sees the strait as equally important and has signaled publicly and in private negotiations that it is highly reluctant to agree to any terms that would see it losing leverage over the waterway.

Iran’s counterproposal issued Monday stipulated that the country would fully open the Strait of Hormuz but set the rules for passage through the waterway and extract a toll of $2 million per vessel, a situation the Trump administration has repeatedly said would be untenable.

Todd Blanche, in 1st appearance as acting AG, shrugs off suggestion Trump will ‘pressure’ him to target opponents

April 7, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche used his first news conference Tuesday to shrug off any suggestion that he would use the Justice Department to more aggressively target perceived enemies of President Donald Trump, as he heaped praise on his ousted predecessor Pam Bondi.

“First of all, we have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now, and it is true that some of them involve men women and entities that the president in the past has had issues with and that believe should be investigated,” Blanche said. “That is his right, and indeed it is his duty to do that, meaning, to lead this country.”

Blanche denied he views President Trump’s public statements urging the prosecutions of his enemies as “pressure” on him in serving as the head of the DOJ. Trump, naming several of his perceived political foes in a September social media post, said, “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!“

“I do not view this as pressure,” Blanche said. “I do not view this as something that is going to keep me up at night, except to make sure that we are investigating every case that we that we have to the fullest extent of the law and using all the resources we can.”

Trump announced Thursday that Bondi was being ousted as his attorney general in a post on his social media platform, saying she’ll move to a role working in the private sector. Blanche said it remains a mystery why Bondi was ousted, despite widespread reporting that it was due to Trump’s frustration with her lack of successful prosecutions against his political opponents and her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

“Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general and I’m the acting attorney general, except for President Trump,” Blanche said.

Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s defense attorney in the cases brought against him by former special counsel Jack Smith and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, repeatedly sparred with reporters at Tuesday’s press event, accusing the media of ignoring years of so-called “weaponization” under the Biden administration.

“When I’m asked questions, or when I see reporting about shock and awe at this supposed weaponization of this Department of Justice, it means nothing to me, because it’s completely false,” Blanche said. “People say the president wants to go after his political enemies. No, the president has said time and time again that he wants justice.”

With the news conference happening amid uncertainty over President Trump’s Tuesday morning threat to destroy the “civilization” of Iran, ABC News pressed Blanche on whether the DOJ is providing advice to the White House about what kind of military strikes could constitute potential war crimes.

“The Department of Justice, as it always does, supports the Department of War, the White House, Department of State to the extent that’s involved, and our intelligence communities, to the extent that that’s something that’s appropriate, and we provide counsel to them, and we have been doing that, as you would expect,” said Blanche, who declined to engage on the topic of potential war crimes.

Historians sue over Trump’s attempt to ignore Presidential Records Act

April 7, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The world’s largest association of historians is suing the Trump administration over a recent effort to justify the president keeping his official records rather than turning them over to the National Archives.

The American Historical Association and a second organization, American Oversight, filed the suit in Washington, D.C., District Court Monday, describing the case as an attempt to “preserve the historical record that belongs to the American people, before it is forever lost.”

“This case is about the preservation of records that document our nation’s history, and whether the American people are able to access and learn from that history,” the complaint said.

Last week, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an advisory opinion that stated Trump “need not further comply” with the decades-old law governing the handover of presidential records for public preservation after a president leaves office.

American Oversight, which is a nonprofit watchdog group, and the American Historical Association, which was founded in 1884 and is comprised of more than 10,000 historians, are asking a federal judge to declare that the Presidential Records Act is constitutional and to block Trump from using the opinion to justify keeping official records for himself.

“The Administration’s actions nullifying a law duly enacted by Congress, based on a legal determination that contravenes a decision of the Supreme Court, violate the separation of powers twice over,” the complaint said.

Passed by Congress in the wake of the Watergate scandal, the Presidential Records Act established that official presidential records — such as emails, phone records, and other materials created by White House staff over the course of their official duties — become public property and are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration.

After his first term in office, Trump was accused of violating the Presidential Records Act by storing boxes of sensitive presidential records at his Mar-a-Lago estate and taking steps to thwart the government’s efforts to retrieve them.

He was indicted for allegedly retaining classified information and obstructing justice, though the case was dismissed over U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s concerns about the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith.

FBI on scene of ICE-involved shooting in Patterson, California

April 7, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(PATTERSON, Calif.) — The FBI is at the scene of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement-involved shooting that happened in Patterson, California, on Tuesday near the I-5, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement.

According to Lyons, ICE officers were attempting to arrest a man they claimed was an 18th Street gang member when he “weaponized his vehicle” and attempted to run over an officer.

Lyons claimed that the suspect is wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection with a murder.

“Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents and the public,” Lyons said.

The motorist was taken to a local hospital, Lyons said. The individual’s condition is unclear.

Earlier Tuesday, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement saying they were assisting with the shooting and had closed the on and off ramps in the area.

Patterson is an agricultural city in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

Closing arguments underway in Hawaii trial of doctor accused of trying to kill wife during hike

April 7, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(OAHU, Hawaii) — Closing arguments are underway in the trial of a Hawaii doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a hiking trail.

Dr. Gerhardt Konig, 47, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder. Prosecutors allege the anesthesiologist attacked his wife, Arielle Konig, near a cliff while on the Pali Puka Trail on Oahu on March 24, 2025, by pushing her near the edge and then beating her multiple times with a rock.

The defense, meanwhile, has alleged that Arielle Konig attacked her husband first, and that he hit her with the rock in self-defense.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations Tuesday afternoon local time. If they are unable to find Gerhardt Konig guilty of second-degree attempted murder, they will consider whether he is guilty of attempted manslaughter based upon extreme mental or emotional disturbance, first-degree attempted assault, second-degree assault or third-degree assault.

Both Gerhardt Konig and his wife, who have two young sons together, took the stand during the three-week trial in Honolulu, presenting widely differing accounts of what happened on the hike.

Arielle Konig testified that the two had traveled to Oahu from their home in Maui to celebrate her birthday. She said they had been working on repairing their marriage after her husband found what she characterized as “flirty” WhatsApp messages between her and a colleague in December 2024 in what she said was an “emotional affair.”

Arielle Konig testified that during the hike, her husband pushed her toward the edge of the cliff. As they wrestled on the ground with him on top, pinning her down, he produced a syringe and vial, she said.

Arielle Konig further testified that her husband proceeded to beat her with a rock as many as 10 times, and that she believed he was trying to knock her unconscious in order to drag her over the edge of the cliff.

Arielle Konig testified that she fought back by biting her husband’s forearm and pleaded with him, saying, “You can’t do it,” and that “our kids will be orphans — you’ll go to jail and I’ll be dead.”

“He’s saying, ‘You’re done. We’re done with you. We don’t need you anymore. You’re done. You’re done,'” she told the court.

Arielle Konig testified that she yelled, “He’s trying to kill me,” and screamed for help, and two female hikers happened upon them. One of the hikers told a 911 operator, “Someone’s currently being attacked on the top of Pali Puka. There’s a man trying to kill her,” according to audio of the call played in court.

Prosecutors showed photos of Arielle Konig’s bloodied face following the incident. She testified that she crawled away from her husband and was helped down the rest of the trail by the two women. She said she was treated at a hospital for “severe complex scalp lacerations” and showed the court scarring on her scalp.

Gerhardt Konig testified in his own defense over two days, maintaining that he never intended to hurt his wife and acted in self-defense when he struck her with the rock.

He told the court that his wife pushed him near the edge after they got into an argument about her affair, and that she hit him with a rock first while they struggled on the ground. He admitted to hitting her with the rock while on top of her, saying he struck her twice, though he denied having any syringes or trying to pull her toward the cliff’s edge.

Gerhardt Konig testified that he felt suicidal after the incident.

“I just felt hopeless at that point in terms of everything,” he said. “I felt horrified about what I did to her, that I had caused this to her, that I had resorted to violence against my wife, the person who I love the most in the world. And I just kind of felt hopeless in terms of our relationship, too.”

Shortly after the incident, Gerhardt Konig testified, he made a FaceTime call to his 20-year-old son from his prior marriage, Emile Konig, to say goodbye.

His son testified about the FaceTime call during the trial. Asked by the prosecutor to recount what his father said during the call, Emile Konig responded, “That he would not be making it back to Maui and to take good care of the younger kids, and that Ari, my stepmom, had been cheating on him, and that he tried to kill her.”

“During that call, the next plan that he said was to jump off the cliff,” Emile Konig testified, adding that his father said he was “at the end of his rope.”

Gerhardt Konig pushed back against his son’s testimony and denied making any confession. He told the court that what he said during the call was, “She said I tried to kill her.”

Gerhardt Konig was arrested following an hourslong manhunt, prosecutors said.

Arielle Konig filed for divorce in May 2025, seeking full custody of the couple’s two children.

Gerhardt Konig, who worked as an anesthesiologist on Maui, has been in jail since his arrest. Following his arrest, Maui Health said his medical staff privileges at Maui Memorial Medical Center have been suspended pending investigation.

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