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Children who miss early vaccines more likely to not get the MMR shot by age 2: Study

January 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Children who miss early vaccinations are far more likely to miss the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine by age 2, a new study found.

The findings come as the U.S. recently surpassed 2,000 measles cases for the first time in more than 30 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CDC data shows that MMR vaccination declined over the last several years, but the authors say that factors linked to delayed or missed vaccination since the COVID-19 pandemic have not been well studied.

For the new study, published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open, the team looked data from Truevata, an electronic health records database that includes several U.S. health care systems.

Participants included more than 321,000 children who received routine care within the first two months, first year and second year of life between Jan. 1, 2018 and April 30, 2025.

The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says.

Most children during the study period received the MMR vaccine on time, with 78.4% doing so.

About 13.9% of children had delayed vaccination, 1% received the MMR vaccine early and 6.7% did not receive the MMR vaccine by age 2, according to the study.

The strongest predictors for no MMR vaccination was delay in receiving the recommended 2-month and 4-month vaccines, the study noted.

These early vaccines included diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP); Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib); pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV); and the inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPV).

Nina Masters, lead author of the study and senior applied research scientist at Truveta, told ABC News that it’s not surprising children who miss early vaccines also miss later vaccines, but it highlights that some parents become vaccine hesitant when their children are young.

“This also means the opportunity for intervention to engage parents and provide more education about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines has to happen very early,” she said. “This may be challenging as parents may have yet had the time to forge a strong bond with their child’s pediatrician, but the study highlights the importance of pediatric providers having vaccination discussions and building trust as early as possible with parents.”

Results from the study showed that those who received their 2-month vaccines on time were seven times more likely to get the MMR vaccine.

The team found that the percentage of children who received the MMR vaccine on time changed over the study period, increasing from 75.6% in 2018 to 79.9% in 2021, and then falling to 76.9% in 2024.

This decrease between 2021 and 2024 was associated with an increase in the percentage of children who did not receive the MMR vaccine by age 2, increasing from 5.3% in 2020 to 7.7% in 2024, according to the study.

Children who were more likely to be unvaccinated for the MMR shot by age 2 were boys, and white and non-Hispanic or Latino, the study found.

Rural residence slightly increased the risk of no MMR vaccination, even among children receiving routine care, according to the study.

The study only included children with regular access to care, so real-world vaccination delays may be worse in the broader U.S. population, the team noted.

The authors added that these results point to increased vaccine hesitancy or unmeasured access challenges, highlighting the importance of timely intervention so children are less likely to delay or miss vaccination.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, who was not involved in the study, said the findings have major public health implications because there are questions about whether the U.S. will retain its measles elimination status and increasing vaccination is “the way out of this problem.”

“If you want to live in a society where measles is a problem of the past, where we don’t have to think about it, where schools don’t have to come up with contingency plans, where we don’t have children unnecessarily dying from measles, then that’s a reason to get the vaccine,” he told ABC News.

Adalja added that vaccination doesn’t just protect the individual against infection, but it also has a community benefit.

“The higher the vaccination level is in a given community, the more resilient that community will be to those infectious diseases,” he said. “And if you’re someone that’s immunocompromised, you may want to live in to live in an area that has high vaccination rates because you are at higher risk, and if you’re in a high vaccination area, there’s going to be a lowering of that risk because of the community level immunity that exists in that area.”

Crystal Richards, MD, MS is a pediatric resident doctor at New-York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

Trump warns US is ‘locked and loaded’ if Iran kills peaceful protesters

January 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said overnight the United States is “locked and loaded” as he warned Iran not to kill peaceful protesters as nationwide unrest unfolds in Tehran.

In a post on his social media platform early Friday morning, Trump vowed that “if Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protestors,” then the U.S. would step in and “rescue” them.

The president did not specify by what means such a “rescue” would occur, but he added that the U.S is “locked and loaded and ready to go.”

The post comes as several people were reportedly killed on Thursday amid protests in Iran.

Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, responded to Trump’s statement with a threat of his own.

“With the stances taken by Israeli officials and Trump, the behind-the-scenes of the matter has become clear. We consider the positions of the protesting merchants separate from those of the destructive elements, and Trump should know that American interference in this internal issue is equivalent to chaos across the entire region and the destruction of American interests. The American people should know that it was Trump who started the adventurism. They should look after their soldiers,” Larijani posted on X.

Thousands began protesting in Iran on Sunday over the country’s inflation and record-low currency value, but the unrest has expanded over discontent with the Iranian regime.

On Monday, Trump declined to answer whether he would support an overthrow of the Iranian regime, but commented on the country’s “problems” and recognized the public dissatisfaction.

“They’ve got a lot of problems they are in,” Trump said on Monday. “They have tremendous inflation. Their economy is bust, their economy is no good. And I know that people aren’t so happy.”

Trump on Monday also warned Iran not to rearm itself or rebuild its nuclear program.

“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down. We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them,” the president said as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

ABC News’ Joseph Simonetti contributed to this report.

FBI says it thwarted potential New Year’s terror attack ‘directly inspired’ by ISIS

January 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The FBI said it “thwarted a potential” New Year’s Eve terror attack in North Carolina.

“The subject was directly inspired to act by ISIS,” the FBI said in a post on X.

“Thanks to our great partners for working with us and undoubtedly saving lives,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on social media.

Additional information was not immediately available. The FBI is expected to share more details at a news conference.

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

Sparklers may have led to deadly New Year’s Swiss resort bar fire, investigators say

January 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland) — Investigators probing the deadly New Year’s Day fire at a Swiss resort bar are looking into the possibility that it started from sparklers that were too close to the ceiling.

Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Attorney General, told reporters Friday that investigators were still conducting interviews and going through evidence from the wreckage at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana but she said that they are “pursuing several hypotheses,” based on the evidence they’ve gathered so far.

“We currently assume that the fire was caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling,” she said at a news conference.

“Initial evidence has been secured at the scene,” Pilloud added.

Forty people were killed and 119 people were injured in the blaze, according to authorities who said the fire spread very rapidly.

Investigators are working to identify the deceased victims.

“No mistakes can be permitted. We need to give the correct remains back to the families,” Pierre-Antoine Lengen, the head of the Swiss Judicial Police, told reporters.

Of the injured, 71 were Swiss citizens, 14 were French, 11 were Italian, and others were from Bosnia, Serbia, Portugal and Belgium, according to officials.

The nationalities of the 14 other injured victims were not immediately determined.

Pilloud said that more interviews will be conducted and noted that investigators spoke with the two French managers of the bar.

“For now, there is no penal liability which has been identified,” she said when a reporter asked about any liability.

Investigators are also looking into the building’s safety measures and building regulations, according to Pilloud.

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

Sparkling candles may have led to deadly New Year’s Swiss resort bar fire, investigators say

January 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland) — Investigators probing the deadly New Year’s Day fire at a Swiss resort bar are looking into the possibility that it started from some sparkling candles.

“We currently assume that the fire was caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling,” she said at a news conference.

Forty people were killed and 119 people were injured in the blaze, according to authorities who said the fire spread very rapidly.

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

More rain headed to drenched California as lake effect snow hits the East

January 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After a New Year’s Day filled with heavy rain and flash flooding, more rain is heading to drenched California.

On Thursday, the rain was focused on Southern California.

The heavy rain soaked the Rose Parade in Pasadena for the first time in 20 years, canceling the on-field pregame show. More than 2 inches of rain was recorded in San Diego, prompting flash flooding and some water rescues.

The next round of rain moves in Friday evening, concentrating on the northern half of the California coast and western Washington and Oregon.

By Saturday morning, most of the West Coast, except for Southern California, will be getting scattered rain and mountain snow. Some pockets of rain could be heavy enough to cause flash flooding in northern and central California. The rain will reach Southern California by Saturday afternoon.

Saturday night into Sunday morning, the rain and mountain snow will be focused on central and northern California up to through the Pacific Northwest.

Through Monday, rain totals of 2 to 4 inches are expected from western Washington to central California, while Southern California will see about 1 to 2 inches of rain.

Wind advisories are in effect in parts of northern and central California, including San Francisco, where gusts could reach 50 mph this weekend.

The Sierra Nevada mountains are under a winter storm warning, with 55 mph winds and 1 to 4 feet of snow expected.

Meanwhile, the lake effect snow machine continues to churn in the east.

In Buffalo, New York, the airport has already recorded 8 inches of snow this week, while Syracuse, New York, has seen more than 2 feet of snow.

That lake effect snow will continue through Saturday morning.

Syracuse is under a lake effect snow warning, with 2 to 5 inches total expected in the city and 6 to 12 inches of heavy lake effect snow expected north of Interstate 90.

Then Saturday night into early Sunday morning, a quick clipper system will slide down the Great Lakes and across the Northeast, bringing a light burst of snow to much of the region, but accumulation isn’t expected.

Seattle police arrest armed man during New Year’s Eve celebration

January 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(SEATTLE) — Police in Seattle have arrested a 21-year-old man armed with a shotgun, pistol, and carrying multiple rounds of ammunition near the Space Needle during Seattle’s New Year’s Eve celebration, authorities said.

On New Year’s Eve at approximately 7:20 p.m., patrol officers in Seattle responded to reports of a man sitting on a bench near the Pacific Science Center holding a partially concealed shotgun, according to a statement from the Seattle Police Department.

“Witnesses saw him holding the gun by the grip, causing alarm, while facing the area where spectators were gathering for the fireworks display,” police said. “The suspect, wearing all black clothing and a red hat with “WAR” written on it, cooperated with police.”

Officers safely recovered the shotgun and the suspect, who was also armed with a handgun, had a valid concealed carry permit, police said.

Police assigned to the event center arrested the man without incident, authorities said.

Seattle Police Department’s arson bomb squad were able to locate the suspect’s vehicle and swept the car for potential weapons or explosives, though none were found and it was determined the vehicle did not pose a threat, officials confirmed.

Police subsequently booked the suspect into the King County Jail for unlawful use of weapons and detectives reviewing the case referred criminal charges to the City Attorney’s Office, authorities said.

The investigation into the incident is currently ongoing.

How a South Florida grandmother became the center of a murder-for-hire saga spanning 11 years

January 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Florida State University law professor Dan Markel’s last day alive began like many others.

He dropped off his two young sons at preschool and went to the gym, authorities said. But things took a dark turn.

After pulling into his driveway on the morning of July 18, 2014, Markel was shot in the head multiple times and rushed to a hospital where he died the next day, authorities said.

Markel had been having custody issues with his ex-wife Wendi Adelson.

Over the next 11 years, two members of Adelson’s family, including most recently her mother Donna Adelson, would be revealed as the center of a stunning murder-for-hire plot against him that would span several criminal trials.

A new “20/20” episode, “Meddler or Murderer?,” airing Friday, Jan. 2, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, examines the case.

You can also get more behind-the-scenes of each week’s episode by listening to “20/20: The After Show” weekly series right on your 20/20 podcast feed on Mondays, hosted by “20/20” co-anchor Deborah Roberts.

Wendi Adelson came from a prominent dentistry family in South Florida. Wendi’s father, Harvey Adelson, and brother Charlie Adelson, were lead dentists at the practice, called the Adelson Institute, according to authorities.

Wendi married Markel in 2006 after previously connecting on a Jewish dating service. However, a controlling figure emerged in their relationship — her mother, Donna.

Sarah Katherine Dugan, who prosecuted Donna Adelson, said in court that the family matriarch was very involved in all aspects of Wendi’s life and relationship with Markel.

“She was extremely controlling. She had very strong opinions about all the decisions in Wendi Adelson’s life, whether it be about her career, her relationships, or even purchasing a home,” she said.

Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel eventually moved to Tallahassee, where they both got jobs at Florida State University’s law school. However, their marriage deteriorated.

“Our marriage dissolved after the children arrived, as the loneliness of being married to someone that didn’t view me as an equal crept in,” Wendi Adelson said in a 2015 podcast.

The couple went through a bitter divorce, and at the center of both of their lives post-separation was the issue of where their two children would live.

Donna Adelson began a fierce campaign against Markel to relocate the children and Wendi down to South Florida with her, but Markel remained insistent on keeping the kids in Tallahassee, 500 miles away, according to authorities.

Markel became increasingly distrustful of Donna Adelson due to her desire to move the children away from him, even filing a motion to prevent her from having unsupervised visits with the children in 2014. However, it would be the last motion he would ever file before he was shot to death.

Some two years after the killing, investigators arrested two individuals named Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera in 2016, charging them with first-degree murder. The duo was alleged to be hired hitmen who were paid to take out Markel, per prosecutors.

In exchange for a lesser sentence of second-degree murder and 19 years in prison, Rivera gave investigators the name of the woman he claimed hired them to carry out the hit on Markel — Katie Magbanua, the mother of Garcia’s child and the ex-girlfriend of Adelson’s brother, Charlie.

Police then arrested Magbanua in 2016 and later Charlie Adelson in 2022, charging them with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder for Markel’s death.

Prosecutors alleged that Donna and Charlie orchestrated the hit on Dan Markel due to his custody issues with Wendi, and they used Magbanua, Garcia and Rivera to execute their plot.

Magbanua and Charlie Adelson both pleaded not guilty but were ultimately convicted of all charges in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and sentenced to life in prison with an additional 60 years for their conspiracy and solicitation convictions.

Garcia was also convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty.

After Charlie’s conviction, investigators learned that Donna Adelson was planning to leave the country with a one-way ticket to Vietnam — a country that has no extradition agreement with the U.S.

Police arrested her at the Miami International Airport in 2023, also charging her with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder in Dan Markel’s killing.

Donna Adelson pleaded not guilty, with her defense claiming that she was not involved in the murder plot.

Adelson, 75, was convicted of all counts against her in 2025 and sentenced to life in prison with an extra 30 years for the solicitation and conspiracy charges to be served consecutively.

“Never in a million years would I have wanted Danny to be harmed or killed, nor could I ever do something that would leave these two small boys to grow up without him,” she said at her sentencing.

In an exclusive new interview with “20/20,” Evan Higginbotham, a juror at Donna Adelson’s trial, spoke out.

“The prosecution had a long list of evidence,” he said. “I think it was how they presented that evidence in the trial that laid out everything to finally land me a guilty verdict at the end of it.”

Dan Markel’s mother, Ruth Markel, told “20/20” that she was most proud of her son for being a good dad.

“Danny was a great father,” she said. “With all his accomplishments, to me I’m the proudest of him as a father.”

Donna and Charlie Adelson have filed appeals for their convictions. Magbanua and Garcia’s appeals were both denied in 2025.

Ohio police search for suspect after dentist, wife found murdered at home

January 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Ohio authorities are searching for a suspect after a dentist and his wife were found murdered inside their home earlier this week.

Columbus Police Patrol officers responded to the home of Spencer Tepe, 37, and Monique Tepe, 39, on Tuesday morning after a welfare check was requested, according to an incident report viewed by ABC News.

When officers arrived, they found the couple suffering from apparent gunshots wounds. Paramedics arrived and the pair were declared dead shortly after, police said.

Spencer Tepe had multiple gunshot wounds while Monique Tepe had at least one gunshot wound to the chest, according to local ABC News affiliate WSYX.

Police did not find obvious signs of forced entry and no firearms were recovered at the home. Currently, the deaths are not believed to be a murder-suicide, WSYX reported.

Two small children were also found in the residence unharmed, according to the incident report.

The welfare check was requested after Spencer Tepe did not show up for work at Athens Dental Deport. The owner, Dr. Mark Valrose, called 911, telling dispatchers Tepe was always on time for work.

“I’m on vacation, but this individual, Spencer, works with me, and he did not show up to work this morning. And we cannot get a hold of him or his family,” Valrose told dispatchers, according to audio of a 911 call reviewed by ABC News. “He’s been reliable, and we cannot get in touch with him, his wife, his family, anybody that lives in that house.”

Police records indicate that authorities were initially contacted at 9:03 a.m. and that an officer responded to the home at 9:22 a.m. but received no answer and left, WSYX reported.

A person called police at 9:58 a.m., reporting that they heard children inside and nobody was answering the door, according to audio reviewed by ABC News.

A third 911 call was placed after the same person reported that they could see Spencer Tepe’s body inside the home and that he appeared dead, according to the audio call.

Columbus Police scanner audio shared by Broadcastify indicates that the 911 caller believed they heard one of the children yelling before calling again to report the body in the house.

The Tepes were married in 2021 and were one month shy of celebrating their five-year anniversary, Spencer Tepe’s brother-in-law, Rob Misleh, told WSYX.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at (614) 645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-TIPS (8477).

Trump says he got a CT scan instead of an MRI

January 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — For weeks, President Donald Trump has said that he received an MRI at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in October, but when asked about the procedure by the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Thursday, Trump and his doctor said that he actually got a CT scan instead.

“It wasn’t an MRI,” Trump told the Journal. “It was less than that. It was a scan.”

Last month, Trump maintained that he got an MRI, telling reporters on Air Force One that he would “absolutely” release the results.

The White House has not specifically said why Trump received the scan. In November, Trump claimed the MRI was part of his yearly physical.

Trump’s physician, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella told the Journal that the president had received a CT scan — not an MRI. Barbabella said Trump’s doctors initially told him they would perform either an MRI or a CT scan.

Both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans are imaging methods used by health care professionals to look at organs and structures inside the body to help diagnose a variety of conditions. While an MRI scan uses a large magnet and radio waves to generate a picture, a CT scan uses X-rays.

On Dec. 1, the White House released the results of Trump’s advanced imaging tests, describing them as “perfectly normal.” Barbabella said then that the imaging helps confirm Trump’s overall health and identifies any early issues before they become serious.

Barbabella told the Journal that the CT scan was done “to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues” and showed no abnormalities.

Barbabella told ABC News in a statement on Thursday that the president remains “in exceptional health and perfectly suited to execute his duties as Commander in Chief.”

In late October, Trump first said he had an MRI as part of the “advanced imaging” tests he received at Walter Reed.

“I got an MRI. It was perfect,” Trump said at the time. “I mean, I gave you the full results. We had an MRI and the machine, you know, the whole thing, and it was perfect.”

Even though Trump said multiple times that he had received an MRI, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC News on Thursday that Trump’s “physicians and the White House have always maintained the president received advanced imaging.”

Although the advanced imaging was taken as a preventative measure, according to the White House and Barbabella, Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he now regrets getting it done, saying in the interview that it’s being used as “ammunition” against him.

“In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition. I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’ Well, nothing’s wrong,” Trump said.

In his Wall Street Journal interview, Trump said that the large dose of aspirin he takes daily has caused him to bruise easily, adding that he’s refused his doctors’ advice to take a lower dose, adding that he has taken that specific aspirin for 25 years.

“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump said told the Wall Street Journal. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”

In the Wall Street Journal article, Trump pushed back against criticism that he has struggled to keep his eyes open during several White House events, appearing to fall asleep.

“I’ll just close. It’s very relaxing to me,” Trump said to the Wall Street Journal about not falling asleep at White House events. “Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.”

One of the most notable recent examples of this occurred during Trump’s Cabinet meeting in December and his November announcement to reduce the cost of weight-loss medication.

The Wall Street Journal reports that staff has counseled Trump to try to keep his eyes open during public events and that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has urged Cabinet members to shorten their presentations.

The Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, who was at the November event where Trump appeared to doze off, told the Journal he believes Trump became bored.

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