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US economy flashes warning signs in new data, some analysts say

December 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The federal government released two major economic reports this week, easing a backlog of data pent up by the 43-day government shutdown.

The data flashed some warning signs, showing the unemployment rate had ticked up to its highest level in four years and retail sales had stalled at the outset of the holiday season, some analysts told ABC News. Even so, the reports offered bright spots and elicited a dose of skepticism about numbers released after a weeks-long delay, analysts added.

The latest snapshot of the economy arrives at a wobbly period, landing amid a slowdown of hiring alongside an uptick of inflation.

The jobs report on Tuesday “paints a sobering picture of a job market that may officially be turning frigid after a prolonged cooling period,” Laura Ullrich, director of economic research in North America at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told ABC News in a statement.

Even so, Ullrich acknowledged, “the incomplete and unconventional jobs report may always need an asterisk attached to it.”

Mark Blyth, professor of political economy at Brown University, echoed that view, saying the fresh numbers should be taken with more than a few grains of salt.

“Eventually you’re just left with salt,” Blyth told ABC News.

The U.S. added 64,000 jobs in November, which marked a significant decline from 119,000 jobs added in September, the most recent month for which complete data is available, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September. Unemployment remains low by historical standards but has inched up to its highest level since 2021.

Partial data for October — limited by the government shutdown — showed a staggering loss of 105,000 jobs that month, though the decline owed largely to employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer by the federal government earlier this year.

“The October payrolls figure is jarring,” Elyse Ausenbaugh, head of investment strategy at JP Morgan Wealth Management, told ABC News in a statement.

A retail sales report on Tuesday also sounded a cautionary note about consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Retail sales were left unchanged in October from September, meaning performance remained flat despite the ramp up of the holiday season, U.S. Census Bureau data showed.

“October was supposed to be the big holiday shopping kickoff,” Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, told ABC News. “About half of holiday shoppers planned to begin making purchases before the end of October, but consumer pullbacks elsewhere left October retail sales right where they were in September.”

“Retail sales seem to be losing momentum at a crucial time of year,” Rossman added.

To be sure, the fresh data offered up some positive signs. As in previous months, the health care sector stood out as a robust source of hiring in November, adding 46,000 jobs, the BLS said. The construction and social assistance industries also contributed to the uptick in hiring.

Unemployment ticked up due to a larger number of people searching for work and in turn counting toward the tabulation, rather than a rise in the count of people out of work altogether, the Royal Bank of Canada economics team told ABC News in a statement.

On Tuesday, the White House touted continued growth in the labor market.

“The strong jobs report shows how President Trump is fixing the damage caused by Joe Biden and creating a strong, America First economy in record time. Since President Trump took office, 100% of the job growth has come in the private sector and among native-born Americans — exactly where it should be,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Retail sales, meanwhile, demonstrated some areas of strength. Core retail sales, which strips out volatile items like auto fuel, exceeded economists’ expectations, Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at eToro, told ABC News in a statement.

“Even if October’s retail sales data is dated, it reinforces a central theme for investors and the Fed: The resilience of US consumers,” Kenwell added.

The fresh jobs data arrived less than a week after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate a quarter of a percentage point in an effort to boost the sluggish labor market. The move amounted to the third rate cut this year, bringing the Fed’s benchmark rate to a level between 3.5% and 3.75%.

Interest rates have dropped significantly from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell touted the rate cut as an effort to improve the labor market, but he suggested the central bank may be cautious about further rate reductions.

“We’re well-positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves,” Powell said.

Rock band of Minnesota judges and justices performs despite threats surge

December 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(ST. CLOUD, Minn.) — For Justice Anne McKeig, the high-stakes endeavor of deciding cases on the Minnesota Supreme Court is increasingly an exercise in stress management and risk tolerance.

“It is an overwhelming responsibility,” said McKeig, an amateur musician and the first indigenous woman justice anywhere in the country.

An unprecedented surge of violent threats directed at state and federal judges in Minnesota and across the country has created taxing new dimensions to life as a judge and to upholding rule of law in America.

“I think people are extremely unhappy, and they don’t know where to take out their anger, or how to take out their anger in a way that is not involving violence,” McKeig told ABC News.

Nearly three quarters of Minnesota judges have reported receiving threats, according to a 2024 report from the Minnesota District Court Judges Association. About as many say they fear for their safety because of the job they do.

“Also, it’s the public response to the decisions that we make,” McKeig added. “We’re in the press more than some of our district court colleagues, but all of our families get impacted by this.”

As courts at all levels of the judiciary raise alarm about an influx of vitriolic phone calls, swatting and doxxing incidents involving judges’ personal homes, and social media posts threatening bodily harm, Justice McKeig says many arbiters of justice have been searching for new ways to cope.

“I thought, OK, we need to find out a way to have some fun, because this is a pretty serious job,” McKeig said.

Her answer is called the Reasonable Doubts, an all-judge rock band that meets twice a month to blow off steam and jam together inside an old law library.

“The job is tough, and you have to have outlets for something to get you out of your own head every once in a while,” said retired Judge Dale Harris, who plays guitar.

The group of 9 from across the state plays classics from Johnny Cash to contemporary hits from Elle King, part of a diverse repertoire that has a decidedly law and order vibe.

“Being a judge is not only stressful, but there’s a lot of secondary trauma. We sit through trials where you have victims testify who have suffered through some really difficult criminal experiences,” said Sarah Hennessy, an associate justice of the state Supreme Court.

“This is therapy for us. This is a way to use something creative to feel better,” she said.

The judges — which hail from rural, suburban, and urban communities and include Republican and Democrat appointees — have also begun performing in public, taking the stage at community gatherings.

“I think that it shows people a side of judges that they don’t expect,” McKeig said. “It’s like, well, no, actually, we’re people.”

The band is believed to be the only of its kind in the country — heightening public exposure of the judges at a time when safety risks have kept many others shying from the spotlight.

Recent cases of political violence in Minnesota, in particular, have unsettled McKeig and her peers. Earlier this year, a gunman killed the top Democrat in the state House and her husband, and wounded a state senator and his wife, both at their homes.

“I tell my kids, you are to never acknowledge that I’m your mom,” McKeig said, “and that’s a sad statement. If somebody says, is your, mother Anne McKeig, you say no. I don’t want them to get hurt.”

Federal judges have also experienced a wave of threats, particularly those who have handed down rulings against the Trump administration.

Federal District Court Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island, who recently ordered the Trump administration to pay out SNAP food benefits in full during the shutdown, says he’s had six credible death threats against his life.

“I’ve been on the bench almost 15 years, and I must say it’s the one time that actually shook my faith in the judicial system, in the rule of law, in the work we do,” McConnell said earlier this year during a rare public forum of active federal judges speaking publicly about security concerns.

Dozens of federal and state judges nationwide have reported cases of unsolicited pizza deliveries to their personal homes as acts of intimidation.

A delivery to Judge McConnell’s home was in the name of Daniel Anderl, the son of federal Judge Ester Salas of New Jersey who was murdered in 2020 by a disgruntled lawyer posing as a delivery man outside Salas’ home.

“To hear that my beautiful son’s name — everything that Danny stands for is love and light, you know — and to hear people using it as a weapon, weaponizing his name to inflict fear on Judge McConnell,” said an emotional Judge Salas during the forum. “Now Florida judges, state judges that are just doing their jobs, are getting pizzas in my beautiful boy’s name.”

Members of the Reasonable Doubts say they hope the band can inject a spirit of humanity into divisive public rhetoric around courts and judges and maybe even deepen respect for those tasked with upholding rule of law.

“You can have disagreements, but it doesn’t mean that we have to be at war with each other,” McKeig said.

“And we take care of each other,” added Hennesy.

Alleged Bondi Beach gunman charged with 15 counts of murder, police say

December 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(SYDNEY) — The 24-year-old man who allegedly opened fire alongside his father on a Jewish gathering at Australia’s Bondi Beach has been charged with committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder and dozens of other offenses, the New South Wales Police said on Wednesday.

Naveed Akram has been charged with 59 offenses, including 40 counts of causing wounding or grievous bodily harm to a person with intent to murder, police said in a statement.

Akram, who remains under police guard in a hospital, was expected to appear in court on Wednesday via a video link, police said.

He allegedly opened fire alongside his father, Sajid Akram, 50, at an event at the beach on Sunday, killing fifteen people and injuring another 41, according to officials. The alleged assailant’s father, who was also alleged to have fired on the group, was shot and killed by police, law enforcement said.

The NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team is leading an investigation into the shooting, after Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon declared it to be terror-related.

“Police will allege in court the man engaged in conduct that caused death, serious injury and endangered life to advance a religious cause and cause fear in the community,” the investigators said in announcing the charges. “Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia.”

Akram has been charged with committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder, 40 courts of causing wounding or grievous bodily harm to person with intent to murder, discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist organization’s symbol and placing an explosion in or near a building with intent to cause harm, according to police.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters Tuesday that the father and son traveled to the Philippines in the weeks leading up to the attack and may have been inspired by the ISIS terrorist organization.

“It would appear that there is evidence that this was inspired by a terrorist organization, by ISIS,” Albanese told reporters at a Tuesday press conference.

Twenty of those who were injured in the attack were still being treated at hospitals across Sydney, officials said on Wednesday. Two of the injured were police officers. A constable was listed on Wednesday in critical but stable condition, while a probationary constable was listed in stable condition, police said.

“Doctors. Nurses. Surgeons. Radiologists. Pathologists. And so many more. We’ve seen humanity at its very best, as you’ve worked tirelessly to save lives,” Albanese said on Wednesday on social media. “We can’t thank you enough.”

Doctor sentenced to 8 months home supervision in connection with Matthew Perry’s ketamine death

December 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — The second of two doctors who were convicted in connection with Matthew Perry’s ketamine death was sentenced on Tuesday to eight months of home confinement for his role in a conspiracy to illegally distribute ketamine to the “Friends” actor.

Mark Chavez is one of five people charged and convicted in connection with Perry’s 2023 overdose death. He pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, admitting to selling fraudulently obtained ketamine to another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, that was then sold to Perry in the weeks before the actor died from an overdose.

The two doctors did not provide the ketamine that ultimately killed Perry, who was discovered unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home in October 2023 at the age of 54. Though federal prosecutors said they knew that the actor had a history of substance abuse and that the drug would be administered without medical supervision.

Chavez’s sentence also includes three years of supervised release and 300 hours of community service.

“Mr. Chavez accepted responsibility at the earliest stage and has never minimized his mistake,” one of his attorneys, Matthew Binninger, said in a statement following the sentencing.

Zach Brooks, another attorney for Chavez, said the case “reflects a lapse in judgment during a narrow and isolated time.”

“He has accepted responsibility without hesitation, and he hopes today’s sentence will allow him to move forward with humility and a renewed commitment to serving others in whatever ways he can,” Brooks said in a statement.

Chavez faced up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.

The government asked for a sentence of six months home confinement that included a two-year term of supervised release as well as at least 300 hours of community service. Prosecutors said Chavez, a former operator of a ketamine clinic, provided Plasencia with vials of liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenges that had been obtained by submitting a fraudulent prescription in the name of a patient without that patient’s knowledge or consent.

“As the Drug Enforcement Administration and Medical Board investigators closed in on defendant’s illegal ketamine sales, defendant initially lied and tried to evade responsibility,” the government said in a filing ahead of sentencing. “To defendant’s credit, however, his story continued, and became one of accountability.”

The government said that once confronted with his criminal acts, Chavez “expediently accepted responsibility and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.”

Chavez’s defense attorneys asked for three years of supervised release, arguing in a filing ahead of sentencing that his conduct was “limited and peripheral” and “far removed from the tragic events of October 28, 2023.”

They noted that Chavez had never met Perry, entered his home or administered medication to him, and that he did not supply the ketamine that caused his death. They also said he “accepted responsibility early in this case and signed a plea agreement prior to any indictment, agreed to cooperate, and voluntarily surrendered his medical license even before his detention hearing.”

“The consequences Mr. Chavez has already faced are significant,” his attorneys wrote. “Once a practicing emergency room physician, he lost his profession, suffered public disgrace, and now earns a living as an Uber driver. He has remained compliant with all terms of pretrial supervision and continues to demonstrate sincere regret for his actions.”

Both Chavez and Plasencia gave up their medical licenses after pleading guilty.

According to Plasencia’s plea agreement, one of his patients introduced him to Perry on Sept. 30, 2023, with the unidentified patient referring to the actor as a “‘high profile person’ who was seeking ketamine and was willing to pay ‘cash and lots of thousands’ for ketamine treatment,'” according to Plasencia’s plea agreement.

Plasencia contacted his mentor, Chavez, to discuss Perry’s request for ketamine and purchased vials of liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenges from him, according to the agreement.

In discussing how much to charge Perry, Plasencia said in text messages to Chavez, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out,” prosecutors said.

Plasencia admitted to distributing 20 vials of ketamine, ketamine lozenges and syringes to Perry and the actor’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, between Sept. 30, 2023, and Oct. 12, 2023.

Plasencia administered ketamine to Perry at the actor’s home on several occasions and left vials and lozenges with Iwamasa to administer, according to the plea agreement.

Plasencia was sentenced to 30 months in prison earlier this month.

Iwamasa admitted in court documents to administering the ketamine on the day that Perry died, pleading guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2026, and faces up to 15 years in prison.

Two other defendants in the case — Erik Fleming and Jasveen Sangha — admitted to distributing the ketamine that killed Perry.

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

Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 7, 2026, and faces up to 25 years in prison.

Sangha, allegedly known as “The Ketamine Queen,” pleaded guilty in September 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. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 25, 2026, and faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.

Hegseth says Pentagon won’t release video of strike on drug boat survivors to public

December 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Tuesday that he won’t release the full unedited version of video showing a Sept. 2 attack on a suspected drug boat that killed 11 people, calling the video “top secret” and said releasing that version to the public would violate “longstanding Department of War policy.”

Democrats balked at the explanation, which he also shared during a closed-door briefing with Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Capitol Hill. They note that Hegseth, President Donald Trump and the U.S. Southern Command for several weeks have been posting edited clips of some two dozen boat attacks on their social media accounts.

“In keeping with longstanding Department of War policy, Department of Defense policy, of course we’re not going to release a top secret full unedited video of that to the general public,” Hegseth told reporters. Lawmakers on the House and Senate armed services committees and those overseeing appropriations will see it, Hegseth added, “but not the general public.”

Some Republicans said they thought the video should at least be shared more broadly in Congress in the interest in transparency and because it would show a lawful operation.

“I think the video should be given to everybody in Congress,” said South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime ally of Trump.

“Release it. Make your own decisions,” he later added, saying “I’d like all of us to see it.”

At issue is whether the Sept. 2 military strike on the alleged drug boat amounted to a war crime, as some lawmakers have suggested. Officials have confirmed there were four military strikes against the boat — the first strike killing nine of the 11 people aboard. Some 40 minutes later, a second strike was ordered to kill the remaining two survivors. Two more strikes were ordered to sink the boat, officials say.

Trump initially said he would release the video, telling reporters on Dec. 3 “whatever they have, we’d certainly release, no problem.” Trump later backtracked, saying he would defer to Hegseth.

Some lawmakers have seen extended portions of the video of the strikes in a classified briefing earlier this month, but described the state of the survivors before being killed in a second strike in starkly different terms. Democrats insisted the survivors were helpless and should have been rescued to comply with international laws that call for either sides in a conflict to help combatants who fall overboard or are shipwrecked. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, however, said the survivors were trying to “flip” the boat “so they could stay in the fight.”

Adm. Mitch Bradley, who ordered the strikes, was expected to return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to brief the House and Senate armed services committees behind closed doors, two officials told ABC News on Tuesday.

After two weeks of saying he was reviewing the matter, Hegseth told lawmakers during the closed-door briefing on Tuesday that he has no plans to do so. He said Adm. Mitch Bradley, who ordered the strikes, would share the video with members of the House and Senate armed services committees on Wednesday.

He added that Bradley “has done a fantastic job, has made all the right calls, and we’re glad he’ll be there to do it.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that if classification was a problem, Hegseth could at least share the video with every senator in a classified setting.

“Every senator is entitled to see it,” Schumer said.

DA’s office says it won’t use statements Luigi Mangione made at station house following arrest

December 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Manhattan district attorney’s office signaled Tuesday it would exclude statements that accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione made while in custody at the Altoona, Pennsylvania, Police Department following his following his arrest on Dec. 9, 2024.

Mangione was in a New York City courtroom Tuesday for the eighth day of an evidence suppression hearing that will determine what evidence will used against him when he goes on trial on charges of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk last year.

The New York police lieutenant leading the investigation into the shooting testified that he set up recording equipment inside an interrogation room in the Altoona station house after Mangione was apprehended in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s five days after the shooting. But when asked by defense attorney Marc Agnifilo if he knew whether it was legal to record someone in Pennsylvania without their knowledge, he conceded he did not know.

“I was being guided my legal counsel,” Lt. David Leonardi testified.

Mangione, at the station house, requested an attorney and investigators left the room, but the video and audio recording continued, Leonardi said.

When Agnifilo asked if suspects are made aware they are being recorded during interviews done in New York, prosecutors objected and the judge called both sides to the bench.

When Agnifilo returned to the podium he announced, “I understand that the DA is withdrawing these statements so I have no further questions.”

Earlier Tuesday, attorneys played security camera footage of Mangione using a laptop at a Best Buy appliance store. The footage was among the evidence turned over to the NYPD following his arrest, according to testimony from Altoona Patrolman George Featherstone, the police officer in charge of cataloging the evidence.

Featherstone testified about photographing and processing all the items found on Mangione’s body and in his backpack at the time of his arrest.

Police said they pulled a slip of crumpled white paper from Mangione’s pocket that appeared to be a to-do list. Best Buy was listed under the reminders for Dec. 8. Featherstone said officers also recovered a Best Buy receipt from Mangione, a photo of which was shown in court, that listed items including a Polaroid waterproof digital camera and memory cards.

Security camera footage also showed Mangione at a CVS drug store. He had a plastic CVS bag with him the day he was arrested at McDonald’s that Featherstone said contained a package of 25 CVS-brand medical masks.

Featherstone testified that he has been involved in hundreds of arrests, about 30%-40% of them involving backpacks or bags, and that “every one of them resulted in a search.”

When prosecutor Zachary Kaplan asked how many of those searches involved a warrant, Featherstone said none that he recalled.

The defense has argued the officers violated Mangione’s constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure because they lacked a warrant when they searched his backpack.

Rob Reiner’s son, Nick Reiner, faces 1st-degree murder charges with special circumstances: DA

December 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES) — Nick Reiner will be charged with the murders of his parents, renowned director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer, Los Angeles officials announced on Tuesday.

The charges of two counts of first-degree murder, with special circumstance of multiple murders, will be filed on Tuesday afternoon, LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, Hochman said.

“No decision at this point has been made with respect to the death penalty,” the DA said.

The Reiners’ daughter found her parents stabbed to death in their Brentwood home on Sunday, sources told ABC News.

Nick Reiner, 32, had been living on his parents’ property, according to a former family security guard, but was not at home when his parents’ bodies were discovered, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

He was found near the University of Southern California on Sunday night thanks to “good, solid police work” and was taken into custody, police said. He is in jail on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail, police said.

Nick Reiner’s attorney, Alan Jackson — who helped defend Karen Read in Massachusetts — told reporters on Tuesday that the 32-year-old had not yet been medically cleared to appear in court.

Nick Reiner had been open about battling drug addiction since he was a teenager. In 2016, Nick Reiner worked with his dad on the movie “Being Charlie,” which was based largely on his struggle with drug addiction.

On Saturday night, Rob and Nick Reiner got into an argument at a holiday party, and at the party Nick was seen acting strangely, sources told ABC News.

Rob Reiner, a famed director, producer and actor, is known for massive Hollywood hits, including “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Stand By Me,” “This is Spinal Tap,” “A Few Good Men” and many more.

A neighbor told ABC News that actors Billy Crystal and Larry David were seen at the house after police arrived on Sunday.

“Billy looked like he was about to cry,” the neighbor said.

Rob Reiner and Singer, who met while Rob Reiner was directing “When Harry Met Sally …,” married in 1989 and share three children: Jake, Nick and Romy.

Rob Reiner is also survived by daughter Tracy Reiner with his first wife, Penny Marshall, who died in 2018.

Rob Reiner, the son of comedian Carl Reiner and actress and singer Estelle Lebost, first became famous on the Norman Lear TV sitcom “All in the Family.”

He played the role of Archie Bunker’s son-in-law, Michael Stivic, known as Meathead, from 1971 to 1978, winning two Emmys for the role.

“The Lear Family is devastated by the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner,” the family said in a statement on Sunday night. “Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world.”

“Lyn Lear had remained very close with them and said, ‘The world is unmistakably darker tonight, and we are left bereft,'” the statement added.

Rob Reiner was also known for his advocacy work.

“This is a devastating loss for our city and our country,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice.”

ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.

Sen. Mark Kelly clashes with Hegseth over Pentagon’s investigation into him

December 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly on Tuesday called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s investigation into him a “bunch of bull****” and said he believes it’s about sending a message to retired service members not to speak out against the president.

“This is very performative for him,” Kelly told reporters about the investigation.

Kelly said Hegseth raised the investigation during a closed-door briefing to senators on the military’s campaign in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea targeting boats believed to be carrying drugs. According to Kelly, he asked a question about the boat strikes and Hegseth responded by chastising Kelly and other democratic lawmakers for posting a video urging troops not to follow illegal orders.

Hegseth asked Secretary of the Navy John Phelan to review Kelly for “potentially unlawful conduct” after the Arizona senator was featured in the video with five other Democrats who have served in the military and U.S. intelligence.

The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday in a prepared statement that it was “escalating” its review into Kelly from a preliminary review to an official “command investigation.”

Hegseth has said he believes the video by Kelly and others created confusion among troops and could encourage insubordination. Hegseth said he’s looking into whether the military should call Kelly, a retired Navy captain, back to active duty to face a court martial or some kind of administrative punishment.

On Monday, Kelly’s attorney, Paul Fishman, said in a letter to Phelan that if the Trump administration moves ahead with proceedings against Kelly in any forum, “all appropriate legal action” will be taken.

“To be clear: there is no legitimate basis for any type of proceeding against Senator Kelly, and any such effort would be unconstitutional and an extraordinary abuse of power. If the Executive Branch were to move forward in any forum—criminal, disciplinary, or administrative—we will take all appropriate legal action on Senator Kelly’s behalf to halt the Administration’s unprecedented and dangerous overreach,” Fishman wrote in the letter obtained by ABC News.

Kelly said he hasn’t heard anything from the Defense Department since he retired in 2011 when he was recognized for his 25 years of service.

“This is all bunch of bull****,” Kelly said Tuesday.

Kelly later added: “This is just about sending a message to retired service members, active duty service members, government employees — do not speak out against this president, or there will be consequences.”

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kelly’s remarks to reporters on Tuesday.

MIT professor shot, killed at his home in Boston suburbs: Officials

December 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(BOSTON) — A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been shot and killed at his home, authorities said.

Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was found Monday night at his house in the upscale Boston suburb of Brookline. He was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on Tuesday, the Norfolk District Attorney’s office said.

The DA’s office said the homicide investigation is ongoing.

The university said Loureiro was a “faculty member in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics, as well as the Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.”

“Our deepest sympathies are with his family, students, colleagues, and all those who are grieving,” MIT said in a statement. “Focused outreach and conversations are taking place within our community to offer care and support for those who knew Prof. Loureiro, and a message will be shared with our wider community.”

Ryan Wedding timeline: How Canadian went from Olympic athlete to alleged drug kingpin

December 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A former Olympic snowboarder is one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, with authorities comparing the Canadian citizen to notorious drug lords like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Pablo Escobar.

The alleged drug kingpin — 44-year-old Ryan Wedding — is accused of heading a criminal enterprise that traffics tons of cocaine, engages in murder to further their aims and retaliate, and uses cryptocurrency to conceal their illicit profits.

Wedding faces multiple federal charges in the United States, where authorities have said he is responsible for trafficking “multi-ton quantities of cocaine” from Colombia. He is also wanted by authorities in Canada on separate charges, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The FBI dubbed its operation into the alleged criminal organization “Giant Slalom” — a nod to Wedding’s Olympic event — and has warned the fugitive should be considered dangerous.

Wedding — whose alleged aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Public Enemy” — is believed to be in Mexico, being protected by the Sinaloa cartel, according to the FBI.

Here’s a look at Wedding’s path from premier athlete to alleged drug kingpin.

Feb. 27, 1999

Wedding wins the bronze medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom event at the 1999 Junior World Championship.

March 8, 2001

Wedding wins the silver medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom event at the 2001 Junior World Championships.

Feb. 14, 2002

Wedding competes for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he places 24th in the men’s giant parallel slalom.

June 13, 2008

Wedding is arrested in San Diego and subsequently charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, according to court records. According to the federal complaint, he conspired with two others to buy 24 kilograms of cocaine, unwittingly from an FBI source, as part of a Vancouver-based drug trafficking organization.

Nov. 30, 2009

A jury finds Wedding guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

May 28, 2010

A federal judge sentences Wedding to 48 months in prison.

Dec. 7, 2011

Wedding is released from U.S. federal prison. Federal prosecutors allege he would go on to found his criminal enterprise.

Nov. 20, 2023

Two parents are murdered in front of their daughter, who was also injured, in a case of mistaken identity in Ontario, according to federal prosecutors. Wedding and his alleged second-in-command — Andrew Clark, a fellow Canadian — had allegedly ordered the retaliatory murder of a Canadian drug trafficker, believing the driver had stolen 300 kilograms of cocaine from them, according to a federal indictment.

The assassin crew broke into a house that the family was renting, fatally shooting the two victims and seriously injuring a third, mistakenly believing they were family members of the co-conspirator, according to the indictment. The couple’s daughter was shot multiple times but survived, prosecutors said.

April 1, 2024

An individual was killed in Ontario, allegedly at the order of Clark and another man involved in the criminal enterprise, according to federal prosecutors.

May 18, 2024

Another individual is killed over a drug debt, allegedly at the order of Wedding and Clark, according to federal prosecutors.

June 18, 2024

A sealed, six-count indictment is filed against Wedding and Clark in Los Angeles federal court, charging them with running a criminal enterprise, committing murder in support of the enterprise and conspiring to distribute and export cocaine.

Sept. 17, 2024

A superseding indictment is filed in Los Angeles federal court against Wedding, Clark and 14 others. The 16-count indictment includes, among others, an attempted murder charge against Wedding and Clark.

The indictment alleges that the enterprise conspired to ship hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Southern California to Canada. The cocaine was allegedly transported from Mexico to the Los Angeles area, where it was stored in stash houses before being transported to Canada via long-haul semi-trucks, according to the indictment.

The indictment also alleges the organization committed multiple murders to achieve its aims, including the killings and attempted murder of the family members in November 2023 in Ontario and the murders of the individuals in April 2024 and May 2024.

Wedding and others allegedly made billions of dollars through the enterprise, which was moved around in the form of cryptocurrency, prosecutors say.

Law enforcement has seized more than one ton of cocaine, three firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition, $255,400 in U.S. currency and more than $3.2 million in cryptocurrency as part of its investigation into the so-called Wedding Drug Trafficking Organization, the DOJ says.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for any information leading to Wedding’s arrest.

Oct. 8, 2024

Clark is arrested by Mexican authorities, according to the Department of Justice. He is subsequently extradited to the U.S.

Oct. 17, 2024

On the same day federal prosecutors announce the superseding indictment, Wedding’s attorney allegedly advises him and Clark that if a federal witness were killed, the federal charges against them “would necessarily be dismissed,” according to a subsequent federal indictment.

Wedding then allegedly places a bounty of up to $5 million on the witness in exchange for “any person locating and killing” the individual, according to the indictment.

Jan. 31, 2025

The federal witness is killed while eating at a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia, by an unknown shooter, according to a federal indictment. The witness, who was not identified in the indictment, was shot in the head five times, prosecutors said.

Following confirmation of the witness’ death, Wedding allegedly facilitates an approximately $500,000 payment to members of the conspiracy in Colombia via an encrypted platform, according to the indictment.

March 6, 2025

Wedding is added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

The U.S. Department of State is now offering a reward of up to $10 million for his capture. The reward is “jointly being offered with assistance from the Canadian and Mexican governments as part of a unified effort to bring Wedding to justice,” the FBI says.

March 24, 2025

Clark pleads not guilty to his federal charges. His trial is set to begin in February 2026.

Oct. 28, 2025

A new federal indictment is filed against Wedding in Los Angeles federal court, accusing him of orchestrating the murder of the witness in Colombia. Eighteen others, including his Ontario-based lawyer, are also charged in the indictment in connection with his alleged criminal enterprise. The lawyer — who has not yet entered a plea — is accused of advising Wedding that if he killed the witness, then criminal charges against him in his 2024 federal narcotics case would be dropped, prosecutors said.

The indictment alleges that the criminal enterprise worked with members and associates of prominent Mexican drug cartels to move hundreds of kilograms of cocaine via boats and planes from Colombia to Mexico at a time, then used semi-trucks to smuggle the drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Nov. 19, 2025

The U.S. Department of State increases its reward for information regarding Wedding to $15 million.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctions Wedding, as well as multiple individuals and entities closely associated with him.

Dec. 8, 2025

U.S. officials release new photos of Wedding. In one, a newly obtained photo released by the Los Angeles FBI office, Wedding is seen lying in a bed shirtless, with a prominent tattoo of a lion on his chest, in a photo authorities said is believed to have been taken in Mexico during the summer of 2025. In the other, shared by the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, Wedding is seen with a different haircut and facial hair in an undated photo.

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