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Russia launches deadly attack on Kharkiv amid ‘productive’ US-Ukraine talks

November 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — At least four people were killed and 17 were injured in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv in what the local mayor called a “massive” Russian drone attack on Sunday night.

“Every night and every day bring new challenges for our city, new destructions and new work,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post to Telegram.

Kharkiv was among the targets of Russia’s latest overnight attack, which Ukraine’s air force said saw 162 drones launched into the country. Air defenses shot down or suppressed 125 drones, the air force said, with 37 craft impacting across 15 locations.

“The most damage was suffered by civilian infrastructure and private households in the Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions,” the air force said in a post to Telegram. “Unfortunately, there are civilian casualties.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down at least 93 Ukrainian drones overnight.

The latest exchange of strikes came as U.S., European and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the contentious 28-point American peace plan proposal put to Kyiv last week, with terms critics say would constitute a Ukrainian capitulation.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that the talks were “probably the most productive and meaningful meeting we’ve had so far in this entire process since we became involved.”

Rubio told reporters that the presidents of both countries would have to approve any framework, but said he was “comfortable” they would.

“We’re making some changes and adjustments in hopes of further narrowing the differences and getting closer to an outcome that both Ukraine and the United States can be comfortable with,” Rubio said.

Rubio later Sunday said that all parties had made “great strides” on a potential peace settlement with Russia. He also said that the deadline for the parties to reach an agreement is “as soon as possible” and that the process could extend past a Thanksgiving deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“It evolved. This is a work — this is a living, breathing document every day with input, it changes,” he said of the proposal.

Trump told reporters on Saturday that there is room for further negotiation. Asked by reporters whether the 28-point plan was his last offer, Trump replied, “No.” He added, “One way or another we’ll get it ended.”

But on Sunday, the president criticized Ukraine and its European backers, saying Ukrainian “‘leadership’ has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts” and noting that “Europe continues to buy oil from Russia.”

Asked later on Sunday whether the president still considered the Ukrainians “ungrateful,” Rubio said he believed Trump was now “quite pleased” with progress at the negotiating table.

On Monday morning, Trump hinted at headway being made. “Is it really possible that big progress is being made in Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine???” he wrote on social media.

“Don’t believe it until you see it, but something good just may be happening,” Trump added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said in a post to social media on Sunday that his delegation in Geneva “held a series of meetings — with the American side and with our European partners as well.”

“The delegation has just reported on the results of their discussions, and these were substantive conversations. A lot is changing — we are working very carefully on the steps needed to end the war,” Zelenskyy added.

“It is important that there is dialogue with the American representatives and there are signals President Trump’s team is hearing us,” Zelenskyy wrote.

“Ukraine has never wanted this war, and we will never be an obstacle to peace,” the president said. “Diplomacy has been reinvigorated, and that’s good. Very good. We expect that the outcome will be the right steps. The first priority is a reliable peace, guaranteed security, respect for our people, respect for everyone who gave their life defending Ukraine against Russian aggression.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Russia had “not received anything official yet” regarding the outcomes of the Geneva talks.

“We are, of course, closely monitoring media reports, which have been abundant over the past few days, including from Geneva,” Peskov said.

“We have not seen any plan yet,” Peskov continued. “We have read the statement following the discussions in Geneva. Some adjustments have been made to the text we saw earlier. We will wait. Apparently, the dialogue is continuing there, and some contacts will continue. So far, I repeat, we have not received anything officially.”

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting of his Security Council that the Kremlin had received the new 28-point U.S. proposal. “I believe that it could also form the basis for a final peace settlement, but this text has not been discussed with us in detail,” Putin said.

“I believe the reason is the same: the U.S. administration has not yet managed to secure the agreement of the Ukrainian side, as Ukraine is opposed to it,” Putin added. “Apparently, Ukraine and its European allies are still under the illusion that they can inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield.”

‘Slender Man’ stabbing assailant Morgan Geyser taken into custody after fleeing group home: Police

November 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Morgan Geyser, who in 2014 stabbed a friend 19 times to appease the fictional character “Slender Man,” was located Sunday night after she allegedly cut off her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet and left a Wisconsin group home where she had been a resident, authorities said.

Geyser was taken into custody in Posen, Illinois, police confirmed to ABC News.

Before being located, Geyser was last seen in Madison around 8 p.m. on Saturday with an adult acquaintance, police said in a statement posted on social media, which included a recent surveillance image of Geyser.

Geyser was found Sunday night at a Thornton’s truck stop with another person, according to Posen Police, who said the pair took a bus to Posen, and were both taken into custody.

Police later said the person traveling with Geyser was a 42-year-old man, who was charged with criminal trespassing and obstructing identification. He was released, but remained at the police station, Posen police said. Authorities said they would not provide the man’s name, booking photo or details of his involvement.

“Geyser will be held until transfer to Cook County for an extradition hearing at 26th and California,” the department said, referring by address to the Criminal Court Administration Building in Chicago. It was not immediately clear when that hearing would take place.

Posen is about 25 minutes south of Chicago.

The police department said it was notified of the 22-year-old Geyser’s disappearance on Sunday morning.

Geyser’s mother, Angie Geyser, said in a statement to ABC News earlier on Sunday, “If you see Morgan, please call the police. Morgan, if you can see this, we love you and just want to know you are safe.”

In March, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren ordered that Geyser be released from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute and sent to a group home after three psychologists testified she was prepared for supervised release.

As part of her release, Geyser was ordered to wear a monitoring bracelet.

Geyser, according to police, cut off her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet and left the group home sometime Saturday night.

Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, released a statement on Sunday asking Geyser to turn herself in, saying it was “in her best interest” to do so.

Geyser and another girl, Anissa Weier, were charged as adults and pleaded guilty to stabbing a classmate, Payton Leutner, 19 times in 2014, when they and the victim were 12 years old. Both Geyser’s and Weier’s guilty pleas were later vacated when they were found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Both of them were subsequently sent to psychiatric institutions.

“Payton Leutner and her family are aware of the most recent situation regarding Morgan Geyser,” a spokesperson for the Leutner family said in a statement to ABC News. “Payton and her family are safe and are working closely with local law enforcement to ensure their continued safety.”

“The family would like to thank all of the law enforcement entities involved in the efforts to apprehend Morgan,” the statement continued. “The Leutner family also wish to thank the outpouring of support from family, friends, and well-wishers who have contacted them during this difficult time.”

In January, Judge Bohren ordered the state Department of Health Services to come up with a plan for Geyser’s supervised release.

Geyser was transferred in March from the Winnebago Mental Health facility to a group home despite concerns raised by prosecutors, who alleged she had “violent” communication with a man outside the facility and had read a book in the facility with “themes of sexual sadism and murder.”

In 2014, Geyser and Weier lured their friend, Payton Leutner, then 12, to the woods in Waukesha, Wis., where Geyser stabbed Leutner while Weier watched.

Geyser and Weier left Leutner alone in the woods. Injured and bleeding, Leutner pulled herself to safety and was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Leutner survived the attack that captured headlines worldwide after Geyser and Weier claimed that the stabbing was intended to please “Slender Man,” a faceless, fictional internet-based character that garnered a cult-like following.

Geyser pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted intentional homicide and was sent to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in 2018. Geyser was later found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, and was sentenced to up to 40 years in a psychiatric institution.

Weier was also found not guilty by mental disease or defect after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. She was sentenced to up to 25 years in a psychiatric institution. In 2021, at the age of 19, Weier was granted supervised release.

In an interview with ABC’s “20/20” in October 2019, Leutner said she had worked hard to heal from the attack and rebuild a normal life. She told ABC News that she was ready to reclaim her story.

“I’ve come to accept all of the scars that I have,” Leutner said in the exclusive interview with ABC’s David Muir. “It’s just a part of me. I don’t think much of them. They will probably go away and fade eventually.”

GOP Rep. McCaul says he would advise Ukraine not to sign Trump’s current peace plan

November 23, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said Sunday he would advise against Ukraine signing the peace proposal that President Donald Trump has offered to end its war with Russia unless more “ironclad” security guarantees are written into the agreement.

“Without that, I would not advise Ukraine to sign this. They can’t sign an agreement like Budapest and then allow Russia to invade again,” McCaul told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.

Peace talks continue as American officials are meeting on Sunday with a Ukrainian delegation in Geneva.

The latest proposal, which was presented to Kyiv Thursday, was drafted by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff with input from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to the White House. But it was done in coordination with Moscow and includes conditions that are widely seen as being in Russia’s favor, prompting concerns within Ukraine and Europe that it would effectively be a capitulation.

Among the concessions Ukraine is being asked to make in this proposal: limiting its military to 600,000 personnel, agreeing to never join NATO, and forcing Kyiv to give up territory in the east, including areas not yet occupied by Russia.

McCaul, a top member and former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he believes there’s “flexibility” in Trump’s 28-point plan and that his Thursday deadline for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a decision or risk losing American support to end Russia’s nearly four-year war in shouldn’t be a “take it or leave it” situation.

“I think there’s flexibility. I do know that Rubio said within the next 72 hours, we all know a great deal about whether this goes forward or not,” McCaul said. “It’s always he who has stated, the president, that he sees this as a vision, but not a done deal. So it should not be take it or leave it.”

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, who also appeared on “This Week,” called the plan “awful.”

“My reaction is it’s awful. It would make Neville Chamberlain’s giving in to Hitler outside of World War II looks strong in comparison,” Warner said, arguing the plan is “almost a series of Russian talking points.

“This would be a complete capitulation and that’s why I think you’re hearing from Congress, both sides, people pushing back … It feels like this was a plan that they took almost entirely from the Russians,” Warner said.

Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he hopes this is merely a new starting point.

“To have this proposal forced upon them, I think as Zelenskyy said, Ukrainian dignity versus giving up a partner, I would hope the president would not be so weak as to try to force this plan on the Ukrainian and our other allies,” Warner said. “I think the president is seeing this one-sided plan kind of blow up in his face with pushback from the Ukrainians, from the Europeans, from members of Congress of his own party. And my hope is, he’ll come back and be a bit more reasonable.”

Here are more highlights from McCaul’s interview:

On the Russia-Ukraine peace proposal’s prospects
McCaul: The inception of this agreement seems to have come from a [Trump special envoy Steve] Witkoff discussion with the Russian [Kirill] Dmitriev, who heads up the Russian sovereign wealth fund. It’s unclear how much input was given by either Ukraine or our European allies. Rubio did say on the call that this is a United States document with input from Ukraine and from Russia. About 80% of this deal, I think, they’re going to find agreement with as they go to Geneva. The problem is going to be the 20% of really tough items to negotiate.

On the deal’s Thanksgiving deadline
McCaul: On all party sides, except the Russians I haven’t talked to, is that this is an ongoing negotiation process, so they’re really getting it started. What they — the way the White House described it last night was we had to start putting this pen to paper so we could get something accomplished. I do think it’s in Ukraine’s best interest to get something done now, rather than a year later, the military industrial war machine of Russia has now risen to a level that is very difficult now for Ukraine.

Here are more highlights from Warner’s interview:

On Trump saying he’ll speak with Venezuela’s president
Raddatz: Trump says he’ll be speaking with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Do you think that is a good idea? And what can you say to him?

Warner: I think the notion that Trump says, “We’ll talk to anyone” I think that is — I’m not going to critique him on that. If there’s a way to push Maduro out. Remember, our government and 50 other governments, most all of Western Europe, don’t — don’t recognize the Maduro government as legitimate, but it does not feel like there is an organized planning coming down again — America-only without any of our other allies in South America or Central America again, seems not the right approach.

On whether U.S. will go to war with Venezuela
Raddatz: Do you think he wants to go to war with Venezuela? Do you think he wants to —

Warner: I don’t know. I don’t know. I think he is trying to put outside pressure on Maduro, but by doing it in this kind of America-only approach, again, without giving any sign to, I think, even in the Republicans on the Hill, what his plans are, I’m not sure is the right way to do foreign policy. You couple this Venezuela misadventure with this desertion of Ukraine and this is not making America safer and it’s sure not putting America first.

Shooting near New York City nightclub leaves 1 dead, assailant on the run: Police

November 23, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A 39-year-old man was fatally shot early Sunday near a Midtown Manhattan nightclub, and the New York City Police Department said the shooter remains on the run.

The incident happened a week after New York Jets player Kris Boyd was shot and wounded outside of a Midtown Manhattan restaurant.

NYPD officers were alerted around 4:13 a.m. on Sunday that a person had been shot near a nightclub on West 46th Street and 12th Avenue in the Midtown West neighborhood, less than a block east of the Intrepid Museum.

“Upon arrival, officers observed a 39-year-old male with gunshot wounds to the back and groin,” according to an NYPD statement.

The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was taken by ambulance to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the NYPD.

No arrests have been announced and police are working to identify the suspect.

The violence follows the unrelated Nov. 16 shooting of 29-year-old Boyd, a Jets defensive back and specialty teams player, outside the Midtown Manhattan restaurant Sei Less, located 156 W. 38th Street, roughly two miles from Sunday morning’s shooting.

Boyd was shot around 2 a.m. after and he and some friends emerged from the restaurant at closing time and got into a scuffle on the street with another group that had been inside the restaurant, according to a statement from the NYPD.

Boyd remains hospitalized with a bullet lodged in his lung, law enforcement sources told ABC News. Jets coach Aaron Glenn told reporters on Wednesday that he spoke to Boyd and that he is confident the player will be okay.

The Boyd shooting is believed to have stemmed from words exchanged between Boyd, who was with two other Jets players and a friend at Sei Less, and another group “chirping” about their clothing, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

No arrests have been announced in the Boyd shooting. However, police sources on Thursday told ABC News that detectives have identified a possible suspect and are looking to question him.

COP30 delegates agree to a last-minute deal that falls short of expectations

November 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — It took an extra day, but the delegates at COP30, the U.N. annual climate conference, have reached a deal on a final agreement.

The agreement, however, falls far short of the high expectations many delegates, environmental groups and non-governmental organizations had going into the conference in Belém, Brazil.

Despite more than 80 countries calling for a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels worldwide, the primary cause of human-amplified climate change, that demand did not make it into the final text.

Although the conference took place in what’s called the “gateway to the Amazon,” the COP30 agreement also doesn’t include any significant new initiatives to stop deforestation and protect the Amazon rainforest, known as “the lungs of the planet.”

“The venue bursting into flames couldn’t be a more apt metaphor for COP30’s catastrophic failure to take concrete action to implement a funded and fair fossil fuel phaseout,” Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement to ABC News, referencing a fire that broke out Thursday at the COP30 venue.

“These negotiations keep hitting a wall because wealthy nations profiting off polluting fossil fuels fail to offer the needed financial support to developing countries and any meaningful commitment to move first,” she added.

Appearing to acknowledge the disappointment of some delegates and environmental and climate groups that the final agreement didn’t include the roadmaps on deforestation and fossil fuels, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago said during his remarks during the closing plenary that he would use his authority as the COP30 president to create the roadmaps himself.

These roadmaps would not be binding, however, because they weren’t part of the approved agreement and aren’t backed by all 195 countries.

“I, as president of COP30, will therefore create two roadmaps. One on halting and reverting deforestation, another to transitioning away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner,” do Lago said during the final plenary session.

The World Resources Institute (WRI), an environmental research organization that sent a delegation to COP30, said that while there were some notable successes during the nearly two week conference, it didn’t deliver on what many delegates and advocates were hoping it would.

“COP30 delivered breakthroughs to triple adaptation finance, protect the world’s forests and elevate the voices of Indigenous people like never before. This shows that even against a challenging geopolitical backdrop, international climate cooperation can still deliver results,” Ani Dasgupta, the president and CEO of WRI, said in a statement to ABC News.

“But many will leave Belém disappointed that negotiators couldn’t agree to develop a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. More than 80 countries stood their ground for a fair and equitable shift off fossil fuels, but intense lobbying from a few petrostates weakened the deal,” she added.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) expressed disappointment that a stronger agreement couldn’t be reached but praised the delegates for making progress in some areas.

“The barely adequate outcome salvaged in the final hours of COP30 keeps the Paris Agreement alive but exposes the monumental failures of rich countries–including the United States and European Union nations–to live up to the commitments they made under that agreement,” Dr. Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director for the Climate and Energy Program at UCS, said in a statement to ABC News.

Cleetus acknowledged that the conference saw some progress in several key areas, including “a nod to tripling adaptation finance,” although she said that the specific details of how that will be implemented were left out of the text.

“On a positive note, the COP30 outcome includes a very encouraging agreement to develop a just transition mechanism to help enable a fair, funded transformation to a clean energy future with social and economic safeguards for workers and communities,” she said.

The Center for Biological Diversity praised delegates for the “establishment of a first-ever just transition mechanism for workers, Indigenous peoples and frontline communities transitioning to renewable energy economies.”

These initiatives will focus on ensuring that the shift to a low-carbon economy is fair to workers, communities, and ecosystems.

“It’s a big win to have the Belém Action Mechanism established with the strongest-ever COP language around Indigenous and worker rights and biodiversity protection,” said Su of the Center for Biological Diversity.

“The BAM agreement is in stark contrast to this COP’s total flameout on implementing a funded and fair fossil fuel phaseout,” Su added.

In his closing remarks, do Lago acknowledged that the outcomes of COP30 may disappoint many.

“I know some of you had higher ambitions,” said do Lago. “I know youth and civil society will demand we do more,” he said. “I will try not to disappoint you during my presidency.”

Next year’s COP31 will be held in Antalya, Turkey, with Australia leading the negotiations.

This rare splitting of responsibilities was part of an agreement to end a standoff between Turkey and Australia over who would host the event.

At least 7 injured in shooting during holiday festivities in downtown Chicago

November 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(CHICAGO) — At least seven people were injured in a shooting in downtown Chicago on Friday night, police said.

Officers were on patrol when they observed a large group of people on the sidewalk close to the Chicago Theater on State Street, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.

“Officer’s heard gunshots being fired, and the large group began fleeing the scene,” authorities said. “Officers immediately responded to the area and discovered seven people had sustained gunshot wounds from the gun fire.”

The victims were all treated by the Chicago Fire Department and taken to local hospitals, authorities said.

The shooting happened during a very busy night downtown, with the city holding its Christmas tree lighting ceremony, according to ABC News’ Chicago station WLS.

Though police have not disclosed the identities of any of the victims, they have confirmed that six of them have been listed in good condition and one of them has been listed in fair condition.

No suspects are in custody and detectives are currently investigating the circumstances that led up to the incident.

Trump administration moves to narrow the scope of the Endangered Species Act: What that means

November 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A proposal from the Trump administration to revise the Endangered Species Act could have critical impacts on the most vulnerable animals, plants and habitats throughout the U.S., according to environmental advocates.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of the Interior outlined several rules within the ESA that it plans to roll back.

Included in the proposed revisions are changes to the listing of protected species and critical habitat (50 CFR part 424), which would be based on the “best scientific and commercial data available,” according to the Interior Department.

This would make economics a factor in what was previously science-based decision-making, Susan Holmes, executive director of the Endangered Species Coalition, told ABC News.

“For example, if the Trump administration determined that the economic harm to a golf course would be greater than protections for the Florida panther, then they could make that determination,” she said. “It would essentially potentially put money over the science.”

The Interior Department has also proposed changes to the 4(d) provision, which casts a blanket protection over threatened species, which presumptively prohibits killing or harming them unless federal agencies outline species-specific alternatives. The revision would require species-specific rules tailored to each threatened species instead.

“Overturning the 4(d) rule would remove protections for threatened species, make it more difficult to list species in need, reduce habitat conservation and open loopholes to undermine protections for imperiled species,” animal welfare group Humane Society of the United States said.

Conservation group Defenders of Wildlife said it would also deprive newly listed species from “automatically receiving protections from killing, trapping, and other forms of prohibited ‘take.'”

This could impact species now proposed for listing, such as the Florida manatee, California spotted owl, Greater sage grouse and Monarch butterfly.

“The rule provides an important safety net for vulnerable wildlife, giving species time to recover their populations before they become critically endangered,” Kitty Block, president and CEO of Humane World for Animals, said in a statement.

The Interior Department said the change “aligns service policy with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s longstanding species-specific approach.”

The Trump administration is also proposing to restrict the amount of habitats that are protected under the ESA (50 CFR part 17). The rule would narrow the definition of “critical habitat” to exclude currently unoccupied but historic habitat.

According to the Interior Department, the revised framework provides “transparency and predictability for landowners and project proponents.”

“Habitat is the number one reason why species go extinct,” Holmes — from the Endangered Species Coalition — said. “We know, to protect a species, we have to protect the habitat where they live, where they breed, they feed.”

The move reaffirms the federal government’s commitment to “science-based conservation that works hand in hand with America’s energy, agricultural and infrastructure priorities,” Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik said in a statement.

“By restoring clarity and predictability, we are giving the regulated community confidence while keeping our focus on recovery outcomes, not paperwork,” Nesvik said.

Changes on a rule on interagency cooperation (50 CFR part 402) would make it easier for federal agencies to greenlight projects such as mining, drilling, logging and overdevelopment without fully assessing the impact on threatened and endangered species or their habitats, according to Defenders of Wildlife.

The Endangered Species Coalition’s Holmes told ABC News that “there would be less compliance, less consultation between the federal agencies.”

The proposal seeks to return to the 2019 consultation framework by reinstating definitions of “effects of the action” and “environmental baseline,” according to the Interior Department.

Since the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, it has saved 99% of listed species from extinction since its inception, a study published in 2019 found. It has since become one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws.

Wildlife and environmental advocates condemned the proposed revisions.

Revisions to these rules would “drastically weaken protection for endangered species,” Holmes said.

“These devastating proposals disregard proven science and risk reversing decades of bipartisan progress to protect our shared national heritage and the wildlife that make America so special,” Andrew Bowman, president and CEO at Defenders of Wildlife, said in a statement.

The Humane Society of the United States described the move as “yet another attack on wildlife” by the Trump administration.

“The proposal to repeal this rule is completely reckless,” Block said. “Even if they are listed as ‘threatened’ under the ESA, species could become extinct without its protections.”

Environment advocates also accused the Trump administration of failing to “read the room” in terms of how Americans feel about protecting nature.

Polling data published in June 2025 found that four out of five Americans support the ESA, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The polling also found that 81% of Americans say they are concerned about the environment, including the welfare of animals and including nature, and that 70% factor the value of nature into government decision-making.

In addition, 84% of those polled believe the U.S. should focus on preventing endangered species from becoming extinct, and 78% support the goals of the ESA.

“Trump’s attacks on the Endangered Species Act seriously misread the room. Most people are not going to allow the sacrifice of our natural world to a bunch of billionaires and corporate interests,” Kristen Boyles, an attorney with environmental law group Earthjustice, said in a statement.

The attempt to alter the ESA follows other attacks against wildlife by the Trump administration this year, including proposals to rescind the Roadless Rule and Public Lands Rule, according to the environmental organization Sierra Club.

If the proposed rules were to come into effect, they would benefit industry and developers, the advocates said.

“The Trump administration is stopping at nothing in its quest to put corporate polluters over people, wildlife and the environment,” Sierra Club Executive Director Loren Blackford said in a statement. “After failing in their latest attempt to sell off our public lands, they now want to enable the wholesale destruction of wildlife habitat for a short-term boost in polluters’ bottom lines.”

In a statement to ABC News, the White House said the proposed rules will streamline protections under the ESA.

“President Trump is cutting red tape across the administration — including at the Department of Interior, where he is making it easier to delist recovered species and focus protections where they are truly needed,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told ABC News in an emailed statement. “Joe Biden expanded bureaucracy and sowed confusion, but President Trump and Secretary Burgum are returning power to Americans by eliminating regulatory barriers and respecting private property while maintaining core conservation goals.”

A 30-day period of public comment is in place following the Interior Department’s proposal.

Ukraine says peace talks ‘will take place in the coming days’

November 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(KYIV and LONDON) — Amid a U.S.-proposed plan to end Russia’s nearly four-year war in Ukraine, the Office of the President of Ukraine said Saturday that “consultations on steps to end the war will take place in the coming days.”

“Yesterday, the President of Ukraine approved the composition of the Ukrainian delegation and the directives for the relevant talks,” the president’s office said in a statement posted on social media. “We anticipate constructive work and are ready to advance as swiftly as possible to achieve a real peace.”

“Ukraine never wanted this war and will make every effort to end it with a dignified peace,” the statement continued. “Ukraine will never be an obstacle for peace, and the representatives of the Ukrainian state will defend legitimate interests of the Ukrainian people and the foundations of European security. We are grateful for our European partners’ willingness to help.”

In another statement posted on social media Saturday, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, said “we are starting consultations between high-ranking officials of Ukraine and the United States on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement in Switzerland.”

Earlier this week, the White House presented Kyiv with a new 28-point peace plan drawn up in coordination with Moscow that contains conditions that are widely seen in Ukraine as effectively demanding the country’s capitulation.

U.S. Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll and Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George led an American delegation to Kyiv on Wednesday, with a U.S. official confirming to ABC News that the group was read in on the new peace plan. The U.S. military officials are the most senior delegation to visit Ukraine since President Donald Trump took office in January.

A U.S. official told ABC News Saturday that a U.S. delegation including Driscoll, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and envoy Steve Witkoff will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, with a Ukrainian delegation.

Additionally, the official said there are plans for the U.S. delegation to hold a separate meeting with a Russian delegation. No details were provided about the location of the planned meeting with the Russians.

“Since the first days of the war, we have taken one, extremely simple position: Ukraine needs peace,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his Friday evening address. “And a real peace — one that will not be broken by a third invasion.”

Driscoll met with Zelenskyy for an hour on Thursday and discussed “a collaborative plan to achieve peace in Ukraine,” according to a U.S. official.

“This is a comprehensive plan to end the war,” the official said of the plan, which was described as a collaboration between the U.S. and Ukraine.

The plan includes a number of maximalist demands that the Kremlin has long demanded and that have been previously dismissed as non-starters for Kyiv, including that Ukraine cut its armed forced by more than half and cede swaths of territory not yet occupied by Russia, according to a Ukrainian official.

Ukraine would also be forbidden from possessing long-range weapons, while Moscow would retain virtually all the territory it has occupied — and receive some form of recognition of its 2014 seizure of Crimea under the latest proposed U.S. plan.

Is the US at risk of losing its measles elimination status?

November 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As measles continues to spread across the United States, questions have emerged about whether the country will retain its measles elimination status.

The U.S. is currently experiencing the highest number of measles cases reported in more than three decades, in large part due to an outbreak in western Texas that infected more than 700 people and spread to New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, an outbreak in Arizona and Utah currently shows no signs of slowing down and a separate outbreak in South Carolina has sent dozens of students into quarantine.

If spread of the virus continues into late January, it will mean the U.S. has seen a year of continuous transmission, which could lead to a loss of the country’s elimination status. Measles would once again be considered endemic or constantly circulating.

The threat of the U.S. losing its elimination status is looming after Canada lost its measles elimination status following a struggle to contain a year-long measles outbreak, public health experts told ABC News.

“I do think that the likelihood that we’re going to lose status, especially if things continue the way that they’re going, is I think pretty high,” Dr. Tony Moody, a professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at Duke University Medical Center, told ABC News.

State of measles in the U.S.

As of Wednesday, there have been 1,753 confirmed cases across 42 states this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

There have been 45 outbreaks, so far this year compared to 16 outbreaks all last year, CDC data shows.

Additionally, 92% of cases have been among those who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the CDC.

There have been three measles deaths this year — the first fatalities due to the disease in a decade — including among two unvaccinated school-aged children in Texas and one unvaccinated adult in New Mexico.

The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (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.

However, CDC data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. During the 2024-25 school year, 92.5% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine. This is lower than the 92.7% seen the previous school year and the 95.2% seen in the 2019-20 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even in states with high MMR vaccine uptake, pockets of unvaccinated or under-vaccinated communities can lead to rapid spread.

For example, in Texas, 94.3% of kindergartners were up to date on their MMR vaccine for the 2023-24 school year, CDC data shows. However, in Gaines County — the epicenter of this year’s outbreak — 17.6% of kindergartners were exempt from at least one vaccine during the 2023-24 school year, one of the highest exemption rates in the state, according to state health data.

“It’s kind of like you have a very dry forest, so any spark that comes in can burn down the entire forest,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told ABC News. “That’s what’s happening, which is fewer people being vaccinated, as evidenced by the drop in in people entering kindergarten.”

He said one case of measles is like a spark that quickly turns into a blaze as it spread through an unvaccinated community “and that’s why it’s hard to put out the fire.”

How loss of status is determined

The loss of status is determined by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO, an agency of the U.N. that oversees international health in the Americas.

An independent body of experts established by the PAHO — known as the Measles, Rubella, and Congenital Rubella Syndrome Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission (RVC) — meets at least once a year to monitor and re-verify measles and rubella elimination among countries in the Americas.

A person familiar with how PAHO determines loss of elimination status told ABC News that there would have to be compelling evidence that there has been continuous spread of measles in the U.S. since January, when the first cases were reported in Texas and that other outbreaks may trace back to the Texas outbreak.

The person said the committee will get together in mid-2026 to look at the data, write its next report and formally submit it to the PAHO for review. The annual meeting will likely take place in late 2026, unless a previously unplanned meeting is convened beforehand.

“The RVC holds annual meetings with all member states, conducts visits to priority countries, reviews national sustainability reports, and issues recommendations to the Director of PAHO,” a spokesperson for PAHO told ABC News. “It may also convene extraordinary meetings with member states to provide recommendations on specific topics or to follow up on outbreak situations. At this time, no extraordinary meeting has been scheduled for next year specifically to assess the U.S. or Mexico situation, but such a meeting could be convened if the epidemiological situation warrants.”

Between April 2025 and October 2025, Mexico has seen 4,550 cases, according to the WHO, which could also lead to the loss of its elimination status.

Moody explained that the U.S. having measles elimination status, which it received in 2000, is less of a formal declaration and more of a statement that a county has a relatively low number of cases and no sustained transmission.

Loss of status would similarly be a statement that a country has sustained transmission and that the virus is constantly present, he said.

“What does it mean from a public health perspective, or a parent’s perspective, it means that we have a higher risk for seeing transmission, and that if someone goes to a place where there is sustained transmission, there’s kind of an increased risk and, truthfully, you can pick it up just about anywhere,” Moody said.

Canada’s loss of elimination status

Earlier this month, the Public Health Agency of Canada said it was informed of the elimination status loss by PAHO after more than 12 months of continuous measles transmission. Canada’s outbreak began in late October 2024, and the county has seen more than 5,200 confirmed and probable cases since then, data from the health agency shows.

As a result, the Americas region lost elimination status as well.

Canada can re-establish its measles elimination status if measles transmission related to the current outbreak is “interrupted” for at least 12 months, according to the county’s health officials.

“Given that we share one of the longest borders in the world with Canada. It’s not as if there’s some magic barrier between U.S. and Canada,” Moody said. “If there’s transmission in Canada, we’re going to get it in the United States. … I’m not saying that Canada has put us at risk. We’ve kind of put ourselves at risk but … I do see it as being a highly likely thing that we’re going to see continued transmission.”

Canada will present and implement an action plan under PAHO’s regional framework to increase immunization coverage, reinforce surveillance systems and ensure rapid outbreak response to stop spread. This shows what the U.S. would likely experience if it lost its status.

“If we lose our status, it’ll be hard to regain it,” Chin-Hong said, noting how many workers have been laid off at HHS that might have helped control large outbreaks. “Not only loss of expertise, but just loss of the workforce in general, the people who go out and do the surveillance and contain the epidemic by vaccination efforts and all that. … It just denotes how fragile public health gains are. In general, it’s easy to lose it and hard to get it back.”

How to prevent further spread

Public health experts told ABC News there are several steps that can be taken to help control the spread of measles in the U.S. including increasing funding to public health for monitoring and surveillance as well as spreading awareness about how dangerous measles can be.

However, they add that the best way to stop the spread is through vaccination, both to protect yourself and the most vulnerable individuals.

“We can’t control the people who are unable to get vaccines because they’re being treated for cancer, because they are born with an immunodeficiency,” Dr. Aaron Milstone, pediatric director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins Health System, told ABC News. “What we can control is everyone else in the community who is eligible for a vaccine, who does not take it, and that’s the reason that measles is spreading, in part, because the herd protection from our community has gone down.”

As an extra step, public health agencies have previously recommended early MMR vaccination for infants living in outbreak areas or traveling internationally.

This would result in three doses overall: an early dose between age 6 months and 11 months and then the two regularly scheduled doses at age 1 and between ages 4 and 6.

Milstone said the recommendation to give a child their first MMR dose at age one was under the assumption that they likely would not be exposed to measles before then and that antibodies passed in utero would help protect them during their first year of life.

Now, with the continuous spread being seen, “are we going to have to rethink our recommendations for when to vaccinate kids in the U.S.?” Milstone said.

Nvidia defies AI bubble fears but some analysts remain worried

November 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Blockbuster earnings from chip giant Nvidia this week appeared to rebuke concerns about an artificial-intelligence bubble, briefly ending a days-long slump in the stock market.

“It’s fair to say that Nvidia’s results have completely changed the market mood and pushed out any bubble fears for another day,” said Jim Reid, a research strategist at Deutsche Bank, in a memo to clients early Thursday morning, just hours after the earnings.

But the market went on to offer little reassurance. Shares of Nvidia fell almost 3% in the first post-earnings trading session. The major stock indexes also dropped, underscoring the importance of the technology for Wall Street and the overall economy, which have both come to rely on massive AI spending to propel growth.

Nvidia recorded $57 billion in sales over three months ending in October, the company said on Wednesday, setting a quarterly sales record and demonstrating near-bottomless demand for the semiconductors at the heart of AI.

Still, critics say such appetite for the building blocks of AI has far outpaced the technology’s end uses and financial returns. AI hasn’t delivered much profit, they argue, despite up-front costs totaling hundreds of billions of dollars spent on data centers and chips.

Proponents strongly disagree, pointing to the rapid adoption of products like ChatGPT and counseling patience as other uses of the technology take hold. To hear them tell it, AI is set to augur a tech transformation like the internet or electricity, meaning the hype will ultimately bear out even if some firms falter along the way.

“There is no question that Nvidia will make a bunch of money,” Gary Marcus, a professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at New York University, who specializes in AI, told ABC News. “There are many questions about where the market is headed after this initial burst of enthusiasm.”

For his part, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang rejected AI-related worries during an earnings call on Wednesday.

“There’s been a lot of talk about an A.I. bubble,” Huang said. “From our vantage point, we see something very different.”

The economy is undergoing a technological sea change that extends beyond generative AI, Huang said, noting the rise of advanced software such as cloud computing as well as AI-driven physical products — all of which increasingly run on Nvidia chips.

“Nvidia corporation is unlike any other accelerator,” Huang added.

AI spending is expected to total $375 billion this year, jumping to about $500 billion by the end of 2026, UBS Global Wealth Management found in August. For reference, the half-trillion to be spent on AI next year would be roughly equivalent to the gross domestic product of Singapore.

The AI boom has helped propel U.S. economic growth. Such spending added a 0.5 percentage point boost to annualized U.S. GDP growth over the first half of 2025, accounting for about one-third of economic activity, Pantheon Macroeconomics said.

But analysts fearful of an AI bubble warn of what they consider immense costs, saying energy needs and chip production have saddled the balance sheets of firms developing and operating AI models. Profits may not come for years, if at all, they warn. OpenAI said it expects to begin generating substantial profits in 2030.

Speaking to reporters earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged frenzied investor enthusiasm but signaled confidence about the long-term outlook for the industry.

“When bubbles happen, smart people get overexcited about a kernel of truth,” Altman said. “Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about A.I.? My opinion is yes. Is A.I. the most important thing to happen in a very long time? My opinion is also yes.”

Tech giants like Amazon and Google retain the capacity to spend without taking on sizable debt, but smaller players require loans, risking credit defaults if the technology fails to deliver on the up-front costs, Marcus said. The potential unpaid loans could strain banks and put pressure on the wider financial system, he added.

“A big question is how much the banks have been propping this up: What will the blast radius be?” Marcus said.

Proponents of AI say such worries are overblown. They point to the popularity of products like AI chatbot ChatGPT, which boasts about 800 million weekly users. Millions of additional users avail themselves of xAI’s Grok, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s MetaAI.

Last year, Apple unveiled AI-fueled tools for its iPhones, Mac and iPad. Some firms are developing a new wave of AI-equipped robots to perform tasks in people’s homes and in workplaces like logistics and warehouses.

“This is the fastest adoption of any technology by consumers by far,” Lynn Wu, a professor of operations, decisions and information at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABC News. “This is a general purpose technology that will be adopted everywhere.”

The profitability of the technology will be made apparent over time as consumers and businesses identify its best uses, Wu added.

“When a general purpose technology — like electricity or the internet — is being adopted, firms and people don’t know how to use it,” Wu said. “We haven’t envisioned how to use this paradigm yet.”

Still, Wu cautioned, an AI bubble likely exists, though it isn’t dangerous. Wu compared the current state of the industry to the internet era before the dot-com bubble, when a host of firms went belly up but the technology reoriented the economy and established corporate giants.

“If you ask me flat out — yes or no — are we in a bubble? The answer is yes,” Wu said. “But the bubble isn’t necessarily a bad bubble.”

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