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Ukrainian drones hit St. Petersburg as key Putin economic forum opens

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Ukrainian drones hit one of Russia’s largest oil terminals in St. Petersburg overnight into Wednesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, sending plumes of black smoke towering over the city as the landmark St. Petersburg International Economic Forum prepared to open.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian long-range drones struck targets including the Petersburg Oil Terminal overnight — just under 700 miles from Ukrainian territory.

The latest round of “long-range sanctions,” as officials in Kyiv refer to Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia, “yielded good results. Important facilities on Russian territory were hit last night,” Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram.

St. Petersburg is known as Russia’s “second capital,” and is a regular target of Ukrainian drone attacks given its political and economic significance, plus its role as a key export hub for Russian oil.

Video from the city showed attendees of the International Economic Forum arriving at the venue with clouds of black smoke hanging over the city.

St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said in a post to Telegram that “infrastructure facilities in the Kronstadt, Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts were attacked” by Ukrainian drones.

“Several facilities were damaged. Currently, efforts are underway to mitigate the consequences. Several people were injured. There were no fatalities. An operational headquarters is in operation. Forces and resources have been put on high alert,” Beglov wrote.

Conceived of as Russia’s version of Davos, the annual International Economic Forum gathers Russia’s political and business elite in St. Petersburg. Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the event also hosted many international leaders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to deliver his keynote speech to the event on Friday.

Robert Mims Cook — the head of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, who is overseeing President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project and his planned triumphal arch in Washington — is set to attend the forum, which would make him the first American official to do so since 2022.

High profile radical conservative influencer Candace Owens has also been invited to speak at the forum, while the pro-Trump right-wing influencers Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are also in Russia.

Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, said in a post to Telegram that temporary flight restrictions were introduced at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport during the overnight attacks.

Temporary restrictions were also imposed on airports in the Russian cities of Saratov, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod and Pskov, Rosaviatsiya said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that its air defenses shot down at least 354 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday morning.

Elsewhere, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the capital also came under Ukrainian attack. The mayor said in posts to Telegram that air defenses intercepted at least 22 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Supreme Court allows Alabama to use GOP-friendly election map

June 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Alabama Republicans to use a contested 2023 congressional map that a lower court last week called “intentional race-based discrimination” in violation of the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution.

The move is a significant win for the GOP, allowing the state to eliminate one of two majority-Black districts occupied by Democrats, even as election experts and state administrators have warned of major confusion for voters with the late change.

Civil rights groups lamented the decision as a stark example of the impact of the court’s historic April decision in Louisiana v. Callais which rolled back longstanding voting rights protections for minority voters.

In an unsigned opinion Tuesday, the court’s conservative majority said the unanimous three-judge panel — which included two Trump appointee — in the Alabama dispute failed to apply “updated” standards the justices issued in the Callais decision for proving a political process is not equally open for minority voters.

The court said the panel “did not heed the presumption of legislative good faith” by concluding state lawmakers had “discriminatory animus.”

The court’s decision concluded that the judges also erred in blocking the 2023 map even though the minority voters challenging it could not provide an alternative map that offered the same political advantages sought by Republicans.

Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey praised the decision, and her office confirmed the state would hold a special primary using the new maps with redrawn districts on Aug. 11.

“The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed what I have said all along and that is that Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best,” Ivey said in a statement. “Today’s decision is a win for the people of Alabama and our elections.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a lengthy dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, accused her colleagues of “unleashing chaos” and “confus[ing] voters.”

The map change will require state officials to change the voter registrations of hundreds of thousands of voters in a matter of days and educate them on where to cast new ballots.

“Just as Alabama doubled down on racial discrimination, the Court today doubles down on chaos,” Sotomayor wrote. “Because I choose to defend the rule of law and the right of all Alabamians to participate equally in democracy, I respectfully dissent.”

In 2024, Alabama had been required to use a map with two majority-Black districts, one of which was won by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures.

The new map could allow Republicans to flip Figures’ seat.

The NAACP slammed the Supreme Court’s decision as discriminatory.

“The Supreme Court continues to unleash chaos in our democratic process, and with this latest action, gives Alabama approval to use a congressional map that had previously been found to be intentionally discriminatory,” NAACP General Counsel Kristen Clarke wrote in a statement. “This is a Court that is stripping Black voters of power and voice at a speed that would put Jim Crow jurists to shame. Our message to communities remains the same — the best way to express dissent is by showing up at the ballot box this election season.”

-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.

2 Honduran children detained for nearly a year in migrant facility, ACLU says

June 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(VIRGINIA) — Two Honduran immigrant children have been unlawfully detained at a youth facility in Virginia for more than 300 days, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

According to the complaint, the two siblings — a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl who lawyers say both fled gang violence in Honduras — have remained in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) despite “the existence of a fully vetted and approved sponsor.”

The lawsuit alleges that the government agency, which operates under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has “repeatedly delayed reunification through shifting technical and immaterial objections to sponsorship paperwork.”

According to the complaint, a close family friend stepped forward to sponsor them upon their arrival in U.S. in July 2025. By October 2025, federal officials had allegedly completed a positive home study and background checks, and recorded that “no documents are pending” in the case.

But instead of releasing the children, government officials “repeatedly” reopened the sponsorship process over minor clerical details, the lawsuit alleges.

The minors are being detained at Youth For Tomorrow, a Christian-based organization that provided services to unaccompanied migrant children. The ACLU said in the complaint that the delays in processing sponsor paperwork “are part of an escalating pattern” by the Office of Refugee Resettlement “to prevent children from being released.”

The two siblings, according to the lawsuit, have “documented educational accommodation plans and require specialized educational and developmental services” that they are not receiving while in custody.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told ABC News that the Office of Refugee Resettlement does not comment on active litigation. Youth For Tomorrow did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

The lawsuit comes as the average stay for unaccompanied minors in ORR custody has grown from 30 days in 2024 to 117 days in 2025 under the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.

“ORR is choosing chaos and confusion for the children in its care over safety and stability,” Sophia Gregg, an attorney with the ACLU of Virginia, said in a statement. “ORR is tasked with facilitating the safe and speedy release of unaccompanied children in its care, but instead of following the law, it’s choosing to advance the Trump administration’s cruel, anti-immigrant agenda and causing irreparable harm to children in the process.”

Acting AG Blanche says Trump administration is nixing ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’

June 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed during testimony before a House subcommittee on Tuesday that the Trump administration is backing down from establishing a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to benefit allies of President Donald Trump following heavy pressure from Republican congressional leadership.

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

Man, woman dead in murder-suicide after hours-long SWAT standoff

June 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(HOUSTON) — A man and woman were found dead in a Houston apartment after an hours-long standoff with the sheriff’s department, according to officials.

A 20-year-old woman and the 23-year-old suspect were found dead in the apartment, Harris County Sheriff’s Department Patrol Bureau Maj. Earl Dean said at a press conference on Monday.

Deputies received a report of man “frantic” on his phone just before 2 p.m. Monday, saying he “accidentally shot his girlfriend,” Dean said.

At the scene, deputies made contact with the man, who refused to obey their commands and threatened to kill himself. The man then barricaded himself inside the apartment, Dean said.

Deputies contacted additional resources and a SWAT team took over the scene, according to Dean.

After several hours of the crisis negotiation team talking to the man, trying to get him to surrender, the man refused all commands, Dean said.

“At one point we did deploy gas into the apartment complex. The male retreated onto the balcony where he suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Dean said.

“This is very unfortunate,” Dean said.

No deputies discharged their weapons during the incident, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

The circumstances surrounding both deaths remain under investigation. There is no ongoing threat to the public, Gonzalez said.

New Jersey attorney general, city of Newark pursue legal action to get health inspectors into Delaney Hall ICE facility

June 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEWARK, N.J.) — New Jersey officials are pursuing legal avenues to get to the bottom of allegations of poor conditions at Delaney Hall in Newark, including threatening to sue to shut down the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility if state health inspectors are not allowed to examine it.

The city of Newark already filed a lawsuit in April 2025 against the GEO Group, the private company contracted by ICE to run the facility, alleging that the company made modifications to Delaney Hall to prepare it for use as a detention facility without required state oversight. However, Mayor Ras Baraka and city leaders said Tuesday that they will expand that litigation to call for the facility’s closure if state health inspectors aren’t given full access.

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Gov. Mikie Sherrill also announced Tuesday that the state has filed suit against the GEO Group, asking the state superior court to order the company to allow state health inspectors access.

Protests and an alleged hunger strike have been ongoing since May 22 after reports alleged the 300 inmates inside the ICE detention center have been poorly fed, are not receiving proper medical care and are being held in poor conditions.

“If the GEO Group – with a $1 billion government contract – has nothing to hide and the conditions inside Delaney Hall are as safe and as sanitary as this private corporation and the Trump Administration claim, then there is no legitimate reason why my health inspectors are being kept from full access throughout the building,” Sherrill said in a statement Tuesday announcing the state’s suit.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to the attorney general’s suit with a statement on X Tuesday, calling it “frivolous.”

“ICE is committed to transparency, and Delaney Hall complies with all required state and local laws,” DHS said, in part. “ICE is regularly audited and inspected by external agencies. All detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.”

The GEO Group did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment about Baraka’s announcement and the state’s lawsuit.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has previously said that the reports of the poor conditions are untrue.

Baraka said Tuesday during a news conference outside of Delaney Hall that the alleged conditions inside the detention center were “inhumane” and that action needed to be taken. There was a report that alleged one of the inmates suffered a miscarriage and was not given proper care, according to the mayor.

“It’s troubling, which forces us to expand our lawsuit against Delaney Hall,” Baraka said.

Eric Pennington, Newark’s business administrator, told reporters Tuesday that the city asked the GEO Group to allow health inspectors to check the facility.

Sherrill said last week that inspectors from the state Department of Health visited Delaney Hall on May 28 but were “denied full access” and “allowed to inspect only a limited part of the facility.”

The New Jersey Attorney General’s office further said in Tuesday’s lawsuit announcement that the health inspectors were “barred from inspecting crucial areas of the facility, including the medical unit, sleeping areas, and bathing and toileting areas.”

Pennington said Tuesday that the city will use their legal options to get the inspectors inside.

“If they don’t allow us in, we, along with partners who are out here to protect the individuals inside, they will join our lawsuit, along with the state Health Department, to join to have this facility shut down until it can be inspected and ensured it is safe for the individuals who are in there,” he said.

“We are awaiting GEO Group’s response now and we expect to go to the court in the next day or two to continue the existing lawsuit,” Pennington added.

Davenport’s suit seeks an expedited injunction that directs the GEO Group to allow inspectors inside, according to court documents.

“The reports of unsanitary and unsafe conditions inside Delaney Hall are extremely concerning, and GEO Group – like any other business and facility in New Jersey – must follow the law,” Davenport said in Tuesday’s announcement.

Several elected officials have visited the facility since the protests began and claimed they have seen the poor conditions firsthand.

Federal and state law enforcement agents have clashed with protesters on numerous days, with federal officers in some instances firing tear gas and using batons. Several people have been arrested, some of whom were accused of assaulting federal officers.

Sherrill and other New Jersey Democrats have criticized the federal government for their response and actions against the protesters and have called on everyone to lower the temperature.

A curfew was enforced outside the facility starting Sunday night.

Baraka, who said Tuesday that he had spoken with protesters, said that there were no arrests made Monday night but that the curfew would continue for at least one more day.

Limited visitation privileges were restored Sunday following a request by the governor.

Russia launches ‘horrific’ drone, missile strikes on Ukraine, killing 22: Officials

June 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — At least 22 people were killed and more than 130 people injured in a large-scale overnight Russian missile and drone strike on Ukraine, officials said, with the capital Kyiv the main target of Moscow’s latest long-range barrage.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a post to Telegram that the most significant damage was wrought in Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv regions. At least six people were killed in Kyiv and 16 people — including two children — were killed in Dnipro, local Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram that Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 drones into the country, of which 40 missiles and 602 drones were intercepted or suppressed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack constituted “a completely transparent statement from Russia: if Ukraine is not protected from ballistic and other missile strikes, these attacks will continue.”

“Europe needs its own anti-ballistic defense so that this war can finally end. And we urgently need help from the United States in supplying missiles for the Patriot systems. We count on the support of our partners and on effective responses to today’s attack,” the president wrote in a post to social media.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that among the buildings damaged by the “large-scale attack” were four medical facilities.

Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, said in a post to X that the most serious damage in Kyiv was reported in the Podilskyi district, where a Russian strike collapsed a nine-story residential building. “People may still be trapped under the rubble,” Stefanchuk wrote.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post to X that Russia’s latest “horrific attack” showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is a war criminal and loser who has no cards except terror.”

“Moscow is losing on the battlefield. No number of missiles can change this,” Sybiha wrote. “What we can change is Russia’s ability to continue terror. I urge partners to act, not only condemn.”

The foreign minister called on Ukraine’s foreign backers to unlock more European funding for NATO’s PURL program through which Kyiv can obtain more American weapons and ammunition, including anti-missile defenses like the Patriot system.

Sybiha also urged partners to increase investment in Ukraine’s own long-range capabilities, “ramp up pressure on Russia through new sanctions” and advance Ukraine’s European Union membership negotiations.

“Peace efforts will only succeed when they are backed with real pressure on Moscow,” Sybiha said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that its forces “launched a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, land and sea-based weapons, including hypersonic aeroballistic missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles.”

The strike, it said, targeted “military-industrial,” fuel and transport facilities and military bases in the Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi and Sumy regions. “The targets of the strike have been achieved, all designated objects have been hit,” the ministry claimed.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said it shot down at least 148 Ukrainian drones overnight into Tuesday morning.

Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, announced temporary flight restrictions at airports in Volgograd, Kaluga, Saratov, Krasnodar and Penza during the overnight Ukrainian attacks.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Yulia Drozd and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.

White House correspondents’ dinner rescheduled for July 24

June 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The White House correspondents’ dinner has been rescheduled for July 24, after a shooting forced the cancellation of the annual event in April, White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang said.

“Rescheduling was not automatic. It was a choice that the WHCA board made after thoughtful consideration and input from our members,” she said in a statement.

Cole Allen, 31, is accused of trying to assassinate President Donald Trump at the April 25 dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel. He was tackled by law enforcement after rushing through a security checkpoint at the hotel, where thousands of journalists as well as Trump and members of his Cabinet were gathered for the annual event, according to prosecutors.

Allen allegedly wrote that administration officials were his targets, according to a criminal complaint.

Allen has pleaded not guilty to attempted assassination of the President of the United States, assault on a federal law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, transportation of a firearm and ammunition over state lines with the intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Jiang said the rescheduled dinner “will not only be an opportunity to carry out our program. It will be a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence.”

“Our thoughts remain with the officer who was injured and with everyone who experienced that evening,” she added. “We are indebted to the US Secret Service, law enforcement and the hotel staff whose swift response protected our guests and our staff.”

Jiang did not say where July’s dinner will be held.

Horse stabbing case: DA wants teen suspect charged as adult

June 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(LAS VEGAS) — Prosecutors in Nevada said they’re looking to try the teenage girl accused of stabbing three horses in adult court.

Officers responded to a barn in Las Vegas early Saturday and found three horses “intentionally injured with a sharp object,” Las Vegas police said.

A teenage girl who was in Las Vegas for an equestrian competition was identified as a possible suspect, according to police and the National Barrel Horse Association. She allegedly had access to the barn and authorities believe she may have used a knife to wound the horses, police said.

The horses’ injuries were not life-threatening, but they were expected to keep the animals from competing at this weekend’s event, police said in a statement.

The teen, who was at a nearby hotel, was taken into custody and booked for 12 counts of willful/malicious kill/maim/torture animal — horse and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000, police said.

The Clark County District Attorney’s office said Tuesday that it wants the teen charged in adult court and said it’s “reviewing the matter to determine what charges to file which may include willful or malicious torture, maiming, or killing of an animal and felony malicious destruction of property.”

“These allegations involve deliberate acts of extreme cruelty against defenseless animals and have had a significant impact on the victims, the owners, and the broader equestrian community,” Clark County DA Steve Wolfson said in a statement.

The teen is next due in court on Thursday. A separate hearing will be scheduled for a judge to determine if the case should be moved to adult court, the DA’s office said.

The suspect was a competitor in the NBHA’s Professional’s Choice Vegas Super Show this weekend, according to the organization.

“The situation was addressed immediately in coordination with the National Barrel Horse Association, the South Point Hotel & Casino Security, Metro Police, and all appropriate parties,” the NBHA said in a statement.

“All appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the well-being of all horses,” the organization added.

The owner of one of the injured horses spoke out in a statement to ABC News, saying, “this situation is absolutely devastating.”

“To see [my horse] Detail who is my entire world and my best friend, in so much pain, helpless and injured,” said the owner, who did not want to be named.

The owner alleged that the teenage suspect follows her on social media and “has made comments and attempts about trying to meet me and Detail at last year’s NBHA Supershow.”

“This year she happened to be in the same warmup pen at the same time as me and officially met me and Detail. This was one night before the stabbing,” the owner said. “She made comments on Detail’s markings.”

ABC News has also reached out to the owners of the other two injured horses.

Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte tapped by Trump to be acting director of national intelligence

June 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he’s appointing Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence, with Tulsi Gabbard set to leave her post on June 30.

Trump said that Pulte will remain the director of Federal Housing Finance Agency and also continue as a chairman of the mortgage groups Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago,” Trump posted to his social media platform.

Pulte does not appear to have a clear national intelligence background.

He is best known in the Trump administration for launching probes into several of the president’s perceived political enemies over allegations of mortgage fraud and possible misuse of authority. Targets of the investigations include Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. They’ve all denied wrongdoing.

The Department of Justice had at one point investigated whether Pulte and his team were interfering in ongoing investigations. Pulte has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Gabbard announced her resignation last month because of her husband’s battle with bone cancer.

Trump praised Gabbard for having done an “incredible job” and adding that the administration will “miss her.” He said at the time that Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas would serve as acting DNI.

But in his announcement on Tuesday, Trump said he was tapping Pulte for the temporary role. Pulte would need Senate confirmation if nominated to serve in the role full time.

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