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Democratic Rep. Grijalva officially sworn in, signs Epstein discharge petition

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) –Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva was officially sworn in to the House on Wednesday — seven weeks after she won a special election, and just before the House is set to up Senate-passed legislation to reopen the government.

House Speaker Mike Johnson administered the oath of office, which prompted loud applause from Democrats.

Grijalva spoke on the House floor and immediately after that signed the discharge petition that would force a floor vote on compelling the Department of Justice to release the complete files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Justice cannot wait another day,” she said.

Grijalva pointed to the new emails released by House Democrats earlier Wednesday in which Epstein made mentions of President Donald Trump.

“Our democracy only works when everyone has a voice,” Grijalva said.

“This includes the millions of people across the country who have experienced violence and exploitation, including Liz Stein and Jessica Michaels, both survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, they are here in the gallery with us this evening,” she said. “Thank you for being here.”

Grijalva called on lawmakers on Capitol Hill to do more to counter Trump.

“It’s past time for Congress to restore its role as a check and balance on this administration and fight for we, the American people,” she said. “We need to fight for our immigrant communities and veterans. We need to stand up for our public schools, children and educators. We need to respect tribal sovereignty and our environment, we need to stand up for LGBTQ+ rights, because that’s what the American people expect us to do: fight for them. That is why I will sign the discharge petition right now to release the Epstein files.”

Grijalva’s election win was four days after Johnson dismissed lawmakers following House passage of the clean continuing resolution to fund the government in mid-September.

While the question has followed the speaker throughout the shutdown, Johnson had shrugged off the delay in Grijalva’s swearing-in, arguing that his decision was not about Grijalva’s intent to become the decisive signature on a discharge petition.

The state of Arizona sued the House of Representatives over the speaker’s decision to not swear in Grijalva during the government shutdown and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed their opposition to Johnson’s decision.

When could a vote on the Epstein files discharge petition occur?

After Grijalva signed the discharge petition, a procedural maneuver to bypass House leadership on forcing floor votes on legislation, it reached the necessary 218-vote threshold for a vote to be forced in the lower chamber.

The petition, led by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, now needs to “ripen” — meaning it will receive floor consideration after seven legislative days, according to House Rules. After that, any member who signed the petition can call up the measure and notify of an intention to offer a discharge motion on the floor.

So the earliest the House will hold a vote on the discharge petition is in early December after the chamber’s Thanksgiving recess.

Speaker Johnson was opposed to the effort, pointing to the work being done by the House Oversight Committee on Epstein.

The committee has released thousands of records related to Epstein, provided by the Department of Justice. Some of documents released by the committee include public court filings and transcripts from his associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial, previously released flight logs from Epstein’s plane, already-public Bureau of Prisons communications the night of Epstein’s death and various other public court papers from Epstein’s criminal case in Florida. Maxwell has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of trafficking young girls and women.

Judge rules administration can’t force states to undo delivery of SNAP benefits

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration’s claim that states were “unauthorized” to begin issuing full SNAP benefits over the weekend is “untethered to the factual record,” a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order that prohibits the Trump administration from trying to force states to “undo” benefits that they began disbursing over the weekend.

She also ordered the administration to ensure that the emergency funds for SNAP — which cover about 65% of November benefits — are made available to states by Thursday.

With the government shutdown nearing an end, the ruling appears unlikely to immediately change the status of the benefits, though it supports the Democratic state officials who began dispensing benefits.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that full SNAP benefits will be paid out once the shutdown is resolved.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which operates the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, notified states that it was “working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances” to comply with an order from U.S. District Judge McConnell that the Trump administration fully fund SNAP with emergency funds.

But the USDA backtracked the next day, telling states they must “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” with the administration saying the full SNAP payments by states were “unauthorized.”

Judge Talwani, in her ruling Wednesday, said the Trump administration “confused the record” by offering contradictory guidance.

“In light of this record, the court finds that USDA’s assertion — that the States took ‘unauthorized’ action when they were complying with a court order that had not yet been stayed and with the USDA’s own directive — untethered to the factual record,” she wrote.

Judge rules administration can’t force states to undo delivery of SNAP benefits

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

She also ordered the administration to ensure that the emergency funds for SNAP — which cover about 65% of November benefits — are made available to states by Thursday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that full SNAP benefits will be paid out once the shutdown is resolved.

Judge Talwani, in her ruling Wednesday, said the Trump administration “confused the record” by offering contradictory guidance.

Top administration officials met with Boebert about House vote on release of Epstein files: Sources

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Top administration officials met with Rep. Lauren Boebert Wednesday morning about the effort to force a House vote on the release of Justice Department’s Epstein files, multiple sources told ABC News.

The meeting, with top White House and Justice Department officials, was part of an effort to get Boebert to remove her name from the petition to release the files, the sources said.

It came just hours before House Speaker Mike Johnson was to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, who has said she intends to add the final signature to that petition to force a vote on the release of the files.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy AG Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel were among those present for the meeting, which occurred at the White House, the sources said.

It wasn’t immediately clear following the meeting whether Boebert had decided to remove her name, the sources said. Boebert is among four Republicans who have signed onto the petition. The others are Reps. Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The White House and Boebert’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

CNN was first to report that a meeting was planned for Wednesday.

The Trump administration has been dealing with the fallout from its decision not to release materials related to the investigation into Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019, following the blowback it received from MAGA supporters after it announced in July that no additional files would be released.

Nearly 900 flights canceled in US early Wednesday

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — At least 893 flights were canceled in the United States on Wednesday morning, with departures from the busy hubs of Chicago, Denver and Atlanta leading the list of the most cancellations, according to FlightAware.

Another 1,117 flights had been delayed as of about 1 p.m. ET, according to FlightAware.

Chicago O’Hare International topped the tracker’s list of cancellations, with 45 as of about 1 p.m. local time. Next was Denver with 43 and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson with 37.

Wednesday’s flight cancellations appeared set to continue a dayslong streak of headaches at American airports, which were operating under duress amid a federal government shutdown.

The cancellations and delays have slowly crept down throughout the week, however, as Congress appeared ready to end the shutdown. The House of Representatives was set to vote on the bill Wednesday night.

As of 8:30 a.m. ET, there were no staffing issues with the exception of the ongoing shortage unrelated to the shutdown at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

More than 1,200 flights in the U.S. were canceled on Tuesday, while another 2,600 were delayed. Winter weather that caused headaches in the Midwest and East on Monday and Tuesday were also no longer a factor for airports on Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration continues to limit capacity at 40 major U.S. airports. Many federal employees, including Transportation Security Administration staffers, were working without pay as the partisan impasse dragged on in Washington.

And while things have improved, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned the cancellations could cause major issues this weekend if the shutdown does not come to an end.

“If the government doesn’t open, it’s going to radically slow down,” Duffy said during a press conference on Tuesday. “If this doesn’t open, you might have airlines that say, ‘We’re going to ground our planes.’ That’s how serious this is.”

Airlines have not received any guidance on whether flight reductions will be adjusted once the shutdown ends, according to Chris Sununu, the president and CEO of Airlines for America, a trade association representing U.S. carriers.

Unless another directive is issued by the FAA, airlines plan to implement an 8% flight reduction on Thursday and a 10% reduction on Friday, Sununu said.

Once the government shutdown ends, it will take about a week before air travel operations return to normal, Sununu said. If the shutdown ends this week, smooth travel is expected over the Thanksgiving holiday, he said.

“There’s still plenty of time to make sure that everything over the Thanksgiving week goes off as originally planned,” Sununu said during a press conference on Wednesday.

ABC News’ Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.

Search ongoing for woman visiting California who was last seen at beach bonfire

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif.) — Authorities said they are searching for an at-risk woman who was last seen at a bonfire on a California beach.

Danielle Staley, 35, of Utah, went missing while visiting the California Central Coast with a friend, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

She was last seen with a group of people at a bonfire on Rio Del Mar State Beach in Aptos shortly before midnight on Nov. 6, according to the sheriff’s office.

She was reported missing the following day, the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators have not ruled out foul play, and Staley is considered at-risk due to the circumstances of her disappearance, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Staley’s personal belongings were found on the beach, and she has not been in contact with her family — behavior that is uncharacteristic and has raised additional concern,” the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “At this time, investigators are not ruling out foul play; however, the case is being treated as a missing person at risk due to the circumstances.”

Staley has been visiting the area with a friend, and they had been staying in a camper van near Rio Del Mar State Beach, according to the sheriff’s office.

The friend is cooperating with authorities, the sheriff’s office said.

Residents and businesses with surveillance video in the areas of Rio Del Mar Beach, Beach Drive, Treasure Island and Spreckels Drive have been asked to contact the sheriff’s office so deputies can review the footage.

“Detectives have been diligently working to track down any information and continue to do so,” the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities described Staley as 5’6″ and 120 pounds with blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and leopard print leggings.

Anyone with information on Staley is urged to contact the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office at 831-471-1121.

Democrats push for release of all Epstein files; GOP says Dems trying to ‘slander’ Trump

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Reactions are pouring in from Capitol Hill after House Democrats released correspondence from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in which he wrote that President Donald Trump “spent hours at my house” with an alleged victim.

The emails, written in 2011 to Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell but made public on Wednesday by Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, have added to a renewed push by some lawmakers to compel the administration to release all files related to Epstein.

“We won’t stop until we end this White House cover-up. Release the files, NOW,” Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the Oversight panel, wrote on X.

Many Democrats issued similar calls.

“It’s clear as day: Trump is in the Epstein files,” New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler wrote on X. “The American people deserve the full truth.”

“The public deserves to know who enabled Epstein, who looked the other way, and who’s still being protected. Survivors have waited long enough. Release the Epstein files NOW,” wrote Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee accused Democrats of “trying to create a fake narrative to slander President Trump.”

In a social media post, Republicans on the panel claimed in the 2011 email between Epstein and Maxwell, Democrats redacted the name “Virginia” — a likely reference to prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, who had made extensive public comments about her exploitation by Epstein, but had never accused Trump of any wrongdoing.

“Democrats continue to carelessly cherry-pick documents to generate click-bait that is not grounded in the facts,” a House Oversight Majority spokesperson said in a statement. “The Epstein Estate has produced over 20,000 pages of documents on Thursday, yet Democrats are once again intentionally withholding records that name Democrat officials.”

After the release by House Democrats, House Republicans on the Oversight panel released an additional 20,000 pages of documents they received from the Epstein estate.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, one of a handful of Republican women backing the effort to compel the release of all Epstein files, defended Trump and said focus should be on the victims.

“How pathetic that Democrats are using Epstein’s victims to bury headlines on their vote against reopening the government,” Mace wrote on X.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also accused Democrats of “selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative.”

“The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions. The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre,” Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News.

“These stories are nothing more than bad-faith efforts to distract from President Trump’s historic accomplishments, and any American with common sense sees right through this hoax and clear distraction from the government opening back up again,” Leavitt added.

In other messages released by House Democrats, Epstein appeared to touch on his relationship with Trump and whether he’d been banned from membership at Mar-a-Lago years earlier.

“Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever,” Epstein wrote in a message to author Michael Wolff, “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop.”

Trump, who hasn’t yet directly weighed in on the latest development, previously blamed Democrats for creating a “hoax” surrounding the Epstein files.

After Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump said he hadn’t spoken with him since 2015 because of a falling out. This summer, as momentum picked up in Congress to release all the Epstein files, Trump said Epstein “stole” young women (including Guiffre) from his Mar-a-Lago club, but that he didn’t know why.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna are leading a discharge petition to force a vote on compelling the Justice Department to release all the Epstein files.

Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, set to be sworn in on Wednesday, is expected to become the decisive 218th signature needed for the petition.

“Why did Justice or the FBI not get & release these?” Khanna wrote on X about the Epstein emails made public by House Democrats. “Today, [Massie] & my petition gets 218!”

ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.

Northern Lights display expected for 2nd night in a row for these US states

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Dazzling waves of color are lighting up the skies this week.

After green and pink displays of auroras lit up the sky Tuesday night, another Northern Light array is expected to bring a gleaming light show to the northern part of the U.S. Wednesday night.

The auroras are being caused by one of the strongest geomagnetic storms of the year, which occurs when electrons from the sun collide with Earth’s magnetic field to produce colored lights, according to NOAA.

“Aurora is the name given to the glow or light produced when electrons from space flow down Earth’s magnetic field and collide with atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere in a ring or oval centered on the magnetic pole of Earth. The collisions produce light much like how electrons flowing through gas in a neon light collide with neon and other gasses to produce different colored light bulbs,” NOAA’s website reads.

Two dozen states could see the Northern Lights Wednesday night per NOAA’s aurora viewline map that includes Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Mike Bettwy, a meteorologist at the Space Weather Prediction Center, told ABC News that the auroras on Wednesday could be as clear as the ones on Tuesday.

“We had three coronal mass ejections leave the Sun since late last week. The third and final one is expected to impact our atmosphere later today and tonight. It is difficult to predict with a high degree of certainty or precision, but it is possible this will be as impactful as last night’s event. There were reports of aurora as far south as Tampa, Florida, overnight,” Bettwy said.

“While not unprecedented, it is quite unusual for the aurora to be visible at these low latitudes; probably only occurring once or twice per solar cycle,” he added.

The best time to see the aurora is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., according to NOAA.

NASA recommends going to the darkest area and using a long exposure to get the best photos of the light show, per their guidance.

NASA did not immediately reply to requests for comment from ABC News.

Watchdog group files bar complaint against prosecutor Lindsey Halligan over Comey, James cases

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department prosecutor handpicked by President Donald Trump to lead the criminal cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey is now the subject of a bar complaint that alleges she is unfit to be an attorney and that her actions constitute an “abuse of power.”

The progressive watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint against Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan on Tuesday and requested that the state bars in Florida and Virginia initiate investigations into her conduct.

The complaint alleges that Halligan repeatedly violated the professional and ethical rules that govern the legal profession, including by making false statements and by bringing cases that are unsupported by probable cause.

“Weaponizing the DOJ to prosecute the president’s enemies could destroy the democratic principles at the foundation of our Constitution,” the complaint said. “Ms. Halligan’s active participation in this course of action is an abuse of her governmental authority and is prejudicial to the administration of justice, adversely reflecting on her fitness as a lawyer.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which Trump named Halligan to lead on Sept. 20, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump tapped Halligan — a White House aide and former insurance lawyer with no prosecutorial experience — to the high-profile legal post after he forced out Trump-appointed U.S. attorney Erik Siebert who sources said had resisted bringing cases against Comey and James. Career prosecutors who investigated Comey and James recommending against bringing charges, ABC News previously reported.

The indictments came after Trump, in a social media post, called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to act “NOW!!!” to prosecute James and Comey in what critics call a campaign of retribution against Trump’s perceived political foes. Vice President JD Vance has said any such prosecutions are “driven by law and not by politics.”

“Ms. Halligan was well aware President Trump had installed her as Interim U.S. Attorney specifically to indict Mr. Comey and Ms. James and, within just a few days of joining the office, she did just that — despite career officials having found the cases insupportable,” the complaint said.

“Halligan’s actions appear to constitute an abuse of power and serve to undermine the integrity of the Department of Justice and erode public confidence in the legal profession and the fair administration of justice,” said the complaint.

Comey pleaded not guilty in October to one count of false statements and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, while James, who successfully brought a civil fraud case against Trump last year, pleaded not guilty to charges of mortgage fraud.

A federal judge is already examining Halligan’s conduct after defense attorneys raised concerns with the legality of her appointment.

Most complaints to state bars result in no action or discipline being taken, although state bar investigations — which can take years — can result in suspension or disbarment.

Hearings begin to finalize Purdue Pharma $7.4 billion bankruptcy settlement plan

November 12, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Hearings begin to finalize Purdue Pharma .4 billion bankruptcy settlement plan

Hearings begin to finalize Purdue Pharma $7.4 billion bankruptcy settlement plan — Pedestrians walk past Purdue Pharma LP headquarters stands in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 16, 2019. Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Purdue Pharma begins several days of hearings Wednesday to finalize a $7.4 billion bankruptcy restricting plan that no longer fully protects the company’s owners, members of the Sackler families, from opioid litigation.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year blocked an earlier version of Purdue’s bankruptcy settlement because it gave the Sacklers immunity from lawsuits over the misleading marketing of OxyContin, the painkiller that Purdue began marketing in 1996.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after thousands of cities, states, territories and individuals sued, alleging that the company and its owners fueled waves of addiction and overdose deaths.

Under the new plan, the Sacklers and Purdue boost their settlement contribution to $7.4 billion. The revised agreement settles all civil claims against Purdue, but individual creditors can choose to litigate claims against the Sacklers, who have long argued that although they regret their company’s role in the nation’s opioid epidemic, they are not directly or personally responsible for it.

Purdue said the new plan received support from more than 99% of voting creditors.

“The high level of support for this Plan is gratifying after years of intense work with our creditors to craft a settlement that maximizes value for victims and communities and puts billions of dollars to work for the public good,” Purdue Chairman Steve Miller said in a statement last month. “Following the outcome of this vote, we are focused on preparing for the confirmation hearing and ultimately the emergence of a new company with a public-minded mission.”

In addition to paying billions to creditors, the plan “will generate substantial further value” by creating a new company, Knoa Pharma, that “will provide millions of doses of lifesaving opioid use disorder treatments and overdose reversal medicines at no profit,” according to the Purdue statement.

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