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Internal email points to Kennedy Center’s continued closure

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — An email sent to Kennedy Center staff earlier this week by the center’s executive director says the building will “remain temporarily closed” pending an ongoing safety assessment.

In the email, sent on Wednesday and obtained by ABC News, the center’s executive director and chief operating officer, Matt Floca, gave no indication that the building will be reopening anytime soon after the President Donald Trump-aligned Kennedy Center board voted last month to close it for renovations after a federal judge’s ruling blocked Trump’s name from appearing on the outside of the building.

Floca said no one can access the building’s grand hallways without permission and a hard hat, pointing to an ongoing “emergency egress assessment” of the building’s overhanging soffits — the underside of the building’s distinctive overhanging roof.

Floca said that the ongoing assessment will “determine whether, and under what conditions, the building can safely support occupants and be evacuated,” given that certain exits would be blocked during soffit repairs.

“We currently expect the assessment to be completed within the next one to two weeks and will share an update when it is complete, or sooner if the expected timing changes,” Floca wrote in the email. “This is an assessment timeline, not a reopening date. The immediate safety determination is separate from the scope and schedule of the broader renovation program.”

Floca said the main corridors of the building — the Hall of States, Hall of Nations and Grand Foyer — remain off limits, and that entry “requires express authorization and compliance with all prescribed safety controls, including hard hats and any other required personal protective equipment.”

Wearing such safety equipment “does not, by itself, authorize entry,” Floca noted.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered an update on the center’s closure by Friday, and Floca is expected to provide the judge with the same information he put in his Wednesday email, which was first reported by NBC News.

Floca, in a court filing last week, cited several “documented hazards” within the building as well as corrosion on the soffits around it.

In May, Cooper issued an order blocking the planned two-year closure of the center for renovations, saying the board had not properly weighed the impact of the closure on the center’s finances and programming when it voted on the plan in March.

The Justice Department has since asked the judge to dissolve that order so planned renovations can proceed. However, Cooper has yet to rule on that motion.

Trump has appealed the judge’s order that the board cannot re-add Trump’s name to the building.

In a TIME magazine interview out Thursday, Trump said he would be willing to save the Kennedy Center, but that it’s in “terrible, terrible shape,” adding that his administration should be recognized for stepping in to renovate.

He also refused to commit to not demolishing the performing arts center without the consent of Congress.

“I’m not committing to anything,” Trump told TIME. “We’re going to see how it plays out in court.”

ICE sets limits on which officers can stop vehicles

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is changing its policy on which officers can stop vehicles, and what is required to do when they’re stopped, according to sources familiar with the change.

Formal guidance was issued to officers this week, sources said. This comes after several high-profile vehicle stops ended in shootings.

Only those ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers who have completed the relevant training may participate in the stops, according to the sources, who said others who aren’t properly trained could only offer assistance, but not be the main officer in charge of the stop.

In addition, only officers that have lights and sirens on their government-issued vehicles are allowed to stop cars, according to the sources.

Earlier this summer, in the wake of two back-to-back fatal shootings — one in Texas and one in Maine — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin temporarily paused traffic stops as ICE officers were set to receive new training.

However, President Donald Trump and others were reportedly furious about the pause, and Trump later overturned it, according to multiple sources at the time.

The new guidance doesn’t prohibit vehicle stops, according to sources.

ABC News has reached out to DHS for comment on the new policy.

The new changes were first reported by CNN.

Last month, A Venezuelan migrant delivering for DoorDash was shot by an ICE officer in Austin, Texas.

Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez has been charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer.

The criminal complaint alleges that during a traffic stop, immigration officers asked Wilber Garces-Perez “to place his vehicle in park and step out–orders which he allegedly ignored.”

The complaint alleges Garces-Perez led them on a high-speed chase before one of the officers “caught up to Garces-Perez, who allegedly attempted to strike the officer with his car, causing the officer to fire his pistol.”

Attorneys for Garces-Perez said he still has a bullet lodged in his back.

Trump administration begins mailing out $500 ACA refund checks. Here’s what to know

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Trump administration begins mailing out 0 ACA refund checks. Here’s what to know

Trump administration begins mailing out $500 ACA refund checks. Here’s what to know — The healthcare.gov website on a laptop arranged in Norfolk, Virginia, Nov. 1, 2025. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration has begun mailing out $500 Affordable Care Act (ACA) checks to enrollees who were allegedly overcharged for coverage.

The Treasury Department is issuing the checks to 950,000 Americans in 30 states due to marketplace “user fee” overcharges, according to the administration.

In a video posted on X last month announcing the initiative, President Donald Trump claimed without evidence that the Biden administration sat on a pool of unused surplus money.

Here’s what to know about who is eligible, where the checks are being sent and when they may arrive.

Who is eligible?

An administration official told ABC News on Thursday that the primary recipients of the checks will be people with incomes “above” 400% of the federal poverty level. The federal poverty level is $15,960 a year for an individual in the contiguous 48 states and Washington, D.C.

However, some recipients are those who earn between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level who did not receive subsidies, the official said.

Residents in the following states will receive checks: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The administration official told ABC News that residents in these 30 states “do not operate their own ACA insurance plan exchanges and instead rely on federal exchanges administered by [the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services].”

The official said residents in the 20 remaining states will not receive checks “because their states run their exchanges, and thus the federal government did not oversee collecting user fees on them.”

Texas and Florida have the highest numbers of individuals who will be receiving refund checks followed by Wisconsin, Arizona and Oregon, respectively, according to data provided by the administration.

Gerard Anderson, a professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told ABC News he’s skeptical the checks will be going to the Americans most in need.

The payment “does not target the people most likely to have been harmed by the policy changes made by the administration, including the end of the tax credits,” Anderson said.

The subsidies, or premium tax credits, helped lower or eliminate the out-of-pocket cost of monthly premiums for those who purchase insurance through the health insurance marketplace. They expired at the end of last year and have yet to be renewed.

Anderson added that the check amount is also not tied to a person’s medical condition, which has a large impact on the cost of their premiums.

When will the checks be delivered?

Initially, the administration said checks would be sent to eligible Americans beginning in October 2026, but the administration official said the checks were sent out beginning Wednesday.

It’s unclear how long it will take eligible Americans to receive the checks.

The checks will also come with a letter, according to the administration official.

“For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov,” the letter, viewed by ABC News, reads in part. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you.”

The checks are separate from a proposal Trump made during the GOP midterm convention in Dallas to offer a $5,000 “dividend” to all adult Americans if Republicans keep control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections.

‘Weight off my shoulders’: Credit card holders seek debt consolidation for lower interest rates

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Ernesto Alvarez paid off about $70,000 of credit card debt in just over a year. The fix: a plan that combined his credit card debt into a single loan.

Alvarez, 55, said he repaid debt on 12 to 15 different credit cards through a plan with the nonprofit Money Management International, which helped him negotiate lower interest rates and consolidated the debt.

After repaying his debt last year, Alvarez said he and his wife sold their house, moved to an apartment and began saving money for his daughter’s college education.

“Personally, I feel a huge weight off my shoulders,” said Alvarez, who works at a Whole Foods in Newport, California. “It’s a feeling of accomplishment, elation.”

A surge of inflation is squeezing household budgets as many American shoppers weather mounting credit card debt and elevated interest rates. Some cardholders have sought out ways to consolidate their debt, slash their payments and cut down what they owe.

Analysts who spoke to ABC News outlined options such as credit cards that offer a months-long grace period without interest payments, as well as consolidated bank loans with fixed interest payments at comparatively low rates.

The nation’s credit card debt burden drew attention after the Federal Reserve hiked benchmark interest rates last month, since credit card rates typically rise in response to such a move.

Investors peg the chances of another rate increase in October at one in three, meaning credit card rates may face additional upward pressure within weeks, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

“People do have more power in this situation than they think,” Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, told ABC News. “The things that you can do to get your interest rates down can be far more powerful and outweigh any single move the Fed is going to take.”

Total U.S. credit card debt registered at $1.26 trillion in the second quarter of this year, marking an increase of $21 billion from the previous three-month period, a recent New York Federal Reserve study found.

Outstanding credit card balances stand just below an all-time record of $1.28 trillion set in the fourth quarter of last year.

Credit card rates have jumped significantly in recent years. In the second quarter of this year, the average interest rate on all credit card accounts with a commercial bank stood at 20.94%, up from 15.13% at the same time in 2022, Federal Reserve data shows.

Cardholders can avail themselves of widely available financial instruments that consolidate their debt and reduce their payments, some analysts told ABC News.

A 0% balance transfer credit card, for instance, offers an initial interest-free period lasting as long as 15 months before payments take hold, Schulz said.

“A 0% balance transfer credit card is about the best consolidation offer you can get,” Schulz said.

Such credit cards typically carry one-time fees amounting to between 3% and 5% of a customer’s transferred debt, Schulz said. Depending on the amount of debt at issue, the one-time payment can prove steep, Schulz added, but it usually pales in comparison to the savings gained over time from a significantly lower interest rate.

A new credit card at a lower interest rate holds another downside, Schulz said: The temptation to run up more debt.

“It requires some discipline,” Schulz said.

If debt holders find they cannot qualify for the minimum credit score necessary to access a 0% balance transfer credit card, they may be able to secure a personal loan with a favorable interest rate.

Under that approach, a debtholder can take out a bank loan in an amount matching his or her credit card debt and use it to pay off the credit card. The remaining bank loan, in theory, would provide a fixed interest payment at a lower rate than the credit card, offering a measure of predictability and financial relief, Schulz said.

On the other hand, the fixed nature of the interest payments may be unwelcome to some debtholders who prefer the flexibility afforded by many credit cards, Schulz added.

“It can be a positive in a lot of ways because the predictability can be easier to budget for,” Schulz added.

Carol Jones, a hospital recruiter, racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt after stepping down from a second job and running up travel expenses to attend her stepdaughter’s basketball games, she said.

She said she sought out ways to consolidate her debt and slash her interest rates, knowing the hole would deepen otherwise.

Jones, who lives in Wichita, Kansas, took out two consolidation loans in an attempt to pay off her debt, but she had to use the credit cards again to make ends meet, leaving her unable to fulfill the terms of the consolidated loans, Lara Ceccarelli, a credit counselor with American Financial Solutions, told ABC News.

American Financial then worked with Jones on a debt management plan to modify the interest rates on her credit cards, another option available to debtholders, Ceccarelli said.

Jones took responsibility for her debt, but she said rising prices have exacerbated the difficulty of climbing out of her financial hole.

“It’s stressful when everything keeps inflating, and I know I’m going to have to hurry to try to pay this off, or I’m going to continuously just be in debt,” Jones said.

Judge permanently dismisses Reflecting Pool vandalism case against former Olympian David Hearn

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A judge on Thursday dismissed the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case against former Olympian David Hearn with prejudice, closing the door to re-charge him in the future.

Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman wrote in an order filed in D.C. Superior Court that the “because the government’s legitimate interest in maintaining the possibility of a future prosecution seems so marginal, and because of the extraordinary possibility that Mr. Hearn will nonetheless face a meritless, politically motivated prosecution, the Court ‘has an obligation to protect him from the uncertainty [that a dismissal without prejudice] entails, and from what, objectively, would be harassment.'”

Hearn, a former U.S. Olympic canoeist, was accused of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in a felony indictment, but after prosecutors said they found evidence that the government’s own contractor was responsible for the damage, the Justice Department asked to drop the charge without prejudice — which would allow them to prosecute Hearn in the future for the same alleged crime, bound only by a six-year statute of limitations.

President Donald Trump blasted U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro’s move to drop the case, saying she “choked” and “folded like an umbrella,” and continued to push allegations that vandals were responsible for cutting and tearing the pool lining.

Defense attorneys, in asking that the case be dismissed with prejudice, argued that Trump’s public rejection of Pirro’s decision to drop the charges against Hearn did not “provide Mr. Hearn with meaningful finality consistent with the Constitution’s speedy trial and double jeopardy protections.”

Judge Edelman, who in August dismissed the vandalism case against Hearn and said he would wait to determine whether to grant the dismissal with prejudice, touched on “pressure” from Trump in the order.

“… due to the pressure that the President of the United States has placed on his subordinates in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia over the past two months, [Hearn] would be prosecuted for a crime that that same Office has determined he did not commit, and that his odds of future prosecution may be heightened by the nature and extent of his political activities.”

In the order out Thursday, Judge Edelman said dismissing without prejudice would expose Hearn to be charged with a crime that prosecutors have already stated did not occur.

“Today’s dismissal with prejudice ensures that the DOJ cannot bring this case against him again. This decision is a victory for the rule of law and for an innocent American seeking justice,” Judge Edelman said in the order.

“The Court respects the authority of the Office of the United States Attorney to decide which cases to prosecute and which to dismiss. However, in the exceptional circumstances posed by this case, the government has no right to retain the ability to compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so, at Mr. Hearn’s expense,” the order later states.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hearn’s defense team said in a statement that the “dismissal with prejudice ensures that the DOJ cannot bring this case against him again. This decision is a victory for the rule of law and for an innocent American seeking justice.”

Family of Renee Good sues US government over fatal ICE shooting

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The family of Renee Good filed two federal civil lawsuits Thursday against the U.S. government and several top federal officials over Good’s fatal shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis earlier this year.

The lawsuits were filed nearly 10 months after Good, a Minneapolis mother of three, was in the driver’s seat of her Honda Pilot in the middle of a residential street when an ICE agent opened fire. Federal officials say the agent acted in self-defense after Good tried to ram him with her car.

“The day of accountability has arrived for the United States’ rogue agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, and the unjustified and excessive use of force — let alone deadly force — used on people exercising their rights under the Constitution’s Bill of Rights,” Good’s legal team said in a statement.

One of the complaints, filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act for wrongful death against the U.S. government, alleges that federal law enforcement officers used excessive and deadly force against Good.

The second complaint was filed against top officials including White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Border Czar Tom Homan and ICE agent Jonathan Ross, who fired the fatal shots, as well as other federal agents.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

The complaint alleges that top officials engaged in a “carefully planned, coordinated effort between senior federal officials and private actors to make two ethnic communities in Minnesota — Minnesotans of Somali and Hispanic descent and origin — the object of aggression and abduction.”

According to the complaint, Ross fired through Good’s windshield and open driver’s-side window as her SUV was turning away from him. The filing states that Ross stepped toward the car, fired a round through the windshield, and then fired twice more through her open window as the vehicle completed a turn.

“The operation was in essence the domestic deployment of a paramilitary force of three to four thousand masked, armed, camouflaged agents, outfitted in military tactical gear including camouflage, helmets, gas masks, and military-grade weapons, wielding instruments of war to carry out domestic shock-and-awe tactics to intimidate the populace” the complaint states.

What to know about your breast cancer risk as Breast Cancer Awareness Month kicks off

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women, with one in eight developing breast cancer in their lifetime.

It is expected that more than 381,000 new cases of invasive, non-invasive and pre-invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women this year and about 42,000 women will die, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Knowing your personal risk of developing breast cancer risk could help you and your doctor choose the right screening schedule and prevention methods.

ABC News is teaming up with the ACS for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The American Cancer Society encourages women to take the ACS CancerRisk360 free assessment to learn more about the factors they can change to improve their health and lower their cancer risk.

The tool is available to use for anyone ages 18 and older. The tool asks questions about things that can raise an individual’s cancer risk, including:

Individual health historyFamily health historyDaily habits and lifestyleCancer screening history

Based on someone’s answers, the tool gives tips on how to lower one’s cancer risk.

Cancer risk can be controlled or modified with several lifestyle changes including diet, physical activity, tobacco use, HPV vaccination and sun/UV protection, according to ACS. Certain risk factors — such as age and family history — cannot be controlled or modified.

The tool does not cover every type of cancer but does offer steps to lower the risk for cancers such as breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer.

“Understanding your cancer risk should make the next step clearer, not more complicated,” Shane Jacobson, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said in a statement. “CancerRisk360 gives people trusted, personalized guidance they can use to start a conversation with their healthcare provider and take practical steps that may help lower their risk.”

ACS says the tool is not a substitute for speaking with and getting medical advice from an individual’s doctor.

“Always talk to a qualified health care provider who knows your situation and personal health needs,” ACS states on its website. “Do not ignore or delay getting professional medical advice because of anything you read in this assessment or in your recommendations.”

Trump says he would consider pardoning administration members: ‘I’d do that’

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said in an interview out Thursday that he would be open to pardoning members of his administration, pointing to former President Joe Biden’s blanket pardon to relatives and members of the administration out of concern they would be politically targeted after he left office.

“Yeah, sure, I’d do that,” the president answered when asked by TIME magazine earlier this week if he was “considering pardoning members of your administration prior to the end of your term?”

The president further said that Biden “gave pardons to everyone.”

Biden issued preemptive pardons to several close family members in the final minutes of his presidency in 2025, saying that his family “has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me” and that he had “no reason to believe these attacks will end” after he left office.

Those pardons included James Biden, Joe’s younger brother; Sara Jones Biden, James’ wife; Valerie Biden Owens, Joe’s younger sister; John T. Owens’, Valerie’s husband; and Francis W. Biden, Joe’s younger brother.

In 2024, Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted on tax evasion and federal gun charges.

Trump’s pardon comments mark the first time he has publicly said he would consider pardoning members of his administration.

Last year, he issued pardons to some to his political and financial supporters as well as several high-profile individuals allegedly involved in his attempt to overturn the election. In his first term, he pardoned several advisers, members of his campaign and one former member of his administration, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

In the interview, Trump expressed his belief that if the Democrats emerge victorious in the midterm elections, “they’ll probably go after” him, but he said he will also target them back.

Trump still expressed confidence that Republicans will “do okay” in November, as long as he is on the campaign trail.

“No, I think we’ll do OK if I campaign, and I intend to,” he said, when asked if he believes that Democrats will take control of Congress.

He then went on to tout some of his endorsement victories including for Republicans Darline Graham and Ed Gallerin — who defeated Rep. Thomas Massie in the primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District.

Asked about his record low poll numbers, Trump called them “fake” and insisted that he could easily beat anybody who ran against him.

“They’re fake numbers. I would beat anybody running today by 20 points,” Trump said. “Your numbers that you have are fake.”

Trump’s cover of TIME magazine will mark his 56th such appearance, according to the outlet. That’s more than any other figure in history, surpassing former President Richard Nixon’s record.

Trump’s interview will be the cover story for TIME’s Oct. 26 issue.

Tel Aviv flight passengers recount harrowing moments during mid-air attack

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Passengers aboard FlyDubai Flight 1073 expressed fear, anger and ultimately elation after they survived what Israeli officials said was an attempted terror attack thousands of feet in the air on Wednesday.

After the passengers, many of whom were Israeli citizens, returned to Tel Aviv following the ordeal, many said they were still bewildered over what transpired during their flight from Dubai.

The plane’s first officer allegedly stabbed the plane’s captain and then made the plane descend rapidly, Israeli officials said, with passengers saying they felt the impact almost immediately.

“I guess usually there’s like some turbulence and you feel like whoa, but then it like evens out pretty quickly, and here it wasn’t like that,” Mika Bauman, who was aboard the flight told ABC News. “It was…like chaos screaming and just the crazy drop. Like you look at the ground and you’re like, ‘OK, I’m going that way right now.'”

Another passenger, who identified herself as Miram, told Israeli media that things got scary when passengers heard the screams coming from the cockpit and saw the bloody pilot.

“We felt like we were, like, going to crash. I was already screaming [the Jewish prayer] ‘Shema Israel’ and saying, ‘I can’t die, I’m my only daughter, I can’t do this to my mother,’ the woman added.

Israeli officials said that some of the passengers worked together to subdue the suspect while another flight crew member was able to take back the plane.

“Here was a crazy man with a knife who stabbed one of the pilots. We jumped and helped the pilot. Friends, everything is OK now, as you can see we are landing in Saudi Arabia, you can see I am fine. That’s it,” passenger Itzhak Liber said in a Hebrew language selfie video posted to Facebook after the incident was over.

The jet was diverted to Saudi Arabia, where the injured pilot was taken to the hospital and the passengers were repatriated later in the day. The unidentified suspect remains in custody and the investigation is ongoing.

When the repatriation flight landed in Tel Aviv later, the passengers arrived to a warm welcome.

“It feels amazing in that it’ll probably take me a little while to get on the plane again. But I’m honestly just thanking God that I’m here right now because it was so close to not happening based on the whole situation that we were just in,” Bauman said after she landed in Israel.

2 dead as medevac helicopter crashes off California’s Catalina Island

October 1, 2026 by WDNY Radio

A helicopter carrying five people crashed into the water off the coast of Catalina Island in California on Wednesday evening, killing two of those on board, sending two others to the hospital and prompting a search in the water for the last one.

“This remains an active scene with search and rescue operations continuing throughout the night,” the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

Two of four people who were recovered from the water were taken to the hospital and another two were pronounced dead at the scene, the department said.

“I have been informed that a medevac helicopter leaving Catalina Island has crashed shortly after takeoff,” Janice Hahn, a county supervisor, said in a statement.

“LA County Fire, Sheriff, Coast Guard, and Avalon Fire are on the scene,” Hahn added. “Search and rescue operations are underway and I am praying for everyone who was on board.”

California officials said the National Transportation Safety Board had been made aware of the crash and that it would lead an investigation.

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