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‘Deep distress’: Renee Good’s brothers testify on Capitol Hill after deadly Minneapolis shooting

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The two brothers of Renee Good, the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman killed by a federal immigration officer in January, spoke on Capitol Hill Tuesday, telling lawmakers of the effect their sister’s death had on their family.

“The deep distress our family feels because of Renee’s loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change,” said one brother, Luke Ganger.

Luke and Brent Ganger’s remarks were part of a special public forum organized by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Robert Garcia of D-Calif., as part of an inquiry into the tactics and use of force by Department of Homeland Security agents.

Good’s killing intensified protests in Minneapolis that have continued into this month and were compounded by the fatal federal agent-involved shooting of Alex Pretti.

The Department of Homeland Security has said that agents in the interaction with Good acted in self-defense after Good tried to ram them with her car in an act of “domestic terrorism.” Local and state officials have disputed federal officials’ claims.

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.

Luke Ganger said his family initially took “consolation” that Good’s death “would bring change in our country. And it has not.”

“The completely surreal scenes taking place on the streets of Minneapolis are beyond explanation. This is not just a bad day or a rough week or isolated incidents. These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives, including ours, forever,” he said.

He added that Good’s wider family could serve as an example to the rest of the country as it represents “a very American blend” of different faiths and political affiliations. Yet despite their differences, family members “treat each other with love and respect.”

Brent Ganger read portions of the eulogy he gave at Good’s funeral. He described Good as an “unapologetically hopeful” person whose children “were and are her heart … she made sure they felt safe and valued and endlessly loved.”

“She had a way to make you feel you were understood, even if you don’t have words yet. She believed in second chances. She believed tomorrow can be better than today,” he said. “When things were hard, Renee looked for the light.”

Sen. Blumenthal called the hearing “extraordinary and unprecedented” because Good and Pretti were “murdered by their own government” and “were killed in cold blood.”

He called for a complete overhaul of DHS and a revamping of policies, resulting in bodycams for each ICE agent, “masks off all the time,” and additional training and monitoring for all officers.

“These stories are not just about Minneapolis,” he said. “The nation is Minneapolis. We are all Minneapolis. These stories are a call to action.”

Savannah Guthrie’s friends speak out amid search for missing mom Nancy Guthrie

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Savannah Guthrie’s friends and colleagues are offering their support as the search continues for the “Today” show host’s mom, Nancy Guthrie, who investigators say appears to have been kidnapped from her Arizona home.

The 84-year-old was last seen Saturday night, and investigators believe she was abducted in her sleep early Sunday morning, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said. A motive is not known, with Sheriff Chris Nanos saying Tuesday, “We’re looking at all leads.”

Savannah Guthrie’s “Today” co-anchors and fellow journalists are speaking out on social media to show their support and share photos of Nancy Guthrie.

Authorities said Nancy Guthrie suffers from some physical ailments and could die without access to her medication.

Savannah Guthrie said in a statement Monday night, “Thank you for lifting your prayers with ours for our beloved mom, our dearest Nancy, a woman of deep conviction, a good and faithful servant. … Bring her home.”

Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.

Jill Biden’s ex-husband charged with murdering his wife

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW CASTLE COUNTY, Del.) — Former first lady Jill Biden’s ex-husband has been charged with murdering his wife following an “extensive weeks-long investigation,” police in Delaware announced on Tuesday.

Police officers responding to a “reported domestic dispute” at a home in the Wilmington community of Oak Hill on Dec. 28 found Linda Stevenson, 64, unresponsive on the living room floor, according to police. Her husband, William “Bill” Stevenson, had called 911, police said at the time.

A grand jury in New Castle County on Monday indicted Stevenson, 77, with first-degree murder in connection with his wife’s death, according to police.

The indictment alleges he “did intentionally cause the death” of his wife.

Detectives took Stevenson into custody at his home without incident, police said. He has since been arraigned and is being held in the Howard Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington after failing to post $500,000 bail, police said.

It is unclear if Stevenson has an attorney.

Officers responded to the Stevensons’ home after 11 p.m. on Dec. 28 and attempted lifesaving measures, but Linda Stevenson was later pronounced dead, police said.

Detectives from the New Castle County Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit responded to the scene to assume the investigation, officials said.

No additional details, including the cause of death, have been released.

Linda Stevenson ran a bookkeeping business and was “deeply family-oriented,” according to her obituary, which did not mention her husband.

Bill Stevenson founded a popular bar and music hall in the early 1970s in Newark, Delaware. He is the former husband of Jill Biden, the Delaware Department of Justice confirmed to ABC News. The two were married for five years before divorcing in 1975.

Jill Biden married former President Joe Biden two years later, in 1977.

Texas Senate primary candidate Talarico responds to allegations he called fellow Dem ‘mediocre Black man’

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — With just one month until the high-stakes primary election in the Texas U.S. Senate race, Democrats are butting heads, with Democratic State Rep. James Talarico pushing back on allegations that he made controversial remarks about the race of his former opponent.

Talarico on Monday responded to a video from former Rep. Colin Allred, who is running for Texas’ 33rd Congressional District, that Talarico made comments critical of Allred on the basis of race.

On Sunday, a TikTok creator alleged that Talarico, in a private conversation, said that Allred was a “mediocre Black man” and that he would would rather run against Allred than Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whom he allegedly called a “formidable and intelligent Black woman.” The TikTok creator, who had previously supported Talarico, posted that the conversation happened after a town hall in Plano, Texas, in January.

Talarico’s campaign told ABC News that the individual was never a member of the campaign team. Talarico has not denied the conversation took place, but has said it was taken out of context.

Talarico, who is white, is running against Crockett in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Allred had previously announced a Senate bid, but dropped out of the race to run for the House again, saying Crockett’s entering of the race contributed to his decision.

In a video posted on X Monday afternoon, Allred endorsed Crockett and criticized Talarico for his alleged comments.

Allred claimed that Talarico “had the temerity and the audacity to say to a Black woman that he had signed up to run against a ‘mediocre Black man,’ meaning me, and not a ‘formidable, intelligent Black woman,’ meaning Jasmine Crockett.”

Talarico pushed back on the claims, arguing that the allegations are “a mischaracterization of a private conversation.”

“In my praise of Congresswoman Crockett, I described Congressman Allred’s method of campaigning as mediocre — but his life and service are not. I would never attack him on the basis of race,” Talarico said in a statement posted to X by his spokesperson.

Talarico added that he “understand[s]” how his criticism could be perceived incorrectly “given this country’s painful legacy of racism,” but emphasized his deep “respect” for Allred.

Crockett reacted to the news, thanking Allred for his endorsement and praising him for being “an even-tempered and measured person who doesn’t engage in pettiness” — though she notably did not criticize her opponent or mention him by name.

“It’s unfortunate that at the start of Black History Month, this is what we’re facing. In former Congressman Colin Allred’s video, he drew a line in the sand. He made it clear that he did not take allegations of an attack on him as simply another day in the neighborhood,” Crockett’s spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.

Earlier Monday, Talarico appeared on ABC’s “The View” and emphasized his “deep love and respect” for Crockett, saying that he will “1,000 percent” support and assist her if she were to become the Democratic nominee over him. The Democratic nominee would face off in November with incumbent Republican John Cornyn or one of his primary challengers, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt.

While the allegations against Talarico were not discussed during his appearance on “The View,” he elaborated on his Senate campaign, calling for the overhaul of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and celebrating recent Democratic wins in Texas.

Reacting to the news of Liam Ramos, the 5-year-old asylum seeker who was released from a Texas detention center on Sunday, Talarico slammed the current tactics being deployed by ICE before demanding an overhaul and reorganization of the agency.

“It’s time to tear down this secret police force and replace it with an agency that is actually going to focus on public safety,” he said on “The View.”

Though Talarico has stopped short of explicitly calling for the abolition of ICE, he has repeatedly expressed a desire to reallocate funding while also maintaining border security.

Over the weekend, Democrats delivered an upset victory in the Texas Senate District 9, where Democrat Taylor Rehmet defeated President Donald Trump-endorsed GOP candidate, Leigh Wambsganss, and flipped the reliably red seat.

When asked about what he would do to win over the voters that Rehmet had flipped, Talarico emphasized that he is “not writing off any voter” or “any community.”

“I’m extending an open hand instead of a closed fist, and in my experience, if you extend that open hand, you’ll be surprised by who takes it,” Talarico said.

House passes funding package to end partial government shutdown

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Republican-led House on Tuesday voted to pass the government funding package to end the partial shutdown.

The measure, which received some bipartisan support, passed with a vote 217-214. It now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature.

The measure provides funding for the Pentagon, Education, Treasury, Labor and State departments through the end of the fiscal year. The bill also includes a two-week short-term measure to keep Department of Homeland Security funded through the end of next week.

Earlier — after some drama and delay — the House passed a key procedural hurdle that set up the later vote, with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky as the only no vote along with all Democrats. The vote was held open for about 45 minutes as several Republicans held out on casting their votes.

Republican leaders ultimately worked the holdouts to secure enough votes to advance the package.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who faces an incredibly tight margin, could only afford to lose one Republican vote with all members present and voting.

Johnson earlier Tuesday told reporters that he was confident the package, passed in the Senate after an 11th-hour deal between Senate Democrats and the White House, will pass.

“This may be hard for some of y’all to believe, but I never doubted this,” Johnson said at his weekly news conference Tuesday morning.

The agreement separated a Department of Homeland Security funding bill from five others funding other agencies for the rest of the fiscal year, and grants two weeks of extended DHS funding to negotiate Democratic demands for restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid its immigration enforcement operation, including requiring agents to wear body cameras turned on and to not wear masks.

The funding fight over DHS erupted in the aftermath of the death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, who was killed in a shooting involving federal law enforcement in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Johnson over the weekend that Democrats would not help Republicans expedite the funding package.

Meanwhile, hard-line Republicans also threatened to hold the package up in hopes of attaching an unrelated bill that would require a proof of citizenship in federal elections known as the SAVE Act. Though some hard-liners, including Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Tim Burchett, had backed down on their demands.

Trump said Monday that he has spoken to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle and expressed confidence in a resolution coming soon.

As the West warms up, the East stays cold

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As a deep freeze continued Tuesday from the Northeast to the Southeast, Southern California and other parts of the West are expected to see another day of balmy weather.

Some areas in the West are poised to break daily high temperature records. Burbank, California, is expected to hit 87 on Tuesday and Long Beach could hit 89.

Other parts of the West, including San Diego, Portland, Oregon, and Great Falls, Montana, could also surpass daily record-high temperature records on Tuesday.

On Monday, several cities in the West set new daily high temperature records, including Escondido, California, which hit 92 degrees, and Phoenix, Arizona, which saw temperatures climb to 85.

The warm weather in the West is expected to continue on Wednesday. While not expected to see a record-breaking daily temperature, Los Angeles is forecast to reach 89 degrees.

Wind advisories are in place for parts of Southern California, especially along the mountain ranges from southeast Los Angeles down to the Mexico border. San Bernardino, Riverside, Corona and Anaheim are expected to see gusts up to 45 mph and isolated gusts of up to 55 mph from 4 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday through noon on Thursday.

The warm weather in the West will slowly spread through the middle of the country next week.

Meanwhile, some areas of Florida will get a break from the cold before cooler temperatures return on Thursday and Friday. Orlando is forecast to top 70 on Wednesday.

Much of Florida remained under a freeze warning on Tuesday morning. A cold weather advisory was also in place for Miami.

On Monday, several cities throughout the Southeast set daily low temperature records, including Gainesville, Florida, which recorded a low of 22; Fayetteville, Arkansas, which saw the temperature plummet to 12; and Greensboro, North Carolina, which got down to 3.

Freezing temperatures are expected to continue in other parts of the East and Northeast this week as another cold blast is expected on Wednesday, Thursday and into the weekend.

Investigators searching for suspect in killing, robbery of bar owner

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(MOMENCE, Ill.) — Investigators are searching for a man believed to be behind the fatal shooting of a rural bar owner in Momence, Illinois.

Courtney Drysdale, 30, was pronounced dead at a bar near the Illinois-Indiana state line on Monday shortly before noon, according to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators have released photos of the suspect and his vehicle that were captured by security footage at the bar.

Deputies responded to a report of a possible dead individual and classified the incident as a homicide based on evidence gathered during a preliminary examination on Monday, according to the sheriff’s office.

Drysdale was preparing to open the bar just before 11 a.m. when a suspect entered the bar and brandished a firearm, demanding money from the cash register, Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said at a press conference Tuesday.

Despite Drysdale’s cooperation, the suspect allegedly shot her twice “execution style,” Downey said.

Before fleeing the scene, the suspect attempted to remove what he believed was a digital recording device from a wall, but investigators were able to recover video evidence, Downey said.

No one else was in the bar at the time of the killing, Downey said.

The suspect was seen leaving the scene with a firearm and is believed to be armed and dangerous, according to Downey. The suspect was last seen traveling east toward Indiana in a white Ford or BMW sedan, with a sunroof and “distinctive dark rims,” Downey said.

Investigators are reviewing footage from the bar to determine if the suspect had previously been to the bar, according to Downey.

A $5,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can help positively identify the person or vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. Anyone who sees the suspect is asked to keep their distance and contact authorities.

Anyone who has information related to the murder is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at (815) 932-7463.

“Courtney was deeply loved not only by her family and her young daughter, but also by the many patrons and friends whose lives she touched,” Downey said.

“We are fully committed to bringing the person responsible to justice,” Downey said.

DHS warns of increasing trend in domestic partner poisonings

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Domestic partners are “increasingly likely” to use chemical and biological toxins to kill or harm their partners, a trend so alarming that the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to law enforcement.

The warning came in a January intelligence note, obtained by ABC News, that said people intent on harming or killing their domestic partners are turning to poisons like cyanide or ricin to do it, which are “often sourced from online black markets or made at home.”

“The use of chemical and biological toxins in domestic violence cases poses a significant challenge for detection and prosecution due to the often subtle and delayed onset of symptoms,” the intelligence note said.

The document highlighted as an example the case of a Colorado dentist convicted of first-degree murder last year after gradually poisoning his wife with a mix of arsenic, cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, the latter a medication commonly found in over-the-counter eye drops. The dentist secretly dosed his wife by adding the poisons to her protein shakes, according to prosecutors, resulting in her being hospitalized three times in a 10-day span, and then gave her a fatal dose of cyanide while she was ill in the hospital.

“Incidents using chemical or biological toxins to harm or kill are driven by several factors including accessibility of online information, ease of obtaining certain chemicals, and perceived difficulty in detection,” the DHS note said. It also listed an additional 16 cases in the U.S. since 2019 in which individuals were accused or convicted of poisoning current or former spouses, domestic or romantic partners, or family members, 10 of which resulted in the victim’s death.

Substances most often used in domestic poisoning incidents are antifreeze, eye drops, the synthetic opioid fentanyl and the prescription medication colchicine, as well as cyanide and the chemical element thallium, according to the note.

“These substances are often chosen for their ability to mimic natural illnesses, complicating detection and investigation,” the note said.

“If the trend of using chemical or biological toxins to kill or harm continues, we may see an increase in fatalities and long-term health consequences among survivors,” as well as an increase in the “need for specialized training and equipment for first responders,” according to the DHS note.

“The recurring use of these toxins by domestic partners highlights the need for more awareness, regulation, and forensic expertise to address this trend in domestic partner violence,” the note further said.

US fighter jet shoots down Iranian drone approaching US aircraft carrier

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A U.S. fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone as it approached the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the North Arabian Sea on Tuesday, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command. Earlier in the day, a Navy destroyer came to the assistance of a U.S.-flagged tanker that was harassed by multiple Iranian small boats as it transited the Strait of Hormuz.

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

House votes to advance funding package to end partial government shutdown amid clash over ICE restrictions

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — After drama and delay, the Republican-led House advanced a government funding package to end the partial shutdown, setting up debate ahead of a final vote on passage.

The tally on the procedural vote was 217-215. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only no vote along with all Democrats. The vote was held open for about 45 minutes.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who faces an incredibly tight margin, could only afford to lose one Republican vote with all members present and voting.

Initially, several Republicans held out on casting their votes, including Reps. Byron Donalds, Troy Nehls, Andy Ogles and Victoria Spartz. Republican leaders ultimately worked the holdouts to secure enough votes to advance the package.

Republican Rep. John Rose of Tennessee first voted against the rule but then flipped his vote.

Lawmakers are now moving to floor debate on the funding package. A final passage vote to end the partial shutdown is scheduled for later Tuesday afternoon.

Johnson earlier Tuesday told reporters that he was confident the package, passed in the Senate after an 11th-hour deal between Senate Democrats and the White House, will pass.

“This may be hard for some of y’all to believe, but I never doubted this,” Johnson said at his weekly news conference Tuesday morning.

The agreement separates a Department of Homeland Security funding bill from five others funding other agencies for the rest of the fiscal year, and grants two weeks of extended DHS funding to negotiate Democratic demands for restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid its immigration enforcement operation, including requiring agents to wear body cameras turned on and to not wear masks.

The funding fight over DHS erupted in the aftermath of the death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, who was killed in a shooting involving federal law enforcement in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Johnson over the weekend that Democrats would not help Republicans expedite the funding package.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he has spoken to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle and expressed confidence in a resolution coming soon.

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