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Artists cancel performances at Trump-Kennedy Center, citing ‘takeover’ by Trump administration

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Several artists have cancelled their upcoming performances at the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., publicly voicing their opposition to President Donald Trump’s name being added to the signage of the building last week.

Jazz musician Chuck Redd canceled his Christmas Eve event, while jazz group The Cookers announced on social media that they will be cancelling their New Year’s Eve performance at the cultural center.

On Monday evening, Doug Varone and Dancers, a New York dance company, announced in an Instagram post that it was canceling its scheduled April performances.

Posting an image of the official portrait of late President John F. Kennedy, Doug Varone and Dancers wrote that it was an “honor” to be invited to perform, but the group “totally disagreed with the takeover by the Trump Administration at the Kennedy Center.”

” … With the latest act of Donald J. Trump renaming the Center after himself, we can no longer permit ourselves nor ask our audiences to step inside this once great institution,” the statement said, in part.

“The Kennedy Center was named in honor of our 35th President who fervently believed that the arts were the beating heart of our nation, as well as an integral part of international diplomacy. We hope in three-year’s time, that the Center and its reputation will return to that glory,” the statement continued.

After the renaming last week, folk singer Kristy Lee announced in an Instagram post that she is canceling a free performance scheduled for Jan. 14 at the center.

“I won’t lie to you, canceling shows hurts. This is how I keep the lights on. But losing my integrity would cost me more than any paycheck,” Lee wrote in the post.

Richard Grenell, the Trump-appointed president of the Trump-Kennedy Center, criticized the recent cancellations in a Monday evening X post, where he cast the musicians as “far left political activists.”

“The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership,” Grenell wrote.

“Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs. Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome. The arts are for everyone and the left is mad about it,” he added.

Grenell also indicated in a letter addressed to Redd, who canceled his Christmas Eve show, that the center plans to file a $1 million lawsuit against the jazz musician and called the move a “political stunt.”

It is unclear if Redd has obtained legal representation. ABC News reached out to him for comment.

The cancellations came after the Trump administration announced on Dec. 18 that the board at the Kennedy Center, which Trump now chairs and is newly filled with his appointees, voted “unanimously” to rename the building the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” The signage was updated a day later.

The national cultural center, which is located on the banks of the Potomac River, was originally named the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to honor the late president, and it first opened its doors on Sept. 8, 1971.

Trump, who was sworn in for his second term as president on Jan. 20, dismissed most of the Board of Trustees during his first weeks back in office and replaced them with his own appointees. In February 2025, the new board announced that they had elected Trump as chairman.

Several musicians also cancelled performances or engagements at the Center earlier this year after Trump was elected as chair.

The artists who cancelled shows over the past year include musician Rhiannon Giddens, rock band Low Cut Connie and actor Issa Rae. Meanwhile, musician Ben Folds resigned from his role as the adviser to the center’s National Symphony Orchestra and producer Shonda Rhimes resigned as treasurer of the Kennedy Center’s board.

Singer and actress Renée Fleming also resigned from her role as artistic advisor at large after Trump purged the Center’s leadership. Fleming is scheduled to perform at the Trump-Kennedy Center in May 2026.

Writer Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical “Hamilton,” which was scheduled for a run at the Kennedy Center in the spring of 2026, was canceled back in March.

“We have sadly seen decades of Kennedy Center neutrality be destroyed,” the show’s producer Jeffrey Seller wrote in a statement posted to Facebook.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a social media post that the board voted to rename the center “because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.”

The post appears to refer to recent restorations and renovations that were touted by Trump during his speech at the Kennedy Center Honors dinner on Dec. 7.

House Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves as an ex officio member of the center’s board, sued Trump on Monday, arguing that the board’s vote to rename the building was illegal because an act of Congress is required for such an action.

Asked for comment on the lawsuit, White House spokesperson Liz Huston instead told ABC News in a statement on Monday that the Kennedy Center’s board voted to rename it after Trump “stepped up and saved the old Kennedy Center.”

ABC News’ Chad Murray, Hannah Demissie, Isabella Murray, Michelle Stoddart, Karen Travers, Lauren Peller and Alex Ederson contributed to this report.

3 hikers found dead during search and rescue effort on Mount Baldy in California, authorities say

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif.) — A 19-year-old who fell while hiking on Southern California’s Mount Baldy and two others were found dead during the search and rescue effort for the teen, authorities said.

The recovery effort for the three deceased hikers is underway, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said on Tuesday.

The search for the teen began midday Monday, when a search and rescue team responded to a request to rescue the hiker after he reportedly fell approximately 500 feet near the Devil’s Backbone trail, the sheriff’s department said.

A friend who was hiking with the teen “hiked to an area with cellular service and provided GPS coordinates to assist rescuers,” the sheriff’s department said in a press release.

During an aerial search, deputies found the teen as well as two unidentified individuals nearby, though the helicopter was unable to complete the rescue due to severe winds, authorities said.

Later Monday evening, an air medic who was hoisted down confirmed all three hikers were dead, authorities said. The helicopter was still unable to safely recover them at that time due to severe winds.

The recovery effort is still underway, the sheriff’s department said Tuesday.

The name of the teen has not been released. The two unidentified hikers found near him were in a separate group and were located by chance during the search for the teen, according to the sheriff’s department.

Mount Baldy is located in the San Gabriel Mountains, outside Los Angeles.

ABC News’ Jenna Harrison contributed to this report.

Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of JFK, has died

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Tatiana Schlossberg, daughter of Caroline Kennedy and granddaughter of John F. Kennedy, has died following a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

“Our beautiful Tatiana passed away this morning,” the JFK Library Foundation said in a statement on Tuesday. “She will always be in our hearts.”

Schlossberg revealed in an emotional essay published last month that she was diagnosed with a “rare mutation” of acute myeloid leukemia in May 2024 after giving birth to her second child.

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

New England Patriots player Stefon Diggs faces strangulation, assault charges

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(FOXBOROUGH, Mass.) — New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing strangulation and assault charges, according to court records.

The complaint was made by a woman who worked as a private chef for the NFL player, according to court documents. During a Dec. 2 dispute over money that she claimed Diggs owed her, he allegedly “smacked her across the face” and “tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck,” the complaint says.

“She said that as she tried to pry his arm away, he tightened his grip. At that point, the male threw her onto the bed,” the documents said.

Diggs’ attorney, David Meier, said the NFL player “categorically denies these allegations … because they did not occur.”

“They are unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, and were never investigated — because they did not occur,” Meier said in a statement. “The timing and motivation for making the allegations is crystal clear: they are the direct result of an employee-employer financial dispute that was not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction.”

The Patriots are standing behind Diggs, saying in a statement, “Stefon has informed the organization that he categorically denies the allegations.”

“We support Stefon,” the team said. “We will continue to gather information and will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities and the NFL as necessary.”

The NFL added in statement that it’s “aware of the matter and have been in contact with the club.”

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

What’s driving the rollercoaster in gold and silver prices?

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Silver prices on Monday suffered their largest single-day drop in almost five years, before rebounding nearly 8% in midday trading on Tuesday. Some other precious metals, including gold, rode a similar rollercoaster.

The turbulent stretch comes near the end of a banner year for gold and silver, which rose far faster than even the robust stock market. Gold has climbed 66% in 2025, while silver has soared a staggering 160%. The S&P 500, by comparison, has jumped 17% over that span.

Bumpiness in recent days owes in part to the meteoric rise over prior months, some analysts told ABC News, saying investors likely cashed in on those gains by selling off their holdings.

The downturn in prices at the outset of this week followed an adjustment by exchange operator CME Group, which increased the amount futures traders must pony up in order to participate in the topsy-turvy markets for precious metals.

The uptick in the amount of such payments — known as margins — likely deterred some investors and pushed prices lower, analysts added. Prices boomeranged higher on Tuesday, suggesting some investors viewed the dip as a buying opportunity.

“These were some of the worst one-day losses in the history of trading in both gold and silver going back 50 years,” Jim Wyckoff, senior market analyst at Kitco Metals, told ABC News.

“Extreme price volatility in commodity markets is a signal of the final stages of a mature bull market run,” Wyckoff added.

Over the course of the year, heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty boosted demand for gold and silver, which typically display a degree of independence from movements in stock prices. Volatility in bond markets and a devaluation of the U.S. dollar, meanwhile, unsettled alternative assets typically viewed as safe-haven investments.

The flight to gold in moments of market turbulence draws on decades of evidence, according to an analysis co-authored in 2025 by Campbell Harvey, a professor at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business who studies commodity prices. The price of gold moved higher during eight of the last 11 major stock market selloffs stretching back to the late 1980s, researchers found.

“Gold is a safe-haven asset because people believe it’s a safe-haven asset,” Paolo Pasquariello, professor of finance at the University of Michigan, told ABC News. “It’s a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.”

However, gold and silver prices carry volatility of their own, especially when buyers enter the market at a high point, risking losses instead of providing a security blanket, analysts said.

The rollercoaster this week could foretell volatility for gold and silver prices in 2026, Pasquariello said, pointing especially to a murky path forward for interest rates.

The Fed cut interest rates three consecutive times over the latter part of this year. Its benchmark rate now stands between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Policymakers at the central bank appear divided over where interest rates should go next. Three of the 12 voting members on the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC — a policymaking body at the Fed — dissented from the most recent quarter-point rate cut, the highest number of dissenters since 2019.

President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called for lower interest rates, is set to appoint a Fed chair next year. The leadership perch offers a large public platform, but it carries a single vote, like any other member of the FOMC.

Lower interest rates establish financial conditions favorable for gold and silver, since meager interest rates reduce the comparative benefit of interest-bearing investments such as savings accounts. A rate reduction also slashes the cost of borrowing for traders who speculate in precious metals, potentially juicing investment further.

“It looks like there is a significant split at the Federal Reserve about whether to cut interest rates or not,” Pasquariello said. “Markets like gold and silver – which in my mind have sensitivity to this rate uncertainty – will experience volatility the most.”

“People buy gold and silver for a safe haven,” Pasquariello added. “I don’t see that happening in 2026.”

New England Patriots player Stefon Diggs faces strangulation charge

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(FOXBOROUGH, Mass.) — New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing strangulation and assault charges, according to court records.

The charges stem from an alleged incident on Dec. 2, records show, one day after the Patriots beat the New York Giants 33-15.

Details of the alleged incident have not been released.

The Patriots are standing behind Diggs, saying in a statement, “Stefon has informed the organization that he categorically denies the allegations.”

“We support Stefon,” the team said. “We will continue to gather information and will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities and the NFL as necessary.”

The NFL said in statement, “We are aware of the matter and have been in contact with the club.”

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

Flu activity rises sharply across the US with at least 7.5 million illnesses: CDC

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — Flu activity is rising sharply across the United States, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC estimates there have been at least 7.5 million million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths from flu so far this season. Five more pediatric deaths were reported this week, bringing the total to eight this season.

At least 20 states are now seeing “very high” respiratory illness activity including Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, nine states are seeing “high” activity including Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, Texas and Virginia.

Experts expect flu-like illnesses to continue to climb in the coming weeks after holiday gatherings and colder weather.

New York health officials recently announced that the state saw the highest number of flu cases ever recorded in a single week.

The mutations seen in the new variant result in a mismatch with this season’s flu vaccine composition, the CDC says. Experts still believe that the flu vaccine will help reduce the risk of severe illness, including hospitalization and death.

Doctors are urging everyone who is eligible for a flu shot to get one this season, emphasizing it’s not too late.

Last season, 288 children died from the flu and nearly all were unvaccinated, according to a CDC study. This was the same number of kids who died from the virus during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the highest number of deaths ever recorded since tracking pediatric deaths became mandatory in 2004.

Public health experts say other ways to slow the spread of respiratory illnesses include good hand washing, staying home if you’re sick or avoiding people who are sick, covering a cough or sneeze with a tissue that is thrown immediately in the trash and cleaning or disinfecting objects or surfaces that are frequently touched.

Ahead of alleged Jan. 6 pipe bomber’s Tuesday court appearance, attorneys urge judge to release him before trial

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Attorneys for the Virginia man charged with planting pipe bombs outside of the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are urging a judge to release him pending trial, arguing the government has presented no evidence that shows he poses a danger to the general public.

In a late-night filing on Monday, suspect Brian Cole Jr.’s attorneys said the “government-induced excitement” around Cole’s arrest earlier this month is both premature and potentially in violation of local court rules.

The filing came ahead of Cole’s scheduled court appearance on Tuesday afternoon for a detention hearing.

Cole, of Virginia, was arrested by federal authorities earlier this month following a massive probe that had stymied investigators for almost five years. He appeared in court on Dec. 5, where a judge detailed the two charges he currently faces. The charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 30 years if he is convicted.

Cole, who has not entered a plea, allegedly told investigators in a lengthy confession that he wasn’t targeting the joint session of Congress that was convening to certify former President Joe Biden’s election win, according to previous court filing from the Department of Justice.

After Cole saw himself on the news in videos released by the FBI seeking tips on his identity, he said in the interview that he discarded all of his bomb-making materials at a nearby dump and said he never told anyone about his actions in the nearly five years since Jan. 6, according to the filing. The filing also notes that over the past years he appeared to wipe data from his personal cellphone “nearly one thousand times.”

Prosecutors included the alleged details of Cole’s confession in a filing urging a judge to keep him detained pending trial, arguing his alleged actions and choice of the DNC and RNC as targets “demonstrates the extreme and deeply dangerous nature of his conduct.”

In their Monday filing, Cole’s attorneys specifically pointed to statements made by D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in an exclusive interview with ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas following their client’s arrest in which they argue she improperly commented on the merits of the government’s case.

They further claim that the government’s inclusion of Cole’s alleged confession to planting the bombs in their detention memo Sunday may have also violated his rights.

While Cole’s attorneys didn’t specifically deny any of the allegations put forward by the government about Cole’s conduct, they used their filing Monday to dispute that prosecutors have made any clear showing he presents a danger to the public.

According to the filing, Cole has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as well as obsessive compulsive disorder and has no criminal history.

His attorneys said he would submit to house arrest and wearing an ankle monitor if required, though they argue the government hasn’t proven he poses any risk of fleeing prosecution.

New Year’s Eve weather forecast, from rain in the West to snow in the East

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — More rough weather is forecast on both coasts when the ball drops on Wednesday night, ringing in 2026.

On the West Coast, more rain is expected across a drenched Southern California, where residents are still recovering from last week’s flooding.

The new storm will bring widespread rain and mountain snow starting New Year’s Eve and continuing through the end of the week.

An excessive rainfall risk level of 2 out of 4 is in place in the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara areas on Wednesday and Thursday.

Through Friday, 2 to 4 inches of rain is possible at higher elevations, and 1 to 2 inches at lower elevations like downtown Los Angeles.

In the Northeast, another cold front is moving through on Wednesday and Thursday, which brings the slight chance for a few snow flurries to mix in with confetti as the ball drops in Times Square. But no measurable snow accumulation is expected and the flurries will be gone by sunrise on Thursday.

The only part of the Northeast to get intense snow is the Great Lakes, where lake effect snow will continue through the week. A winter storm warning is in place in Orchard Park, New York, home of the Buffalo Bills, where residents could see up to 3 feet of snow by the end of New Year’s Day.

The rest of the country will be dry, with above average temperatures through the Plains and much of the South on New Year’s Day.

Russian official threatens Zelenskyy as Moscow claims Kyiv attacked Putin residence

December 30, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — A top Russian official on Monday issued personal threats against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia claimed that Ukraine launched a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residences.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov alleged that Ukraine launched a drone attack on Putin’s state residence in Novgorod region on the night of Dec. 29. Lavrov offered no evidence to support the assertion, which Zelenskyy was quick to dismiss as a Russian disinformation effort.

Dmitry Medvedev — the former Russian president and prime minister now serving on the country’s Security Council — posted to X accusing Zelenskyy of “trying to derail the settlement of the conflict,” referring to the ongoing U.S.-sponsored peace talks.

“He wants war. Well, now at least he’ll have to stay in hiding for the rest of his worthless life,” Medvedev wrote.

In separate posts to Telegram, Medvedev — who, during Moscow’s full-scale war on Ukraine, has become known as a particularly hawkish voice within Putin’s security establishment — even appeared to suggest that Zelenskyy should be “exhibited” in St. Petersburg after his “imminent demise.”

Kiril Dmitriev, the Kremlin aide who also serves as the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and has been closely involved in negotiations with U.S. representatives, also questioned the Ukrainian president’s future.

“Who is after Zelenskyy?” Dmitriev said in a post to X.

The Kremlin said U.S. President Donald Trump was informed of the alleged attack during a Monday phone call with Putin. Russian officials also threatened retaliatory strikes in Ukraine.

Yuri Ushakov, a top aide to Putin, told the state-run Tass news agency that Putin and Trump discussed the issue by phone on Monday, with the U.S. leader expressing his surprise and anger.

Zelenskyy rejected the Russian reports of the supposed Ukrainian drone attack as “yet another lie.”

“Now, with their statement that some residence of theirs was attacked, they are simply preparing — I am sure — preparing the ground, in principle, to launch strikes, probably on the capital and, probably, on state buildings,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post to X on Tuesday that “Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations of Ukraine’s alleged ‘attack on Putin’s residence.’ And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened.”

It is unclear what the latest developments might mean for the ongoing peace talks.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that the alleged Ukrainian attack would prompt a “hardening of the Russian Federation’s negotiating position,” as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency.

“Russia is not withdrawing from the negotiation process,” Peskov added, describing the alleged attack as an effort aimed “at disrupting President Trump’s efforts to promote a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.”

After talks with Zelenskyy — which were preceded and followed by phone calls between Trump and Putin — at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Sunday, Trump told reporters that the negotiating teams are “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to achieving a peace deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion, which Moscow launched in February 2022.

Lavrov said that Russia does not intend to withdraw from the negotiation process following the alleged attack. But the foreign minister said that the “targets and timing of Russia’s retaliatory strike” had “been determined.”

Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday that Russia launched two missiles and 60 drones into the country overnight into Tuesday morning, of which one missile and 52 drones were shot down or suppressed. One missile and eight drones impacted across five locations, the air force said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that four Ukrainian drones were shot down on Tuesday morning over the southern Krasnodar region.

The operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region reported on Telegram that two people sustained shrapnel injuries caused by drones. Drone wreckage fell on a railway station in the region, the headquarters said.

Rosaviatsiya — Russia’s federal air transport agency — reported temporary flight restrictions at Krasnodar airport.

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