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Trump heads to France for 1st G7 summit since US-Iran war began

June 15, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Immediately after celebrating his 80th birthday with Sunday’s UFC fight on the White House South Lawn, President Donald Trump is expected to head to France to meet with top global superpowers at the annual G7 summit.

Held in Évian-les-Bains, France from June 15 to 17, this will be the president’s fifth time attending the conference in person and comes amid heightened global turmoil, with the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine expected to loom large over the summit’s economic and geopolitical agenda.

This is the first time the G7 leaders are meeting in-person since the start of the U.S.-Iran war, which has now reached its 15th week and continues to impact the global economy, with increases in fossil fuel and oil and gas prices. The war had caught U.S. allies off guard and some were unwilling to heed the president’s requests for help, which has created tensions between Trump and some G7 leaders.

There is expected to be a focus on the Middle East, with Trump scheduled to participate in bilateral meetings with Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to a senior administration official.

While the past week saw significant military escalation between the U.S. and Iran, Trump said Sunday that the two countries had reached an agreement that would open the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the global oil supply passes through.

During the G7 summit last year, Trump left one day early because of the growing conflict between Israel and Iran, and that weekend launched Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Like last year, leaders are also looking to secure lasting peace in Ukraine. It has been 4 1/2 years since Russia invaded Ukraine, but the war is escalating, especially with Ukraine’s expansion of long-range drone attacks against Russia. Trump repeatedly promised that he personally could end the Russia-Ukraine war on the first day of his presidency and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to seek more assistance from allies.

Zelenskyy will meet with G7 leaders on Tuesday, according to a senior administration official, but there is no one-on-one meeting currently scheduled with Trump. Ukraine was also not listed as one of the U.S. goals for the summit, though the administration emphasizes that resolving the conflict remains one of the president’s “top priorities.”

The other six countries that comprise the G7 coalition include France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, but leaders of other countries are often also invited to the annual conference, with Zelenskyy reportedly expected to be in attendance.

During a background call previewing the trip, a senior White House administration official said Trump’s goals include addressing “economic growth and development, supply chain resilience, illegal immigration and artificial intelligence,” in addition to boosting investment partnerships.

Upon assuming his second term, Trump has strained his relationship with the other G7 leaders. In addition to prompting other countries to question his actions in Iran, the president has distanced the U.S. from top allies over his rhetoric towards NATO, his tariffs and his ambitions in acquiring Greenland, to name a few issues.

The conference was originally scheduled to begin on Sunday. Officials did not comment on whether the president’s birthday plans for that day played a role in shifting the G7 schedule forward.

On the final day of the summit on Wednesday, Trump is expected to travel to Paris to have dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles before heading back to Washington.

Severe weather threat continues as summer heat swelters on both coasts

June 13, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Millions of Americans are under severe weather threats as storms and summer heat continue on both coasts.

This severe weather threat will impact parts of the central United States, from Texas to Illinois.

A flood watch is also in effect for parts of eastern Kansas, western Missouri, northeast Oklahoma, and northwest Arkansas until Sunday morning.

A level 3 of 5 “enhanced risk” is in effect for parts of Nebraska, Oklahoma, eastern Kansas and much of western and central Missouri — including Wichita, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Springfield, Missouri.

The main threats are damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes.

The severe weather threat shifts back to parts of the East Coast with more than 50 million on alert for severe storms on Sunday.

A level 2 of 5 “slight risk” is up from northern North Carolina to upstate New York and includes Raleigh, North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; New York City; Pittsburgh; and Albany, New York.

The main threats are damaging winds, large hail and lightning.

Heading into next week, the severe weather looks to stall for a couple of days before ramping back up by the middle of the week.

The summer heat and humidity continues in the South, with heat advisories in effect for millions from the Carolinas and Florida out to Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The Northeast will see lower humidity this weekend so the heat will not be as dangerous despite temperatures in the 80s and 90s.

An extreme heat warning is already in place for the Portland, Oregon, area where a life-threatening heat wave is expected Sunday through Tuesday with temps reaching 95 to 100 degrees.

For the West coast, a heat advisory is in place in California’s central valley from Redding to Bakersfield with high temps from 100 to 105 possible. Closer to the Bay Area, high temps around 100 are possible for San Jose and Santa Clara.

2 women wanted in Maryland for murder of suspect’s mother arrested in Ohio following tip: Police

June 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md.) — Two women wanted in Maryland for allegedly killing the mother of one of the suspects were captured in Ohio after an individual who offered to help them realized from media coverage that they were wanted for murder, authorities said.

The arrests came nearly three weeks after the victim, 67-year-old Hilde Henderson, is believed to have been killed at her apartment at a senior living community in Silver Spring, Maryland, authorities said.

Officers conducting a welfare check on May 26 found Henderson dead from blunt force trauma, according to the Montgomery County Police Department. She is believed to have been dead for four days, police said.

The victim’s daughter, 29-year-old Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson of Clarksburg, and the daughter’s girlfriend, 36-year-old Samantha Raebel of Phoenix, were subsequently identified as suspects in the homicide, police said. Police obtained an arrest warrant charging them both with first-degree murder and released their photos amid the search for the suspects.

Following a nationwide search, the two were ultimately arrested Wednesday in Genoa, Ohio, thanks to a local tip, police said.

A woman in Genoa unwittingly offered to help the couple, until she and her friend grew suspicious and learned of the ongoing manhunt by searching one of their names online, according to ABC Toledo affiliate WTVG.

Adrienne Behrman told WTVG that the suspects came into her workplace and told her they were homeless, so she offered to help and invited them to stay at her apartment.

“I’ve been down and out myself — homeless, without money, you know, just not wanting to be a charity case or anything like that, and I just felt like I was led to help them,” Behrman told the station.

Behrman recounted, though, that the more questions she asked them about where they were from and where they wanted to go, “things were not adding up.”

She told her concerns to a friend, Nikki Peters, who said she noticed that the last name of one of the suspects from a Cash App payment request for cigarettes didn’t match the name she had been told, WTVG reported.

“That didn’t make sense to me, because it was still Vanessa, but a different last name,” Peters told WTVG.

While searching Tjongarero-Henderson’s name online, Peters said she found wanted posts for the two women, WTVG reported.

“I almost passed out,” Peters told the station. “[Behrman] was cool, calm and collected, but I almost passed out.”

“That didn’t make sense to me, because it was still Vanessa, but a different last name,” Peters told WTVG.

While searching Tjongarero-Henderson’s name online, Peters said she found wanted posts for the two women, WTVG reported.

“I almost passed out,” Peters told the station. “[Behrman] was cool, calm and collected, but I almost passed out.”

Behrman said she called 911, WTVG reported.

“That orchestrated the whole thing the way that it needed to be done in order for them to be apprehended and no one else to be hurt,” Behrman told the station.

Tjongarero-Henderson and Raebel are being held at the Ottawa County Detention Center awaiting extradition to Maryland, authorities said.

Police have not released details on what evidence led them to identify the couple as suspects in the case.

Missing woman found alive after being stuck in mud puddle for days

June 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(MINNESOTA) — A missing woman was found in a Minnesota puddle of mud where she told her rescuers she had been stuck for days.

Kathryn Woessner, 68, was last seen on June 3 before her rescuers found her on June 6, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

Woessner did not have any personal belongings with her, according to the sheriff’s office.

Woessner told the men who rescued her that her car was stuck and she was trying to get out when she went around to the other side, slipping and falling into a puddle that was probably 2 feet deep, according to Mike Gravalin and Adam Sandbeck, the two men who saved her.

Woessner told the men the mud was like quicksand, they told KSTP.

Woessner told the men she had been stuck on her back for days and she was seriously sunburned on her face, Gravalin and Sandbeck told KSTP.

Due to her medical conditions, she was taken to Essentia Health- St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brained, according to the sheriff’s office.

‘Cannot escape’: Afghan girl held at US military base in limbo amid Trump immigration policies

June 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(QATAR) — Her room is made up of four towering gray walls. With a rug, a colorful comforter and a few pictures, 15-year-old Zahra Muheb has tried to make it feel like home. She’s spent her last two birthdays living at Camp As Sayliyah, a refugee camp on an unused American military base in Doha that’s a temporary home for more than 1,100 Afghan refugees.

Most of its residents are women and children who were placed there by the U.S. State Department during the U.S. refugee resettlement process.

Zahra told ABC News her dreams for the future have changed drastically since President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting refugee resettlement efforts during the first days of his second term. She said the ripple effects have been felt throughout every corner of the camp.

“I mean, when you go out of the camp and you’re sick, they take you to hospital and they put GPS trackers on you so that you cannot escape,” she said. “I feel like prison might be much better than here.”

Zahra also told ABC News that she was threatened by the camp duty director and other camp officials after speaking to news outlets.

She claimed that they said someone in Washington, D.C., asked them to talk to her, then turned to her parents and said, “What you allow your daughter [to do] has significantly increased the risk of going back to Afghanistan.”

In response to Zahra’s specific claims, a State Department spokesperson told ABC News, “We have no information regarding this alleged incident” and that “accusations are dealt with promptly to protect residents.”

The fear of being sent back to Afghanistan is intense for many refugees at the base, she noted.

Zahra told ABC News camp officials are using that fear and not knowing where they will be placed against residents at the base.

“They are lying to people about [being sent to a] third country,” she said. “They are encouraging people to go back to Afghanistan, paying them money.”

Zahra’s family was already vetted by the Biden administration, but they and many other camp residents remain in limbo, waiting to see where and when the U.S. State Department will relocate them.

In recent talks, the Trump administration said they were considering moving those residing at Camp As Sayliyah from Doha to the Democratic Republic of Congo — a country that’s now struggling to contain an Ebola outbreak — though that deal was scrapped.

“The State Department continues to work toward a positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside of Afghanistan while upholding the safety and security of the American people,” a department spokesperson told ABC News.

In response to the possibility of being sent to the DRC, Zahra said she wanted to address Trump directly, saying the idea was “not even acceptable.”

“Mr. Donald Trump and Mrs. Melania reconsider [to] at least take us to America because we deserve safety. We deserve a life with dignity,” she told ABC News.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration raised the refugee ceiling by 10,000 solely for white South African refugees despite the promises the U.S. previously made to those residing at Camp As Sayliyah.

On June 2, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department’s fiscal year 2027 budget, lawmakers pushed back against these new policies.

Democratic Sen. Van Hollen of Maryland told Republican Secretary of State Marco Rubio that “this administration has capped refugees at a record low” and that “White South Africans, Afrikaners, have comprised roughly 99% of those slots.” He called the administration’s process a “race-based refugee system.”

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, denounced the notion of sending Afghan allies living at Camp As Sayliyah back to Afghanistan, which is controlled by the Taliban, or the DRC, which has seen a surge of sexual violence towards women and children in recent years amid the conflict that has raged since 2022.

In response, Rubio noted that the U.S. “can’t admit any Afghans at this point into the country,” due to an executive order in the wake of last November’s deadly attack on two members of the National Guard last November.

“I don’t know of any single country that’s going to take a thousand people, but we’ve talked to multiple countries about taking several hundred of these people and allowing them to move to a safe location,” he said.

The residents we spoke to told ABC News they feel left behind, including a father who served as a member of the Afghan Command Forces for the U.S. and asked ABC News not to use his name for fear of retaliation.

“In reality, we were brought here legally and we completed all legal processes,” he said. “We stood side by side with the United States in Afghanistan for almost 20 years. Now the time has come for the U.S. government to fulfill their promises.”

Shawn VanDiver, the president of AfghanEvac, a non-profit organization that advocates for Afghan refugees, arranged a call with residents, congressional staffers and politicians in April.

“We’re gonna keep fighting for you, there’s a lot of people in Congress that are gonna keep fighting for you,” he told the residents.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, joined the call to relay what his son, who served in Afghanistan as a Marine Corps infantry officer, told him about the Afghan allies “who put their lives on the line.”

“They love America. We will work for them and fight for them just as we would our own veterans,” he said.

In a previous statement, the U.S. State Department told ABC News in March that “Afghan Nationals at the Camp do not currently have a viable pathway to the United States” and that residents would be relocated by March 31. In June, ABC News spoke with several residents who still do not know where or when they will be relocated, if at all.

“There was a viable pathway, the administration has chosen to close it — it is a policy choice,” VanDiver told ABC News.

For now, residents at the camp hope the U.S. will keep its original promise to bring them to the country to start a new life.

Zahra asked ABC News to use her name, hoping it will help her resettlement efforts and others at the camp who are afraid of being sent to countries in conflict like DRC.

“I’m showing my face and I am raising my voice. To the camp officials from here … you cannot stop me,” she said. “Whatever you do, it won’t stop me. If you think that you can treat me [like this] and it will stop me, it cannot. I will fight. I will take those people to safety. I will try.”

On Thursday, 83 members of Congress signed a letter to Rubio, demanding a clear plan for residents at Camp As Sayliyah, shortly after Zahra’s story aired on ABC News on Tuesday. In the letter, congressional leaders gave the department until June 24 to respond with answers and a credible plan for refugees who have been living in limbo.

1 killed, 10 hurt in mass shooting in Midland, Texas; suspect also dead: DPS

June 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(MIDLAND, Texas) — One victim was killed and 10 others were injured in a mass shooting in Midland, Texas, on Friday morning, and the suspected gunman is dead following a standoff with police, authorities said.

When police responded to an active shooter report around 8 a.m. local time Friday, the suspect, Victor Mata Villarreal, allegedly fired at bystanders and officers, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

Villarreal, 45, then barricaded himself in an abandoned veterinary clinic, DPS said. After an hourslong standoff, the Odessa, Texas, resident was found dead in the building around 12:30 p.m. local time, authorities said.

Nine victims were taken to Midland Memorial Hospital, where four were rushed into surgery and five were admitted in stable condition, hospital officials said. The five in stable condition have since been discharged, officials said.

The victims have not been identified. DPS said no law enforcement officers were hurt.

Villarreal had been wanted for attempted capital murder of an officer after he allegedly fired multiple shots at police during a car chase on Wednesday, DPS said.

He fled from that scene on Wednesday and went into hiding, according to law enforcement. On Friday, when officers tried to apprehend him, he began opening fire, according to law enforcement.

Midland Mayor Lori Blong said at a news conference, “I would really ask Midlanders to pray for the families of those who have been impacted, for the victims themselves, for the family of the one who is confirmed deceased.”

ABC News’ Alex Stone and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

US citizen arrested by Chinese government on espionage charges

June 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A U.S. citizen was arrested in China on espionage charges, according to Chinese officials.

U Min Zin was “lawfully subjected to criminal compulsory measures by the relevant authorities on suspicion of engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security Chinese foreign ministry,” spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters Friday during a news conference.

Lin did not provide any more details about the charges or the investigation into Min Zin, who has been a longtime scholar on the politics of Myanmar. The spokesperson said the Chinese government notified the U.S. consulate general in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

A State Department official told ABC News in a statement Friday that the department is aware of the reports of the arrest.

“The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans. Whenever a U.S. citizen is detained, we work to provide the appropriate consular assistance. However, under federal privacy law, we are unable to comment further at this time,” the official said.

Min Zin took part in the democracy movement in Burma, Myanmar’s former name, in the late 80s and fled the country in 1989 to avoid arrest, according to a bio on his blog.

He is the executive director of the think tank, The Institute for Strategy and Policy (Myanmar), and has written several publications about Myanmar’s politics.

Min Zin was scheduled to speak at an event in Nepal this month hosted by the Centre for Social Innovation and Foreign Policy, the think tank announced in May.

ABC News’ Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.

Judge denies request for stay of Kennedy Center renaming order

June 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Friday denied the Department of Justice’s request to lift an order requiring the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center.

The Trump administration still faces a deadline of Friday to remove Trump’s name from the building.

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

Judge rejects legal effort to cancel White House’s UFC event

June 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The White House can host an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the South Lawn this weekend, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta rejected a request to block the high-profile event brought by two Virginia residents who alleged the Trump administration’s authorization for the event was unlawful.

In his order, Judge Mehta determined that the plaintiffs failed “to establish both a substantial likelihood of standing and irreparable harm” in their lawsuit against the event.

The lawsuit alleged the event — which includes a press conference at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday, ceremonial weigh-in and concert at the Ellipse on Saturday, and the South Lawn fight on Sunday — violated National Park Service regulations, was improperly permitted, and lacked a necessary environmental review.

In his order, Judge Mehta found neither plaintiff was able to show they are “directly affected” by the event, despite their contentions that the temporary arena known as the “Claw” is “hideous” and “grotesque,” and that it diminishes their ability to enjoy the beauty of the nation’s capital in the coming days.

Mehta repeatedly picked apart the plaintiffs’ efforts to establish standing to bring the suit, in which they cited reasons including planned attendance at weekend protests and road closures near the White House that they had argued would cause them personal injury.

Even if they had been able to establish standing, Mehta said, their lawsuit failed to show the event would cause irreparable harm, and noted the “unreasonable delay” in filing the lawsuit — rejecting their explanation that the decision to sue was based on newly gathered information.

Mehta further agreed with the government that cancelling the event at the last minute would cause “substantial harm” given the amount of planning, costs and labor put into the project over the past several months.

In a court filing on Wednesday, lawyers with the Public Integrity Project had called the event a “corrupt spectacle.”

“Such a volcano of corruption, if allowed to go forward, will mark an inflection point in American history,” they argued.

Lawyers with the Department of Justice said the authorization for the event was lawful, comparing it to other events on the South Lawn like Easter Egg Roll, National Christmas Tree Lighting, state dinners, the Congressional Picnic, and a 2022 Elton John Concert.

They also argued that the plaintiffs lack standing and would not be harmed by the event.

“No one is holding Plaintiffs in a jiu jitsu lock, forcing them to watch UFC Freedom 250 against their will,” DOJ lawyers wrote on Tuesday. “The public interest does not favor allowing them to exercise a heckler’s veto, particularly at this late date.”

Suspect sought after 17-year-old boy beaten into coma near MSG after Knicks’ Game 4 win: Police

June 12, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A 17-year-old boy was beaten into a coma near Madison Square Garden following Game 4 of the NBA Finals, New York City police said Friday while releasing a photo of a suspect sought in connection with the assault.

The incident occurred Wednesday night around 11:45 p.m., according to the New York City Police Department, amid rowdy celebrations following the New York Knicks’ win.

A group of unknown individuals approached the teen in front of 237 W. 35th St. in Midtown Manhattan, where a “verbal dispute ensued about the New York Knicks,” police said.

Detectives reviewed video that shows someone apparently telling the crowd celebrating by saying, “Spurs in 7,” ABC New York station WABC reported.

“The dispute escalated, and the individuals proceeded to punch and kick the victim about the head and body, causing the victim to suffer a seizure and subsequently go into a coma,” police said in a statement.

Emergency medical service personnel responded to the scene and transported the victim to an area hospital in critical but stable condition, police said.

The individuals fled on foot, and their whereabouts are unknown, police said. The NYPD released an image of one suspect sought in connection with the incident on social media on Friday while asking anyone with information to contact them.

Separately, dozens of people were arrested following the Knicks’ historic comeback against the San Antonio Spurs in Wednesday’s Game 4.

Rowdy fans got into fistfights, climbed scaffolding and poles, blocked Midtown Manhattan traffic, set off fireworks, ripped down street signs, jumped atop taxis and other moving vehicles and damaged police vehicles, according to authorities and videos posted on social media.

At multiple locations blocks from the Garden, crowds refused numerous verbal commands to disperse, police said. Ten police officers were injured in the post-game revelry, including one who was struck in the face with a glass bottle, the NYPD said.

In total, 56 people were taken into custody, including 15 who were arrested and 41 who were released with criminal court summonses, according to the NYPD.

Fans were arrested on charges such as suspicion of assault on a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon (a knife), reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration, and trademark counterfeiting, the NYPD said.

Following Game 3 of the NBA Finals at the Garden on Monday, at least 21 people were arrested, according to the NYPD.

A 39-year-old San Antonio fan was jumped on a Midtown Manhattan street following the Knicks loss, according to the NYPD, which released surveillance photos of five individuals wanted on charges of robbery stemming from the incident.

ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.

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