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Ahead of Tuesday primary, Trump target Massie says billionaires are trying to ‘buy’ his seat

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Days before his highly anticipated primary, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie struck a defiant tone, asserting on Sunday that out-of-state billionaires “have funneled millions of dollars in here” in an effort to “buy a seat” in Congress.

“How did this race become the most expensive race in the history of Congress for a primary? It’s because three billionaires from outside of Kentucky have funneled millions of dollars in here. They’re trying to buy a seat,” Massie said in an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.”

On Friday, Massie told a reporter that his has “turned into a referendum on whether Israel gets to buy seats in Congress.”

“This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos pressed Massie on the comment, asking him, “What did you mean by that?”

Massie said that two of the individuals he named — major GOP donors Miriam Adelson and Paul Singer, along with the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), are “all part of the Israeli lobby.”

Adelson and Singer are both major AIPAC contributors.

“That’s where all the money comes from, and it will be a referendum on foreign policy, whether Israel gets to dictate that by, you know, bullying members of Congress, and I’m the one they haven’t been able to bully, so they’re putting all the brunt, the force on me,” Massie said.

Massie said his opponents are “desperate” because he says he’s ahead in the polls.

“That’s why the president is losing sleep and tweeting about this,” the Kentucky congressman said.

In a statement to ABC News, RJC CEO Matt Brooks accused Massie of “antisemitism and bottom-of-the-barrel nativism at a time when Jew hatred is on rise.”

“The RJC stands with those who will combat antisemitism like Captain Ed Gallrein, and against those who foment it,” Brooks said, referring to Massie’s Republican opponent. “Massie’s record is indefensible, and the Republican primary voters of Kentucky will hold him accountable.”

ABC News also reached out to AIPAC, Adelson’s foundation, Singer’s foundation and Singer’s investment management fund to request comment in response to Massie’s statements, but has not received a response.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Massie, including on Sunday morning, after another Republican who Trump wanted to oust from Congress — Louisiana’s Sen. Bill Cassidy — lost his primary on Saturday.

“Bad Congressman Tom Massie voted against Tax Cuts, the Border Wall, our Military and Law Enforcement. Actually, he voted against almost everything that is good. The Worst Republican Congressman in History. Kentucky, vote the bum out on Tuesday. We can’t live with this troublemaker for another two years. He is a true negative force!!!” Trump posted on his social media platform.

Massie is facing a primary challenge from former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who was endorsed by Trump before he even entered the race. In an Oct. 17 Truth Social post, Trump said he hoped Gallrein “gets into the Race against Massie”; four days later, Gallrein did just that.

The seven-term congressman has clashed with Trump throughout his second stint in the White House. But Massie argued he can overcome Trump’s opposition to win this primary.

“I have the endorsement of the right to life organizations, the gun organizations. I had four members of Congress come here yesterday and campaign with me. So, my situation is a little bit different [than Sen. Cassidy’s],” Massie said. “Plus, I’ve had millions of dollars come in from the grassroots, tens of thousands of donors, to my website, thomasmassie.com. And it’s still coming in. And that’s how we’re going to beat them.”

At least 4 Virginia Democratic House candidates drop out after courts toss new map

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Overturning a new congressional map in Virginia that would have favored Democrats has had an outsized impact on the state’s U.S. House primaries, with at least four high-profile candidates so far suspending their campaigns.

With Virginia keeping its current congressional map, which currently has six Democrats and five Republicans, Democratic candidates face the prospect of either running in a GOP-leaning district or of mounting primary bids to incumbent Democrats.

Virginia’s primaries are Aug. 4, having been changed from their original date of June 16. The state had also moved its candidate filing deadline to May 26, so candidates can still get on the ballot ahead of the primary.

Col. Bree Fram, a transgender woman who came out and transitioned while serving in the Air Force and who had joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its ban on transgender individuals in the military, suspended her campaign for the proposed 11th District. She would have been mounting a primary challenge to incumbent Rep. James Walkinshaw regardless of which map was in place.

“With only five weeks before early primary voting, the ruling left this campaign without sufficient time and resources to meaningfully pivot to the previous district and have the kind of substantive debate voters deserve,” Fram wrote.

Dorothy McAuliffe, the former first lady of Virginia who was running in the redrawn 7th District, announced last Saturday that she will similarly suspend her campaign. The 7th District is represented by Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman.

“For me, representing Virginia in Congress was an opportunity to do good, make government deliver, protect fundamental freedoms, lower costs, defend democracy, and fight for those too often ignored,” said McAuliffe, who is married to former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

J.P. Cooney, who had launched a bid for the 7th District and was the top deputy for former special counsel Jack Smith, who led investigations into President Donald Trump’s alleged interference in the 2020 election and alleged mishandling of classified documents, suspended his campaign last Friday.

“I am disappointed that the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision at the expense of the Commonwealth’s voters is now final. Although this means the end of my congressional campaign, our movement to fight corruption and lawlessness is just beginning,” Cooney wrote on X.

Dan Helmer, a Virginia state delegate who had also launched a bid for the redrawn 7th District, said last Friday he had ended his campaign.

“While I’m incredibly disappointed at tonight’s news, I can’t say I’m surprised. The MAGA playbook is straightforward: if you can’t win at the ballot box, pack the courts… While our candidacy for Congress has ended, the path forward is clear: as I’ve said consistently, we need reform of the courts, here in Virginia, and in the federal judiciary,” he wrote in a statement on X.

One major name has not yet confirmed her plans.

Olivia Troye, a former aide to Vice President Mike Pence who changed parties and was running as a Democrat in the proposed 7th District, wrote in a blog post last Wednesday that she had visited an ICE detention facility on the day of the Virginia Supreme Court decision, and that both that visit and the court decision “made me more certain than ever that I cannot walk away from this fight.”

Troye has not confirmed if she plans to withdraw from the race. ABC News has reached out to Troye and her campaign. Troye was among the highest-profile Trump administration officials to become a critic of the president during his first term.

One candidate has said he’s staying in the race even with the Democratic-favoring map thrown out.

Tom Perriello, a former member of Congress who had planned to run in the redrawn 5th District, said the day the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling dropped that he is still going to run for Congress but is shifting to the current 5th District to try to unseat incumbent GOP Rep. John McGuire. Perriello represented the 5th from 2009 to 2011.

“We are obviously aware of the Virginia Supreme Court decision, and as we said from the launch of the campaign, we will respect the will of the voters and the courts … having done hundreds of listening sessions across Central and Southside Virginia over the last few months, I can say one thing that people on the right, left and center, seem to agree on is that McGuire needs to be fired and replaced by somebody who actually cares about Central and South Side Virginia,” he told reporters on Friday, just hours after the seismic court decision.

Former Hartford police officer charged with manslaughter in fatal shooting of Stevie Jones

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(HARTFORD, Conn.) — Former Hartford police officer Joseph Magnano was charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection to the February 27, 2026 fatal shooting of Steven “Stevie” Jones.

The charge and evidence supporting it was laid out in the Connecticut state inspector general’s report, which was released on Monday, and comes after Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam announced in March that he had terminated Magnano amid a probe into the incident after viewing the police body camera footage. The body camera footage has not been released publicly.

ABC News has reached out to the Hartford Police Department and Magnano’s attorney for comment.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.

Alex Murdaugh sues former court clerk who served during his double murder trial

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Alex Murdaugh is suing the former court clerk who served during his double murder trial in South Carolina, alleging she denied him a fair trial before an impartial jury, his attorneys announced days after the state’s top court overturned his murder convictions.

Murdaugh’s wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family’s hunting estate in 2021.

Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering them following a six-week trial, with jurors deliberating for nearly three hours before reaching a guilty verdict.

Last week, the five-member South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Murdaugh must have a new trial, citing the “breathtaking and disgraceful effort” of former Colleton County clerk Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill to “undermine the jury process.”

“With the South Carolina Supreme Court’s ruling, it has been adjudged as a matter of state law that she deprived Alex of his constitutional rights, deprived him of a right to a fair trial, and as a result we’ve got to do it all over again, which nobody wants to do,” Murdaugh’s attorney, Jim Griffin, said during a press briefing on Monday announcing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is seeking at least $600,000, Griffin said. The civil complaint notes that Murdaugh spent $600,000 on his trial defense, according to the filing.

“The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that Ms. Hill’s actions — motivated by her own desire to profit from the trial — caused these funds to be lost,” the filing stated.

Griffin said they are seeking “accountability” with the lawsuit.

“Now, let me be clear. Alex Murdaugh owes a lot of people a lot of money. None of this money that is recovered will go to him personally,” he said. “The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Becky Hill accountable for what she did.”

ABC News has reached out to Hill’s attorney for comment.

In its opinion filed last Wednesday, the state supreme court stated that Hill “egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility and his defense, thus triggering the presumption of prejudice, which the State was unable to rebut.”

“As noted at the outset, Hill’s shocking jury interference was accomplished outside the presence and knowledge of the outstanding trial judge and superbly competent and professional counsel for the State and the defense,” it continued.

In the murder trial, prosecutors made the case that Murdaugh, who comes from a legacy of prominent attorneys in the Lowcountry region, killed his wife and son to gain sympathy and distract from his financial wrongdoings, while the defense argued that police ignored the possibility that anyone else could have killed them.

Murdaugh’s defense claimed that Hill influenced the verdict through remarks heard by some jurors during the trial, including in one instance to watch Murdaugh’s body language during his testimony, according to court filings.

Murdaugh has continued to deny having anything to do with the deaths of his wife and son.

Following the decision, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office will “aggressively” seek to retry Murdaugh for the murders “as soon as possible” — possibly by the end of this year.

Hill resigned as the Colleton County clerk of court in March 2024, amid the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s investigation into allegations she may have abused her government position for financial gain.

Her book, “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders,” was ultimately pulled from publication over accusations of plagiarism.

She pleaded guilty in December 2025 to obstruction of justice, perjury and misconduct in office for showing photographs that were sealed court evidence to a reporter during the trial and then later lying about doing so on the stand during a hearing related to Murdaugh’s bid for a new trial. She was sentenced to three years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

The charges did not allege any jury tampering, and she denied any tampering with the jury during her testimony.

Murdaugh was also convicted on several financial crimes following the murder trial and is serving a 27-year sentence on state charges and a 40-year sentence on federal charges related to those crimes.

In its opinion, the state supreme court found that the trial court acted within its discretion in admitting some evidence of the financial crimes, which supported the state’s theory of motive, though it noted that the evidence could have been presented in a “fraction” of the time. If admitted on retrial, the evidence must be presented “efficiently,” the opinion stated.

ICE agent charged in nonfatal shooting of Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(MINNEAPOLIS) — Minnesota prosecutors on Monday announced charges against a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis earlier this year.

The federal agent, Christian Castro, was charged with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis, according to the Hennepin County attorney.

“Mr. Castro fired his service weapon at the front door of the home, knowing there were people who had just run inside that presented absolutely no threat to him or anyone else,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said during a news conference Monday.

According to Moriarty, the bullet struck Sosa-Celis in the leg, passed through a closet and lodged in the wall of a child’s bedroom. She added that Castro was not under any physical threat when he opened fire and that claims from government officials that he had been struck with a shovel or broom were false.

“There is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal officers who commit crimes in this state or any other,” Moriarty said. “A violent crime did occur that night, but it was Mr. Castro who committed it.”

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

According to the criminal complaint, the confrontation began when Castro and other ICE agents chased a man who was delivering food for DoorDash back to his house.

The complaint states that security footage shows that Castro tackled the driver after he jumped out of his car and was running toward his home, which he shared with Sosa-Celis. Another resident then separated the two men and was able to get inside the house with the driver.

According to the complaint, video evidence shows Castro then fired a single gunshot through the closed front door and hit Sosa-Celis in the right leg.

Four adults and two children were inside the home at the time of the gunfire, the complaint states. Following the shooting, ICE agents deployed tear gas, breached the residence, and took the occupants into custody.

Bail for Castro was set at $200,000.

Threat ‘neutralized’ after active shooter reported at Islamic Center of San Diego: Police

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(SAN DIEGO) — The San Diego Police Department said the threat “has been neutralized” after reports of an active shooter at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Photos show children being evacuated from the area.

“Emergency personnel are on scene and actively working to protect the community and secure the area,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said earlier on social media.

The center says it is the largest mosque in San Diego County.

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

At least 1 American has tested positive for Ebola: CDC

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Monday that at least one American working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has tested positive for Ebola.

Dr. Satish K. Pillai, incident manager for the CDC’s Ebola response, told reporters that the individual developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive late Sunday.

Pillai added that the patient and six other high-risk contacts are being moved to Germany for care and stressed that the risk to the U.S. general public remains low.

“Given the previous experience for caring for Ebola patients, coupled with the flight times being significantly shorter, this allows us to get these persons to points of care quickly,” Pillai said.

Pillai said the CDC has activated its Emergency Operations Center through its country offices in the DRC and in Uganda, and is deploying technical experts that have been requested from Atlanta headquarters.

The CDC said earlier Monday that it is preparing to restrict entry for travelers arriving from parts of central Africa where an Ebola outbreak has been declared, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.

Non-U.S. passport holders will face entry restrictions if they have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days.

The move is being carried out under Title 42 of the Public Health Services Act, which allows the CDC director to suspend entry of individuals into the U.S. to protect public health.

The order will be in effect for 30 days and does not apply to U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

The CDC said it is also coordinating with airlines, international partners and port-of-entry officials to identify and manage travelers with possible Ebola exposure as well as enhancing measures like contact tracing, laboratory testing capacity and hospital readiness nationwide.

On Sunday, the CDC said in a statement that a “small number of Americans” are directly affected by an Ebola outbreak occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“The CDC is working with other U.S. agencies to coordinate the safe withdrawal of the Americans,” the CDC said. The agency did not confirm the number of people affected, the type of exposure or whether any individuals had experienced symptoms.

“We don’t discuss or comment on individual dispositions,” Pillai said Sunday. “It is a highly dynamic situation, and at this point, what I would say is, we continue to assess, we will continue to keep you posted as we learn more.”

On Saturday, the World Health Organization said in a statement that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda constituted a “public health emergency of international concern.”

As of Sunday, there were 10 confirmed Ebola cases and 336 suspected cases in the DRC. There had been 88 suspected deaths in the DRC, as well as two confirmed cases and one confirmed death in Uganda from people who had traveled to the DRC.

Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person and does not spread through casual contact or air.

“CDC has extensive experience and expertise in responding to Ebola outbreaks,” CDC acting director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said on a call with reporters on Friday. “It is a large outbreak, and we were just informed yesterday about it.”

He added, “We’re absolutely committed to making sure that they can get resources as they need. We have helped with other Ebola outbreaks in the past … we have lots of hard-earned lessons. The key thing here is to know that we are absolutely involved.”

This is the DRC’s 17th outbreak of Ebola since the disease emerged in the 1970s, according to the WHO.

This strain of Ebola is caused by Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no therapeutics or vaccines, the WHO said.

The WHO has declared international public health emergencies over previous Ebola outbreaks as well as COVID-19 and mpox.

ICE agent charged in nonfatal shooting of Venezuelan immigrant in MinneapolisLaura Romero

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

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

Court dismisses Elon Musk’s case against Sam Altman and OpenAI

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A court on Monday ruled in favor of OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, in a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk over alleged misconduct in the company’s evolution from a non-profit upstart to a for-profit corporation.

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

50 million people brace for tornadoes in the Heartland

May 18, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — About 50 million people in America’s Heartland were in the storm zone on Monday, bracing for another day of destructive thunderstorms and tornadoes.

A level 4 out of 5 moderate risk for severe storms was in place across eastern Kansas, including the cities of Wichita, Topeka, Salina and Manhattan.

The new threat of twisters tearing through the Heartland comes a day after 20 tornadoes were reported in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Kansas.

The rural Nebraska community of St. Libory, just north of Grand Island, appeared to be the hardest hit in the region on Sunday.

At least two homes in St. Libory were destroyed by a suspected tornado that swept through the community on Sunday evening, according to Howard County Emergency Management.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

Full-time storm chaser Sierra Lindsey posted video on social media of a massive twister cutting across farmland and Highway 281 north of St. Libory on Sunday afternoon.

Severe weather spreading across the Heartland is expected to trigger a new round of tornadoes on Monday afternoon.

Residents from Oklahoma to Iowa, including the cities of Kansas City, Omaha, Lincoln and Des Moines, are being advised to stay alert for twisters.

Flash flooding is also possible due to heavy thunderstorms. A flash flood watch is in place from southeast Nebraska through eastern Kansas and through western and central Missouri.

Storms are expected to start popping up sometime after 2 p.m. CT and will likely grow exponentially once underway.

Flash flooding is also possible in parts of the Heartland due to training thunderstorms, or storms that continue to develop and dump rain over the same area in a relatively short amount of time. A flash flood watch is in place from southeast Nebraska to eastern Kansas and through western and central Missouri.

On Tuesday, a level 2 of 5 risk for severe storms will be in place from Texas to Vermont.

Tuesday’s storms are expected to follow a cold front snaking its way across the country. The main threats will be large hail and damaging wind, although isolated tornadoes are possible in the Great Lakes region.

Stormy weather will reach the mid-Atlantic and Northeast coast on Wednesday, from Richmond to Boston, with a level 1 out of 5 risk for strong winds and hail.

Summer-like temperatures expected in the East

Meanwhile, a big warm-up is expected to continue through Wednesday for most of the East, where afternoon temperatures on Monday are forecast to reach the 80s and 90s in many places.

The temperature in New York City is expected to reach near 90 degrees on Monday and could hit the mid-90s in Washington, D.C.

It will be even hotter on Tuesday for a large swath of the I-95 corridor, with highs in the 90s from D.C. to Philadelphia and New York City to Boston.

Extreme fire weather danger

Extreme fire weather danger is forecast for Monday from northeast New Mexico, across the Texas Panhandle and into southwest Kansas and Oklahoma.

Some of the largest wildfires are burning in Meade County, Kansas, where three large wildfires have consumed more than 82,000 acres combined, officials said.

Wildfires in New Mexico and Minnesota also forced evacuations over the weekend.

Several wildfires broke out in parts of Minnesota on Saturday and grew rapidly. The largest Minnesota wildfire, the Flanders Fire in Crow Wing County, has burned more than 1,600 acres and was 20% contained on Sunday night, according to the Minnesota Incident Command System.

The Minnesota wildfires prompted Gov. Tim Walz to declare a state of emergency on Sunday morning, including mobilizing the state’s National Guard to help battle the fires.

“Unpredictable and fast-moving wildfires are putting Minnesota communities at risk,” Walz said in a statement. “This emergency declaration ensures we can fully mobilize the resources needed to protect lives, support evacuations, and help communities respond and recover.”

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