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Trump pledges to protect Social Security amid possible cost cutting

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is once again vowing to protect Social Security if congressional Republicans seek another reconciliation bill.

Asked earlier this week what he would prioritize should Republicans in Congress seek a reconciliation bill, a cost-cutting tactic that would bypass the usual Senate filibuster, Trump said he would focus efforts on cutting unnecessary things, and “save” others, such as Social Security.

“One thing I said and I gave my word — we’re not going to hurt anybody on Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office. Congress is prohibited from touching Social Security’s benefit structure or revenue mechanisms in a reconciliation bill.

Trump went on to say “we’re doing great on Social Security” and that “we’re going to protect it.”

Protecting Social Security is a common refrain for Trump, who promised to protect the federal program on the campaign trail and has reiterated that message through his second term as president — even as his administration has sought cuts for other federal programs and agencies.

Trump has touted “no tax” on Social Security with the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act last month. While the bill doesn’t end Social Security taxes, it will provide many older Americans who qualify for the program with a tax break, according to a Politifact report.

Trump’s megabill gives an additional tax deduction of up to $6,000 for Americans 65 and older. The tax deduction is temporary and is in effect until 2028.

While the move that could mean more income for seniors, some critics say it will have little effect on the social insurance.

Laurence Kotlikof, a professor of economics at Boston University, said changes to the tax deductibles “make it look like Trump had made good on his promise, but there’s no connection of this at all to the taxation of Social Security benefits.” Kotlikof explained that if a person is low income and their tax rate is low to begin with, they will not get much of a tax break from the deductible.

Democrats have criticized the GOP-passed megabill as benefiting the rich while hurting low-income people.

The Trump administration celebrated the program’s 90th anniversary earlier this month with the Social Security Administration’s leader saying he is looking for ways to help the program evolve to help future generations, too.

Frank Bisignano, the administrator of the Social Security Administration, earlier this month shared plans to help Social Security become a “digital-first agency.” Bisignano said the administration had a “bold goal” for 200 million Americans to have a digital SSA account by the end of next year — making the program predominantly digital.

While Trump has expressed confidence in the future of the program, projections state that the program’s trust fund will run out in less than a decade.

The Social Security trust fund, which pays retirement and survivor benefits, is set to run out in 2033, resulting in a 23% reduction in payable benefits at that time, according to the 2025 Trustees Report — a Social Security Administration report that describes the projected fiscal outlook for both Medicaid and Social Security programs and their trust funds. The OASI trust fund will be able to pay 100% of total benefits until 2033. At that time, the reserves will be depleted and will be sufficient to only pay 77% of total benefits, according to the 2025 Trustee Report.

The combined trust funds that Social Security uses to pay retirees, survivors and those with disabilities are set to run out by 2034 — a year earlier than what was last projected in the 2024 report, according to the Trustees Report. Once the combined funds are depleted, the funds would only be able to pay 81% of benefits, according to the report.

The OASI trust fund that is projected to run out in 2033 was valued at $2.538 trillion at the end of 2024, according to the 2025 OASDI Trustees Report. The combined trust funds that fund social security are worth in total $2.7 trillion as of the end of 2024, according to trust fund data on the Social Security Administration website.

In a written statement to ABC News, the Social Security Administration touted the “historic” tax relief to seniors due to the passing of the Trump’s megabill and maintained that it will continue to work with Congress to “protect and strengthen” the program.

Search for missing 7-month-old: Officials have ‘strong indication’ on location of baby’s remains

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif.) — Officials in California said they have a “pretty strong indication” on the location of the remains of Emmanuel Haro, the 7-month-old child who has been missing for nearly two weeks.

Emmanuel was reported missing on Aug. 14 at approximately 7:47 p.m. local time after his mother “reported being attacked outside a retail store on Yucaipa Boulevard,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Aug. 15.

“This was preventable in numerous ways,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a press conference on Wednesday.

In the press conference, authorities confirmed the search for Emmanuel continues. They believe the child was “severely abused over a period of time” and that both parents “would have been aware of that abuse,” according to Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin.

“The filing in this case reflects our belief that baby Emmanuel was abused over time and that eventually because of that abuse, he succumbed to those injuries,” Hestrin said.

The child’s parents, 32-year-old Jake Mitchell Haro and 41-year-old Rebecca Renee Haro, were arrested at their residence in Cabazon for the murder of the baby, officials said last week. The two have been charged with murder and making a false police report, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said on Tuesday.

Officials on Wednesday said that the child’s father — whom they described as an “experienced child abuser” — “should have gone to prison” due to previously abusing another child he had with his ex-wife back in 2018, but a judge at the time granted him probation, a ruling the Hestrin called an “outrageous error in judgement.” Authorities said that the child in that case has been left bed-ridden.

“If that judge had done his job as he should have done, Emmanuel would be alive today,” Hestrin said.

The parents appeared in court on Tuesday for less than five minutes, with a $1 million bail set for both. Their arraignment will continue on Sept. 4.

Prior to the press conference, officials said the child is presumed dead and they had been searching for his remains.

On Sunday, officials conducted another search for the 7-month-old “along the westbound shoulder of the 60 Freeway, near Gilman Springs Road, in Moreno Valley,” with the father of the child and cadaver dogs accompanying detectives. That search concluded after “Emmanuel was not located,” authorities said.

Back when Emmanuel was originally reported missing, his mother told officials that “while she stood outside her vehicle, changing the child’s diaper, she was physically assaulted by an unknown male and rendered unconscious,” authorities said.

When she woke up, the child was gone, the mother said at the time, according to officials.

Once on the scene, scent-tracking dogs were deployed, but the 7-month-old “was not located,” officials said.

The sheriff’s department interviewed “multiple individuals” regarding the disappearance, including the child’s parents.

Since then, officials noted that they have conducted “extensive” searches in the areas of Yucaipa and Cabazon and have also served “several search warrants at the Haro home.” Authorities also previously said they were reviewing a “large amount of surveillance video” from the areas of interest.

In an interview with Los Angeles ABC station KABC prior to her arrest, Rebecca Haro described her son as a “happy boy” and begged whoever has her son to “give him back to me.”

“Please don’t hurt my son,” she told KABC on Aug. 16.

The father, Jake Haro, previously pleaded guilty to willful cruelty to a child following a 2018 arrest, KABC reported.

“Whoever took our son, please bring him back,” Jake Haro told KABC on Aug. 16.

Rebecca Haro is currently held at the Robert Presley Detention Center, while Jake Haro is being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, according to jail records.

FDA approves updated COVID vaccines with restrictions on who can receive them

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved updated COVID-19 vaccines for some Americans.

The vaccines were approved for use in adults aged 65 and older and for those between ages 5 and 64 with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe COVID.

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

Mayor Eric Adams offers New Yorkers apology as growing scandals shadow his term, re-election bid

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is saying he’s sorry for the controversy that has surrounded his administration over the past year amid allegations of corruption against the mayor and his associates.

Adams’ tenure has been marked by some measurable achievements that he continues to tout, including a post-COVID recovery and declining crime rates; however, he’s had to deal with the fallout of a federal investigation into him and several separate probes surrounding his top officials over the years.

While the mayor has continued to maintain his innocence after the corruption case against him was dismissed, Adams told ABC News Tuesday that he understands the controversy that has defined his last year in office has been a distraction for New Yorkers.

“To those New Yorkers who have to pick up their paper and read this headline, all I can say is I’m sorry, and I’m committed to this city,” Adams said.

Adams was indicted last September on five counts in an alleged long-standing conspiracy connected to what prosecutors said were improper benefits, illegal campaign contributions and an attempted cover-up.

The charges against the mayor — including counts of wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery and solicitation of a contribution from a foreign entity — were dropped against him in April by the U.S. Justice Department in what his critics claim was a quid pro quo with the Trump administration.

Adams and the Justice Department denied there was a quid pro quo involved in the dropping of the charges.

At least ten of his aides, associates, and appointees have been charged with crimes, and a string of top officials – including four deputy mayors, his school’s chancellor, and police commissioner – resigned ahead of Adams’ indictment last year.

Last week, his former chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin was indicted for allegedly profiting from her position in government. She has pleaded not guilty.

Adams, meanwhile, has sought to distance himself from the criminal cases that continue to follow some of his allies and aides.

“You know, we made mistakes. There are people that we brought in government that was probably not ready to go into government, but we must forge ahead,” Adams told ABC News when asked about the scandals involving his inner circle.

The latest controversy to hit the Adams administration came last week when Winnie Greco, a former aide and campaign volunteer, allegedly handed a reporter a bag of potato chips stuffed with cash. Greco resigned from her position in the Adams administration last year after the FBI searched her home.

She has not been charged and the FBI has not commented on the search at her home. Greco and her attorney said the incident with the chip bag was a misunderstanding.

When asked about the incident, Adams said Greco’s actions were “wrong.”

“I don’t know what happened there. It is not something that I believe one should do. It gives a false image. It’s the wrong thing that should be done,” Adams said, adding that Greco is no longer working as a campaign volunteer.

While legal issues continue to follow some of his aides, the criminal case against Adams himself was dismissed earlier this year following orders from top Department of Justice officials.

The decision to dismiss the case was made without considering the strength of the case against Adams, but rather because the charges ” unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime,” the Justice Department argued.

Adams dismissed concerns that if re-elected, he would be more beholden to the Trump administration because it didn’t pursue the indictment.

“The case was dropped with prejudice. That means to New York, to New Yorkers, that it won’t come back again,” Adams said, referencing how prosecutors are barred from bringing the same case against him if the Trump administration changes its position.

Adams continued to argue that the case against him was politically motivated.

“I didn’t spend all my life in law enforcement to break the law. I’ve never broke the law. I never did anything to violate the trust of the people of the city,” he said.

The mayor faces strong competition in the November election.

Progressive upstart Zohran Mamdani handily won the Democratic mayoral primary, and the 33-year-old Democratic socialist maintains his lead over both Adams and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as a third-party candidate, in early polling.

Adams, who is running as an independent candidate, said he believes he remains a Democrat and said he offers a version of politics that appeals to a broader swath of voters than Mamdani.

“I’m a pragmatic moderate Democrat that believes in family, public safety, employment, pro-business, those things that make cities healthy,” Adams said.

Millions across America will see cooler-than-normal Labor Day weekend temperatures

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Cooler-than-normal seasonal temperatures sweeping across much of the nation this week are expected to extend through the Labor Day weekend.

Seasonal or below-average high temperatures will persist for millions of people in the Midwest, South and East. Nearly everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains could see high temperatures 5 to 15 degrees below normal for the first week of September.

Highs are expected to only climb to the 80s from Dallas to Atlanta and Jacksonville, Florida.

In the Northeast, New York City and Boston are forecast to see highs in the 70s over the holiday weekend. Similar cool temperatures are in store for the Midwest, including the cities of Chicago, Omaha, Nebraska, and Rapid City, South Dakota.

In the West, seasonal or warmer-than-normal temperatures are expected to continue. High temperatures are expected to top triple digits from Phoenix, Arizona, to Las Vegas. Salt Lake City, Utah, Boise, Idaho, and most of Montana are expected to see temperatures in the 90s over the Labor Day weekend.

The hot weather in the West will follow monsoon conditions that have brought the wettest days of the year, so far, to some areas across the region and supplied much-needed rain to drought-stricken areas.

On Wednesday, an increased threat of flooding will mostly be in Idaho. A flood watch is also in effect on Wednesday for parts of California, Utah, Oregon and Montana.

On Wednesday night, there is a threat for heavy rain from Colorado through much of Kansas and into southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas.

Holiday weekend temperatures in Florida are expected to remain mostly seasonal, with highs in the 80s and 90s. But rain is also expected in the Sunshine State over the weekend.

A storm front sitting over the state is forecast to remain stationary, bringing rounds of showers and thunderstorms across the region throughout the weekend. Between 2 inches to 5 inches of rain is expected across Florida this weekend.

Other areas that could see rain over the holiday weekend include New Mexico and West Texas.

Passing showers are also across the Gulf Coast on Saturday and Sunday, but drier conditions are expected on Monday.

Holiday beachgoers along the Atlantic Coast will also encounter cooler-than-average temperatures as the unofficial end to summer bows out with a cool note.

Minneapolis shooting: 8-year-old and 10-year-old killed, 17 others hurt at Catholic school

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(MINNEAPOLIS) — An 8-year-old and 10-year-old were shot and killed when a gunman fired shots through the windows of a church at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, police said.

Seventeen others, including 14 children, were injured during the shooting during a Mass that marked the first week of school, police said. Two children are in critical condition, police said.

The gunman died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.

The mass shooting unfolded just before 8:30 a.m. when the gunman approached the side of the building and fired a rifle through the church windows toward the children and other worshippers sitting in the pews, O’Hara said.

Dozens of rounds were fired, the chief said, and he called it a “deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping.”

The gunman — described as in his early 20s — was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, and police believe he fired from all three weapons, the chief said.

“We are looking through information left behind to try and determine some type of motive,” the chief said.

“These kids were literally praying,” an emotional Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference. “It was the first week of school. They were in a church. These are kids that should be learning with their friends, they should be playing on the playground. They should be able to go to school or church in peace without the fear or risk of violence, and their parents should have the same kind of assurance.”

“This kind of act of evil should never happen, and it happens far too often,” he said.

Students in pre-K to eighth grade attend the school. Young children wearing their uniforms were seen leaving the school holding their parents’ hands.

“I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wrote on social media.

Brian Leege, who lives two blocks from the school, told ABC News he was having breakfast with his daughter when he heard dozens of gunshots over two to three minutes.

“My husband’s a firefighter, and he got a phone call this morning [that] said that there was a incident at Annunciation, and that’s where my niece and nephew go to school … so he just took off on foot,” Emily Feste told Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP. “We heard about 15 minutes ago that they’re safe. But it’s so awful and it’s so scary.”

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he’s been “fully briefed on the tragic shooting.”

“The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” he wrote.

Trump called Walz after the shooting to offer his condolences, a source told ABC News.

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

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Jack Date, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Sasha Pezenik and Michael Pappano contributed to this report.

Department of Transportation announces new Acela trains, plan to control DC’s Union Station

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Transportation announced new high-speed Acela trains during a Wednesday news conference, which included details about how the agency is “reclaiming the management” of Union Station in Washington, D.C., in an effort to restore it and bolster financial opportunities in it.

Joined by Amtrak leaders, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy helped announce the launch of the NextGen Acela, which Amtrak is calling a high-speed rail service. The NextGen Acela had its inaugural ride from Washington to New York City’s Penn Station Wednesday morning following the announcement.

Duffy said that high-speed trains should be available in the United States — not just abroad. He said these high-speed trains will carry more people, which will lead to better pricing and an overall “better traveling experience for the American public.”

Amtrak President Roger Harris described the new trains as “premium, convenient and comfortable.” The trains are being marketed as the future of high-speed rail with Harris saying they will travel 160 miles per hour. Harris also noted that 95% of the trains are made in the United States and the investment in the new Acela trains helped generate 15,000 new jobs across the country.

While Amtrak is promoting that the trains are high speed, its schedules show the new train is slower than existing ones on the route — by 3-7 minutes per trip between Washington and New York City.

“Trip time improvements will continue to be determined based on infrastructure improvements we will also make along the Corridor. This includes updating and modernizing the tracks and overhead wires,” an Amtrak spokesperson said in response.

Duffy also announced that Union Station is “back under DOT control” in an effort to better restore and monetize it. Though the Union Station has previously been owned by the Department of Transportation, it has been under various agreements and leases.

“Not a power play — we’ve always had it, but we think we can manage the property better,” Duffy said of control of Union Station. “Bring in more tenants, bring in more revenue and that revenue is going to allow us to make investments in this beautiful building.”

Duffy said the effort aligns with President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce crime and homelessness in Washington and beautify Union Station. He added that Trump “wants Union Station to be beautiful again, he wants transit to be safe again, and he wants our nation’s capital to be great again. And today is part of that.”

“We are going to make the investments to make sure that this station isn’t dirty, that we don’t have homelessness in Union Station,” Duffy said. “We want a place where businesses want to obtain leases and set up shop and serve the community of D.C. and also the people who travel into D.C. via train. But also … if you want to go to a great meal and you want to go shopping, you want to come to Union Station because it’s gorgeous, it’s beautiful, it’s safe.”

Last week, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited Union Station to thank National Guard members stationed there. During the visit, Vance spoke to reporters about Union Station and crime there.

“You have vagrants, you have drug addicts, you have the chronically homeless. You have the mentally ill who harass, who threaten violence, who attack families, and they’ve done it for far too long. This should be a monument to American greatness. There should be a place where you can come and share a meal or go shopping with your family. It should not be a place where parents of small children are afraid to bring them,” Vance said.

Prosecutors fail to secure indictment against man accused of throwing sandwich at CBP agent: Sources

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Prosecutors failed to secure an indictment against the man accused of throwing a sandwich at a Customs and Border Patrol agent in Washington, D.C., sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday.

It’s not immediately clear whether prosecutors with the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office would make another attempt at seeking a felony assault indictment against Sean Dunn.

The development was first reported by The New York Times.

Prosecutors similarly failed to convince a federal grand jury in D.C. to indict a woman, Sidney Reid, accused by the government of assaulting and FBI agent during an inmate swap with ICE, despite three separate attempts.

The D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office instead moved this week to charge the woman with a misdemeanor which would not require sign off from a grand jury.

Under the federal Speedy Trial Act, prosecutors technically have 30 days from the date of Dunn’s arrest to continue to seek his indictment or they will similarly have to choose between dropping the case altogether or moving to charge him with misdemeanor offenses.

The video of Dunn’s confrontation with a CBP agent earlier this month went viral and provoked an all-out public relations blitz from the White House and Justice Department touting his arrest and the federal assault charge against him.

The White House went as far as releasing a video showing a cadre of heavily armed agents carrying out his arrest, despite his attorney saying he had previously offered to surrender willingly.

Dunn’s attorney and the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

Judge blocks administration from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia until at least October

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia until at least early October.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said Wednesday she will extend her temporary restraining blocking his removal until Abrego Garcia’s latest deportation challenge in court is resolved.

Judge Xinis scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Oct. 6 in the case challenging Abrego Garcia’s deportation to Uganda. She said during a hearing on Wednesday that she will issue a ruling within 30 days of the Oct. 6 hearing.

The judge also said that Abrego Garcia, who is currently being held in a detention center in Virginia, must remain in custody within a 200-mile radius of the court in Maryland.

Judge Xinis said she will not order Abrego Garcia released from immigration custody, saying that issue should be decided by an immigration judge. On Monday, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys moved to reopen his immigration case and apply for asylum.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which his family and attorneys deny.

He was brought back to the U.S. in June to face charges in Tennessee of allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. while he was living in Maryland, to which has pleaded not guilty.

After being released on Friday while awaiting trial, he was taken into immigration custody upon checking in with the ICE office in Baltimore on Monday, and transferred to a detention center in Tennessee where authorities said he could be deported to Uganda on immigration charges.

Attorneys for Abrego Garcia filed an emergency motion Monday to reopen his immigration case to seek asylum, arguing that because Abrego Garcia was deported and then brought back to the U.S., he is now eligible to apply for asylum within one year of his last entry into the U.S.

In the filing, the attorney also said that reopening the case is warranted to allow Abrego Garcia to designate Costa Rica as the country of removal should be be deported.

2 dead, over a dozen hurt in shooting at Catholic school in Minneapolis, shooter ‘contained’

August 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(MINNEAPOLIS) — At least two people were killed and more than a dozen were hurt in a shooting during morning drop-off at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, multiple sources told ABC News.

The shooter is “contained” and there’s “no active threat to the community,” city officials said. The suspect is believed to be deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, sources said.

Students in pre-K to eighth grade attend the school. Young children wearing their uniforms were seen leaving the school holding their parents’ hands.

“I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wrote on social media.

Walz said state authorities are at the scene. Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded.

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he’s been “fully briefed on the tragic shooting.”

“The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” he wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security is monitoring the shooting, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.

“I am praying for the victims of this heinous attack and their families,” she said.

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

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Jack Date, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Sasha Pezenik and Michael Pappano contributed to this report.

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