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The government could shut down in less than a week. Here’s what you need to know

September 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Congress is out of town this week, but when lawmakers return on Monday, Sept. 29, they’ll be facing an immediate government funding deadline. If Congress doesn’t act before Wednesday, Oct. 1, there will be a government shutdown.

Right now, congressional leaders are busy blaming one another for the looming shutdown, but no clear path is emerging for how funding might be approved.

Here’s what you need to know with less than a week until a possible government shutdown:

What needs to happen to avert a government shutdown?

The government runs out of funding as the clock strikes midnight from Tuesday, Sept. 30 to Wednesday, Oct. 1. To avoid that shutdown, Congress must pass either a short-term funding bill, called a continuing resolution (or CR), or they must approve 12 separate full-year funding bills.

Congress does not have time to finish work on the full-year funding bills before the deadline, so they’ll need a stopgap bill.

Unlike the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, funding bills need at least 60 votes to pass in the Senate. That means any government funding solution will require at least seven Senate Democrats to pass if every Republican supports the proposal.

In a Washington under total Republican control, government funding is one of few must-pass pieces of legislation that requires Democratic votes.

Current state of play

Democrats and Republicans are currently locked in a staring contest. It’s not clear what, if anything, will be done to stop a shutdown next week.

Efforts to pass a short-term funding bill failed last week.

On Friday, House Republicans (and one Democrat) passed a bill that would have kept the government funded until Nov. 20. But within hours of the House action, Senate Democrats blocked the measure from passing the Senate and instead offered their own funding bill that included a number of health care provisions Democrats say are essential. Republicans blocked that bill from advancing in the Senate.

Since then, no new proposal has been offered. Congress is out of town this week with no plans to return early.

Trump cancels meeting with Democrats

Democrats have alleged that the White House and congressional Republicans have been unwilling to negotiate with them on a path forward on government funding.

After President Donald Trump said he would meet with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries at their request, the president reversed course on Tuesday morning.

“After reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands being made by the Minority Radical Left Democrats in return for their Votes to keep our thriving Country open, I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive,” Trump posted on his social media channel.

Democrats have responded by saying that Trump is running away from the negotiation table and will own the shutdown as a result.

What Republicans, Democrats want

Republicans on Capitol Hill want Congress to pass a short-term funding bill without any additional add ons to keep the government funded at FY2024 levels through Nov. 20. Republicans say this will allow more time for Congress to work on the annual appropriations bills that they hope can be enacted before the next funding deadline. The White House has backed this approach.

Passing a short-term funding bill that doesn’t include any sort of major policy riders is pretty par for the course on Capitol Hill. Democrats advanced many of them while former President Joe Biden was in office. Republicans say Democrats are being disingenuous by not supporting this seven-week solution.

“If [Democrats] want to shut down the government, they have the power to do so, but if they think they are going to gain political points from shutting down the government over a clean nonpartisan CR, something they voted for 13 times under the Biden administration, I would strongly urge them to think again,” Majority Leader John Thune said on Friday ahead of the Senate vote to block this short-term funding bill.

Republicans say that other policy priorities should be debated as part of the annual appropriations process, not as part of a short-term funding solution.

Democrats, on the other hand, want to use the funding deadline as leverage to secure health care-related wins and to restore cuts to Medicaid made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Republicans passed in July.

There’s a lot of health care provisions that Democrats outlined in their counter proposal that was rejected by the Senate last week – including the expansion of expiring Obamacare tax credits for federally backed health insurance premiums and the reversal of the Medicaid cuts that were signed into law under Trump’s megabil in July.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Democrat’s health care proposals would cost $1.4 trillion over 10 years. Democrats have said they’re willing to negotiate with Republicans, so this package should be viewed as an opening offer and not a set of red lines.

Democrats have repeatedly insisted they must secure health care-related wins to approve a funding package, but they have not yet been explicit about what specific wins they must secure in order to keep the government funded.

What’s different this time around?

In March, 10 Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to pass a continuing resolution to hold funding levels constant through the end of the fiscal year on Oct. 1.

But now, what we’re seeing is a role reversal for both parties.

Many times in the past several years it has been Republicans pushing for policy concessions on short-term funding bills while Democrats have repeatedly beat the drum for a clean short-term funding extension.

This time though, it’s Democrats who are saying they must get policy concessions while Republicans challenge them to accept a stopgap funding solution with nothing attached. It bucks the historical trend.

What happens if there is a government shutdown?

If there is a government shutdown, millions of federal employees will go without a paycheck and many — such as airport security officers, air traffic controllers and members of the military — will be told to come to work anyway. ICE agents also go without pay. National parks will close and the Smithsonian museums also typically close within a few days.

Federal contractors are not required to work and are also not guaranteed backpay.

Social Security continues to be distributed, though there can be slow downs.

3 detainees shot, 1 fatally, at Dallas ICE facility, sources say; FBI says shooting was targeted

September 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(DALLAS) — Three detainees were shot at the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office on Wednesday morning, law enforcement sources told ABC News, with the FBI saying the shooting is being investigated “as an act of targeted violence.”

One victim was killed and two were wounded, authorities said.

At a news conference authorities would not confirm that the victims were detainees, but they repeatedly said that no law enforcement officers were hurt.

The shooter — who appeared “to be a sniper from an elevated position” firing from “a couple hundred yards” away — died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, ICE Director Todd Lyons told ABC News.

Without describing a motive for the shooting, FBI special agent Joe Rothrock said it appeared that rounds “found near the suspected shooter contain messages that are anti-ICE in nature.” FBI Director Kash Patel released images of recovered unspent shell casings, including one engraved with the phrase “ANTI ICE.”

The target was not clear, but the incident comes as ICE has been ramping up deportation efforts throughout the country and Homeland Security officials have been warning that agents and officers from their agencies have been facing increased violence and threats.

Two Texas facilities were targeted this July: a police officer was shot at an ICE detention facility in Alvarado and a gunman opened fire at the entrance of the Border Patrol sector annex in McAllen.

Lyons said he would put all ICE facilities on a higher alert to protect agents and civilians carrying out the agency’s mission.

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

At least 3 hurt in shooting at Dallas ICE facility: Sources

September 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(DALLAS) — At least three people are hurt from a shooting at the Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office on Wednesday morning, sources told ABC News.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said “there were multiple injuries and fatalities.”

The shooter suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, sources said, and Noem said the shooter is dead.

“While we don’t know motive yet, we know that our ICE law enforcement is facing unprecedented violence against them. It must stop,” Noem said in a statement. “Please pray for the victims and their families.”

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

Hong Kong streets flood as powerful Typhoon Ragasa churns toward landfall

September 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Typhoon Ragasa swept along the southern coast of China on Wednesday, bringing lashing rain, fierce winds and coastal flooding as it made its way toward landfall.

The powerful storm was forecast to make landfall in the evening near Guangdong, China, where local officials called for about two million people to be evacuated. The storm was expected to churn through China and along the northern borders of Vietnam and Laos, according to local weather officials.

It was expected to weaken as it approached landfall near the Leizhou Peninsula, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, which is run by the U.S. Navy.

Ragasa had left a trail of destruction in recent days as it passed Taiwan — where officials said at least 15 people had died — and the Philippines and moved toward mainland China.

At the height of the storm, Hong Kong issued it’s highest-level warning — a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. That level was since lowered and, by mid-afternoon, the storm had passed by the city, but officials were still urging caution.

Parts of Hong Kong were flooded, the Hong Kong Observatory said, adding that there “may be hidden danger” in the city.

“Although the tropical cyclone is moving away from Hong Kong, gales are expected to persist for some time,” the observatory said in a mid-afternoon update. “Please continue to stay indoors until winds moderate. Do not touch electric cables that have been blown loose.”

Ragasa was churning on Wednesday afternoon about 98 nautical miles — or about 112 miles — west-southwest of Hong Kong, according to the U.S. Naval tracking center.

It had maximum sustained winds at the time of 105 knots, or about 120 mph, with gusts up to an estimated 130 knots, the center said, and driving waves up to 38 feet.

UN responds to Trump about escalator malfunction

September 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The United Nations issued a statement after President Donald Trump took to social media to complain about technical difficulties, including a stopped escalator, during his visit to the United Nations on Tuesday.

As first lady Melania Trump and the president stepped onto the escalator at the U.N. ahead of Trump’s speech, it stopped moving, prompting both of them to stop in their tracks. Mrs. Trump then started walking up the escalator with the president following behind her.

“The teleprompter was broken and the escalator came to a sudden halt as we were riding up to the podium, but both of those events probably made the speech more interesting than it would have been otherwise. It is always an honor to speak at the United Nations, even if, their equipment is somewhat faulty,” Trump posted on his social media platform.

The United Nations issued a statement about the mishap, saying that the elevator stopping might have been triggered for safety as a videographer was standing backwards ahead of the president trying to film him.

“The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing. The videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function described above,” the U.N. statement said.

“Our technician, who was at the location, reset the escalator as soon as the delegation had climbed up to the second floor. A subsequent investigation, including a readout of the machine’s central processing unit, indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator,” the U.N. statement continued. “The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing. The videographer may have inadvertently triggered the safety function described above.”

The president also groaned about a bad teleprompter.

“All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle. If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen. But she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape. We both stood. And then a teleprompter. That didn’t work,” Trump said. “These are the two things I got from the United Nations. A bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”

Bunkers, AI and attack drones: Inside the booming school security marketplace

September 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

On Halloween of 2022, just weeks into the new school year, senior Ehni Ler Htoo was making his way through the halls of Proctor High School in Utica, New York, when a fellow student lurched at him from behind, repeatedly plunging a 9-inch hunting knife into his back.

Htoo managed to wrestle the knife away from his attacker, but not before sustaining deep lacerations to his shoulder, neck and hands. Responding officers “observed a large amount of blood pooling on [Htoo’s] stomach” and “blood strewn on the floor and walls,” according to a police report.

“All I know is my life was at risk, and I had nothing to do but fight for it,” Htoo said in an interview with ABC News. “I feel like I could have died during that situation.”

An attack of this nature — on school grounds, no less — would rattle any community. But leaders in Utica were doubly shocked, said former acting superintendent Brian Nolan, because the district had just invested some $4 million in an advanced, AI-backed security system designed to detect this type of weapon, made by a company called Evolv Technology.

“How does a student get a 9-inch knife into the school?” ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Aaron Katersky asked Nolan.

“He came in and he walked right through the Evolv system with his backpack,” Nolan said.

Evolv, in a statement to ABC News, said that its platform has a “proven ability to consistently detect a wide variety of threats” and broadly denied allegations made in a lawsuit brought against the company by Htoo.

But some critics characterize this incident and others like it as a cautionary tale — an example of the limitations of high-tech platforms, devices or software that claim they can deter or disrupt violence in schools.

“The reality is there’s not a great deal of evidence that many of the products being marketed would even work in an active shooter or other school security threat,” said Dr. Kenneth Trump, a veteran school safety consultant.

But that hasn’t slowed the growth of this booming industry. As violence in schools proliferates in the United States, so too has the marketplace for products designed to protect students. Today, school districts can purchase attack drones, white boards that turn into bunkers, and bullet-proof glass film, among a coterie of other high-tech products.

It’s a multibillion-dollar market, according to some estimates, and it’s expected to continue to grow as state legislatures pass or consider legislation mandating certain types of security hardware in schools.

No silver bullet
At a school safety conference in July, Curt Lavarello, the executive director of the School Safety Advisory Council and organizer of the event, said the industry has undergone a radical transformation in recent years.

“I’ve been in the school safety space for over 30 years now,” he said. “I remember coming to the conference where there may be four or five vendors. And now you see that we’re over one hundred.”

At his own conference, surrounded by panic alert systems and AI-backed weapons detection vendors, even Lavarello harbors some reservations about exclusively relying on products for school safety.

“I can’t say there is a silver bullet out there that is going to give us that 100% guarantee,” he said.

Among the new companies generating buzz across the industry is one that sells attack drones to school districts. Taylor Worthington, a company spokesperson, told ABC News that a drone pilot in a remote location can deploy on-site drones immediately and pursue a suspected shooter more safely and efficiently than first responders.

“We actually have the ability to launch pepper balls off of our drones,” Worthington said. “Worst case scenario, we can take our drones and run them at speed, 67 miles an hour,” into the suspect.

According to GovSpend, a data procurement database, K-12 public schools nationwide have spent nearly half a billion dollars upgrading their security infrastructure with various pieces of technology over the past five years. The industry’s value balloons to at least $3 billion when counting money spent by private schools and in higher education, according to another report from data analytics firm Omdia.

Some state legislatures have passed grant programs meant to help schools foot the bill for those upgrades, including in Texas and Florida, where mass shootings at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas in 2018 and Robb Elementary School in 2022 rattled the country.

Murky waters
In the aftermath of those high-profile incidents, school administrators say they feel immense pressure from their community to shore up the safety of their students and demonstrate that they’re taking steps to prevent violence from entering their schools.

“Every time, without fail, when there was a school shooting, within 48 hours I could count on a minimum of a half-dozen telephone calls from vendors huckstering all kinds of equipment to prevent something that everybody knew couldn’t be prevented with equipment,” said Dr. Rita Bishop, a former superintendent of schools in Roanoke, Virginia.

“I have to tell you,” Bishop said, “I’ve heard some pretty ridiculous proposals over the years.”

And critics say that all the public grant money swirling around the industry has fostered an environment ripe for some opportunistic actors to enter the market.

“Any time you influx a market with the kind of dollars that we’ve seen go to school safety … you’re going to have some murky waters, and you’re going to have to really look at who’s making those calls to the school district,” Lavarello said.

And despite the hundreds of millions of dollars school districts have spent to harden their buildings, some of these expensive pieces of technology have been cited in after-action reports for either not working as advertised — or not working when it mattered most.

In the aftermath of the 2021 Oxford High School shooting in Michigan, in which four students were killed, an investigative report commissioned by the school district highlighted multiple failures during the shooting — both human and technical — but also singled out their emergency alert system, called PrePlan Live, which it said “did not work as marketed” and “may have provided a false sense of assurance.”

The founder of PrePlan Live did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

After the Antioch School shooting in January 2025, Nashville’s school district said that a new AI weapons detection system, called Omnilert, failed to detect the gun used by an assailant who shot and killed two students.

Dave Fraser, Omnilert’s CEO at the time, told reporters that the platform “provides actionable information for staff and law enforcement to help them react to the situation, including knowing the exact location of the assailant.”

The Security Industry Association, a trade group that represents several companies in the school security space, told ABC News in a statement that “recent technological advances have made many security measures much more effective,” and that “it would be a mistake not to incorporate and fully utilize these improvements.”

But the group also acknowledged that “there are some products out there that fall outside wide acceptance among security professionals and deserve more scrutiny.”

“There is no single solution that alone will make our schools safe,” the group said.

The best line of defense
Regardless of what technology platforms a school enlists, experts overwhelmingly support investments in training staff on lockdown protocols, brokering relationships with students, and generating a community built on trust.

Officials in Wisconsin credited teachers for locking doors and shepherding children into classroom corners when a gunman opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School in 2024, killing three people and injured six. Officials said those basic steps likely saved lives.

“The first and best line of defense is a well-trained, highly alert staff and student body,” said Trump, the school security consultant. “When security works best, it works best because of people doing the day-to-day, basic, fundamental security measures that take place — reducing access to your building, greeting and challenging strangers, locking doors, knowing what to do in a lockdown quickly.”

During ABC News’ interview with Brian Nolan, the former superintendent in Utica, reports of yet another mass shooting on a school campus came in, indicating that a gunman had fired at students at Minneapolis’ Annunciation Catholic School, killing two students and injuring several others.

“It’s not lost on me that we’re talking on a day when there’s been a school shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis,” Katersky said. “Does that kind of thing still weigh on you?”

“It’s just a sad day,” Nolan replied. “We should never have to worry — this gets me upset — we should never have to worry about a child going to school and worrying about being killed.”

After the incident at Proctor High School, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Evolv, accusing it of “deceptive acts or practices … in the marketing and sale of security screening systems.”

The company settled with the FTC in late 2024 with no admission of wrongdoing. In a statement to ABC News, Evolv said the FTC complaint “was focused on historical marketing claims,” and that “since that time, our business has grown, and our marketing has evolved.” The firm added that, in 2025, they’ve “added more than three dozen new school districts as customers.”

The Utica school system still uses Evolv in several of its other school buildings. But Nolan’s experience has left him skeptical.

“In your experience, did the Evolv system make students safer?” Katersky asked.

“Absolutely not,” Nolan said.

Zelenskyy praises ‘well-informed’ Trump after president’s Russia war pivot

September 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised his “productive meeting” with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, after which Trump appeared to jettison his long-held skepticism of Kyiv’s battlefield ambitions.

Shortly after the meeting, Trump wrote on social media, “After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.”

It was not immediately clear whether Trump’s rhetorical shift would be matched with a policy pivot. But the post was met with cautious optimism in Kyiv, Oleksandr Merezhko — a member of the Ukrainian parliament representing Zelenskyy’s party and chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee — told ABC News.

Trump’s statement marked a dramatic pivot away from the White House’s established position that Kyiv will not be able to liberate the 20% or so of its internationally-recognized territory occupied by Russian forces since 2014.

Trump has repeatedly suggested that Zelenskyy will have to cede — or “swap” — some territory to achieve a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling the Ukrainian president at a fractious February Oval Office meeting, “You don’t have the cards.”

But on Tuesday, the president appeared to have changed his tune. “With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, Nato, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option. Why not?” Trump wrote.

“Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years, a war that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win,” he continued, suggesting Moscow was a “paper tiger” citing its battlefield failures.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov disputed Trump’s comments, telling the RBC news agency on Wednesday, “Russia is not a tiger; Russia is more closely associated with a bear. There are no paper bears. Russia is a real bear.”

Peskov also rejected Trump’s suggestion that the Russian economy was struggling. “Let’s not forget that the world has entered a stage of completely unpredictable macroeconomic conditions,” he told RBC.

“We are continuing our special military operation to protect our interests and achieve the goals” set by Putin, Peskov said. “We are doing this for the present and future of our country. For many generations to come. Therefore, we have no alternative.”

Trump, Peskov said, “heard Zelenskyy’s version of events. Apparently, this version was the reason for the assessment we heard. We cannot agree with everything here.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the UNGA on Wednesday.

Noting that planned meeting, Peskov said that Russia-U.S. “channels of dialogue are working, we are talking to the Americans, and President Putin still highly values Trump’s willingness to help, Trump’s willingness to seek a solution together.”

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram that he was “grateful to President Trump for strong cooperation with the United States.”

“The president clearly understands the situation and is well informed about all aspects of this war,” Zelenskyy added. “We highly appreciate his determination to help end this war.”

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Zelenskyy described Trump’s pivot as “a big shift, a really big shift.”

Asked if the social media post by Trump is a “game changer” for the war, Zelenskyy responded: “Trump is a game changer by himself.”

Zelenskyy added that he thinks the president is now aware of “more details” of what is happening on the battlefield, and suggested that U.S. intelligence on the situation is aligned with Ukraine’s.

Zelenskyy also said it was “good news” that Russia’s economy is struggling amid the strains of its full-scale invasion, but that it was “bad news” that Moscow still has the resources to fund its war.

“Trump agreed with me that Putin won’t wait for the war in Ukraine to end,” he added. “He will try to exploit weak places in Europe, in NATO countries, he will try to do it.”

Merezhko said he saw Trump’s statement as a “pleasant surprise, giving some hope that he finally is starting to view Russia’s war against Ukraine in a different light.”

“At the same time, knowing how often Trump might change his stance, we should be cautiously optimistic,” Merezhko added. “What matters are his actions, concrete steps to help Ukraine, not only rhetoric, however good it might be.”

“Trump’s statement implies that the U.S. will continue to sell weapons to the European and NATO countries for Ukraine,” he added. “And also it can be inferred from this statement that Ukraine won’t be restricted in the use of American weaponry in the territory of Russia.”

Oleksiy Goncharenko, a prominent opposition member of parliament, was less sanguine.

“Trump’s statement is not about Ukraine’s victory, it is about washing hands of the war,” he wrote on Telegram. “He directly says: ‘You deal with the EU there. I hope you succeed. Good luck to everyone!'”

“Obviously, right now Russia does not want to stop,” Goncharenko added. “But our task is not to risk the lives of hundreds of thousands, but to be on the defense.”

“The reality is that we are neither losing nor winning,” he continued, warning that embarking on a costly “war of attrition” would be “idiocy.”

Camp Mystic set to partially reopen summer camp 1 year after flooding killed 27

September 24, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Camp Mystic announced plans to reopen one site of its summer camp a year after flash flooding killed 27 campers and counselors on Texas’ Guadalupe River on the Fourth of July earlier this year.

The summer camp made the announcement on Tuesday, saying it will be designing and building a memorial “dedicated to the lives of the campers and counselors lost on July 4th.”

“We hope this space will serve as a place of reflection and remembrance of these beautiful girls,” the camp’s statement read. “We continue to pray for the grieving families and all those who lost loved ones.”

The summer program officials said that Camp Mystic Cypress Lake, a sister site that opened in 2020, will be open in summer 2026, while Camp Mystic Guadalupe River will not be able to reopen by then due to the devastating damage sustained earlier this year.

“We are working to implement new safety protocols and other changes that comply with the requirements of the recently passed camp safety legislation, the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act,” Camp Mystic said in their letter announcing the reopening. “We will share more details as they become available in the coming weeks.”

Twenty-seven children and staff of Camp Mystic, an all-girls sleepaway camp located on the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, were killed by the floods in the middle of the night on July 4. some state leaders and environmental experts told ABC News in July that a number of the cabins were in known flood zones and close proximity to the river, according to officials and FEMA’s flood maps.

Texas’ rules and regulations about housing and construction and summer camps immediately came under scrutiny by environmentalists and urban planners. Though, in the case of Camp Mystic, which opened in 1926 and expanded throughout the years, many structures were built long before FEMA flood zones and other regulations were created and are likely to have approvals grandfathered in, Republican Texas Rep. Gary Gates, who chairs the state House’s Land & Resource Management Committee, told ABC this summer.

“We continue to evaluate plans to rebuild Camp Mystic Guadalupe River,” camp officials said. “Our planning and procedures will reflect the catastrophic 1,000-year weather event that occurred on July 4, including never having campers return to cabins that had floodwaters inside them. And, as at Camp Mystic Cypress Lake, our plans will comply with the requirements of the new camp safety.”

“The heart of Camp Mystic has never stopped beating, because you are Mystic. We are not only rebuilding cabins and trails, but also a place where laughter, friendship and spiritual growth will continue to flourish,” officials continued. “As we work to finalize plans, we will do so in a way that is mindful of those we have lost. You are all part of the mission and the ministry of Camp Mystic. You mean the world to us, and we look forward to welcoming you back inside the green gates.”

Pregnant woman killed in hit-and-run while crossing street, driver remains at large: Police

September 23, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WAUKEGAN, Ill.) — An Illinois driver remains at large after fatally striking a pregnant woman while she was crossing the street, according to the Waukegan Police Department.

At approximately 9:34 p.m. on Sunday, officials responded to a report of a “vehicle crash with injuries, involving a pedestrian,” police said in a press release obtained by ABC News.

Once at the scene, police and fire officials found the pedestrian, identified as 36-year-old Michelle Heidbrick, with “critical injuries,” authorities said.

The driver of the vehicle that struck Heidbrick “fled the scene prior to the arrival” of police, according to officials.

Heidbrick was transported to a local hospital where she was “pronounced dead in the emergency room,” police noted.

Preliminary autopsy results indicate that Heidbrick “died from blunt force injuries as a result of the incident,” officials said.

Heidbrick’s sister told ABC Chicago station WLS she was “sweet” and “wouldn’t hurt a fly.” She told WLS that Heidbrick leaves behind a teenage son.

Police confirmed Heidbrick was in the second trimester of pregnancy.

“She had called me last week and was excited. She’s like ‘Nicole, I felt the baby kick for the first time,'” Nicole Heidbrick told WLS.

She told WLS the family is demanding that “somebody come forward.”

The incident “remains under investigation” by police’s major crash unit, officials said.

Ryan Routh, would-be Trump assassin, tries to stab himself after being found guilty on all counts

September 23, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump on Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course last year, has been found guilty on all five counts.

He was forcibly removed from the courtroom following the announcement of the verdict after sources say he tried to stab himself.

Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen amid the chaos after the verdict was handed down, according to sources. However the pen he had access to is specially designed not to injure, so it only left bruises or marks on his neck and he wasn’t injured, a source said.

Four armed marshals surrounded Routh, who appeared to stand once the jury left the courtroom. Routh was then walked out of the courtroom.

Sara Routh, his daughter seated in the courtroom, shouted, “Dad, I love you. Don’t do anything. I will get you out.”

“He didn’t hurt anybody. This is not fair. This is all rigged. You guys are a——s,” she shouted before also being escorted from the courtroom.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon subsequently allowed Routh back in the courtroom in shackles and escorted by marshals. He was informed that he will be sentenced on Dec. 18.

According to federal prosecutors, some of the jurors saw the outburst as they were exiting.

“The jury has not yet left the room at the time of the defendant’s conduct,” a prosecutor said.

Judge Cannon, who previously oversaw and dismissed one of Trump’s criminal cases, thanked the lawyers and Routh for their time, “despite your outburst today.”

Routh, who was representing himself despite lacking any legal education or experience, faced five criminal charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon, and using a gun with a defaced serial number. He faces up to life in prison.

The jury reached their verdict after deliberating for approximately two hours. Their only note was a request to see the rifle, ammunition and magazine that Routh allegedly used.

Judge Cannon allowed the jurors to view the exhibits in open court.

Routh argued during his closing argument Tuesday that he did not intend to shoot Trump and that he lacks “the capacity to kill.”

“The prime opportunity was there for the defendant to shoot the president,” Routh said in a rambling, 55-minute closing argument. “Why was the trigger not pulled?”

Routh said that he never brandished his rifle to shoot either Trump or the Secret Service agent who spotted him, and he said any evidence suggesting otherwise was a “blatant fabrication.”

“It was just an individual on the fence with a gun resting there,” Routh told jurors.

Throughout his argument, Rough repeatedly claimed his “intent was harmless.” He argued that killing Trump was a “fantasy,” comparing the idea to longing for a high-end sports car, dreaming of a vacation home, or lusting for his best friend’s wife.

“It was never going to happen,” he told jurors. “It is not in the defendant’s heart.”

“The opportunity was there,” Routh said. “It was so simple and easy — just pull the trigger.” And yet, said Routh, “This human being does not have the capability to shoot someone else.”

Judge Cannon cut off Routh’s closing about half a dozen times to remind the jury about their legal instructions, including two instances when she excused the jury so she could rein Routh in.

In a brief rebuttal, federal prosecutor John Shipley argued that Routh should be found guilty because he still took multiple steps to carry out his alleged assassination plot, casting doubt on Routh’s central argument that he lacked the intention to actually shoot Trump.

“You’ve heard the evidence. This is not a peaceful and nonviolent man,” Shipley said.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, posting to social media following the announcement of the verdict, wrote, “Today’s guilty verdict against would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh illustrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence.”

“This attempted assassination was not only an attack on our President, but an affront to our very nation itself,” Bondi wrote.

Prosecutors allege that Routh put together a methodical plan — including purchasing a military-grade weapon, researching Trump’s movements, and utilizing a dozen burner phones — to kill Trump based on political grievances.

Hiding in the bushes of Trump’s Palm Beach golf course and armed with a rifle, Routh allegedly came within a few hundred yards of the then-presidential nominee before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle poking out of the tree line.

Routh allegedly fled the scene but was later arrested by a local sheriff’s office on a nearby interstate.

Routh spent three hours Monday presenting his defense case after prosecutors called more than three dozen witnesses over the last two weeks in the government’s case.

Routh called a firearms expert and two of his longtime friends in his defense.

“Is it your personal opinion of me that I am peaceful and gentle, and nonviolent?” Routh asked his second witness, longtime friend Marshall Hinshaw.

“I would say so,” Hinshaw said. “I would not expect you to harm anyone, Ryan.”

Routh argued that he lacked the capacity to kill Trump, though he appeared to concede some of the prosecution’s allegations during the trial. He acknowledged that he authored a letter that prosecutors say outlined his plans to kill Trump.

He was cut off multiple times Monday by Judge Cannon, who ended the day with a warning for Routh ahead of Tuesday’s closings.

“Any argument you make … must be reasonably tied to the admitted evidence. Do you understand?” the judge asked Routh, saying that any deviation will “cause a problem.”

“Yes, your honor,” Routh said.

ABC News’ Luke Barr and Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.

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