News – Page 402 – 105.7 WDNY

As Trump heads to Europe, Russian drones hit Kyiv and Zelenskyy urges sanctions

September 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Russia continued its nightly strikes on Ukraine — including the capital Kyiv — as U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to depart for his state visit to the U.K. on Tuesday, with the White House’s efforts to broker peace between the combatants still stalled.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 113 drones into the country overnight into Tuesday morning, of which 89 were shot down or suppressed. Twenty-two drones impacted across six locations, with falling debris falling in two locations.

Air defenses were active in the sky over Kyiv, local officials there said. Drone attacks caused fires at a shopping center and an industrial facility on the outskirts of the capital, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported on Telegram.

“During the fire extinguishing, the aggressor struck the site again, damaging two fire-rescue vehicles,” the service said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian attacks were reported in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Zaoprizhzhia Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions. “Now is the time to implement a joint defense of our European sky with a multilayer air defense system,” he wrote on Telegram.

At least six people were killed and 55 injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. The attacks included a rocket artillery strike on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, officials said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least 87 Ukrainian drones overnight into Tuesday.

Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion — which began in February 2022 — is expected to be a topic of discussion when Trump meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his U.K. visit.

Britain is a leading member of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” — a group of mostly-European allied nations that have committed to expanding military support for Ukraine and possibly deploying troops to the country as part of a post-war peacekeeping force.

Trump has ruled out deploying U.S. troops inside Ukraine, though hinted at the possible involvement of U.S. air assets in any future peacekeeping mission. Moscow has repeatedly said it will not accept the presence of any foreign troops on Ukrainian soil.

One month after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump’s proposed in-person meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy has yet to come to fruition.

Meanwhile, Russia has intensified its long-range strikes on Ukraine. During one such strike last week, around two dozen Russian drones entered Poland — by far the largest-ever of Russian drones into NATO airspace. At least three of the drones were shot down by responding Polish and Dutch fighters.

NATO has responded by launching Operation Eastern Sentry, which it says will enhance its air defense posture all along the bloc’s eastern edge. Some allies are pushing for more action. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslav Sikorski, for example, has suggested that NATO should shoot down Russian drones operating over western Ukraine.

Trump raised concerns along NATO’s eastern frontier when he said Russia’s drone incursions into Poland “could have been a mistake” — a suggestion quickly contested by Warsaw.

“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media.

Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, are still pushing for the expanded sanctions and tariffs that Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose on Russia in response to Moscow’s refusal to accept a ceasefire or peace deal.

On Monday, Zelenskyy previewed “an active week of our diplomacy” in a post to Telegram.

“Now — one week before the [United Nations] General Assembly — President Trump will be in Europe,” Zelenskyy wrote. “We continue our very active work with European leaders to ensure that we are all coordinated and actually reach decisions to put pressure on Russia.”

“And if the world does not deliver a truly tangible response to Russia’s prolonging of the war, if sanctions and tariffs are postponed, if the Russian army can already launch drones with impunity even against Poland — Putin will continue to see it as permission to wage war,” Zelenskyy said.

Israel begins ground offensive in Gaza City, IDF says

September 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — The Israeli military began a ground offensive in Gaza City, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday.

The IDF confirmed that the maneuver to occupy Gaza City that began overnight included two divisions, with a third expected to join.

The next phase of the Israeli military action in the city follows the beginning early this month of ground operation in the city, the largest in the Gaza Strip, military officials said at the time.

Israeli officials then a week ago issued an order calling for all residents of the city to evacuate, saying at the time that the Israeli military would operate “with great force” within Gaza City.

“Staying in the city is extremely dangerous,” Avichay Adraee, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said on social media at the time.

It was not immediately clear how many people remained in the city on Tuesday. At the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, a church official told ABC News they were still sheltering inside, with no intention to leave.

Tuesday’s military action in Gaza City followed a visit on Sunday and Monday by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

After a joint news conference on Tuesday, Rubio said the United States supported Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas.

Hamas in a statement on Tuesday accused Netanyahu and Israel of destroying “every chance” of reaching an agreement to end the war and return remaining hostages. Hamas, which is a designated terrorist organization, said the U.S. knew “full well” that Israel was doing so.

But Rubio, as he again briefly spoke with the press as he boarded a plane out of Tel Aviv, said the U.S. was still pushing for a “negotiated” end to the war in Gaza.

“We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen,” he said. “We don’t have months anymore; we probably have days, maybe a few weeks. So, it’s a key moment, an important moment.”

Trump heads to UK for historic 2nd state visit

September 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Tuesday head to the United Kingdom for a historic second state visit, where he will also meet with top U.K. officials to deepen ties with one of America’s closest allies.

The visit and invitation for the state visit are historic because Trump will become the first elected political leader in modern times to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch.

During a background call on Monday with reporters, White House officials said that this visit will highlight what they called the deep ties between the United States and the United Kingdom.

“This historic second state visit is set to highlight and renew the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. At the same time, the visit will recognize and celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States,” a White House official told reporters during a background call previewing the trip.

Pomp and circumstance at Windsor Castle
The visit will have much of the same pomp and circumstance as Trump’s first state visit to the U.K., but there will be some notable differences. For one thing, the events will take place at Windsor Castle, while Trump’s previous visit was held at Buckingham Palace.

Another notable difference: the royals themselves. Trump’s previous visit was headed by then-monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. This time King Charles III will host the president, supported by the Prince and Princess of Wales — William and Catherine — who will play a major role as the red carpet is rolled out for Trump for the second time.

Back in February, in the Oval Office, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hand-delivered an invitation from the king to Trump.

There will be gun salutes from Windsor and London, and for the first time a U.S. president will take a carriage ride through the grounds of Windsor Castle, and enjoy a joint flyover performed by the Red Arrows and U.S. F-35 military jets.

One notable royal will not be present at all during the visit. Prince Andrew will not participate. Andrew’s ties to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were major U.K. news.

The disgraced Duke of York’s lack of attendance comes as the Epstein files and his own relationship with the late financier have been a political headache for Trump. And just days before Trump’s visit, the U.K. sacked their ambassador to the U.S. over emails showing his close relationship with Epstein.

Deepening US-UK ties
In addition to the ceremony and regalia, Trump will take time for diplomacy. On the final day of his visit, Trump is set to meet with the Starmer. The leaders will hold a bilateral meeting at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country estate outside of London.

Pressing global issues, including Russia and Ukraine, Russia’s threat to NATO’s Eastern flank and the war in Gaza will surely be a main topic for the leaders. Their visit comes after Starmer and other European leaders traveled to the White House to meet with Trump and Zelenskyy just after Trump’s summit in Alaska with Russian President Putin. But since that meeting, during which allies expressed optimism of a path forward on security guarantees, no progress has materialized.

The meeting also comes as Russia has shown staggering provocation by violating Polish airspace with drones. Poland then invoked NATO’s Article 4 and European nations are rattled by the overt action. But Trump has seemed to suggest that the drone incident may have been a mistake. Starmer will surely want to discuss the issue with Trump, a leader who has not always been keen on the U.S. upholding Article 5 of NATO’s treaty — calling for mutual defense when one member is attacked.

The leaders will also surely discuss their relationship, namely announcing deals to strengthen tech partnerships between the nations and a deal to vastly increase the U.K.’s investment in nuclear power with the US.

Starmer will also likely make the case more favorable trade terms with the U.S. While the U.K. has solidified a tariff deal with the U.S., negotiations remain for some things, including steel and pharmaceuticals.

The White House adds that Trump will meet with U.S. and U.K. business leaders, but White House officials declined to confirm ones.

Asked for a dollar amount for how much these investments could be, a White House official on the call could not give an exact figure but said that the White House was “looking at more than 10 million, perhaps tens of billions.”

The visit will also highlight mutual cooperation in civil nuclear power, research, investment and development. The U.S. and the U.K. are expected to sign new deals that will enhance the build-out of new nuclear power stations in both countries and clear the way for a significant expansion of new nuclear projects in the U.K.

The agreement will enable companies to build new nuclear power stations more quickly in both countries by reducing bureaucratic hurdles and delays, officials said.

Kelly also said there will be advances in defense technology cooperation and an examination of how both the U.S. and U.K.’s leading financial hubs can be sustained into the future.

Other top officials will be traveling alongside Trump in the U.S. delegation include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Ambassador Warren Stevens and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

Kash Patel to face questions on Charlie Kirk investigation in congressional hearings

September 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — FBI Director Kash Patel is set to begin two days of questioning on Tuesday from congressional committees about his tenure leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation so far. He’s also sure to get questions about the assassination of conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk last week.

Patel will first be in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in its oversight role of the agency before he faces its House counterpart on Wednesday.

Patel has been criticized for his handling of the Kirk investigation — sharing on social media at one point that a suspect was in custody but having to backtrack an hour and a half later — but Patel has stood by his performance, touting the fact that the FBI caught the Kirk’s suspected shooter in less than 36 hours.

Kirk was killed in Utah on Wednesday and the suspect, Tyler Robinson, was caught after his father turned him in to authorities on Friday. Patel contends this only happened because he ordered “against all law enforcement recommendations,” as he said on X on Saturday, the release of video and enhanced photos of the suspect.

“For comparative sake, the Boston bombing, the FBI didn’t release images for three days,” Patel told “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning. “I made an executive decision on an investigative and operational need, and it turned out to be the right move.”

He also addressed the criticism that he has faced for how he handled the investigation.

“I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing it. I continue to do it. I challenge anyone out there to find a director who has been more transparent and more willing to work the media with high profile cases or any cases that the FBI [is] handling.”

For his part, President Donald Trump is standing behind Patel, telling Fox News on Saturday that “I am very proud of the FBI. Kash — and everyone else — they have done a great job.”

Patel is also set to face questions on a host of other issues during his tenure at the FBI, including the firing of three senior agents who sued for reinstatement last week.

Brian Driscoll, who formerly served as the acting director of the FBI during the early days of Trump’s second term, Steven Jensen, former acting director of the FBI’s Washington field office, and former director in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas field office Spencer Evans all joined in the lawsuit represented by Abbe Lowell, an attorney who has represented other high-profile figures ousted or otherwise targeted by the Trump administration.

The three former officials, whose careers collectively spanned over six decades of law enforcement experience across the ranks of the FBI, allege that the firings violated their due process rights as well as their First Amendment rights to free association and speech.

“Patel not only acted unlawfully but deliberately chose to prioritize politicizing the FBI over protecting the American people,” the lawsuit alleges. “As explained herein, his decision to do so degraded the country’s national security by firing three of the FBI’s most experienced operational leaders, each of them experts in preventing terrorism and reducing violent crime.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a member of the Judiciary Committee, told ABC News that the lawsuit “contains pretty damning allegations that are now sworn to as part of a court proceeding.”

The director is also set to face questions about his so-called “enemies list,” a campaign promise to root out who he saw as bad actors in government, as well as his use of the FBI plane.

Whitehouse told ABC News that Patel “brings a genuinely political motive to the repeated instances of political decision making at the FBI.” He said it is “really, really, really, really ironic about the people who are supposedly so irate about weaponization is now doing weaponization at an unprecedented scale.”

He is also expected to face questions over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The Trump administration has been dealing with blowback it received from MAGA supporters for its decision to not release more materials related to the investigation into Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019.

Epstein, whose private island estate was in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has long been rumored to have kept a “client list” of celebrities and politicians, which right-wing influencers have baselessly accused authorities of hiding.

Trump promised during the 2024 presidential campaign to release the files in their entirety and Patel before taking the FBI job had pushed unsubstantiated claims about who was in them.

The Justice Department and FBI announced in July that they had found no evidence that Epstein kept a client list after several top officials like Patel, before joining the administration, had themselves accused the government of shielding information regarding the case.

Last week, the House Oversight Committee released what it said was a note from Trump to Epstein on his birthday, which the White House and Trump deny was written by him.

On Sept. 2, the committee released more than 33,000 pages of Epstein-related records after it subpoenaed the Justice Department for them, but Democrats on the committee said that most of the files are already public.

Man convicted for attempting to give classified information on US Air Force systems to Russia

September 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A 67-year-old South Dakota man has been sent to prison for over 10 years after being convicted of attempting to disclose classified information on U.S. Air Force systems to the Russian government, officials said.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday that John Murray Rowe from Lead, South Dakota, was sentenced to 126 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine for attempted espionage.

Rowe was charged by indictment in December 2021 and pleaded guilty in April of last year to one count of attempted delivery of national defense information to a foreign government, and three counts of willful communication of national defense information.

According to court documents, Rowe was employed for nearly 40 years as a test engineer for multiple cleared defense contractors and held various high-level while he worked on matters relating to U.S. Air Force electronic warfare technology.

However, after several security violations and “concerning inquiries and statements about Russia and sensitive information,” according to the DOJ, Rowe was identified as a potential insider threat and terminated from employment.

“In March 2020, Rowe told an undercover FBI agent, who he believed to be an agent of the Russian government, that he was not loyal to the United States and that he was interested in helping Russia,” officials said in their statement regarding Rowe on Monday. “During this meeting, Rowe disclosed national defense information classified as [information] that concerned specific operating details of the electronic countermeasure systems used by U.S. military fighter jets, among other things.”

Over the course of the next eight months, Rowe exchanged over 300 emails with a person he believed to be a Russian agent, confirming his willingness to work for the Russian government and discussing his knowledge of classified information relating to U.S. national security, according to officials.

In one email, Rowe was accused of explaining, “If I can’t get a job [in the United States] then I’ll go work for the other team.” In another email, Rowe was said to disclose classified national defense information concerning the U.S. Air Force and, in September 2020, Rowe had a second in-person meeting with the undercover FBI agent where he again disclosed classified national defense information.

“The defendant spent decades working on sensitive U.S. defense programs and was entrusted with safeguarding protected and classified information about military technology. Instead of honoring that trust and his legal responsibilities as a clearance holder, he chose to violate both — repeatedly and willfully attempting to disclose classified information to someone he believed was a foreign agent,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The Justice Department will hold accountable those who disregard country and conscience at the expense of our Nation’s security, including, as here, out of spite.”

Rowe was arrested on a criminal complaint and warrant on Dec. 15, 2021, and was detained while he waited for his trial to begin but was caught disclosing the same classified national defense information concerning the U.S. Air Force to relatives and an associate during recorded prison calls.

“Despite his knowledge, training, experience, and decades of work as a military contractor, Rowe chose to betray the trust placed in him by his country,” said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “His repeated, willful efforts to harm the U.S. by divulging sensitive defense information to an adversary are inexcusable. My office and our partners will continue to hold fully accountable anyone seeking to compromise the national security of the United States.”

“By attempting to disclose classified information on U.S. Air Force systems to the Russian government, John Rowe endangered American lives and compromised U.S. national security,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.

Rozhavsky added, “This sentencing demonstrates the FBI and our partners will use every tool available to safeguard the homeland from internal and external threats. Anyone tempted to violate their oath to safeguard classified information should understand the severe consequences — and remember the FBI will never stop until we bring you to justice.”

NYPD warns of further violence in the wake of Charlie Kirk, UnitedHealthcare CEO killings

September 15, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — On the eve of court scheduled appearances for high-profile suspected gunmen Tyler Robinson and Luigi Mangione, a new law enforcement assessment warned of calls for further violence against politicians, business leaders and other dignitaries.

The assessment — prepared by the NYPD counterterrorism and intelligence bureau after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk — said the killing of the conservative pundit last week and UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson late last year stems from the same toxic and violent atmosphere.

“The targeted attack occurred against the backdrop of an increasingly volatile threat environment in the U.S. amid ongoing concerns over the targeting of and violent threats persistently aimed at prominent political figures, CEOs, public officials, and other dignitaries. These individuals likely remain vulnerable at open-air speaking engagements and public events, which have been targeted by malicious actors seeking to advance political or ideological agendas and/or draw attention to unique personal grievances through violence,” the document, obtained by ABC News, said.

“This attack, along with a series of recent high-profile assaults linked to actors with a host of grievances, underscores the continued need for heightened vigilance among law enforcement officers and private-sector security personnel with dignitary/executive protection responsibilities. Rather than aligning with a single extremist ideology, malicious actors may adopt a personalized, hate-filled worldview drawn from a mix of beliefs, amplifying the risk of future attacks by lone offenders that glean tactical/targeting inspiration from prior acts of high-profile violence and find support in permissive online environments,” the bureau said in the document.

Robinson, the suspected gunman in Kirk’s killing, is expected to face capital murder charges in Utah on Tuesday. Authorities have said Robinson may have been “radicalized” online and that ammunition found in the gun used to kill Kirk included anti-fascist and meme-culture writings.

Luigi Mangione, who has been indicted on federal charges in the shooting of Thompson in Midtown, Manhattan on Dec. 4, 2024, is due in a New York court on Tuesday when the judge is expected to rule on several outstanding motions, including defense motions to dismiss state murder charges and exclude certain evidence. Mangione has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors have suggested Mangione inspired other violence, namely the shooting in July targeting the NFL headquarters at 345 Park Av. His attorneys have denied that.

The NYPD assessment said the killing of Kirk could likewise inspire others.

“Regardless of motive, this incident has, and likely will continue to, resonate with a wide range of violent extremists in perceived justifications and calls for further violence. Additionally, the high-profile nature of this assassination will likely be amplified in propaganda messaging and heavily exploited by malicious actors as well as adversarial nation-states in mis/dis/mal-information aimed at fomenting division,” the assessment said.

Trump races to reshape Fed days before interest rate decision

September 15, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Twelve policymakers at the Federal Reserve are set to take a high-stakes vote this week on the nation’s benchmark interest rate, attempting to steer the economy through a stormy bout of slow hiring and rising inflation.

In a highly unusual circumstance, however, two of the policymakers stand in limbo – uncertain if they will vote at all – with little more than 48 hours before the announcement.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has moved to fire one member of the Fed’s board of governors and secure Senate confirmation for another. The race to reshape the Fed comes after Trump railed for months against the central bank and its Chair Jerome Powell for declining to heed his call for lower interest rates.

The clash over the composition of the Fed board casts uncertainty over the Fed’s meeting on Wednesday, where officials are expected to announce the central bank’s first rate cut since December.

In a social media post on Monday, Trump reiterated his criticism of Powell, saying the Fed chair “MUST CUT INTEREST RATES, NOW, AND BIGGER THAN HE HAD IN MIND.”

Trump recently moved to fire board member Lisa Cook, who sued Trump over her attempted ouster, saying the decision violated her legal protections as an employee at the independent federal agency. Trump said he removed Cook over mortgage fraud allegations against her.

Federal law allows the president to remove a member of the Fed board “for cause,” though no president has attempted such a removal in the 112-year history of the central bank.

Last week, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Fed to let Cook continue serving in her role as a governor of the Federal Reserve System as her lawsuit moves through the courts.

Days later, the Trump administration filed a request with an appeals court asking to remove Cook by Monday, before the scheduled vote on interest rates. In a court filing over the weekend, Cook asked the appeals court to reject Trump’s bid.

Last month, Trump called on Cook to resign on the same day that Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted on X part of an Aug. 15 letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi accusing Cook of falsifying bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, “potentially committing mortgage fraud,” the letter stated.

In a statement provided to ABC News at the time, Cook said she learned from the media about Pulte’s letter seeking a criminal referral over the mortgage application, which predated her time with the Federal Reserve.

“I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook said in the statement last week. “I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”

Meanwhile, Trump has sought Senate confirmation for Fed board-nominee Stephen Miran, a top economic advisor at the White House. The Senate is expected to vote on Miran’s nomination on Monday night.

Miran has vowed to safeguard central bank independence but said earlier this month that he does not plan to resign from his position within the Trump administration. Miran has been nominated for a vacancy created by the early retirement of Fed board member Adrianna Kugler, whose term was set to end in January.

If confirmed, Miran said he plans to take an unpaid leave of absence from his current role. Miran reached the decision after “advice from counsel,” since his term on the Fed board would last four months, Miran said at a Senate hearing this month.

Five meetings and nine months have elapsed since the Fed last adjusted interest rates. The federal funds rate stands between 4.25% and 4.5%, preserving much of a sharp increase imposed in response to a pandemic-era bout of inflation.

That posture is expected to shift, however. Powell recently hinted at the possibility of an interest rate cut, appearing to indicate greater concern for flagging employment growth than for rising prices.

Investors peg the chances of a quarter-point rate cut this week at 96%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

Former Sen. Joe Manchin details Biden’s pressure campaign to win his vote in new memoir

September 15, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A new memoir from former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who clashed with former President Joe Biden over his legislative agenda, highlights the sharp disagreements the former moderate Democrat had with the Biden White House and his party — and describes Biden’s campaign to pressure Manchin to back his plans.

ABC News obtained excerpts of Manchin’s memoir, “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense,” before its release on Sep. 16.

One of the swing votes in the evenly split Senate, the longtime senator from the coal-producing state opposed Biden’s $2 trillion-plus Build Back Better proposal, a sweeping domestic policy, tax and social safety net package that included climate and tax provisions that Manchin rejected.

Manchin said his rejection didn’t stop Biden from trying to use the bully pulpit to convince Manchin to change his position.

In a private White House meeting, Manchin said he told Biden “this isn’t your legislation. It’s Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren’s. I’ve known you for a long time, and I do not believe that you believe this is the right thing for the country.”

“He grabbed my arm,” Manchin wrote of Biden. “‘Joe,’ he said, ‘the country needs you.'”

“When the most powerful man in the world is putting the weight of the world on you, it causes you to pause. I took a deep breath and grabbed his arm. ‘Mr. President,’ I said, ‘the country needs you too,'” Manchin wrote.

Manchin also criticized the Biden White House’s handling of negotiations with House and Senate Democrats over the infrastructure package, which at one point were held up in the House by progressives in what Manchin called “a misguided effort” to pass the larger domestic agenda.

“The political incompetence of his staff was staggering,” Manchin wrote about Biden’s trips to the Hill to meet with House Democrats.

“[Biden] came from a working-class family. He built his career fighting for hardworking families, the very people who felt forgotten by Washington,” Manchin wrote. “But now he seemed beholden to the elite and far-left social agenda baked into [the Build Back Better Act]. This wasn’t the Joe Biden I knew — or maybe, as a senator from Delaware, he wasn’t able to show his true stripes before.”

Manchin said he felt that Biden “was losing touch with the very values that defined his career.”

Once Manchin revealed in a Fox News interview that he would not support the proposal, effectively killing it in the Senate, Manchin said he received a “hostile” voicemail from Biden, and that Biden was “irate” when he returned his message.

Manchin said he told Biden he was frustrated with the White House’s outreach, and the fact that Biden singled out his opposition in a statement, telling Biden he believed it put his family “in harm’s way and disregarded my genuine attempt to work with you.”

Biden ended the conversation on a cool note, according to Manchin.

“‘We have a pissed off Irishman and a pissed off Italian, I think we should let things cool off.’ We didn’t talk for three months,” Manchin wrote.

Former SDNY prosecutor Maurene Comey sues over her firing

September 15, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Former Southern District of New York prosecutor Maurene Comey alleged in a lawsuit Monday that her ouster from the U.S. Attorney’s office was “unlawful and unconstitutional” and likely happened because of who her father is.

Comey, who prosecuted high profile defendants including Sean Combs, Robert Hadden, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was fired in July.

Her lawsuit said President Donald Trump, the Justice Department, Attorney General Pam Bondi and other defendants did not identify a cause or provide her due process.

“In truth, there is no legitimate explanation. Rather, Defendants fired Ms. Comey solely or substantially because her father is former FBI Director James B. Comey, or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both,” the lawsuit said.

“The politically motivated termination of Ms. Comey — ostensibly under “Article II of the Constitution” — upends bedrock principles of our democracy and justice system. Assistant United States Attorneys like Ms. Comey must do their jobs without fearing or favoring any political party or perspective, guided solely by the law, the facts, and the pursuit of justice,” the lawsuit said.

Comey said she had just been assigned a high-profile public corruption case when she received an email on July 16 at 4:57 p.m. with a memo informing her that “your employment with the Department of Justice is hereby terminated, and you are removed from federal service effective immediately.”

According to the lawsuit, Comey’s supervisors “were visibly shocked and upset,” and Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, provided no explanation.

“All I can say is it came from Washington. I can’t tell you anything else,” the lawsuit quoted Clayton as telling Comey.

Comey’s attorneys said the president lacks the authority to fire ordinary federal prosecutors, who are career civil servants, for perceived disloyalty.

“Neither the President nor the Department of Justice have unlimited authority to remove Assistant United States Attorneys,” the lawsuit said.

Comey is seeking reinstatement along with back pay.

Vance says ‘left-wing extremism’ helped lead to Charlie Kirk’s killing

September 15, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Vice President JD Vance hosted Charlie Kirk’s podcast on Monday, during which he said “left-wing extremism” is “part of the reason” Kirk was killed last week.

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

+ More