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22-year-old charged with murder in alleged killing of ‘American Idol’ music supervisor and husband

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) — Murder and burglary charges were filed Thursday in the killing of an “American Idol” music supervisor and her husband at their home in Los Angeles.

The suspect — 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian — is accused of scaling a fence onto the Encino property and then shooting and killing the couple during a struggle when they arrived home, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Guy Golan told reporters Tuesday.

Boodarian has been charged with two counts of murder and a count of residential burglary, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC. He appeared in court on Thursday afternoon, where the judge set his next court hearing for Aug. 20. He is being held without bail.

The victims — Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, both 70 — were found shot to death in their Los Angeles home during a welfare check on Monday, authorities said.

It is believed the couple was killed four days earlier, on July 10, police said. That day, the Los Angeles Police Department said it received two calls about a possible burglary at the address after a person was seen jumping the fence onto the property.

Officers responding to the calls that day were unable to go into the home because it is highly fortified, with 8-foot walls with spikes, police sources said. Police flew a helicopter over and saw no signs of a burglary or any other trouble and cleared the scene, Golan previously told reporters.

Surveillance footage later reviewed by police showed the suspect scaling the fence and then apparently entering an unlocked door, Golan said. The victims arrived home about 30 minutes later, police said.

While responding for a welfare check on Monday, officers were able to make their way into the home and found the victims dead with multiple gunshot wounds, Golan said. They both had gunshot wounds to the head, police said.

Detectives have since found a gun at the suspect’s residence that will be tested to determine if it was the alleged murder weapon, LAPD homicide detectives said Wednesday.

Police were investigating a motive and working to understand what happened inside the house, Golan said Tuesday.

Police do not believe Boodarian knew the victims, and the house did not appear to be ransacked, Golan said. There is no camera footage from inside the house that shows what went on, he said.

The LAPD will look into how police responded to the initial burglary call last week to make sure it was handled appropriately, Golan said.

Kaye had been with “American Idol” since 2009, according to a spokesperson for the ABC television show.

Maurene Comey’s farewell after firing: ‘Fear is the tool of a tyrant’

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Maurene Comey told colleagues in a farewell email that she was fired as a federal prosecutor without being told a reason but urged them not to succumb to the “fear” she said her termination could cause.

“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decision of those who remain,” Comey said in her email, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News. “Do not let that happen.”

Comey, daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was fired Wednesday after President Donald Trump vented to subordinates about having a Comey working in his administration, sources told ABC News.

“Yesterday was unexpectedly my last day in the Office. I was summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not give a reason for my termination,” Comey wrote in the email.

Comey was a highly regarded assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, where she worked on cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

“Every person lucky enough to work in this office constantly hears four words to describe our ethos: Without Fear or Favor. Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons without fear of retribution and without favor to the powerful,” she wrote in the email.

“For the majority of my nearly ten years in SDNY, fear was never really conceivable. We don’t fear bad press; we have the luxury of exceptional security keeping us physically safe; and, so long as we did our work with integrity, we would get to keep serving the public in this office. Our focus was really on acting ‘without favor.’ That is, making sure people with access, money, and power were not treated differently than anyone else; and making sure this office remained separate from politics and focused only on the facts and the law,” the email read.

Comey urged her colleagues to continue to fight abuses of power, seek justice for victims and dedicate themselves to “truth above all else.”

“Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought,” Comey’s email said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t answer questions on the firing of Comey at the press briefing on Thursday.

Leavitt referred reporters to the Justice Department, saying that it was their decision to fire her.

The press secretary was later asked whether the White House had knowledge of the firing and whether Trump signed off on it. She again sidestepped, saying only that it was a decision from the DOJ.

ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.

DOJ suggests ex-officer convicted in raid of Breonna Taylor’s home should get 1 day in jail

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice recommended that the former officer who was found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights during a botched Kentucky raid should receive one day of imprisonment in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday.

Brett Hankison was found guilty of one count of violating Taylor’s civil rights when the former Louisville police officer blindly shot into her apartment 10 times in March 2020. Hankison’s bullets did not hit anyone.

The Justice Department filing, which also recommended three years of supervised release, was signed only by department officials and none of the line prosecutors.

“This sets a dangerous precedent,” attorneys of Taylor’s family said in a statement on Thursday. “When a police officer is found guilty of violating someone’s constitutional rights, there must be real accountability and justice. Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity.”

The sentencing for Hankison, which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, has been delayed until July 21 after prosecutors asked for more time to file their sentencing memo. Hankison’s defense team did not object to the delay.

This comes after Hankison’s defense team filed a sentencing memorandum urging the judge for leniency, citing various factors.

In the sentencing memorandum, Hankison’s defense team argued, in part, that Taylor’s boyfriend first fired at police, which is what “provoked” the three officers, including Hankison, “to discharge their weapons.” They also argued that in prison Hankison could be “suspectable to abuse based on his status as a police officer” and the immense media coverage of this case.

The guilty verdict came in November, hours after the jury acquitted Hankison of a second count of violating the civil rights of three of Taylor’s neighbors, who lived in an adjacent apartment that was also struck by gunfire during the raid.

Taylor was fatally shot during the raid. The three officers fired dozens of rounds after her boyfriend fired one round at them, striking one of the officers.

Hankison fired 10 rounds through Taylor’s sliding glass door and window, which were covered with blinds and curtains, prosecutors said. Several of the rounds traveled into Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment, where three people were at the time. None of the 10 rounds hit anyone.

Prosecutors argued Hankison’s use of force was unjustified, put people in danger and violated the civil rights of Taylor and her three neighbors. The indictment alleged Hankison deprived Taylor of the right to be free from unreasonable seizures and deprived her neighbors of the right to be free from the deprivation of liberty without due process of law.

Hankison was initially set to be sentenced in April 2025, but the sentencing was delayed until June 2025 and then again until July 16 and now until July 21 after the judge partially granted the motion filed by prosecutors, who asked for a 14-day delay.

The Justice Department declined to comment beyond the filing. Hankison’s legal team didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

ABC News’ Alex Mallin, Meredith Deliso, Sabina Ghebremedhin, Jack Moore and Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.

Mike Pence calls for the release of the Epstein files: ‘I’ve always believed in transparency’

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Mike Pence joined the chorus of Republicans calling on the Trump administration to release files about the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, telling CBS News in an interview that he believes the administration should release all of the files about Epstein — breaking with the president he once served under.

“I think the time has come for the administration to release all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s investigation and prosecution,” Pence said in the Wednesday interview.

Asked if he believes there should be an inquiry into if accomplices to Epstein should be exposed to criminal prosecution, Pence said, “I just think we ought to get the facts to the American people. I’ve always believed in transparency.”

“It’s important that we protect the names of the victims. They should be excluded from any disclosure. But whether or not the facts justify charges, I think that anyone who participated or was associated with this despicable man ought to be held up to public scrutiny.”

In recent weeks, many of President Donald Trump’s most prominent supporters and congressional Republicans continue to demand answers about the files.

Pence is more moderate ideologically than many of the high-profile names calling for the files to be released. More broadly, Pence has threaded a needle over the first six months of Trump’s second presidency, occasionally critiquing and occasionally praising the second-term policies or opinions of the president who he once served under.

Trump continued Wednesday to dismiss calls within his own party for more transparency into the Epstein investigation and made claims, without evidence, that the controversy was designed to undermine him.

In a lengthy social media post, which included references to the president’s previous claims about the 2017 Russian election interference probe, Trump blamed Democrats for creating what he called a “scam” and “hoax.”

Asked what Trump means when he says the Epstein controversy is a “hoax,” Pence didn’t answer directly, but said Epstein’s prosecution began during the Bush administration and continued during the Obama administration.

“I know of no reason why this administration, once the victims’ names are protected, should not release all the files on Jeffrey Epstein,” Pence added.

The Justice Department and FBI earlier this month stated they found no evidence the deceased financier kept a “client list” of associates whom he blackmailed or conspired with to victimize dozens of women.

Trump had vascular testing because of leg swelling: White House

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump underwent vascular testing after he had swelling in his legs, with all results within normal limits, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

Leavitt said Trump noted “mild swelling in his lower legs,” which prompted the White House medical team to evaluate him.

“The president underwent a comprehensive examination including diagnostic vascular studies, bilateral lower extremity intravenous doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70,” Leavitt said in the Thursday White House press briefing.

There was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease and an echocardiogram showed normal cardiac structure and function, Leavitt said, adding that all results from testing were “within normal limits.”

Leavitt also address photos circulated online that show minor bruising on the back of the president’s hand, attributing the bruising to “with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking.”

“The president remains in excellent health,” Leavitt said.

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

Over 60 dead after fire rips through shopping mall in Iraq

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — An overnight fire at a shopping mall in Iraq has killed more than 60 people, according to the country’s interior ministry.

The massive fire broke out early Thursday in the new, five-story shopping center in Kut, the capital of the Wasit province in eastern Iraq.

Most of the 61 victims died from smoke inhalation in the building’s bathrooms, while 14 others were severely burned, according to the interior ministry. Forty-five people were rescued, it said.

Rescue teams worked for hours to recover bodies trapped inside the charred structure, battling dense smoke and debris.

Iraqi authorities have declared three days of national mourning as search and recovery operations continue.

The Wasit governor, Mohammed Mayahi, described the fire as a national disaster. Many of the victims are believed to be entire families caught in the fire, with Mayahi saying children were among those killed.

“The day is painful for all of Wasit,” he said.

An investigation committee has been formed to determine the cause of the fire, the interior ministry said. Investigators have been tasked with determining whether violations of fire codes or construction standards played a role.

The blaze erupted less than a week after the Corniche shopping mall opened.

Mayahi said legal complaints had been filed against the building owner, the mall operator and others involved in the case.

“There will be no leniency,” he said.

The Kut disaster follows a series of similar incidents in Iraq recent years. In 2023, more than 100 people died after a fire started by pyrotechnic devices swept through a wedding hall in Hamdaniyah. The incident drew national outrage, raising broader concerns about public venue safety and allegations of corruption in the approval of business licenses.

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

Gag order lifted in Idaho murders case days before Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The nondissemination order in the University of Idaho murder case was lifted by Judge Steven Hippler on Thursday, but all documents in the case that have been sealed will remain sealed for now.

The order, also known as a gag order, banned police and prosecutors from speaking about the high-profile case that gripped the nation.

Hippler’s decision to end the gag order comes six days before admitted killer Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing.

Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to all counts at a July 2 change of plea hearing, will return to court for his sentencing on July 23.

As a part of the plea deal, the former criminology Ph.D. student will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the four first-degree murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count.

At the July 2 hearing, Hippler asked Kohberger how he pleaded for each count of murder and named the four students: roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. Kohberger quickly said “guilty” each time.

The college students were all stabbed to death at the girls’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested nearly seven weeks later.

Trump, facing MAGA uproar over Epstein files, tries to shift blame elsewhere

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Facing uproar in his MAGA base over the Jeffrey Epstein files, President Donald Trump continues to try to shift blame for the controversy to others, including onto Biden administration officials for what he calls a ‘hoax.”

Trump, in a phone interview with “Just the News” on Real America’s Voice on Wednesday night, alleged without providing evidence that Democrats and former officials doctored files relating to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.

The comments came when Trump was asked if he wanted one prosecutor to look into the broad subject of political prosecution.

“Well, I think it’s in the case of Epstein, they’ve already looked at it, and they are looking at it, and I think all they have to do is put out anything credible,” Trump said.

“But you know, that was run by the Biden administration for four years. I can imagine what they put into files, just like they did with the others,” Trump continued. “I mean, the Steele dossier was a total fake, right? It took two years to figure that out for the people, and all of the things that you mentioned were fake.”

“So I would imagine if they were run by Chris Wray and they were run by Comey, and because it was actually even before that administration, they’ve been running these files, and so much of the things that we found were fake with me,” Trump said.

Despite Trump’s claims that Democrats “put” things in the files, many documents relating to Epstein, including those that mention Trump and several prominent Democrats, have been public for years.

Epstein was arrested in 2019 and died in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges while Trump was president. A review by the Justice Department and FBI found no so-called “client list” and confirmed Epstein died by suicide in prison.

The brief memo put out by the DOJ and FBI last week stoked furor among Trump’s diehard supporters after years of prominent right-wing figures pushing accusations about Epstein and the “deep state” that’s protecting elites.

Trump’s since sought various ways to put out the political firestorm, coming to Bondi’s defense while also saying she should release what she deems “credible.”

Now, he’s shifted to calling the Epstein files a “hoax” and those Republican supporters who are questioning his administration’s handling of it as “stupid” and “foolish.”

“Some of the naive Republicans fall right into line, like they always do,” the president said on “Just the News.”

Calls for transparency on Epstein came from several Republicans on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. And Trump’s own former vice president, Mike Pence, called for the administration to “release all of the files” regarding the Epstein investigation.

10th victim dies from devastating fire at assisted-living facility in Massachusetts

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(FALL RIVER, Mass.) — A 10th victim has died as a result of injuries sustained in a devastating fire at an assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, according to the district attorney’s office.

Brenda Cropper, 66, was hospitalized in critical condition following Sunday night’s five-alarm blaze at the Gabriel House, and succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced on Thursday.

The other residents killed have been identified as: 64-year-old Rui Albernaz, 61-year-old Ronald Codega, 69-year-old Margaret Duddy, 78-year-old Robert King, 71-year-old Kim Mackin, 78-year-old Richard Rochon, 86-year-old Eleanor Willett and 77-year-old Joseph Wilansky. The name of one victim, a 70-year-old woman, has not been released.

Dozens were hurt at the Gabriel House, which was home to about 70 people.

The fire “was destined to kill 50-plus people,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said at a news conference on Wednesday, praised the “heroic” first responders who he said saved dozens of lives.

Firefighters who rushed to the scene have described seeing faces in windows and “having to decide who they needed to rescue,” Bacon said, overcome with emotion.

One responder pushed through the heavy, black smoke inside the building to break into rooms and pull out nonambulatory residents, he said.

A captain at the scene found it “eerily quiet” when he responded to the front door, where flames were blowing out, the chief said.

“He knocked down the fire very quickly, to the point that countless lives were saved,” Bacon said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The district attorney’s office said it “does not appear to be suspicious.”

Bacon noted the fire started in a room on the second floor.

Senate Democrats walk out of committee vote to advance Trump court pick Emil Bove

July 17, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats walked out before Republicans voted on Thursday to advance President Donald Trump’s nomination of Emil Bove — the controversial top Justice Department official who formerly served as Trump’s defense attorney — to a seat on the powerful Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

The Democrats left before Republicans forced the vote for Bove’s lifetime appointment on the appeals court that oversees districts in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bove has repeatedly drawn criticism from Democrats in the opening six months of Trump’s presidency for cultivating a reputation as one of President Trump’s chief enforcers at DOJ.

The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance Bove means he will next face a vote in the full Senate.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker spoke furiously from the dais, pleading with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley to allow further debate on Bove’s nomination, but Grassley declined.

“What are you afraid of about even debating this?” Booker asked Grassley.

“Sir, with all appeals to your decency, with all appeals to your integrity, with all appeals to past jurisdictions and past precedent, why are you doing this?” Booker asked.

More than 900 former Justice Department employees sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday urging lawmakers to vote down Bove’s nomination.

He has fired scores of one-time career officials at Main Justice and the FBI, including prosecutors who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations of Trump as well as the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

Bove also was at the center of the department’s controversial decision to drop the federal corruption case against New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, which led to the resignations of multiple prosecutors who argued the effort appeared to be a ‘quid pro quo’ to secure Adams’ cooperation with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions.

Adams and Bove have both denied any such “quid pro quo” arrangement, but in agreeing to drop the charges the federal judge overseeing Adams’ case dinged the Justice Department writing, “Everything here smacks of a bargain.”

“Mr. Bove’s trampling over institutional norms in this case, and in others, sent shockwaves through the ranks — cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJ’s vital work,” the prosecutors wrote of Bove’s actions. “Prosecutorial authority carries profound consequences on individuals’ lives and the integrity of our public institutions; wielding it without impartiality is a flagrant abuse of that power.”

More recently, however, Bove’s actions have come under scrutiny as the subject of a whistleblower complaint by fired DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, who has accused Bove and other top DOJ officials of repeatedly discussing how they could potentially disobey court orders that seek to restrict the Trump administration’s immigration actions.

Reuveni’s complaint alleged that in one meeting Bove suggested saying “f— you” to courts who may try to block deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

During his confirmation hearing, Bove disputed much of Reuveni’s complaint — though he only said he could “not recall” using such an expletive to describe their response to a court order.

“Each one of the undersigned would testify, under oath, that we have never — and would never — tell a Justice Department attorney to consider defying a court order,” the letter said. “Moreover, the Justice Department’s later defiance of judicial mandates in the cases where Mr. Bove previewed doing so further suggests that disregarding court orders was Mr. Bove’s intent all along.”

Republicans on the committee rushed to Bove’s defense in the wake of the whistleblower complaint, and accused Reuveni of partnering with Democrats in seeking to tank Bove’s nomination by filing it with the committee just 24 hours before he was set to appear publicly before them.

Responding to the former DOJ officials’ letter Wednesday, department official Brian Nieves attacked Justice Connection as a “political hit squad masquerading as a support network” and said “they certainly don’t speak for DOJ.”

“They speak for a bitter faction angry they no longer call the shots,” said Nieves, a deputy chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their attacks on Emil Bove are dishonest, coordinated, and disgraceful.”

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