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Newly released video shows Abrego Garcia’s 2022 Tennessee traffic stop

May 2, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Newly released video shows the moments when Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongfully deported from the United States to a prison in El Salvador, was pulled over by state troopers in Tennessee in 2022.

The video, which was obtained by ABC News through a public records request, shows members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol questioning Abrego Garcia on the side of Interstate 40 after nightfall.

Abrego Garcia was not charged or arrested during the traffic stop, which lasted for more than an hour. This stop is separate from the stop in March by federal agents in Maryland that led to Abrego Garcia being taken into custody and ultimately deported to El Salvador.

Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who has been living with his wife and children in Maryland, was deported in March to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison — despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution — after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13. His wife and attorneys deny that he is an MS-13 member.

The 2022 traffic stop was disclosed in April in a press release issued by the Department of Homeland Security, which said it had a “bombshell investigative report” regarding the stop alleging that Abrego Garcia was a suspected human trafficker. The release included a screengrab of the body camera video.

“The encountering officer decided not to cite the subject for driving infractions but gave him a warning citation for driving with an expired driver’s license,” the release added.

“Kilmar worked in construction and sometimes transported groups of workers between job sites, so it’s entirely plausible he would have been pulled over while driving with others in the vehicle,” Jennifer Vasquez, Abrego Garcia’s wife, said in a statement after the release was issued.

The DHS press release said that the 2022 traffic stop occurred on Dec. 1, but an incident report released by the Tennessee Highway Patrol indicated that the stop took place on Nov. 30.

The traffic stop occurred in the Cookeville area, roughly 80 miles east of Nashville.

The trooper who pulled Abrego Garcia over told him that he was driving 75 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone. Abrego Garcia told the trooper that his license was suspended because he was waiting for an immigration paper, adding that he lives in Maryland and that the car he was driving belonged to his boss.

“You got a bunch of people in here, don’t you,” a trooper said after approaching the Chevrolet Suburban that Abrego Garcia was driving, according to the body camera video.

After going to his police car and returning, the trooper asks Abrego Garcia about how many rows of seats were in the car.

“I’ve never seen one with that many seats in it,” the trooper says.

“Oh, really?” Abrego Garcia responds.

The trooper then asks Abrego Garcia if there is anything illegal in the car.

“Nothing sir,” Abrego Garcia replies.

Abrego Garcia is asked to step out of the car and tells the trooper that he was traveling from St. Louis, Missouri, where he had a work project.

“Right now, I’m going back to home,” Abrego Garcia says before the trooper has a K-9 sniff the exterior of the vehicle. It appears that the police dog did not locate anything suspicious.

Troopers later allowed Abrego Garcia to sit in the back of a patrol car to escape the cold temperatures while they spoke among themselves and questioned his passengers, but no one at the scene was taken into custody.

“Thank you, bro,” Abrego Garcia says. “Thank you so much.”

Abrego Garcia was ultimately allowed to drive off, smiling at the trooper who stopped him as he exited the patrol car and returned to the Chevrolet.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security blurred license plates and redacted part of the audio of the traffic stop.

A federal judge ruled last month that the Trump administration must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, and the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that ruling, “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”

The Trump administration, while acknowledging that Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in error, has said that his alleged MS-13 affiliation makes him ineligible to return to the United States. Several members of the administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, have suggested that the matter is up to El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.

2nd teen charged with arson for New Jersey wildfire: Prosecutor

May 2, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(OCEAN COUNTY, N.J.) — A second teenager has been arrested for arson in connection with a massive New Jersey wildfire that destroyed a commercial building, shut down a major highway and forced thousands of people to flee, prosecutors said.

The second suspect — an unidentified 17-year-old boy — was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with arson and aggravated arson for allegedly helping set wooden pallets on fire and leaving the area when the fire wasn’t fully extinguished, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.

The 17-year-old was also charged with hindering apprehension for allegedly giving “misinformation to law enforcement about how the fire started,” Billhimer said in a statement.

The first suspect, 19-year-old Joseph Kling, was arrested on April 23 in connection with the Jones Road Wildfire, which ignited in Ocean Township on April 22, prosecutors said.

The fire was caused by “an improperly extinguished bonfire,” Billhimer said. Kling allegedly set wooden pallets on fire and then left when the fire wasn’t fully put out, Billhimer said.

As of Monday, the Jones Road Wildfire had burned about 15,300 acres, Billhimer said. The blaze was 75% contained as of Thursday, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.

On April 23, Kling was charged with arson and aggravated arson. On Thursday, he was charged with hindering apprehension for also allegedly giving false information to law enforcement, prosecutors said.

Kling is in custody at the Ocean County Jail and is due at a detention hearing on Friday.

The 17-year-old is being held at the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center, prosecutors said.

ABC News’ Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.

Trump says ‘going to be taking away’ Harvard’s tax exempt status

May 2, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Friday renewed his threat to take away Harvard’s tax-exempt status.

“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve,” Trump wrote in a post to his conservative social media platform. He first floated the idea in mid-April.

Any attempt to do so, though, would likely face legal challenges.

A Harvard spokesperson told ABC News there’s no “legal basis” to rescind the university’s tax-exempt status and said it would endanger the school’s ability to carry out its mission.

“Such an unprecedented action would endanger our ability to carry out our educational mission,” the spokesperson said. “It would result in diminished financial aid for students, abandonment of critical medical research programs, and lost opportunities for innovation. The unlawful use of this instrument more broadly would have grave consequences for the future of higher education in America.”

Trump has taken aim at the university after it said it would not comply with the administration’s series of demands, including actions on antisemitism and the use of DEI on campus.

The Trump administration has already frozen more than $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard, as well as $60 million in multi-year contract value to the institution. Harvard sued the administration in response, alleging the freeze violates the First Amendment and federal law.

Taking away the school’s tax-exempt status would be the latest escalation.

Federal law bars the president from directly or indirectly ordering the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to conduct or terminate an audit or investigation.

Sources previously told ABC News that the IRS was considering revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status. The White House said in a statement to ABC News in mid-April that any investigation by the IRS into Harvard began before President Trump began posting on his social media account that the school should lose its tax-exempt status.

Many major public and private colleges in the U.S. are exempt from federal income under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code because of their educational mission, research and public service.

“The government has long exempted universities from taxes in order to support their educational mission,” the Harvard spokesperson said. “The tax exemption means that more of every dollar can go toward scholarships for students, lifesaving and life-enhancing medical research, and technological advancements that drive economic growth.”

ABC News’ Hannah Demissie, Katherine Faulders, Arthur Jones and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.

Collections on defaulted student loans may affect millions of people’s credit scores

May 2, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump’s administration is set to begin collecting defaulted student loan payments next week — which could harm the credit scores of millions of borrowers.

Roughly 5 million borrowers will have their university and college loans sent for collections beginning May 5, the Department of Education said last month.

When that happens, the borrowers’ credit scores could be impacted, since ratings agencies are often alerted when collections ensue, experts told ABC News.

Here’s what to know about the collections and what it could mean for borrowers’ credit scores:

Why are the credit scores of some student loan borrowers at risk?

Student loan borrowers are considered delinquent if they fail to make a loan payment for 90 days. When late payment stretches on for a total of 270 days, then the borrower falls into default. When a federal student loan enters default, the government can send it for collections, garnishing wages or even taking money from Social Security payments or tax refunds.

The risk to borrowers’ credit scores dates back to policy decisions made when former President Joe Biden’s administration resumed federal student loan payments after a period of relief that had been enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the Biden administration lifted the pause in the fall of 2023, the White House set in motion a 12-month moratorium. The administration did not count late payments toward delinquency. That moratorium ended in October — meaning borrowers could be considered delinquent if they didn’t make payments for more than 90 days, returning to the way the process worked pre-pandemic.

More than 9 million student loan borrowers will face “significant drops” in their credit score when delinquencies resume over the first half of 2025, the New York Federal Reserve found in March.

“These credit score effects show up with delinquencies – that’s when the credit score takes the hit,” Judith Scott-Clayton, a professor of economics and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, told ABC News.

Similarly, the Biden administration in 2023 initiated a one-year moratorium during which it would not report loan defaults to credit bureaus. That pause expired on Jan. 1.

Now, the Trump administration is set to begin collections on defaulted loans, causing further potential damage to credit scores, some experts told ABC News.

“The longer you remain delinquent, that will compound,” Kate Wood, a writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet, told ABC News.

How much do late college loan payments hurt a borrower’s credit score?

Late payments on a college loan can significantly hurt a borrower’s credit score, studies show.

The New York Federal Reserve found student loan delinquency causes a borrower with a credit score of 760 points or higher to lose 171 points on average, according to a study of loan data between 2016 and 2019.

Subprime borrowers with credit scores at or below 620 lose on average 87 points in the event of a student loan delinquency, the study said.

“The consequences are worse for those starting out with good credit scores,” Scott-Clayton said.

VantageScore, a credit-scoring system, said in February that late college loan payments can result in a credit score loss of up to 129 points. Student loan borrowers who make payments on time could see credit score increases of up to 8 points, VantageScore said.

What does a damaged credit score mean for borrowers’ finances?

Borrowers with lowered credit scores will face greater difficulty making big-ticket purchases like homes, cars or even refrigerators for which they may need to take out a loan, experts told ABC News.

When consumers with reduced credit scores seek a loan, they face higher interest rates as banks determine that the borrower risks an inability to repay.

“We’re talking about a chunk of the population who won’t be able to buy a car because they won’t be able to get access to a car loan or it will be prohibitively expensive,” Kirabo Jackson, a professor of education and social policy at Northwestern University, told ABC News.

A lower credit score can even jeopardize an individual’s job prospects, since some employers check an applicant’s credit, Jackson said.

Some states restrict an employer’s ability to check an applicant’s credit, including California.

The damage to borrower’s credit scores may cause a hiccup in the overall economy, since some individuals may forgo big purchases, Jackson said.

“It’s not a huge effect for the economy but it certainly won’t be helpful,” Jackson said. “And when you talk about the impact for the individuals, it will be quite considerable.”

Man critically hurt in fall from bleachers at Pirates-Cubs game is identified

May 2, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(PITTSBURGH) — The baseball fan critically hurt in a 20-foot fall at PNC Park in Pittsburgh has been identified as Kavan Markwood.

Markwood fell from the bleachers onto the field during the seventh inning of the Pirates-Cubs game on Wednesday night, officials said. The game was briefly halted as emergency crews responded.

The Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety said the “incident is being treated as accidental.”

As of Thursday, Markwood remained in critical condition, according to the department of public safety.

Markwood previously attended Walsh University in Ohio.

“The Walsh University community was deeply saddened to learn about the tragic accident involving former student Kavan Markwood,” the university said in a statement. “Our thoughts and heartfelt prayers are with him, his family, and friends during this very difficult time. We are hoping and praying for a full recovery.”

After attending Walsh, Markwood transferred to Wheeling University in West Virginia, where he was a member of the football team in 2023.

“The Wheeling University Community is heartbroken,” the university said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Kavan, his family, friends, and all his loved ones. The Cardinal family is praying for a full and speedy recovery.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said he saw the fall as it happened.

“The fact of how it went down. And then laying motionless, while a play is going on … it’s extremely unfortunate. I mean, that’s an understatement,” he told reporters after the game.

Shelton said he wanted to ask “everybody to keep him in their prayers.”

ABC News’ Matthew Holroyd and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.

Hiring slowed in April amid turmoil set off by Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

May 2, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Hiring slowed but remained robust in April following President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement early last month, fresh data on Friday showed. The reading exceeded economists’ expectations.

The U.S. added 177,000 jobs in April, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure marked solid growth but a slowdown from 228,000 jobs added in the previous month. The unemployment rate stood unchanged at 4.2%, a historically low figure.

In a post on social media, President Donald Trump applauded the jobs data and touted his tariff policy.

“We’re only in a TRANSITION STAGE, just getting started!!!” Trump said.

Trump called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, criticizing the central bank weeks after saying he would welcome the “termination” of Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The move marked the latest example of Trump exerting pressure on the Fed, despite a longstanding norm of political independence at the central bank. Last month, Powell pointed to solid economic performance as reason to take a patient approach as policymakers await the impact of tariffs.

The closely watched tariff announcement on April 2 triggered the biggest single-day stock market drop since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Days later, Trump suspended a major swathe of the tariffs, sending the market to one of its largest ever single-day increases. A simultaneous escalation of tariffs on Chinese goods kept the effective tariff rate at its highest level in more than a century, the Yale Budget Lab found.

The jobs data arrives days after a government report showed the U.S. economy shrank over the first three months of 2025, much of which took place as Trump’s flurry of tariff proposals stoked uncertainty among businesses and consumers.

U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, declined at a 0.3% annualized rate over three months ending in March, according to government data released on Wednesday. The figure marked a sharp dropoff from 2.4% annualized growth over the final three months of 2024.

Despite flagging consumer sentiment and market turmoil, the labor market has provided a bright spot since Trump took office. The U.S. has added a robust average of 170,000 jobs each month this year, while the unemployment rate has remained low.

Meanwhile, inflation cooled in March, putting price increases well below a peak attained in 2022, data showed.

Still, recession fears are mounting on Wall Street as Trump’s tariffs threaten to upend global trade. Goldman Sachs earlier this month hiked its odds of a recession from 35% to 45%. JPMorgan pegged the probability of a recession this year at 60%.

Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago earlier this month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the “solid condition” of the U.S. economy, but he cautioned about signals of a potential slowdown.

“Life moves pretty fast,” Powell said.

For its part, the Trump administration has largely refused to rule out the possibility of a recession. Trump has vowed to strike new agreements with many U.S. trade partners, predicting the U.S economy may suffer short-term pain but will ultimately flourish under a more favorable set of international rules.

“We have been ripped off by every country in the world practically. And friend and foe,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last month. “We’re not doing that anymore.”

Man charged with attempted murder in hit-and-run outside Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, church preschool

May 2, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(CHARLESTON, S.C.) — The man accused of driving into three people in a hit-and-run outside a preschool at a South Carolina church has been charged with three counts of attempted murder and first-degree assault and battery, according to online records.

Justin Collin Adams, who was taken into custody on Thursday following an hourslong manhunt, is expected to appear in bond court on Friday morning.

Adams allegedly struck two children and one adult on Thursday afternoon at the Sunrise Presbyterian Church on Sullivan’s Island, a beach town just outside of Charleston, police said.

No one was critically hurt. One child was treated at the scene and released, while the second child and adult were taken to hospital, police said. The child at the hospital was later discharged, according to a hospital spokesperson, and Sullivan’s Island Police Chief Glenn Meadows said Thursday evening that he believed the adult was also due to be released.

Adams allegedly ditched his sedan after the crash and fled on foot, possibly armed with a knife, according to Isle of Palms police Sgt. Matt Storen.

Authorities launched a massive manhunt, which included grid searches of houses, drones scanning the sky and checkpoints at the entryway to Sullivan’s Island, police said.

A sergeant in a Charleston County aviation unit helicopter ended up spotting the suspect, who was found in a boat at a dock across the street from the church, officials said.

The crash is being investigated as possibly being intentional, Storen said. There was no altercation before the incident, according to Storen.

9/11 health care program restores cancer treatment certifications amid weeks of uncertainty

May 2, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The World Trade Center Health Program is once again certifying illnesses linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks after a chaotic few weeks that left some cancer patients, including first responders, without access to treatment.

Certification is the process by which the federal program confirms that a 9/11-related illnesses qualify for treatment or compensation.

Dr. John Howard, the program’s administrator, is the only official authorized to approve these certifications, and his status was in question for weeks.

Howard was laid off in February and allegedly reinstated following public backlash; however, there were signs that he was not fully and formally reinstated, including a freeze on certifications requiring his signature as late as Thursday morning.

In an internal memo obtained by ABC News, a federal branch chief with the Health and Human Services Department wrote, “We are able to resume processing enrollments, certifications, and letters at this time.”

Dr. David Prezant, the New York City Fire Department’s chief medical officer and director of its World Trade Center Health Program, confirmed to ABC News that he received the memo, and he was once again able to treat new patients.

The notice signals a turning point after what Prezant had said were weeks of silence, confusion and life-threatening delays.

It also followed a federal order laying off 20% of its staff in April — just months after it fired, then reinstated, a spate of staff members, including Howard.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino, a Republican who represents New York and is a longtime congressional watchdog for the program, welcomed the news and vowed to ensure that Howard remains fully reinstated.

“Any questions about Dr. Howard’s authorities as Administrator have been resolved — as confirmed directly with Dr. Howard himself,” Garbarino wrote to ABC News in a statement. “Now, enrollments and certifications that were left in limbo must be addressed immediately.”

“Let me be clear: anything that jeopardizes care for 9/11 responders and survivors is indefensible,” the statement added.

Ben Chevat, executive director of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, credited media coverage and bipartisan pressure for forcing the reversal.

“I’m glad that the 9/11 responders who need cancer care are going to get their cancer care — but they should never have been delayed,” he said.

The restoration of certification means the program can now review and approve claims from responders and survivors who have developed new conditions linked to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Certification is a key step that allows patients to begin treatment or file for compensation. Without it, clinics were forced to postpone care for some of the sickest patients.

“The World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program’s Clinical Centers of Excellence and Nationwide Provider Network are continuing to provide services to Program members at this time,” a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. “The Program is accepting, reviewing, and processing new enrollment applications and certification requests.”

“It’s good that certifications have resumed, but we’ve seen how quickly things can unravel,” Chevat said. “We still need full transparency and accountability to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

For now, clinics have been told they will see newly processed certifications by May 5 at the latest. The program’s staff and its supporters say they’re relieved — but remain wary about the future.

Trump replacing Waltz as national security adviser, Rubio takes role for now

May 1, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he’s nominating Michael Waltz to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security adviser while keeping his current role as well.

“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”

“In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department,” Trump continued. “Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Sources had told ABC News earlier Thursday that Waltz was expected to leave his post as national security adviser.

The move came as President Trump has been increasingly frustrated by Waltz after he came under intense scrutiny for inadvertently adding a reporter to a Signal chat with top Trump officials discussing a U.S. military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Waltz responded to Trump’s announcement on X, writing: “I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation.”

Rubio was a National Prayer Event at the White House earlier Thursday before the news broke. He was seen standing in the colonnade on his phone, and at times speaking with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce learned about Rubio replacing Waltz in the middle of Thursday’s press briefing. She was being asked by reporters on whether Rubio would consider the position when Trump’s social media post came out.

“It is clear that I just heard this from you,” Bruce said as she reacted to the news in real time. She praised Rubio as “a man who, as I think you all know, has worn several hats from day one” and is “someone who is well known by the president.”

Bruce said the move was not “not entirely surprising,” but acknowledged “these last 100 days, it’s like hanging onto a freaking bullet train.”

Waltz was spotted doing a Fox News interview at the White House on Thursday morning, but was not present later on at the prayer event.

He was in attendance at Trump’s Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, where he offered praise for the president’s leadership and strength on the world stage during his first 100 days in office.

Trump publicly defended Waltz in the aftermath of the March Signal mishap, telling NBC News the day after details came to light in an article by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg that Waltz “has learned a lesson and is a good man.”

Trump was asked further about Waltz’s future by The Atlantic in an April 24 interview. He said Waltz was “fine” despite being “beat up” after accidentally adding Goldberg to the group chat.

Trump also said in that interview that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who also came under fire for the Signal fiasco, was “safe.”

“I think we learned: Maybe don’t use Signal, okay?” Trump said about the controversy. “If you want to know the truth. I would frankly tell these people not to use Signal, although it’s been used by a lot of people. But, whatever it is, whoever has it, whoever owns it, I wouldn’t want to use it.”

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

2 kids, 1 adult struck by car outside church in Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina

May 1, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C.) — Two children and one adult were struck by a driver outside a preschool at a South Carolina church in what may have been an intentional act, authorities said.

Police are searching for the suspect following the crash at the Sunrise Presbyterian Church on Sullivan’s Island, a beach town just outside of Charleston, according to Isle of Palms police Sgt. Matt Storen.

One child and one adult were taken to hospitals in unknown conditions and the third victim was treated at the scene and released, police said.

The suspect ditched his sedan after the crash and is believed to be on foot and armed with a knife, Storen said.

An active manhunt is ongoing, with drones in the sky and checkpoints at the entryway to Sullivan’s Island, Storen said.

There was no altercation ahead of the incident, according to Storen.

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

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