News – Page 61 – 105.7 WDNY

Russia hits Ukraine energy targets with hundreds of drones, missiles, ahead of talks

February 3, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged “maximum pressure” on Russia from the international community after Moscow fired hundreds of drones and missiles into Ukraine overnight into Tuesday morning, in a major attack that Zelenskyy said focused on the country’s critical energy infrastructure.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 71 missiles and 450 drones into the country overnight, of which 38 missiles and 412 drones were shot down or suppressed. Twenty-seven missiles and 31 drones impacted across 27 locations, the air force said.

The strike was the largest reported by the Ukrainian air force of the year so far, and the largest overall number of munitions launched in a single night since the night of Dec. 27.

The number of missiles fired on Monday night was also unusually high, and the largest total for a single night since April 24, according to air force data analyzed by ABC News.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that its forces “carried out a massive strike” on “Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and energy facilities used in their interests, as well as places of storage and assembly of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.”

Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram that the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa and Vinnytsia were attacked, with energy infrastructure and residential buildings among those hit. At least nine people have so far been confirmed injured, the president said.

“Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than resorting to diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said. “This clearly demonstrates what is needed from partners and what can help. Timely delivery of missiles for air defense systems and protection of normal life is our priority. Without pressure on Russia, there will be no end to this war.”

“Right now, Moscow is choosing terror and escalation, and that is why maximum pressure is needed,” Zelenskyy added.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said that thermal power plants powering parts of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro were among the targets of the strike. “The targets were not military. They were exclusively civilian,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram.

DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy firm, said Russian strikes inflicted “significant” damage on its power plants, in what it said was “the ninth massive attack on the company’s thermal power stations since October 2025.”

Emergency power outages were implemented in Kyiv’s Dnieper and Darnytsia districts, DTEK said. Energy infrastructure was also damaged in Odesa, DTEK added.

Ukraine’s state energy company Ukrenergo reported “a significant number of power outages in Kyiv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia and Odesa regions,” which it attributed to the “massive” overnight attack. “There are also damaged energy facilities in several regions,” Ukrenergo wrote on Telegram.

Moscow’s latest strikes came after the expiry of a brief pause in attacks on energy infrastructure agreed to by both Moscow and Kyiv following a request from U.S. President Donald Trump. Russia said that the pause expired on Sunday.

This winter — the fourth of Russia’s full-scale invasion — has seen Moscow intensively target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, wreaking havoc on the national grid and precipitating rolling and extended blackouts for millions of Ukrainians.

Monday night saw temperatures drop as low as -14 F in some parts of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha suggested on X that Russian President Vladimir Putin “waited for the temperatures to drop and stockpiled drones and missiles to continue his genocidal attacks against the Ukrainian people.”

Zelenskyy later made the same allegation in a post to Telegram. “The Russian army took advantage of the American proposal to pause the strikes for a short period, not to support diplomacy, but simply to stockpile missiles and wait for the coldest days of the year,” he said.

Russia launched its latest major strike despite an upcoming round of trilateral peace talks with U.S. and Ukrainian representatives in the United Arab Emirates, which are due to resume on Wednesday and continue into Thursday.

“Every such strike by Russia confirms that the attitude in Moscow has not changed: they are still counting on war and the destruction of Ukraine, and they do not take diplomacy seriously,” Zelenskyy said. “The work of our negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv on Tuesday to meet with Zelenskyy and address the Ukrainian parliament. Rutte told Ukrainian representatives that “important progress has been made” in trilateral U.S.-Ukraine-Russia talks.

“But Russia continues to attack, as it did last night,” Rutte added. “This demonstrates their lack of seriousness about peace.”

Monday night’s attack prompted the scrambling of NATO fighter jets in Poland, which borders Ukraine to the country’s west. Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command Operational Command said that no violation of the nation’s airspace was recorded.

German fighter jets and Dutch anti-air defense systems were among the assets put on alert, the command said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least 10 Ukrainian drones overnight.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed in a post to Telegram that it struck several targets on Russian-held territory overnight into Tuesday.

Ukraine’s targets included a drone training and production site in occupied Zaporizhzhia, a concentration of Russian forces in the western Russian border region of Belgorod and an electronic warfare site in occupied Donetsk, the General Staff said.

Brendan Banfield double murder trial: Verdict reached for man accused of elaborate plot to get rid of his wife

February 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(FAIRFAX, Va.) — A jury has reached a verdict in the double murder trial of a Virginia man accused of killing his wife and a stranger lured to their home under false pretenses in an elaborate plot to get rid of his spouse so he could be with his au pair, with whom he was having an affair.

Brendan Banfield, 40, is accused of stabbing his wife to death in their home in Fairfax County and fatally shooting a man he allegedly “catfished” on a fetish website. Prosecutors said he pretended to be his wife to lure the man to their home for what was believed to be a consensual fake rape scenario in order to frame that stranger for his wife’s murder.

The jury deliberated nearly nine hours over two days, starting Friday, before reaching a verdict Monday afternoon. The verdict is expected to be read in court at 5 p.m. ET Monday.

The former IRS agent was charged with aggravated murder in 2024 following a monthslong investigation into the deaths of his wife, 37-year-old nurse Christine Banfield, and the man, 39-year-old Joseph Ryan.

Prosecutors accused Brendan Banfield of plotting the murders with the family’s au pair, 25-year-old Juliana Peres Magalhaes, who was initially charged with second-degree murder in connection with the deaths.

Ahead of the trial, Peres Magalhaes pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Under the plea agreement with prosecutors, she will receive time served for testifying against Brendan Banfield.

During closing arguments on Friday, the prosecutor made the case that the murders were premeditated.

“He was in love with Juliana. He can pretend that this was a fling and affair — he’d had them before, no big deal. He was in love with Juliana,” prosecutor Jenna Sands said. “He was afraid of losing her. He needed to get rid of his wife so that they could be together, so that they could marry, so that they could have those babies that he was picking out names for.”

Sands said there was no evidence that Christine Banfield had previously used dating or fetish websites, argued that there were signs that the crime scene had been “manipulated,” and reminded jurors that during the au pair’s testimony, Peres Magalhaes “told us how the plan was crafted and how it played out.”

The defense, meanwhile, pushed back on the catfishing theory, questioned the thoroughness of the investigation and argued that there were conclusions made based on confirmation bias. The attorney, John Carroll, claimed that prosecutors pressured Peres Magalhaes to change her story and that she “secured herself a deal that benefited her.” Carroll also said Brendan Banfield didn’t have to testify, but he did as they sought “to get the truth out there.”

“Is it reasonable, after a six- to eight-week affair, that someone is going to try to get rid of their companion of 19 years, wife of 12 years? Is that reasonable?” Carroll asked the jury. “You heard from my client: He thinks it’s absurd.”

During his testimony, Brendan Banfield called the allegations “absolutely crazy” and said his affair with Peres Magalhaes was just that and nothing more.

He said he came home on Feb. 24, 2023, after the au pair called to alert him about a stranger in the home. He said he went up to his bedroom with his gun drawn and found his wife naked with Ryan and that she called out, “Brendan, he has a knife!”

“I was extremely terrified,” Brendan Banfield told the jury. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more panicked in my life.”

He said he fired his government-issued firearm, striking Ryan in the head, after the man appeared to stab his wife.

Prosecutors said Christine Banfield was stabbed seven times in the neck.

Peres Magalhaes testified that Brendan Banfield expressed his desire to “get rid of” his wife in October 2022, saying, “At first, I thought he was joking.”

She testified that she had helped Brendan Banfield catfish Ryan on the fetish website to lure Ryan to the home.

Peres Magalhaes told the court that Brendan Banfield told her he wanted to marry her and have children with her, and that he didn’t want to divorce his wife because “she would have more money than he would” and because he wanted custody of the couple’s daughter.

Brendan Banfield was additionally charged with using a firearm while committing or attempting to commit murder and child endangerment. The couple’s then-4-year-old daughter was in the house at the time of the killings, in the basement.

“He left her in the basement, knowing that Joe Ryan was upstairs,” Sands said during her closing argument. “He left her in the basement while he shot and killed Joe Ryan. He left her in the basement while he stabbed his wife.”

Authorities shut down 3 illegal call centers tied to gold bar scam

February 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md.) — Maryland and federal authorities announced Monday that they have shut down three Indian call centers linked to a gold bar scam that stole millions of dollars from American consumers.

Authorities said the operation netted almost $50 million from more than 600 victims across the U.S. through wire transfer, cryptocurrency and gold bar schemes.

The six alleged leaders of the scheme were also arrested, authorities said.

An ABC News investigation previously found that as the value of gold surged, grifters posing as federal agents convinced people — mostly older Americans — to convert their life savings into gold bars.

As part of the scheme, scammers sent “couriers” to pick up the bars in person to allegedly keep them in a secure location.

Last year, ABC News interviewed a suspected courier from jail as he faced charges in two states for his alleged involvement in the scam. He claimed he was hired by an individual in India and paid between $800 and $4,000 per job to pick up packages, some of which contained gold bars.

John McCarthy, the Maryland state attorney for Montgomery County, announced Monday that his office had indicted 10 couriers accused of collecting money from victims, and said that several of those cases have already resulted in convictions.

“They’re targeting people who have retirement money, who have pensions, who have investments, who’ve maybe sold their homes and have that money in reserve,” McCarthy said.

Epstein files: DOJ says it’s taken down ‘several thousand documents’ that mistakenly identified victims

February 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Department of Justice officials say they have taken down “several thousand documents and media” from its website containing files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that “may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information due to various factors, including technical or human error,” according to a letter filed on the dockets of two federal judges Monday.

The government’s update comes after attorneys for Epstein’s victims asked the judges late Sunday to urgently order that the DOJ site be taken down because of redaction failures exposing the names or personal information, they said, of “nearly 100 individual survivors whose lives have been turned upside down by the DOJ’s latest release.”

The DOJ’s letter — submitted by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York — also notes that the Justice Department has “further expedited its processes” for responding to Epstein victims’ concerns and for removing documents to be reexamined for additional redactions.

The letter gives no indication that the government intends to pull the site offline, but it says they are continuing to engage with victims and their counsel to identify and remove materials, and are “making further enhancements” to best address victims’ concerns while also complying with the disclosure requirements of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that mandates the release of the files.

“As of the writing of this letter, all documents requested by victims or counsel to be removed by yesterday evening have been removed for further redaction, and the Department is continuing to process any new requests and to run its own searches to identify any other documents that may require further redaction,” Clayton wrote. He noted that the DOJ had also removed a “substantial number” of documents identified independently by the department.

Clayton wrote that the DOJ has “iteratively revised its protocols” and has “teams of personnel” monitoring requests by victims and their lawyers.

The Justice Department is not “relying solely” on the victims to identify specific documents, Clayton said. A team worked through the weekend, according to the letter, running “supplemental searches to identify missed redactions.”

“The first 24 hours of engagement on these issues, as well as the Department’s own internal review of its processes, following the release of documents on Friday led to significant enhancements to and streamlining of the Department’s processes for addressing victim concerns,” Clayton wrote.

Three million pages from the DOJ’s files on Epstein were being released to the public, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday. Blanche said in total there were 6 million pages of Epstein documents in the DOJ’s files, but that nearly 3 million pages were being withheld for various reasons including the presence of child sexual abuse material and the obligation to protect victims’ rights.

Gaza-Egypt border crossing at Rafah partially reopens after more than 2 years

February 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt has reopened to limited pedestrian traffic, Israeli authorities confirmed Monday.

The reopening is the first step in implementing the second phase of President Trump’s Gaza peace plan. The crossing has been completely closed to Palestinians in Gaza since May 2024. Egypt has not allowed unfettered access to its territory through the crossing.

“Following the arrival of the EUBAM teams on behalf of the European Union, the Rafah crossing has now opened to the movement of residents, for both entry and exit,” an Israeli security official told ABC News.

The first group of Palestinians returning from Egypt has arrived in the Gaza Strip. Khaled Megawer, Egypt’s North Sinai governor general, said 50 Palestinians were expected to cross into Egypt on Monday.

Raeed Al-Nemes, a Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) spokesperson, told ABC News that a total of 15 Palestinians – including five Palestinian patients and 10 relatives – left Gaza via the Rafah crossing on Monday.

“The health situation in Gaza is extremely dire,” he said, calling on international organizations and the National Gaza Administration Committee to pressure Israel to allow a larger number of patients to travel abroad for treatment.

On Sunday night, the Israeli Army released video and pictures of a new Israel Defense Forces security checkpoint it will use for Gazans entering Rafah. In a statement, the IDF said “forces have completed in recent days the establishment of the ‘Regavim’ designated checkpoint, which is managed by the security establishment in the area under IDF control.”

The IDF added, “The security establishment forces at the checkpoint check the identities of those entering against lists approved by the Israeli security establishment and carry out a strict inspection of their luggage.”

Israel said it will approve the names of all Gazans entering or leaving the area according to terms reached under Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

The Egyptian Ministry of Health announced Monday that 150 hospitals and approximately 300 ambulances were ready to receive injured and wounded Palestinians.

About 22,000 injured Gazans need medical evacuation, a Hamas spokesperson said Sunday.

On the other side of the crossing, about 10,700 Palestinians who have been evacuated to seek treatment outside Gaza through the World Health Organization will return to the territory after their treatment, the PRCS spokesman said.

‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother missing in Arizona, evidence of crime at home: Sheriff

February 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — There is evidence of a crime at the home of the missing 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, according to authorities in Arizona.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen in the Catalina Foothills area on Saturday night, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. She was reported missing on Sunday around noon, authorities said.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said investigators processed her home on Sunday and “saw some things at the home that were concerning to us,” and that it is considered a crime scene.

“She did not leave on her own, we know that,” Nanos said.

Nancy Guthrie is described as having some physical ailments and limited mobility, but does not have cognitive issues, her family said, according to the sheriff.

She takes medication that if she doesn’t have in 24 hours, “it could be fatal,” Nanos said Monday.

“So we make a plea to anyone that knows anything about this, who has seen something, heard something, to contact us, call 911,” he said, urging residents to check any home security cameras.

The search and rescue effort for Nancy Guthrie, which was conducted late into Sunday night “to no avail,” has ended for the time being, Nanos said.

“Right now, we don’t see this as a search mission, as much as we do a crime scene,” he said.

There’s no indication at this time that the public is in danger, the sheriff said.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen Saturday night by family members, when her children brought her home around 9:45 p.m. local time, according to Nanos. The following morning, her family got a call from their mother’s church saying she wasn’t there, he said.

“The family went to the house. I’m thinking they spent some time looking for her themselves before they called us,” he said.

An NBCUniversal spokesperson confirmed early on Monday that Nancy Guthrie is missing and said the family is “working closely with local law enforcement.”

“On behalf of our family, I want to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and messages of support,” Savannah Guthrie said in a statement read by Craig Melvin on the “Today” show on Monday. “Right now, our focus remains on the safe return of our dear mom.”

“We thank law enforcement for their hard work on this case and encourage anyone with information to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900,” the statement continued.

ABC News’ Cecilie Larcher contributed to this report.

White House faces questions over UAE royal’s investment in Trump family’s crypto firm

February 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, sold a $500 million stake to a member of the Emirati royal family shortly before his inauguration last January, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, sparking concerns over a potential conflict of interest.

According to the Journal, which reviewed undisclosed corporate documents, a firm associated with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Abu Dhabi royal who operates an enormous state investment fund, purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty, which is co-owned by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his family, just four days before the Trump administration swept into office.

Months later, the Trump administration agreed to supply the UAE with highly coveted American-made AI chips despite the prior administration’s concern that they may fall into the hands of the Chinese.

David Wachsman, a spokesperson for World Liberty Financial, acknowledged the existence of the deal in a statement to ABC News, but insisted that “neither President Trump nor Steve Witkoff had any involvement whatsoever in this transaction” and that “any claim that this deal had anything to do with the Administration’s actions on chips is 100% false.”

“We made the deal in question because we strongly believe that it was what was best for our company as we continue to grow. The idea that, when raising capital, a privately-held American company should be held to some unique standard that no other similar company would be held is both ridiculous and un-American,” the statement continued.

David Warrington, the White House counsel, told ABC News in a statement that “the President has no involvement in business deals that would implicate his constitutional responsibilities,” and that “President Trump performs his constitutional duties in an ethically sound manner and to suggest so otherwise is either ill-informed or malicious.”

But the Journal’s report adds yet another wrinkle to the U.S. decision to sell highly coveted advanced chips to the Emiratis.

As ABC News previously reported, shortly before the chips deal was announced, a UAE-backed investment firm called MGX announced last May that it would use a digital token minted by World Liberty Financial to finance a $2 billion investment in a crypto exchange Binance, a major boon for the firm.

Shiekh Tahnoon, who is the brother of the UAE’s president, also serves as MGX’s chairman.

The Biden administration declined to provide the UAE with the chips, which power some of the most sophisticated weapons on the planet, for fear they might be redirected into China.

Peter Wildeford, the head of policy at the AI Policy Network, a nonpartisan advocacy group, warned that could close the U.S.’s advantage in the AI race and compromise American security.

“If China gets their hands on these chips at scale, they would be able to launch cyberattacks against the U.S., they could build autonomous weapons that could find and sink our Navy ships — they could close the military technology gap that’s currently keeping us safe,” he said.

World Liberty has emerged as perhaps the most lucrative of the Trump family’s various business ventures, either in cryptocurrency or real estate. ABC News reported last year that the Trump family secured a roughly $5 billion windfall when trading of World Liberty’s digital token opened.

According to the Journal, Shiekh Tahnoon agreed to pay half of his investment in World Liberty up front. Based on the ownership structure of the company at the time, that meant a payment of as much as $187 million into the Trump family’s coffers on the eve of his return to office.

Ethics experts said the concept of a foreign government official secretly directing hundreds of millions of dollars to a company owned in part by the president has no known precedent — and raises a host of ethical and national security concerns.

“Maybe the President would have reached the same decision over the transfer of high techn [chips] to UAE if he wasn’t also getting money from them,” said Robert Weissman, the co-president of the advocacy group Public Citizen. “But we’ve got no way to know that, and we do know there was a lot of opposition inside the government to do exactly what he has OK’d.”

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly maintained that the president “only acts in the best interests of the American public,” and said that no conflict of interest exists in part because the president’s assets are held in a blind trust managed by his children. Typically, a blind trust would operate with an independent trustee.

“President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children,” Kelly added. “There are no conflicts of interest.”

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Congressional Democrats leapt at new details in the report, characterizing the transaction as further evidence of alleged pay-for-play. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., alleged “mind blowing corruption,” in a post to X.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., issued a statement calling the deal “corruption, plain and simple.”

“Foreign countries are bribing our president to sell out the American people,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., claimed in a post to X.

Shortly before the chips deal was announced last May, a UAE-backed investment firm called MGX said it would use a digital token minted by World Liberty Financial to finance a $2 billion investment in a crypto exchange Binance. Tahnoon also serves as MGX’s chairman.

MGX is also one of the few companies with a major ownership stake in the new TikTok U.S. joint venture, with a 15% stake in the new entity.

ABC News’ Selina Wang contributed to this report.

Hundreds of parents ask Roblox board to stop attempts to force lawsuits out of the public eye

February 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A group of 800 parents — including those who have already filed suit and those who have retained lawyers with the intent to sue –sent a letter to the board of directors of Roblox demanding the gaming company stop attempts to keep lawsuits out of the public eye.

Roblox, launched in 2006, has been at the center of recent controversy, with some parents alleging that the platform has been used to help facilitate child sexual exploitation and grooming.

The company is facing over 100 lawsuits that were recently consolidated, with one law firm telling ABC News that it is investigating thousands of child sexual exploitation and abuse claims.

Roblox had nearly 83 million average daily active users in 2024, according to its financial reports. It reported $3.6 billion in revenue that year.

Pat Huyett, one of the attorneys representing families in the lawsuits, said Roblox’s legal strategy has been to file motions to compel arbitration — a private, out-of-court process where claims are settled confidentially by a third party.

“They are confidential, they’re secretive,” Huyett said. “Anything that happens in those arbitration proceedings does not become public, so Roblox’s conduct can’t be scrutinized by the public.”

In the letter sent Sunday night, the parents asked the board to “stop the improper and shameful attempts to force these vulnerable, sexually abused and exploited children into secret arbitration proceedings.”

The letter includes signatures from parents in Washington, California, Florida and Texas who allege their children were targeted by predators.

“These children deserve their day in court,” the parents wrote.

The company has consistently responded to the lawsuits and allegations by stating that protecting children is a priority and announcing investments in safety measures, including artificial intelligence age verification.

According to Roblox, inappropriate content is against the rules and standards of the game. The company says it uses thousands of human moderators and artificial intelligence tools to police content.

“We are deeply troubled by any allegations about harms to children online and are committed to setting the industry standard for safety,” a spokesperson for Roblox previously told ABC News. “To protect our users, we have rigorous, industry-leading policies, including limiting chat for younger users and employing advanced filters designed to block the sharing of personal information. Roblox also does not allow users to share images or videos. We also collaborate closely with law enforcement.”

A separate group of 150 parents sent a similar letter to Discord, a communication platform that families allege predators use to communicate with minors after meeting them on Roblox.

Roblox and Discord did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Discord previously told ABC News the company is “committed to safety” and said it requires all users to be 13 to use their platform.

“We maintain strong systems to prevent the spread of sexual exploitation and grooming on our platform and also work with other technology companies and safety organizations to improve online safety across the internet,” the spokesperson previously said.

The letter from the parents contains accounts from parents about their children’s experience, including a Washington state teenager allegedly coerced into sending explicit images and a minor in California who was allegedly groomed on the platform and later died by suicide.

Families from Florida and Texas also described experiences involving extortion, self-harm and physical assault.

The push from parents follows a ruling from a judge in November that rejected Roblox’s attempt to force a child exploitation case into arbitration. In the order, the California judge cited the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA), which prohibits forced arbitration in cases of sexual abuse. Roblox has appealed the order.

In the letter sent on Sunday, the parents argued that while Roblox claims to prioritize “community before company,” it is simultaneously “attempting to silence abused and exploited children in secret arbitration.”

“By trying to force sexually abused and exploited children to tell their stories only in private, confidential proceedings, Roblox seeks to protect predators and itself, not its users,” the letter states.

Huyett told ABC News, “The families really just want to heal … but on the other hand, they want accountability.”

‘Today’ show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother reported missing in Arizona: Sheriff

February 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — An 84-year-old woman who was reported missing in Arizona has been identified by officials as the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced during a news conference on Sunday that Nancy Guthrie was last seen in the Catalina Foothills area on Saturday night at approximately 9:45 p.m.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said a family member reported her missing on Sunday, around noon.

Nanos said search and rescue teams have been out at Nancy Gutherie’s home, along with homicide teams and detectives.

Foul play is not being ruled out at this time, he said.

Nancy Guthrie is described as having some physical ailments, but does not have cognitive issues, her family said, according to the sheriff.

An NBCUniversal spokesperson confirmed early on Monday that Nancy Guthrie was missing.

“We can confirm this is a missing persons case, and the family is working closely with local law enforcement,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “If anyone has any information, please contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900. The family is grateful for the outreach, thoughts and prayers.”

ABC News’ Cecilie Larcher contributed to this report.

Venezuela’s first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas has left Venezuela bound for the US

February 2, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez announced on Sunday that the country’s first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas had been exported.

The announcement in a post on her Telegram channel on Sunday comes almost a month after President Donald Trump ordered a military operation that led to the capture of Venezuela’s former President Nicolas Maduro, who now faces federal charges in the U.S.

Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, was sworn in as the interim president after his capture in January.

Rodriguez said the ship, the Chrysopigi Lady, had set sail from Venezuela “with the first shipment of Liquefied Petroleum Gas,” in a post, originally in Spanish.

The Singapore-flagged Chrysopigi Lady left from a port in northern Venezuela on the evening of Feb. 1 and is set to arrive in Providence, Rhode Island, according to marinetraffic.com.

“Proud to share this moment: the vessel Chrysopigi Lady has set sail from Venezuela with the first shipment of Liquefied Petroleum Gas,” Rodriguez said in the post. “We are marking this historic milestone by exporting the country’s first molecule of gas; an achievement for the well-being of the people of Venezuela.”

Rodriguez faces key tests in the weeks ahead. Since becoming the country’s de facto leader, she has struggled with her new twin responsibilities of maintaining order at home and managing diplomatic relations with the United States who conducted a military operation on her country’s soil weeks ago.

Last week, Rodriguez appeared to struggle publicly with the appropriate tone to both satisfy Washington and assert Venezuela’s independence.

Rodriguez said Venezuela has “opened a space for political dialogue,” but warned “those who seek to perpetuate harm and aggression against the people of Venezuela should stay in Washington,” in public comments during a ceremony recognizing her as Venezuela’s Commander-in-Chief in Caracas on Jan. 28.

Rodriguez also said “no one” in Venezuela surrendered during the military operation on Jan. 3. “That is why I say honor and glory to the heroes and heroines of January 3, 2026,” she said during the ceremony on Jan. 28.

About 100 people overall were killed during the U.S. military operation on Jan. 3, Venezuela’s interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, said on Jan. 8, according to Reuters. Out of the 100, 32 Cuban security officials were killed during the attack, the Cuban government confirmed on Jan. 4.

+ More