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IRS, DHS sign data-sharing agreement for taxpayer data of those illegally in US

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The IRS and Department of Homeland Security have reached a data-sharing agreement to support the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda, according to a court filing late Monday night.

Under the terms of the agreement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would submit names and addresses of immigrants living in the United States without legal status who have final removal orders, which would be used to check against IRS taxpayer records.

“As laid out in the MOU, DHS can legally request return information relating to individuals under criminal investigation, and the IRS must provide it,” the court filing said. The actual memorandum of understanding was filed in court and said the agencies are exercising this authority under the president’s executive order.

“Each request will attest that [redacted] information will only be used by officers and employees of ICE solely for the preparation for judicial or administrative proceedings or investigation that may lead to such proceedings,” the MOU said.

A spokesperson for the Treasury Department confirmed the MOU and said the basis is legal.

“The Internal Revenue Service and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement have entered into a memorandum of understanding to establish a clear and secure process to support law enforcement’s efforts to combat illegal immigration,” the Treasury spokesperson said.

“The bases for this MOU are founded in longstanding authorities granted by Congress, which serve to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans while streamlining the ability to pursue criminals,” the spokesperson added. “After four years of Joe Biden flooding the nation with illegal aliens, President Trump’s highest priority is to ensure the safety of the American people.”

The MOU, according to a Treasury Department official, creates guardrails for the agencies to follow in carrying it out.

Consistent with IRS privacy protection laws, specifically Internal Revenue Code Section 6103, the Treasury Department is committed to protecting the taxpayer data of lawfully abiding persons, the official said.

However, Section 6103 has a criminal exemption. This exemption obligates the IRS to assist law enforcement in the pursuit of criminals and will be used against any migrant who has overstayed for more than 90 days as part of the carveout.

Veterans of the IRS have raised concerns about the unprecedented use of tax data and the use of exceptions to the strict laws governing its use, some of which are meant to help law enforcement in criminal investigations.

Section 6103 requires that the IRS keep individual taxpayer information confidential with certain limited exceptions, including with law enforcement agencies “for investigation and prosecution of non-tax criminal laws” with approval from a court, according to the agency’s website.

Current and former agency officials also said they worry the new policy could affect tax collections and discourage immigrants without legal status who are working from paying taxes for a variety of reasons.

The IRS has allowed immigrants without legal status to file income tax returns with individual tax numbers. These migrants contributed $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes using borrowed or fraudulent Social Security numbers, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The court filings were filed in a case attempting to stop the MOU from being signed.

A senior DHS official said that under the Trump administration, “the government is finally doing what it should have all along: sharing information across the federal government to solve problems.”

“Biden not only allowed millions of illegal aliens to flood into our country — he lost them due to incompetence and improper processing,” a DHS official said. “Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense.”

Chicago man charged in connection to series of sexual crimes: Police

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(CHICAGO) — A Chicago man was charged in connection to a series of sex crimes targeting women at least five times over the past three years, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Chakib Mansour Khodja, a 36-year-old Jefferson Park resident, was charged with 16 felonies and two misdemeanors on Monday, including aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed, home invasion with a dangerous weapon and public indecency with lewd exposure, police said in a press release.

The earliest incident allegedly occurred on May 7, 2022, and the latest on Feb. 2, police said.

“This man was a violent, serial predator who literally went out hunting for his victims,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said during a press conference on Monday.

In February, Khodja allegedly “approached the female victims from behind (twice on the sidewalk and once in an apartment building hallway)” and sexually assaulted them, police said. In one of these instances, he was armed with a sharp object, police said.

“These women survived something that was horrible and terrible and it’s something that they will continue to live with throughout the rest of their days,” CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said.

Investigators used video surveillance and DNA evidence to connect Khodja to the crimes, police said.

The suspect was arrested on April 4 at O’Hare Airport, when he was coming back from out of town, police said.

Khodja made his first court appearance on Monday, officials said. He was held pending trial.

He was appointed a public defender, but the lawyer was not named in court records.

“Today, the city is safer. Today, every single woman in the city, every single man who has a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister should all be breathing a sigh of relief,” O’Neill said.

Snelling said officials are still determining if there are any additional victims of Khodja’s attacks.

15-year-old arrested for fatally stabbing grandmother, injuring mother: Police

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(SELDEN, N.Y.) — A 15-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing his grandmother and injuring his mother in Selden, New York, according to police.

Vanessa Chendemi was allegedly stabbed by her son at about 9:45 p.m. Monday after which she ran out of her house and a passing motorist stopped to offer assistance, the Suffolk County Police Department said. Upon arriving at the scene, officers said they found 56-year-old Concetta Chendemi with stab wounds in the residence.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Vanessa Chendemi, 36, was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition, Suffolk County police said.

The suspect fled the scene after the stabbing, police said. He was later arrested at around 11:20 p.m.

The accused stabber — who has not been identified by police because he is a minor — has been charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

Measles cases in Texas outbreak surpass 500 with 24 new infections confirmed over last 5 days

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow, with 24 new cases confirmed over the last five days, according to data published Tuesday.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

Three of the 505 cases are among residents who have been vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Seven cases are among those vaccinated with two doses.

At least 57 measles patients have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.

Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, followed by children ages 4 and under.

Gaines County, which borders New Mexico, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, with 328 cases confirmed so far, DSHS data shows.

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

Judge Boasberg cancels hearing on Trump deportations after Supreme Court ruling

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has canceled a Tuesday afternoon hearing on the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged migrant gang members without due process, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday evening that the administration could resume carrying out such deportations.

Boasberg had scheduled the hearing to consider whether to convert the temporary restraining order he issued blocking those deportations last month into a longer-lasting preliminary injunction, as he mulled whether to hold the administration in contempt for failing to provide information about the deportation of over 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members last month.

Boasberg’s order canceling Tuesday’s hearing did not address where the contempt issue stands.

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision Monday evening, ruled that the Trump administration could resume deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act, but said detainees must be given due process to challenge their removal.

The unsigned opinion lifted Boasberg’s temporary restraining order, ruling that he lacked the jurisdiction to address the matter.

In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, the ACLU — which is representing several alleged Venezuelan gang members who are set to be sent to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act — filed habeas petitions in the New York district where the men are being held, seeking to challenge their removal.

Trump last month invoked the Alien Enemies Act — a wartime authority used to deport noncitizens with little-to-no due process — by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the United States.

Judge Boasberg temporarily blocked the president’s use of the law on March 15, ordering that the government turn around two flights carrying more than 200 alleged Tren de Aragua members to El Salvador.

Authorities failed to turn the flights around, leading the judge to threaten the administration with contempt.

ABC News’ Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.

Supreme Court allows Trump to terminate 16,000 probationary federal workers

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Trump administration can move forward with the termination of 16,000 probationary federal workers across six agencies and departments, rescinding a lower court order that they be reinstated as litigation challenging the layoffs continues.

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

Flooding danger persists in wake of deadly storm: ‘We need people to wait this out,’ Kentucky governor says

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) — The flooding danger isn’t over in the wake of four days of deadly storms that devastated the central U.S. with catastrophic rainfall and destructive tornadoes.

For Andy Beshear, governor of hard-hit Kentucky, the biggest concern is people driving through water and around barricades.

“We need people to wait this out,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.

Twenty-three people have died since Wednesday from the storms, with the fatalities spanning Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi and Indiana.

Four of the deaths were in Kentucky, including a 27-year-old man, Lee Chandler, who was reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters in McCracken County. His body has since been recovered, police said on Monday.

The rainfall from these storms was historic. More than 15 inches of rain deluged Benton, Kentucky — the most rain on record in a four-day period for the western part of the state — and over 14 inches of rain inundated Arkansas and Tennessee.

Flood alerts remain in effect on Tuesday in Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana. Twenty-one river gauges are currently in major flood stage and more than 40 locations could reach major flood stage this week.

In hard-hit Frankfort, Kentucky, the Kentucky River crested near record levels on Sunday night, more than 17 feet above flood stage — the highest the river has been in decades at this location. The river is now slowly receding, but still in major flood stage.

Beshear said rivers have crested in many places and flooding should soon be going down.

He said he hopes people forced to evacuate can return to their homes on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced a new website, Floodsmart.gov, to help people directly access flood insurance quotes.

“It’s quick and easy and takes just a few minutes. Insured survivors recover faster,” Cameron Hamilton, senior official performing the duties of FEMA administrator, said in a statement. “With spring flooding and hurricane season both approaching fast, it’s important to take this first step so you can better protect the life you’ve built.”

ABC News’ Melissa Griffin, Max Golembo and Luke Barr contributed to this report.

14-year-old dual Palestinian-US citizen killed in the West Bank

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — A 14-year-old dual Palestinian-U.S. citizen was killed in the West Bank on Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Monday.

The teen was identified as Amer Mohamad Saada Rabee.

The death comes after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement Sunday that they identified “three terrorists who hurled rocks toward the highway, thus endangering civilians driving” in the Turmus Ayya area of the West Bank.

Israeli soldiers “opened fire,” killing one person and hitting two others, the IDF said in the statement, though they did not identify the person who was killed.

In response to an ABC News request, the IDF would not comment regarding whether they are investigating the incident. A video of the rock-throwing incident in question was provided with the IDF statement Sunday.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed in a statement to ABC News that a U.S. citizen died in the West Bank.

“We acknowledge the IDF’s initial statement that expressed that this incident occurred during a counter-terrorism operation and that Israel is investigating,” the statement said.

“It is with heavy hearts that The Palestinian American Community Center (PACC) shares the news of the horrific killing of Amer Mohamad Saada Rabee, a young 14-year-old Palestinian American boy from Turmusayya [sic], a village in the West Bank,” the New Jersey-based Palestinian American Community Center said in a statement.

Two other people who were also under 18 years old were injured in the incident, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

“Amer, along with two other Palestinian American 15-year-olds from the village, were shot by Israeli military officers. Amer was shot 11 times in total,” the Palestinian American Community Center said.

Mourners gathered Sunday for funeral prayers at the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, New Jersey.

ABC News’ Nathan Luna contributed to this report.

Following Supreme Court ruling, Judge Boasberg cancels hearing on use of Alien Enemies Act for deportations

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

Boasberg’s order canceling Tuesday’s hearing did not address where the contempt issue stands.

The unsigned opinion lifted Boasberg’s temporary restraining order, ruling that he lacked the jurisdiction to address the matter.

Authorities failed to turn the flights around, leading the judge to threaten the administration with contempt.

Iran says US talks will be ‘indirect’ despite Trump ‘direct’ negotiations announcement

April 8, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Iranian officials confirmed Monday that Tehran would hold “indirect” high level talks with U.S. representatives in Oman this weekend regarding Iran’s nuclear program, though appeared to contradict President Donald Trump’s assertion that the negotiations are “direct” in nature.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, “We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started. It’ll go on Saturday. We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen.”

“You know, a lot of people say, ‘Oh, maybe you’re going through surrogates or you’re not dealing directly. You’re dealing through other countries.’ No, we’re dealing with them directly. And, maybe a deal is going to be made,” Trump said.

Asked on Tuesday whether the talks would indeed be direct, a White House National Security spokesperson told ABC News, “The president was clear in his remarks.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that a meeting will take place in Oman on April 12, though stressed they would be “indirect high-level talks.”

“It is as much an opportunity as it is a test,” Araghchi said in a post to social media.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani also told a Tuesday press conference that the coming talks with the U.S. will be “indirect.”

“We believe in negotiations,” she said, as quoted by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. “We had previously stated that if the language of respect is used, we will negotiate.”

“Details will emerge during the negotiations,” Mohajerani added. “As negotiations have not started yet, there are no details that we can share now,” she said.

“As a negotiator party with an equal perspective toward the talks, what matters to us is focusing on our national interests, anything that improves the situation for our people, and the topics that have previously been discussed. Hopefully, we will have wise negotiations ahead,” she added.

The U.S. and Iran have engaged in indirect talks several times in recent years. The country has traditionally played a mediating role between Washington and Tehran, including during talks held there in 2023.

Iranian officials have so far refused Trump’s offer to engage in direct talks. President Masoud Pezeshkian said in March that “although direct negotiations between the two parties are rejected, it has been stated that the path for indirect negotiations is open.”

If direct talks happen as Trump said, they would be the first publicly-known direct negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since the president exited the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal in 2018.

In recent weeks, Trump has threatened potential military action against Iran to keep it from developing nuclear weapons.

“I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” the president said Monday, speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or, frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it,” he said.

“So, we’re going to see if we can avoid it,” Trump continued. “But it’s getting to be very dangerous territory. And hopefully those talks will be successful. And I think it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful.”

ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.

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