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University of Alabama graduate student detained by ICE, school says

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(TUSCALOOSA, Ala.) — Federal immigration agents have detained a University of Alabama doctoral student who is a citizen of Iran, according to the school and ICE records.

Alireza Doroudi, a doctoral student from Iran studying mechanical engineering, is currently being held in a detention facility, but ICE records do not list where he is being held.

The reason for his detention was not immediately clear.

“The University of Alabama recently learned that a doctoral student has been detained off campus by federal immigration authorities,” the university said in a statement. “Federal privacy laws limit what can be shared about an individual student. International students studying at the University are valued members of the campus community, and International Student and Scholar Services is available to assist international students who have questions.”

“UA has and will continue to follow all immigration laws and cooperate with federal authorities,” it said.

It was not immediately clear whether he had secured legal representation.

Doroudi’s Linkedin page says he is a “trained metallurgy engineer with over ten years of academic experience in Materials Science, welding, and brazing.”

Doroudi is one of multiple college students to recently be detained by ICE.

Tufts University Ph.D. student Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national, was arrested by immigration authorities as she was headed to meet her friends and break her fast on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by ICE. Khalil had been one of the leaders of pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University last spring.

Khalil was taken from his student apartment building in lower Manhattan, and then to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, before being transferred to Louisiana.

President Donald Trump claimed Khalil was a “Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student” and said this is the “first arrest of many to come” in a post on his Truth Social platform this month.

“We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again,” he added.

Khalil and his lawyers have denied he supports Hamas or has any ties to the group.

A second student involved with the protests at Columbia University was also arrested by the Department of Homeland Security this month.

Leqaa Korda was arrested by agents from Homeland Security Investigations for allegedly overstaying her expired visa — which terminated on Jan. 26, 2022. Korda was also allegedly arrested in 2024 for her involvement in the protests, according to DHS.

HHS sued for cutting program that provides legal aid for migrant children

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Organizations that provide legal aid to migrant children have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after the agency cut funding to the program that provides legal representation to tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors.

According to the lawsuit filed on Thursday, some of the groups that received federal grants have had to stop taking on new clients and “face the real threat of not being able to continue their ongoing representations.”

Last week, groups that have collectively received over $200 million in federal grants were told that the contract was partially terminated, ending the funding for legal representation and for the recruitment of attorneys to represent migrant children.

Currently, 26,000 migrant children receive legal representation through the funding.

The groups, which filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, are asking a federal judge to issue an injunction and block HHS from ceasing funding for legal representation for unaccompanied children.

“As a consequence of Defendants ordering Plaintiffs to stop providing direct legal services, many unaccompanied children will never speak to a lawyer, will never apply for immigration relief for which they are eligible, will remain in tenuous status for longer, and will not understand what is happening as they are rushed through adversarial removal proceedings,” the groups said in the filing.

ABC News has reached out to HHS for comment.

The groups added that the cuts in the funding will cause immigration judges to spend more time on cases for unaccompanied children who appear in court without a lawyer “at a time when the immigration court backlog is already at an all-time high.”

“Defendants’ actions will also cause chaos throughout the immigration legal system and are particularly harmful because they come at a time when the government is reinstating expedited docketing for removal cases for unaccompanied children,” the groups said.

In a statement, Sam Hsieh, an attorney for the Amica Center, one of the groups that represent migrant children, called the decision to terminate the programs “the most brazen attack on immigrant children since family separation.”

“The Trump Administration’s decision to terminate these national legal service programs poses a significant threat to the rights of already vulnerable unaccompanied immigrant children,” Hsieh said. “Many of these children are eligible for immigration relief but are unable to meaningfully seek it without an attorney.”

Manhattan DA sends warning to ghost gun makers in wake of Supreme Court ruling

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — One day after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld federal restrictions on ghost guns, prosecutors in New York are warning 3D-printing companies their “insufficient security measures” are causing a “troubling rise in access to unregulated weaponry.”

The warning came in a letter Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent Thursday to Creality 3D Technology Co. and other 3D-printing companies that asks them to make fixes to stop the proliferation of ghost guns on city streets. The letter makes specific reference to Luigi Mangione allegedly using a 3D-printed ghost gun and silencer to murder United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year.

Bragg said he sent the letter because of “a growing and concerning number” of ghost guns being manufactured by personal desktop 3D printers based on downloadable gun part designs and detailed assembly guides found on the “Creality Cloud.”

The district attorney said many of the guns are being assembled by felons and minors who have ready access to online instructions.

“It is paramount that you work to remove weaponry from your company’s cloud services and explicitly ban the creation of illicit weapons in your company’s user agreement,” the letter from Bragg said. “It is imperative that you take swift action to protect your customers and the communities they live in from violence and criminal activity by adopting commonsense security measures to deter the spread of illicit firearms both locally and across the United States.”

In New York City, the NYPD reported a significant increase in ghost guns seized on the streets from 2020 to 2025. In 2018, 17 ghost guns were seized. In 2024, the number was 438. Many of those were made with Creality printers, Bragg said.

“For instance, in 2023, our investigation found that an individual who was 3D-printing assault weapons and manufacturing illegal drugs utilized a Creality printer to print multiple firearms. In another instance, in 2023, an individual who threatened to kill his girlfriend was found to be manufacturing an arsenal of weapons in his apartment using a Creality printer. Additionally, recent research has found that the vast majority of illegal 3D printed guns were created using Creality printers, specifically the Ender 3 series model,” the letter said.

Creality did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

“I am concerned about the troubling rise in access to unregulated weaponry, especially among individuals convicted of felonies and minors, because of insufficient security measures connected with your products and business policy decisions,” Bragg said.

The letter did not threaten prosecution but requested a meeting with the company.

Michigan resident dies of rabies after undergoing organ transplant in Ohio: Officials

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LANSING, Mich.) — A Michigan resident has died of rabies after apparently undergoing an organ transplant, health officials said.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) told ABC News that the patient underwent an organ transplant at an Ohio hospital in December 2024.

The resident died in January 2025 and “a public health investigation determined they contracted rabies through the transplanted organ,” MDHHS said.

The organ donor was not a Michigan or Ohio resident, according to MDHHS. The department said it is not providing any additional information about the resident or the donor.

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

US stocks tick up in 1st trading since Trump’s auto tariffs announced

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks ticked higher on Thursday in the first trading since President Donald Trump announced 25% auto tariffs.

The tariffs have escalated a global trade war and prompted forecasts of higher car prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 20 points, or 0.05%, while the S&P 500 increased 0.25% on Thursday morning. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.25%.

Shares of major U.S. automakers dropped in early trading. General Motors dropped more than 6%, while Ford fell nearly 2%. Stellantis — the parent company of Jeep and Chrysler — declined 1%.

Tesla, the electric carmaker led by Trump-advisor Elon Musk, bucked the trend. Shares of Tesla climbed 5.5% in early trading on Thursday.

The 25% tariffs will be applied to imported passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks, according to a White House fact sheet released after Trump’s Oval Office remarks on Wednesday. The tariffs will take effect on April 3.

The tariffs will also be applied to key imported auto parts, including engines, powertrain parts and electrical components.

The auto tariffs are set to target a sector that employs more than a million U.S. workers and relies on a supply chain intricately intertwined with Mexico and Canada. Tariffs placed on the auto industry risk raising car prices for U.S. consumers, experts previously told ABC News.

Ferrari may raise U.S. prices as much as 10% in response to the tariffs, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush, predicted general tariff-related price increases of between $5,000 and $10,000 per vehicle.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday called the measure “a direct attack on our workers.” The Canadian government plans to review its trade options, Carney said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday expressed “regret” about the decision to impose auto tariffs. “We will now assess this announcement, together with other measures the US is envisaging in the next days,” von der Leyen said in a statement.

Early Thursday morning, Trump warned of retaliatory tariffs if officials in Canada and Europe move forward with countermeasures.

“If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

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

HHS to cut about 10,000 full-time employees

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Thursday that about 10,000 full-time employees will soon lose their jobs, on top of the nearly 10,000 who have already left the agency in the last few months through buyout offers or early retirements.

That puts the total employees at around 62,000 people — down from 82,000 at the start of the Trump administration. The agency oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — among other divisions.

“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement on Thursday.

“This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy claimed the latest cuts will save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year. The cuts will reduce the number of regional offices — from 10 down to five. It will also combine the current 28 divisions at HHS into 15 divisions, including a new one focused on Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, to be named the Administration for a Healthy America.

Despite cutting nearly one-quarter of the agency, the department maintains that the restructuring won’t impact “critical services.”

The real-world impact of the newest round of cuts, however, remains to be seen. Already, cuts have hit top researchers at the National Institute of Health’s Alzheimer’s research center and disease detectives who identify new infectious diseases.

At least 4 tourists dead in submarine accident in Egypt: Officials

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — At least four people are dead in a submarine accident that occurred while it was carrying crew members and 45 Russian tourists in Egypt, officials said.

Russia’s embassy in Egypt confirmed in a statement obtained by ABC News that there was an accident on Thursday morning involving a submarine carrying crew members and 45 tourists — all Russian citizens — in the Red Sea less than a mile off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt.

At least four of those aboard the submarine were killed in the incident, the Russian embassy said.

Doctors in the emergency department at the Royal Hospital Hurghada confirmed to ABC News that they received five patients from a submarine accident on Thursday.

The circumstances remain unclear, including whether the submarine was submerged at the time and the numbers of those who have been injured in the incident.

It is also currently not known how many people were on board the submarine at the time of the accident or what the cause might have been.

Hurghada is a popular tourist destination for beachgoers along the Red Sea and is well known for its scuba diving and snorkeling.

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

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Nasser Atta contributed to this report.

US stocks drop slightly in 1st trading since Trump’s auto tariffs announced

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — U.S. stocks slid on Thursday in the first trading since President Donald Trump announced 25% auto tariffs, escalating a global trade war and prompting forecasts of higher car prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 250 points, or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.6%.

Shares of major U.S. automakers plunged in early trading. General Motors dropped more than 8%, while Ford fell nearly 3%. Stellantis — the parent company of Jeep and Chrysler — declined 4%.

Tesla, the electric carmaker led by Trump-advisor Elon Musk, bucked the trend. Shares of Tesla ticked up 1.5% in early trading on Thursday.

The 25% tariffs will be applied to imported passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks, according to a White House fact sheet released after Trump’s Oval Office remarks. The tariffs will take effect on April 3.
The tariffs will also be applied to key imported auto parts, including engines, powertrain parts and electrical components.

The auto tariffs are set to target a sector that employs more than a million U.S. workers and relies on a supply chain intricately intertwined with Mexico and Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday called the measure “a direct attack on our workers.” The Canadian government plans to review its trade options, Carney said.

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

Trump administration says ‘top MS-13 national leader’ arrested

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. has arrested a top MS-13 gang member, according to a post on X by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“I’m proud to announce that early this morning our brave law enforcement officers conducted a successful operation that captured a top MS-13 national leader,” Bondi posted. “DOJ will not rest until we make America safe again.”

The photo shared on X by Bondi showed a major operation in northern Virginia with FBI officials, including Director Kash Patel, and dozens of officers.

At a press conference on site, Bondi, Patel and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin touted the arrest of a 24-year-old who was allegedly a top-3 MS-13 gang member.

Bondi touted the operation as a success, lauding the teamwork of the various agencies involved and said she personally witnessed the collaboration.

“America is safer today because of one of the top domestic terrorists in MS-13, he is off the streets,” she said. “This guy was living in a neighborhood right around you. No longer. Thanks to the great men and women of law enforcement, this task force that we have created is remarkable, using incredible technology that we will not discuss, to catch and apprehend these horrible, violent, worst of the worst criminals.”

Officials did not release the name of the individual they arrested.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House on Thursday morning it was a “big win” for Americans.

“This was a very violent individual who was picked up in a home with five children present,” she said. “So our communities are safer this morning, it’s a good day.”

President Donald Trump celebrated the arrest in a post on his social media platform, applaud his “border czar,” Tom Homan.

“Just captured a major leader of MS13. Tom HOMAN is a superstar!,” Trump wrote.

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

ABC News’ Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.

Russian strikes hit gas pipeline, cut electricity in Ukraine, officials say

March 27, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Russian strikes injured five people, damaged homes and a gas pipeline in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson overnight on Wednesday, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Prokudin added that one Russian strike drone was shot down over the Kherson region — most of which is occupied by Russian forces, with the region bisected by the frontline marked by the Dnieper River — and that one woman was killed by a drone attack on Thursday morning.

Ivan Fedorov, the governor of the southern Zaporizhzhia region — which is also partially occupied by Russia — said local frontline communities were left without electricity due to overnight shelling. More than 3,300 customers were affected, Fedorov said in a post to Telegram.

In the northwestern Kharkiv region, close to the front line, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said 11 people were injured in a “massive” drone attack. Several homes and industrial sites were damaged, he said.

In the central city of Dnipro, the local military administration reported multiple fires caused by drone impacts. “Enterprises, educational and cultural institutions, more than a dozen high-rise buildings were damaged in the city,” it said on Telegram. “More than 60 cars were damaged, several more were destroyed. Two trucks were also hit.”

Overall, Ukraine’s air force reported one missile and 86 drones launched into the country overnight. The force said on Telegram that 42 drones were shot down and 26 lost in flight without causing damage. Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Chernihiv regions were impacted, it said.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram that recent Russian strikes suggested the use of “swarms” of attack drones against specific cities to overwhelm local defenses.

Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down one Ukrainian drone over the western Bryansk region. The ministry said the drone caused a power outage. It also said there was an attempt to attack ground equipment at the Glebovsky underground gas storage facility in occupied Crimea and shelling of a transformer substation in Bryansk.

Cross-border strikes have continued despite progress on a U.S.-brokered partial ceasefire intended to freeze military action in the Black Sea and pause long-range attacks on energy infrastructure facilities in both countries.

Following talks in Saudi Arabia this week, the White House said the parties agreed to “develop measures to implement the agreement to ban strikes against energy facilities in Russia and Ukraine.”
The Kremlin said its moratorium began on March 18, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s communications advisor said Russia hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure eight times since that date.

Zelenskyy said on Wednesday there had been no attacks on energy infrastructure in either country since Tuesday, when Ukraine and Russia agreed to pause strikes following the latest round of talks in Riyadh.

The White House framed the partial ceasefire as a victory in its broader push for peace in Ukraine. But concerns remain in Kyiv that President Donald Trump’s administration is too aligned with Moscow’s narrative on the conflict.

This week, Trump Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff — who has been central to talks with both Moscow and Kyiv — echoed misleading Russian talking points, for example suggesting that the Russia’s claimed annexation of five Ukrainian territories — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — had the support of the local population.

During a press conference with reporters in Paris on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said Witkoff “often cites the Kremlin narrative.”

“I think that this does not get us close to peace, I think this sadly will weaken the pressure of the U.S. on the Russian Federation,” he added. “I have spoken with President Trump more than once — we are trying to share real and truthful information since Witkoff’s declarations disturbs us a lot since we are fighting Putin and we do not want him to receive support .”

“I have always said to President Trump that we want the U.S. to be on our side,” Zelenskyy said. “And even if the U.S. has chosen to be in the middle then they need to stay in the middle and not come closer to the Kremlin.”

ABC News’ Anna Sergeeva, Nataliia Popova, Oleksiy Pshemyskiy, Ellie Kaufman and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.

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