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DOJ says no action to add Trump’s name to Kennedy Center before October

August 28, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department notified a federal judge Thursday night the Kennedy Center will delay implementation of its board’s resolution honoring President Donald Trump for more than a month.

In a filing late Thursday, the DOJ said the effort to add Trump’s name to the facade and plaza will “not be effectuated before October 8, 2026.”

The Trump administration’s filing came following a two-hour hearing Thursday during which U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper urged the center to delay its plans to give him more time to consider his decision.

The hearing Thursday featured the lead attorney for Ohio Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, who sits on the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees as an ex-officio member, repeatedly accusing the Kennedy Center board of thumbing its nose at the court by voting to honor Trump after Cooper ordered his name off the building in a decision earlier this year.

“I don’t say this lightly,” said attorney Nathaniel Zelinsky. “We view this as outright defiance.”

“Are they attempting a renaming?” Zelinsky asked. “Absolutely, yes. They are doing the same thing they were told they couldn’t do before.”

Cooper did not signal at the hearing that he necessarily agreed. Nor did he leap at the chance to issue an order stopping the board from immediately moving forward with its plans to honor Trump as the man who “renovated and restored” the center.

Instead, he used the hearing to probe both sides on the legality of the board’s move earlier this month to again add Trump’s name to the famed cultural institution.

Cooper seemed to grapple with whether the renaming of the plaza after Trump violates a 1983 law blocking “additional memorials” in the center’s “public areas.”

“Could a plaza just outside the building be considered the ‘public area’ of the building?” Cooper asked Zelinsky.

Zelinsky pointed to the Justice Department’s most recent filing in the case, in which administration lawyers said the board’s intent was to rename “the complex” after Trump.

But the administration’s lawyer insisted the Kennedy Center would continue to exist as a memorial to John F. Kennedy.

“There is no renaming here,” said Justice Department attorney Brantley Mayers. “The board has not taken any action to rename.”

Mayers also said there was “no evidence” that the move to add Trump’s name back onto the building is imminent, even as he said it was “clear that recognizing the president will help address both the financial and structural issues” he said the center faces.

Cooper shrugged off the bluster of the Trump administration’s most recent filing, which suggested the performing arts center could face demolition in the event he issued an order permanently blocking President Donald Trump’s push to renovate the facility with additions intended to recognize Trump personally.

“That may be great atmospherics,” Cooper told Mayers. “But I gotta say, the first four of five pages of your brief seem to be a non-sequitur. We’re here to discuss whether the board’s resolution was consistent with my order and consistent with the statutes.”

Cooper said he’ll need to take some time to “give the issues the attention they deserve” and asked the DOJ to delay any plans to give him time to rule.

Cooper suggested he might impose an order keeping the status quo if center management didn’t go along.

Zelinsky had asked the judge to act more urgently, pointing to the “overnight” move to add Trump’s name to the center following a similar vote by the board earlier this year.

“They don’t contest that the last time they did this, they ruined the marble,” Zelinsky said. “Talk about an irreparable injury! They’ve drilled into it and they’re going to be poised to do that again.”

Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration’s attempt to restrict mail-in voting

August 28, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Thursday night blocked the Trump administration from implementing key provisions of a new rule restricting mail-in voting.

U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary order preventing the United States Postal Service from increasing its oversight of mail-in voting, following an executive order from President Donald Trump that would effectively employ the Postal Service as the primary enforcer of mail-voter eligibility.

Talwani blocked the newly finalized rule for at least 14 days.

The same judge had previously blocked Trump’s executive order but lifted that decision on Wednesday after the Supreme Court ruled Monday she had initially acted too quickly.

With the judge’s latest order, it is likely the legal battle over the USPS rules will eventually make its way back to the Supreme Court.

Dozens of Democratic state attorneys general sued the Trump administration over the USPS directive in April, arguing it is unconstitutional since states — not the federal government — have primary authority for administering elections.

The Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision ruled Monday that the states lacked standing to challenge Trump’s order at that stage since nothing had formally impacted how they will administer elections, but the high court did not weigh in on the legality of Trump’s order.

The judge’s order Thursday comes after state attorneys general brought a new challenge after USPS published a finalized rule governing steps states must take to print ballots to be carried and tracked by mail carriers.

In her order Thursday pausing the now finalized USPS plan, the judge wrote: “Plaintiff States face irreparable harm where they are required to comply with a likely unconstitutional regulation for which compliance is practically impossible as to the 2026 midterm elections, now little more than two months away,” she wrote.

The new rules finalized by the USPS last week add verification requirements to all mail-in ballots, falling short of Trump’s expectations but providing additional scrutiny.

Under the proposed change, states would be required to collect and report basic voter information, such as a voter’s name and home address, attached to a unique barcode on every mail-in ballot distributed. Currently, there is no standardized requirement or method for states to track this information, instead letting each state independently decide how its mail-in voting system operates.

State election authorities would then be required to input this information into a “federal ballot mail portal” before the ballot is accepted into the mail stream.

The USPS said it would not deliver ballots to any state not in compliance with these changes.

In a statement Thursday night, New York Attorney General Letitia James said: “This rule is a clear attempt by the federal government to interfere in elections it has no power to control. Today, a federal court halted it before this administration could wreak havoc on our elections. The USPS does not have the authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail. My office will keep fighting to ensure this rule cannot disrupt our midterm elections.”

Trump issued an executive order in March seeking to restrict mail-in voting, directing the Department of Homeland Security to build a federal citizenship list and give it to the states; the Department of Justice to target state officials who give ballots to noncitizens; and the USPS to direct states to abide by certain mail-ballot design and tracking requirements.

Accuser of former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky expected to recant testimony

August 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Jerry Sandusky is due to return to court next month as one of his accusers is expected to recant his testimony against the former Penn State assistant football coach who was convicted of sexually abusing boys for more than a decade.

A judge scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Sept. 8 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

Sandusky, who is now 82, has been serving a decades-long prison sentence after he was convicted in 2012 of abusing boys.

An accuser known as Victim 10, who testified for the prosecution at Sandusky’s trial, is now prepared to tell the court Sandusky did not abuse him.

Trump signs executive order renaming Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’

August 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” “effective immediately.”

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

Judge to consider final approval of Bank of America’s $72 million settlement with Epstein accusers

August 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Judge to consider final approval of Bank of America’s million settlement with Epstein accusers

Judge to consider final approval of Bank of America’s $72 million settlement with Epstein accusers — Jeffrey Epstein in a photo released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice. (New York State Sex Offender Registry)

(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York will consider granting final approval Thursday to Bank of America’s $72 million settlement with women who accused the bank of helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse them.

The women, suing collectively under the pseudonym Jane Doe, accused Bank of America of ignoring suspicious transactions by Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Bank America agreed to settle the lawsuit in March while still insisting it did not facilitate Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes.

Among the transactions the plaintiffs alleged were suspicious were payments to Epstein by Leon Black, who stepped down as chief executive of Apollo Global Management after an independent review commissioned by the company found he paid Epstein $158 million for estate planning.

Black previously said that his relationship with Epstein, which he said involved “professional services” for estate planning, tax and philanthropic advice, had been “a horrible mistake.” He has denied involvement or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said any suggestion of his involvement in “Epstein’s reprehensible conduct is categorically untrue.”

The same Jane Doe plaintiffs reached similar settlements with JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, but their claim against Bank of New York Mellon was dismissed. The court in the BNY Mellon case concluded that the plaintiffs’ complaint had failed to adequately allege that the bank had civil liability under the Trafficking Victims’ Protection Act or that the bank had obstructed investigations of Epstein.

Bank of America had previously sought dismissal of the case, contending that the lawsuit was an attempt to “radically expand liability for banks” for providing “routine services to customers who at the time had no known connection to Epstein’s sex trafficking.”

The bank denies “each and all of the claims and contentions” in the lawsuit, according to court documents.

“While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs,” a Bank of America spokesperson told ABC News.

An attorney for the accusers previously called the proposed settlement “one more step on the road to much-deserved justice.”

DHL cargo plane catches fire during landing at LAX

August 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A DHL cargo plane lit up the runway during a landing at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday night as its tires caught on fire.

The Boeing 737, which was operated by DHL on behalf of Kalitta Charters II, made its landing around 11 p.m. PT when the brakes malfunctioned, causing them to overheat and blow four tires, DHL and the Federal Aviation Administration said in statements Thursday.

Surveillance video caught the flames flying from the bottom of the jet as it sped through the runway.

The runway was temporarily closed, and emergency crews rushed to put out the fire.

DHL said no one aboard the jet, which took off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, was injured.

The FAA said it will be investigating the incident. The jet was still on the runway and being inspected Thursday morning.

Judge declines to dismiss Steve Bannon’s criminal contempt conviction

August 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in Washington, D.C., declined a request from the Justice Department to dismiss the contempt of Congress conviction for Trump ally Steve Bannon, telling prosecutors in a ruling Wednesday that they will need to come back with a better explanation if they want to clear Bannon’s record.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Donald Trump in 2019, faulted prosecutors for failing to comply with local rules that requires them to explain their motivations for dismissing the indictment against Bannon.

Bannon, who served as Trump’s chief White House strategist during Trump’s first term, was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He served four months in prison in 2024.

In February, the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, under the leadership of Trump ally Jeanine Pirro, moved to dismiss Bannon’s indictment while he was seeking to appeal his conviction before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court in April vacated the charges against Bannon and returned the case to a lower court for dismissal.

Nichols’ ruling Wednesday notes that his denial of the DOJ’s request for dismissal is “without prejudice,” meaning he will give prosecutors another shot to offer a fuller explanation for why the case against Bannon should be dismissed.

Connecticut sues Kalshi to block alleged unlicensed sports gambling

August 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The state of Connecticut sued Kalshi on Thursday to block alleged unlicensed sports gambling offered by the online betting platform, the Office of the Attorney General said.

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

Alleged 9/11 mastermind’s long-awaited trial scheduled for 2028

August 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The alleged self-proclaimed “mastermind” of the 9/11 attacks will stand trial in June 2028, a military judge ruled Wednesday, nearly 25 years after the attacks.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured in 2003 and has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2006.

“Trial on the merits shall begin on Monday, 5 June 2028,” Lt. Col. Michael Schrama decided.

Prosecutors sought a trial in 2027 but the judge said that was too soon.

The trial date comes after a yearslong legal saga that includes a controversial plea agreement that was later revoked.

In July 2024, Mohammed and two other 9/11 defendants held at Guantanamo Bay reached a plea agreement with military prosecutors under which they would plead guilty to all charges, including the murder of 2,976 people, in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table.

Under the deal, Mohammed would have served a life sentence at Guantanamo.

The agreement drew criticism from some 9/11 families and just a few days later then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revoked the deal.

“I have determined that, in light of the significance of the decision to enter into pre-trial agreements with the accused in the above-referenced case, responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority under the Military Commissions Act of 2009,” Austin wrote.

After attorneys for the defendants objected, the Biden administration later took the matter to federal court in an attempt to continue to block the plea deal.

Last July, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled 2-1 that Austin had acted within his authority to revoke the deal.

The prosecution of Mohammed and other alleged 9/11 plotters detained at Guantanamo has been delayed by more than a decade over concerns about the admissibility of evidence gathered through torture when they were previously detained at the CIA’s “black sites.”

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, two hijacked passenger jets flew into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, marking the start of a series of coordinated attacks that day against the United States by the Afghanistan-based terrorist group al-Qaeda. Nearly 3,000 people were killed that day and thousands more were injured.

Nepal-Tibet flood deaths rise to 358 amid search for hundreds of missing tourists

August 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

LONDON — At least 358 people have been confirmed killed in the massive flash flooding that ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday, emergency authorities in Nepal and China said. More than 1,300 people remained missing as of Thursday morning, authorities said.

As search and rescue efforts continued in Nepal on Thursday, police there said that at least 358 bodies had been recovered.

At least 826 people — among them 579 tourists, of whom 476 are foreign nationals and 114 Nepali nationals — were still out of contact as of Thursday morning, the Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said.

Across the border in the Chinese region of Tibet, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday that three people were confirmed killed with 558 others still missing, citing local officials.

The number of those considered missing fluctuated significantly as recovery efforts accelerated. The Nepal Tourism Board said that 63 Americans were among the missing.

The board said on Thursday that two Americans were among a group of 27 foreign tourists rescued from the Timure and Bhotekoshi area of Rasuwa.

The flooding, captured in dramatic video footage, occurred in the northern Rasuwa district, along the border with Tibet, at around 8:40 a.m. local time on Wednesday, authorities said, inundating areas along the Trishuli River, burying some buildings and damaging bridges and roadways.

In a statement, Nepal’s office of the prime minister expressed “deep sorrow” over the loss of life. “Offering heartfelt tribute to all those who lost their lives in this natural disaster, it extends its sincere condolences to the bereaved families and relatives,” the statement shared on social media said.

The prime minister’s office later said search and rescue operations carried out by the Nepali Army would continue through the night.

The State Department said the number of Americans among the missing and otherwise impacted by the floods fluctuated throughout the day on Wednesday.

“The United States extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the devastating flash floods in the Rasuwa district of Nepal. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster,” a department spokesperson said in a statement issued later Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the State Department is “closely monitoring the situation and is deploying a disaster response advisor to the region to support response efforts. The Department will also provide $500,000 in assistance through its global award with Catholic Relief Services, supporting emergency shelter, relief items, and water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance to flood-affected communities.”

An Indian spiritual leader and entrepreneur, known as Sadhguru, said in a post to social media that 77 people who were on tours organized by his Isha Foundation were at an immigration center at the Nepal-Tibet border when the floodwaters hit.

The Isha Foundation confirmed to ABC News that 22 of those 77 people were Americans. The organization, which is headquartered in India, also has a base in McMinnville, Tennessee. The group’s coordinator told ABC News the organization has been in touch with family members in the U.S.

Three missing Americans were listed as traveling with a Nepali company called Fishtail Tours and Travel. The agency confirmed to ABC News that three American nationals are among the missing tourists traveling with them.

The flood was reportedly triggered by a landslide about 12 miles northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border post along the Nepal-China frontier, according to Nepal Disaster Management.

A 5.2-magnitude landslide was registered in Nepal on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The seismic activity from the landslide was initially erroneously reported as a 4.4-magnitude earthquake, the agency said. It is unclear what triggered the landslide.

A geophysicist at New York’s Columbia University told ABC News it appeared a landslide in the Himalayas took away a large glacier, or parts of one, in the mountain pass.

ABC News’ Desiree Adib, Somayeh Malekian, Charlotte Gardiner, Shannon Kingston, Joseph Simonetti, Dada Jovanovic, Meghan Mistry and Othon Leyva contributed to this report.

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