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Judge orders Lindsey Halligan to stop using US attorney title or face disciplinary action

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered that Lindsey Halligan, President Donald Trump’s appointee as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, must stop using that title before the court or face disciplinary action.

“Ms. Halligan’s continued identification of herself as the United States Attorney for this District ignores a binding court order and may not continue,” the order from U.S. District Judge David Novak stated.

Judge Novak earlier this month ordered Halligan to explain to the court why she was using the title of U.S. attorney after a judge in that district found that her appointment was improper and violated the Constitution.

The Justice Department’s fiery reply to that order, which included Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as signatories, drew Judge Novak’s ire.

“Ms. Halligan’s response, in which she was joined by both the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, contains a level of vitriol more appropriate for a cable news talk show and falls far beneath the level of advocacy expected from litigants in this Court, particularly the Department of Justice,” Novak wrote Tuesday.

Halligan, who was a White House aide before being appointed interim U.S. attorney by President Trump, secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, only to have them thrown out when U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie determined in November that she had been unlawfully appointed without being either Senate confirmed or appointed by the federal judiciary.

“The Court finds it inconceivable that the Department of Justice, which holds a duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States even those with which it may have disagreement would repeatedly ignore court orders, while simultaneously prosecuting citizens for breaking the law,” Judge Novak wrote in Tuesday’s order. “If the Court were to allow Ms. Halligan and the Department of Justice to pick and choose which orders that they will follow, the same would have to be true for other litigants and our system of justice would crumble.”

The judge warned that if Halligan continues to use the U.S. attorney title, she will be subject to disciplinary proceedings.

“Ms. Halligan and anyone who joins her on a pleading containing the improper moniker subjects themselves to potential disciplinary action in this Court pursuant to the Court’s Local Rules,” Tuesday’s order said.

The Eastern District of Virginia also issued a job posting to fill the vacancy left by Halligan’s improper appointment.

A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.

Mayor Mamdani says he supports abolishing ICE, calls for ‘humanity’ in dealing with immigration issues

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani returned to ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday to discuss his first weeks in office and weighed in on the controversial surge by Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) across the country.

Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Mamdani about the calls by some Democrats to abolish ICE in light of their activities in places such as Minnesota, where an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three.

The 34-year-old mayor, who has vowed to protect New York immigrants, said he supports those calls.

“I am in support of abolishing ICE, and I’ll tell you why: Because what we see is an entity that has no interest in fulfilling its stated reason to exist,” said Mamdani, whose Tuesday appearance marked his first time on the show since becoming mayor in the past month.

Mamdani, a naturalized American citizen who was born in Uganda, has been critical of ICE for many years. Last year during his campaign, he said in a June interview that ICE is “a rogue agency, one that has no interest in laws, no interest in order.”

The mayor echoed those sentiments on “The View” Tuesday.

“We’re seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some sort of immigration law, but instead, what it is doing is terrorizing people no matter their immigration status, no matter the facts of the law, and no matter the facts of the case,” Mamdani said.

“And I’m tired of waking up every day and seeing a new image of someone being dragged out of a car, dragged out of their home and dragged out of their life. What we need to see is humanity,” he added.

Last week, the mayor said he was “outraged” after a New York City council employee was detained by ICE in Long Island during a routine immigration appointment.

“This is an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values,” he said in a statement on X on Jan. 13. “I am calling for his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation.”

The Department of Homeland Security contended in a statement that the employee is in the U.S. illegally and has an alleged criminal history that includes an arrest for assault. The agency did not provide additional details on the assault arrest.

City officials, however, said the employee has legal status.

Mamdani was asked by “The View” hosts about his relationship with President Donald Trump following their cordial meeting in the White House after the mayor won his election.

The mayor said that it is his intention to be honest and direct with the president, especially when it came to immigration.

“It’s terrifying to see what is happening in the name of public safety. I’ve said this to the president. These ICE raids, they are cruel, they are inhumane, [and] they do nothing to deliver that public safety,” Mamdani said. “In fact, what they do is leave a sense of fear among so many.”

When asked about Trump’s threats to cut funding to sanctuary cities such as New York, Mamdani said he would fight for New Yorkers.

“What I said is that our values and our laws, they are not bargaining chips. I’m not looking to have a negotiation with New Yorkers’ lives,” he said.

Mamdani noted that sanctuary city laws have been supported by Democrats and Republicans alike and “keep New Yorkers safe.”

“I’ve told the president this directly, which is that what we are talking about is not people who have been convicted of serious crimes. We’re talking about people whose crimes are simply being in New York City,” he said. “And if they were to make good on this threat, it would rip the civic fabric of this city apart.”

Dow closes down 870 points as Trump threatens tariffs on European countries over Greenland

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Stocks closed down significantly on Tuesday, deepening losses suffered at the outset of trading, after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on multiple European countries as part of a push for U.S. control of Greenland.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 870 points, or 1.7%, while the S&P 500 declined 2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.3%.

Those losses marked a dip from initial trading levels on Tuesday morning, when the Dow had fallen 1.2% and the S&P 500 had declined 1.4%. The Nasdaq had dropped 1.7% at the outset of the trading session.

The selloff came on the first day of trading since Trump announced the new tariffs in a social media post on Saturday.

U.S. treasury yields jumped on Tuesday, suggesting possible concern about economic instability stemming from the confrontation between Trump and European nations.

Since bonds pay a given investor a fixed amount each year, the specter of inflation risks devaluing the asset and, in turn, makes bonds less attractive. When demand for U.S. treasuries falls, bond yields rise.

Under the proposed plan, eight European nations — including Denmark, France, Germany and the United Kingdom — will be slapped with 10% tariffs beginning on Feb. 1. Those levies are set to escalate to 25% on June 1, Trump said.

“This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump added.

Trump escalated the trade confrontation with Europe on Tuesday, threatening a 200% tariff on French wine if French President Emmanuel Macron opts to forego participation in Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza.

Greenland is a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Trump first raised the prospect of acquiring the minerals-rich island in his first term. Danish and Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly rebuffed such proposals.

European leaders, meanwhile, continued to push back on Trump’s ambitions and publicize their coordination efforts on the issue.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she met with a bipartisan congressional delegation to discuss both Russia’s war in Ukraine and recent tensions around Greenland.

Von der Leyen said she “addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark. This is of utmost importance to our transatlantic relationship.”

ABC News’ David Brennan contributed to this report.

19-year-old woman found dead on Australian beach surrounded by dingoes: Police

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(K’GARI, Australia) — A 19-year-old Canadian woman was found dead on an Australian beach surrounded by a pack of dingoes, according to police.

The cause of death remains under investigation in the “shocking” incident, according to Queensland Police.

Two passersby found the teen’s body on Monday morning local time on the island of K’gari, located off the coast of Queensland, police said. There was a small pack of dingoes around her body at the time, according to Queensland Police Inspector Paul Algie, calling it a “traumatic and horrific scene.”

“I can confirm there was marking on her body consistent with having been touched and interfered with by the dingoes,” Algie said during a press briefing on Monday, though he noted it was too early to speculate on the cause of death, pending the autopsy report.

Algie said police are investigating all possibilities in the death.

“We simply can’t confirm whether this young lady drowned or died as a result of being attacked by dingoes,” he said.

The woman had been working for the past several weeks at a backpackers’ hostel on K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, police said.

Police said she is believed to have gone for a swim alone on the beach, near a popular shipwreck, around 5 a.m. local time Monday and was found dead over an hour later.

An autopsy is expected to be conducted on Wednesday, police said.

K’gari, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a popular tourist destination. Dingoes are protected on the island as a native species.

The last fatal dingo attack on K’gari was 25 years ago, according to Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour. In that incident, a 9-year-old boy died.

“This is a shocking tragedy that has really affected our community,” Seymour told the Australian network 9News amid the investigation into the 19-year-old’s death.

“Dingoes are an essential part of this wilderness on K’gari, it’s part of why people go there — to escape, be part of a World Heritage wilderness,” he said. “There are dangers there.”

Red Cross announces severe emergency blood shortage, calls on Americans to donate

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The American Red Cross declared a severe emergency blood shortage on Monday and called on people to donate.

The humanitarian organization, which says it’s the largest supplier of blood products for hospitals and for patient need in the U.S., said the demand from hospitals has outpaced the available supply of blood.

Dr. Courtney Lawrence, divisional chief medical officer at American Red Cross, told ABC News that almost one-third of the organization’s blood stores across the country have been depleted due to hospital need.

Lawrence said inclement winter weather, which has forced more than 400 Red Cross blood drives around the U.S. to be canceled, is among the reasons that donations are down.

Additionally, the U.S. is experiencing a moderately severe flu season, with some states reporting record levels of weekly cases and hospitalizations.

“That can overwhelm our health care system, and it can also mean that donors may not be feeling well enough to come in to donate or may be busy taking care of their loved ones who are sick,” Lawrence said.

When blood supplies are low, it can affect the ability to treat patients in need including trauma patients, chemotherapy patients with underlying blood disorders, those living with sickle cell disease and others, Lawrence said. She called on Americans to donate if they’re able to.

Reihaneh Hajibeigi, 34, from Austin, Texas, was one of those patients in need, telling ABC News that blood transfusions saved her life.

Hajibeigi said she lost a lot of blood while giving birth to her first child in 2023, and that the hospital gave her some blood and sent her home with her husband and newborn daughter.

“After about a couple weeks, things started to not be so great,” she told ABC News. “What I assumed was just being new mom tired really turned into fatigue. I was losing a lot of blood. I was starting to just not feel so great”

When Hajibeigi went back to the doctor two and a half weeks after giving birth, she said medical staff discovered she had retained a roughly four-centimeter piece of placenta on her uterine wall that was becoming toxic.

Hajibeigi said she underwent a procedure the next morning and began hemorrhaging during the operation, losing about 40% of her total blood volume.

In the recovery room, Hajibeigi said she started to crash again from the loss of blood and doctors raced to give her a blood transfusion.

“Fortunately, they had the blood on hand. They were able to get it into my system and basically brought me back to life,” she said.

Hajibeigi said she hopes that by sharing her story, she can encourage people to donate if they’re able, especially knowing there’s a chance their donation can help someone in need.

“It just made it that much clearer how vital blood donations are and how much sometimes we take it for granted, just assuming that the blood supply was always going to be intact,” she said. “And in that case, I needed the blood. Wonderful.”

“It’s a scary thought to think what if the blood product that I needed wasn’t there?” Hajibeigi said. “Then what would have happened?”

Uvalde officer Gonzales may have suffered from ‘tunnel vision,’ defense witness says

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — Former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales could have suffered from “inattentive blindness” and “tunnel vision” when he responded to the Robb Elementary School shooting, a former officer testified for the defense on Tuesday.

Former San Antonio police officer Willie Cantu said the jurors are unlikely to “understand just how bad” the tunnel vision could be during an emergency response.

To describe “inattentive blindness,” Cantu compared the experience to struggling to find your car keys when you are running late for work.

“It’s like when you get stressed. I’m late for work and I need to find my keys to my car. I can’t find my keys, and you have them in your hand,” he said.

Cantu attempted to defend Gonzales’ actions on May 24, 2022 — citing the real-time challenges he faced as one of the first officers to respond — as defense lawyers pushed back on the prosecution’s allegation that Gonzales “intentionally, knowingly, recklessly and with criminal negligence” endangered students.

Cantu also tried to cast doubt on the reliability of teaching aide Melodye Flores, who testified for the prosecution that she tried to warn Gonzales about the location of the shooter.

“No disrespect to Flores at all, she was definitely there, experienced all the trauma that was going on, but people process that type of stuff differently,” Cantu said.

Cantu also attempted to highlight the inaction of other officers, including one who monitored the perimeter of the school when he arrived.

“It really surprised me that he was right there and just pretty much taken, I’d say a tertiary role,” he remarked.

The only other defense witness was Claudia Rodriguez, a secretary at the funeral home that neighbored Robb.

Rodriguez told jurors that she witnessed gunman Salvador Ramos exit his car with a rifle after crashing into a ditch, and she said Ramos ducked behind a nearby parked car when Gonzales drove by him. That move, defense lawyers allege, prevented Gonzales from being able to clearly spot the gunman when he first arrived at the school.

“And at the time you see the white car [driven by Gonzales], you see the figure, kind of ducking down between the cars. Is that how you remember seeing it?” defense attorney Jason Goss asked.

“Yes sir,” Rodriguez replied.

Rodriguez also testified that she tried to warn other arriving officers that the shooter entered the school, but they did not run in to stop him.

“Gilbert [Limones, another funeral home employee,] and I are yelling at them upon their arrival and after they exited their car that he’s already inside,” she said.

“Did those officers then go immediately to where you told them and run inside the building?” Goss asked.

“No. I believe, if I remember correctly, they got back into the car and went around the school towards the front of Robb,” she said.

Defense lawyers rested their case on Tuesday after testimony from Cantu and Rodriguez. Closing statements are set for Wednesday.

Prosecutors allege Gonzales, who is charged with 29 counts of child endangerment, did not follow his training and endangered the 19 students who died and an additional 10 surviving students.

Flores, the teaching aide, testified that she repeatedly urged Gonzales to intervene in the shooting, but said he did “nothing” in those crucial moments.

Gonzales has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argue he is being unfairly blamed for a broader law enforcement failure that day. He could face the rest of his life in prison if convicted of all counts.

At least 88 new measles cases confirmed in South Carolina, bringing total to 646: Health officials

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C.) — At least 88 new measles cases in South Carolina have been confirmed amid the state’s outbreak, bringing the total number of infections to 646, state health officials said Tuesday.

The majority of cases have been found in the Upstate region and around Spartanburg County, which sits on the border with North Carolina.

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

At least 88 new measles cases confirmed in South Carolina, bringing total to 646: Health officials

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

The majority of cases have been found in the Upstate region and around Spartanburg County, which sits on the border with North Carolina.

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

Uvalde defense witness suggests officer Gonzales couldn’t see gunman

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — The Robb Elementary School gunman ducked behind a parked car when former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales initially drove by him, an eyewitness told jurors on Tuesday.

That move, defense lawyers allege, prevented Gonzales from being able to clearly spot the gunman when he first arrived at the school on May 24, 2022.

Claudia Rodriguez, a secretary at the funeral home that neighbored Robb, was the first witness called by the defense, and she told jurors that she witnessed gunman Salvador Ramos exit his car with a rifle after crashing into a ditch.

Rodriguez said Ramos ducked behind a nearby parked car when Gonzales drove by him.

“And at the time you see the white car [driven by Gonzales], you see the figure, kind of ducking down between the cars. Is that how you remember seeing it?” defense attorney Jason Goss asked.

“Yes sir,” Rodriguez replied.

Rodriguez also testified that she tried to warn other arriving officers that the shooter entered the school, but they did not run in to stop him.

“Gilbert [Limones, another funeral home employee,] and I are yelling at them upon their arrival and after they exited their car that he’s already inside,” she said.

“Did those officers then go immediately to where you told them and run inside the building?” Goss asked.

“No. I believe, if I remember correctly, they got back into the car and went around the school towards the front of Robb,” she said.

Prosecutors allege Gonzales, who is charged with child endangerment, did not follow his training and endangered the 19 students who died and an additional 10 surviving students.

Defense attorneys have sought to highlight that other officers arrived within the same timeframe as Gonzales but failed to act.

Gonzales has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argue he is being unfairly blamed for a broader law enforcement failure that day.

ICE detainee dies of ‘presumed suicide’ at Texas detention facility, agency says

January 20, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(EL PASO, Texas) — An undocumented immigrant died while in custody at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas, federal authorities said.

Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, of Nicaragua, died of a “presumed suicide” on Jan. 14 at Camp East Montana, a sprawling tent complex at the U.S. Army’s Fort Bliss base in El Paso, ICE said Sunday. The official cause of death remains under investigation, the agency said.

ICE said Diaz illegally entered the U.S. in March 2024 and an immigration judge ordered him removed in absentia in August 2025.

Diaz had been in federal custody since Jan. 6, when ICE said its officers “encountered” him in Minneapolis amid the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota. He was arrested for an immigration violation and ICE processed him as a final order of removal on Jan. 12, the agency said.

Two days later, security staff found Diaz unconscious and unresponsive in his room, ICE said. He was pronounced dead following life-saving measures by on-site medical staff and El Paso emergency medical services personnel, according to ICE.

“ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments,” ICE said in a press release.

Diaz’s death is the second reported by ICE at the Camp East Montana detention facility this month.

On Jan. 3, Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, of Cuba, was pronounced dead “after experiencing medical distress,” ICE said. His cause of death is under investigation, ICE said in a Jan. 9 press release.

The El Paso County medical examiner’s office said Tuesday that it does not have any record of Diaz, and the case and manner of death are pending for Lunas Campos.

If you are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises, or are worried about a friend or loved one, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to 988lifeline.org.

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