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Trump celebrates Senate passage of legislation to overhaul college sports

September 29, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump celebrated the Senate’s passage of the Protect College Sports Act, saying that the legislation will “save college sports” and is a “really big deal.”

“This is a really big deal. It will not only save college sports, it will save the colleges themselves,” Trump wrote in a Monday night social media post.

Trump has long been an advocate for this legislation and said in August that he would sign the bill “immediately” if it came across his desk — urging both the House and Senate to advance it.

On Monday night, the Senate passed the act with a vote of 77-22, bringing a massive restructuring of college athletics one step closer.

The legislation establishes a federal framework for college athletics to create one set system over the current patchwork of differing state rules. It creates one rulebook on how athletes can earn money from their name, image and likeness (NIL) and puts a cap on the amount of money schools can directly share with their athletes.

But it’s not just about money. The bill also deals with transfers, eligibility and media rights. Athletes can transfer to another school one time without losing a year of eligibility and student-athletes are given five years of eligibility with exceptions for certain circumstances such as a serious injury. The legislation also gives colleges the ability to negotiate broadcasting agreements collectively to give them more control over how their games are marketed and distributed.

Supporters of the bill say that it will add much-needed stability to the world of college athletics that has rapidly changed in recent years due to increasing NIL deals and frequent transfers. Senators — including Sen. Ted Cruz — argue that creating one national set of rules will reduce uncertainty and establish clear guidelines for compensation, eligibility and media rights.

“This bill puts an end to the chaos plaguing college athletics. It protects NIL opportunities because student athletes deserve the opportunity to benefit from their talent, without being taken advantage of by unscrupulous agents and backdoor deals, it creates clear, enforceable rules for eligibility and transfers. It protects our traditions and rivalries,” Cruz said on the Senate floor ahead of Monday’s vote.

While the bill received bipartisan support in the Senate on Monday, there were still concerns from many senators, largely around the amount of leverage the bill gives to the NCAA. The NCAA will now be in charge of overseeing school compliance on certain portions of the bill while also being granted immunity from federal antitrust lawsuits when enforcing its rules.

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, one of the bill’s opponents, argued that the legislation could give the NCAA greater legal protection and authority without giving athletes an equivalent role in negotiating the rules that govern them.

“You don’t need a bill of this sweeping scope to address what are a set of minor but important practices in college athletics that have gotten out of control. We could have either passed a very narrow bill here to address the agent issue and the transfer issue, or we could have done what happens in most industries, which is just say to the NCAA and to the colleges, tough luck. Congress isn’t going to come in here and micromanage your relationship with the athletes. If you want to work something out, sit down and talk to the athletes about it,” Murphy said.

On Monday night, the NCAA thanked the senators who supported the legislation and looked ahead to the next hurdle: House passage.

“The NCAA thanks the many senators who sponsored this bill — including Senators Cruz, Cantwell, Schmitt and Coons — as well as the many other senators who voted for the bill, for their bipartisan effort to protect this uniquely American tradition of college sports in the decades to come,” the NCAA wrote in a social media post. “Now the bill moves to the U.S. House of Representatives and there is much work left to do to ensure student-athlete benefits are codified into federal law and future generations of young people can access those benefits and use college sports as the launching point for their careers.”

The bipartisan piece of legislation still faces obstacles in the House.

The Congressional Black Caucus has come out against the bill because they believe it doesn’t include strong enough protections and economic opportunities for Black athletes. Additionally, some conservative House members have expressed criticism for similar legislation, arguing the government is trying to have too much oversight over college sports.

The House remains out of session for their midterm recess and it is unlikely that they will be called back to Washington early to consider the legislation.

So while the legislation is now in the red zone, it’s going to take more than a “tush push” to get it into the end zone and onto the president’s desk.

X2 roller coaster shut down at Six Flags Magic Mountain amid lawsuits

September 29, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The X2 rollercoaster, which is the subject of multiple lawsuits, has been shut down, the president of Six Flags Magic Mountain announced Tuesday.

“After almost 20 years, we have decided to permanently retire X2,” Six Flags Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding said in a statement posted on the Six Flags blog.

“While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do. Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously,” Oerding said.

Lawsuits allege riders suffered major brain injuries after riding the X2 roller coaster. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs say more than 100 people have come forward.

X2 has been closed since July 12 and will now stay closed.

The lawsuits allege the ride had design problems dating back to when the ride first opened in 2002, originally called X.

According to court documents, Pamela Guillen and her family visited Six Flags Magic Mountain in July of this year for her daughter’s 16th birthday. Guillen said X2 was the family’s final ride of the day.

After exiting the ride, Guillen said she felt confused and disoriented. Her next memory was waking up in a hospital two weeks later and learning from her family that she had undergone emergency brain surgery.

“I was confused and disoriented, and I remember seeing the fear in my daughter’s eyes and how scared she was,” Guillen recalled. “Everything went blank. My next memory is waking up in the hospital about two weeks later.”

Guillen is one of three people who recently filed lawsuits against Six Flags Magic Mountain alleging they suffered major brain injuries after riding X2.

“I had suffered a traumatic brain injury and needed emergency brain surgery to stop the bleeding and had to be intubated. I was in a coma. I spent almost a month at the hospital,” Guillen said.

Another plaintiff, Michael Wick, visited the park with his family and rode X2. Wick’s attorney said he has undergone two brain surgeries and is now unable to practice law because of a disability.

Six days after Guillen collapsed while exiting X2, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson rode the coaster. Her parents said they are still waiting for her to begin breathing on her own.

“Naomi, 25 years old, still hasn’t come home. Her parents, Artemis and Josh, are with her every single day and wonder when she’s going to be able to breathe on her own again,” said Christopher Bulone, a partner with Dordick Law.

“Magic Mountain, as a business, seems to think that it’s OK that if people voluntarily choose to ride a roller coaster, then they’ve assumed the risk. No! They don’t assume a risk of death or catastrophic brain damage for some family fun,” said Gary Dordick, owner of Dordick Law.

Magic Mountain has previously settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Christopher Hawley. That lawsuit alleged Hawley died after riding X2 in 2022.

Hurricane Polo makes Baja landfall, headed for a 2nd in Mexico

September 29, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Polo made landfall in Baja California overnight and is expected to make a second landfall on the mainland of Mexico on Tuesday.

Polo slammed the Baja California Peninsula near Las Barrancas as a Category 2 hurricane, packing dangerous winds of 96 to 110 mph.

After making landfall around 11 p.m. local time, Polo was downgraded to a Category 1 storm as it trekked across the Baja and took aim at the Sonora region of mainland Mexico.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Polo formed into a Pacific hurricane on Sept. 20, one of three hurricanes to develop in the Pacific at the same time.

Near-record levels of moisture are coming in from the Pacific, aided by strong flow from Polo.

The hurricane’s remnants will eventually merge later Tuesday with an existing storm system and supercharge moisture across a large swath of the United States.

More than 30 million people on Tuesday across a dozen states from California and Texas to Iowa are under a flood watch.

Overnight, multiple flash flood warnings were in effect across Utah and Arizona.

Zion National Park saw near-record flooding along the Virgin River and Heaps Canyon as a flash flood wave moved through on Monday night.

Water rescues were made on Monday evening in Bullhead City, Arizona, after a vehicle got trapped in floodwaters.

3 hikers in Big Sur saved in overnight rescue operation

September 29, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Three hikers were airlifted to safety by rescue crews early Monday morning after becoming lost and disoriented in a Big Sur state park, according to officials.

The hikers called 911 at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday to request emergency assistance, prompting a joint search-and-rescue operation by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Big Sur Fire, and a naval air station in the area, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.

One of the hikers was experiencing a medical emergency when they called 911, the sheriff’s office said.

The group was located at about 12:30 a.m. The sheriff’s office team located them Monday and hoisted them to safety with “Lasso 3,” a Navy search-and-rescue helicopter, according to the release.

Rescue teams undertook a 2.5-mile hike at about 2,000 feet of elevation along trails that needed to be cleared with machetes and chainsaws because of overgrowth to reach the hikers, authorities said.

The three were hiking in Limekiln State Park along the Big Sur coastline, officials said.

The three were turned over to Big Sur Fire and Ambulance personnel upon their safe return and the mission was concluded at about 4 a.m. on Monday, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office reminds those venturing into the backcountry to know their limitations and prepare before departing. Hikers are encouraged to use established trails, carry a GPS-enabled device for navigation, and tell a family member or friend when they leave and their expected return time.

DA defends decision not to prosecute alleged Cornell ‘gang rape’ case in 2024

September 29, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Prosecutors in upstate New York are defending their decision not to bring charges in 2024 after an alleged “gang rape” at a Cornell University fraternity.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten described the allegations as “morally disturbing” but argued that the facts he knew at the time did not support a prosecution.

“If what was said on social media about this case was true, those fraternity members would be in prison right now,” Van Houten told ABC News.

Van Houten argued that Jane Doe’s account of the incident from 2024 suggested that she consented to the sexual activity. He said that she did not withdraw her consent, and that when she raised concerns, the fraternity members “stopped and did not pursue what they were doing.”

“She clearly consented in the beginning, and there was never any indication that she changed that to the things that she participated in,” he said. “There is a disconnect in the sense of how the community and how social media has understood this to have happened. If at any point Jane Doe had said, ‘I don’t consent to this anymore,’ or in those words, or in any form of communication. If there had been continued sexual activity, contact by these individuals, that would be a crime. But that’s not what was alleged in her statement.”

Van Houten acknowledged that his office did not examine a photo of the fraternity’s Snapchat group, but he argued that the messages do not change his view of the case.

He called the messages, “disgusting and vulgar and immoral.”

“But the question that we analyzed was: Did Jane Doe consent to what happened, and was she unable to consent?” he said. “I’m not clear on exactly how that was given to us, or if anyone here looked at it. That was not critical to our analysis, as I mentioned earlier. The issue was her consent, and if you take that Snapchat being vile and crude and vulgar, that did not have any relevance to the issue of whether Jane Doe consented to what was happening,” Van Houten said.

The DA’s comments come a day after his office announced it would be reopening the 2024 case in light of Jane Doe’s civil lawsuit alleging that she was drugged, assaulted and gang raped by seven former and current members of the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell.

Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter was barred from campus after the alleged Oct. 19, 2024, incident, though none of the individuals allegedly involved faced criminal charges, according to the DA.

An attorney for Jane Doe responded to Van Houten’s written statement on Monday, alleging his client’s claims were not investigated thoroughly.

“It is challenging for me to understand how a thorough criminal investigation could have been conducted when she was never spoke with anyone other than the officer who took her original complaint,” Thomas P. Giuffra said.

Giuffra also raised concerns that prosecutors might have lost critical evidence because of the two-year delay in investigating the case.

“I believe that opportunities to fully investigate these crimes were lost. We will never fully know what occurred or the identities of everyone who was involved that night,” he said.

Van Houten said his office plans to meet with Jane Doe to “establish a rapport” before having her testify before the grand jury this fall. He added that he requested some of the documents from Cornell’s Title IX investigation (through Jane Doe) and suggested that some of the fraternity members might testify.

Van Houten argued his office is constrained by New York’s laws on sexual assault and consent, which present a high bar to a potential prosecution.

“The law in New York State is clear that if you are voluntarily intoxicated or under the influence of drugs – such that your judgment is impaired — that does not legally, under the penal law, constitute your inability to consent,” Van Houten said. “That’s a very difficult concept, but it’s a concept that I am constrained by when I apply the law to the case.”

The university said in a new statement on Monday that it “supports the decision of the Tompkins County District Attorney (DA) to provide an opportunity for the victim’s story, in the 2024 Chi Phi fraternity Sexual Assault case, to be heard by a criminal grand jury.”

“Cornell also conducted a thorough Title IX investigation, which is separate from a criminal proceeding, over the course of several months,” Monday’s statement said. “During that investigation temporary suspensions and other restrictive measures were used. After investigation, and pursuant to federal law, the matter was sent to a hearing where a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days. The complainant and respondents had the opportunity to testify and present evidence. At its conclusion, the hearing panel issued a range of sanctions, which included expulsions and suspensions from Cornell. None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement.”

Jane Doe’s lawyers allege that the fraternity members “were afforded the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell.”

The fraternity was closed in 2024, the school said.

“Any suggestion that the University did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” Cornell said on Monday. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”

ABC News has reached out to Chi Phi for a comment.

An attorney for one of the defendants denied the allegations and said the incident detailed in the complaint “did not happen.”

“We look forward to confronting the plaintiff in a court of law for her selfishly false claims with both the evidence and her own words.” Attorney Jeremy Saland said.

Another defendant also denied engaging in sexual activity or drug use, though he acknowledged that he sent a message that was included in the complaint.

Caleb Flynn denies killing wife in police interview played in court during murder trial

September 29, 2026 by WDNY Radio

An Ohio man accused of murdering his wife in their bedroom and allegedly staging the crime scene to make it seem like an intruder broke into their home denied killing his spouse in an interview with police days after the deadly shooting, according to video shown during his trial on Monday.

Caleb Flynn, 40, a former pastor who once appeared as a contestant on “American Idol” in 2013, is on trial in Miami County, Ohio, for the murder of his 37-year-old wife, Ashley Flynn.

He was arrested on Feb. 19, three days after calling 911 to report a burglary and shooting at their home in Tipp City, north of Dayton in February. He has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors alleged that Caleb Flynn shot his wife twice in the back of the head in bed so that he could be with his mistress and manipulated the scene to make it seem as if an intruder did it so he “too would be a victim.” According to prosecutors, Ashley Flynn was shot with two 9mm bullets, and Caleb Flynn kept a 9mm handgun in his truck console that was missing from the console when officers arrived at the scene.

While being questioned by a Tipp City police detective and Miami County deputy on the day of his arrest, Flynn was asked point-blank if he had anything to do with his wife’s death, according to video of the interview shown in court on Monday.

“Did you do this? Because I have to ask you,” Chief Deputy Steve Lord of the Miami County Sheriff’s Office asks while questioning Caleb Flynn about what could have led to the deadly shooting.

“No,” Caleb Flynn responds.

While discussing the gun that was missing from Caleb Flynn’s truck console, Lord says he believes the husband is “involved” in the shooting, and that when a grand jury hears the evidence of the case, “they’re going to conclude something.”

“I didn’t touch my wife,” Caleb Flynn says.

Asked if he had any explanation for his gun, Caleb Flynn continues to reiterate, “I didn’t touch my wife.”

“The evidence is a little bit contrary to that,” Lord replies.

The state rested its case on Monday, after calling more than three dozen witnesses over seven days of testimony.

The defense also rested on Monday without calling any witnesses. Caleb Flynn did not testify in his own defense.

Closing arguments are expected Tuesday.

During interviews with investigators played during the trial, Caleb Flynn said that the night of the shooting, he left his bedroom because his coughing was bothering his wife. He said that while sleeping on the couch his dogs woke him up and he went to check on their two daughters and fell asleep in their room. He said he was woken up by the sound of gunshots and found his wife shot in bed in the early hours of Feb. 16.

He called 911 to report the shooting and intruder.

“Somebody broke into my home. Somebody broke in my home and shot my wife,” a frantic-sounding Caleb Flynn can be heard in the 911 call.

“My wife, she’s got two shots to her head, there’s blood everywhere, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” he says, adding that the door to the garage was “wide open” and urging first responders to “please hurry.”

Hours before calling 911 on Feb. 16, Caleb Flynn texted his mistress, “Actions will come tomorrow,” prosecutors said.

The former mistress, Alleigha Botner, testified for the state during the trial, reading from some of the more than 100,000 messages they exchanged over her two days of testimony.

“If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat,” Caleb Flynn said in one message from May 2025, she testified.

Defense attorneys have conceded that Caleb Flynn said “ugly, hurtful” things in the messages with his mistress, though said he did so to appease her and lied to her to make her happy. The defense has also argued that there is no direct evidence, such as a firearm, tying Caleb Flynn to the murder, “only a theory following an affair.”

UK air base ‘terrorism’ plot probe continues after suspects released on bail

September 29, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Police roadblocks and a cordon remained in place in the southwestern British village of Whelford on Tuesday morning, as the investigation continued into a possible terrorist plot near a key U.S. air base, with five men suspected of involvement arrested on Sunday but released on bail on Monday.

The men, who police said were all British nationals from London between the ages of 23 and 25, were arrested in the possession of three vans in the early hours of Sunday close to RAF Fairford, which has long been a key hub for U.S. Air Force operations in the Middle East — including in the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Police said the men were suspected of terrorism and explosives offenses, prompting speculation that the detainees were planning to target RAF Fairford, possibly on behalf of a foreign power.

The men were bailed on Monday. Laurence Taylor, the head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the U.K., said they were placed under “stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others.” The suspects, who have not been charged, “remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of enquiry,” Taylor said.

“I know there is significant interest in whether the current geopolitical context has a bearing on this incident,” Taylor said. “We are considering this from every possible angle. Including, that this may be activity committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.”

Sunday’s arrests, which came after a tip-off from a local farmer, were touted as a major policing and intelligence success. President Donald Trump was among those praising the operation, telling reporters on Sunday that it had been ongoing for a “long time.”

Trump told reporters that the suspects were “looking to do big damage” to U.S. forces present at RAF Fairford. “The arrest in the U.K. was fantastic. Working with Britain, it was an amazing job,” Trump said.

After they were bailed, Trump suggested the men “might be” linked to Iran, though declined to elaborate further.

“I’m surprised that they released them,” Trump said on Monday during an Oval Office event. “I wouldn’t have done that. Look, they’ve been very good. They worked with us very closely. We know everything about them. We would not have released them.”

The Iranian embassy in London denied any connection to the incident in a statement issued on Monday. The mission condemned what it called “recent unfounded and malicious speculations published by some British individuals and media outlets.”

“The circulation of such fabricated speculations, particularly in the aftermath of the criminal acts of aggression committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian people, will serve no purpose other than to fuel Iranophobia propaganda in the UK,” the embassy said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also suggested on Monday that the incident near RAF Fairford was linked to “a foreign actor,” though said he had “to be careful” in what he shared publicly.

“There are some things I cannot say on the air for a lot of different reasons,” Rubio said during an interview with Fox News. “Suffice it to say that what happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the U.K. over the weekend is a very serious situation. It is one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor.”

“I know a lot of people are disturbed by the news that some of these people have been released on bail,” he added, thanking British authorities for their work and cooperation.

“We are dealing with elements in the world, in the case of Iran for example, who have openly threatened to attack American interests globally,” he continued. “We’re going to always take that very seriously, there will be repercussions for that if it ever were to happen or even attempted.”

“There’s a lot more news that will come out in the days to come, but there is only so much I can say right now at this point about it other than this is a very serious thing and will be responded to appropriately,” Rubio said.

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

Former special counsel Jack Smith to testify before Senate on Trump investigations

September 29, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Former special counsel Jack Smith is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to defend his two criminal investigations of President Donald Trump amid growing calls from Republicans that Smith himself face prosecution by Trump’s Justice Department.

Smith, who secured indictments against Trump over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and his alleged unlawful retention of classified documents after leaving the White House, has repeatedly said he believes he could prove Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and defended the actions of his investigative team.

Trump has long denied wrongdoing and neither case ultimately made it before a jury following his 2024 election victory, after which Smith moved to dismiss both indictments based on DOJ policy barring prosecution of a sitting president.

In an opening statement to the committee obtained by ABC News, Smith is expected to say, “I stand by my decisions as Special Counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump. I made these decisions without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.”

“If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that President was a Republican or a Democrat,” his statement says.

Trump has repeatedly said Smith should face prosecution and he has become a central target of House and Senate Republicans, who have argued his investigations were fueled by political animus and represented a “weaponization” of the Justice Department.

Senate Democrats have cast Republicans’ attacks on Smith as misleading and hypocritical in light of what they argue is Trump’s blatant weaponization of the department to pursue his political enemies.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said in July testimony that the department was investigating a criminal referral from Republicans who accused Smith of lying in prior public testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.

In a lengthy rebuttal to Blanche, Smith’s attorneys argued the referral was based on “spurious” claims that took his testimony out of context in order to create a pretext for the Justice Department to investigate him.

“During his testimony, Mr. Smith provided truthful, responsive answers and candidly discussed his work,” Smith’s attorneys said. “This referral reflects a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system by attacking a career, nonpartisan public servant who faithfully and fearlessly performed his duties by following the facts and the law.”

In the nearly two years since Smith’s office was shuttered following Trump’s 2024 election win, nearly every prosecutor and line agent associated with Smith’s investigation have either resigned or been fired.

The Justice Department and FBI have also handed over scores of records from Smith’s probes to Republican lawmakers who have released them in piecemeal disclosures alleging, without evidence, that they expose corruption or otherwise unethical behavior by Smith’s investigative team.

In Tuesday’s hearing, specifically, Republicans are expected to accuse Smith of unlawfully targeting their phone records during the course of his investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Smith has repeatedly defended his office’s actions with respect to the subpoenaed records, and has said the records were only targeted because they were made in the period where Trump and other White House officials were seeking to disrupt certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election win — which ultimately led to the violent Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

“I didn’t choose those members, President Trump did,” Smith said in prior testimony regarding lawmakers whose records his office obtained.

Another factor looming over Smith’s Tuesday testimony is that he is technically barred from discussing details from his other criminal investigation of Trump’s alleged unlawful retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The Trump-appointed federal judge who previously dismissed the classified documents case, Aileen Cannon, has a standing order that prohibits Smith or any other government official from revealing information that could be part of his final report detailing the probe. An appeals court is currently weighing a lawsuit filed by First Amendment advocacy groups seeking to lift Cannon’s order and make the report public.

Top AI leaders to meet with Trump at White House amid dire warnings about technology

September 29, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Leaders of top artificial intelligence companies are set to attend a lunch meeting with President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson at the White House on Tuesday amid growing fears about the threat of the rapidly innovating technology.

The meeting comes as AI leaders are issuing dire warnings about the threat of AI and calling for steps to slow it down before it outsmarts humans. Following those warnings, lawmakers are weighing what — if any — action should be taken.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will attend the meeting, a source familiar confirmed to ABC News. Another source familiar said that Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic will also attend. And Google CEO Sundar Pichai will also attend, a Google spokesperson confirmed to ABC News. Jensen Huang from Nvidia and Alex Karl from Palantir are also expected to attend, ABC News has confirmed.

Zuckerberg has pushed back on calls from other tech leaders to collectively slow down AI, saying “every lab has the responsibility and incentive to move at the pace required to train its models safely.”

The meeting will also include other tech leaders.

This won’t be the first time that top tech leaders have met with Trump on the issue. The Meta CEO also attended the state dinner at the White House for Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, along with the CEOs of OpenAI, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, AMD, SpaceX and executives from Amazon and Apple. Amodei also had dinner with Trump late on Sunday night.’

The president has said that the warnings about the technology and calls to slow down AI development are a “hoax.”

“AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX[…],” Trump said in a social media post in mid-September, before comparing the warnings to his impeachments.

The president has made clear that he does not believe in regulating the technology. Just last week while addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Trump said the U.S. “rejects” a global attempt to regulate AI.

Johnson told reporters two weeks ago about the meeting, saying there would be “a deliberate discussion about the responsibility of the companies to maintain safety, and what role, if any, the government has to play in that.”

While Johnson called on the companies to “self-regulate,” he also also stressed that the U.S. should not lose its competitive edge in the space.

“We cannot have a moratorium on the development of AI, because then we will lose our edge to China, and that has serious national security implications for,” Johnson said.

On Monday, Johnson said the the fears of the threat of AI is a Chinese psychological operation and are politically motivated.

“This is what Democrats do. They glom on to something and say, ‘This is doom and gloom and everyone will die if we don’t win,'” he told Fox Business. “Don’t buy it. It is a Chinese psyop.”

The White House has not responded to ABC News when asked about the meeting.

US officials deny there are plans to sell weapons to China

September 28, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Trump administration officials said on Monday that the United States has no plans to sell weapons to China after U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue indicated during a televised interview that President Donald Trump offered a weapons deal to China’s Xi Jinping during a high-profile summit last week.

“President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,'” Perdue said Sunday during an appearance on Fox News. “He actually asked President Xi would he like to buy some at one point.”

Perdue did not provide further details about the offer, and he did not reveal Xi’s response.

A U.S. official denied there were plans to sell weapons to China.

“The U.S. government has no plans to sell weapons to China,” the official said to ABC News on Monday.

The State Department also denied a potential sale, saying in a statement to ABC News that “U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China.”

Asked about Perdue’s comments in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he “didn’t discuss it” with Xi, suggesting he meant Taiwan instead of China.

“I never heard of that one. I’m going to have to ask him. You mean we’re going to sell? Now they’d probably like to buy it because we do make better equipment than them. So maybe it’s a good idea. Yeah, but, we didn’t discuss it,” Trump said, later adding “I think he probably was talking about Taiwan.”

A U.S. weapons sale offer to China would be extraordinary, as China is viewed as the primary strategic and economic competitor of the U.S. and is designated as a foreign adversary. The U.S. has placed extensive economic sanctions on China, including economic restrictions, investment bans and contract limits on companies, groups and schools tied to the Chinese military.

The two geopolitical rivals are also competing in the race to develop advanced artificial intelligence and have opposing views over Taiwanese sovereignty.

And in recent weeks, Beijing has come under scrutiny for allegedly providing another U.S. adversary — Iran — with satellite imagery in their ongoing conflict with the U.S. and other regional allies.

Perdue told Fox News that Xi had “assured” Trump during their bilateral meeting last week that they were “looking into” the allegations about supporting Iran with satellite imagery.

The Trump administration notably downplayed taking action against China for allegedly helping Iran despite the United States’ stated goal of targeting all countries with financial ties to Iran as part of the U.S. Treasury’s offensive “Operation Economic Outcast.”

“When they say that China spies on us, I say, ‘You’re right, and we spy on them too,’ you know? We spy on them too,” Trump said earlier this month.

When asked by reporters on Friday if the two leaders had discussed the war in Iran, Trump replied, “We did,” adding without providing details: “I think we’re going to do great.”

The potential offer to China comes as the Trump administration continues to press pause on a proposed $14 billion arms sale to the island of Taiwan, a de facto independent nation.

China has long claimed the sovereign territory as its own and regularly conducts large-scale military drills, live-fire exercises and daily air and naval patrols to apply pressure on the island. Taiwan relies heavily on U.S. military support to push back on China’s encroachments.

Perdue said that the administration was not denying Taiwan access to weapons needed for its defense, asserting: “President Trump is as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody. He’s made it very clear that we have not changed the One China policy.”

“President Xi has heard that repeatedly from President Donald Trump. President Trump has already sold 50% more arms to Taiwan than any other president since 1979,” Perdue added.

ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.

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