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Prosecutors expected to seek grand jury indictment of former Trump adviser John Bolton: Sources

October 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHNGTON) — Federal prosecutors in Maryland are expected to ask a grand jury Thursday to indict former Trump national security adviser John Bolton for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, sources tell ABC News.

The move comes on the heels of the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James as President Donald Trump continues what critics call a campaign of retribution against his perceived political foes.

Bolton has been a target of Trump’s ire since leaving Trump’s first administration and publishing a tell-all book. Federal agents in August searched Bolton’s Maryland residence and Washington, D.C., office, related to allegations that Bolton possessed classified information.

Bolton has denied ever unlawfully removing classified materials from his time in government and has said no such information was published in his 2019 memoir “The Room Where It Happened.”

The investigation is being run out of the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland, unlike the Comey and James probes which are being conducted by the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, who sources say brought the Comey and James charges against the advice of career prosecutors.

Comey, who was indicted on charges of lying to Congress, and James, who is charged with mortgage fraud, have both denied wrongdoing.

Last month, a federal judge unsealed a redacted version of the affidavit that had been assembled by prosecutors in order to execute their court-authorized search of Bolton’s home. Most of the document concerned allegations surrounding the publication of Bolton’s book, which the first Trump administration unsuccessfully sued to block.

The federal judge overseeing that lawsuit expressed grave concerns over whether Bolton had included highly classified information in his book that could potentially compromise national security.

On the day that Bolton’s home and office were searched, Trump said that he was “unaware” of the searches but went on to call Bolton a “sleazebag.” Referencing the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago home in his own classified documents case, Trump told reporters that having your home searched is “not a good feeling.”

Trump pleaded not guilty in June 2023 to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House in 2021, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back.

After Trump was reelected president last November, the case was dropped due to a long-standing Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president.

Trump, asked about Bolton in a June 2022 Oval Office interview with Fox News, said, “He took classified information and he published it, during a presidency. It’s one thing to write a book after. During. And I believe that he’s a criminal, and I believe, frankly, he should go to jail for that, and that probably, possibly will happen. That’s what should happen.”

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.

Thune says he offered Democrats a vote on Obamacare subsidies to end government shutdown

October 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he offered Democrats an opportunity to address their biggest priority in an effort to end the government shutdown — but it was not enough to end the stalemate.

Thune, during an interview on MSNBC that aired Thursday morning, said he has offered Democrats a vote on extending the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, but that he couldn’t guarantee an outcome.

“I’ve told them. I said, and I’ve said, ‘We are willing to have the conversation.’ I’ve said, ‘If you need a vote, we can guarantee you get a vote by a date certain.’ At some point Democrats have to take yes for an answer,” Thune said in the interview, which was taped Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he offered Democrats an opportunity to address their biggest priority in an effort to end the government shutdown — but it was not enough to end the stalemate.

Thursday’s vote is a different sort of vote than previous ones related to the shutdown. This vote begins debate on one of 12 regular order annual appropriations bills that keep the government running.

Thune has signaled that if the Senate does successfully support this package Thursday, he’ll attempt to affix funding bills for additional agencies to it using regular order on the Senate floor.

Reopening the government is a crucial first step to continue discussions about reforms to health care, Thune said on MSNBC. He committed to conversations, but not an outcome.

“There is a path forward, I believe, but it has to include reforms, and can I guarantee an outcome? No. And that’s what people want to see — guarantee us that this is going to pass,” Thune said. “I can’t guarantee it’s going to pass. I can guarantee you that there will be a process and you will get a vote.”

Asked about Thune’s comments, Speaker Mike Johnson reiterated Thursday morning that no health care outcomes can be guaranteed.

“It’s not possible for Leader Thune to guarantee to Chuck Schumer some outcome on that, because we haven’t finished those deliberations. I mean, that’s just as simple as it is,” Johnson said during his Thursday morning news conference.

There is bipartisan interest, Thune said, in keeping health care costs down. But changes to the program need to be made, and negotiations on those changes start with opening the government, Thune said.

Thune was pressed on efforts by the White House to rescind congressionally appropriated funds. Democrats have said that the use of rescissions has made them leery to work on funding deals. Thune did not explicitly say he wanted the White House to stop making rescissions, but he said regular order appropriations were the preferred method.

“The rescission power is something that constitutionally the president has — the question of whether they use it or not — yeah, I mean, that’s obviously something I think that they would need to talk to the White House about,” Thune said.

He said he’s had “conversations” on the topic with the White House and that “I do think that it’s in everybody’s best interest, including the White House’s, to have a normal appropriations process where people are bought in.”

As Thune sat for this interview, the House was in its third consecutive week of recess. Thune was asked if it was the right choice for the House to remain out of town. He said it was a “judgement call” for Speaker Johnson to make.

“There isn’t anything right now. They did their job. They passed their bill. The game is in the Senate,” Thune said.

He also couldn’t guarantee the shutdown would end any time soon. When asked by Ali Vitali if he thought it would be over by Thanksgiving, Thune didn’t commit.

“I hope it doesn’t last through Thanksgiving, because that’s going to be a lot of harm to the American people,” he said.

ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.

Santa Barbara authorities looking for 9-year-old girl who hasn’t been seen in at least 1 year

October 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — California authorities are trying to track down a 9-year-old girl who they say hasn’t been seen in at least one year.

The search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard was sparked on Tuesday when a school official reported her “prolonged absence,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said. Melodee is homeschooled and has not checked in since October 2024, according to the sheriff’s office.

When deputies responded to her home, Melodee and her mom, Ashlee Buzzard, weren’t there, and “no clear explanation was provided” for where Melodee was, the sheriff’s office said. Then, on Wednesday night, deputies returned to the home and Ashlee Buzzard was there, but Melodee was not, authorities said. No one else lives at the house, authorities said.

The last confirmed sighting of Melodee was about one year ago, according to the sheriff’s office. The department has released a photo of Melodee, taken about two years ago.

“We really want folks to keep an eye out … and send in any information they might have about her,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Raquel Zick told ABC News.

Anyone with information can call the sheriff’s department at 805-681-4150 or can submit a tip anonymously at 805-681-4171 or SBSheriff.org.

US-led coordination center overseeing Gaza rebuilding to be operational in coming days, officials say

October 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A U.S.-led coordination center based in Israel that will oversee implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza is expected to become operational in coming days, two U.S. officials tell ABC News.

The command center, which is tasked with coordinating security, aid and rebuilding efforts inside Gaza, will be led by a U.S. three-star general, at least initially, who has not been identified publicly. The commander will have a foreign deputy, who would be the equivalent of a two-star officer, the officials said.

The center is located inside Israel, just northeast of Gaza at a location not being disclosed to the public for security reasons. Officials said the center will not be located on an Israeli military base to ensure it can remain open to officials from other countries involved in the rebuilding of Gaza.

The center is seen as key to being to execute the extraordinary logistics involved in trying to rebuild and secure Gaza after two years of war. The U.S. and other countries are still discussing what an international security force might look like and how it would operate inside the strip, as well as how food and other aid will be distributed.

Trump has already sent 200 U.S. troops to coordinate the heavy lift; those military units specialize in transportation, planning, logistics and security. They will be working alongside representatives from other partner nations, the private sector and non-governmental organizations.

Sources say the command center is starting off slow, reaching what the military calls “initial operational capability” in coming days.

Senior White House advisers told reporters Wednesday that creation of the International Stabilization Force is under way. They said that Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Azerbaijan and other Arab and Muslim countries have offered to play a role.

“The International Stabilization Force is starting to be, starting to be constructed and and once that occurs, there’ll be more efforts, but there’s a lot of planning and a lot of very positive conversations between the sides,” one senior U.S. official said.

ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.

‘Last Lands’ explores Guatemala’s jungles in search of mysterious Mayan city

October 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — ABC News Live’s original docuseries “Last Lands,” the Emmy-nominated and Webby-winning show, is returning for season 2, kicking off in Guatemala’s Petén region. “Last Lands” covers the two-day journey by ATV through the jungle of Guatemala in search of the ancient Mayan city, El Mirador.

Produced in partnership with ABC News Live and Global Conservation, the only international group focused solely on protecting endangered national parks and Indigenous territories in developing countries. The series takes viewers around the world, highlighting the urgent mission to protect our planet’s most threatened places.

Hosted by award-winning correspondent Bob Woodruff, “Last Lands” dives into the hidden stories of Guatemala’ s jungle. This is where the story of the Americas began in the remote area of El Mirador National Park, where the Mayan civilization thrived 2,000 years ago. Their existence ended with a mysterious collapse, leaving behind ruins of their cities in Guatemala’s northernmost corner.

The once-vibrant city stands tall within the forest today, having endured since before the time of Christ. The Mayans built a sprawling city with monuments and buildings up to 200 feet high, featuring ornate facades. They studied science and built roads to last 1,000 years, just as the Romans did.

It was sustained by a rich agricultural economy and connected by a network of causeways, all within 820 square miles located in the Mirador Basin. These cities were interconnected by the world’s first super-highway system, with these ruins being among the 51 pre-Hispanic Mayan cities created around 3,000 years ago.

There are three ways of getting there, either by chartering a helicopter, going on a three-day hike or taking a two-day trip by ATV, which is most preferred by the park rangers linked to the Foundation for Ecodevelopment and Conservation.

Some of these rangers are part of the FUNDAECO Genesis Program — a team of six tasked with stopping poaching and illegal logging. Given cartel activity surrounding the park, these rangers are unarmed but wear bullet proof vests. Some choose to protect their identities.

“All of them are threatened,” program director Francisco Asturias told ABC News. “They are the ones who take people to jail.”

The threats are often from those who were stopped by the Genesis team for destroying the park, which can be anyone from hunters to cartel members. Pulga Garcia told ABC News he has received 500 death threats during his time as a ranger.

“But we always want to continue with the heart of a conservationist, because we were born here,” Garcia said. “To pass it on to my children and from my children, to their children. Because if we lose this jungle, we’re dead.”

‘This is not Gaza’: Palestinians return to war-torn neighborhoods amid fragile ceasefire

October 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip) — While there was joy on the faces of some Palestinians returning to the Gaza Strip this week after two years of war, many said they found their old neighborhoods unrecognizable from the relentless fighting that reduced many of the buildings to rubble.

Following the historic ceasefire agreement enacted on Monday, tens of thousands of displaced residents and nearly 2,000 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons made it back to Gaza, only to find themselves homeless.

“Of course, I was happy about being released, but not happy of being displaced with no safety in place, no life necessities,” said 23-year-old Abdullah Wa’el Mohammed Farhan, one of the former Palestinian prisoners freed on Monday as part of a ceasefire deal that President Donald Trump helped broker.

Standing outside a tent in Khan Younis, where he and his family are living, Farhan told ABC News that he was imprisoned for 20 months as the war with Israel raged on. He said that while detained, he and the other Palestinian prisoners were “completely isolated from the world.”

“When I was told about my release, I didn’t believe it because more than once [Israeli authorities] told us about our release and moved us from one prison to another while being tortured and beaten,” Farhan said.

ABC News has contacted the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Prison Service about the allegations from Farhan and other released prisoners about being tortured and subjected to starvation while incarcerated, but have not received a response.

Fahan’s sister, 21-year-old Samaher Farhan, told ABC News that while she is thankful they have been reunited, she conceded that she was saddened her brother had to return to a community wrecked by the war.

“When I saw Abdullah yesterday, it was mixed feelings of happiness and sadness because of how he looked before he went to prison and how he looked now,” Samaher Farhan said.

She said she hopes to resume living in their home, which is still intact but in an area that is not habitable. For the time being, she said her family is living in a tent.

“We felt bad that this is not a worthy welcoming of a prisoner,” Samaher Farhan said. “How can he come out to a worn tent? So, it was a sad feeling. I even tried not to meet him or sit with him for a long time because the situation is dire in this worn tent.”

She said that when her brother was taken prisoner, their neighborhood was still in good shape, adding, “It was barely 1% of the destruction we have now.”

The United Nations and other organizations have reported that there is no safe place in the Gaza Strip, which is about 25 miles long by 7.5 miles wide. The IDF has designated most of the war-torn territory a “no-go zone,” issuing evacuation orders for civilians there, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

According to a damage assessment by the U.N. Satellite Centre, 83% of all structures in Gaza City, the capital of the Palestinian territory, are damaged. The assessment identified at least 17,734 structures that have been destroyed, about 43% of the total number of structures damaged.

In a report issued on Tuesday, the U.N. estimated that it will cost around $70 billion to reconstruct Gaza.

In its latest report on Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that nearly 68,000 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip during the war, which started when Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 250 others as hostages.

The final 20 living Israeli hostages were released by Hamas on Monday as part of the ceasefire deal.

Shadi Abu Sido, a Palestinian photojournalist who was among those released from an Israeli prison on Monday, said he was shocked by the widespread devastation that has occurred in Gaza since he was detained in March 2024.

“I entered Gaza and found it to be like a scene of Judgment Day,” Sido said in a video testimony. “This is not Gaza. Where is the world?”

He said that while he was in prison, he was told by an Israeli prison officer that his wife and two children had been killed during the war. But once he returned to his home in Khan Younis, he said he learned that was not the case.

“I heard her voice, I heard my children, I was astonished. It cannot be explained, they were alive,” Sido said in an interview with Reuters.

But for another Palestinian prisoner, the euphoria of being freed was quickly replaced by agony when he learned his three children — ages 2, 5 and 8 — had died in the war.

In a video testimony, the man, whose name was not released, is seen falling to his knees and sobbing.

In the video, the man held a bracelet in the palm of his hand and said he had made it in prison and planned to give it to his youngest daughter.

“I made this for my daughter, whose birthday was supposed to be in five days,” he said in the video.

US-China rare Earth minerals fight explained

October 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Just weeks before the planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, China dramatically expanded its restrictions on rare earth minerals, a move the Trump administration sees as a sharp escalation in China’s efforts to tighten its grip on global manufacturing.

China’s new rules, which apply to all countries, are set to take effect in phases on Nov. 8, then Dec. 1.

“It is an exercise in economic coercion on every country in the world,” Ambassador Jameison Greer said Wednesday during a press conference alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “This will give China control over basically the entire global economy and the technology supply chain.”

The move prompted Trump to threaten 100% tariffs on all products from China starting Nov 1st. So far, Beijing hasn’t shown any public indication that it’s pulling back on its controls, but Bessent remains sanguine.

“I am optimistic that this can be de-escalated. Ultimately, we are confident in the strong relationship between President Trump and President Xi,” Secretary Bessent said. ” We’ve had substantial communication with the Chinese over the past few days, and we believe that there will be more forthcoming this week.”

Some experts say Beijing is playing hardball to increase its leverage in these upcoming talks, while undercutting U.S. efforts to boost its industrial base.

Bessent said Wednesday that Trump is still expected to meet with Xi in South Korea despite the tariff threats.

The Chinese government stated on Sunday that it does not want a trade war, but it will also not shy away from it.

“On the tariff issue, China’s position remains consistent: we do not want a trade war, but we are not afraid of one,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement Sunday. “If the U.S. persists in its course, China will resolutely take appropriate countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”

China’s move to restrict rare Earth minerals could have global implications.

The restrictions affect a wide swath of the U.S. and global economy. Rare earths are key to producing computer chips, which are needed for many things like smartphones and AI systems. They’re also critical to making magnets to power drones, robots and cars. Rare earths are also crucial for defense technology, including F-35 fighter jets, Tomahawk missiles, and radar systems.

The restrictions mean that foreign firms must obtain Chinese government approval to export products that have even trace amounts of certain rare earths that originate from China.

Given that China is overwhelmingly dominant in this sector, this could have major national security implications.

Ambassador Greer gave an example on Wednesday, saying that “if a car is built in America and sold in Mexico, you would need to seek approval from China before making a sale because of the chips in the car.”

The broad scope of this rule from China is similar to how the U.S. has implemented export restrictions to control chip production around the world that uses American technology.

The sweeping new restrictions are a sign, some analysts say, that China wants the U.S. to roll back its own export controls, and that this fight is about more than just tariffs.

Russia launches 300 drones and missiles at Ukraine, Kyiv says, as Zelenskyy prepares for White House meeting

October 16, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Russia overnight fired more than 300 drones and about three dozen missiles at targets throughout Ukraine, including civilian energy infrastructure and emergency services, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.

The strike included an attack on the State Emergency Service department in the Kharkiv region, he said.

“There are wounded,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “Recovery efforts are underway everywhere. Emergency services are working.”

Zelenskyy, who is scheduled on Friday to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, said on Thursday that the ongoing strikes only showed that the West needed to continue applying “pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

That pressure included continuing to update sanctions, but, he said, it could also include longer-range capabilities for the Ukrainian military to strike targets farther into Russia.

“Strong decisions are possible, decisions that can help. And this depends on the United States, on Europe, on all partners whose strength directly determines whether the war will be ended,” Zelenskyy said.

He added, “Now there is an important momentum toward peace in the Middle East. In Europe, this is also possible. That is exactly what I will be discussing today and tomorrow in Washington.”

The Kremlin on Wednesday also addressed the potential for the West to supply weapons for or to greenlight longer-range Ukrainian strikes within Russia.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted in Tass, a Russian state-affiliated media outlet, saying that deliveries of U.S.-made Tomahawks would amount to a “dangerous escalation of tensions” between Russia and the United States.

The Russian strike on Ukraine overnight targeted several Ukrainian regions — with a focus on the Poltava and Kharkiv regions — with a total of about 320 drones, about 200 of which were Shahed attack drones, the Ukrainian air force said. About 37 missiles were also fired, the military said.

Most of those aerial attacks were thwarted by Ukraine or otherwise failed, the air force said. At least 37 drones and 14 missiles made it through Ukraine’s air defenses, the military said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense also reported downing at least 51 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory. Local authorities said the electricity supplies to several settlements in the Volgograd, Voronezh and Belgorod regions were disrupted by the Ukrainian attacks.

Trump on Wednesday said during an Oval Office press conference that he thought Russia and Ukraine were close to a ceasefire deal about two months ago, blaming the impasse on animosity between Zelenskyy and Putin.

“You know, it’s an obstacle. It’s an obstacle,” Trump said. “There’s no question about it.”

Trump vows federal ‘surge’ in more American cities to combat crime

October 15, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, said his administration is going to “go into other cities” to combat crime.

“We’re going to have a surge of strong, good people, patriots. And they’re going to go in, they straighten it all out,” Trump said.

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

Democratic senators want investigation into Noem’s TSA video that blamed Democrats for the shutdown

October 15, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Democratic senators are alleging that the Department of Homeland Security potentially violated the Hatch Act by asking airports across the country to play a video featuring DHS Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the impacts of the government shutdown.

“This appears to be a flagrant violation of Sec. 715, which states ‘No part of any funds appropriated in this or any other act shall be used by an agency of the executive to branch… for the preparation, distribution or use of any… film presentation designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress, except in presentation to the Congress itself,'” Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote in the letter to DHS citing a section from the Anti-Lobbying Act.

The Hatch Act restricts certain political activities by federal employees and by some state, Washington, D.C., and local government workers who are involved or work in federally funded programs. Penalties for violating it include removal from federal employment, suspension without pay, demotion, or blocking a party from federal jobs for up to five years, according to the Office of Special Counsel.

“The law’s purposes are to ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation,” according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel’s website.

In response to ABC News’ request for comment on the call for an investigation, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said “DHS responds to official correspondence through official channels.”

“It is TSA’s top priority to ensure that travelers have the most pleasant, efficient, and safe air travel security experience possible. It is a simple statement of fact that Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, most of our TSA employees are working without pay. It’s unfortunate our workforce has been put in this position due to political gamesmanship. Our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government,” she said.

The letter followed a number of airports nationwide declining to play the video, saying their facilities’ policies bar the showing of political content. Some of them also pointed to the Hatch Act.

Among the major airports that declined to show the DHS video are LaGuardia, Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy, Charlotte Douglas International, Seattle-Tacoma, San Francisco, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O’ Hare, Phoenix International and Colorado Springs.

As of Wednesday afternoon, officials at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Michigan and Bismarck Airport in North Dakota said the video was being shown on screens controlled by TSA at the airports and out of their control. Both airports said they were not involved in the decision to play the video. A spokesperson for Detroit Wayne Airport said it has requested that TSA stop playing the video.

The letter to DHS led by Blumenthal and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed was cosigned by 15 other senators and asks the department to “immediately remove these videos from all TSA checkpoints and cease illegally using federal funds for partisan political messaging.”

The senators also asked DHS to provide information on the funding used to produce the video, including the cost, the approver of the funds, whether anyone from the Trump administration was consulted on the video, and if any outside contractors or organizations were involved in its creation to assess whether any federal laws were violated or funds misused, according to the letter.

A similar letter was sent by Washington Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, ranking member on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, to the Office of Special Counsel demanding an investigation into the video, adding that the OSC is responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act.

“When viewed in its totality, Secretary Noem’s video can only be reasonably interpreted as a partisan message intended to misleadingly malign the Trump Administration’s political opponents, convince Americans to blame ‘Democrats in Congress’ for the ongoing government shutdown, and influence their future votes — all while omitting the fact that Republicans currently control the White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives,” Cantwell wrote in the letter.

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