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Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel moves troops to Lebanon border after pager attack

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt on Wednesday for fresh talks on an Israel-Hamas cease-fire, and as tension with Hezbollah persists at the Israel-Lebanon border.

Here’s how the news is developing:

Israel moves troops toward Lebanon border

The Israel Defense Forces’ 98th Division will be deployed to the northern part of the country close to the border with Lebanon, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.

The division was previously active in the Gaza Strip and is being deployed to the north amid rising tensions and ongoing skirmishes between the IDF and the Hezbollah militant group operating from southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has vowed retaliation for Israel’s exploding pager attack that killed at least 12 people and injured at least 2,800 in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday.

Israel behind Lebanon pagers attack, sources confirm

Sources confirmed to ABC News that Israel was responsible for the explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday.

The pagers began exploding around 3:30 p.m. local time, according to Hezbollah officials. An intelligence source familiar with the situation told ABC News that Israel has long been working to perfect this type of “supply chain interdiction attack.”

At least nine civilians were killed and more than 2,750 injured by the explosions, Lebanese health authorities said.

Hezbollah said 11 of its members were killed on Tuesday, though did not disclose the circumstances of their deaths. The militant group vowed retaliation against Israel.

Four Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said four of its soldiers were killed fighting in southern Gaza on Tuesday.

Capt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon were killed in combat, the IDF said in a statement.

One officer and two soldiers from the Shaked Battalion, Givati Brigade, were “severely injured” during the same incident, the statement said. Another two soldiers were “moderately injured.”

An officer from the Givati Reconnaissance Unit was also “severely injured” in southern Gaza, the IDF said.

Hezbollah vows ‘reckoning’ for pager explosions

In a Wednesday morning statement, the Hezbollah militant group said it would continue operations to “support Gaza” and vowed a “reckoning” for Israel after Tuesday’s “massacre” when more than 2,750 people were injured by exploding pagers in Lebanon.

Hezbollah blamed Israel for the operation, which killed at least nine civilians. Eleven Hezbollah members died on Tuesday, the group said, though — as is typical in its statements — did not specify how they died.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to speak on Thursday afternoon to address the situation.

Israel has not commented on its alleged involvement in Tuesday’s explosions in Lebanon.

IDF strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes hit Hezbollah targets in six locations in southern Lebanon into Wednesday. Artillery strikes were also conducted, it added.

Israeli aircraft bombed “Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure” in the areas of Majdal Selm, Odaisseh, Markaba, Blida, Maroun El Ras and Chihine in southern Lebanon, the IDF said in a statement.

Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways cancel all flights to Israel

Three major European airlines have canceled all flights to Israel hours after a deadly attack on Hezbollah left at least nine people dead and over 2,700 people injured.

Air France has canceled flights to Tel Aviv for Sept. 18 and 19, according to the flight status board on their website. Lufthansa has canceled flights to Israel through Sept. 19 and British Airways has canceled flights to Israel through Sept. 27.

Netanyahu undermining security with ‘petty politics,’ political rival alleges

Benny Gantz — the leader of the centrist National Unity coalition — on Tuesday accused rival Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering Israeli security “in the most tangible way that I can remember being done by a prime minister during a war, and in general.”

In a public statement — later also published on his X page — Gantz accused the prime minister of “security recklessness” over reports that Netanyahu is preparing to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is a major critic of the prime minister’s approach to cease-fire negotiations in Gaza.

Gantz said the alleged political maneuvering is particularly dangerous ahead of a potential expansion of the conflict in the north of the country, where the Israel Defense Forces has been engaged in cross-border fighting with the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia since Oct. 8.

“Human lives and the future of the nation are at stake,” Gantz said, describing the situation as the “dictionary definition of petty politics, at the expense of national security.”

11,000 students killed in Gaza, education ministry says

The Palestinian Ministry of Education said Tuesday that some 11,000 students have been killed and more than 17,000 others have been injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s campaign there started on Oct. 7.

The ministry also said 500 schools and universities have been bombed across the territory in almost one year of war.

Islamic Jihad rocket commander ‘eliminated’ in Gaza, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces said it “eliminated” the head of the Islamic Jihad militia group’s southern rocket and missile unit in a Monday airstrike on a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza.

Ahmed Aish Salame al-Hashash was the commander of the Islamic Jihad’s rocket forces in the southern Rafah area, the IDF said in a statement. He was “an important source of knowledge of rocket fire within the Islamic Jihad terror organization in Gaza,” the IDF added.

Al-Hashash was killed while “operating inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Younis,” the IDF said, referring to one of the areas designated by the Israeli military as safer locations for civilians amid the devastating campaign in Gaza.

“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said.

The IDF often launches strikes inside Gaza humanitarian zones in pursuit of militant leaders.

Gaza Health Ministry identifies more than 34,300 people killed

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry published a 649-page document identifying 34,344 people killed in the strip between Oct.7, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024.

The document includes the name, age, gender and identification number of each person killed.

The first 13 pages of the document include names of people all under 1 year old.

The document only includes the names of those the Health Ministry said it has been able to identify. Thousands more who are a part of the overall death toll are considered missing, the ministry said.

The current death toll in Gaza is 41,226 as of Sept. 16, according to the Hamas-run ministry.

Blinken to travel to Egypt

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Egypt this week to discuss efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal, the State Department said.

Blinken will travel to Egypt Wednesday through Friday to co-chair the opening of the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Dialogue with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, the department said.

He will also meet with Egyptian officials “to discuss ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of all hostages, alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, and helps establish broader regional security,” the State Department said in a statement.

State Department doesn’t have timeline on new cease-fire proposal

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller declined to predict when a new Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal proposal might be ready.

“We continue to engage with our partners in the region, most specifically with Egypt and Qatar, about what that proposal will contain, and making sure — or trying to see that it’s a proposal that can get the parties to an ultimate agreement,” Miller told reporters Monday.

“I don’t have a timetable for you other than to say that we are working expeditiously to try to develop that proposal, try to find something that would bring both the parties to say yes and to formally submit it,” Miller added.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously said more than a week ago that a proposal would be presented to both Israel and Hamas “in the coming days.”

Miller said Monday that — just like in the negotiations overall — the main hurdles for creating the new proposal were the security situation in the Philadelphi corridor and the number of hostages and Palestinian prisoners that would be released.

‘Trajectory is clear’ at Israel-Lebanon border: Gallant

Time is running out for a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict at the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in an overnight phone call.

“Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas — the trajectory is clear,” Gallant told Austin per a readout from the Israeli Defense Ministry.

Gallant “reiterated Israel’s commitment to the removal of Hezbollah presence in southern Lebanon, and to enabling the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” the defense ministry said.

Cross-border fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah — which is aligned with Iran and Hamas through the so-called “Axis of Resistance” — has been near-constant since Oct. 8.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have left their homes in the north of the country amid the fighting, with Israeli leaders repeatedly threatening a significant military operation to pacify Hezbollah forces operating in southern Lebanon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Sunday statement that the “current situation will not continue. This requires a change in the balance of forces on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents securely to their homes.”

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Israel now says Houthi missile was hit by interceptor

A missile described by the Houthis as a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” was hit by an Israeli interceptor, Israeli military officials said Sunday, after initially saying it got through its defenses and fell in an open area.

An Israeli interceptor hit the missile fired into central Israel from Yemen, causing it to fragment, according to Israeli officials. The missile was not destroyed, but caused no damage, the Israeli officials said.

“The conclusion into the review of the surface-to-surface missile that was fired this morning is that there was a hit on the target from an interceptor, as a result of which the target fragmented but was not destroyed,” an Israeli military official said in a statement.

The Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the missile attack, claiming in a statement that it was aimed at an “important military target” in the Tel Aviv region. The Houthis claimed the missile flew some 1,267 miles in less than 12 minutes and that Israeli anti-missile defenses “failed to intercept” the weapon.

The Israel Defense Forces initially confirmed to ABC News that its defenses failed to intercept the missile but changed its conclusions upon further investigation.

-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule

IDF: ‘High probability’ 3 hostages were killed by Israeli airstrike in November

On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces released the results of its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three hostages, whose bodies were recovered from Gaza by IDF forces in December.

The three hostages — two soldiers, Ron Sherman and Nik Beizer, and civilian Elia Toledano — were killed “as a byproduct” of an Israeli airstrike on the compound where they were being held, according to the investigation. The IDF said the strike was targeting a Hamas commander, and that they believed the hostages were being held elsewhere.

“The findings of the investigation suggest a high probability that the three were killed as a result of a byproduct of an IDF airstrike, during the elimination of the Hamas Northern Brigade commander, Ahmed Ghandour, on November 10th, 2023,” the IDF said Sunday in a statement.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Netanyahu vows to inflict ‘high price’ for Houthi missile attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against the Houthi movement after a missile fired from Yemen fell in central Israel on Sunday morning.

“This morning, the Houthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen at our territory,” Netanyahu said before a cabinet meeting. “They should know that we exact a high price for any attempt to attack us.”

“Whoever needs a reminder of this, is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah,” the prime minister added, referring to Israel’s bombing of the strategic Yemeni port in July after a Houthi drone strike killed one person in Tel Aviv.

“Whoever attacks us will not evade our strike,” Netanyahu said.

-ABC News’ Jordana Miller

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs set for bail appeal hearing in sex trafficking indictment

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Sean “Diddy” Combs is expected to learn Wednesday afternoon whether he will continue to be held without bail on charges including sex trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy.

The music mogul’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, appealed Judge Robyn Tarnofsky’s Tuesday decision to detain the 54-year-old pending trial. The appeal hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Combs is alleged to have run an “enterprise that he engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson and other crimes,” according to the indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors said Combs “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct” from 2008 to the present. The allegations mirror 11 civil complaints filed against him since 2023.

Explaining the decision to deny Combs bail, Tarnofsky said: “My concern is that this is a crime that happens behind closed doors.”

Federal prosecutors argued that Combs poses an ongoing threat to the community.

“The defendant also poses a significant risk of obstructing justice,” prosecutors said. “During the course of the charged conduct, the defendant has attempted to bribe security staff and threatened and interfered with witnesses to his criminal conduct.”

“He has already tried to obstruct the Government’s investigation of this case, repeatedly contacting victims and witnesses and feeding them false narratives of events,” prosecutors added.

“There are simply no conditions that would ensure that the defendant’s efforts to obstruct and tamper with witnesses will stop,” prosecutors said.

Agnifilo asked the judge to release Combs on a $50 million bail package, disputing the prosecutors’ characterization of his client as a flight risk. The lawyer said Combs arrived in New York on Sept. 5 and “came here to face it.”

Agnifilo said Combs is trying to sell his private plane. Agnifilo said he took possession of his client’s passport and those of five of his relatives.

He also argued that when Combs took two trips — to a graduation party for one of his children and a whitewater rafting trip — “we told the government where he was going.”

“Trust has to be earned and we have earned it,” he told the judge.

Suspicious mail containing white powder sent to election offices in at least 16 states

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The FBI and Postal Service are investigating suspicious mail containing a white powder substance that was sent to election offices in at least 16 states this week, according to an ABC News canvass of the country.

None of the mail has been deemed hazardous so far — and in one case, the substance was determined to be flour — but the scare prompted evacuations in some locations.

Election offices in New York, Tennessee, Wyoming, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Colorado received the suspicious packages. Similar suspicious mail was addressed to offices in additional states — Arizona, Georgia, Connecticut and Maryland among them — but investigators intercepted them before they reached their destination.

The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service said in a statement Tuesday that they were investigating letters containing white powdery substances. A law enforcement source said at this point none of the packages were believed to be hazardous.

“We are also working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, the individual or individuals responsible for the letters, and the motive behind the letters,” the statement read.

At least some of the packages were signed by the “United States Traitor Elimination Army,” according to a copy of a letter sent to members of the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center obtained by ABC News.

Election offices office in Kansas and Wyoming were evacuated on Monday, officials said, and the ventilation system in the Missouri secretary of state’s office in Jefferson City was briefly shut off as a precaution. The North Carolina Board of Elections did not receive any packages with white powder, but an official there told ABC News they are putting in place new safety precautions in light of the incidents in other states.

This latest incident marks the second time in the past year that suspicious mailings containing a white powdery substance were sent to election offices. Last November, similar envelopes were sent to elections offices in five states — four of which tested positive for fentanyl, the FBI said at the time.

In the intervening months, several offices have taken steps to train staff on how to handle poisonous material sent in the mail. In Milwaukee, for example, election workers recently received training on how to administer Narcan.

The National Association of Secretaries of State released a statement urging an end to the “threatening and intimidating actions towards election officials” during recent election cycles.

“This must stop, period,” the statement read. “Our democracy has no place for political violence, threats or intimidation of any kind.”

Another Southern California community faces gas shutoffs amid landslide threat

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — As the embattled cliffside city of Rancho Palos Verdes continues to face indefinite utility shutoffs due to landslide risk, a neighboring Southern California community has lost gas services this week.

Officials from Rolling Hills, an adjacent city on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, announced that SoCal Gas shut off services to 34 homes in the area on Monday.

Additionally, electricity company Southern California Edison announced 51 households are preparing to lose power indefinitely no later than Wednesday evening, according to a statement from Rolling Hills officials.

This means services could be shut off any time before Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. PT, according to officials who note the utility companies are responsible for notifying customers of their service status.

Mayor Leah Mirsch released a statement Monday, saying, “The safety and well-being of our residents remains the City’s top priority.”

“We are all impacted by the outages and are committed to holding the utility companies accountable – pushing them to implement solutions that will restore services both quickly and safely,” Mirsch added.

Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the Portuguese Bend area of Rancho Palos Verdes as SoCal Gas and Southern California Edison shut off services to nearly 250 residences due to broken pipes and power lines causing hazards.

Residents in the growing landslide zone, which officials said earlier this month had spread about 680 acres over the past year, were advised to leave the area following the loss of vital power.

Photos show foundational damage to multi-million dollar properties and the surrounding roadways have become a reality amid the increasingly shifting landscape.

Newsom said land movement in the area has “significantly accelerated following severe storms in 2023 and 2024.”

Larry Chung, vice president of electric utility company Southern California Edison (SCE), said during a community meeting this month that there’s “no timeframe” for power restoration in the impacted areas due to the instability of the land.

“We can not predict how much the slide will accelerate in the coming weeks and months,” Chung said.

The Rancho Pales Verdes Peninsula is located about 30 miles south of Los Angeles.

“There is no playbook for an emergency like this one,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the area, said at a news conference on Sept. 1. “We’re sparing no expense. This is bigger than Rancho Palos Verdes. This land movement is so gigantic and so damaging that one city should not have to bear the burden alone.”

Hahn said at the time the county committed $5 million to respond to the disaster.

It has not been announced if L.A. County’s funding and Newsom’s executive order will extend to the Rolling Hills community.

Charlie Raine, a Rolling Hills resident, told ABC News affiliate KABC-TV he’s worried about his elderly neighbors in the wake of the shutoffs.

“There’s a lot of people that are dealing with this, and it’s overwhelming for them,” he told the outlet. “I’m somewhat capable of doing this for myself, certainly, and I feel sort of obligated to help other people try and get through this.”

Rolling Hills officials said the Rotary Club of Palos Verdes Peninsula is organizing donation efforts for residents who have been affected by the landslide.

Generator and solar installation permits are being expedited to support alternative power solutions, according to officials.

Schools reopen as search for suspect in Kentucky interstate shooting enters 11th day

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Schools in a Kentucky country reopened Tuesday under heavy police guard for the first time since a massive search was launched for a suspect in an interstate shooting that injured five people 11 days ago.

As the suspect, 32-year-old Joseph Couch, remained on the loose Tuesday, the Laurel County Public Schools reopened campuses to its nearly 9,000 students.

“We will not live our lives in fear,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said during a news conference Tuesday.

The school district said in a statement that the reopening plan “prioritizes the safety of our students and staff.”

“The reopening plan provides enhanced security measures for bus transportation services, school campuses and extra-curricular activities,” the school district said.

Tuesday’s search for Couch continued to focus in the thick woods of the Daniel Boone National Forest, according to the Kentucky State Police.

Both state and federal teams have combed through at least 28,000 acres of the more than 700,000-acre national forest, but have yet to find any sign of Couch, officials said.

As the search continues in the national forest, officials said they are expanding the hunt for Couch to the communities surrounding the forest.

Beshear said additional state resources are being made available to help with the ongoing search efforts.

The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service are assisting in the search.

The search for the gunman began on Sept. 7, after police responded to reports that a dozen vehicles traveling on Interstate 75 near London, Kentucky, had been struck by gunfire, officials said.

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said 20 to 30 shots were fired from a hillside near I-75’s exit 49.

Couch was initially named as a person of interest after deputies found his SUV abandoned on a forest road near exit 49, officials said. An AR-15 rifle Couch purchased in the hours before the shooting and investigators believe was used in the incident was also found in the woods near Couch’s vehicle along with a bag with Couch’s name written on it, officials said.

A day after the shooting, Couch was upgraded to the primary suspect. Investigators warned that Couch should be considered armed and dangerous.

In addition to searching the national forest, a tip prompted investigators this week to search a home in Laurel County, but found no evidence of Couch having been there, officials said.

Before the interstate shooting, according to the arrest warrant, a Laurel County 911 dispatcher received a call from a woman who alleged Couch texted her before the interstate shooting and “advised he was going to kill a lot of people. Well, try at least.” The text message was sent to the woman at 5:03 p.m. on Sept. 7, about a half-hour before the interstate shooting started, according to the arrest warrant.

“Couch sent another message to [the woman] that read, in part, ‘I’ll kill myself afterwards,'” according to the arrest warrant.

Trump praises Secret Service response to apparent assassination attempt

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised the Secret Service for stopping an apparent assassination attempt Sunday, speaking in a phone interview with ABC News.

“I’m fine. The Secret Service did a good job, actually,” he said.

A Secret Service agent fired several shots at Ryan Wesley Routh, who was allegedly concealed in a tree line armed with a rifle at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, about 300 to 500 yards from the Republican presidential nominee, authorities said.

The suspect was able to get into a car and drive off, but was stopped by law enforcement.

He appeared in court on Monday and currently faces two felony gun charges. The investigation is ongoing.

Trump spoke about the heightened threat environment, telling ABC News, “Probably always been dangerous, but it’s more so now, I think.”

He reiterated satisfaction with how the Secret Service handled Sunday’s incident.

“On that on that event, I thought they were excellent,” he said.

Trump also discussed his phone call with President Joe Biden following the incident, calling the conversation “very, very nice.”

“He called me just to, you know, express his sort of horror that a thing like that could happen. But it was a very good conversation,” Trump said.

Trump said Biden told him he wants to be sure the Secret Service has all the resources it needs to do its job, adding, “I hope that is the case.”

Freed American Paul Whelan thanks lawmakers for bringing him home during Capitol Hill visit

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Against the backdrop of the U.S. Capitol at dusk, freed American Paul Whelan, who just completed a government resettlement program in Texas following his return from wrongful detainment in Russia, thanked the lawmakers who worked to help secure his release.

Whelan praised a “bipartisan effort that brought me home” after spending the day meeting with lawmakers who took up his case from his home state of Michigan and elsewhere.

“The Michigan delegation brought me home here,” he said.

“You know, it was five years, seven months and five days,” he added of his time in Russian custody. “I counted each one of them.”

The former Marine revealed he spent the final five days in the Russian prison in solitary confinement.

“I couldn’t leave my cell,” he said, “but I made it home.”

Whelan wouldn’t preview what’s next for him — offering only that he needs a new car and that suddenly he’s in a place with electric and driverless vehicles — but said he’s involved in discussions over how to support other wrongfully detained Americans around the world.

“We’re coming for you,” Whelan said to those Americans. “The United States is not going to let people like me, Marc [Fogel], Trevor [Reed], Brittney [Griner, who was released in December 2022] languish in foreign prisons. It might take time, but we’re coming for them and everybody else.”

Whelan acknowledged the reporters he recognized by name or face, recalling the precise month he spoke with them via a smuggled phone from prison. He thanked them for reporting on his case.

He also thanked “all of the people that work for agencies that I will never meet, people that I will never know, their staff members, everyone that’s been involved at every level.”

Rep. Haley Stevens, who represents Whelan’s district in Congress, told ABC News she expects to lean on him for the complex policymaking to mitigate foreign detentions like his.

“Well, he might not know it, but I plan to be in touch with him for a very long time to come, as long as he’ll welcome it, because there’s a lot to learn from his experience,” she said.

She noted that Whelan’s case was “the first one” of a series of high-profile detentions in Russia, including Griner and Evan Gershkovich, and it “certainly changed the relationship that the United States had with Russia, even before the war in Ukraine began.”

“Our message to Russia is that when it comes to your shenanigans and your illegal and unjust and unlawful behavior, we, as the United States of America, are united. We will fight for our people,” she said. “We will bring them home, and we will win.”

Whelan returned to the United States on Aug. 2 after five-and-a-half years in a Russian penal colony.

Russian authorities released Whelan, as well as American journalists Gershkovic and Alsu Kurmasheva, in a multi-country deal that freed eight Russian prisoners abroad. The 26-person swap was the largest between the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War.

Whelan was arrested in Moscow in 2019 on charges of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Whelan, who frequently visited the city, was deemed as wrongfully detained by the U.S. Department of State.

The former Marine wasn’t the only former Russian captive on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dual Russian-British national whose release was secured by the U.S., met with lawmakers. Kara-Murza was imprisoned in Russia for two years for his opposition to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Man, au pair charged in double murder of wife, man months apart

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A grand jury has indicted 39-year-old Brendan Banfield in the stabbing death of his wife and murder of another man in the couple’s bedroom 19 months after the killing, according to Virginia’s Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office.

Banfield is accused of fatally stabbing 37-year-old Christine Banfield and shooting Joseph Ryan, 38, in February 2023.

Banfield’s charging in the case comes months after the family’s 24-year-old live-in au pair was charged in the case.

“We know Brendan Banfield and Juliana Magalhaes, the family au pair, were involved in a romantic relationship at the time of the murders,” Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a press conference Monday.

Banfield was indicted on four charges of aggravated murder and one charge for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is accused of the premeditated murder of the two.

If convicted, he could face a life sentence without the possibility of parole. For the firearm charge, he could face a mandatory minimum of three years.

“The great investigative work of the Fairfax County Police Department led us to new information which was instrumental in securing today’s indictment,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said during the press conference.

Investigators would not reveal what new information led to Monday’s arrest.

ABC News has reached out to an attorney for Brendan Banfield for comment.

The Banfield couple were married and living in their family home with their then-4-year-old daughter at the time of the murders.

Police responded to a 911 call from the home on Feb. 24, 2023, and found Ryan dead in an upstairs bedroom as a result of gunshot wounds. Christine Banfield was stabbed.

She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to police.

Police said they recovered two firearms and a knife from the home at the time of the murder.

Police also carried out another search warrant at Banfield’s house on Monday.

Magalhaes has been in custody since her arrest, according to police. Her trial is scheduled to begin in November.

The two are being held in the same adult detention center, according to Descano.

Israel behind pager explosions, sources say, as Hezbollah vows ‘reckoning’

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Israel was behind the deadly explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday, sources told ABC News on Wednesday.

At least nine civilians were killed and more than 2,750 people injured in the explosions, according to Lebanese authorities. Around 200 of the injuries were critical and required surgery, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

The Hezbollah militant group said it is conducting a “security and scientific investigation” into the explosion of pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday.

Hezbollah said 11 of its members were killed on Tuesday, though — as is typical in its statements — did not specify how they died.

“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression, which also targeted civilians and led to the deaths of a number of martyrs and the injury of a large number with various wounds,” Hezbollah said of the pager explosions in a Tuesday statement.

In a Wednesday morning statement, Hezbollah said it would continue operations to “support Gaza,” and vowed a “reckoning” for Israel for the “massacre on Tuesday.”

The dead and injured included people who are not members of Hezbollah, such as a 10-year-old girl killed in the eastern village of Saraain, according to Hezbollah-owned Al-Ahed News.

Israel has not commented on its alleged involvement in the apparent attack, which prompted chaos in the capital Beirut and elsewhere in Hezbollah’s south Lebanon heartland.

Around 100 hospitals received wounded people, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said, with hospitals in Beirut and its southern suburb quickly filling to capacity. Patients were then directed to other hospitals outside the region.

Most of the injuries were to the face, hand or abdomen, officials said.

The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those who had one of the pagers and was injured in an explosion Tuesday, according to Iranian state TV. The diplomat said in a phone call that he was “feeling well and fully conscious,” according to Iranian state TV.

At least 14 people were also injured in targeted attacks on Hezbollah members in Syria, according to the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The alleged Israeli operation has again piqued fears of escalation in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict ongoing since Oct. 8, when members of the Iranian-backed group began cross-border attacks in support of Hamas’ war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Frontier skirmishes, Israeli strikes and Hezbollah rocket and artillery salvoes have been near-constant through 11 months of war in Gaza. Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to launch a new military operation against Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border. Tens of thousands of Israelis have left their homes in border regions due to the fighting.

The Israel Defense Forces said warplanes hit Hezbollah targets in six locations in southern Lebanon overnight into Wednesday. Artillery strikes were also conducted, it added.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is due to make a public address on Thursday afternoon to address the situation. In February, Nasrallah urged members to stop using their cellphones, describing the technology as “a deadly agent.”

Schools across Lebanon will be closed on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, citing the country’s Minister of Education. Schools and offices closed include public and private schools, high schools, technical institutes, the Lebanese University and private higher education institutions, Lebanese state media reported.

The Lebanese Council of Ministers collectively condemned “this criminal Israeli aggression, which constitutes a serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime by all standards.”

It added that “the government immediately began making all necessary contacts with the countries concerned and the United Nations to place it before its responsibilities regarding this continuing crime.”

The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon condemned the attack on Lebanon, calling it an “extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context,” in a statement released by the U.N. Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General.

U.S. officials said Washington, D.C. had no role in — or pre-knowledge of — the apparent attack. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the administration was “gathering information” on the incident.

Both Miller and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to speculate on whether Israel was responsible.

The U.S. and the European Union have both designated the Hezbollah militant group a foreign terrorist organization.

Federal Reserve expected to cut interest rates for first time since 2020

September 18, 2024 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Federal Reserve is set to make a pivotal decision about its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday that could dial back its years-long fight against inflation.

Investors widely expect the Fed to cut interest rates for the first time since 2020, delivering long-sought relief for consumers saddled by high borrowing costs for everything from credit cards to mortgages.

“The time has come for policy to adjust,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last month at an annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “The direction of travel is clear.”

Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of about 9% in 2022, though it remains slightly higher than the Fed’s target of 2%.

Meanwhile, the job market has cooled. A weaker-than-expected jobs report in each of the last two months has stoked concern among some economists.

In theory, lower interest rates help stimulate economic activity and boost employment; higher interest rates slow economic performance and ease inflation.

“We will do everything we can to support a strong labor market as we make further progress toward price stability,” Powell said last month.

The chances of an interest rate cut at the Fed’s meeting on Wednesday are all but certain, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

Market observers are divided over whether the Fed will impose its typical cut of a quarter of a percentage point, or opt for a larger half-point cut. The tool estimates the probability of a half-point cut at 65% and the odds of a quarter-point cut at 35%.

A half-point cut risks overstimulating the economy and rekindling elevated inflation, while a quarter-point cut threatens to delay the type of economic jumpstart that may be required to avert a recession, Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, told ABC News in a statement.

“Rarely have market expectations been so torn” on the eve of a rate decision, Shah added.

Regardless of the size of the rate cut, borrowers should not expect immediate relief, Elizabeth Renter, senior economist at NerdWallet, told ABC News in a statement.

“This initial rate cut will have little immediate impact,” Renter said. “I anticipate many consumers and business owners will take the beginning of this change in monetary policy as a sign of hope.”

The expected rate cut on Wednesday would go into effect less than 50 days before the November election.

The Fed says it bases its decisions on economic conditions and operates as an independent government body.

When asked about the 2024 election at a press conference in Washington, D.C., in December, Powell said, “We don’t think about politics.”

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