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IDF needs ‘a few more weeks’ to fully degrade Iranian military, senior Israeli security official says

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The Israel Defense Forces need “a few more weeks” to fully degrade Iranian military capabilities, such as missile-launchers, a senior Israeli security official told ABC News.

The Israeli security official poured cold water on the idea that a substantive deal between the United States and Iran could be reached within President Donald Trump’s earlier deadline of this weekend. Trump said Thursday that he was postponing plans to target Iran’s power plants until April 6 citing ongoing talks.

The Iranians “are very well-trained negotiators,” the security official said. “They won’t agree in a few days to end all the actions.”

The senior Israeli security official, who spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media, said he was worried that U.S.-Iran talks could lead to a deal which does not extract significant enough concessions from the Iranians.

The Israeli security official said that if he were advising U.S. negotiators he would ask “to see actions [from the Iranians] that can be measured.”

“For example, giving [up] all the 400 kilograms of enriched uranium,” he added.

Iran has previously denied U.S. and Israeli accusations that it was enriching uranium to near weapons-grade level, with an ultimate aim of producing nuclear weapons.

The Israeli official spoke to ABC News on Tuesday, the day after Trump posted on his social media platform that there had been “very good and productive conversations” between the U.S. and Iran “regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.”

Iranian officials have denied — at least publicly — that negotiations with the U.S. are taking place. On Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, told Indian TV that there were “no talks or negotiations” between Iran and the United States.

“No one can trust U.S. diplomacy,” Baqaei added.

However, on Thursday a Reuters report quoted an Iranian official as saying that a U.S. proposal for ending the war was “one-sided and unfair.”

The White House said in a statement that the U.S. military had been “decimating Iran’s military capabilities with overwhelming firepower, skill, lethality, and force.”

“The United States is winning very decisively and way ahead of schedule,” a White House official said.

“We have taken major strides towards completing our military objectives, to the point that we are close to completing them,” the White House added.

On Thursday, Trump announced a further pause in plans to hit Iran’s power plants, again citing talks that he said were “going very well.”

An Israeli military official who was authorized to speak with journalists told reporters during a briefing Wednesday that the Israeli Air Force had conducted 8,500 strikes in Iran since the end of February and had destroyed some 400 Iranian ballistic missiles and 335 missile-launchers, which equated, he said, to about 70% of Iran’s overall arsenal of missile-launchers.

However, when the military official was pressed by reporters on the extent to which the IDF’s military operations and goals were outstanding in the war, he declined to give details, stressing that the U.S. and Israeli militaries were “well-coordinated” and working “shoulder-to-shoulder.”

“We are achieving more and more of our objectives,” said the military official , who is part of the IDF division that coordinates operations deep inside enemy territory.

“War is not a one bang and it’s over. It’s an ongoing machine,” he added.

The senior Israeli security official who spoke anonymously to ABC News said the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, was leading the talks with the Trump administration.

Ghalibaf’s apparent leading role in negotiations, which has not been confirmed by the U.S. or Iran, was first reported by Axios.

On Monday, Trump refused to confirm which senior Iranian official the U.S. was in talks with, telling reporters, “I don’t want him to be killed” and referring to the Iranian lead negotiator as “a top person.”

The senior Israeli security official described Ghalibaf, who is a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard’s Air Force, as “an extremist” and “not Mother Teresa” and told ABC News that Israel would refrain from attempting to kill Ghalibaf while the talks continue.

“He has this kind of insurance [policy] as long as he talks,” the official said, adding, “no one is secure in Iran.”

Asked by a reporter if the IDF was holding off on any attempts to kill Ghalibaf, the military official did not comment directly about Ghalibaf but stressed that, in terms of its list of targets, the IDF would accept and follow any political decisions.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration sent a 15-point plan to Iran end the war, via Pakistan, which has emerged as a key mediator, two sources familiar with the plan told ABC News Tuesday.

Those sources said the plan addresses Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs as well as maritime routes but would not provide any other details including which Iranian officials the proposal was sent to. It is also unclear whether Israel has signed onto the proposal.

While diplomatic efforts continue, the Pentagon is preparing to deploy as many as 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East, with some of those forces already in transit.

The troops are a mix of U.S. Army paratroopers and Marines.

However, exactly when the troops will arrive or where they will land is not clear.

Trump has indicated that the negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials have, in part, been focused on Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s stranglehold over that narrow waterway, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes, has caused a spike in energy prices and volatility in trading on financial markets.

The senior Israeli security official who spoke anonymously with ABC News said Israel was working on the assumption that Iran had laid naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Israeli official stressed that locating naval mines and disarming them is a “complicated” task.

“If one big oil tanker were exploded by a few naval mines, it would play havoc with markets, as well as the insurance for shipping companies, and would send the price of oil skyrocketing,” the Israeli official said.

“If Iran says they have mined the Strait of Hormuz then the basic assumption we must have as commanders … is that they have mined the Strait of Hormuz,” said the Israeli military official who briefed reporters.

In possible talks Israel wants the U.S. to press Iran to give up what remains of its enriched uranium and rein in its proxies in the region, the senior Israeli security official stressed.

That Israeli official suggested that it would not be possible to seize Iran’s enriched uranium by military force.

The two U.S. Marine Expeditionary Units which are being deployed to the Middle East, “don’t have the engineering tools” to conduct an operation to “pull out” Iran’s remaining enriched uranium from underground sites, he said.

Asked about this issue on the briefing with reporters, the military official declined to comment.

The Pentagon declined to comment about the senior Israeli official’s assessment of remaining objectives in the war and the U.S. military’s capabilities.

The White House said the war on Iran was “a conditions-based operation” and said it would conclude when the president “determines that our objectives are met.”

Charlie Puth had a ‘Hey Jude’ sing-along going in the delivery room as son Jude was born

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Charlie Puth has been a dad for only 14 days, but he says his new son, Jude Crawford Puth, is already taking after him.

Speaking to Jimmel Kimmel on Thursday, Charlie said, “My son just happens to love the piano.” But he went on to explain that that’s because every time he plays some music — like The Beatles’ “Hey Jude,” for example — the baby poops.

And speaking of “Hey Jude,” Charlie told Jimmy that in his head, he’d imagined a musical moment that would happen with the baby arrived in the world.

“I knew when Jude was born, we were gonna play ‘Hey Jude’ in the delivery room,” Charlie said of the picture he’d had in his head. “And all the nurses and doctors are gonna sing, ‘Na, na, na, na na na na‘ — and that’s exactly what happened.”

During his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Charlie also played the game “Wing It and Sing It,” during which he had to make up a song on the spot to lyrics written for him, which he’d never seen before. The song was about the fatherly advice he’s going to give to Jude when he gets older, so Charlie found himself singing lyrics like, “Always bend at the knees or you’ll throw out your back/ Don’t vape and don’t drink and don’t ever smoke crack.”

The song ended, “You were born a winner, and if you ever need proof/ Just remember your dad is Charlie mother-friggin’ Puth!”

Megan Thee Stallion says she brings ‘new type of sass, a new type of energy, my own personality’ to Broadway

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Megan Thee Stallion is officially on Broadway, and she tells Billboard she still “can’t believe it.”

“When I got the opportunity to do it. I was like, ‘Hell yes,'” she says of joining Moulin Rouge! The Musical as Zidler. “This is not like a regular Megan Thee Stallion concert. This is Zidler. This is not even me, but the hotties get to come.”

She encourages her fans to dress up for the show, noting she “met the ‘hottie version’ of Moulin Rouge fans — they call it ‘fan fan fans’ — and they’re on their s*** up there.”

“So the hotties need to come up there ready to see a Broadway show, babe, this is different,” Meg explains. “We’re coming up here, we’re gonna act right, and we’re gonna be dressed the part.”

Meg is the first woman to play Zidler, bringing a fresh take to the character. “I feel like I’m gonna be able to bring a new type of sass, a new type of energy, my own personality,” she says. “I feel like I’m gonna make Zidler be ‘Zi-leisha.’ She’s gonna be funny.”

She also plans to add a “little Megan Thee Stallion spice” to the “already amazing” songs in the musical.

Beyond Broadway, Meg confirmed her next album will be Act III, which will “wrap up this saga of acts that I’ve been doing.”

“On this album, I’m doing definitely what I want to do — as I always do — but I’m also gonna do something a little different. I don’t want to say too much, but … maybe we could call it introducing another alter ego,” she teases.

She says the project will be coming out sometime in 2026.

Netflix’s ‘Kennedy’ series shares first look at Michael Fassbender as Joe Kennedy Sr.

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

The first look at the upcoming Michael Fassbender-starring series Kennedy has arrived.

Netflix has shared a behind-the-scenes photo of Fassbender in costume as Joe Kennedy Sr. The photo comes as the streaming service announced that production on the show has started in London.

Kennedy will be an eight-episode drama series based on the Fredrik Logevall book JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1965.

The previously announced series regulars include Laura Donnelly as Rose Kennedy, Nick Robinson as Joe Kennedy Jr. and Joshuah Melnick as Jack Kennedy. The show will also feature Ben Miles as Eddie Moore, Lydia Peckham as Rosemary Kennedy, Saura Lightfoot-Leon as Kick Kennedy, Cole Doman as Lem Billings and Imogen Poots as Gloria Swanson.

Additionally, 13 other actors have been newly announced to join the recurring cast of the series. They are Georgina Bitmead as Eunice Kennedy, Miley Locke as younger Kick Kennedy, Tipper Seifert-Cleveland as younger Rosemary Kennedy, Hera Hilmar as Inga Arvad, Wyatt Russell as Charles Lindbergh, Patrick Fischler as Arthur Krock, Caitlin FitzGerald as Clare Boothe Luce, Louis Landau as Billy Cavendish, Robin Soans as Neville Chamberlain, Denis O’Hare as Raymond Furness, Albert Welling as Winston Churchill, Toby Huss as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eddie Marsan as J. Edgar Hoover.

“Kennedy reveals the intimate lives, loves, rivalries and tragedies that shaped the most iconic dynasty in modern history, and helped create the world we live in today,” according to its official logline. “Beginning in the 1930s, the first season charts the improbable ascent of Joe and Rose Kennedy and their nine children, including rebellious second son Jack, who struggles to escape the shadow of his golden boy older brother.”

The show will be directed by Another Round helmer Thomas Vinterberg. It will be showrun and executive produced by Sam Shaw.

ERNEST dives into the ‘Deep Blue’ with third album

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

ERNEST’s third studio album, Deep Blue, will be here May 1, featuring the title track and “End of the Night,” which are both out now.

Like his debut album from 2019, Deep Blue draws inspiration from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“I want to say thank you to the fans that have been here since the Local Only days. If you are new here, thank you for joining the ride,” ERNEST says. “Most importantly, I want to thank the ocean and the islands. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them. I found myself in that Caribbean water and will always call it home away from home.”

The 13-track album includes the previously released “Lorelei” and “Boat Named After You,” as well as four songs he didn’t write, which is a first for the singer/songwriter.

Here’s the complete track listing for ERNEST’s Deep Blue:
“Lorelei”
“Edge of the U.S.A.”
“What a Little Rain”
“Lucky”
“Quit While We’re Behind”
“Somewhere in the Caribbean”
“End of the Night”
“Waste a Day”
“Deep Blue”
“If I’m Not Careful”
“Same Moon”
“Boat Named After You”
“Time Is a Thief” (featuring Lukas Nelson)

As Trump postpones threatened attacks on Iran’s power plants, experts warn of the potential humanitarian crisis

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A threat of U.S. attacks on power plants in Iran continues to loom over the Middle East conflict, even after Trump pushed back a self-imposed deadline for the second time.

In a post on social media on Thursday, Trump said he was “pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction” until April 6.

In the event of such an attack, Iran has said it would carry out tit-for-tat strikes against energy infrastructure in neighboring countries, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency state media.

The threatened escalation risks a humanitarian crisis for tens of millions of people in the region, potentially restricting their access to basic essentials such as electricity, food, water and health care, some analysts told ABC News.

Distress could spread to countries beyond the Gulf if dire conditions prompt residents to flee across borders and infrastructure damage worsens a global oil shock, analysts said.

“This will be bad for everybody,” Mushfiq Mobarak, a professor of economics at Yale University, told ABC News. “The most damaging effects — the largest welfare costs — will be on Iranian civilians.”

On March 21, Trump vowed to “obliterate” power plants in Iran within 48 hours unless the country eases its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Before the deadline arrived on Monday night in Washington, D.C., Trump posted on social media that he was postponing the ultimatum for five days, claiming “productive conversations” had been held between the U.S. and Iran.

On Thursday — one day before the new deadline was set to arrive — Trump said he would postpone the deadline for an additional 10 days.

Negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are “ongoing,” Trump claimed. Iranian officials have denied that the country is in talks with the U.S.

Meanwhile, Iran has pledged to retaliate against civilian infrastructure in nearby countries in response to an attack on its energy sites.

“Immediately after the power plants and infrastructure in our country are targeted, the critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and oil facilities throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a post on X on Sunday.

Natural gas supplies roughly 79% of electricity used in Iran, according to the International Energy Administration, a global energy policy group based in Paris, France.

The majority of the nation’s natural gas is supplied by South Pars, the largest natural gas field in the world. An Israeli attack on South Pars last week threatened severe impact in Iran and neighboring Gulf states, analysts previously told ABC News.

Potential U.S. attacks on energy infrastructure could cut off electricity access for many of the 92 million people in Iran, while at the same time discontinuing power for critical institutions like hospitals, Mobarak said.

“If hospitals lose power, that’s very dangerous,” Mobarak said.

The health care impact would come as some hospitals in the region face perilous conditions, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Health care facilities faced a total of 13 attacks as of March 5, the WHO said, voicing concern about “health systems and lives at risk in the region.”

Attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran could also worsen food shortages and price increases, Michael Werz, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told ABC News. Annual food inflation in Iran stood at 72% in December, before the war began, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Any further deterioration of food access, Werz said, could have a “massive impact.”

Potential Iranian retaliation against civilian sites threatens desperate conditions for millions of people in nearby countries Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq and Israel, some analysts said.

Those countries depend in large part on water desalination plants for drinking water due to arid conditions in the region, making those facilities a major potential vulnerability, Ginger Matchett, assistant director with the GeoStrategy Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, said in a blog post.

Desalinated drinking water accounts for at least 90% of the supply in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, while Israel and Oman each depend on such plants for 80% of their drinking water, Matchett said.

“If Iran successfully destroyed the Gulf’s desalination infrastructure, then the consequences could be devastating,” Matchett added.

In early March, desalination plants in Iran and Bahrain were targeted in the fighting, and missile-related damage has also been reported at sites in Kuwait and the UAE.

Potential retaliatory attacks on oil and gas sites in the region also threaten to deepen and prolong a global oil crisis, driving up fuel costs and raising prices for essential goods worldwide, some analysts said.

Global oil prices skyrocketed in recent weeks after the war prompted closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil and natural gas delivery. Consumers have held out hope for a reopening of the strait and a relatively speedy recovery, but facility repairs could stretch on for months and choke off fuel supply in the meantime.

Qatari authorities said last week that Iranian ballistic missile attacks caused fires and “extensive damage” at the Ras Laffan terminal, which carries about one-fifth of the global supply of liquid natural gas. An Iranian missile attack struck oil refineries last week in Haifa, Israel, where fire brigades extinguished a fire that broke out at the site, Israel Fire and Rescue said.

The Philippines has declared a national energy emergency in response to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, while South Korea has called on residents to ride bicycles for short trips and reduce the length of showers. Thailand and Vietnam have also asked citizens to take steps to curtail energy use.

Roughly 80% of the oil that typically passes through the strait is bound for Asian markets, according to the IEA. Still, the oil shock will raise gas prices worldwide, since energy is sold on a global market, Mobarak said.

“This will have effects for gas consumers across the world,” he added.

Muse announces US tour supporting upcoming album, ‘The Wow! Signal’

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Muse has announced a U.S. tour in support of their upcoming album, The Wow! Signal.

The headlining trek launches July 5 in St. Louis and concludes Aug. 31 in Los Angeles. It follows Muse’s previously announced set at the Milwaukee Summerfest on July 2.

Openers include Bloc Party, Portugal. The Man and The Temper Trap.

Presales begin March 31 at noon local time, and tickets go on sale to the general public on April 3 at 10 a.m. local time.

For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit Muse.mu.

The Wow! Signal, the 10th Muse album and the follow-up to 2022’s Will of the People, drops June 26. It includes the singles “Be with You” and “Unravelling.”

Lou Gramm announces new North American tour dates

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Lou Gramm is hitting the road in support of his new solo album, Released, which is out now.

The former Foreigner frontman has announced a new string of North American dates, kicking off May 9 in Wabash, Indiana, and wrapping Oct. 10 in St. Charles, Missouri. The tour will have him treating fans to performances of new songs, as well as iconic hits from his catalog.

A complete list of dates and ticket information can be found at LouGrammOfficial.com.

The 10-track Released is made up of songs Gramm originally recorded in the ‘80s while making his previous solo albums, 1987’s Ready Or Not and 1989’s Long Hard Look. The songs never made it on those albums, but have now been completed for the new record.

In addition to his new solo dates, Gramm is set to join Foreigner for several shows starting April 17 in St. Augustine, Florida, and running through April 23 in Key West, Florida.

NYPD, FBI disrupt alleged plot to kill a Palestinian activist

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — The NYPD and the FBI said they have disrupted an alleged plot to kill a Palestinian activist, according to law enforcement officials and unsealed court documents.

Authorities arrested Alexander Heifler in Hoboken on Thursday night on charges of unlawfully possessing and unlawfully making firearms. He is also accused of plotting to “go after” activist Nerdeen Kiswani, co-founder of Within Our Lifetime, who is an organizer of many of the pro-Palestinian protests in New York City.

Kiswani is not identified by name in the criminal complaint, but she posted on social media the FBI informed her she was the alleged target.

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

Olivia Dean wins big at UK’s MOBO Awards

March 27, 2026 by WDNY Radio

Olivia Dean will soon have to buy a new set of shelves for all the awards she’s been winning.

After snagging a Grammy and four BRIT Awards, she was the big winner at Thursday night’s MOBO Awards. MOBO stands for Music Of Black Origin, and this year marked the 30th anniversary of the U.K. awards. At the show in Manchester, England, Olivia won best female act, album of the year for The Art of Loving and song of the year for “Man I Need.”

Olivia also performed her song “A Couple Minutes,” while Myles Smith, who was nominated for song of the year for “Nice to Meet You,” sang a slowed-down version of “Stargazing.” Meanwhile, RAYE won video of the year for “Where Is My Husband!”

If you want to see all three British singer/songwriters this summer, the U.S. leg of Olivia’s tour starts July 10 in San Francisco. RAYE’s U.S. tour leg begins March 31, while Myles hits the U.S. June 16.

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