Former Olympic snowboarder accused of ordering killing of witness set to testify against him in drug trafficking case
Former Olympic snowboarder and Canadian national Ryan Wedding is seen in photos released by the FBI. FBI
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department unsealed new charges against a former Canadian Olympian snowboarder who is allegedly the “largest distributor of cocaine” in Canada, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The charges allege Ryan Wedding ordered the killing of a witness who was set to testify against him in a U.S. federal trial in a drug trafficking case, prosecutors said.
“Wedding collaborates closely with the Sinaloa Cartel, a foreign terrorist organization, to flood not only American but also Canadian communities with cocaine coming from Colombia,” Bondi said at a press briefing Wednesday. “His organization is responsible for importing approximately six metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles via semi trucks from Mexico.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) –Traveling after Thanksgiving may be a bit more turbulent than the days leading up to the holiday, with a cross-country storm forecast to bring widespread rain and snow to millions of Americans Friday through Sunday.
Here is a look at the weather forecast for Black Friday and this weekend:
Friday
On Friday afternoon, a new cross-country storm system will bring messy weather for millions of Americans who may be traveling from Thanksgiving, with winter weather alerts for regions across Idaho and Montana down to Indiana and Michigan.
Chicago and Milwaukee are both under a Winter Storm Warning from Friday night through early Sunday, as this cross-country storm moves into the Midwest for the first half of the weekend.
Parts of northern Michigan have already recorded more than a foot of snow, with areas of the Cleveland and Erie metro areas recording between 3 to 4 inches of snow.
A Lake Effect Snow Warning remains in place for multiple areas in upstate New York as well until Saturday, as 6 to 20 inches of additional snowfall are possible with wind gusts reaching up to 50 mph into Friday night.
The rest of the country remains dry and quiet for Black Friday.
Saturday
On Saturday, rain and showers are expected from Kansas and Missouri down to Louisiana and Texas, with 6 to over 12 inches of snow possible for areas in Nebraska to Michigan — including major cities like Minneapolis, St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit.
With heavy snow and gusty winds, whiteout conditions and very dangerous travel conditions are likely across the Midwest.
In Chicago, snow will start around 6 a.m. Saturday and taper off until noon Sunday, leaving a possible 6 to more than 10 inches of snow.
In St. Louis, snowy precipitation will begin around 4 a.m. Saturday until that evening with 2 to 4 inches of snow possible.
Sunday
By Sunday afternoon and evening, this system will bring rain to much of the East Coast, especially the Northeast, with temperatures too warm for widespread snow causing rainy showers instead through Sunday evening.
Sunday is predicted to be the busiest air travel day for Thanksgiving, and anyone traveling along the I-95 corridor should try to travel earlier on Sunday or move their travel to Saturday to avoid the rain and slick roads, if possible.
New York Attorney General Letitia James stands silently during a press conference at the office of the Attorney General, on Dec. 15, 2025, in New York. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, FILE)
(NEW YORK) — Subpoenas issued to New York Attorney General Letitia James as part of a civil rights investigation into her fraud case against Donald Trump are invalid because the U.S. attorney in Albany who issued them lacked lawful authority, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
“The subpoenas are unenforceable due to a threshold defect,” U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield determined, writing that John Sarcone “was not lawfully serving as Acting U.S. Attorney when the subpoenas were issued.”
Sarcone’s appointment bypassed the requirements that govern who can exercise the power of a U.S. attorney, the judge said, similar to the way a judge ruled in November that Lindsey Halligan lacked the authority to bring charges against James and former FBI Director James Comey in Virginia.
Sarcone, like Halligan, was neither Senate confirmed nor appointed by the federal judiciary in the Northern District of New York.
Sarcone issued subpoenas to James as part of an investigation into whether she violated President Trump’s civil rights when she sued him over a decade’s worth of alleged business fraud.
Trump was found liable in 2024 for overstating his net worth, resulting in banks and insurance companies giving him more favorable terms. The half billion-dollar judgment was subsequently thrown out on appeal and is currently before the state’s highest court, though the finding stands.
James argued that Sarcone’s subpoenas were issued as an act of retaliation, but Judge Schofield said she did not need to address that at this stage because her ruling tossed out the subpoenas due to the faulty “workaround” Trump used to try to give Sarcone authority he did not have.
“Since August 2025, courts in New Jersey, Nevada and California have held that similarly installed acting U.S. Attorneys lacked lawful authority,” Schofield said, referencing, among other examples, Trump’s unsuccessful attempt to install his former personal attorney Alina Habba as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
“This decision is an important win for the rule of law and we will continue to defend our office’s successful litigation from this administration’s political attacks,” a spokesman for James said Thursday.
In this booking photo released by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Michael McKee is shown. (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office)
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — The surgeon accused of gunning down his ex-wife and her husband entered a not guilty plea at his first appearance in an Ohio courtroom on Friday.
Michael McKee faces four counts of aggravated murder and one count of aggravated burglary for allegedly shooting and killing his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband, dentist Spencer Tepe, at their Columbus home on Dec. 30, according to police and prosecutors.
McKee, who was taken into custody in Illinois, was booked into the James A. Karnes Corrections Center in Franklin County, Ohio, on Tuesday.
McKee appeared via video at Friday’s brief hearing and did not speak.
His defense attorney, Diane Menashe, told the court, “We acknowledge receipt, waive reading, enter not guilty pleas to all counts.”
“We would also waive bond at this time,” she added.
McKee and Monique Tepe were married in 2015 and divorced in 2017, according to divorce records obtained by ABC Columbus affiliate WSYX. They did not have any children together, according to the records.
Spencer and Monique Tepe married in December 2020, according to their obituary. The Tepes are survived by their two young children, who were found safe inside their home after the Dec. 30 killings.
“We just want justice,” the Tepes’ brother-in-law, Rob Misleh, told ABC News.
“We want this person that took so much from, not just us as a family, but so many more people. And obviously the kids, especially. We want this person to pay for what they did,” he said.
ABC News’ Josh Margolin and Jason Volack contributed to this report.
