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Republicans raise concerns about Florida special election as candidates vie to replace Mike Waltz

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(FLORIDA) — Some Republicans are raising concerns ahead of a key special election in Florida on Tuesday in what appeared to be a safe U.S. House district for the party as Republican state Sen. Randy Fine vies for the chance to take the seat vacated by former Rep. Mike Waltz.

The special election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, which is on the state’s eastern coast and includes the city of Daytona Beach, is being held on Tuesday, April 1, to fill the vacancy created by Waltz when he resigned to become President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.

Some concerns have been raised with Fine’s own party over his fundraising and campaigning as he has lagged behind Democratic candidate Josh Weil, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Fine has raised or received about $987,000 from late November 2024 through mid-March, while Weil has raised or received over $9 million from Oct. 1, 2024, through mid-March. Fine also donated $600,000 to himself last week, according to other FEC filings.

(Weil’s campaign has spent over $8 million of its money, per the filings. Fine’s campaign also spent much of its money before his own donations last week.)

Another special election, in the state’s 1st District, will also occur on April 1 to fill the vacancy left by former Rep. Matt Gaetz when he resigned from Congress late last year.

While Republicans are favored to win both races, given that the districts were ruby-red in 2024, some have speculated that the margin between the Republican and Democratic candidates could be tighter than anticipated, given Trump’s voter disapproval ratings and Democrats’ success in some recent legislative district elections.

Those voicing concerns about the 6th District race include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who told reporters on Tuesday, “Regardless of the outcome in that, it’s going to be a way underperformance from when I won that district by in ’22 [as a candidate for governor] and what President Trump won in November.”

“They’re going to try to lay that at the feet of President Trump,” DeSantis added. “That is not a reflection of President Trump. It’s a reflection of the specific candidate running in that race. And President Trump, if he were on the ballot in this special election, he would win by 30 points, no question.”

DeSantis did say that he still expects a Republican candidate will be successful in the district. Still, DeSantis and Fine have clashed before, including when Fine switched his endorsement in the 2024 presidential primaries from DeSantis to Trump.

Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser, said on Monday on his podcast show that “Trump won that district by 30 points in November. … We have a candidate that I don’t think is winning. That’s an issue.”

ABC News reached out to Fine’s campaign for comment about the Republican concerns.

Fine, on social media, has continued to express optimism, writing on X on Tuesday night, “As I sit in my [state] Senate office for the last time, I want to thank the voters who have elected me seven times to represent them in Tallahassee. It’s been a profound honor, and I can’t wait to do it again.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of House Republicans, has not invested in the race but indicated it is not worried about a loss.

“Randy Fine is going to be a member of Congress. Everything else is just noise,” Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the NRCC, told ABC News.

Fine, who was elected to the Florida state Senate in 2024, previously served as a state House representative and worked beforehand as a casino executive. In the state legislature, Fine promoted bills on school choice, immigration, combating antisemitism and other issues.

He also sponsored a high-profile measure in 2022 that would eliminate some special districts in Florida, including one that encompasses Walt Disney World, amid a fight between the Florida government and The Walt Disney Company. (ABC News is owned by The Walt Disney Company, which also owns Walt Disney World.) A settlement was reached in March 2024.

The Florida special elections could affect the balance of power in the House of Representatives. As of Wednesday, less than a week out to the special election, Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the U.S. House, with 218 seats to Democrats’ 213 seats. (Four seats, including the two Florida seats, are vacant.)

Fine does have some momentum — for instance, he does have Trump’s strong endorsement.

Trump wrote in late March on his social media platform Truth Social, “A highly successful, Harvard educated businessman, and greatly respected State Legislator, Randy has been a tremendous Voice for MAGA.” The president also encouraged Republicans to vote early. The early voting period began on March 22.

Fine also has recent history pointing in favor of Republicans holding on to the district.

In the U.S. House general election in this district in 2024, Waltz received 67% of the vote, while Democratic candidate James Stockton received 33% of the vote. In this district in the presidential race, meanwhile, Trump received about 65% of the vote, while Vice President Kamala Harris received about 35% of the vote.

Both Democrats and Republicans have said special elections are not necessarily comparable to regular elections, given that voter turnout can be much lower during the special elections.

ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Soo Rin Kim contributed to this report.

Ukraine ‘doesn’t trust’ Russia, Zelenskyy warns as strikes follow ceasefire progress

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) –The success of a nascent potential agreement between Ukraine and Russia to pause naval and energy infrastructure attacks will depend on Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, warning that Kyiv has no trust for Russian President Vladimir Putin after more than three years of full-scale war.

“Now, results are needed from Russia,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address on Tuesday. “We do not trust them. And frankly — the world doesn’t trust Russia. And they must prove that they are truly ready to end the war — ready to stop lying to the world, to President [Donald] Trump and to America.”

“How Russia behaves in the coming days will reveal a lot — if not everything,” he said.

“If there are air raid alerts again, if there is renewed military activity in the Black Sea, if Russian manipulations and threats continue — then new measures will need to be taken, specifically against Moscow,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia and Ukraine “agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea,” according to White House readouts, published Tuesday after three days of meetings with representatives from Kyiv and Moscow in Saudi Arabia.

The nations also agreed to “develop measures to implement the agreement to ban strikes against energy facilities in Russia and Ukraine,” the White House said. Trump said, “We are making a lot of progress.”

Drone strikes continued through Tuesday night into Wednesday despite the apparent progress on a partial ceasefire agreement.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 117 drones into the country overnight, of which 56 were shot down and 48 lost in flight. “Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Cherkasy regions were affected by the Russian attack,” the air force wrote on Telegram.

In Russia, the Defense Ministry said its forces downed nine Ukrainian drones, including two over the Black Sea. In the western Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a drone attack wounded one person and broke the windows of several buildings.

On Wednesday morning, Zelenskyy said in a statement posted on Telegram that “there were 117 more pieces of evidence in our sky that Russia is dragging out this war — 117 strike drones.” He added, “To launch such large-scale strikes after ceasefire negotiations is to show everyone in the world with all the obviousness that Moscow is not going to make a real peace.”

“Strong steps from the world and clear pressure on Russia are needed,” Zelenskyy continued. “More pressure, more sanctions from the U.S., so that the Russian strikes stop.”

Questions remain as to the nuances and extent of the agreements. Russia and Ukraine both released their own readouts emphasizing different elements of what was purportedly agreed with the U.S.

Russia for example, said the U.S. agreed to “help restore access to the world market for Russian exports of agricultural products and fertilizers,” plus to reduce the cost of shipping insurance and expand access to ports and payment systems. Such steps will require the lifting of some sanctions on Russian agricultural and food companies, the Kremlin said.

That point was not reflected in the Ukrainian readout. Kyiv’s announcement also said the U.S. would help with prisoner of war exchanges, the release of civilian detainees and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children — a topic not mentioned in the Russian readout.

After Putin spoke with Trump last week, the White House said a proposed 30-day partial ceasefire would pause attacks on “energy and infrastructure.” The Kremlin said the agreement referred to “energy infrastructure.” Tuesday’s White House statement reverted to the wording used by Russia.

Russia said the proposed 30-day pause in attacks on energy infrastructure began on March 18, and on Tuesday published a list of facilities subject to the pause in strikes. Moscow said either side could opt out of the freeze in the event of violations by the other. All nuclear and other power plants, oil and gas depots, pipelines and storage facilities, plus hydroelectric dams were among the facilities included.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated the same claims Wednesday to reporters.

“As for whether it means anything or not, I can only repeat what I said both the day before yesterday and yesterday: Putin’s order on the moratorium [on strikes on energy facilities] is in force and is being implemented by our armed forces,” Peskov said.

Both sides have accused the other of continuing to attack energy and other critical infrastructure targets throughout the ceasefire negotiations. Zelenskyy’s communications adviser, Dmytro Lytvyn, said in a post on X on Tuesday that Russia has hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure eight times since March 18.

“I think there will be a million questions and details,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday, shortly after the news on the negotiations was announced.

Later, in his evening video address, Zelenskyy said the onus for the success of the partial ceasefire is on Moscow.

“Diplomacy must work,” he added. “And from the Ukrainian side, we are doing everything to make that happen. I thank everyone who is helping. I am grateful to the United States for the constructive and effective work of our teams.”

ABC News’ Patrick Reevell, Anna Sergeeva and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.

Atlantic story on Yemen chat reportedly showed rare instance of Vance breaking with Trump

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Amid the fallout from The Atlantic’s Monday article reportedly detailing the Signal group chat discussing the U.S. attack on Houthis in Yemen, Vice President JD Vance appearing to break with President Donald Trump is also getting attention.

Vance made a noteworthy statement in the chat, appearing to break with Trump and questioning whether the president recognized that a unilateral U.S. attack on the Houthis to keep international shipping lanes open was at odds with his tough talk about European nations paying their share of such efforts, according to an account by Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic editor-in-chief who said he was inadvertently included in the conversation.

“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Vance wrote in the chat, according to Goldberg. “There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”

On the day before the attack, according to The Atlantic’s reporting published on Monday, Vance participated in the chat as he told the group he was traveling to Michigan for an economic event.

“Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake,” Vance wrote in the chat, according to Goldberg. “3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message.”

Ultimately, he supported the attack, telling Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, “if you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again,” according to Goldberg’s account.

The White House has insisted the communications in the group chat were not war plans and criticized The Atlantic journalist who detailed the account.

“This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X on Wednesday.

William Martin, Vance’s communications director, said the vice president and Trump “are in complete agreement.”

“The Vice President’s first priority is always making sure that the President’s advisers are adequately briefing him on the substance of their internal deliberations. Vice President Vance unequivocally supports this administration’s foreign policy. The President and the Vice President have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement,” he said in a statement.

Asked if Vance and Trump had spoken between the time Vance raised his concerns with the group, as reported by The Atlantic, and he concurred with those advocating to go ahead with the strike, a spokesperson for Vance said the statement Martin provided to ABC News made it clear that they did, pointing out the line that they had “subsequent conversations about this matter.”

The comments from Vance are striking, given that he has been in lockstep, at least in public, with Trump, his top defender most of the time since being chosen as his running mate last July.

No situation depicted that more than Trump and Vance’s Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month, where the three men got into a shouting match in front of the media over the prospects of a ceasefire deal to end the war in Ukraine. Vance berated Zelenskyy for not being thankful for the support the U.S. has provided Ukraine.

“Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance said to Zelenskyy. “Right now, you guys are going around enforcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”

During the campaign cycle, where Vance was the policy attack dog for the president and previously said that Trump needs a vice president who wouldn’t “stab” him in the back, there was only a handful of times he deviated from Trump on policy, with the most notable incident occurring in an NBC interview during the presidential campaign when he said Trump would veto a national abortion ban. A few weeks later, Trump, during his debate with Kamala Harris hosted by ABC News, was asked about Vance’s comments on an abortion ban.

“Well, I didn’t discuss it with JD, in all fairness,” Trump said.

Since then, Vance has been more careful not to deviate publicly from the president’s policy position.

Following their victory in November, a source close to Vance told ABC News that the vice president was tasked to ensure that all of the priorities of the Trump administration move forward and would work on any of the issues Trump needs him to further.

In November, a source familiar with Vance and Trump’s relationship said Vance was focused on doing whatever was needed to support the president-elect and the administration.

El Salvador prison holding alleged Venezuelan gang members has been criticized for alleged abuses

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — In February 2023, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele posted to social media a tightly edited video with dramatic music showing thousands of men, with their heads pushed down, being transferred to the country’s newest prison: the Terrorism Confinement Center.

“Early this morning, in a single operation, we transferred the first 2,000 gang members to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT),” Bukele said on X. “This will be their new home, where they will live for decades, unable to do any more harm to the population.”

Two weeks ago, Bukele posted a similar video on X in which hundreds of men in white uniforms, with their heads shaved, are seen running bent over while being moved into the mega prison. But this time, the individuals weren’t criminals who were arrested in El Salvador.

The video showed CECOT receiving over 200 Venezuelan migrants who are alleged to be members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The migrants were sent to El Salvador by U.S. authorities under the Alien Enemies Act, as part of a $6 million deal the Trump administration arranged in their effort to crack down on illegal immigration.

CECOT, one of Latin America’s largest prisons, was opened as part of a crackdown on criminal gangs in El Salvador, whose incarceration rate is one of the highest in the world. The mega prison, which can hold up to 40,000 detainees, has been criticized by human rights groups over alleged human rights violations.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was scheduled to visit the prison on Wednesday along with the Salvadorian minister of justice.

The move by the Trump administration to deport alleged migrant gang members to a notorious prison in another country, without due process, has sparked an outcry from relatives of some of the detainees and by immigration advocates and attorneys who say that some of those deported were not Tren de Aragua gang members.

An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week acknowledged in a sworn declaration that “many” of the noncitizens deported last week under the Alien Enemies Act did not have criminal records in the United States. Administration officials have not been clear about the evidence they have that shows the detainees are gang members.

In a subsequent sworn declaration, ICE Acting Field Office Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Robert Cerna argued that “the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose” and “demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile.”

The declaration was included in the Trump administration’s recent motion to vacate Judge James Boasberg’s temporary restraining order blocking deportations pursuant to the Alien Enemies Act.

“While it is true that many of the [Tren de Aragua gang] members removed under the AEA do not have criminal records in the United States, that is because they have only been in the United States for a short period of time. The lack of a criminal record does not indicate they pose a limited threat,” Cerna said.

Ivannoa Sanchez, who told ABC News that her husband, Jose Franco Caraballo Tiapa, is being held at CECOT, said that he has never been in trouble with the law.

“He has never done anything, not even a fine, absolutely nothing,” said Sanchez.

“I can’t rest, I don’t even eat, I haven’t even had juice or water because I know he isn’t eating either,” Sanchez said.

Juanita Goebertus, the director of the Americas Division of the advocacy group Human Rights Watch, told ABC News that detainees in CECOT, as well as other prisons in El Salvador, are denied communication with their relatives and lawyers, and only make court appearances in online hearings, often in groups of several hundred detainees at the same time.

“The Salvadoran government has described people held in CECOT as ‘terrorists,’ and has said that they ‘will never leave,'” Goebertus said, adding that the Human Rights Watch is not aware of any detainees who have ever been released from CECOT.

According to human rights advocates and immigration attorneys, CECOT prisoners only leave their cell for 30 minutes a day and sleep on metal beds in overcrowded cells.

“They only have about half an hour outside of their windowless cells to be outside in a hallway of the prison,” Margaret Cargioli, an attorney for the nonprofit Immigrant Defenders Law Center, told ABC News. “They are overcrowded within each of the cells, and they’re sleeping on metal.”

For years, Amnesty International has published reports on detention centers and prisons in El Salvador, and has alleged systematic abuse of detainees and “patterns of grave human rights violations.” Those findings were acknowledged in a 2023 human rights report published by the U.S. Department of State that said there have been significant human rights issues in Salvadoran prisons.

Ana Piquer, the Americas director at Amnesty International, called the detainment in El Salvador of the Venezuelan migrants a “disregard of the U.S. human rights obligations.”

“Amnesty International has extensively documented the inhumane conditions within detention centers in El Salvador, including the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) where those removed are now being held, ” Piquer said in a statement. “Reports indicate extreme overcrowding, lack of access to adequate medical care, and widespread ill-treatment amounting to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.”

Attorneys representing some of the Venezuelan migrants told ABC News that the lack of communication is a special concern — as opposed to the U.S., where detainees can communicate with their families and attorneys.

“There’s no communication with family or counsel,” Cargioli said of CECOT. “The concern just raises to an entirely other level.”

4 US Army soldiers go missing during training exercise in Lithuania, vehicle recovered

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(PABRADĖ, Lithuania) — Search and recovery efforts are underway for four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing during a scheduled training exercise near Pabradė, Lithuania, according to the Army and the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius.

The soldiers, who the Army said are all based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, were reported missing on Tuesday, the Lithuanian Armed Forces said.

The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle the soldiers were operating at the time has been found submerged in water in a training area, the Army said on Wednesday.

“The 3rd Inf. Div. is continuing to keep families of the Soldiers informed on the status of search efforts,” the Army said in a statement.

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

Mom describes moment man allegedly tried to kidnap her son in Walmart: ‘We’re tug-of-warring’

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(ACWORTH, Ga.) — A Georgia mother recounted the moment she was “tug-of-warring” with a man she said tried to snatch her 2-year-old son from her while in a Walmart.

Caroline Miller was shopping at a Walmart in Acworth with her two young children last week when the incident occurred. They were in a motorized wheelchair at the time because her 4-year-old daughter wanted to ride it, she told Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB.

The suspect first approached the family and asked for help finding Tylenol, she told the station.

“When I pointed my arm out this way to point to the direction of where it was, that is when he reached down, put both of his hands on Jude, and grabbed him out of my lap,” Miller told WSB this week.

“I’m like, ‘No, no, no, what are you doing? What are you doing?'” she told the station. “He pulled him. I pulled him back. We’re tug-of-warring.”

The mother was able to break away with her son and the suspect fled the store, according to police.

“I’m just glad that he’s still home with us,” Miller told WSB.

Officers responded to the Walmart on March 18 “after receiving a call of a male who attempted to snatch a juvenile away from their mother,” the Acworth Police Department said in a press release.

The child was not injured in the incident, police said.

Detectives spoke to witnesses and reviewed surveillance cameras and Flock safety surveillance cameras installed in the area, Acworth police said. They subsequently identified a suspect and secured a warrant, police said.

“We were able to see the car he got into, and followed the cameras, and used our Flock cameras in the city and was able to get a tag number and track him down,” Sgt. Eric Mistretta with the Acworth Police Department told WSB.

Mahendra Patel, 56, of Kennesaw, was arrested on Friday and has been charged with kidnapping, simple battery and simple assault, police said.

He remains in custody at the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office with no bond, online jail records show. Online records do not list any attorney information.

Miller said her children now know how to respond in dangerous situations.

“As much as we would think it would never happen, it will and does, and to be prepared for when it does,” she told WSB.

US projected to default this summer absent congressional action

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Congressional Budget Office warned on Wednesday that the government could run out of money to pay its bills as early as August or September if lawmakers fail to address the debt limit.

“The government’s ability to borrow using extraordinary measures will probably be exhausted in August or September 2025,” the nonpartisan CBO report predicted.

The CBO added that a precise projected X date is unclear because “the timing and amount of revenue collections and outlays over the intervening months could differ from the CBO’s projections.” The estimated projection provides Congress with a rough timeline to deal with the debt limit to avoid a default.

“If the government’s borrowing needs are significantly greater than CBO projects, the Treasury’s resources could be exhausted in late May or sometime in June, before tax payments due in mid-June are received or before additional extraordinary measures become available on June 30,” it said in the report.

If lawmakers do not raise or suspend the debt limit before all extraordinary measures are exhausted, the government could default on its debt — something that’s only happened a handful of times in U.S. history, though never in regard to the statutory debt limit.

“The Treasury has already reached the current debt limit of $36.1 trillion, so it has no room to borrow under its standard operating procedures,” according to the CBO report.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told congressional leaders that his department would provide an estimate of how long extraordinary measures will last during the first half of May — following tax season.

“I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States,” Bessent wrote in a March 14 letter to Congress.

The issue has been on Congress’ to-do list since last winter, when then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the debt limit would be met around President Donald Trump’s inauguration, which was on Jan. 20.

While Trump has called on House and Senate Republicans to abolish the debt limit, members of Congress are expected to include a provision in their budget reconciliation package to suspend the debt limit through the end of the Trump administration, though a plan is not finalized, including whether to offset any increase with spending cuts and reform.

Former US Attorney Jessica Aber suffered from epilepsy, family says

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(ALEXANDRIA, Va.) — The family of former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica Aber, who was found dead on Saturday at a home in Virginia, said the 43-year-old suffered from epilepsy, calling her sudden death a “tremendous sorrow” in a statement Wednesday.

Aber, 43, died in her sleep, her family said.

Police in Alexandria, Virginia, said in an update amid the investigation on Tuesday that “detectives have found no evidence suggesting that her death was caused by anything other than natural causes.”

Her family reiterated that it is believed Aber died from natural causes and said she “suffered from epilepsy and epileptic seizures for many years.”

The case will remain open until the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner rules on the manner and cause of death, police said.

“We expect more information from the medical examiner in the coming weeks,” her family said. “Our family is in shock and grieving deeply and we respectfully request privacy as we attempt to navigate through our unspeakable loss.”

Police in Alexandria, Virginia, said they were called to a home in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington, D.C., on Saturday morning for the report of an unresponsive woman and found Aber dead inside.

A friend of the family told ABC News on Sunday that police believe the death was the result of a longstanding medical issue.

Aber, who served as U.S. attorney in Virginia for most of the Biden administration, took office in October 2021 after being unanimously confirmed by the Senate and stepped down in January, shortly after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As U.S. attorney, Aber oversaw a staff of some 300 prosecutors and other staff and handled federal prosecutions in the state.

ABC News’ Jack Moore contributed to this report.

Gaza protesters demand ‘Hamas out’ as Israel presses military campaign

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets of northern Gaza on Tuesday in a rare protest against Hamas, with marchers calling for the terror group to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel and give up control of the strip to end the war.

Videos from the northern city of Beit Lahiya — which has been devastated by a heavy Israeli bombardment and intense fighting by between Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces over the past 17 months — showed hundreds gathered on the streets, some chanting anti-Hamas slogans. Shouts of “Hamas out” could be heard in videos posted to social media.

The gathering followed an appeal for a demonstration spread on social media channels. ABC News is unable to verify its origin or the identity of the original poster.

Some marchers held signs displaying demands, including “Enough displacement and homelessness,” “Stop the war” and “We refuse to die,” as seen in videos circulating on social media.

Videos filmed by a local journalist and verified by ABC News showed Gazans chanting, “We want to live, we want to live,” in Arabic as a man addressed the assembled crowd.

“We are here today to deliver a message to the entire nation,” he said. “We are a peaceful people, a peaceful people, a peaceful people. We want to live. This is the least of life’s demands.”

“We want to live,” he continued. “Deliver it to the entire nation and the leadership. We want to live. People don’t have money to move — meaning to move their things when evacuating — there is no empty space in Gaza. Where will we go?”

The Associated Press reported that some videos appeared to show Hamas members dispersing the crowd.

A call across the Gaza Strip for more protests circulated on social media on Wednesday. In a video statement on Wednesday, speaking in Hebrew, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz addressed the protests.

“The IDF will soon operate forcefully in additional areas in Gaza and you will be required to evacuate and lose more and more territory,” Katz said in the statement directed at residents of Gaza. “The plans are already prepared and approved. Learn from the residents of Beit Lahia: Demand the removal of Hamas from Gaza and the immediate release of all Israeli hostages — this is the only way to stop the war.”

Tuesday’s protests came amid Israel’s renewed offensive on the devastated strip, which began last week and ended a two-month ceasefire that began in January.

Israel is demanding the immediate release of all remaining hostages — consisting of 59 people, 24 of whom are still believed to be alive — taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack into Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign would resume with “full force,” adding that further “negotiations will only be done under fire.” Israel intends to fully dismantle Hamas and remove it from power in Gaza, Netanyahu has said.

As of Tuesday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 792 people had been killed and 1,663 others injured since the resumption of Israeli military action last week.

The latest casualties bring the total death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, to 50,144, with another 113,704 wounded, the ministry said.

Around 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel during the Hamas attack, with 251 people taken back into Gaza as captives, according to the Israeli government.

ABC News’ Guy Davies contributed to this report.

‘Demonic’ sea lion reports spark concerns about toxic algae on California coast

March 26, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(SAN DIEGO) — Sea lions on the California coast are reportedly displaying strange behavior, likely due to a harmful algae bloom impacting the region, according to marine researchers.

There have been reports of the marine mammals acting aggressively in some cases, and in others, they appear lethargic, Jeni Smith, rescue supervisor at SeaWorld San Diego, told ABC San Diego affiliate KGTV. Smith described one sea lion who appeared to be “star-gazing.”

“Some animals seem very, very sleepy, maybe right after having a seizure, Smith said. “They may be abnormally aggressive.”

The sea lions are likely being poisoned by domoic acid, a neurotoxin within the algae blooms, which they ingest through the fish they eat, according to marine experts. Ingesting domoic acid can cause amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans and marine mammals, according to the Marine Mammal Care Center.

Harmful algal blooms occur when colonies of algae grow out of control and produce toxic or harmful affects on people, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Some blooms produce toxins that can kill fish, mammals and birds. In some cases, the algal blooms can cause illness or death in humans, according to NOAA.

The toxic algae blooms typically only form every four to seven years, but warming temperatures and an increase of pollution can increase the growth and occurrences, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Recently, marine researchers in Southern California have witnessed consecutive years of harmful algal blooms, Dave Bader, chief operations and education officer at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, told KGTV.

The Marine Mammal Care Center has taken in nearly 150 sea lions since February, Bader said. There have been reports of dolphins and seabirds falling ill as well, and this event could be worse than the bloom that occurred in 2023, which killed 1,000 sea lions, according to the marine conservation group.

RJ LaMendola said he was surfing when he was attacked at Oxnard State Beach in Ventura County, California, by a “demonic” sea lion that bit him and dragged him off his board, he wrote on Facebook on Friday.

LaMendola described the sea lion as “feral” and “almost demonic.” The decades-long surfer was struck that the mammal was “devoid of the curiosity or playfulness” he usually associates with sea lions, he wrote.

“This isn’t normal sea lion behavior — it’s something darker, something dangerous,” he wrote, saying he won’t be surfing again “anytime soon.”

Smith urged the public to do their part to create a better environment for marine life and prevent pollution.

“Throwing away their trash, not allowing anything toxic to go down the storm drain, because everything goes back to the ocean,” Smith said.

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