(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed legislation protecting same-sex and interracial marriage.
Thousands of people gathered on the White House South Lawn to commemorate the Respect for Marriage Act becoming law.
“Today is a good day,” Biden said as he took the podium after Vice President Kamala Harris. “A day America takes a vital step toward equality, for liberty and justice — not just for some, but for everyone. Toward creating a nation where decency, dignity and love are recognized, honored and protected.”
“Look, we’re here today to celebrate their courage and everyone who made the day possible,” the president continued. “Courage that led to progress we’ve seen over the decades, progress that gives us hope that every generation will continue on our journey toward a more perfect union.”
The ceremony included performances from Grammy winners Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper. Smith, who announced in 2019 they were nonbinary and use they/them pronouns, performed their hit song “Stay With Me” followed by Lauper singing “True Colors.”
Appearing in the White House briefing room ahead of her performance, Lauper, a longtime LGBTQ advocate, told reporters, “We can rest easy tonight because our families are validated.”
“And because now we’re allowed to love who we love, which sounds odd to say. But Americans can now love who we love and bless Joe Biden and all the people that worked on this for allowing people not to worry and their children not to worry about their future,” Lauper said.
She founded the True Colors Fund, a nonprofit that educates people on LGBTQ issues and helps to end homelessness for LGBTQ youth.
A White House official said that notable guests attending the signing ceremony included Club Q founder Matthew Haynes and two survivors of the shooting that happened just last month at the Colorado Springs, Colorado, LGBTQ nightclub. Other attendees included a survivor of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting that killed 49 people in Orlando, Florida, and plaintiffs and counselors from the Obergefell and Loving Supreme Court cases.
“We must stop the hate and violence like we just saw in Colorado Springs for a place of acceptance and celebration was targeted for violence and terror,” Biden said Tuesday. “We need to challenge the hundreds of callous, cynical laws introduced in the states targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalizing doctors who give children the care they need. We have to protect these children so they know they’re loved and we will stand up for them.”
“Folks, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia are all connected,” Biden continued. “But the antidote to hate is love … This law matters to every single American no matter who you are or who you love.”
The Respect for Marriage Act passed with bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress after months of negotiation, particularly over provisions related to religion. The House voted last week 258-169 to send the bill to Biden’s desk after the Senate passed it 61-36. A minority of Republicans joined Democrats in both votes.
It became a priority for Democrats after the Supreme Court’s June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which five conservative justices overruled Roe v. Wade and the national guarantee to abortion access.
Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurring opinion, said he believed the court should reconsider other precedents based on similar legal doctrine, including 2015’s Obergefell v. Hodges — which found that the 14th Amendment requires all states to license same-sex marriages.
The Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t include Obergefell’s national requirement but will mandate that individual states recognize same-sex and interracial marriages that were lawfully performed in another state.
Some Republicans who voted for the legislation in Congress noted additional language around protecting religious groups who still object to same-sex marriage.
Critics like Utah Sen. Mike Lee said it didn’t go far enough, however.
Biden has long been outspoken on the issue of same-sex marriage and in 2012, famously preempted then-President Barack Obama in declaring his public support.
“I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying one another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties,” Biden said during an interview at the time on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Who do you love? Who do you love and will you be loyal to the person you love?” Biden said then. “And that’s what people are finding out, what all marriages at their root are about.”
After Lauper finished her performance at the bill signing, audio of Biden’s 2012 “Meet the Press” interview was played. A White House official said they planned to distribute commemorative items at Tuesday’s ceremony that invoke Biden’s remarks from 10 years ago announcing his support for gay marriage.
As Biden finished signing the law to cheers from the crowd, Lady Gaga’s pro-LGBTQ song “Born This Way” began to play.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer kicked off Tuesday’s ceremony, with Schumer touting the marriage legislation as an “important step forward” in the march toward equality.
Pelosi, who is stepping down from Democratic leadership, has said she’s “happy” this bill is one of the last she will sign as speaker and became emotional when the measure passed in the chamber.
Pelosi on Tuesday noted the full-circle nature of the legislation, after repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell when she was ending her speakership the first time in 2010. Biden gave Pelosi and other lawmakers who worked to get the bill through Congress a shout-out in his remarks.
“This is about respect. This is about taking pride,” Pelosi said, “and it’s about time that we do so at the federal level.”
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday charged Sam Bankman-Fried, the embattled former CEO of cryptocurrency giant FTX and trading firm Alameda Research, with defrauding investors.
“FTX’s collapse highlights the very real risks that unregistered crypto asset trading platforms can pose for investors and customers alike,” Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.
Bankman-Fried was arrested Monday in the Bahamas after federal prosecutors in New York filed criminal charges contained in a sealed indictment, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. He is expected to appear in court in the Bahamas on Tuesday.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 13, 5:01 PM EST
Bankman-Fried denied bail due to flight risk
Sam Bankman-Fried’s application for bail was denied on Tuesday after a judge determined he was too much of a flight risk.
He will be remanded until Feb. 8, 2023, in the Bahamas Department of Corrections.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 13, 3:49 PM EST
Jean-Pierre won’t say whether Biden will return donations
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not engage when asked specifically about FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest, and deferred to the Hatch Act when pressed if President Joe Biden planned to return the more than $5 million in donations that were given to his 2020 campaign.
The Hatch Act prevents federal employees, like Jean-Pierre, from engaging in political campaigning.
Jean-Pierre also wouldn’t give Biden’s opinion on the arrest and collapse of FTX. However, she was more willing to talk about what could be done to put regulations in place in the crypto sphere.
“This administration has consistently urged Congress to take action to address regulatory gaps posed by digital assets and support legislative efforts to enact crypto legislation to better protect American consumers that just last month Secretary [of the Treasury Janet] Yellen, in fact, called on Congress to ‘move quickly to fill the regulatory gaps.’ That’s a quote that she said herself and the administration has identified what those gaps look like,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “But again, we have urged this is something for Congress to do.”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams urged politicians to return the millions of dollars donated by Bankman-Fried at a press conference earlier Tuesday.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Dec 13, 2:52 PM EST
More than $8 billion in FTX customer losses, federal official says
Sam Bankman-Fried defrauded customers and investors in FTX as well as lenders to his hedge fund, Alameda Research, and he violated campaign finance laws, federal prosecutors in New York said Tuesday as they discussed the fruits of a “complex and sprawling” investigation.
The criminal charges came one month after FTX filed a $32 billion bankruptcy and U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the investigation was ongoing and “moving very quickly.”
Williams said he authorized charges against Bankman-Fried on Wednesday of last week. A grand jury returned an indictment Friday.
There are more than $8 billion in customer losses, said Gretchen Lowe of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In addition to fraud and conspiracy, the indictment alleged Bankman-Fried violated campaign finance laws by making tens of millions of dollars in campaign donations — to both Republicans and Democrats — with stolen funds. The contributions were made in the name of Alameda Research with money taken from FTX, the indictment alleged.
Williams urged political campaigns and candidates who received donations from Bankman-Fried or Alameda to work with his office to return the money.
Bankman-Fried is fighting extradition from the Bahamas to New York to face all of these charges.
“Fraud is fraud,” FBI Assistant Director Michael Driscoll said. “It does not matter the complexity of the investment scheme.”
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
Dec 13, 12:22 PM EST
Bankman-Fried doesn’t waive extradition in court appearance
Sam Bankman-Fried did not waive his rights to an extradition hearing as he made his first court appearance in the Bahamas on Tuesday.
Had he waived his rights, the U.S. would have been able to extradite Bankman-Fried immediately. It’s unclear now how quickly an extradition could happen.
The court proceedings were still ongoing as of noon.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 13, 12:09 PM EST
‘No separateness whatsoever’ between FTX and Alameda Research, FTX CEO says
FTX CEO John Ray, who is overseeing the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, told House members on Tuesday that no separation existed between the operations of FTX and Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund also founded by Bankman-Fried.
“There were virtually no internal controls and no separateness whatsoever,” Ray said.
Bankman-Fried faces accusations that FTX used deposits to pay Alameda Research creditors, a claim reportedly made by former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison during a call in early November.
In an interview last week, Bankman-Fried told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he was not aware that was true but said Alameda had a large position open on FTX that was “overcollateralized a year ago.”
Ray told House members that FTX transferred several billion dollars in customer funds to Alameda Research.
When asked by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., if there was a distinction between FTX and Alameda Research, Ray said, “Absolutely not. There’s no distinction whatsoever.”
“The owners of the company could run free reign,” Ray added, noting that Bankman-Fried owned 90% of Alameda Research.
Dec 13, 11:38 AM EST
Bankman-Fried’s lawyer offers first comment
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark S. Cohen, offered his first comments on the arrest of his client Tuesday morning.
“Mr. Bankman-Fried is reviewing the charges with his legal team and considering all of his legal options,” Cohen said in a statement.
Bankman-Fried was scheduled to make his first court appearance in the Bahamas Tuesday.
Dec 13, 11:38 AM EST
FTX CEO John Ray blasts ‘utter lack of record keeping’
John Ray, the new CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, who oversaw the dissolution of Enron, testified before House members on Tuesday that FTX lacked corporate controls to an extent he had never witnessed.
“I’ve never seen an utter lack of record keeping,” Ray said. “Absolutely no internal controls.”
Earlier this year, FTX was valued at $32 billion. Within weeks of a customer sell-off totaling billions of dollars, the company declared bankruptcy.
Company officials communicated invoice and expense reports over Slack, an internal messaging service, Ray said.
He said FTX employees used the accounting software QuickBooks, which is popular among small businesses.
“Nothing against QuickBooks — it’s a very nice tool,” Ray said. “Not for a multibillion-dollar company.”
Dec 13, 9:57 AM EST
Eight-count indictment unsealed against Bankman-Fried
The eight-count indictment from the Southern District of New York charges Sam Bankman-Fried with conspiracy and fraud.
“Bankman-Fried, along with others, engaged in a scheme to defraud customers of by misappropriating those customers’ deposits, and using those deposits to pay expenses and debts of Alameda Research,” the indictment said.
The indictment also said Bankman-Fried provided false and misleading information to lenders about the true financial condition of Alameda, his privately held crypto hedge fund.
There’s a final count of conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws through political donations that concealed the source and exceeded the permissible amount.
“In or about 2022, Samuel Bankman-Fried, the defendant, and one or more other conspirators agreed to and did make corporate contributes to candidates and committees in the Southern District of New York that were reported in the name of another person,” the indictment said.
Federal prosecutors were expected to elaborate on the charges at an afternoon news conference in Manhattan.
Dec 13, 8:51 AM EST
‘It’s serious’: Former prosecutor says public statements could hurt FTX founder
While the full criminal charges have yet to be released, the Securities and Exchange Commission released it’s complaint against Sam Bankman-Fried early Tuesday.
“It’s serious,” said Brendan Quigley, a former federal securities fraud prosecutor in New York who is now a partner at Baker Botta. “Assuming they can show promises were made to counterparties, investors or clients about where money was going to go, and that it didn’t go there, that’s a serious offense, probably wire fraud at least.”
Bankman-Fried’s public statements could come back to haunt him, including an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.
“The big thing will be if SDNY can shows conflicts either between his public statements or between his current public statement and something that was said or promised to investors,” Quigley said.
Dec 13, 8:32 AM EST
Bankman-Fried built ‘house of cards’: SEC
Though cryptocurrency can seem a mystical world, the civil complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission reads like a standard case of securities fraud, accusing Sam Bankman-Fried of building a “house of cards.”
Bankman-Fried raised $1.8 billion for FTX while “orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud, diverting billions of dollars of the trading platform’s customer funds for his own personal benefit and to help grow his crypto empire,” the complaint said.
Customers sent billions of dollars to FTX believing their assets were secure but, from the start, the SEC said Bankman-Fried “improperly diverted customer assets to his privately-held crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research LLC, and then used those customer funds to make undisclosed venture investments, lavish real estate purchases, and large political donations.”
Federal prosecutors in New York said they would unseal related criminal charges later Tuesday.
“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
The civil complaint seeks penalties and fines, but also to prohibit Bankman-Fried from “participating in the offer or sale of securities including crypto asset securities” in the future, a move that would complete his fall as the poster child for the emerging cryptocurrency marketplace.
Dec 13, 8:32 AM EST
Bankman-Fried refused request for Senate testimony
While Sam Bankman-Fried was set to give testimony to a House committee Tuesday, later canceled after his arrest late Monday, he continues to reject requests from the Senate for a hearing of its own.
In a joint statement Monday afternoon, prior to his arrest, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Banking Committee called Bankman-Fried’s refusal to appear “an unprecedented abdication of responsibility.”
“Virtually every CEO, financial regulator, and administration official for Republicans and Democrats has agreed to testify in front of both the Senate and House when called upon — that is how congressional oversight works,” Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said in a statement. “We have offered Sam Bankman-Fried two different dates for providing testimony before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and are willing to accommodate virtual testimony. He has declined in an unprecedented abdication of accountability.”
The committee will continue efforting an appearance from Bankman-Fried because he is “unwilling to accept service of a subpoena.”
Dec 13, 8:32 AM EST
What to know about former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried?
Sam Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old founder of FTX, quickly ascended to the top of the cryptocurrency sector, garnering goodwill in recent years as a philanthropist and leading proponent of industry regulation.
The cover of Fortune Magazine in August asked readers whether Bankman-Fried, known by some as “SBF,” was “the next Warren Buffett.”
After the sudden bankruptcy of FTX, however, he faced withering questions over the mismanagement of billions in customer funds.
Meanwhile, his net worth plummeted from $16 billion to $0 in less than a week, according to an estimate from Bloomberg.
(NEW YORK) — More than six months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose forces began an offensive in August, has vowed to take back all Russian-occupied territory. But Putin in September announced a mobilization of reservists, which is expected to call up as many as 300,000 additional troops.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Dec 13, 3:36 PM EST
US preparing to send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine
Two U.S. officials confirm that the U.S. has prepared plans to send Patriot air defense missile systems to Ukraine that could be approved by President Joe Biden as early as this week.
If approved by Biden, the transfer of the advanced air defense systems would meet a long-standing request from Ukraine.
The U.S. has stressed the importance of Ukraine getting additional air defense systems in the coming months but has worked with other countries on alternative systems other than the Patriot.
The Patriot missile systems to be given to Ukraine will come from
U.S. inventories under the presidential drawdown authority, according to officials.
Another one of those announcements is expected to be announced on Thursday, though it is unclear if the Patriots will be included as part of that package.
If Biden approves the Patriot systems, then the training of Ukrainian troops will begin in Germany a few weeks later, officials said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin must sign off on the transfer before it goes to the White House.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Dec 13, 3:17 PM EST
Ukraine to get 30 upgraded Soviet-era tanks from Czech Republic next year
Soviet-era tanks are getting new optics, armor, and more at a Czech facility in Šternberk, thanks partly to the efforts of Ukrainian refugees working there.
Around 150 people have been hired by Excalibur Army in an effort to modernize old military equipment from around the world, which will then be shipped to Ukraine after months of work on upgrades.
According to the company’s commercial director, Richard Kuběna, it is concentrating on a large order to modernize up to 120 T-72 tanks, which the U.S. and the Netherlands governments ordered and paid 2.2 billion crowns for.
The tanks were ordered initially from Šternberk by an African country. However, after negotiating with the U.S., E.U., and Czech Ministry of Defense, they decided to give the tanks to Ukraine, Kuběna said.
“Next week, the first five units of tanks for Ukraine will be received, we would like to deliver 18 units by the end of the year,” noted Kuběna.
Kuběna said he would like to
Dec 13, 6:47 AM EST
Russian withdrawal ‘out of the question’
A Kremlin official said on Tuesday that Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine was “out of the question.”
A reporter asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for comment on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal that Russia start to pull out forces from Ukraine before Christmas. Peskov was also asked whether Moscow was ready to do so before the end of this year.
“This is out of the question,” Peskov said.
Dec 11, 7:56 PM EST
Biden speaks with Zelenskyy about recent security assistance packages: White House
President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday to discuss continued support for Ukraine’s defense amid Russian attacks on critical infrastructure, according to a White House readout of their call.
“President Biden highlighted how the U.S. is prioritizing efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense through our security assistance, including the December 9 announcement of $275 million in additional ammunition and equipment that included systems to counter the Russian use of unmanned aerial vehicles,” the White House said.
“President Biden also highlighted the November 29 announcement of $53 million to support energy infrastructure to strengthen the stability of Ukraine’s energy grid in the wake of Russia’s targeted attacks,” it added.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Dec 09, 12:05 PM EST
Treasury sanctions 4 Russians for carrying out human rights abuses
The U.S. Department of Treasury issued sanctions against four Russians accused of forcibly seizing personal data and conducting interrogations and searches against Ukrainian citizens to determine if they have any connections to the Ukrainian government or military.
There are also allegations that deportations, disappearances and torture have also been carried out.
Two of those sanctioned “oversaw the filtration of city government officials and other civilians from Mariupol, Ukraine, including through the filtration center in Manhush, Ukraine. Witnesses have reported insufficient food supplies, overcrowded cells, and beatings at the Manhush filtration center. One witness overheard Russia’s soldiers discussing shooting people who underwent filtration at Manhush,” according to a press release from the Treasury.
The Treasury is also sanctioning members of Russia’s Central Election Commission for overseeing the sham referenda held in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine in September, during which Ukrainians were forced to vote for annexation.
Dec 07, 6:01 PM EST
10 civilians killed in Russian air strike, Zelenskyy says
A Russian airstrike that struck Kurakhov, a city in Donetsk Oblast in southeastern Ukraine, has killed 10 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Wednesday.
Civilian areas such as a market, gas station, bus station and a residential building were among the targets that were struck, Zelenskyy said.
Dec 07, 1:19 PM EST
Putin says Russia will not be the first to use nuclear weapons in war with Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday the threat of nuclear war is increasing but Russia will not be the first to use nuclear weapons.
Putin, speaking at Russia’s Human Rights Council, said nuclear weapons should act as a deterrent in conflicts, not provoke them.
“We consider weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, it is all built around the so-called retaliatory strike. When we are struck, we strike back,” Putin said.
“I have already said: we don’t have our own nuclear weapons, including tactical ones, on the territory of other countries, but the Americans do. Both in Turkey and in a number of other European states … we haven’t done anything yet,” Putin said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 07, 8:56 AM EST
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Time’s 2022 ‘Person of the Year’
Time named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Spirit of Ukraine as the 2022 “Person of the Year.”
More than a dozen Ukrainians who embodied the spirit of Ukraine were also named: Dr. Iryna Kondratova, who helped mothers give birth during shelling in the hospital basement; Oleg Kutkov, an engineer who laid the groundwork for the essential connectivity; Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent; and Levgen Klopotenko, a Kyiv chef who converted his restaurant into a relief canteen.
“This year’s choice was the most clear-cut in memory. Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, the world marched to Volodymyr Zelensky’s beat in 2022,” Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said in a statement.
Dec 06, 4:22 PM EST
Ukrainian special forces were deep in Russia to guide drone, senior Ukrainian official says
Ukrainian special forces were deep inside Russian territory and helped guide drones to at least one of the bases hit in Monday’s attacks, a senior official from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inner-circle confirmed to ABC News.
-ABC News’ Marcus Moore
Dec 06, 2:28 PM EST
White House does not have assessment on drone attacks inside Russia
The U.S. does not have an assessment on recent drone attacks deep inside Russia, which a person close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ABC News Ukraine is responsible for, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday.
“I don’t want to speculate about whether Ukraine is responsible for these attacks,” Jean-Pierre said.
Jean-Pierre also told reporters Russia is to blame for this conflict.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Dec 06, 11:30 AM EST
Russia now out of Iranian-made drones, Western officials say
According to Western officials, Russia has run out of Iranian-made drones. Russia had been using the lethal drones, along with missiles, in a wave of aerial bombardments on Ukrainian infrastructure over a period of several weeks.
But, the drones have been absent in recent Russian attacks. A western official said the Russians “anticipate a resupply.”
In light of Ukraine’s apparent drone attacks on military airbases deep inside Russia, Western officials said Russia will now be undergoing “a significant amount of soul-searching” over their ability to defend significant military assets deep inside Russia’s borders.
The official, who characterized the attacks as “an egregious failure of security” said the Russian military’s potential had been consistently overestimated by the west.
“I no longer think the Russians are ten-feet tall,” the official said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge
Dec 06, 10:17 AM EST
Ukrainian drone crashes into military airfield in Russia
A Ukrainian drone crashed into a military airfield in Russia, setting an oil tanker on fire, according to the governor of Russia’s Kursk region.
There were no casualties at the Kursk base. This comes a day after drone attacks on two Russian airbases where jets used to bomb Ukraine are housed. No one immediately claimed responsibility.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Dec 05, 10:36 AM EST
Missiles rain on Ukraine after purported drone strikes in Russia
A new barrage of missiles strikes was launched against Ukraine on Monday, hitting targets across the country, including the capital city of Kyiv, officials said.
Casualties and damage from the attacks were being assessed, Ukrainian officials said.
The majority of the missiles were shot down by air defense forces, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the Russians launched missiles from the Volgodonsk, Caspian and Black seas.
The strikes damaged two infrastructure objects in the Odesa region, leaving the area without electricity and running water, officials said. One person was hospitalized, according to Ukrainian officials.
Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov said a missile hit a substation that supplies the city of Belvaevska’s pumping station with electricity.
According to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, missile strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region killed two people and injured three others, including a toddler, in the village of Novosofiyivka.
Explosion were also heard in Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Kherson and Cherkasy, officials said.
The missile strikes followed reports from Russian media outlets that drones were used to bomb two military air bases in Russia, hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian officials have not claimed responsibility for the drone attacks, but Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukraine’s president, posted a cryptic tweet, saying “if you launch something very often into the airspace of other countries, sooner or later the unknown flying objects will return to the place of departure.”
Dec 02, 2:18 PM EST
No peace talks till Russian soldiers leave, Ukraine says
Ukraine said it would not consider peace talks before the last Russian soldier leaves Ukrainian territory. This comes after President Joe Biden indicating he would be willing to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin if he has legitimate interest in peace negotiations.
Ukraine also said that there must not be any peace negotiations without Ukraine, reiterating that Biden has been clear that there won’t be any talks happening without the participation of U.S. allies and Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 02, 2:17 PM EST
IAEA expresses optimism over creation of protection zone around Zaporizhzhia
The International Atomic Energy Agency expressed optimism over possibly creating a safe zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant before the end of the year.
“I know that President Putin is following the process, and I do not rule out another meeting with him soon, as well as with Ukrainian President Zelensky,” IAEA Director General Rafael Rossi said in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
“There is a concrete proposal on securing Zaporizhzhia and important progress has been made. …The two sides now agree on some basic principles. The first is that of protection: it means accepting that you don’t shoot ‘on’ the plant and ‘from’ the plant. The second is the recognition that the IAEA is the only possible way forward: that was the heart of my meeting with President Putin in St. Petersburg on October 11,” Rossi added.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 02, 12:27 PM EST
Bloody packages with animal eyes sent to Ukrainian embassies
Packages believed to be blood-soaked and containing the eyes of animals, were sent to Ukrainian embassies worldwide, including in Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Croatia and Italy, the Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs said Friday.
The entrance to the ambassador’s residence in the Vatican was also vandalized, according to the Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs.
The Ukrainian embassy in the U.S. received a letter with a photocopy of a critical article about Ukraine. Like most other envelopes, the letter arrived along with others from the territory of an unnamed European country.
“We have reason to believe that a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation of Ukrainian embassies and consulates is taking place. Not being able to stop Ukraine on the diplomatic front, they are trying to intimidate us. However, I can immediately say that these attempts are useless. We will continue to work effectively for the victory of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement.
The Ukrainian embassy in Spain received a letter-bomb on Wednesday which was opened and ignited, resulting in one slight injury.
A similar envelope was sent to the U.S. embassy in Madrid, but it was detected before going off, according to Spanish officials.
All Ukrainian embassies and consulates have been placed under heightened security. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on foreign governments to guarantee maximum protection of Ukraine’s diplomatic institutions.
Dec 01, 3:28 PM EST
Biden ‘prepared to speak with Putin’ if he wants to end war
Speaking at a joint press conference with France’s Emmanuel Macron, President Joe Biden said he would be open to speaking with Vladimir Putin if the Russian leader has legitimate interest in peace negotiations. Biden, however, said he has “no immediate plans to contact Mr. Putin.”
Biden also noted that Putin has “miscalculated every single thing” when it comes to this war.
“So the question is what is his — how does he get himself out of the circumstance he’s in? I’m prepared if he’s willing to talk to find out what he’s willing to do, but I’ll only do it in consultation with my NATO. I’m not going to do it on my own,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, President Macron, who has continued speaking with Putin, said it’s up to Ukraine to come to the negotiating table.
“So it’s only legitimate that President Zelenskyy sets some conditions to talk. We need to work on what could lead to a peace agreement. But it’s for him to tell us when the time comes and what the choices of the Ukrainians are,” Macron said.
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Dec 01, 1:46 PM EST
Shelling in Kherson damages power lines as energy company works to finish repairs
Electricity was back for 60% of customers in the Ukrainian city of Kherson, but shelling overnight damaged power lines, according to the head of Ukraine’s regional energy company.
Workers are hoping to finish the repairs by the end of Thursday.
In Kyiv, 652,000 residents were subject to power outages throughout Thursday, according to the director of YASNO energy company, Serhiy Kovalenko. Kyiv’s main power grid is operating at less than 70% capacity and 20% of residents are still without power or heat.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 01, 12:20 PM EST
Russia accuses US, NATO of direct involvement in war
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of being directly involved in the war in Ukraine by supplying the country with weapons and training its soldiers.
“You are training their military on your territory, on the territories of Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries,” Lavrov said at a press conference Thursday.
Lavrov also claimed that Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities and other key infrastructure were intended to weaken Ukraine’s military potential and derail the shipments of weapons from the West.
Lavrov also said Moscow is open to peace talks to end the conflict.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Nov 29, 11:47 AM EST
US to send $53M in energy aid to help Ukraine through winter
The U.S. will provide Ukraine with more than $53 million to acquire critical electric grid equipment to help its citizens get through the winter, the State Department announced Tuesday.
The announcement comes amid Russia’s continued attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“This new assistance is in addition to $55 million in emergency energy sector support for generators and other equipment to help restore emergency power and heat to local municipalities impacted by Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s power system,” the State Department said in a release.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Nov 28, 4:36 PM EST
UN lays out ‘dire’ situation in southern Ukraine
Denise Brown, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, traveled to the Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv over the weekend to get an update on the humanitarian issues affecting the southern part of the country, according to the U.N.
Although repairs to the area’s water system are finally able to commence, there is still a lot of work to be done to help the people in those cities, the U.N said.
“We continue to be concerned about the plight of civilians in Ukraine especially as winter sets in,” a U.N. spokesperson said in a statement.
Some heating points have already been established in Mykolaiv to help people who cannot heat their homes, according to the U.N.
“Aid workers are providing supplies and generators to make these places functional,” the U.N. said in a statement.
The agency added that donations and funding for humanitarian efforts are critical as the cold weather sets in.
Nov 25, 1:13 PM EST
Power restored in all regions, Ukraine grid operator says
All of Ukraine’s regions are now connected to the European Union’s energy system and all three nuclear power plants located in the Kyiv-controlled area are working, CEO of Ukrenergo grid operator Volodymyr Kudrytskyi announced.
“In one to two days, they will reach their normal planned capacity, and we expect to introduce planned rolling blackouts instead of emergency outages,” Kudrytskyi said.
Power is slowly returning to all Ukrainian cities, but blackouts and emergency shutdowns continue. Power issues are the worst in Kyiv, Kirivigrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava and Lviv, according to Kudrytskyi.
Kyiv’s critical infrastructure receives electricity, the water supply is fully restored and heating is being restored, but 50% of residential houses remain without power. Only one-third of houses currently have heating, according to the mayor.
(WASHINGTON) — House Jan. 6 committee Chairman Bennie Thompson told reporters on Tuesday that the panel plans to hold its final public meeting on Monday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. ET — two days earlier than expected.
Thompson said the committee will vote on criminal referrals and on report approval next Monday and that its final report will come two days later, on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
Thompson said the report will be posted online.
It’s not clear whether that will be accompanied by a press conference or if it will just be posted at a certain time.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it will work to close gaps in the physical barriers along the southwest border and fix environmental and other issues with the Trump-era wall construction amid growing concerns about the federal government’s ability to handle high levels of unauthorized migration.
Officials said the latest work, authorized by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, will focus on Texas and is aimed at addressing safety and environmental concerns brought on by the building of new or upgraded barriers along the border with Mexico.
Installing drainage systems, adding safety features to roadways and remediating some construction sites will take place in various areas between San Diego and El Paso, Texas. The work will also include closing gaps between incomplete sections of barrier and finishing access gates used by Border Patrol.
Over the past year, the Biden administration has worked to address a series of environmental concerns and has shored up faulty and incomplete work at border sites across California and Texas.
“Prior to work, the Department of Homeland Security will work closely with stakeholders, including impacted landowners, tribal, state, and local elected officials, and federal agencies to seek input and help on prioritizing potential remediation activities within each Sector,” the department said in a statement.
While many of former President Donald Trump’s promises about a U.S.-Mexico border wall never materialized — including that the Mexican government would cover the cost — Border Patrol agents across the southwest have stressed the importance of physical infrastructure to aid in controlling unauthorized migration.
Border Patrol agents stretched thin by periodic surges in migration have long relied on barriers, especially in high-density urban areas, to prevent illegal crossings.
The rate of migration across the southern border into Texas has recently spiked again with the looming end of a pandemic-era restriction first implemented under Trump known as Title 42.
Local and federal officials have repeatedly expressed concerns in interviews with ABC News that the end of Title 42 — which allowed the removal of asylum-seekers in light of concerns over COVID-19, drawing outcry from advocates — could make it more difficult to handle waves of unauthorized migration. U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent personnel and resources to the El Paso area to handle the illegal crossings over the weekend.
Border Patrol in El Paso said they are stopping migrants around 2,400 times a day on average, compared to roughly 1,700 a day in prior months.
As president, Trump vowed to construct an expansive southern border wall — but repeatedly ran into legal, logistic and legislative obstacles. By the end of his term, administration officials said hundreds of miles of barriers were built, though the vast majority of those were upgrades of existing structure. For example, sections of old fencing were replaced by towering steel barriers accompanied by access roads, lighting and surveillance systems.
That work was largely halted and ordered reviewed at the beginning of the Biden administration, which found a variety of environmental threats and safety risks. Some barrier sections started during the Trump-era caused irreparable environmental damage and threatened cultural landmarks, Biden officials said.
In 2020, construction crews working on the border conducted a series of detonations along a stretch of land in southern Arizona considered sacred by the local indigenous tribe.
Some construction sites including an unfinished section of what Trump called his “border wall” in Del Rio, Texas, have sat mostly abandoned since early 2021 while the Biden administration conducted its review.
“CBP intends to prioritize remediation projects needed to address life and safety issues – including the protection of individuals, [Border Patrol] Agents, and nearby communities from potential harm – and avert environmental damage or degradation,” the Department of Homeland Security said in its statement.
ABC News’ Mireya Villarreal contributed to this report.
An undated photo of the Atrevida II, the U.S. Coast Guard is searching for the sailboat and its crew Kevin Hyde and Joe DiTommasso. – U.S. Coast Guard
(NEW YORK) — The United States Coast Guard is looking for two missing sailors who were last seen on Dec. 3 in North Carolina.
Kevin Hyde, 64, and Joe DiTommasso, 76, departed Cape May, New Jersey, late last month on their 30-foot sailboat, the “Atrevida II,” according to the Coast Guard. The pair was last seen aboard their boat as it left the Oregon Inlet in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
According to the Coast Guard, family and friends contacted officials on Sunday after last speaking with the pair on that same day.
“We’re continuing to search for the ‘Atrevida II,’ a U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson told ABC News. “We have several assets, both aircraft and vessel, searching.”
The U.S. Coast Guard has attempted urgent broadcasts. It said it let the boating public know via radio transmission that it’s looking for the two men and have reached out to both commercial and recreational boats to be on the lookout, a spokesperson said.
According to officials, the pair left port at Cape May on Nov. 27 and were traveling to Marathon, Florida.
The Coast Guard described the boat as having a bluish-purple hull, while structure and sails.
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced a scientific breakthrough in nuclear fusion at a national lab in California, marking a major step toward developing a new, sustainable form of energy that releases virtually no carbon dioxide or other types of air pollution.
Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California successfully generated a fusion reaction between two hydrogen atoms and maintained that reaction in a controlled setting, marking the potential to use such reactions to generate huge amounts of energy without burning fuels.
The announcement could mark a major step in creating a form of energy that would not release the gases that are warming the planet and contributing to climate change, but is still decades away from being ready for large-scale application.
“This is a great day,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at a Washington news conference, adding that the achievement “will go down in the history books.”
“Today, we tell the world that America has achieved a tremendous scientific breakthrough. When that happened it was because we invested in our national labs and we invested in fundamental research, and tomorrow will continue for a future that is powered, in part by fusion energy,” she said.
“This milestone moves us one significant step closer to the possibility of zero carbon abundant fusion energy powering our society,” Granholm said. “If we can advance fusion energy, we could use it to produce electricity, transportation, fuels, power, heavy industry so much more. It would be like adding a power drill to our toolbox and building a clean energy economy.”
The reaction itself was done on Dec. 5 at the National Ignition Facility, the world’s largest laser system at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The lab’s director, Kim Budil, joked that the lab’s acronym, LLNL, stands for “lasers, lasers, nothing but lasers.”
The experiment pointed 192 lasers at a container holding a small pellet of fuel the size of a peppercorn, specifically made up of deuterium and tritium – both isotopes of hydrogen.
Those lasers generated 2.05 megajoules of energy within that container that hit the fuel pellet and ignited the reaction, briefly heating it to over 3 million degrees Celsius — creating the conditions of a star — and generating 3.15 megajoules of energy.
That increase is why the experiment is being called such a success because by generating more energy than they put in it proves the potential that this kind of reaction could be a source of power someday, if they can scale it up and make it much more efficient outside of a lab setting.
The lasers themselves required 300 megajoules to power, which Budil said is in part because the lasers are based on older technology. But they believe it can be made more efficient to potentially create much more power than was represented by the lab experiment with decades more research and significant private sector investment.
“This demonstrates it can be done. That threshold being crossed allows them to start working on better lasers, more efficient lasers, on better containment capsules, etc. The things that net are necessary to allow it to be modularized and taken to commercial scale,” Granholm said.
Granholm and other officials emphasized that the announcement is also a benefit to US national security. The reaction created by the scientists at the California lab is a controlled version of the same reaction that takes place in nuclear weapons without the mass destruction, so this could allow the government to research deterrents for nuclear weapons without the need for real world weapons testing.
The idea is frequently represented in science fiction coming to life, said Paul Dabbar, a distinguished visiting fellow at Columbia University and former Department of Energy undersecretary for science, who oversaw the national labs in his role at the department. He said fusion power has been featured in films like “Star Trek: Into Darkness,” which filmed at the lab announcing the new development, and “Iron Man” who uses a form of fusion power in the Arc Reactor that keeps him alive.
“What was just accomplished was a goal of science that can hopefully lead to having the ultimate power source, nature’s power source, on Earth, which is a contained fusion reaction,” Dabbar told ABC News.
Dabbar said nuclear fusion is essentially harnessing the power of the sun, or at least the same power that creates stars. He said the basic physics of the reaction has been understood for decades but scientists haven’t been able to keep the reaction going because it requires a tremendous amount of heat and pressure to maintain.
“If we could bring a star down to earth, right. You’ve got a bunch of stars, basically controlled stars in buildings around the Earth. And we’re taking the most abundant element in the universe and converted into energy, just like the sun but in boxes here. And no environmental impact and we have literally unlimited energy based on the amount of hydrogen there is,” he said.
Dabbar said that while generating and controlling this reaction was the hardest step, there’s still a lot of work to do to figure out how to contain and maintain it outside a lab setting, including designing a power plant that can handle that amount of heat and energy created by the reaction and still last at least 10 or 20 years.
But he said the advantages are huge. A fusion power plant could produce a lot of power from one facility and would emit no carbon, no air pollution, and generate very little waste compared to the nuclear power plants in use today. It’s also fueled by hydrogen, which is incredibly abundant.
“It literally has all the advantages of many of the alternatives it with none of the disadvantages of all the alternatives. And so it could be you know, if a power plant can be made it would be incredibly positive,” Dabbar said.
(NEW YORK) — Maintaining a healthy weight has numerous health benefits, but primary care doctors may not always give specific, effective weight loss advice to their patients, according to a new study in Family Practice.
The study, which was led by researchers in the U.K., analyzed over 150 audio recordings from primary care visits, finding doctors often vaguely encourage patients to “eat less” or “do more” rather than recommending tried-and-tested weight loss strategies. Only 20% of visits included specific, actionable instructions for patients.
Although the study was based in the U.K., doctors say it has broad implications in the United States and beyond. In both countries, roughly two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese.
Dr. Selvi Rajagopal, an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics who specializes in obesity medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said telling patients they need to lose weight by moving more or eating less is not helpful and can be harmful.
“It puts a lot of the blame on the patient. And it also gives them no really clear tangible action plan of what to do,” Rajagopal told ABC News.
The study authors suggest that more specific clinical guidelines on effective weight loss counseling would better support primary care doctors who are trying to help their patients lose weight.
The National Institute of Health encourages health care providers to partner with their patients who want to lose weight to make an individualized plan together, but a study in 2020 also found that primary care providers often said they have a lack of confidence in weight loss treatments and lack of knowledge about effective weight loss methods. Doctors also have a lot of time-constraints that can limit adequate patient counseling.
“There’s just so little time. There are so many other tasks, [doctors] feel overwhelmed,” Rajagopal said.
Research has shown that setting goals can be an effective weight loss method that health care providers can incorporate into patient visits. Weight loss goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-sensitive (S.M.A.R.T.) as opposed to advice that is too broad or vague.
An example of a S.M.A.R.T. goal is telling someone who drinks two sugary beverages a day to aim for just one sugary beverage a month. This is more actionable than simply making it a goal to drink less sugary drinks. But Rajagopal also emphasized that only the individual can decide what is realistic and achievable for them.
“If it’s something that just isn’t within their bandwidth for whatever reason, whatever life circumstances, telling them to do something unachievable is not going to happen,” said Rajagopal.
Jade A Cobern, MD, a board-eligible in pediatrics and MPH candidate, is a member of the ABC News Medical Unit and general preventive medicine resident at Johns Hopkins.
(EL PASO, Texas) — A wave of unauthorized migrants who entered the U.S. through El Paso in recent days has prompted immigration authorities to ramp up enforcement and processing.
Over the weekend, authorities in El Paso stopped migrants 2,460 times a day on average, according to U.S. Border Patrol El Paso. That’s compared to 2,150 since the beginning of December and 1,700 to 1,800 per day in the weeks prior. A similarly high rate of migration into El Paso was seen last October, a Customs and Border Protection official said Monday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials descended on central El Paso and began transferring some migrants out of the area to avoid overcrowding.
Nearly 500 migrants were released on Sunday with orders to report back to authorities to continue an assessment of their immigration status, Border Patrol said in a statement.
One Homeland Security official described the situation as an “absolute mess” and multiple Border Patrol agents who spoke to ABC News expressed concern about the possible discontinuation of Title 42 expulsions, a Trump-era border restriction ordered a the beginning of the pandemic. Following a months-long legal battle that is yet to determine the final outcome for Title 42, a federal judge set a Dec. 21 deadline to repeal the protocols.
A number of Republican-led states have banded together in an attempt to keep the pandemic-justified restrictions and push back the Dec. 21 repeal date, despite a decision from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to end the practice last spring.
“El Paso Sector continues to have constant communications with city and county leaders to address the migrant influxes and is also currently transporting migrants to El Paso County facilities when operationally feasible,” a Border Patrol spokesperson said in a statement. “The El Paso Sector continues to process individuals safely, efficiently, and effectively at the border and continues to expel migrants under Title 42 authority.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is traveling to the border this week and is expected to meet with El Paso Border Patrol agents.
The Department of Homeland Security has worked to shore up immigration processing capacity across the southwest with new temporary holding facilities and a work force that is often called on to shift its focus to various regions experiencing high volumes of unauthorized migration.
Over the last few months, on the opposite end of the Texas-Mexico border, the Rio Grande Valley area has moved from first place to third for total Border Patrol apprehensions. But many of the resources remain in place which makes the sector uniquely prepared to handle a migrant influx. Processing centers have been built out and beefed up, and the sector – which includes wide stretches of remote land — is familiar with processing large numbers of people.
(NEW YORK) — Special counsel Jack Smith has issued subpoenas to election officials in Georgia and New Mexico, including the secretary of state’s offices in both states and officials in Georgia’s Cobb County, for communications with or involving former President Donald Trump, his 2020 campaign aides, and a list of Trump allies involved in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
As ABC News previously reported, Smith has also sent subpoenas to the secretary of state’s offices in Michigan and Arizona and to local election officials in Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin — battleground states targeted by Trump and his allies in their efforts to contest the election.
The subpoena sent to New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, which was obtained by ABC News, is dated November 22 and is also signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Burke.
Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, was the recipient of Trump’s now-famous phone call in January 2021, in which has asked Raffensperger to “find” the exact number of votes he needed to win the state. Trump has repeatedly defended the call, calling it “perfect.”
Election officials in Cobb County, one of Georgia’s largest counties encompassing Atlanta’s northeastern suburbs, also received a subpoena from Smith, the county’s election director confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday.
Smith, a longtime federal prosecutor and former head of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, was tapped last month by Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the DOJ’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election and Trump’s handling of classified materials after leaving office.
The appointment of the special counsel was triggered by Trump’s announcement last month that he is running for president for a third time, which created a conflict of interest, according to the DOJ special counsel guidelines.
