In this photo illustration, boxes of the diabetes drug Ozempic rest on a pharmacy counter on April 17, 2023 in Los Angeles. (Mario Tama/Getty Images, FILE)
(NEW YORK) — GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy have exploded in popularity for their weight loss benefits and now new research is showing the medications may help with another condition, cancer.
People with Type 2 diabetes who were treated with GLP-1 medications were found to be less likely to be diagnosed with obesity-associated cancers than people treated with insulin or metformin, according to a new study published July 5 in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.
Here are four questions answered about what the study’s findings mean for the future of obesity, cancer and GLP-1 medications:
1. What types of cancer did the GLP-1 medications affect in the study?
The study, which analyzed over one decade of data from more than 1.5 million patients with Type 2 diabetes, looked at 13 types of cancer associated with obesity, including esophageal, breast, colorectal, endometrial, gallbladder, stomach, kidney, ovarian, pancreatic, and thyroid cancer as well as hepatocellular carcinoma, meningioma, and multiple myeloma.
The study found that for patients treated with GLP-1 drugs, the risk of gallbladder cancer, meningioma, pancreatic cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer, was cut approximately in half.
The risk for ovarian, colorectal cancer, multiple myeloma, esophageal, endometrial and kidney cancers was also significantly reduced for patients taking GLP-1s.
In addition, the study found that people taking GLP-1 drugs did not have a higher risk for being diagnosed with cancer.
2. What are GLP-1 medications and how do they work?
GLP-1 drugs help people produce insulin to lower the amount of sugar in their blood.
The class of drugs, which include Ozempic and Wegovy, work by mimicking the effects of GLP-1, a type of hormone in the body that impacts everything from the brain to muscle to the pancreas, stomach and liver.
The drugs, made from a compound called semaglutide, work by slowing down movement of food through the stomach and curbing appetite, thereby causing weight loss. They are typically taken via a once-weekly injection.
Ozempic is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes, but some doctors prescribe the medication “off-label” for weight loss, as is permissible by the FDA.
Wegovy, a medication that contains the same main ingredient, semaglutide, as Ozempic, is FDA-approved for weight loss.
Clinical studies show users of the medications can lose between 5% and 20% of their body weight over time.
3. Why are the drugs being found to help reduce the risk of cancer?
The study authors wrote that more research is needed to determine exactly how and why GLP-1 drugs may contribute to a lower risk of obesity-associated cancers.
ABC News’ medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton, a board-certified emergency medicine physician, noted the study does not show precisely whether the GLP-1 drugs reduce the risk of cancer, or whether the weight loss they cause may lead to the lower risk.
“We’re looking at a study that shows an association, not necessarily a cause and effect, and you have to take a step back and understand what is that connection,” Sutton said. “The main theories include things like hormone disruption and obesity, [and] factors like growth factor and insulin increase the risk of cancer, also, immune system dysregulation.”
He continued, “The question is, how did these medications fit into that puzzle and reduce these risks?”
4. For what other conditions have GLP-1 drugs been studied?
Experts have theorized that the way in which semaglutide interacts with the brain to stop overeating also helps with other addictive behaviors, including alcohol use.
One small case study published last year found that six people who screened positive for alcohol use disorder saw a clinically significant decrease in symptoms while using semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and another medication, Wegovy, for weight loss.
While this small case study doesn’t provide strong scientific evidence that these drugs can also be used to treat alcohol use disorder, experts say it does reinforce the need for larger, randomized clinical trials that are in early stages.
Other research has shown that GLP-1 drugs can help reduce the risk of kidney disease and can help reduce the risk of anxiety, according to Sutton.
Sutton said that along with the benefits of GLP-1 drugs, people have to consider the risks as well.
Among all medications used for weight loss, the most commonly reported side effects are nausea and constipation, but gallbladder and pancreatic disease are also reported. Makers of these drugs recommend having a conversation about the side effect profile and personalized risks with a healthcare professional before starting.
“It just reminds us that when we’re trying to make a decision whether or not to use these, you have to have a formal understanding of what these risks are,” Sutton said. “Because just like weight loss, it can be different from person to person.”
(NEW YORK) — A California company has recalled its mushroom-infused chocolates and sweets containing a chemical not approved for food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Consumption of the recalled Prophet Premium Blends Diamond Shruumz products has been associated with “a series of illnesses” across more than 20 states and one possible related death, according to the FDA.
The agency announced last week that as of July 1, a total of 48 illnesses had been reported from 24 states.
“At Prophet Premium Blends, we prioritize the health and safety of our consumers above all else,” the Santa Ana-based company wrote in a statement on its website. “Recently, we have been made aware of reported incidents involving our product, Diamond Shruumz. Due to consumers becoming ill after consuming the entire chocolate bar and some products containing higher levels of Muscimol than normal, it is crucial that all of our consumers refrain from ingesting this product while we, alongside the FDA, continue our investigation as to what is the cause of the serious adverse effects.”
As of time of publication, the company had ceased production and distribution of all Diamond Shruumz products.
What is muscimol?
According to the National Library of Medicine, muscimol is “a member of the class of isoxazoles that … has been isolated from mushrooms of the genus Amanita.”
Details of mushroom chocolate, gummies recall
Prophet Premium Blends first announced a recall on June 27 for all flavors of its Diamond Shruumz products, including its Infused Cones, Microdosing Chocolate Bars, and both Micro- and Mega-Dose/Extreme Gummies, because they contain muscimol, which the company and government agency said could be the potential cause of related illnesses reported by consumers.
“Muscimol could be a potential cause of symptoms consistent with those observed in persons who became ill after eating Diamond Shruumz products,” the recall announcement, which was posted on the FDA’s website, stated. “Reported symptoms have included those linked to seizures, agitation, involuntary muscle contractions, loss of consciousness, confusion, sleepiness, nausea and vomiting, abnormal heart rates, and hyper/hypotension.”
ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton explained that the chemical, derived from some mushrooms, “can be incredibly toxic” at certain doses.
“The problem is that the dosage is not exact and so many people are exposed to these toxic levels and just don’t know,” Sutton said. “These supplements have little to no FDA regulation.”
Where recalled mushroom chocolates, gummies were sold
According to the FDA investigation into the foodborne illness, which began earlier in June, the products were previously available online and in person at a variety of retail locations nationwide including at smoke and vape shops, as well as retailers that sell hemp-derived products such as cannabidiol or delta-8 THC.
“Consumers should not eat, sell, or serve any flavor of Diamond Shruumz-brand Chocolate Bars, Cones, or Gummies. Consumers should check their homes and discard these products or return them to the company for a refund,” the FDA stated last week.
Prophet Premium Blends added on its website that “retailers and wholesalers should discontinue use, stop distribution, quarantine the product immediately and contact their sales representative to initiate the return and refund.”
“Consumers who have purchased Diamond Shruumz products are urged to stop using the product and return it to 1019 Arlington St., Orlando, FL 32805, for a full refund,” the company stated.
Customers with additional questions can call the company directly at (209) 314-0881 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. PDT.
Illnesses tied to mushroom chocolate, gummies recall in 24 states
As of July 1, illnesses associated with consumption of the recalled products were reported in two dozen states, according to the FDA.
Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota all reported one illness each. Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio each reported two illnesses apiece.
Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky and North Carolina reported three illnesses each, while South Carolina reported four illnesses, Indiana reported five, and Arizona reported six.
Forty-six of the 48 people reported seeking medical care, and 27 have been hospitalized, according to the FDA. The FDA said there is one potentially associated death under investigation, but the agency has yet to share any additional information on the individual.
What to know about muscimol present in some mushroom chocolates
According to research published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine last month, psilocybin-containing mushrooms like the type used in the Diamond Shruumz products “have potent pharmacological properties including Amanita muscaria mushrooms, which contain the compound muscimol. Muscimol is psychotropic — i.e., can produce acute changes in perception, mood, cognition, and behavior. [It is] highly toxic and can be fatal at high enough doses.”
According to those researchers, there has been significant growing interest in psilocybin-containing mushrooms among U.S. adults since 2021.
“12.3% of U.S. adults report[ed using] psilocybin-containing mushrooms in 2022, up significantly from 11.4% in 2021,” they wrote. “This makes psilocybin-containing mushrooms the most commonly used hallucinogenic substance.”
President Joe Biden speaks during a barbeque for active-duty military families in honor of the Fourth of July on the South Lawn of the White House, July 4, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — It was supposed to be a show of strength — the leaders of NATO’s member countries gathering in Washington, D.C., to display their remarkable unity in the face of some of the most serious threats to the alliance in its 75-year history.
Instead, the spotlight will fall on the summit’s host, President Joe Biden, and growing doubts about his capability to serve as president and represent the United States on the world stage for another four years.
But as former President Donald Trump edges ahead in some polls, the looming U.S. election in November has also infused new urgency into some of NATO’s key priorities.
Among the anticipated events of the three-day summit are a commemoration event Tuesday at the Mellon Auditorium, the site where the NATO treaty was formally signed in 1949; a bilateral meeting with newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer; a meeting with the EU and NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners; and an event with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and nearly two dozen allies and partners who have signed bilateral security agreements with Ukraine.
On Thursday evening, Biden will hold a rare solo press conference, which he hasn’t done since November.
Here are the top storylines to watch:
Biden’s next big test
After Biden’s debate performance last month ignited panic among Democrats, his campaign has been urgently searching for opportunities to undo damage and prove the president can be an effective leader for the future.
The president himself has set the stakes for the summit remarkably high. He mentioned the alliance six times during his 21-minute interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on Friday, saying the event would be “a good way to judge me.”
But the optics for Biden’s campaign may not be ideal. The summit will mark the 75th anniversary of the alliance, and among its 32 members, Biden is the only head of government who was alive during its founding. The president, 81, will share stages with leaders like France’s Emmanuel Macron, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and plenty of other officials who are about half his age.
In preparation for the summit, officials say Biden has spent hours huddling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the White House — including on the eve of the summit and over the Fourth of July holiday.
Blinken is also expected to be by Biden’s side through much of the programming in Washington, according to the officials.
Despite reports claiming U.S. allies have privately questioned Biden’s ability to lead, the White House rejected the notion they needed reassurance from the president.
“We’re not picking up any signs of that from our allies at all. Quite the contrary. The conversations that we’re having with them in advance is they’re excited about this summit,” White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said on Monday.
Ukraine’s road to membership
Hours before the start of the summit on Tuesday, a barrage of Russian missiles rained down on Ukraine, hitting multiple civilian targets — including a children’s hospital.
The attack — which left at least 37 people dead, according to Ukrainian officials — underscored the gravity of the conflict that has indirectly pitted NATO powers against Moscow’s aggression.
Before Monday’s strike on Ukraine, a senior Biden administration official said that the U.S. would announce new air defenses and military capabilities for the country, adding that the summit would send “a strong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin “that if he thinks he can outlast the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine, he’s dead wrong.”
While Zelenskyy has been pushing for additional air defense systems, he has been critical of NATO’s decision to avoid setting a timeline for Ukraine to join its ranks.
A major focus of the Washington summit is expected to be what members of the alliance have branded as Ukraine’s “bridge to membership” — a longer-term effort aimed at steadily moving the country on a path toward becoming a NATO member.
In line with this aim, the alliance is expected to announce additional steps to boost tactical cooperation and force development in the coming days and financial pledges, as well as a host of security agreements between Ukraine and individual NATO members, according to Biden administration officials.
A “Trump-proof” NATO?
Long before the presidential debate in June, NATO observers have been buzzing about efforts to ensure the alliance can stay the course through political headwinds churned up by changes in leadership.
While the alliance’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, is scheduled to step down this fall, much of the attention has been fixed on the U.S. election and what pundits describe as a race to “Trump-proof” the alliance, which the former president has repeatedly threatened to leave. (Trump also said in February he wouldn’t protect a NATO nation that didn’t contribute enough defense funds and, instead, he’d “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want.”)
“Arguably, despite Russia’s continued revanchism, the greatest challenge to NATO today comes from within the alliance — particularly rising populism and publics that continue to question the value of the alliances — rather than from adversaries abroad,” said Raphael S. Cohen, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation.
He argues that addressing that challenge relies on individual members meeting NATO’s guidelines calling for each country to commit at least 2% of its GDP to defense spending — a target 23 of its 32 members are currently meeting.
“It could change not only many American perceptions of the value of NATO but also change European security — if not global security — for the better,” Cohen said.
But members of the administration who believe a second Trump term in office would do irrevocable harm to the alliance say there’s only so much that NATO can do to minimize the impact.
Multiple U.S. officials aligned with Biden told ABC News that although the summit isn’t shaping up to be the celebration of the president’s foreign policy accomplishments that they anticipated, they hope the summit will draw attention to how a Trump victory in November could damage America’s standing internationally.
(WASHINGTON) — House Democrats on Tuesday will gather for a consequential day of closed-door meetings where the focus is expected to be largely on President Joe Biden’s viability as a candidate and the path for the party going forward.
House Democrats will huddle at the Democratic National Committee headquarters just steps from the U.S. Capitol at 9 a.m., according to notices obtained by ABC News.
In a sign of how sensitive the conversation is expected to be, lawmakers’ cellphones will be collected at the door, presumably to prevent real-time leaks about the private discussion.
Senate Democrats are set to hold their own conference meeting on Tuesday, which would mark the first time the senators have met since Biden’s poor debate performance against Donald Trump in late June that triggered panic among some in the party about his fitness to carry out the 2024 campaign and serve another four years.
The meetings come at a pivotal moment for Biden, as calls for him to step aside from the race mounted this past week even after he and the White House ramped up outreach to anxious Democrats as it went into damage control mode.
Biden defiantly pushed back on critics on Monday, first in a blunt letter to Democrats saying it’s time for such hand-wringing to end and then in a call to MSNBC’s Morning Joe in which he railed against “elites” challenging his capabilities.
“The bottom line is, we’re not going anywhere. I am not going anywhere!” Biden told MSNBC anchors Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.
The question now is whether Democrats fall in line behind Biden or whether questions about his candidacy continue to grow with the Democratic National Convention just weeks away.
So far, six Democrats have publicly said they do not support Biden as the nominee: Reps. Adam Smith, Angie Craig, Seth Moulton, Lloyd Doggett, Mike Quigley and Raul Grijalva.
“Any candidate for the highest office in our nation has a strong burden to bear,” Smith said in a statement on Tuesday. “That candidate must be able to clearly, articulately, and strongly make his or her case to the American people. It is clear that President Biden is no longer able to meet this burden.”
Several other senior House Democrats, besides Smith, privately told House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday that they’re calling on Biden to exit the race, according to several sources with knowledge of the discussion. Jeffries did not express a position and said he would engage with the caucus throughout the week, according to one person on the call.
Biden on Monday met with Congressional Black Caucus virtually, two sources told ABC News. Black voters helped propel Biden to the White House in 2020 and are a critical voting bloc again in 2024. So far, no member of the Congressional Black Caucus has called on the president to step aside.
No Democratic senator has publicly called on Biden to withdraw from the race, but concerns have been raised by Sen. Mark Warner. Warner, who chairs the influential Senate Intelligence Committee, tried to assemble a group of Senate Democrats to discuss Biden’s path forward as early as Monday but the meeting didn’t take place.
Warner, in a statement on Tuesday, said “now is the time for conversations about the strongest path forward” given what is at stake in the November election.
“As these conversations continue, I believe it is incumbent upon the President to more aggressively make his case to the American people, and to hear directly from a broader group of voices about how to best prevent Trump’s lawlessness from returning to the White House,” Warner said.
Montana Sen. Jon Tester, one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up this cycle, similarly said that Biden needs to “prove” to him and voters that he’s up to the job.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin, who became an independent earlier this year but still caucuses with Democrats, urged his colleagues to see how the coming days unfold before determining Biden’s future.
“The president has set a course of where he wants to go,” Manchin told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott. “I think he has earned that right and he has a heck of a legacy right now with all the service he has. And just give it time.”
Manchin told reporters he believes the race is “winnable” for Biden.
“I have always said Trump is a threat to democracy,” he said. “You can’t call the race now. I mean, this is ridiculous. It’s early for people to get so excited. The bottom line is just wait until this week.”
This week, Biden will also be tested on the world stage as he hosts dozens of leaders in Washington for the 2024 NATO summit amid reports claiming U.S. allies have privately questioned his ability to lead.
Signage promoting Milwaukee as the 2024 host of the Republican National Convention inside the Fiserv Forum during the Republican National Convention (RNC) fall media walkthrough in Milwaukee, Wis., on Nov. 30, 2023. — Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
(WASHINGTON) — The Republican National Committee’s platform committee adopted a new GOP platform on Monday — and it softens language on the issue of abortion, marking a shift in the party’s stance to more closely align with the views of former President Donald Trump.
The platform says that Republicans “will oppose Late Term Abortion while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments),” according to the document obtained by ABC News.
The 2024’s brief section on abortion also states that the GOP “believes” that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution “guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights” — bolstering Trump’s view that the issue should be determined at the state level. That’s a change from the GOP’s 2016 and 2020 platforms that supported legislation that would have imposed a 20-week federal abortion ban — language that Trump ran on both cycles.
Full RNC membership will vote to officially confirm the platform from the convention floor, according to an RNC spokesperson. The party’s convention takes place next week in Milwaukee. Trump dialed into the meeting Monday morning and “described why some parts are in” the platform, according to the committee member. During the meeting, Trump also expressed his approval of a draft of the new Republican Party platform, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
Trump took a victory lap after the platform committee voted to approve a new overhauled party platform plan to better align with his political posture.
“Ours is a forward-looking Agenda with strong promises that we will accomplish very quickly when we win the White House and Republican Majorities in the House and Senate. We are, quite simply, the Party of Common Sense! America needs determined Republican Leadership at every level of Government to address the core threats to our very survival,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
The platform’s mention of abortion, however, came near the end of the full document. It is not included as part of the platform’s 20 principles that are prioritized first in the language. The first two of those principals call to “seal the border” and “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.” Those are followed by “end inflation” and “make America the dominant energy producer in the world.” Notably, the U.S. is already the top global oil producer.
Other points include “large tax cuts for workers and no tax on tips,” “defend our constitution,” “prevent World War III” by restoring peace in Europe and the Middle East and putting an end to “weaponization” of the government.
A political party’s platform distinctly outlines its positions on foreign and domestic policies, but it is not binding and doesn’t directly impact the work of elected officials or candidates.
Monday’s move by the committee comes as abortion remains a key issue for voters in an election year in what is expected to be a close race between Trump and President Joe Biden.
In 2016, the Republican Party — on their way to nominating Trump for the first time — adopted a strict, conservative platform around issues of gender and sexual orientation against the efforts by some of the party’s more moderate faction to soften that language. An identical platform was approved in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for party committees to convene and adjust language. During that convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Trump was chosen as the party’s nominee for a second time.
The Republican platform since the 1980s has articulated support for a constitutional amendment that would assert the sanctity and protection of human life, extending to unborn children. This is the first time in 40 years that the RNC has not explicitly endorsed a national ban on abortion in the platform.
Now, in 2024, the GOP will work to finalize a platform for the first time since the Dobbs decision overturned the constitutional right to an abortion more than two years ago. The plan could play an outsized role in establishing the ideals of a party reinvented by the former president, who has been clear about his opposition to a federal ban and his preference for this issue to be left up to the states.
Trump’s position on reproductive rights has worried some anti-abortion activists and RNC members who have expressed concern that the call for a “right to life” amendment would be stripped from the platform this year.
A platform committee member who spoke with ABC News following the vote, which passed 84-14, said there was a lot of “unanimity” around the language, even from some of the more socially conservative members who have been vocally opposing a platform reflective of Trump’s abortion stances.
“We had a whole bunch of people stand up and go the microphone [during a comment section]. And for the most part, things were really quite upbeat. People were happy to see this document,” the member said.
Following the vote, SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser — a major anti-abortion leader and one of the individuals lobbying the Trump team about the platform this year — released a statement supporting the document.
“It is important that the GOP reaffirmed its commitment to protect unborn life today through the 14th Amendment. Under this amendment, Congress enacts and enforces its provisions. The Republican Party remains strongly pro-life at the national level. The mission of the pro-life movement, for the next six months, must be to defeat the Biden-Harris extreme abortion agenda,” Dannenfelser wrote.
“The platform allows us to provide the winning message to 10 million voters, with four million visits at the door in key battleground states,” Dannenfelser added.
But others, including Gayle Ruzicka, a Republican National Committee platform member from Utah, told ABC affiliate WISN-TV that she was disappointed with how the platform vote was “forced” on committee members and with how it handled abortion.
“I’m extremely disappointed that we do not have any pro-life language. There are good things in this platform. … This is the first time we don’t have a pro-life platform. The platform simply says that we oppose late-term abortion. Well, what about before that?” Ruzicka said.
At a political event in Waukesha, Wisconsin, following the vote on Monday afternoon, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley dispelled notions that the platform was weak on the issue of abortion.
“We have a very solid pro-life platform. We feel very, very solid about it. I think you can just look at the number of pro-life groups from across the country that have come in and said that they strongly support this platform. Look, the Republican Party stands for life. And we are always going to stand for life. I think when you look at this platform, you’re going to see that it is very pro-America. It is very pro-family. It is very pro-life. And we feel very strong about the language that we have,” Whatley said.
The Biden campaign responded to the GOP platform’s softened language on abortion by reinforcing their stance that Trump, should he regain the presidency, would not be moderate on the issue.
“Despite Trump and his team’s best efforts, the American people are clear on just how far he would go to rip away their freedoms – and they’ll vote accordingly this November,” Biden-Harris 2024 Spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.
“Donald Trump has made it clear with his own words and actions what he will do if he regains power – rip away women’s freedoms, punish women, and ban abortion nationwide. You don’t have to take it from us, take it from Trump himself: He’s ‘proud’ to have ‘killed’ Roe v. Wade and unleashed extreme bans with no exceptions for rape or incest, which he calls ‘a beautiful thing to watch.’ He promised to be ‘leading the charge’ to ban abortion nationwide, and said he’d fight ‘side by side’ with extremists who want to ban abortion entirely. Trump himself said that women should be punished for having an abortion, that doctors should be criminalized for doing their jobs, and that he’s ‘looking at’ restrictions on birth control,” she added.
A Ukrainian firefighter works to extinguish a fire in a residential building following a missile attack in Kyiv on July 8, 2024. — Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images
(LONDON) — At least 37 people were killed — including three children — and 170 people were injured across Ukraine on Monday, as Russia launched a barrage of more than 40 missiles, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
At least five cities fell under attack, including the capital of Kyiv, where 21 people were killed. Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv — one of the most well-respected children’s hospitals in the country — was damaged along with nearly 100 other facilities including residential homes, kindergartens, a maternity hospital, a college and a business center, according to Zelenskyy.
At least two people were killed in the attack on the hospital, including one female physician. At least seven children were injured, according to officials. Zelenskyy said Monday that doctors, hospital staff and first responders were digging through the debris.
“The entire world must use all its determination to finally put an end to the Russian strikes. Killing is what Putin brings,” Zelenskyy said. “Only together can we bring real peace and security.”
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov wrote in a post on Facebook that the Russian attack was “massive” and was carried out “at the peak hour when Ukrainians went to work.”
Kyiv city authorities declared July 9 a day of mourning in the capital after the attack, according to a post on Telegram. Meanwhile, Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital asked for donations to help rebuild the hospital after the attack, and raised more than $2 million in just three hours on Monday, according to UNITED24, a fundraising initiative of the president of Ukraine.
The attack, which is among the largest Russian strikes in months, comes a day before U.S. President Joe Biden begins a three-day NATO summit in Washington, where the group is expected to discuss support for Ukraine.
The alliance is expected to make “significant” announcements about increased military and financial support for Ukraine, a senior White House official said last week.
Photos and videos shared by Zelenskyy and those at the hospital appeared to show bloodied doctors carrying out children, a building in the hospital grounds reduced to rubble and the exterior of the main building blown out. One image appears to show young patients sitting on the street with their IVs after the explosion.
A doctor at the hospital told local media the missile destroyed a building where two operations were happening at the time.
The Security Service of Ukraine said in a statement that it had opened a criminal investigation into the strike on the hospital, which it called a “war crime.” The service said a Russian Kh-101 missile struck the building, according to its preliminary findings.
At the top of a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Monday morning at the Pentagon, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned the recent Russian strikes on Ukraine.
“In Ukraine, Russia continues its brutal war,” Stoltenberg said. “Only today we have seen horrendous missile attacks against Ukrainian cities, killing innocent civilians, including children. I condemn these hideous attacks.”
The missiles targeted cities including Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, Zelesnkyy said. At least eight of the dead were in Kyiv, officials said.
At least 10 people were killed and several others injured Monday morning in Russian airstrikes on Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine and Zelenskyy’s hometown, officials said. Another three people were killed in Russian airstrikes on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, officials said.
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Beryl has passed very closed to downtown Houston, Texas, as it produced wind gusts of over 80 mph causing massive power outages in the region.
The highest Beryl winds gusts were in Freeport, at 97 mph, Houston International Airport at 83 mph and Galveston which clocked in at 78 mph. The highest rainfall came down just west-southwest of Houston at 13.55 inches of rain.
Meanwhile, Buffalo Bayou reached 8.5 feet above high tide, which was the second-highest water level since record-keeping began in 1998, behind the 10.45-foot reading during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.
Elsewhere, there were at least 13 reported tornadoes on Monday from Beryl to Louisiana, other parts of Texas and Arkansas, where damaged was reported.
On Tuesday, Beryl is no more and has now become just remnants with heavy rain moving north into the Midwest.
Already on Tuesday morning, however, a flash flood warning has been issued for Little Rock where parts of the area saw 6 inches of rain overnight.
Additionally on Tuesday, a flood watch has been issued for seven states from Oklahoma to Michigan, meaning more than 20 million people are on alert for flooding, including St. Louis, Paducah, Chicago and Detroit.
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Beryl is tearing across Texas after making landfall in the state as a Category 1 hurricane Monday morning.
At least six people have been killed by fallen trees or by drowning and more than two million customers are without power across Texas due to torrential rain and powerful winds.
Hurricane Beryl first killed at least seven people in the Windward Islands before skirting south of Jamaica, shutting down communications, stranding tourists and delivering storm surge and flooding rain to the island.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Jul 08, 8:15 PM Officials confirm three more fatalities, raising death toll to six in Texas
The death toll in Texas from tropical storm Beryl has risen from three known fatalities to at least six, officials confirmed Monday evening.
Three people were killed in Montgomery County due to falling trees from the storm, according to Chief of Staff for Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough.
One man riding a tractor on a public roadway was killed when a tree fell on him and a couple was killed in a wooded area when a tree fell on them, according to Keough.
The three previously confirmed deaths included two from falling trees and one from drowning.
As of Monday evening, Beryl was designated as a “tropical depression” by officials, due to its sustained winds of 35 mph.
Beryl is moving northeast at 16 mph, continuing to gain speed as it weakens.
Jul 08, 6:56 PM 2.7 million people still without power, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at a Monday press briefing that 2.7 million people across the state are still without power and 10 transmission lines are down.
It will take “several days” to restore power, Patrick said, and the priority will be first restoring it in hospitals, nursing homes and the homes of people that depend on respirators or medical devices with failed generators.
Officials urged members of the public to stay inside and not drive.
Three people have been confirmed dead, two from falling trees and one from drowning.
Jul 08, 6:19 PM Houston mayor confirms third victim has died in deadly storm
A third person in the U.S. has died due to tropical storm Beryl, Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced early Monday evening.
The man, who was a civilian employee of the Houston Police Department, died after driving into flood conditions on the way to work Monday morning. His body was retrieved from a submerged car.
The victim has not been publicly identified, and no other details were given about him. His family is currently being notified.
Jul 08, 4:58 PM 47 high water rescues in Harris County
As floodwaters from Beryl rushed through the streets, crews carried out 47 high water rescues across Harris County, which encompasses Houston, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told reporters.
Street flooding is still significant Monday afternoon, Hidalgo said, and she urged residents to stay home.
In terms of storm surge, Hidalgo said, “Things turned out a little bit better than we expected.”
Beryl’s rough winds have caused more than two million customers to lose power across the state. Hidalgo said there will be a clearer picture Tuesday on the timeline for power restoration in Harris County.
Jul 08, 4:08 PM Sugar Land ‘weathered the storm as well as we could’
In Sugar Land, Texas, just outside of Houston, Beryl has dumped 5 to 10 inches of rain and knocked out power to most of the population, according to Mayor Joe Zimmerman.
“The hurricane passed almost right over us,” Zimmerman told ABC News Live.
But he added, “We were ready.”
“We had activated our emergency operations center yesterday at noon. We had staff on two, 12-hour shifts, and that staff was able to keep everything up and running,” he said.
“It was a considerable wind event. We’ve got trees down, we’ve got branches down, we’ve got inlets clogged up,” the mayor said. “But we’ve got crews out there, we’ve got our public works crews out there, police, fire, EMS, everybody’s available. I think Sugar Land weathered the storm as well as we could.”
Jul 08, 3:32 PM 5 to 9 inches of rain inundates Houston area
Tropical Storm Beryl has inundated the Houston area with 5 to 9 inches of rain as it continues to slam east Texas with flooding and gusty winds.
Wind gusts reached 84 mph in Houston and 94 mph in Freeport, Texas.
Beryl has also brought tornadoes to east Texas. A tornado watch is in effect through Monday night in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.
The storm will steadily weaken through the afternoon. Beryl was the earliest in the season hurricane to make landfall in Texas since Bonnie in 1986.
Jul 08, 3:30 PM Beryl’s latest forecast
Beryl is expected to remain a tropical storm as its center passes near Lufkin in east Texas on Monday night.
By Tuesday morning, Beryl will reach Arkansas and is expected to weaken to a tropical depression.
Rain from Beryl will hit Indiana Tuesday morning and then move into Detroit Tuesday night.
Beryl’s remnants will then drop heavy rain in Vermont on Wednesday.
The rain will reach Washington, D.C., Wednesday evening and into Philadelphia and New York City overnight into Thursday morning. Flash flooding is possible.
Jul 08, 1:39 PM 2.7 million without power in Texas
Power has been knocked out to more than 2.7 million customers in Texas as Hurricane Beryl slams the state with powerful winds and torrential rain.
ABC Houston station KTRK-TV briefly lost power in its newsroom Monday morning.
Jul 08, 12:52 PM Man rescued from truck submerged in floodwaters
Houston firefighters rescued a man who was trapped on his submerged truck as the floodwaters rapidly rose around him.
The rescuers dropped a life preserver ring to him and guided him to the shore.
Eight people have been rescued in Houston so far, according to Houston police.
“Shelter in place — do not put our first responders in further danger,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said at a news conference.
Jul 08, 11:14 AM Two killed by fallen trees in Houston area
A 53-year-old man was killed by a fallen tree while riding out Hurricane Beryl with his family, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
The man, his wife and children were in a house in Atascocita in the Houston area when an oak tree fell on the roof, hitting the rafters, the sheriff said. The structure then fell on the man, killing him.
His wife and children were not hurt, the sheriff said Monday morning.
Hours later, the sheriff said a 74-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on a home in Houston.
Jul 08, 11:07 AM Biden receiving updates, FEMA prepared to respond
President Joe Biden is receiving regular updates on Beryl as the storm rips across Texas, according to a White House official.
Senior White House officials are in close contact with their state and local counterparts and employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are standing by to offer support, the official said.
“The U.S. Coast Guard and FEMA have prepositioned response personnel including search and rescue teams, and FEMA has staged bottled water, meals, tarps and electric generators in case they are needed,” the official said.
Jul 08, 11:03 AM Up to 7 inches of rain pounds Houston, Galveston
Up to 7 inches of rain has pounded the Houston and Galveston areas so far and another 2 to 4 inches of rain is in the forecast for the next few hours.
The storm surge has topped 6 feet.
Wind gusts have reached a whopping 94 mph in Freeport, Texas; 82 mph in Galveston Bay, Texas; and 84 mph at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport.
Flood warnings and tornado warnings are in effect in the Houston area through Monday afternoon.
Tornadoes have also been reported.
Jul 08, 10:55 AM Beryl weakens to tropical storm
Beryl weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm late Monday morning after making landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane.
Jul 08, 10:53 AM Serious accidents, transformer fires reported
Hurricane Beryl has caused serious accidents, transformer fires and downed power lines in Spring, Texas, near Houston, according to the Spring Fire Department.
Spring is under a flash flood warning until 1 p.m. local time.
Jul 08, 9:36 AM Beryl’s latest forecast
As Hurricane Beryl races inland, flash flooding will be a threat as far north as Arkansas, where 3 to 6 inches of rain is possible through Monday night.
Moisture from Beryl is forecast to move into the Ohio Valley by Tuesday and Wednesday. Flooding is possible as far north as Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.
Wednesday afternoon into Thursday morning, some of that moisture will combine with a stationary front in the Northeast, bringing the possibility of heavy rain to the Interstate 95 corridor Wednesday night.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
Jul 08, 9:30 AM 650 flights canceled in Houston
At least 650 flights have been canceled in Houston on Monday as Hurricane Beryl pounds the region.
So far, 527 flights set to leave George Bush Intercontinental Airport have been canceled while another 123 flights were dropped at William P. Hobby Airport.
United Airlines said it has suspended operations at George Bush Intercontinental Airport until at least 4 p.m. local time.
Jul 08, 9:26 AM Man killed by fallen tree in Houston area
A 53-year-old man was killed by a fallen tree while riding out Hurricane Beryl with his family, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
The man, his wife and children were in a house in Atascocita in the Houston area when an oak tree fell on the roof, hitting the rafters, the sheriff said. The structure then fell on the man, killing him.
His wife and children were not hurt, the sheriff said Monday morning.
Jul 08, 8:00 AM Power outages fall to 130,000, PowerOutage.us says
About 130,000 customers in Texas were without power just before 7 a.m. on Monday, according to PowerOutage.us.
While the total outages fell, the number of customers in the storm’s path with outages rose. In Matagorda and Brazoria counties there were about 13,450 and 40,000 customers without power respectively, according to the tracking site.
-ABC News’ Amanda M. Morris
Jul 08, 7:23 AM Wind gust of 92 mph recorded in Freeport, Texas
A wind gust of 92 mph was recorded at about 6 a.m. in Freeport, Texas, the National Weather Service said.
Maximum sustained winds at the time were about 80 mph, officials said. Category 1 storms generally have sustained wind speeds of 74 to 95 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Sustained wind speeds at Palacios Municipal, a coastal airport near where the storm made landfall, were at about 61 mph, officials said. Gusts at the airfield had climbed as high as 81 mph.
-ABC New’s Max Golembo
Jul 08, 6:07 AM Almost 200,000 without power in Texas, PowerOutage.us says
More than 199,000 customers were without power across Texas early Monday, about an hour after Hurricane Beryl made landfall, according to PowerOutage.us.
Many of those outages were along the Gulf Coast, where the Category 1 hurricane made landfall, according to the tracking website.
About 21,000 customers were without power in Brazoria County, about 12,000 were without power in Matagorda County and about 5,000 were without power in Galveston County, the site said.
-ABC News’ Amanda M. Morris and Kevin Shalvey
Jul 08, 5:07 AM Beryl makes landfall in Texas
Hurricane Beryl made landfall at about 4 a.m. on Monday near Matagorda, Texas, the National Hurricane Center said.
The hurricane brought with it a “dangerous” storm surge and strong winds, officials said. Flash flooding was expected.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo
Jul 08, 2:40 AM Beryl expected to move inland over Texas, Arkansas
As Beryl heads toward the Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane, the storm is forecast to make landfall in the next few hours before turning northeastward.
The storm’s expected to move farther inland over eastern Texas and Arkansas late Monday and Tuesday.
If Beryl makes landfall as a Category 1 storm, it would be the first landfalling hurricane in the lower 48 states since Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Keaton Beach, Florida, on Aug. 30 2023 as a Category 3 hurricane.
-ABC News’ Richard Von Ohlen
Jul 08, 2:26 AM Winds increase to 80 mph
Hurricane Beryl’s top sustained winds increased to 80 mph, as the storm moved toward the Texas coast.
The Category 1 hurricane was about 30 miles south-southwest of Matagorda at about 1 a.m. local time. It was about 95 miles from Corpus Christi.
The storm was moving north-northwest at about 10 mph, with a turn toward the north expected this morning.
Beryl’s center is expected during the next several hours to make landfall on the middle Texas coast.
-ABC News’ Richard Von Ohlen
Jul 08, 1:54 AM Rainbands move onto Texas coast
As Hurricane Beryl continued toward the Texas coast, radar indicated the heaviest rainbands along the eyewall have moved onto land.
The Category 1 hurricane had top sustained winds of about 75 mph just after midnight local time.
-ABC News’ Richard Von Ohlen
Jul 08, 12:39 AM Beryl becomes a hurricane again as it heads toward Texas
Beryl has become a Category 1 hurricane as it heads toward Texas, the National Hurricane Center announced just after midnight ET on Monday.
Hurricane Beryl’s maximum sustained winds have increased to 75 mph. The storm is expected to strengthen before it makes landfall on the Texas coast.
Currently, Beryl is about 65 miles from Matagorda, Texas and 105 miles from Corpus Christi.
Jul 07, 11:08 PM Beryl expected to become hurricane before reaching landfall overnight
Beryl remains a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph as of Sunday evening. However, the storm is expected to become a hurricane again before making landfall.
Currently Beryl is about 75 miles from Matagorda, Texas.
The storm is expected near Matagorda between 3 and 5 a.m. local time.
Jul 07, 8:10 PM Beryl’s winds reach 70 mph as it heads toward Texas coast
As Texans brace for hurricane conditions, officials said Beryl currently has 70 mph winds as it moves toward the coast.
By Sunday evening, the tropical storm was located 105 miles southeast of Matagorda, Texas, moving northwest at a rate of 12 mph.
Jul 07, 8:10 PM Officials urge Texans on the coast to evacuate
In a press conference Sunday, Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick urged people living on the state’s coast to evacuate before the storm hits.
“We don’t see many people leaving,” Patrick said. “You don’t want to be on the road tomorrow.”
Texas Division of Emergency Management officials said over 50 ambulances are on standby to assist with evacuating hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, if needed.
“This storm has already left nine deaths in its path through the Caribbean. We don’t want number 10 to be in Texas,” Patrick said.
Jul 07, 9:01 PM Beryl is closing in on Texas with up to 7 feet of storm surge forecast
The combination of storm surge and tide will cause normally dry areas near the Texas coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Officials are forecasting up to 7 feet of storm surge, above normal tide levels for Matagorda Bay and Port O’Connor to San Luis Pass.
The possible storm surge is forecast to reach up to 6 feet in Galveston Bay, officials said.
Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances, according to the NHC.
Jul 07, 1:40 PM Houston school campuses close as Beryl approaches
The Houston Independent School District announced Sunday that all its campuses will be closed as tropical storm Beryl bears down on the Texas coast and is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane when it makes landfall.
The school district sent out a message Sunday to students, staff and parents that it is canceling summer classes and activities, and closing all campuses and buildings on Monday and Tuesday.
Beryl was a tropical storm on Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico, but is expected to strengthen overnight and make landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.
-ABC News’ Gina Sunseri
Jul 07, 12:37 PM Beryl could be a Category 1 hurricane when it slams Texas: NHC
Beryl remains a tropical storm but was gaining strength over open warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to be a Category 1 hurricane by Sunday night and is expected to make landfall on the Texas coast early Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In an update on Beryl’s path issued at 10 a.m. CT, the hurricane center said winds generated by Beryl had slightly increased to 65 mph.
“Beryl [is] becoming better organized and forecast to become a hurricane before landfall,” the hurricane center said in its latest update.
The storm is expected to make landfall on the middle Texas Coast near Matagorda Bay on Monday.
A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the Gulf Coast from Baffin Bay north to San Luis Pass. A Storm Surge Warning was also issued for the coast of Texas from High Island to Sabine Pass.
“Beryl is forecast to become a hurricane again later today. Continued strengthening is expected overnight before Beryl reaches the Texas coast,” according to the hurricane center’s statement.
The hurricane center warned that a few tornadoes could also occur along the middle and upper Texas Coast through Sunday night and across eastern Texas and western Louisiana on Monday.
In addition to storm surges of up to 6 feet, Beryl is expected to dump heavy rain on the Texas coastal cities.
“Heavy rainfall of 5 to 10 inches with localized amounts of 15 inches is expected across portions of the middle and upper Texas Gulf Coast and eastern Texas beginning today through Monday night,” the hurricane center said.
The White House said Sunday that President Joe Biden is monitoring Beryl as FEMA prepositions response teams.
“The President and his team continue to monitor Tropical Storm Beryl as it makes its way towards South Texas,” a White House official said. “We are in close contact with our state and local counterparts and FEMA has prepositioned response personnel, search and rescue teams, bottled water, meals, tarps and electric generators in case they are needed. On Sunday, FEMA activated its National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) to further support local response efforts.”
-ABC News’ Daniel Amarante
Jul 07, 6:20 AM Beryl to make landfall as hurricane Monday morning in Texas
Beryl remained early Sunday a tropical storm with winds of 60 mph.
The storm has been slow to strengthen over the past several hours, which is potentially good news for the residents of the Texas coast.
Even though strengthening is expected, each hour that this storm delays that intensification will help contribute to a weaker storm upon landfall.
A hurricane warning is in effect from Baffin Bay to San Luis Pass.
A storm surge warning is in effect for Corpus Christi Bay, Matagorda Bay, and Galveston Bay. During the peak of the storm on Monday morning, surge may reach 4 to 6 feet above normal tide in Mesquite Bay and Matagorda Bay.
There are also numerous other hurricane watches, tropical storm watches and warnings, and storm surge watches across the Texas coast.
Beryl is still forecast to make landfall near Matagorda Bay as a Category 1 Hurricane on Monday morning.
An island city on the Gulf Coast of Texas issued a voluntary evacuation of the island’s west end, Galveston officials said in a press release on Saturday.
While officials feel the chances of tides above five feet are currently very low, tides above that level could prevent travel on major roads and make it difficult for the city to respond to emergencies, the press release said.
Brian Maxwell, Galveston city manager, noted that predictions for the track of Beryl have not changed.
The size of Beryl has expanded slightly, according to the National Weather Service, and as a result, the island’s west end is currently under a storm surge warning.
Mayor Craig Brown “signed the order out of an abundance of caution,” said Maxwell.
If residents choose to stay in a low-lying area, they may not be able to safely leave for several hours, and emergency services may not be available while tides remain elevated, emergency management officials said.
Jul 06, 5:09 PM Beryl now less than 400 miles from Corpus Christi
Beryl, now less than 400 miles from Corpus Christi, remains a tropical storm with winds of 60 mph, moving at 13 mph.
Beryl is moving over water that is slightly warmer than normal, by 1 to 2 degrees.
As Beryl approaches the Texas coast it will move over much warmer waters, 4 and 5 degrees above normal. The warmer water is expected to help boost Beryl back into a hurricane before making landfall northeast of Corpus Christi on Monday morning.
Hurricane Warnings have been issued for parts of Texas, from Baffin Bay northward to Sargent. Tropical Storm Warnings are now issued north of Sargent to High Island.
Landfall may occur with the center of circulation most likely northeast of Corpus Christi — the greatest impacts remaining north of that city as well. There is still time for this track to change over the next 24 hours.
The last hurricane to make landfall in Texas was Nicholas in September 2021, which was a Category 1 and made landfall on the northern side of East Matagorda Bay.
The last hurricane to make landfall just north of Corpus Christi was Harvey in 2017 as a Category 4. Harvey then stalled and dumped historic rainfall over southeast Texas. Beryl is not expected to stall and therefore similar impacts as Harvey are not expected, in terms of rainfall, wind or storm surge.
A Hurricane Watch has been issued for the entire coast south of San Luis Pass due to the hurricane-strength, over 74 mph sustained wind expected along the Texas coast.
Jul 06, 12:33 PM Hurricane watch in effect for parts of Texas
A Hurricane Watch is in effect in Texas from the Rio Grande Valley to San Luis Pass, just west of Galveston Island, with a Storm Surge Watch from the mouth of the Rio Grande northward to High Island, Texas.
Storm surge is forecast to be 3 to 5 feet in Corpus Christi and Matagorda Bay, and 2 to 4 feet in Galveston Bay. These numbers are subject to change depending on the exact track and intensity of the storm as it approaches landfall.
Residents along the Texas coast need to be prepared for a powerful hurricane with life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, and significant flooding.
Flooding rain is often the most impactful aspect of tropical systems. In terms of rainfall amounts, much of southeastern Texas is looking at 5 to 10 inches, with locally higher amounts up to 15 inches. Most of this rain will fall on Monday and Tuesday.
Jul 06, 12:27 PM Now a tropical storm, Beryl expected to strengthen before hitting Texas
Beryl remains a tropical storm with winds of 60 mph as it churns in the Gulf of Mexico as of Saturday morning, but it is expected to strengthen before hitting Texas on Sunday with potential Category 1 strength.
On Saturday, Beryl may take some time to recover, but is forecast to begin strengthening by the end of the day. The storm is moving into favorable conditions for hurricanes, with warm water and limited wind shear.
The track from the National Hurricane Center takes Beryl towards the Texas coast by late Sunday night into early Monday, likely as a strong Category 1 Hurricane.
Currently, the most likely landfall location is around Matagorda Island, just east of Corpus Christi, but that will likely need to be adjusted as the storm’s track becomes more “fine-tuned” in the next day or so.
(CHICAGO) — More than 100 people were shot — 19 fatally — over the long Fourth of July holiday weekend in Chicago, according to police.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a press conference Monday morning he was “heartbroken” by gun violence in the city.
“These are not just numbers on pages. These are not just headlines in the news. No, these are our fellow Chicagoans, our neighbors, family members, who have lost their lives,” Johnson said. “These are 19 families whose lives are forever altered. Nineteen families woke up this morning without a son, without a daughter, without a mother, without a father, without an aunt, without an uncle — over 100 people whose lives will never be the same, whose next chapter in life is recovery and healing from this violence.”
Among the deaths was an 8-year-old boy, who was killed in a targeted shooting at his home, which also left two women dead and two other children critically wounded, according to a police report.
In a mass shooting in the early hours of Friday morning, eight people were left wounded, according to another police report. Less than two hours later, in a separate shooting, seven people were wounded, one of whom later died of his injuries.
“We are here to say emphatically: This is enough,” Johnson said. “When this reckless violence ravages across our city at this magnitude, we are losing a piece of the soul of Chicago.”
Despite the violence over the holiday weekend, shooting incidents in Chicago have been less frequent in 2024 than they have in years past, according to data from the Chicago Police Department. As of June 30, shootings were down 27% year-to-date in 2024 compared to three years ago, and down 20% year-to-date compared to four years ago.
Shootings were down 7% for the week of June 24 to 30, the most recent data available, compared to the same week in 2023. However, shootings were up 12% over the four weeks prior to June 30 compared to the same time period last year, according to the data.
At Monday’s press conference, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said a number of the shootings broke out at large group gatherings.
“When we’re looking at this type of violence, we look at celebratory days of the year — the Fourth of July, and other days like it — where groups come together, large groups gather and sometimes this violence comes out of petty arguments,” Snelling said. “People who have been together all day, they come together as a group, they’ve been drinking, tempers flare and people decide that they’re going to air out their differences through violence, especially gun violence.”
Snelling called for anyone with information about the identities of the shooting perpetrators to come forward.
“Somebody knows who the offenders are in these cases, and it’s really important that we work with our communities … to help us apprehend these individuals who are committing these violent acts. We need to take these people off the street,” he said.
Johnson called for additional resources from the federal government to aid in stopping gun violence and assisting victims.
He also noted that gun violence does “not happen in a vacuum,” and those who experience it disproportionately tend to be Black. Black men disproportionately face the highest rates of firearm-related homicide, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I’m so sick and tired of losing Black boys to violence in this city,” Johnson said.
Emergency and rescue personnel operate and clear the rubble of the destroyed building of Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital following a missile strike in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on July 8, 2024. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — First responders spent the night in Kyiv digging through the rubble at the children’s hospital and other sites struck by Russian missiles on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“The rescue operation after yesterday’s Russian missile attack continues,” he said on social media on Tuesday. “As of now, 38 people have been reported dead, including four children. My condolences to all the families and friends affected by this tragedy.”
At least 94 children, including eight who were injured, were transferred to other hospitals following the missile strike on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the messaging app Telegram.
The wide-ranging aerial assault on Monday came on the eve of a NATO summit in Washington, D.C. As rescue work in Kyiv continued, officials with NATO countries and other Ukrainian allies issued scathing remarks criticizing Russia for its “horrendous” and “barbaric” strikes.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Russia’s action, describing the strikes as “horrendous missile attacks against Ukrainian cities, killing innocent civilians including children.”
NATO members will make decisions during the Washington summit about how to strengthen the alliance’s support for Ukraine, according to a press release from Stoltenberg’s office.
President Joe Biden said on Monday that the fatal missile strikes in Ukraine were “a horrific reminder of Russia’s brutality.” He added that the world must continue to stand with Ukraine ahead of this week’s NATO summit, where the ongoing war will be a main topic of discussion.
Biden said that he will make clear to Zelenskyy that “support for Ukraine is unshakeable.” NATO leaders would also be announcing “new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses,” he said.
“My thoughts are with all the victims and their loved ones,” David Lammy, the U.K. foreign secretary, said in a statement. “The U.K.’s support to Ukraine is iron-clad. We must hold those responsible for Putin’s illegal war to account.”
Stéphane Séjourné, the French foreign minister, condemned Russia’s missile strikes, calling them “barbaric” and “war crimes.” He called for Ukrainian allies to strengthen their support for the under-seige nation.
“Russia must not win this war,” Séjourné said in French on social media.
The Security Service of Ukraine said it had opened a criminal investigation into the attack, which it also called a “war crime.” The service said a Russian Kh-101 missile struck the site, according to its preliminary findings.
Martin Jaeger, the German ambassador to Ukraine, said his team visited the hospital site and saw young cancer and dialysis patients “sitting on the sidewalk with their mothers.”
“This is a war against the civilian population,” he wrote in German on social media. “This is what Russia’s readiness for negotiations and its desire for peace looks like.”
The German prime minister added in a statement that his country “stands unwaveringly by the side of the Ukrainian people. Especially in these difficult times.”
More than 400 people were busy overnight on rescue operations at the Kyiv children’s hospital and elsewhere, Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.
He said four of the 38 people killed had been children. At least 190 people were being treated for injuries across the country, he said.
“We continue our work to increase the protection of our cities and communities from Russian terror,” Zelenskyy said. “There will be decisions. The world has the necessary strength for this.”
