(TULSA, Okla.) — Tulsa Race Massacre survivors and their attorneys gathered Monday afternoon to respond to the dismissal of their lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 deadly event.
This gathering comes just days after Oklahoma Judge Caroline Wall dismissed the 2020 lawsuit “with prejudice,” meaning the ruling is a final and permanent dismissal, and the case cannot be refiled.
According to attorneys, the survivors found out from a reporter about the dismissal and are still awaiting a written order for the motion.
The 1921 massacre left 300 African Americans dead, and thousands homeless after a white mob attacked Greenwood, a town known as “Black Wall Street.” The lawsuit hoped to seek reparations for the long-term effects of the event.
Lead attorney for the lawsuit, Damario Solomon-Simmons, plans to file an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
“We know we have a conservative Supreme Court, but we believe the law and the facts are so clear, that any lawyer [and] any judge that’s actually looking at the documents will say, ‘Hey, you can let these people into court,'” he said during the Monday press conference.
The survivors and attorneys also called on the the Department of Justice and President Joe Biden to open a federal investigation into the Tulsa Race Massacre.
“Despite Tulsa and America’s attempt to silence change and gaslight the facts and truth about collective racial history and trauma, we as survivors– and all of those that believe in racial justice– we will not sit quietly or passively to allow mistruths or injustice to persist,” a statement on behalf of the three survivors of the case read.
Filed under Oklahoma’s public nuisance law, Lessie Benningfield Randle, Historic Vernon A.M.E. Church, Inc., Laurel Stradford, Ellouisa Cochrane-Price, Tedra Williams, Don M. Adams, Don W. Adams, Stephen Williams and The Tulsa African Ancestral Society were listed as plaintiffs, according to the original 2020 lawsuit.
The petition sought to “remedy the ongoing nuisance caused by the 1921 Tulsa Massacre in the Greenwood District of Tulsa and to obtain benefits unjustly received by Defendants based on the Massacre,” the lawsuit read.
Regarding the dismissal, the mayor’s office has not received Wall’s opinion on the motion nor a written order.
“The City remains committed to finding the graves of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims, fostering economic investment in the Greenwood District, educating future generations about the worst event in our community’s history and building a city where every person has an equal opportunity for a great life,” Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said in official statement.
In addition to the city of Tulsa being listed as a defendant, the lawsuit also listed the Tulsa Regional Chamber, Tulsa Development Authority, Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, Board of County Commissioners for Tulsa County, Oklahoma, Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado and the Oklahoma Military Department.
In September of 2022, a second amended complaint was filed, omitting the Tulsa Development Authority and the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission from the defendant list.
The three plaintiffs listed on the amended complaint are Randle, Viola Fletcher and Hughes Van Ellis, Sr., all Tulsa Race Massacre survivors who are over 100 years old.
Solomon-Simmons told press the appeal will include all of the plantiffs from the original lawsuit, including the three survivors.
“From the period immediately after the Massacre until the present day, Defendants actively and unreasonably, unwarrantedly, and/or unlawfully thwarted the community’s efforts to rebuild, neglecting Greenwood and predominately Black, North Tulsa communities,” the amended complaint stated. “Instead, Defendants redirected public resources, which should have been used to abate the nuisance surrounding Greenwood, to benefit the overwhelmingly white parts of Tulsa.”
The survivors and descendants of the town were never compensated by insurance companies, and resulted in financial disparities in the Tulsa community that are still present today, the lawsuit argued.
“Plaintiffs and thousands of Black Greenwood and North Tulsa residents and their descendants have experienced, and continue to experience, insecurity in their lives and property, and their sense of comfort, health and safety has been destroyed,” the lawsuit continued.
Although Wall dismissed the case, she previously ruled against the defendant’s motions to dismiss the case and allowed the case to continue.
The three survivors were not present at the Monday press conference, but Solomon-Simmons read a statement on their behalf.
“After taking our case under advisement for the better part of two years and originally permitting the case to proceed just a year ago, Judge Wall strikingly backpedaled on her prior order, permitting us, the three living survivors of the massacre, to proceed with our public nuisance litigation, seeking justice for the continuing harms of a massacre,” the statement read. “Without a doubt Judge Wall failed to review this case within the scope of well established Black letter Oklahoma law. We were forced to plead this case beyond what is required by under Oklahoma standards, which is sadly a familiar circumstance when Black Americans ask the American legal system to work for them.”
The three survivors still experience flashbacks of the event, and some “constantly relive the terror,” according to the lawsuit.
The oldest survivor, Fletcher, recently published a memoir about her life “in the shadow” of the massacre, and it will be publicly available in the upcoming weeks.
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) — A murder suspect who escaped from a Northern California medical facility on Sunday has been captured following a massive manhunt, authorities said.
Eric Abril, a suspect in Northern California hostage-taking homicide and shootout with police, was caught on Monday afternoon, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
Abril was captured at 12:45 p.m. after being spotted in a residential area in Rocklin, California, roughly 6 miles from where he escaped, law enforcement sources told ABC affiliate station KXTV in Sacramento.
Abril was one of three murder suspects to escape in separate incidents across the country between Thursday night and Sunday morning, authorities said.
More than 70 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the Rocklin Police Department, were involved in the search for Abril.
The 35-year-old Abril escaped just after 3 a.m. Sunday from a medical facility in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, where he was supposed to be under 24-hour surveillance, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
Woo said a sheriff’s deputy spotted Abril shortly after he escaped but lost him during a brief foot chase. Woo had described Abril as a “very dangerous fugitive.”
Authorities released few details on how Abril escaped while supposedly under around-the-clock guard. He bolted from the Sutter Roseville Medical Center after being taken there Thursday for an undisclosed medical issue.
Woo promised that a “thorough investigation” into Abril’s escape will include looking into whether there were any policy violations by deputies assigned to guard him.
“I know there’s a lot of questions surrounding this case, specifically, surrounding the circumstances regarding the escape. Quite frankly, I have a lot of questions as well,” Woo said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
In a statement released Monday before Abril was taken into custody, the sheriff’s department said, “We can confirm at some point, Abril was able to defeat his restraints.”
“Our preliminary investigation reveals the deputy was not asleep during the incident,” according to the statement that did not elaborate more on Abril’s escape.
The sheriff’s officials said they have already begun conducting a review of all corrections policies and procedures regarding inmate transportation, inmate supervision and security when it is necessary for inmates to be transported or housed outside our correctional facilities.
“We are taking every measure necessary to ensure all our policies and protocols are adequate and within industry standards to ensure this does not happen again,” the sheriff’s statement reads.
Abril was arrested on April 6 after he allegedly shot a California Highway Patrol officer in an ambush while wearing body armor and took two hostages at gunpoint at a Roseville park, killing one and wounding the other, according to police. He was arrested when he was injured during a shootout with law enforcement officers, authorities said.
Abril was one of three murder suspects who escaped from custody in separate incidents over a four-day period, each prompting separate large-scale manhunts in different parts of the country.
Michael Burham, a suspect in homicide and rape cases in Jamestown, New York, escaped from the Warren County, Pennsylvania, Jail late Thursday night, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. He was described by officials as a “self-taught survivalist” with military experience. He remains at large and authorities are focusing their search for him on the Northern Pennsylvania woods.
Fugitive Chadwick Shane Mobley, 42, is alleged to have absconded from authorities in Montana on Sunday while being taken to Michigan to face charges in the 2011 slaying of a 20-year-old woman found fatally shot in the basement of a relative’s home, according to officials.
Employees of a private transport company contracted by the U.S. Marshals Service were driving Mobley from the Lincoln County Jail in Libby, Montana, to Michigan on Sunday when he managed to slip out of his handcuffs and ankle shackles and bolt from custody around 10 a.m. local time at a gas station in Plains, Montana, according to the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office. He also remains at large.
(NEW YORK) — As Russia continues its nearly 16-month-long invasion of neighboring Ukraine, political turmoil has erupted in Moscow while Kyiv tries to take back territory.
A feud between Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group, and Russia’s top military brass escalated as Prigozhin’s forces left the front line in Ukraine and marched across the border to seize a key Russian city. They then marched north toward Russia’s capital, seemingly unopposed, before turning around just hours later. The short-lived rebellion was described by international observers as the most significant challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority in his more than 20 years of rule.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are in the early stages of a counteroffensive to reclaim the almost one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory that is under Russian control.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jul 10, 5:17 PM EDT
Biden to meet with Zelenskyy at NATO summit
President Joe Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania this week, an administration official told ABC News.
The meeting comes as Zelenskyy pushes for a spot in NATO, despite Biden’s public comments this weekend that he doesn’t think that’s the right move at this moment.
Biden has instead suggested a relationship similar to Israel and the U.S., with strong security commitments.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Molly Nagle
Jul 10, 4:21 PM EDT
Turkey agrees to advance Sweden’s bid to join NATO
Turkey and Sweden have reached a deal to advance the latter country’s bid to join NATO, according to NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg.
“This is an historic step which makes all #NATO Allies stronger & safer,” Stoltenberg tweeted along with a photo of him and the two leaders shaking hands.
Turkey and Sweden have agreed to work on “legitimate security concerns,” according to NATO.
Sweden has resumed arms exports with Turkey and “will present a roadmap as the basis of its continued fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” according to NATO.
The two countries agreed to set up economic cooperation through the Türkiye-Sweden Joint Economic and Trade Committee, NATO said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 10, 2:59 PM EDT
Zelenskyy previews participation in NATO summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined his agenda for the NATO summit in Vilnius in his evening address.
Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian government is “working to make the algorithm for gaining membership as clear and fast as possible.”
The president also added, in regards to the summit, “there may be good weaponry-related news.”
“The priorities are absolutely clear: air defense for our cities, for all communities throughout the country, we are working to create a full-fledged sky shield,” he said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 10, 2:12 PM EDT
7 dead after Russians bomb city during aid distribution: Officials
Russian forces hit a residential neighborhood Sunday in the Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region by a guided aerial bomb during the distribution of humanitarian aid, Ukrainian officials said.
At least seven people were killed and 11 others were injured in the blast, according to the regional military administration.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 10, 11:57 AM EDT
Russia losing an average of 400 soldiers per day: UK officials
Russian forces are suffering an average of 400 casualties daily, according to a report from the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence.
The report said that Russia is struggling with “a crisis of combat medical provision.”
“It is likely that many dedicated military hospitals are being reserved for officer casualties,” the report said.
The Ministry of Defence added that half of Russian fatalities in the last 17 months could have been prevented with proper first aid.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 10, 11:40 AM EDT
More progress made near Bakhmut: Ukraine official
Ukraine Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar released a statement Monday with updates on the ongoing counteroffensive.
Malyar said that Ukrainian forces liberated more than 14 square kilometers of territory from Russian forces last week, the majority of which came from the south.
The minister added that Russian forces are “on the defensive” in the direction of Bakhmut.
“The defense forces of Ukraine were able to capture the main heights near Bakhmut and have been holding the fortress city under fire control for several days,” Malyar said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jul 10, 6:47 AM EDT
Putin met Prigozhin after Wagner rebellion, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin days after the rogue paramilitary leader launched a failed uprising, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The June 29 meeting came about a week after the rebellion failed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“Indeed, the president had such a meeting, he invited 35 people to it — all the commanders of the detachments and the management of the company, including Prigozhin himself,” Peskov said Monday, according to Interfax, a Russian newswire. “This meeting took place in the Kremlin on June 29, it lasted almost three hours.”
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva and Joe Simonetti
Jul 04, 12:13 PM EDT
Forty-three people injured in attack on Kharkiv region, including 12 children
Russian shelling on the town of Pervomayskyi, located in the region of Kharkiv, has injured 43 people, including 12 children, Oleh Synyehubov, the head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, said .
A residential building was damaged and multiple cars were destroyed in the shelling, according to Synyehubov.
Jul 03, 5:52 PM EDT
Top Ukrainian generals say counteroffensive is ‘going to plan’
Ukrainian Armed Forces have yet to reach their “full potential,” but two top generals exclusively told ABC News the counteroffensive is “going to plan” despite concerns from Western analysts that Ukraine is not making enough progress.
Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who is leading the counteroffensive in the south, told ABC News’ chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz that the situation is “stable.”
“The main thing is that we haven’t reached our full potential,” Tarnavskiy said.
Ukrainian troops launched the counteroffensive a month ago, attacking on multiple axes on the southern frontline in Zaporizhzia using Western-supplied vehicles. Ukraine succeeded in piercing Russian lines at two points, liberating a string of villages, but has since been locked in ferocious fighting.
Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, told Raddatz that last month’s failed rebellion by the Putin-backed PMC, the Wagner Group, wouldn’t impact the fighting on the ground.
“It would be better for us if there were some negative consequences in Russia itself, but it doesn’t matter for me,” he said.
Asked if he was confident of retaking the key city of Bakhmut, Syrskyi said, “Yes, of course. I’m sure.”
Both sides have suffered heavy casualties, according to Western officials, particularly in the south where Russia has so far conducted “relatively effective defensive operations” in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia province, the U.K. Ministry of Defense reported.
“The enemy is suffering eight times or even 10 times higher losses, especially with the number of killed troops,” Syrksyi said.
At least two people were killed and 19 others injured from a Russian drone attack in northern Ukraine, the Sumy Regional Military Administration said.
An administrative building and two apartment buildings were damaged in the four drone strikes, officials said.
Four people have been hospitalized, according to officials. Two of the patients were listed in intensive care.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily evening address that the lack of air defense systems is part of the reason buildings were hit.
“The enemy is taking advantage of this,” he said.
Jul 03, 11:41 AM EDT
US ambassador to Moscow meets with detained WSJ journalist
Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Moscow, met with detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich on Monday, the ambassador’s press secretary told ABC News.
Tracy met with Wall Street Journal reporter at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison where he’s being held, according to the press secretary.
This is the second visit between Tracy and Gershkovich since his initial detention in March.
Jul 03, 11:30 AM EDT
Prigozhin releases new message
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group leader who led the rebellion in Russia, reportedly released a new message Monday, his first in a week, to a social media account with ties to the PMC.
In a short audio message posted by the Grey Zone telegram account, which is believed to be run by a Wagner member that frequently posts about events on the frontline in Ukraine, Prigozhin claimed the June 24 rebellion against Moscow was aimed at “fighting traitors and mobilizing our society.”
“I think we have achieved a lot of it. In the near future, I am sure that you will see our next victories at the front. Thanks guys,” he allegedly said.
The Wagner Group leader said “today, more than ever, we need your support.”
Jul 01, 8:39 PM EDT
Ukraine holds disaster drills amid fears Russia could sabotage Zaporizhzhia plant
Amid fears Russia might blow up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine is holding drills to prepare emergency services with how to deal with a potential radioactive disaster.
ABC News was invited to the drills in the city of Zaporizhzhia this week, about 30 miles from the plant, where firefighters in hazmat gear simulated decontaminating people from radiation during an evacuation.
Emergency workers demonstrated scanning civilians with Geiger counters as they disembarked buses, stripping some civilians and hosing them with water as they lay on stretchers. Firefighters in yellow suits sprayed down vehicles and moved them through a large washer system rigged up between fire trucks.
This week, Ukraine’s chief of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, claimed Russia had now completed preparation to potentially sabotage the plant if it chooses.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Jul 01, 4:46 PM EDT
CIA director says mutiny shows ‘corrosive effect’ of Putin’s war
CIA Director Bill Burns said Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny showed the “corrosive effect” of President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine during remarks in England on Saturday.
“It is striking that Prigozhin preceded his actions with a scathing indictment of the Kremlin’s mendacious rationale for its invasion of Ukraine, and of the Russian military leadership’s conduct of the war,” Burns said during a lecture to Britain’s Ditchley Foundation. “The impact of those words and those actions will play out for some time, a vivid reminder of the corrosive effect of Putin’s war on his own society and his own regime.”
Burns, who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, also noted how Russian disaffection will gnaw away at the Kremlin and that the CIA is taking this opportunity to step up its recruitment efforts in Russia.
“Disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership, beneath the steady diet of state propaganda and practiced repression,” Burns said. “That disaffection creates a once-in-a generation opportunity for us at CIA, at our core a human intelligence service. We’re not letting it go to waste.”
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
Jun 30, 5:45 PM EDT
Too early to tell impact of mutiny on Putin: Gen. Milley
Gen. Mark Milley, the U.S. military’s top general, told reporters Friday that it’s likely too early to tell the impact of the Wagner Group mutiny on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We want to know the answer to that question,” Milley said when asked at the National Press Club if Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny had left Putin weakened. “I don’t think we have evidence, conclusive evidence, either way, yet too early to tell.”
Milley acknowledged that Ukraine’s counteroffensive is making steady progress, but moving slowly — something he said was not surprising given how tough of a fight it is.
“At the end of the day, Ukrainian soldiers are assaulting through minefields and in the trenches, and this is literally a fight for their life. So yes, sure, it goes a little slow, but that is part of the nature of war,” Milley said.
He also noted that the U.S. is considering sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, though no decision has been made.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jun 29, 4:36 PM EDT
Russian Gen. Surovikin detained, US official says
Russian Gen. Sergei Surovikin has apparently been detained, according to a U.S. official. Other details about his status are unclear.
The development follows reports from a senior U.S. official on Wednesday that Surovikin had engaged in discussions with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin about his plans to mutiny.
Prigozhin is now exiled in Belarus.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jun 29, 2:56 PM EDT
Pence makes surprise trip to Ukraine
Former Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise trip to Ukraine on Thursday, projecting solidarity against Russia in a way, so far, unmatched by his Republican competitors in the 2024 presidential campaign.
“As I made clear to President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy today, when I return home, whatever the future holds for me and my family, we’re gonna stand for freedom,” Pence told reporters. “And I’ll do my part to make sure that America continues to stand for the courageous fighters here in Ukraine that are fighting to reclaim their freedom.”
Pence visited the sites of atrocities in the early phase of the war, in Irpin and Bucha, among other stops, before meeting with Zelenskyy inside the presidential palace in the capital of Kyiv.
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey and Guy Davies
Jun 29, 2:41 PM EDT
Ukraine sees ‘largest deterioration’ of peace worldwide: Report
Ukraine recorded the “largest deterioration” of peace worldwide in the latest global peace report from the international think tank Institute for Economics & Peace.
“The war in Ukraine had a significant impact on global peacefulness, with Ukraine and Russia having the largest and fifth largest deteriorations in peacefulness respectively,” the report stated.
Since last year’s report, Ukraine fell 14 places to 157th among the 163 countries covered by the report. Due to the conflict, 65% of men in Ukraine ages 20-24 have fled the country or died, according to the report.
-ABC News’ Emma Ogao
Jun 29, 12:45 AM EDT
Suspect accused of helping Russia direct missile strike arrested
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Wednesday the Security Service of Ukraine and the police arrested a suspect who they say coordinated with Russian forces in Tuesday’s missile attack on Kramatorsk, a city in the Donetsk region.
The missiles struck a popular pizzeria and killed 12 people, including three children. More than 60 people were injured, the president said in a public address.
The unidentified “spotter” was charged with treason, according to Zelenskyy.
“Anyone in the world who does not understand that one cannot be an accomplice of a terrorist state must be held accountable by the entire international community,” he said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jun 27, 10:56 PM EDT
Prigozhin thought he would have help from Russian military: Senior US official
A senior U.S. official tells ABC News that Yevgeny Prigozhin thought he would have help from the Russian military.
Both former Russian military officers and some others in Moscow had conversations with Prigozhin before he started his march, the official said.
The U.S. doesn’t believe Russian President Vladimir Putin realized this beforehand, and the officers sided with Putin in the end, the official said.
According to the official, Prigozhin was shocked he didn’t have support.
-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz
Jun 27, 9:43 PM EDT
Russian missiles strike Donetsk city
Two Russian missiles struck Kramatorsk, a city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, killing at least four people, according to officials.
At least 47 people were injured in the attack, but the death and injury toll could rise.
One of the deceased victims was a 15-year-old and one of the wounded victims was a child under a year-old, officials said.
One missile struck an eatery downtown and the other one hit the outskirts of the city, Andriy Yermak the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office said.
A restaurant and a hotel were badly damaged as a result of the strikes, according to officials.
Crews continued to dig through the rubble to search for victims throughout the evening.
“Each such manifestation of terror proves over and over again to us and to the whole world that Russia deserves only one thing as a result of everything it has done – defeat and a tribunal, fair and legal trials against all Russian murderers and terrorists,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko and Ellie Kaufman
Jun 27, 5:55 PM EDT
Russian missiles strike Donetsk city
Two Russian missiles struck Kramatorsk, a city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, killing at least four people, according to officials.
At least 47 people were injured in the attack, but the death and injury toll could rise.
One of the deceased victims was a 15-year-old and one of the wounded victims was a child under a year-old, officials said.
One missile struck an eatery downtown and the other one hit the outskirts of the city, Andriy Yermak the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office said.
A restaurant and a hotel were badly damaged as a result of the strikes, according to officials.
Crews continued to dig through the rubble to search for victims throughout the evening.
“Each such manifestation of terror proves over and over again to us and to the whole world that Russia deserves only one thing as a result of everything it has done – defeat and a tribunal, fair and legal trials against all Russian murderers and terrorists,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko and Ellie Kaufman
Jun 27, 2:33 PM EDT
US sanctions alleged illicit gold companies funding Wagner Group
The U.S. announced additional sanctions targeting the Wagner Group, specifically going after gold companies and a Russian man it says are illicitly funding the Wagner Group’s operations in Ukraine and Africa.
Central African Republic based companies Midas Resources SARLU and Diamville SAU, Dubai based company Industrial Resources General Trading and Russia based company Limited Liability Company, re connected to Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is already subject to U.S. sanctions along with numerous other entities linked to the Wagner Group, according to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov, a Russian national, and an executive in the Wagner Group, allegedly worked closely with Prigozhin’s entity Africa Politology and senior Malian government officials on weapons deals, mining concerns, and other Wagner Group activities in Mali, OFAC said.
“The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali,” Brian Nelson, the U.S. under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a written statement. “The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group’s revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine, and anywhere else.”
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Jun 27, 2:19 PM EDT
Ukraine has recaptured 300 sq km so far: UK minister
Ukraine has recaptured approximately 300 square kilometers during the summer counteroffensive so far, United Kingdom Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Tuesday.
The gains represent more territory than Russia seized during its winter offensive in 2022, Wallace told Parliament.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Jun 27, 1:31 PM EDT
Belarus president talks about Wagner negotiations
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko provided more details about his alleged role in negotiations between Wager Group leader’s Yevgeny Prigozhin and Russian President Vladimir Putin following the PMC’s rebellion.
Lukashenko claimed Prigozhin abandoned his demands, including the resignation of Shoigu, after they talked.
“[Prigozhin] told me ‘Alexander Grigoryevich, I will not demand from the president that he give up Shoigu and Gerasimov, and I will not even ask for a meeting,’ I say, ‘Well, that’s good. This is a very good move,'” Lukashenko claimed.
Lukashenko said that Wagner forces could join the Belarusian army but said that he won’t built camps for Wagner’s troops in his country.
“We don’t need to open any Wagner recruitment points,” he said.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Jun 27, 12:22 PM EDT
Belarus president says Prigozhin arrived in the country Tuesday
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said on state media Tuesday that Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin arrived in his country earlier in the day.
Lukashenko claimed on state media that “security guarantees” Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to Prigozhin were provided.
“Yes, indeed, he is in Belarus today. As I promised, if you want to stay with us for a while and so on, we will help you,” Lukashenko said.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule and Tanya Stukalova
Jun 27, 11:10 AM EDT
Ukraine makes gain on occupied bank across from Kherson
Ukrainian troops have reportedly seized a small village on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of Dneipr after crossing the river from the liberated city of Kherson, according to Russian accounts on Tuesday.
A small Ukrainian force has managed to dig in to the village of Dachi after making a landing there a few days ago and are trying to expand the beachhead. Ukrainian troops in small boats crossed the river and landed at the base of the ruined Antonivskiy Bridge, which they destroyed last year.
Russian military bloggers reported very heavy fighting on Tuesday, saying Russian airborne units have been trying unsuccessfully to dislodge the Ukrainians for the past four days. Russian aviation and heavy artillery have been firing on the Ukrainian position.
So far, the Russian side claims some 70 Ukrainian soldiers are dug in, covered by intense artillery fire from across the river. The Russian accounts say Ukraine is trying to move reinforcements across. Video released by Ukraine also shows a Russian APC being destroyed in the village of Oleshkjy, further south, indicating the bank south of Kherson is now contested.
Ukrainian troops have also managed to advance and liberate Rivnopil, a village on the Zaporozhzhia front, breaking through after more than two weeks of fighting. It’s notable because the Russians had been fighting hard to hold it.
Taken together the advance there, the landing in Kherson and advances near Bakhmut are small signs the Ukrainian counteroffensive may be starting to pick up steam and the Russians are coming under growing pressure.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Jun 27, 6:39 AM EDT
Military stopped ‘civil war,’ Putin says
The Russian military and security forces stopped what could have become a “civil war,” President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
“The Russian military in a difficult hour for the country stood in the way of turmoil, the result of which would be chaos,” Putin said at an event for military units, adding that “the military and law enforcement officers of the Russian Federation actually stopped the civil war.”
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who the Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s had sought to have replaced, was present at Tuesday’s ceremony.
Jun 27, 5:15 AM EDT
Belarus was ‘combat’ ready during rebellion, president says
The military in Belarus was ordered to “full combat readiness” during the Wagner Group’s rebellion in neighboring Russia, President Alexander Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was said to have helped broker a deal to halt the choatic rebellion by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
“I will not hide, it was painful to watch the events that took place in the south of Russia,” Lukashenko said Tuesday during brief remarks before a military presentation. “Not only me. Many of our citizens took them to heart. Because the fatherland is one.”
The fatherland comment appeared to allude to Lukashenko’s longstanding belief that Russia and Belarus share a special bond.
He added, “I gave all orders to bring the army to full combat readiness.”
Jun 27, 5:01 AM EDT
Russia closes case against Wagner Group leader
The Russian Federal Security Service on Tuesday dropped the criminal case investigating the rebellion by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his forces.
The FSB said it closed the case because it has been established that participants stopped actions directly aimed at committing a crime.
Jun 26, 6:28 PM EDT
US to announce 500M in military aid to Ukraine, official says
The U.S. will announce another military aid package for Ukraine Tuesday, a U.S. official told ABC News.
The $500 million aid package will include 30 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, 25 Stryker armored vehicles, missiles for the HIMARS system and the Patriot air defense system, TOW missiles, Javelins and more ammunition for artillery, according to the official.
This will be the 41st aid package under the Presidential Drawdown Authority that allows the transfer of weapons from U.S. military stockpiles to Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jun 26, 3:42 PM EDT
Putin expresses defiance against attempted Wagner rebellion
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his first public remarks after the Wagner Group attempted to march to Moscow and overthrow the government.
In a pre-recorded video statement, Putin thanked the Russians for their endurance, solidarity and patriotism during the ordeal and claimed that any blackmail attempt was doomed to fail.
Putin said an armed rebellion would have been suppressed.
“The organizers of the rebellion, betraying their country, their people, betrayed those who were drawn into the crime. They lied to them, pushed them to death, under fire, to shoot at their own,” Putin said.
The Russian president noted that the majority of Wagner fighters were “patriots.”
“I thank those soldiers and commanders of the Wagner Group who made the only right decision,” Putin said. “They did not go to fratricidal bloodshed, they stopped at the last line.”
Putin offered Wagner Group members who participated in the rebellion the option of joining the defense ministry or other law enforcement agencies or returning home.
Jun 26, 12:52 PM EDT
Biden says US, NATO not involved in Wagner rebellion
President Joe Biden spoke out addressed the Wagner Group’s actions over the weekend.
He said the U.S. and its allies convened on Friday when the rebellion began.
“They agreed with me that we had to make sure we gave Putin no excuse, let me emphasize, gave Putin no excuse to blame this on the West or to blame this on NATO,” Biden said at a news conference at the White House.
The president added that the incident was “part of a struggle within the Russian system.”
-ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler
Jun 26, 12:44 PM EDT
European leaders respond to Wagner attempted rebellion
The European Union Foreign Affairs Council met Monday and discussed the attempted rebellion by the Wagner paramilitary group over the weekend.
Josep Borrell, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, told reporters at a news conference after the meeting that “the situation remains complex and unpredictable” and 27 EU states are remaining vigilant.
U.K. Foreign Minister James Cleverly released a statement Monday claiming the “Russian government’s lies have been exposed by one of President Putin’s own henchmen.”
“Prigozhin’s rebellion is an unprecedented challenge to President Putin’s authority, and it is clear that cracks are emerging in the Russian support for the war,” he said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Jun 26, 12:18 PM EDT
‘We had no goal of overthrowing’ the government: Prigozhin
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin released an 11-minute recording Monday explaining why his troops reversed course on their campaign against Moscow over the weekend.
Prigozhin said the purpose of the “march” was to prevent losses of his troops “and to bring justice to all persons who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during” the war in Ukraine.
“We had no goal of overthrowing the regime,” he added, referring to Putin’s government.
Prigozhin said that the march escalated after their convoy was hit by a missile attack from Russian forces.
Prigozhin said that the marched stopped when his troops approached “Moscow deployed artillery.”
“We did not want to shed Russian blood. We went to demonstrate our protest and not to overthrow the government in the country,” he said.
He claimed that several of his troops were wounded and two were killed.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Natalia Shumskaia and Tanya Stukalova
Jun 26, 5:47 AM EDT
Ukrainian forces appear to cross river into occupied Kherson
The Ukrainian military has landed troops on the Russian-held eastern bank of the Dnipro River across from the city of Kherson, according to Russian reports.
Media posted online by pro-Russian accounts suggested small boatloads of Ukrainian soldiers have managed to establish a small beachhead at the foot of the destroyed Antonivskiy Road Bridge that spanned the river before Ukraine brought it down last year.
The size of the Ukrainian force on the bank is unclear, but Russian accounts suggested it was relatively small.
Some Russian accounts posted dramatic video showing fighting on the eastern bank, including what appears to be a Russian armored vehicle firing intensively at Ukrainian soldiers as it recovers Russian wounded.
The video was undated but Russian reports suggested around several dozen Ukrainian troops landed on June 24 and Russian airborne units have been trying to dislodge them since.
Another video shows a small boat carrying perhaps a dozen Ukrainian soldiers landing by the ruined bridge, coming under shell fire.
The Russian military blogger account, Two Majors, reported a small group of Ukrainian soldiers had succeeded in digging in around the bridge. It noted Russian forces had been forced to pull back to a distance from the bank because their positions had been flooded after the Kakhovka dam was blown up earlier this month.
Russian military bloggers said Russian aircraft and artillery were firing on the Ukrainians Monday.
If Ukraine is able to keep hold of its foothold, it will put further pressure on Russia’s forces in the south, already battling to hold back Ukraine’s counteroffensive on the Zaporizhzhia front.
In the wake of Saturday’s short-lived attempted rebellion against the Kremlin by the Wagner private military company, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled oligarch considered one of Putin’s best-known opponents, told ABC News he supports the mutiny and encourages Russians to back the leader of the mercenary group.
Once Russia’s richest man, Khodorkovsky, a Putin opposition activist, spent 10 years imprisoned after he challenged Putin, his case now considered a foundational moment for Putin’s regime.
When Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters marched on Moscow Saturday before making a sudden about-face, Khodorkovsky was notable among Russia’s pro-democracy opposition in calling on people to support Prigozhin, arguing that allowing him to remove Putin would create an opportunity for the democrats.
Khodorkovsky told ABC News he believed Prigozhin’s actions were a real coup attempt and that it had “seriously undermined” Putin’s power. He predicted that similar opportunities to collapse the regime will be launched soon.
“The blow to Putin’s reputation, to the authorities’ reputation, was absolutely fantastical,” Khodorkovsky said. “Putin’s government today is, without a doubt, strongly undermined by what happened — his authority, his ability to control the security services is seriously undermined.”
Khodorkovsky said Prigozhin’s march on Moscow had undermined Putin’s popularity, showing neither ordinary Russians nor the security services were prepared to act to protect him.
“Along the entire route of Wagner’s columns, no one in any way tried to hinder him (Prigozhin). Even the security forces did not try to stop him,” Khodorkovsky said. “It showed that, in fact, inside the country, Putin has an absolute void.”
Khodorkovsky said he did not support Prigozhin himself — considering him a “war criminal” — but that the democratic opposition should have sought to help him overthrow Putin, and then taken power from him after.
Khodorkovsky criticized other parts of the anti-Kremlin opposition who attacked him for calling on people to assist Prigozhin, saying he believed the opposition had “slept through” the opportunity and suggesting it should have sought to stage a rebellion in Moscow at the same time.
“There will definitely now be more such opportunities because of Putin’s weakening. But the next time we need to simply be more ready,” said Khodorkovsky, who is living in exile in England. “If an uprising had started in Moscow to meet Prigozhin then a situation could have developed quite differently.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Jun 24, 6:53 PM EDT
US official says it’s a ‘mystery’ why Prigozhin stopped march to Moscow
A senior U.S. official says it is a mystery as to why Yevgeny Prigozhin stopped his march to Moscow given that he was seemingly in a dominant position.
The official said he was greeted as a hero in Rostov-on-Don. However, the senior official told ABC News that Prigozhin is in an “emotional state,” and perhaps did it because he thought this would destroy Russia, or because he glimpsed his own end. It is impossible to tell whether Prigozhin thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin will actually honor their deal which included allowing Wagner group soldiers to be folded into the Russian military.
The official said that Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was very effective, telling Prigozhin and Putin that this was all a misunderstanding and that they are both patriots and aligned for the same goals.
Putin is said to be completely shocked by how fast Wagner Group moved through Russia. For now, he is just trying to secure his position. He does not want to be seen negotiating over his defense minister, but the official says the U.S. believes concessions were made over Sergei Shoigu’s future as well as others.
-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz
Jun 25, 3:56 AM EDT
Moscow highway restrictions remain, Russian media reports
Travel restrictions remained in place on Sunday on the major M-4 highway near Moscow, according to Russia’s state-run media.
“According to the previously issued regional decisions, traffic restrictions remain in force on the M-4 Don highway near the Moscow Region and the Tula Region,” the federal road agency said, according to TASS.
The security checkpoints had been put in place Saturday as a column of Wagner Group forces traveled toward Moscow. Roadblocks in southern Russia, including in Rostov-on-Don and the Krasnodar Region, were reportedly lifted.
“All previously imposed restrictions on highways have been lifted,” TASS reported, citing a branch of the Russian Interior Ministry.
-ABC News’ KJ Edelman
Jun 24, 10:20 PM EDT
‘Gang of 8’ briefed about Wagner Group movements
Senior congressional leaders were briefed about the ongoing situation in Russia, according to a congressional aide.
U.S. intelligence officials told the so-called “Gang of Eight” — the top Republicans and Democrats currently in congressional leadership– in recent days about potentially concerning movements of Wagner Group forces and equipment build-ups near Russia. However, it was unclear to U.S. intelligence what was going to happen and when.
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
Jun 24, 5:18 PM EDT
Blinken holds call with Turkish counterpart for ‘ongoing situation in Russia’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss the ongoing situation in Russia.
“Secretary Blinken reiterated that U.S. support for Ukraine will not change. The United States will stay in close coordination with Allies and partners as the situation develops,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Blinken also spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday to discuss the situation in Russia, Miller said. Blinken reiterated that support by the U.S. for Ukraine will not change.
The U.S. will stay in close coordination with Ukraine as the situation develops.
-ABC News Shannon K. Crawford
Jun 24, 4:45 PM EDT
Wagner chief will not be prosecuted, Kremlin says
Yevgeny Prigozhin will go to Belarus to ease tensions and the fighters of PMC Wagner Group who took part in the so-called “campaign” against Moscow will not be prosecuted, the Kremlin said Saturday evening.
The rest will be able to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense, the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“In the end, we managed to resolve this situation without further losses, without raising the level of tension,” Peskov said.
“An agreement was reached that PMC Wagner would return to their camps,” he added.
Jun 24, 2:55 PM EDT
Wagner Group chief orders mercenaries to halt march on Moscow
The Wagner Group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he has ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow and return to their field camps, saying he wants to avoid shedding Russian blood.
Prigozhin made the announcement in an audio message posted on his Telegram channel.
Russian state media has shown Wagner fighters packing up and reportedly leaving Rostov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and thanked him for his efforts de-escalating the situation.
Jun 24, 1:12 PM EDT
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cancels trip to Israel, Jordan due to situation in Russia
Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has canceled his planned trip to Israel and Jordan due to the situation in Russia. The trip was to have begun Saturday.
Milley also spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
“They discussed the unprovoked and ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and exchanged perspectives and assessments. The Chairman reaffirmed unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to Joint Staff spokesperson Col. Dave Butler.
The Pentagon said Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is monitoring the ongoing situation in Russia and will continue to be briefed on any significant developments.
Jun 24, 12:47 PM EDT
Moscow suspends schools, events until July 1
Andrey Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, has suspended mass events outdoors and at educational institutions until July 1.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin urged residents to refrain from traveling around the city. Monday was also declared a non-working day for the city. Sobyanin said that a counter-terrorism regime was declared in Moscow and that the situation was difficult.
Jun 24, 12:34 PM EDT
Biden speaks with leaders of France, Germany, UK about ‘situation in Russia’
President Joe Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about the developments in Russia.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also briefed by their national security team on the developments in Russia and will continue to receive updates throughout the day, the White House said Saturday.
Jun 24, 10:11 AM EDT
Wagner troop column 300 miles south of Moscow, Russian media says
The governor of the Lipetsk region, which is about 300 miles south of Moscow, said a column of Wagner troops has been spotted in the region, Russian state media reports.
Jun 24, 9:15 AM EDT
What is the Wagner Group?
The Wagner Group is a private military organization run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with tens of thousands of fighters, according to U.S. officials.
Earlier this year, the U.S. labeled the group a “significant transnational criminal organization” and levied new sanctions, while human rights observers this week said they suspected Wagner fighters were linked to the mass killing of people in Mali last year.
Government reports, statements from U.S. officials and insights from experts, as well as other sources, shed light on the Wagner group’s history and goals, its alleged wrongdoings and its importance to Russia — in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world.
Jun 24, 7:24 AM EDT
NATO monitoring Russian situation, official says
A NATO representative said the alliance was watching what was happening in Russia on Saturday.
“We are monitoring the situation,” spokesperson Oana Lungescu said.
Jun 24, 6:31 AM EDT
‘Operational combat’ underway north of Rostov, official says
A governor of the Voronezh region, about 300 miles south of Moscow, says Russia’s armed forces are conducting “operational combat operations” there as part of “counter terrorism operation.”
Earlier the region’s government reported a column of Wagner Group fighters was moving through the region, an area between Rostov-on-Don and Moscow.
“In the bounds of the counterterrorist operation on the territory of the Voronezh region, the armed forces of the Russian Federation are conducting necessary operational combat operations,” the official said. “We will inform further about the development of the situation.”
Jun 24, 6:03 AM EDT
Russia in ‘so much chaos that no lie can hide it,’ Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia appeared to be suffering “full-scale weakness” after the Wagner Group mercenaries said they’d taken hold of a key Russian city.
“Russia used propaganda to mask its weakness and the stupidity of its government. And now there is so much chaos that no lie can hide it,” he said on Twitter.
Jun 24, 5:47 AM EDT
Prigozhin responds to Putin, says Wagner not going to surrender
The Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calling him a “traitor,” by saying he will not surrender or turn back.
“Putin was deeply mistaken about the betrayal. We are patriots of our homeland, we fought and are fighting,” Prighozin said in an audio message. “No one is going to turn around at the request of the president, the FSB or anyone else, because we do not want the country to live longer in corruption, deception and bureaucracy.”
Prigozhin accused Russia’s military of targeting a Wagner column with helicopters and jets.
Jun 24, 5:37 AM EDT
Chechen leader backs Putin, says forces moving into ‘zones of tension’
The powerful head of Chechnya, the semi-independent Russian region, Ramzan Kadyrov, said on Saturday he supported President Vladimir Putin.
Kadyrov saiud he fully backs Putin and called Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s actions “treacherous.”
Kadyrov has tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters. He said his forces are already moving to “zones of tension.”
It raises prospect of Chechen forces fighting with Wagner Group troops.
Kadyrov has previously been friendly with Prigozhin — his coming out in support of Putin is a boost for Putin, but also raises prospect of serious clashes in Russia.
Jun 24, 5:27 AM EDT
Next 48 hours ‘will define’ Russia, Zelenskyy advisor says
Russian leaders are “now choosing which side they are on,” an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday.
“The next 48 hours will define the new status of Russia,” Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter. “Either a full-fledged Civil War, or a negotiated Transit of Power, or a temporary respite before the next phase of the downfall of the Putin regime.”
He added, “A deafening ‘elite’ silence is in Russia so far…”
Jun 24, 3:52 AM EDT
Uprising ‘significant challenge’ to Russian state, UK says
Members of the mercenary Wagner Group have begun moving north “almost certainly aiming to get to Moscow,” in what amounts to the “most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.
“Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how the crisis plays out,” the ministry said on Twitter.
Jun 24, 3:25 AM EDT
Putin: Wagner Group moves are ‘stab in the back’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said moves taken by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime ally, to bring his troops into a key Russian city amounted to a “stab in the back.”
Putin didn’t mention Prigozhin by name, but said that “necessary orders have been given” to defend Russia in a recorded address aired on Russian television on Saturday.
“Actions that divide our unity are in essence defeatism before one’s own people,” he said. “This is a stab in the back of our country and our people.”
Jun 24, 3:12 AM EDT
Kremlin briefs Putin on ‘attempted armed rebellion’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed by the country’s security agencies about what was referred to as an “attempted armed rebellion,” according to Russia’s state-run media.
The late-night statement from Putin’s spokesman suggested that the Kremlin considered Wagner Group’s move into Rostov-on-Don, a key Russian city close to the border with Ukraine, to be a “rebellion.”
Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in an audio message on Friday claimed his forces would now punish Russia’s defense minister and chief of general staff, telling other units to stand down and not offer resistance.
“Special services, law enforcement agencies, namely the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rosgvardiya, in round-the-clock mode, constantly report to the president on the measures taken in the context of the implementation of the instructions previously given to him,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.
Jun 24, 2:42 AM EDT
Wagner Group claims control over Rostov military facilities, airport
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, said on Saturday that the headquarters of the Southern Military District and all military facilities in Rostov-on-Don were under his control.
Prigozhin in a video demanded that Kremlin bring him Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Sergei Shoigu.
He also threatened in the video that he would go to Moscow.
“We will destroy anyone who stands in our way,” he said in one of a series of video and audio recordings posted on social media.
He added, “We are moving forward and will go until the end.”
(VILNIUS, Lithuania) — Turkey is dropping its opposition to Sweden’s bid to join NATO, a big development on the eve of the alliance’s 74th annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The announcement was applauded by President Joe Biden and comes a day after he spoke with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about U.S. F-16s for Ankara, although any direct connection was unclear.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Monday an agreement was reached between him, Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Stoltenberg called it a “historic step” that will strengthen NATO allies.
Biden, who was vocal in supporting Sweden’s membership, was quick to celebrate the breakthrough.
“I welcome the statement issued by Türkiye, Sweden and the NATO Secretary General this evening, including the commitment by President Erdogan to transmit the Accession Protocol for Sweden to Türkiye’s Grand National Assembly for swift ratification,” Biden said in a statement.
“I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and Türkiye on enhancing defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area,” he continued. “I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO Ally. And I thank Secretary General Stoltenberg for his steadfast leadership.”
According to a press statement from NATO, Erdogan agreed to quickly send Sweden’s accession protocol to Parliament in exchange for new commitments on terrorism and economic cooperation, including the establishment of a special coordinator for counter-terrorism within NATO.
The Nordic nation’s bid also faced opposition from Hungary. Unanimous approval from all member nations is needed in order to join the organization.
Stoltenberg said Monday Hungary has made it clear it will not to be the last to ratify Sweden’s application, and believes “that the problem will be solved.”
Biden pushed for Sweden to be part of the alliance in an Oval Office meeting with Kristersson last week.
“The United States fully, fully, fully supports Sweden’s membership in NATO,” Biden told the prime minister. “And the bottom line is simple: Sweden is going to make our alliance stronger and has the same value set that we have in NATO. And I’m really anxiously looking forward for your membership.”
The president also conveyed his desire for Sweden’s bid to be approved in a call with Erdogan on Sunday, the White House said.
The two leaders also discussed the delivery of American F-16 fighter jets to Turkey during the call, which lasted 45 minutes to an hour, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
Sullivan didn’t provide a direct answer when asked if Biden’s willingness to provide the equipment was a quid pro quo in exchange for Turkey allowing Sweden to join NATO.
“President Biden has been clear, consistently, that he believes that for the alliance and for the U.S.-Türkiye bilateral relationship moving forward with the sale makes sense. It’s in our interest,” Sullivan said. “He also believes that Sweden becoming a member of NATO is very much in our interests. And we should do both of these things. And doing both of these things would give real impetus and momentum to NATO and to the bilateral relationship between the US and Türkiye.”
Biden arrived in Lithuania on Monday after a stop in London, where he met with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III. He and Erdogan are slated to meet on Tuesday morning in Vilnius.
The NATO summit is expected to center on continued aid for Ukraine as its launched its counteroffensive against Russian invaders.
-ABC’s Fritz Farrow and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Gen. David Berger stepped down as commandant of the Marine Corps Monday, but had no permanent successor to hand off to, leaving the service without a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time since 1910.
The lapse in command is because Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is blocking senior military nominations in protest of a Pentagon abortion policy.
“I know that everyone here is looking forward to the rapid confirmation of a distinguished successor to Gen. Berger,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during what was called a “relinquishment of command” instead of a “change of command” ceremony. “It’s been more than a century since the U.S. Marine Corps has operated without a Senate-confirmed commandant.”
For now, President Joe Biden’s pick to be the Marines’ new service chief, Gen. Eric Smith, will step in as acting commandant. Smith will have to balance his new responsibilities with those of his current role as assistant commandant until he is confirmed.
Speaking after Austin at the Washington, D.C., Marine Barracks, Berger implored the Senate to confirm his successor, but did not appeal to Tuberville by name.
“I’m with you, Mr. Secretary. We need the Senate to do their job so that we can have a sitting commandant that’s appointed and confirmed. We need that house to be occupied,” he said, gesturing to the commandant’s residence.
In December 2022, Tuberville pledged to block all senior military and civilian Department of Defense nominations over a new Pentagon policy that covers the travel costs of service members seeking abortions in states outside of where they are stationed if they are based in a state that bans the procedure.
Before the policy was implemented, Tuberville concluded a letter to Austin saying, “it is my conviction that this proposed policy change is illegal, circumvents Congress, and exceeds your authority.”
“Hundreds of well-qualified military leaders are now being held up by Sen. Tuberville,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday.
As of Friday, 265 nominations have been impeded, according to Singh.
Tuberville’s efforts could also slow the nomination of America’s next top military officer.
Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Biden’s pick to replace Gen. Mark Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will face Tuberville and the other members of the Senate Armed Services Committee at a confirmation hearing Tuesday. If Tuberville doesn’t relent or if no workaround is exercised by the time Milley retires at the end of September, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will step up in an acting capacity.
As a result of the delays, the DOD is asking some officers to delay retirement, and asking others to assume more senior duties without being promoted, meaning they will not see a corresponding pay increase until confirmed by the Senate, according to Singh.
Tuberville’s tactic has been met with criticism not just from the Biden administration and Senate Democrats, but members of his own party. In May, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, “No, I do not support putting a hold on military nominations.”
“The longer these unprecedented holds remain, the greater risks the department runs in experiencing knowledge and expertise gaps in certain critical and often difficult to fill positions, and the downstream effects will continue to impact the readiness of the force,” Singh said. “We urge Sen. Tuberville to lift his hold, and urge the Senate to confirm these exceptional general and flag officers.”
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge should consider holding New York City and its Department of Correction in contempt for failing to adequately address security, management and discipline at the problem-plagued Rikers Island jail complex, a court-appointed monitor recommended Monday in a new report.
The recommendation followed the monitor’s conclusion “that the risk of harm in the jails remains grave and that the jails remain patently unsafe” after a year of “unprecedented rates of use of force and violence.”
“Real harm is occurring to real people in real time, and that cautious optimism that meaningful change can occur in this system has significantly diminished given the current climate of regression in key areas and the lack of sustained progress in others coupled with an increasing and troubling lack of transparency,” the report said.
The report said that “some progress has been made” since a monitor was appointed in 2014 but it also said court-ordered reforms “remain incomplete or have not been addressed,” leaving “no meaningful relief for people in custody or staff from the violence and the unnecessary and excessive use of force.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has argued it should retain control of Rikers. A federal judge is considering whether the federal government should take it over.
The mayor’s office didn’t immediately issue a statement about the monitor’s report.
The dynamics at Rikers have changed since the monitor was installed. COVID-19 triggered a staffing crisis and New York’s bail reform law changed the composition of the incarcerated population.
Individuals with less serious offenses are generally no longer held pending trial, resulting in a heavier concentration of violent offenders.
Still, the monitor found there is a “pervasive, imminent risk of harm to both people in custody and staff,” citing “extraordinarily high” rates of use of force, stabbings and slashings, fights, assaults on staff, and in-custody deaths.
Staff members are deploying head strikes, chokeholds, kicks and body slams, the monitor said.
The report included security camera images that captured instances of what the monitor called an “apathetic approach to basic security,” including when staff cede control of a housing unit to the inmates.
One image showed a prison officer watching a fight among inmates from a stairwell.
(NASH COUNTY, N.C.) — A routine traffic stop in North Carolina may have prevented a case of child trafficking, according to police.
Deputies with the Nash County Police Department arrested Alejandro Hernandez Vazquez, 40, after realizing his 16-year-old female passenger had been reported missing by Florida’s Coral Springs Police Department only five hours earlier.
“It was not like she was bound in the car and things of that nature, but you know, it’s a young 16-year-old and a grown man, and he’s manipulated her and carried her across this country,” Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone told ABC affiliate WTVD. “This is a true case of child trafficking.”
Deputies initially pulled over Alejandro Hernandez Vazquez at midnight on July 4 after he committed a traffic violation in a 2016 Audi SUV on Interstate 95. The release noted that the deputies “developed reasonable suspicion to believe that criminal activity was afoot” after asking a series of routine questions.
Deputies later learned that Vazquez’s 16-year-old female passenger was reported missing by her family five hours earlier, according to the release. Officers also recovered two THC vape pens in the car’s driver door and center console.
“The suspect was not known to the family, nor did he have permission to transport the juvenile across state lines,” police said.
Stone added that the teen appeared to be traveling willfully with Vazquez.
Children account for over 30% of the missing persons in the United States, with 337,195 reports of missing young people entered into the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center in 2021.
The 16-year-old was transported to Wake County Juvenile Detention Center to be picked up by her family, while Vazquez was taken into custody at the Nash County Detention Center where he was held on a $500,000 secured bond.
Vazquez was charged with abduction of child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, felony possession of a synthetic cannabinoid, and possession of marijuana paraphernalia, according to the Nash County Sheriff’s Office.
His next court appearance is scheduled for July 20.
(NEW YORK) — A few moments after Idlewild Creek began to rise on Sunday, the first wave of murky water washed into the ground floor of Kristine Schmidt’s blue-and-white house.
Moments later, she saw her neighbors swept away in their SUV, Schmidt told ABC News on Monday. Fire trucks arrived and pulled their car out of the creek, she said.
As the floodwater receded from her home in Cornwall, New York, it left a trail of a thick mud in its wake. Outside her home, potted plants had been knocked over and grass had been uprooted. Inside, amid the ruins of her living room and kitchen, a bookshelf and fridge lay on their sides.
“We’re all heartbroken,” she said.
The flooding in Cornwall, in Orange County, came as heavy rain drenched much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Sunday, prompting flash flood alerts in parts of New York.
As much as 8 inches of rain fell in some areas and at least one person was killed in the storm in Orange County, New York.
Areas in New York counties including Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester were under flash flood warnings into the early hours of Monday.
“Last night was complete chaos,” Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Monday.
Members of his staff were working to contact people throughout the county on Monday morning, he said, adding that roads and bridges were washed out by the storm. His staff was attempting to reopen “major arteries” throughout the area, he said.
Everyone who had reported an issue appeared to have been accounted for, “but there are some people who could have been swept away,” Neuhaus said.
There’s significant damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure in Orange County, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
“Orange County experienced a 1-in-1,000-year weather event last night,” the governor tweeted Monday. “The rain has subsided, but the crisis is not over.”
Hochul warned, “New York State is facing simultaneous weather emergencies: Southern New York is recovering from last night’s damage. Heavy rain is impacting the Mid-Hudson, Capital Region, & North Country. A Flood Watch is in effect for most of Eastern New York through Tuesday night.”
“As ongoing extreme weather conditions continue in Northeast New York, the Lake Champlain region is at greatest risk for flash flooding,” Hochul said. “As we’ve seen, conditions can change in an instant. New Yorkers should take this seriously & prepare.”
The rain is continuing to push north on Monday, with flooding expected from upstate New York to Vermont to New Hampshire to Maine.
In Vermont, where a state of emergency is in effect, rare excessive rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding is expected. So far, 19 people have been rescued by boat and another 25 people have been evacuated, officials said.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said the state has not seen flooding like this since 2011’s Hurricane Irene, and in some places, the flooding will surpass that.
“Flash flood warnings are in effect from the Massachusetts line to the Canadian border,” Vermont State Police said. “If you can, please stay home today. However, if floodwaters are approaching your home, leave immediately.”
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the agency is closely watching the situation.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul contributed to this report
(NEW YORK) — Beaches in several states across the Northeast have recently been closed to swimmers due to high levels of bacteria in the water.
Numerous beaches in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island were closed by public health officials due to unsafe water quality.
“When the water quality is unsafe, the beach is required to be ‘posted’ with a sign that indicates swimming is unsafe and may cause illness,” the Massachusetts Department of Public Health wrote on its website.
More than 60 beaches were closed for swimming in Massachusetts after high levels of fecal bacteria were detected in the water, according to the department.
Heavy rainfall from recent storms that hit the Northeastern states may be one reason behind the high levels of human waste, experts said.
A large amount of water from rain or snow can run off the land and carry fecal matter into water at beaches, officials said. Additionally, it can lead to sewage systems overflowing, which can cause untreated sewage to reach nearby bodies of water.
“Water from rain or snowmelt can cause certain types of sewers to overflow if their capacity is exceeded,” the Environmental Protection Agency states on its website. “Discharges from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) contain a mixture of raw sewage, industrial wastewater and storm water, and have resulted in beach closings.”
In Rhode Island, officials have been testing levels of enterococci bacteria, which live in the intestinal tracts of humans and are a sign of water contamination by fecal waste, according to the EPA.
Eight beaches across Rhode Island have closed over the past month after levels of these bacteria exceeded more than 60 colony forming units — the number of bacteria cells viable to form a small colony — per 100 milliliters in saltwater and freshwater.
Three beaches remain closed in Rhode Island as of Monday. The state Department of Health said it plans to monitor all beaches through Labor Day.
Additionally, nine beaches in Massachusetts are being monitored for high levels of cyanobacteria.
Cyanobacteria, often referred to as blue-green algae, are a type of bacteria often found in freshwater but can appear in salt water or brackish water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The bacteria itself doesn’t infect people but can produce toxins that make people sick.
The contaminated water can cause symptoms including headaches, stomach pain, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea. It can also cause irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, throat and lungs.
Cyanobacteria can multiply quickly in warm waters that become rich in nutrients including from fertilizers and septic tank overflows, the CDC said.
Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, seven beaches were closed on Thursday due to “elevated bacteria levels” according to separate statements from the Wareham Board of Health and the town of Rye.
Health officials have not revealed what bacteria has contaminated the water or how widespread the contamination is.
As of Monday, three of the beaches have reopened but the others will remain closed with officials saying, “we want to ensure that the water quality is back to its pristine condition before we welcome you back.”
(NEW YORK) — More than 35 million Americans are on alert for dangerous heat that’s baking the Southeast and Southwest.
On Monday, the temperature will hit about 109 degrees in Palm Springs, California; 108 in Las Vegas; 110 in Phoenix; 105 in Tucson, Arizona; and 98 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The unrelenting heat will stay throughout the week. By Friday, temperatures could soar to 115 degrees in Palm Springs and Phoenix.
This could be the worst heat wave ever for the Phoenix area. Phoenix has reached 110 degrees or above for 10 days straight, and could reach its record of 18 days straight.
In the Southeast, the heat is infiltrating cities from Dallas to Houston to New Orleans to Miami.
The heat index — what the temperature feels like with humidity — is forecast to climb above 100 degrees for much of this week in areas from Dallas to Miami.
Water temperatures are reaching about 90 degrees in Miami and 92 degrees in Key West, Florida. Miami on average hits its warmest water of the year — 87 degrees — in August.
