(ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine) — Plus, the latest on the fight to unseal the affidavit behind the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, and more state abortion bans go into effect after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
At a camp in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, for people displaced by the war, two siblings recounted the harrowing journey they’d made from their village, which was being bombed by Russian forces.
Maria Zalata, 14, and her brother Dymtro Zalata, 17, traveled for two days from their village of Vesele to reach the Ukrainian-controlled area of Zaporizhzhia.
The trip was “terrifying,” Dymtro told ABC News reporter Britt Clennett. Their father stayed behind to guard the family’s home, pets and garden against the Russian soldiers.
The war in Ukraine, which hit its six-month mark on Wednesday, has devastated the lives and aspirations of millions of young people like Maria and Dymtro. UNICEF estimates that 5 million Ukrainian children both inside the country and living as refugees abroad are in need of humanitarian aid.
In order to reach Zaporizhzhia, Maria and Dymtro slept in a car and had to be very careful about their movements. They bought groceries at a store that sold Russian products, they said.
They went through a checkpoint where their phones were examined, and they had to erase all photos that had Ukrainian symbols.
When they finally arrived in Zaporizhzhia and saw the Ukrainian flag, they cheered.
“I am so happy to be here with our soldiers,” Maria said. “I am crying now.” She said her mother, and another woman they were with, also broke down in tears. “It’s such a big happiness that we can be in Ukrainian free territory.”
“I feel like I found my home,” she said.
Being in her village was very uncomfortable, she said, because of the constant presence of Russian soldiers. “We are so upset,” she said, about the occupation.
She wishes her village can be liberated soon, so that her family can return. She told ABC News she wants to see the colors of the Ukrainian flag, yellow and blue, and their symbols, returned to the village.
The future is still uncertain. They dream of freedom, and of reuniting with their father.
“We hope all people can stay strong, and that we will defeat Russia,” she said.
They plan to go to Kiev and then move to the western part of Ukraine, where they have family. Maria plans to start school in September, as her school in Vesele has been occupied by the Russians.
But first, they will stay at the volunteer-run camp for another couple days.
“We are so, so happy people are helping us. We are so grateful,” Maria said.
(ATLANTA) — A multi-state E. coli outbreak associated with romaine lettuce in sandwiches from Wendy’s has grown, with dozens more infections reported in the past week, according to federal health officials.
Since Aug. 17, when the outbreak was first publicized, 47 more illnesses in the outbreak have been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — bringing the total number of reported infections to 84, the agency said Thursday.
Among those, 38 people have been hospitalized, including eight people in Michigan who have a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome, the CDC said. No deaths have been reported so far.
The infections have been reported to the CDC from four states: Michigan (53); Ohio (23); Indiana (six); and Pennsylvania (two).
CDC investigators are working to confirm the source of the outbreak, though many of those who became sick reported eating at Wendy’s, the CDC said.
“A specific food has not yet been confirmed as the source of this outbreak, but many sick people reported eating sandwiches with romaine lettuce at Wendy’s restaurants in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania before getting sick,” the CDC said in its notice.
Among 62 people interviewed by investigators, 52 of them (84%) reported eating at a Wendy’s the week before they became sick, the CDC said. Of 17 people with detailed information about what they ate there, 15 (88%) reported eating romaine lettuce served on burgers and sandwiches.
As a precaution, the fast food chain has removed the romaine lettuce used in sandwiches from restaurants in that region. A different type of romaine lettuce is used in salads.
In a statement on its website Friday, Wendy’s confirmed that it was “fully cooperating with public health authorities on their ongoing investigation of the regional E. coli outbreak reported in certain midwestern states,” adding that it was “taking the precaution of discarding and replacing the sandwich lettuce at some restaurants in that region.”
“The lettuce that we use in our salads is different, and is not affected by this action. As a company, we are committed to upholding our high standards of food safety and quality,” the statement read.
The CDC is not advising that people stop eating at Wendy’s or to stop eating romaine lettuce in general.
“At this time, there is no evidence to indicate that romaine lettuce sold in grocery stores, served in other restaurants, or in people’s homes is linked to this outbreak,” the CDC said.
Most people infected with E. coli experience severe stomach cramps, vomiting and often bloody diarrhea, which typically start three to four days after ingesting the bacteria.
The CDC is urging people to call their health care provider immediately if they have severe symptoms, such as diarrhea for more than three days, diarrhea and a fever higher than 102 degrees, vomiting to the point where you can’t keep liquids down and signs of dehydration.
Most recover without treatment within a week, though some people may develop kidney failure.
ABC News’ Eric Strauss contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Some of the Americans who qualify for the Biden administration’s federal student loan forgiveness plan may not see relief before payments are due again in January, officials acknowledged on Thursday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News at a briefing that the forgiveness policy is something that the administration wants to make sure “happens right away” — but she stopped short of a specific timeline commitment to borrowers, deferring to the Department of Education (DOE).
“I don’t have a timeline for you. That is something that the Department of Education is going to work on,” Jean-Pierre said. “That is something, again, that the Department of Education is going to focus on. It is important. We want this to happen for these individuals.”
Politico in July obtained a DOE memo that senior officials prepared for Education Secretary Miguel Cardona which stated that the forgiveness plan potentially allowed “immediate eligibility determination for millions of borrowers, the first cancellations within 45 days of announcement and millions of cancellations within 90 days.”
Jean-Pierre on Thursday stressed that the administration wants to be certain that debt forgiveness is enacted in tandem with the restart of student loan payments, something the DOE will “be focused on.”
A key provision of the White House plan is that about 8 million borrowers may be eligible for automatic loan forgiveness because their income data is readily available to the DOE.
But for the rest of those with federal loans, debt balances may not shrink before repayments begin on Dec. 31 — which is the deadline for the latest extension of the pandemic-era student loan pause enacted by Biden on Wednesday.
His announcement that Pell grant recipients will receive up to $20,000 in federal loan forgiveness and non-Pell borrowers will owe up to $10,000 less on their loans — if they make under $125,000 per year — came just a week before the restart of payments for America’s $1.7 trillion in federal student loans after a two-year COVID-19 freeze.
The White House has also confirmed that the application forms some of the borrowers will need to use for the debt cancellation are not yet ready, with no timeline for their disbursement. (Officials are referring borrowers to studentaid.gov for more information.)
At Thursday’s White House briefing, Jean-Pierre struggled to answer rounds of questioning about exactly how the federal government will foot the bill if this trillion-dollar promise.
“Let’s see who actually takes advantage of this, then we’ll have a better sense of what this is actually going to cost,” she said, noting that Biden’s work to lower the deficit during his time in office and that lifting the student loan payment pause would help bring $50 billion into the Treasury.
Even without a price tag, she added, “We do believe this will be fully paid for because of the work this president has done with the economy.”
A recent study by the University of Pennsylvania’s business school found that erasing $10,000 in student loan debt will cost about $300 billion. If the program continues for 10 years, the cost becomes $330 billion, or $344 billion if there is no income limit, per the report.
Because the federal government backs many student loans, U.S. taxpayers will likely foot the bill — something Biden addressed directly on Wednesday, comparing the debt cancellation to the Paycheck Protection Program, a loan forgiveness program during the pandemic.
“No one complained that those loans caused inflation. A lot of these folks in small businesses are working in middle-class families. They needed help,” he said. “It was the right thing to do,” Biden said.
ABC News’ Gabe Ferris and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
(ROCKVILLE, Md.) — President Joe Biden will hit the campaign trail on Thursday to highlight a series of policy wins as Democrats look to keep their narrow majorities in Congress during this fall’s elections.
Biden will “lay out the choice before Americans” when he speaks at a Democratic National Committee rally in Rockville, Maryland, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Biden’s appearance, happening exactly 75 days out from Election Day, comes after a string of summer legislative victories: the first major piece of gun reform in decades, Democrats’ landmark health care and climate change law and a bipartisan effort to boost semiconductor production in the U.S.
“He’ll highlight how he and congressional Democrats have delivered results for working families,” Jean-Pierre said as she teased his speech tonight. “Creating nearly 10 million jobs and record low unemployment, lowering health care costs and energy costs, passing a new gun safety law, which we hadn’t seen in decades.”
“And he’ll say that they have taken on special interest and won, that’s what Democrats have done,” Jean-Pierre added.
Earlier this week, the administration announced a plan to cancel thousands of dollars of student loan debt for millions of borrowers — fulfilling one pledge Biden made as a 2020 presidential candidate.
The policy has been lambasted by Republicans as unfair, and while many Democrats have celebrated the plan, some lawmakers in tough reelection races have distanced themselves from it.
Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democratic Senate nominee in Ohio, was critical of the move as sending “the wrong message to millions of Ohioans without a degree working just as hard to make ends meet.”
“Are you guys worried that you might have put more vulnerable Democrats in a tough spot? That you could have risked some of these races in November,” ABC News White House Correspondent MaryAlice Parks asked Jean-Pierre.
“I’m not going to get into politics and to what the next several weeks are going to look like,” Jean-Pierre responded. “But I can speak to the popularity of what we did, the importance of what we did, how this is going to help struggling families, and that has always been the plan of this president, especially as we look at the economy and making sure that we do not leave anybody behind.”
Biden will also warn about what his Republican in Congress would do if they are able to regain majority control — drawing on statements prominent GOP leaders have made about abortion access and gun rights.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — the landmark decision legalizing abortion access nationwide — at least 15 states (many led by Republicans) have ceased nearly all abortion services. Some Republicans in Congress, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have floated the idea of a national ban on abortion.
“He’ll say what they are still fighting for is protecting a woman’s right to choose, not a national ban on abortion, which we have seen from the other side,” Jean-Pierre said. “The safety of kids in school, not protecting the NRA, as we’ve seen from the Republicans and the right to vote and have the — that vote counted, which is so incredibly important as we talk about our democracy.”
ABC News’ Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Ameshia Cross, 35, spent the past two years of the coronavirus pandemic worried about how she would pay off her nearly $90,000 in student loan debt once the freeze on federal student loan payments ended.
Now, she said she will have $20,000 less to pay off starting in January, after President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a long-awaited plan to cancel federal student debt for a subset of Americans.
Cross qualifies for $20,000 in loan forgiveness under Biden’s plan as a recipient of a Pell Grant — scholarships reserved for students with the highest financial need — and someone making less than $125,000 per year.
She said that while she is extremely grateful for having a portion of her debt canceled, she remains anxious about how she will pay off the rest of her loans when payments resume in January.
Cross — who worked two jobs and cared for her three siblings while in college — said the $20,000 that will be forgiven is less than the interest that has accrued on her loans over the past decade.
“Money only goes so far and it’s not like your salary increases or the money you have incoming increases at the rate of cost of living,” Cross, assistant director of communications for The Education Trust, a nonprofit focused on student equity, told “Good Morning America.” “Hopefully we will be in a different place come January, but right now the costs of groceries, the cost of basic necessities is just really, really high, and I think that makes it extremely difficult.”
As a Black woman, Cross is part of a population that stands to benefit the most from Biden’s student debt relief plan.
Black women carry a disproportionate burden of student debt. Overall, women hold nearly two-thirds of the nearly $2 trillion outstanding student debt in the U.S., and Black women are the most likely of any gender group to have student loans, with around 1 in 4 Black women holding student debt, according to data from the Census Bureau and the American Association of University Women.
Black women graduate college with an average of nearly $38,000 in student debt, according to the American Association of University Women, a number that grows at a faster rate over time than for other populations, data shows. Just over a decade after starting college, Black women, on average, owe 13% more than they borrowed, while white men, on average, have paid off 44% of their debt, according to The Education Trust.
“When I became a borrower, I didn’t think about the repayment, I thought about degree completion, and then the economic mobility that would come,” said Brittani Williams, a senior policy analyst in higher education at The Education Trust. “I figured I would graduate, get a job and pay those student loans back, and the reality for me was that I graduated, got a job and went back to school a couple of times.”
Williams, a mom of three, said payments on the tens of thousands of dollars of loan debt she still owes are on pause as she pursues a doctorate degree, which she expects to finish in 2024.
Though she too qualifies for $20,000 in loan forgiveness under Biden’s plan, Williams said she sees it as “just a start” and is already worried about restarting payments in the future.
“I’ve already begun to create in my head a scenario for repayment and what does that look like,” she said. “I’m enrolled in public service loan forgiveness and I work for an eligible nonprofit but what does that mean for my forgiveness personally moving forward, and what does that mean for the planning of these next nearly two academic years that I have?”
Under Biden’s plan, people who went to school on a Pell Grant can qualify for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness, while other student loan borrowers who didn’t go to school on a Pell Grant will still have loans forgiven up to $10,000.
Both forgiveness options are for people who earn less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 as a household, in either the 2020 or 2021 tax year.
When Biden announced the plan on Wednesday, he spoke of a generation of people “saddled with unsustainable debt” that impacts whether they can buy homes or start families, among other life choices.
That debt is especially harmful to Black women, who face both racial and gender discrimination on top of everything else. Even after entering the workforce, where they might ostensibly earn the money to pay off their student loans, Black women are paid less than their white male counterparts, earning just 63 cents for every dollar earned by white men on average, according to the Labor Department.
Gloria Blackwell, CEO of the American Association of University Woman, said Black women face the “perfect storm” of both a racial wealth gap and gender pay gap, which she said combine to keep them further behind their peers both before and during college, and then exponentially so afterward, when they graduate with debt.
“When you are a Black woman and you have this burden of student loans, it impacts every aspect of your life,” said Blackwell. “It impacts whether you can pay for basic living expenses, whether you can afford transportation or even the rent in order to have a decent place to live, let alone save for a house or be able to start a family or take care of your family. It’s a burden on Black women on whether they can save for retirement or afford rent or be able to move to a better neighborhood.”
Kristin McGuire, 40, said the past two decades of her life have been structured around her responsibility to pay back the more than $20,000 she borrowed to attend a four-year public college in California, an amount she said has increased to over $50,000 due to interest.
Now, as she pays for her oldest daughter to attend college, also in California, McGuire, the executive director of Young Invincibles, a youth advocacy organization, said she is preparing to resume payments on her loans in January, when the pause ends.
McGuire said she did not qualify for loan forgiveness under Biden’s plan, which she said she hoped would not include means testing.
“The president’s wording has been no one who makes a high income will be eligible for this relief, but $125,000 doesn’t really weigh in for regional differences or inflation,” said McGuire. “So because of that, a lot of coastal borrowers or folks who live on the coast or in major metropolitan areas will be excluded from this.”
Still, McGuire said she is “very, very grateful” that Biden took action because she knows so many people who are impacted by student debt for whom the loan forgiveness will help.
“I’m not exaggerating when I say every single person I know who went to college and is a Black person is overwhelmed with the burden of student debt,” she said. “And it’s all for the very same reasons, that we were all first-generation, we were all low-income and the cost of us attending college was more expensive because we had zero expected family contribution, which means we had to borrow the money.”
“That impacted everyone in my social circle in a different way, so these wins are more of a communal win for me,” she added. “I don’t have to view it as a personal win or loss.”
McGuire’s sentiment is one echoed by Corazon Eaton, of Columbus, Ohio, who paid off her remaining loan balance of more than $130,000 within the past year, but said she is still very happy with Biden’s loan forgiveness plan.
“I went into [paying off my student loans] knowing that it could potentially down the road end up getting forgiven or a portion of it getting forgiven [for others], and being at peace with that,” said Eaton. “I think the changes are going to propel and impact a lot of people.”
Still, Eaton, McGuire and the other women “GMA” spoke with all said they believe Biden’s action on student loan forgiveness should be only a first step and that more needs to be done to help Black women, including capping the rising cost of higher education and introducing greater debt cancellation options.
They also said they are proud that it was Black women who led the call — and who will continue to do so — for changes to student debt policy.
On the 2020 campaign trail, Biden pledged to approve $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for every federal borrower.
“Black women came out and Black women voted and Black women said, ‘This is what we need,'” said Blackwell. “The call is to be more deeply responsive to the very specifically articulated needs that would have an impact on improving the economic security of Black women, and those calls are not going to stop, and that advocacy is not going to stop.”
(HOUSTON) — Uvalde:365 is a continuing ABC News series reported from Uvalde and focused on the Texas community and how it forges on in the shadow of tragedy.
One of the survivors of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was honored at Tuesday’s MLB game between the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins.
Mayah Zamora got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Minute Maid Park, an opportunity set up by the Correa Family Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, formerly of the Astros. Both the Astros and the Twins teamed up to give Mayah, a softball player herself, an unforgettable experience ahead of their first matchup in a three-game series that concludes Thursday night.
Mayah donned a bright orange Astros jersey and a navy blue and orange Astros cap for the occasion and posed for photos with players from both teams, including Correa, and the Astros’ mascot, Orbit, a green alien. Mayah’s family, her parents Christina and Ruben Zamora, as well as her two brothers and some extended family members were also by her side at the special event.
It’s not the first time the Astros have honored Uvalde families following the Robb Elementary school shooting, which cut short the lives of 19 children and two teachers. In July, the team traveled to Uvalde, nearly 280 miles west of Houston, to hold events and support the local community.
They also hosted families of the shooting victims earlier this month at Minute Maid Park.
Mayah was released from University Hospital in San Antonio on July 29. According to a press release from the Correa Family Foundation, the 10-year-old had to undergo over 20 surgeries during her 66-day stay.
While she was at the hospital, Mayah’s softball team launched a lemonade stand to raise at least $4,000 to help fund their teammate’s medical costs.
The Correa Family Foundation also announced Tuesday that it had raised funds to provide Mayah and her family a new home. The foundation’s president, Dr. Ricardo “Ricky” Flores, confirmed to “GMA” that after the school shooting, Mayah had learned she and her family lived just blocks away from the shooter and she felt uneasy returning home.
The Zamora family is in the process of finding a new place to relocate and the foundation plans on making sure their next home is fully furnished and comfortable for Mayah.
“We are thrilled to have so many friends and collaborators who are willing to come together and help us provide this gift to Mayah and her family,” Correa said in a statement. “I could never begin to imagine everything she has gone through, and we feel that this is one thing we could do to try to alleviate some of her pain. I’m thankful to both teams for being a part of this effort.”
(WASHINGTON) — Five more states are set to severely restrict abortion this week, adding to the growing number of laws that have taken effect since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Three states — Idaho, Tennessee and Texas — had trigger laws go into effect Thursday after being required to wait 30 days following the reversal of Roe before the bans could be enacted.
Additionally, North Dakota has a trigger law in place to make abortion illegal that may go into effect Friday and Oklahoma has a law with higher penalties for providers going into effect at the end of the week.
The states with trigger laws had effectively banned abortion since the Supreme Court reversed Roe but the new laws go a step further.
Previously, Tennessee had banned abortions after fetal cardiac activity could be detected, which is about six weeks’ gestation. But the new law makes performing abortions a felony punishable by three to 15 years in prison.
There are only exceptions if the mother’s life is in danger or if the pregnancy would result in serious bodily injury. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
Meanwhile, in Texas, abortions were prohibited in nearly all circumstances, including rape and incest, following the Supreme Court’s decision. There are only exceptions if the mother’s life or health is in danger.
Abortions providers can incur penalties of no less than $100,000 and may lose their professional license for performing the procedure.
Similarly, in Idaho, prior to the law, abortions had been banned after six weeks. The new law makes it a felony to perform an abortion in almost all circumstances.
However, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday against part of the ban after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit saying the ban violated a federal law guaranteeing access to emergency medical care at Medicare-funded hospitals.
“It’s not about the bygone constitutional right to an abortion,” Judge B. Lynn Winmill of the Federal District Court in Idaho wrote. “The court is called upon to address a far more modest issue — whether Idaho’s criminal abortion statute conflicts with a small but important corner of federal legislation. It does.”
North Dakota had a near-total abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest or if the life of the mother is in danger, which was temporarily blocked in court last month after the state’s sole abortion clinic, the Red River Women’s Clinic located in Fargo, sued.
A hearing Friday will decide whether the injunction will be extended while the case proceeds through court or if it will go into effect.
During this time, the Red River Women’s Clinic has moved its abortion services across state lines to Moorhead, Minnesota, about five minutes away from Fargo.
“Regardless of whether it goes into effect, or the 2023 North Dakota legislature is going to pass even something more restrictive, yes, we’re here and we’re providing services,” Tammi Kromenaker, director of Red River Women’s Clinic, told ABC News. “Access to abortion has essentially not changed for patients who have to travel, you know, to us, but it’s the principle of the thing, knowing that abortion is illegal in their state.”
She said a week ago she spoke to a patient in North Dakota who thought she wouldn’t even be able to access services.
“I spoke to a patient from North Dakota who said, ‘Oh, my God, did I miss it? Did I miss my chance?’ were her literal words,” Kromenaker said. “And I said, ‘No, we are here. We’re moving to Moorhead; we’ll see you there.’ And she just was so relieved because she literally thought she missed the opportunity to have an abortion.”
In addition to patients thinking that they can’t access services provided by the clinic, there are physical barriers too.
“The Fargo clinic is literally five minutes away from the Moorhead clinic, but for some patients, they had to drive three, four or five hours one way just to get to Fargo,” Kromenaker said. ‘That’s already a really big challenge to many patients who have to come from the western part of the state. You know, take time off from work, pay for gas, arrange child care.”
She added, “We live in a part of the country where winter is very challenging for travel. I remember a time in this last winter when there was such a bad snowstorm that every Interstate in the state was closed down. The patients literally could not get here.”
Additionally, Oklahoma was already enforcing laws banning abortion, but the latest ban adds further penalties.
Senate Bill 612, signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt makes performing abortion a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $100,000.
The only exception under the law is if the mother’s life is in danger.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The judge considering the release of the affidavit used to support the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Thursday ordered a redacted version made public by noon on Friday.
It was unclear whether the Justice Department would appeal.
Earlier Thursday, the Justice Department submitted its proposed redactions to the affidavit.
In his order, Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said that after reviewing DOJ’s memorandum and proposed redactions he believes the government has met its burden of showing a compelling reason and good cause to seal the requested portions of the affidavit because “disclosure would reveal the identities of witnesses, law enforcement agents, and uncharged parties, the investigation’s strategy, direction, scope, sources, and methods, and grand jury information…”
He says that the government has also met its burden in showing that its proposed redactions “are narrowly tailored to serve the Government’s legitimate interest in the integrity of the ongoing investigation and are the least onerous alternative to sealing the entire Affidavit.”
He gave DOJ until noon Friday to file in the public docket a version of the affidavit containing the redactions sent Thursday.
Reinhart had given department officials a noon deadline Thursday to submit proposed redactions under seal as well as a legal memorandum explaining their justifications for the information that they believe should be kept hidden from public view. Reinhart had said he was not inclined to keep the full affidavit sealed, saying he believes there are portions of it that could presumably be unsealed.
The government argued in court last week that the redactions they believe would be necessary to protect the integrity of their ongoing criminal investigation would essentially render the document “meaningless.”
A coalition of media organizations, including ABC News, has urged for release of the affidavit even with redactions — citing the need to further inform the public in light of the historic nature of the search of a former president’s residence.
Jay Bratt, the head of DOJ’s counterintelligence division, said “there would be nothing of substance” adding that the government is “very concerned about the safety of the witnesses” and the impact releasing the affidavit could have on other witnesses.
“It doesn’t serve the media’s interest to give them something that is meaningless,” Bratt said.
Bratt argued there is information in the document that could easily identify witnesses based on the descriptions of events that only certain people would have knowledge about.
Reinhart said in a Monday filing that he might ultimately side with the government.
“I cannot say at this point that partial redactions will be so extensive that they will result in a meaningless disclosure, but I may ultimately reach that conclusion after hearing further from the Government,” he said.
Judge Reinhart said that he believes the government has met “its burden of showing good cause/a compelling interest that overrides any public interest in unsealing the full contents of the Affidavit.”
It was thought the Justice Department would likely seek to immediately appeal any decision that would release portions of the affidavit they are not comfortable releasing.
While former President Trump and his allies have publicly called for the release of the full affidavit, his legal team has made no such efforts in court since the Aug. 8 search, including as part of their motion filed Monday before a separate federal judge calling for the appointment of a special master to review materials seized by the FBI.
Instead, Trump’s lawyers requested federal Judge Aileen Cannon to issue an order directing investigators to halt their review of the materials taken from Mar-a-Lago pending appointment of a special master, return any personal materials swept up in the search, and provide a more detailed receipt of items that were seized.
The filing, which was riddled with falsehoods, misrepresentations and blatant references to a possible announcement of Trump’s plans to again run for the presidency in 2024, appeared to be met with confusion by Judge Cannon.
On Tuesday, Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, issued an order requesting Trump’s team enter a supplemental filing by Friday with a line-item list of basic information not included in their original motion.
(WASHINGTON) — Two Florida residents have pleaded guilty to stealing the diary of Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s youngest daughter, and then selling it to right-wing activist group Project Veritas, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Aimee Harris, 40, and Robert Kurlander, 58, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property involving the theft of personal belongings of an immediate family member of a then-former government official for taking several items belonging to Ashley Biden in September 2020. The charge carries a maximum of five years in prison.
Kurlander has also agreed to cooperate with the government.
Though Ashley Biden, 41, is not named in the court documents, a source familiar with the case confirmed they were her belongings.
“Harris and Kurlander stole personal property from an immediate family member of a candidate for national political office,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “They sold the property to an organization in New York for $40,000 and even returned to take more of the victim’s property when asked to do so.”
Biden had stored a handwritten journal containing highly personal entries, tax records, a digital storage card containing private family photographs and a cellphone, among other things, in a private residence in Delray Beach, Florida, where Harris was also staying.
After she stole Biden’s items, she contacted Kurlander and they got in touch with a representative from Project Veritas. They met with the Veritas employee in New York City shortly after they made contract with them, the DOJ said.
“During that meeting, Harris described the circumstances of how she had obtained the property, and provided the property to the Organization,” court documents say. “After the meeting, and at the Organization’s request, HARRIS and KURLANDER returned to Florida to obtain more of the Victim’s property in order to provide it to the Organization.”
They were paid $20,000 each by Project Veritas after providing more of Biden’s personal belongings, according to the DOJ.
In a statement Thursday, Project Veritas said, “Project Veritas’ news gathering was ethical and legal. A journalist’s lawful receipt of material later alleged to be stolen is routine, commonplace, and protected by the First Amendment.”
After the pair went to the house in Florida to steal more of the information, Kurklander sent a text to Harris, saying they expected as much as $100,000 from Project Veritas for the additional possessions.
“They are in a sketchy business and here they are taking what’s literally a stolen diary and info … and trying to make a story that will ruin [the Victim’s] life and try and effect the election. [The Victim] can easily be thinking all her stuff is there and not concerned about it. … we have to tread even more carefully and that stuff needs to be gone through by us and if anything worthwhile it needs to be turned over and MUST be out of that house,” the text message said according to court documents.
Harris acquired Ashley Biden’s property after she was invited to live there shortly after Ashley moved out. Biden stored her stuff at the property, according to the DOJ.
The duo also allegedly tried to sell the stolen property at a fundraiser benefiting “Candidate-2,” which is believed to be former President Donald Trump. Harris and Kurklander “attended the fundraiser with the intent of showing the Victim’s stolen property to a campaign representative of Candidate-2, hoping that the political campaign would purchase it.”
The campaign representative declined to purchase the information.
“A representative of Candidate-2’s political campaign conveyed to AIMEE HARRIS and ROBERT KURLANDER, the defendants, that the campaign was not interested in purchasing the property and advised HARRIS and KURLANDER to provide the items to the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the court documents said.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Aug 25, 4:27 PM EDT
All reactors at power plant shut down for 1st time in history
All of the reactors at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where shelling has been ongoing, have been shut down for the first time in the plant’s history, Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator Energoatom reported.
Zaporizhzhia — the largest nuclear power plant in Europe — has six reactors, two of which are active, according to Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator, Energoatom. At 12:12 p.m. local time, the last operating line providing power to the plant was disconnected due to hostilities in the area, and as a result all six reactors were disconnected from the grid for 17 minutes, Energoatom said.
At 12:29 p.m. local time the overhead line was restored and reactors Nos. 5 and 6 start operating again.
At 2:14 p.m. local time, the overhead line was disconnected again, shutting down reactor No. 6 and leaving only reactor No. 5 operating. Work is underway to reconnect No. 6 to the grid.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the temporary shut down further shows “the urgent need for an IAEA expert mission to travel to the facility.”
If external power is lost there’s not active circulation of the water that cools the reactor and that could lead to a reactor meltdown. However, the plant “remained connected to a 330 kV line from the nearby thermal power facility that can provide back-up electricity if needed,” the IAEA said in a statement. “As a result of the cuts in the 750 kV power line, the ZNPP’s two operating reactor units were disconnected from the electricity grid and their emergency protection systems were triggered, while all safety systems remained operational.”
“There was no information immediately available on the direct cause of the power cuts,” the IAEA said. “The six-reactor ZNPP normally has four external power lines, but three of them were lost earlier during the conflict. The IAEA remains in close contact with Ukraine and will provide updated information as soon as it becomes available.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Thursday, “The world must understand what a threat this is: If the diesel generators hadn’t turned on, if the automation and our staff of the plant had not reacted after the blackout, then we would already be forced to overcome the consequences of the radiation accident. Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster.”
He called on the IAEA and other international organizations to act faster, “because every minute the Russian troops stay at the nuclear power plant is a risk of a global radiation disaster.”
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou, Fidel Pavlenko and Natalia Shumskaia
Aug 25, 2:17 PM EDT
Biden, Zelenskyy discuss weapons assistance, nuclear plant during phone call
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about weapons assistance and concerns over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in their phone call on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Regarding Zaporizhzhia, “We have said Russia should agree to demilitarize the zone around the plant and agree to allow an International Atomic Energy Agency visit as soon as possible,” Jean-Pierre said. “This is something that did come up in a conversation.”
Zelenskyy tweeted a photo of his phone call with Biden, and said he thanked him “for the unwavering U.S. support for Ukrainian people — security and financial.”
Zelenskyy said he and Biden “discussed Ukraine’s further steps on our path to the victory over the aggressor and importance of holding Russia accountable for war crimes.”
Biden also tweeted a photo of the call, and said he congratulated Ukraine on its Independence Day, which was on Wednesday.
“I know it is a bittersweet anniversary, but I made it clear that the United States would continue to support Ukraine and its people as they fight to defend their sovereignty,” Biden wrote.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Aug 25, 11:47 AM EDT
All reactors at power plant shut down for first time in history
All of the reactors at Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, where shelling has been ongoing, have been shut down for the first time in the plant’s history, Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator Energoatom reported.
Zaporizhzhya — the largest nuclear power plant in Europe — has six reactors, two of which are active, according to Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator, Energoatom. At 12:12 p.m. local time, the last operating line providing power to the plant was disconnected due to hostilities in the area, and as a result all six reactors were disconnected from the grid for 17 minutes, Energoatom said.
At 12:29 p.m. local time the overhead line was restored and reactors Nos. 5 and 6 start operating again.
At 2:14 p.m. local time, the overhead line was disconnected again, shutting down reactor No. 6 and leaving only reactor No. 5 operating. Work is underway to reconnect No. 6 to the grid.
Aug 24, 4:56 PM EDT
21 killed in Russian missile strike on train station
Twenty-one people were killed and another 22 were injured in a Russian missile strike on a train station in Chaplyne, in the central Ukraine region of Dnipropetrovsk, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou and Max Uzol
Aug 24, 2:55 PM EDT
Russia may hold sham referenda in occupied Ukrainian territory: White House
The White House said the U.S. believes Russia could hold “sham referenda” in occupied Ukrainian territory within days or weeks.
White House spokesman John Kirby said last month that Russia was “installing illegitimate proxy officials in the areas of Ukraine that are under its control” who would then arrange “sham referenda” as a precursor to annexation.
Kirby told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. government believes “these referenda could begin in a matter of days or weeks.”
“We have information that Russia continues to prepare to hold these sham referenda in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics,” Kirby said. “We’ve also learned that Russian leadership has instructed officials to begin preparing to hold these sham referenda, particularly in Kharkiv, as well.”
“We expect Russia to try to manipulate the results of these referenda to falsely claim that the Ukrainian people want to join Russia,” he continued. “It will be critical to call out and counter this disinformation in real time.”
“Any claim that the Ukrainian people somehow want to join Russia is simply not true,” Kirby said, citing polling data. It’s clear, he added, that Ukrainians “value and treasure their independence.”
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak on the phone on Thursday, Kirby said.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Aug 24, 1:41 PM EDT
Queen Elizabeth marks Ukrainian Independence Day
Queen Elizabeth released a statement Wednesday marking Ukrainian Independence Day.
“It gives me great pleasure to send Your Excellency and the people of Ukraine my warmest greetings on the celebration of your Independence Day,” she said. “In this most challenging year, I hope that today will be a time for the Ukrainian people, both in Ukraine and around the world, to celebrate their culture, history and identity. May we look to better times in the future.”
Aug 24, 9:13 AM EDT
Biden announces new aid package, congratulates Ukraine on Independence Day
President Joe Biden in a statement Wednesday said he was “proud to announce our biggest tranche of security assistance to date” to Ukraine: “approximately $2.98 billion of weapons and equipment.”
“This will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and radars to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term,” Biden said.
Biden confirmed the money would come through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The USAI money can be spent on contracts with the defense industry to produce new equipment for Ukraine.
Biden in his statement also marked Ukrainian Independence Day, saying, “Ukrainians have inspired the world with their extraordinary courage and dedication to freedom.”
“Today is not only a celebration of the past but a resounding affirmation that Ukraine proudly remains — and will remain — a sovereign and independent nation,” he said.
He continued, “I know this Independence Day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks.”
“Today and every day, we stand with the Ukrainian people to proclaim that the darkness that drives autocracy is no match for the flame of liberty that lights the souls of free people everywhere,” Biden said.
Aug 23, 4:39 PM EDT
2 Zaporizhzhya power plant employees killed in shelling in city of Enerhodar
Two Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant employees were killed on their day off when Russian forces shelled the city of Enerhodar, officials said.
-ABC News’ Yuriy Zaliznyak and Dada Jovanovic
Aug 23, 2:35 PM EDT
US to announce its largest single aid package for Ukraine
The U.S. will announce its largest single aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday, according to two U.S. officials. The package is expected to be valued at roughly $3 billion — though one official told ABC News some changes could be made overnight, and $3 billion is on the higher end of the estimates.
A senior U.S. official told ABC News the package will come from Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds. Unlike presidential drawdown packages, which pull from existing U.S. equipment stocks, the USAI money can be spent on contracts with the defense industry to produce new equipment for Ukraine.
The U.S. has committed about $10.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler and Shannon Crawford
Aug 23, 1:54 PM EDT
Americans urged to leave Ukraine over Russian strikes on civilians
The United States is once again urging its citizens to leave Ukraine amid concerns Russia is ramping up attacks on civilians in the war-torn country.
In a security alert posted Tuesday on its website, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv urged Americans “to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so.”
“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the embassy said in the alert. “Russian strikes in Ukraine pose a continued threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Sources within the State Department said the heightened risk of a Russian strike on highly populated centers is most directly tied to Ukraine’s Independence Day on Wednesday.
“The risks are really high,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ABC News. “We are receiving information that there may be a provocation by the Russian Federation, by the occupiers. Therefore, we do not want large gatherings on such days. The days are beautiful, but … our neighbors are not.”
Aug 23, 9:10 AM EDT
Americans urged to leave Ukraine over Russian strikes on civilians
The United States is once again urging its citizens to leave Ukraine amid concerns Russia is ramping up attacks on civilians in the war-torn country.
In a security alert posted Tuesday on its website, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv urged Americans “to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so.”
“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the embassy said in the alert. “Russian strikes in Ukraine pose a continued threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Aug 22, 10:59 AM EDT
FSB accuses Ukrainian special services of assassinating Darya Dugina
Russia’s FSB is accusing Ukrainian special services of assassinating Darya Dugina, the daughter of Putin ally Alexander Dugina, who was killed by an explosive this weekend.
The FSB said a Ukrainian national arrived in Russia on July 23 with her 12-year-old daughter and rented an apartment in the same Moscow building where Dugina lived, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti reported. The woman allegedly trailed Dugina for nearly a month and then immediately left for Estonia with her daughter just after this weekend’s bombing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement that Darya Dugina was “a bright, talented person with a real Russian heart – kind, loving, sympathetic and open.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine is working under the assumption that Russian secret services are behind the killing, saying “Ru-propaganda lives in a fictional world.”
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva and Oleksii Shemyskyo
Aug 22, 9:13 AM EDT
Air raid sirens sound across Ukraine
Air raid sirens are sounding across Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russia could launch a “particularly ugly” provocation this week as Ukraine approaches its Independence Day on Wednesday.
In Kyiv, all public events are canceled and government employees have been told to work from home through the week.
In Kramatorsk, public events have been canceled for Tuesday through Thursday and public transportation has been stopped.
Aug 22, 6:16 AM EDT
Explosive under Putin ally’s car was remotely triggered, investigators say
An explosive device planted on the underside of Putin ally Alexander Dugin’s vehicle was remotely triggered, Russian investigators said.
Dugin’s daughter, Daria Dugina, was killed in a blast near Moscow on Saturday.
“A presumed explosive device planted on a Toyota Land Cruiser went off when the car was moving at full speed past Bolshiye Vyazemy in the Odintsovo urban district at about 9 p.m. on August 20, and the car caught fire,” the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement posted to Telegram. “The woman driving the car died instantly. The victim was identified as journalist, political analyst Daria Dugina.”
Alexander and Daria attended a traditional patriotic festival on Saturday afternoon, according to the Odinstovo administration. They’d planned to leave together in the same vehicle, but Daria instead drove alone.
The Russian Investigative Committee’s press service told Interfax that Daria was assassinated.
Detectives established that the bomb was planted on the underside of the driver’s side of the vehicle, the committee said. Russian media outlets had reported that the SUV belonged to Dugin.
“Detectives and specialists from the Main Forensic Department of the Russian Investigative Committee are continuing to examine the incident scene. In particular, a forensic technician examined the charred vehicle before it was taken to a special parking lot,” the Committee said.
Biological, genetic, physical, chemical and explosive examinations have been scheduled, the committee said.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva
Aug 21, 3:12 PM EDT
Daughter of Putin ally killed in car bomb; Schiff hopes it wasn’t ‘from Ukraine’
U.S. officials do not know who to blame for the car bomb that killed the daughter of political theorist Alexander Dugin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said during an interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Daria Dugina, a 29-year-old TV commentator, was killed on the Mozhaisk Highway in the outskirts of Moscow on Saturday night by an explosive that had been planted in the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving, Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported.
Alexander Dugin, often referred to as “Putin’s brain,” had just attended “Tradition” cultural festival with his daughter, according to TASS. Russian media outlets reported that the SUV belonged to Dugin.
The Russian Investigative Committee press office told TASS Dugina’s killing was planned and contracted.
Schiff said Sunday that he had not yet been briefed on the killing and that he “couldn’t say” who is behind it, adding that he hoped it was an “internal Russian affair” rather than something “emanating from Ukraine.”
“There are so many factions and internecine warfare within Russian society, within the Russian government,” Schiff said. “Anything is possible.”
Adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office Mikhail Podolyak denied Kyiv was involved in the explosion that killed Dugina during a televised interview on Sunday.
“I emphasize that Ukraine certainly has nothing to do with this, because we are not a criminal state like the Russian Federation, and even less a terrorist state,” Podolyak said.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Patrick Reevell
Aug 20, 2:10 PM EDT
Videos circulating online show smoke over Sevastopol
Videos circulating online show smoke rising over Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea.
The city’s Russian-appointed governor said a drone was struck down and fell through the roof of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Headquarters. Ukraine has not commented on the strike.
-ABC News’ Layla Ferris
Aug 19, 3:31 PM EDT
US to offer new $775M aid package to Ukraine
The U.S. has authorized a new $775 million military aid package for Ukraine, the Department of Defense announced on Friday.
The package will include more High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) ammunition and howitzers, as well as some firsts, including ScanEagle reconnaissance drones and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.
The 15 ScanEagle drones are intended to help Ukraine identify targets and put the HIMARS and howitzers to better use, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
The 40 MRAP vehicles and other mine-clearing equipment will help Ukrainian troops cross dangerous terrain, according to the official.
“We know that Russia has heavily mined areas in parts of southern and eastern Ukraine. We know there’s a significant amount of unexploded ordinance,” the official said.
The new aid package follows a $1 billion package announced on Aug. 8.
