(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that the Department of Justice has filed charges against four former and current Louisville police officers in connection with the death of Breonna Taylor. The charges include civil rights offenses, unlawful conspiracies, unconstitutional use of force and obstruction offenses.
The Justice Department has had a pattern or practice investigation ongoing into the Louisville Police Department since April 2021.
The federal charges allege that police officers falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Taylor’s home and that this act violated federal civil rights laws, resulting in her death. Former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett and officer Joshua Jaynes have been charged with conspiracy for allegedly falsifying the affidavit for a search warrant, according to the justice department.
Charges have also been filed against Brett Hankison a former Louisville Metro Police officer who was involved in the death of Breonna Taylor. Hankison has been charged in a two-count indictment for deprivation of rights under color of law, both of which are civil rights offenses.
“We share, but we cannot fully imagine, the grief felt by Breanna Taylor’s loved ones and all of those affected by the events of March 13, 2020. Breonna Taylor should be alive today,” Garland said during a press conference.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
-ABC News’ Alexander Mallin and Jack Date contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that the Department of Justice has filed charges against four former and current Louisville police officers in connection with the death of Breonna Taylor. The charges include civil rights offenses, unlawful conspiracies, unconstitutional use of force and obstruction offenses.
“The federal charges announced today allege that members of a Police Investigations Unit falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Ms. Taylor’s home and that this act violated federal civil rights laws, and that those violations resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death,” Garland said in a news conference.
The federal charges against detective Joshua Jaynes, former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett and sergeant Kyle Meany allege they violated Taylor’s Fourth Amendment rights when they sought a warrant to search Taylor’s home while knowing they lacked probable cause, and that they knew their affidavit supporting the warrant contained false and misleading information and omitted other material information, resulting in her death.
“Among other things, the affidavit falsely claimed that officers had verified that the target of the alleged drug trafficking operation had received packages at Ms. Taylor’s address. In fact, defendants Jaynes and Goodlett knew that was not true,” Garland said during a press conference.
Garland also alleged that Jaynes and Goodlett knew armed officers will be carrying out the raid at Taylor’s home, and that conducting the search could create “a dangerous situation for anyone who happened to be in Ms. Taylor’s home.”
Prosecutors allege that Jaynes and Goodlett met in a garage after Taylor’s death “where they agreed to tell investigators” looking into the botched raid “a false story.”
Charges have also been filed against Brett Hankison a former Louisville Metro Police officer who was involved in the death of Breonna Taylor. Hankison has been charged in a two-count indictment for deprivation of rights under color of law, both of which are civil rights offenses.
Hankison allegedly used unconstitutional excessive force during the raid when he fired 10 shots through a window and sliding glass door in Taylor’s home that was covered in blinds and curtains after there was no longer a “lawful objective justifying the use of deadly force.”
Hankison went to trial on state charges relating to the raid on Taylor’s apartment and was found not guilty on all counts. He was charged with recklessly shooting into a neighboring apartment during the course of the raid that ended with the death of Breonna Taylor, not guilty on all three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree.
Taylor’s death sparked protests nationwide, and outrage was further inflamed after no officers were charged in relation to her fatal shooting.
“The lack of accountability showcased in every aspect of Breonna’s killing speaks to how much more work there is to be done before we can say our justice system is fair and our system of policing is protective of people of color,” Taylor’s attorney, Ben Crump said after Hankison’s trial in March.
The Justice Department has had a pattern or practice investigation ongoing into the Louisville Police Department since April 2021. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke from DOJ’s Civil Rights Division told reporters the separate investigation remains ongoing and that DOJ has a team on the ground still conducting interviews with stakeholders and are conducting ride-alongs with police there.
Louisville officers conducted a raid of Taylor’s apartment on March 13, 2020, at around 12:45 a.m. When officers broke down the door to the apartment, a guest in Taylor’s home, thinking it was an intruder, fired a single gunshot using a legally purchased firearm, hitting the first officer at the door. Two Louisville officers then fired a total of 22 shots into the apartment, one of which hit Taylor in the chest, according to an information filed by the Justice Department.
A third officer moved from the doorway to the side of the apartment and fired ten more shots through a window and a sliding glass door, both of which were covered with blinds and curtains, according to an information filed by the Justice Department.
Garland also alleged that officers who carried out the raid were not involved in drafting the warrant and were unaware of the false and misleading statements it contained when they carried out the raid.
Garland said he spoke with Taylor’s family earlier Thursday and informed them of the charges.
“We share, but we cannot fully imagine, the grief felt by Breonna Taylor’s loved ones and all of those affected by the events of March 13, 2020. Breonna Taylor should be alive today,” Garland said.
-ABC News’ Alexander Mallin and Jack Date contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Intense heat has returned to the Northeast, with 70 million Americans facing heat advisories on Thursday that will likely extend into the weekend.
Boston is projected to reach 99 degrees on Thursday, breaking a 96-degree high from 1928, according to the National Weather Service. The mayor of Boston declared a heat emergency on Wednesday through Sunday, opening 16 cooling centers across the city.
“I urge everyone to stay cool and safe, and check on your neighbors during the week,” Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement.
Hartford, Connecticut, is forecast to hit 101 degrees on Thursday, breaking a 1944 record of 96 degrees, the NWS said.
Newark, New Jersey, could tie a 1993 record of 100 degrees. The city of Newark issued a Code Red on Wednesday, urging residents to take precautions against the dangerous heat.
New York City is forecast to break a 2006 record, reaching 94 degrees on Thursday, according to the NWS.
Con Edison, the city’s energy supplier, issued an advisory on Wednesday, asking residents to conserve energy due to the anticipated heat and humidity creating increased demand for electricity.
Philadelphia is expected to tie a 1995 heat record by reaching 95 degrees, according to the NWS.
Two heat deaths have been reported in the Northeast over the last two weeks, one in New York City and one in Philadelphia, officials said. Authorities have warned residents of the danger for more fatalities.
The heat will peak on Thursday, will highs forecast to decrease slightly on Friday before rising again on Sunday. The NWS predicts thunderstorms across the Northeast over the weekend, as heat and humidity come to a head.
The dangerous heat has persisted throughout the summer, with records broken across the Northeast just two weeks ago being threatened once again.
Last week, a heat wave settled over the Northwest, where over a dozen deaths have now been linked to the extreme temperatures.
Young-Ho Lee / Sipa/ Pool/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(SEOUL, South Korea) — U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with her South Korean counterpart and other political leaders in Seoul on Thursday to reassure strong ties between their two countries, but she avoided making direct public comments on her recent controversial visit to Taiwan.
South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo greeted Pelosi and other members of her congressional delegation as they arrived at the unicameral national legislature in South Korea’s capital. After an hour-long meeting, both sides reaffirmed the ironclad bilateral alliance facing a range of issues, including increasing nuclear threats from North Korea.
“We also come to say to you that a friendship, a relationship that began from urgency and security, many years ago, has become the warmest of friendships,” Pelosi said during a joint press conference with Kim. “We want to advance security, economy and governance in the inter-parliamentary way.”
Pelosi emphasized the need to bolster inter-parliamentary cooperation between their two nations to deal with global security and economic challenges ahead. She agreed to review Kim’s proposal for Congress to work on a resolution marking next year’s 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, forged on the battlefield during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Both Pelosi and Kim shared concerns about North Korea’s unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in recent months. Reiterating the need for the international community to prepare for possibly more provocations from Pyongyang, Kim said he and Pelosi agreed to support their governments’ efforts to achieve “practical denuclearization and peace” on the Korean Peninsula based on “strong and extended deterrence” as well as diplomacy.
Neither Kim nor Pelosi took questions from reporters.
During her visit Thursday, Pelosi traveled to a border area with the North that is jointly controlled by the American-led United Nations Command and North Korea. She is the highest-level American to visit the so-called Joint Security Area since 2019, when then-U.S. President Donald Trump traveled there for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Later Thursday, Pelosi and her delegation spoke by telephone with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a planned vacation this week but was accused by critics of snubbing the U.S. speaker in consideration of ties with China, South Korea’s largest trading partner.
When asked whether Yoon’s inability to meet with Pelosi in person was related to her trip to Taiwan, the South Korean president’s spokesperson, Choi Young-bum, told reporters: “Every decision was made in consideration of our national interests, and without doubt, the South Korean government respects the U.S. administration’s diplomatic decisions.”
“It is clear that our position to put the Korea-U.S. alliance at first does not change,” he added.
According to Yoon’s office, the Taiwan issue was not brought up by either side on the call.
Pelosi became the first U.S. speaker to visit Taiwan in a quarter century when she and her delegation made a surprise landing there on Tuesday night, defying repeated warnings not to from mainland China, which claims the self-governing island as its own territory.
Before departing Taipei for Seoul, Pelosi said at a press conference Wednesday that “America’s determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad.” In response, Beijing began military exercises around Taiwan, including launching multiple ballistic missiles into the waters surrounding the island.
Pelosi and her delegation are scheduled to arrive in Japan on Thursday as the last stop in their Asia tour this week. They visited Singapore on Monday and Malaysia on Tuesday.
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Karson Yiu contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Coler Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center on Roosevelt Island in New York City is the foundation of where the Open Doors NYC project came to be. It was founded by Jennilie Brewester, a former volunteer at the hospital, who saw a need for more creativity among black and brown people in wheelchairs at the facility.
Vincent Pierce, the Director of Open Doors NYC, said what started as a writing workshop, turned into writing their own poetry, which would eventually turn into the Reality Poets, “being that most of us that was involved with injured due to gun violence. We told her that we wanted to go to schools and talk to kids about gun violence and the consequences of it. She’s got us doing that. Then we started doing these slam poetry workshops. And we started writing poetry and realized we was writing about our lives. One of the members came up with the name Reality Poets.”
Pierce, now 36, became paralyzed a decade ago, after being shot in the neck, saying he initially felt like his life was over after being confined to a wheelchair. But Pierce saw the bigger picture, “Thank god I had a four-year-old daughter at the time. That’s what really steered me straight and gave me a reason to know why I’m still alive… being blessed to be placed in a place where I had. People dealing with the same thing as me. People around my age, and people younger.”
Open Doors NYC hosts Freestyle Fridays, a virtual session where they invite artists as guest speakers, and all are encouraged to join and learn more about the project as well. Guns Down Mic Up! Is held bi-weekly, and is an open mic and discussion for those looking to share their stories about systemic and personal violence, including gun violence.
ZING! Is another one of the many programs under the Open Doors NYC umbrella. Pierce launched the program as a way to try and keep kids off the street and give them access they may have been initially denied, to showcase their talent and creative ability.
“Who knows? I could be saving lives by having here at that point in time, and actually paying them to come learn. I got a grant to start the program… It was just important to just keep kids off the street and give them something positive to do. Something I never had.
In March of 2022, New York State comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, released an audit showing that Health Department officials underreported nursing home deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic, by nearly half for almost a year. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in August 2021 over allegations of sexual harassment, and his administration also could not account for about 4,000 nursing home deaths during the 10-month period.
Pierce launched the #NursingHomelivesMatter campaign in July 2020, in response to how they felt the pandemic was handled when it came to residents in long-term care facilities. Pierce in a message on the site saying, “We were fighting for our lives—COVID patients were brought into our home, no safety precautions were followed, and bodies piled up in two refrigerated trucks parked outside. Then as the lockdown dragged on for more than a year, we were fighting to see our families or just to get beyond the iron gate and yellow tape that corralled us in like convicts or animals at the zoo.”
The movement contains a Bill of Rights which includes being treated as an individual, families never being locked out, safe staffing ratios, decent wages for staff, and more.
When asked what he hopes the future of Open Doors NYC holds, Pierce said “I want to see us grow. Especially that this pandemic is dying down for us to get more out there again… doing poetry shows and basically growing in the social justice field. Disability justice and being more known.”
(NEW YORK) — Two of former President Donald Trump’s grown children have been deposed by the New York Attorney General’s Office as part of its civil investigation into the family real estate business, sources familiar with the testimony told ABC News.
Ivanka Trump sat for her deposition on Wednesday, while Donald Trump Jr. appeared last week, the sources said. Their depositions were postponed following the death of their mother, Ivana Trump, last month.
It was not immediately clear what questions they were asked or how they responded.
A spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Letitia James declined to comment.
Former President Trump, who has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation politically motivated, is expected to sit for a deposition with James’ investigators later this month after he and his children lost repeated attempts to avoid giving depositions in the case.
Trump argued unsuccessfully he should not have to sit for a deposition while the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office was conducting a parallel criminal investigation. While the district attorney’s case remains active, two senior prosecutors who had been leading it resigned earlier this year over the lack of an indictment.
The Manhattan district attorney’s investigation did produce criminal charges for the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO, Allen Weisselberg. Both have pleaded not guilty. Trump himself has called those charges “shameful” and “a disgrace.”
James has said her office has uncovered evidence of potentially fraudulent conduct in the way the Trump Organization valued its real estate holdings, allegedly overvaluing properties like 40 Wall Street and even the former president’s Trump Tower apartment.
Her deputies have said in court the office is nearing a decision on an enforcement action.
ABC News’ John Santucci contributed to this report.
(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 04, 10:24 AM EDT
Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians, Amnesty International says
Ukrainian forces attempting to repel the Russian invasion have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals, Amnesty International said Thursday.
The London-based international human rights group published a new report detailing such tactics, saying they turn civilian objects into military targets.
“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas,” Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in a statement. “Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law.”
Between April and July, Amnesty International researchers spent several weeks investigating Russian airstrikes in the Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine. The organization inspected strike sites, interviewed survivors, witnesses and relatives of victims of attacks, as well as carried out remote-sensing and weapons analysis. Throughout the probe, researchers found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages in the regions, according to Amnesty International.
The organization said most residential areas where Ukrainian soldiers located themselves were miles away from front lines, with viable alternatives that would not endanger civilians, such as nearby military bases or densely wooded areas, and other structures further away. In the cases documented, Amnesty International said it is not aware of the Ukrainian troops asking or assisting civilians to evacuate nearby buildings in the residential areas, which the organization called “a failure to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians.”
Amnesty International, however, noted that not every Russian attack it documented followed this pattern. In certain other locations in which the organization concluded that Russia had committed war crimes, including in some areas of the city of Kharkiv, the organization did not find evidence of Ukrainian forces located in the civilian areas unlawfully targeted by the Russian military.
Aug 03, 11:21 AM EDT
Inspectors in Turkey clear 1st grain ship from Ukraine, but no sign of more
The first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain under a wartime deal has safely departed the Black Sea, the United Nations said Wednesday.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni set sail from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Monday, with more than 26,000 tons of Ukrainian corn on board. The vessel docked off the coast of Istanbul late Tuesday, where it was required to be inspected before being allowed to proceed to its final destination, Lebanon.
A joint civilian inspection comprising officials from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the U.N. inspected the Razoni on Wednesday morning, checking on the cargo and crew. After three hours, the team cleared the ship to set sail for Lebanon, according to the U.N. said.
“This marks the conclusion of an initial ‘proof of concept’ operation to execute the agreement,” the U.N. said in a statement Wednesday.
It’s the first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain to safely depart the Black Sea since the start of Russia’s ongoing offensive, and the first to do so under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. to allow Ukraine to resume its shipment of grain from the Black Sea to world markets and for Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Razoni’s journey a “significant step” but noted that “this is only a first step.”
No other grain shipments have departed Ukraine in the last two days and officials on all sides have offered no explanation for that delay.
The U.N. said Wednesday that three Ukrainian ports “are due to resume the export of millions of tons of wheat, corn and other crops,” but didn’t provide further details.
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fertilizer and fuel has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but a Russian blockade in the Black Sea combined with Ukrainian naval mines have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible. As a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
Aug 03, 9:58 AM EDT
Thousands flee ‘hell’ in Ukraine’s east
Two-thirds of residents have fled eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast since the start of Russia’s invasion in late February, according to the regional governor.
Speaking to Ukrainian media on Tuesday, Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said some 350,000 residents remain in the war-torn region.
During his Tuesday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the hostilities in Ukraine’s east “hell.”
“It cannot be described with words,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian forces cannot yet “completely break the Russian army’s advantage in artillery and manpower, and this is very noticeable in the fighting,” he added.
Last month, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 200,000 civilians must be evacuated from the Donetsk Oblast before the weather gets colder, as there is no proper electricity or gas supply in the area for residents to heat their homes. Russian forces are also destroying heating equipment, according to Vereshchuk.
Zelenskyy has ordered the mandatory evacuation of Donetsk Oblast residents, urging them to leave as soon as possible. Those who comply will be compensated.
“The more people leave [the] Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he said.
Although many refuse to go, Zelenskyy stressed that “it still needs to be done.”
Mandatory evacuation from Donetsk Oblast began on Aug. 1. The first two trains evacuated 224 people to the central Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi, according to local officials.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Fidel Pavlenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak
Aug 02, 4:25 PM EDT
Shipment carrying 27,000 tons of grain leaves Ukraine for Istanbul
A ship carrying 27,000 tons of corn has left the Ukrainian port of Odesa and is expected to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Joint Coordination Centre, Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The ship, adorned with the flag of Sierra Leon, left Odesa on Monday morning and is ultimately destined for Lebanon, according to the JCC.
The route will follow a humanitarian corridor, the JCC said.
The JCC is responsible for carrying out inspections on inbound and outbound vessels in Istanbul to ensure there is no unauthorized crew or cargo, according to the statement.
The arrival of the shipment from Ukraine is a beacon of hope amid the ongoing invasion from Russia. Since the war began, shipments of grain out of Ukraine, considered one of the breadbaskets of the world, have all but stalled — leading experts to fear a possible food shortage that could plunge millions into malnutrition.
Preparations and planning for ships that can export grain and similar foodstuffs from the three ports in Ukraine are still continuing, according to the JCC, which described the feat as a “historical” humanitarian mission. The initial run to move significant volumes of commercial grain is expected to last 120 days.
“The JCC ‘s work is critical to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative that helps address global food security,” the statement read. “The Initiative is focused on exporting grain, other foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from Ukraine.”
-ABC News’ Engin Bas
Aug 02, 9:19 AM EDT
Power plant used by Russia as ‘nuclear shield,’ Blinken says
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday condemned the conduct of Russian troops around the Zaporizhia power plant — the biggest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Europe — calling it “the height of irresponsibility.”
Speaking after nuclear nonproliferation talks at the United Nations in New York, Blinken said Russia was turning the power plant into a “nuclear shield.”
“Russia is now using the plant as a military base to fire at Ukrainians, knowing that they can’t and won’t shoot back because they might accidentally strike a nuclear reactor or highly radioactive waste in storage,” Blinken said.
The secretary added that Russia’s actions bring “the notion of having a human shield to an entirely different and horrific level.”
Russia was already accused of firing shells dangerously close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in March as Russian troops occupied the facility in the first weeks of the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday a nuclear war should “never be unleashed,” according to local media. Putin stressed that Russia continues to fulfill its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well as its bilateral agreements with the U.S. on the reduction of nuclear weapons.
Aug 01, 2:36 PM EDT
US announces new round of aid to Ukraine
The United States is sending a 17th round of aid to Ukraine, consisting of more ammunition for HIMARS rocket systems and howitzers, White House spokesman John Kirby announced.
This aid comes from presidential drawdown authority, separate from any aid passed by Congress.
This package totals $550 million and brings the total of U.S. presidential drawdown aid given to Ukraine since February to $8.8 billion.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Sarah Kolinovsky
Aug 01, 9:14 AM EDT
Russian troops on the move ahead of expected Ukrainian counteroffensive
The Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Monday Russian troops were massing in the direction of the town of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region, possibly in a bid to prepare for a large Ukrainian counterattack.
Talk of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at taking back the southern city of Kherson, about 140 miles south of Kryvyi Rih, has been gathering pace for several weeks.
The Ukrainian military also issued the maximum missile-fire-threat alert on Sunday in reaction to Russian troops massing in the Black Sea.
At least 17 warships and boats of the Russian Black Sea fleet were maneuvering near the Crimean coast on Sunday, according to Ukrainian military officials.
Among them were six Kalibr cruise missile carriers with more than 40 high-precision missiles on board, as well as four large landing ships.
Russia has also been transferring a large number of troops to occupied Crimea, Vadym Skibitskyi, of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said on Monday.
Russia plans to deploy these troops in the south of Ukraine to conduct future combat operations, Skibitskyi said.
The official added that Russia withdrew tactical groups of airborne troops from the eastern Donetsk region and transferred them to occupied Kherson about two weeks ago.
Russian forces have resumed localized ground attacks northwest and southwest of Izyum over the weekend and may be setting conditions for offensive operations further west into Kharkiv Oblast or toward Kharkiv City, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd and Max Uzol
Aug 01, 9:09 AM EDT
A ‘day of relief for the world’ as Ukrainian grain shipments resume
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba called Monday a “day of relief for the world” as his country resumed grain shipments for the first time since Russia’s offensive began.
“The day of relief for the world, especially for our friends in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, as the first Ukrainian grain leaves Odesa after months of Russian blockade,” Kuleba wrote in a post on Twitter. “Ukraine has always been a reliable partner and will remain one should Russia respect its part of the deal.”
Aug 01, 4:12 AM EDT
Ukrainian lawmaker hails departure of 1st grain ship a ‘historic moment’
Watching as the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain set off from Odesa’s port on Monday morning, Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko called it “Ukraine’s victory” over Russia.
Honcharenko, the son of a former Odesa mayor, said this “historic moment” was only possible because Ukraine had inflicted so much damage on the Russian Navy and had liberated nearby Snake Island, forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a deal.
“It shows again the the language of force is the only language Putin understands,” Honcharenko told ABC News.
Honcharenko said he believes 16 more ships in the port will now begin moving out in the coming days. But he cautioned that he thinks Putin will now try to do everything to limit the ships coming in and out to a minimum within the U.N.-brokered deal, utilizing airstrikes near Ukrainian ports as well as trying to invent bureaucratic obstacles.
The next big test of the deal will be when the first ships come to enter Odesa, which Honcharenko said is expected at the end of this week.
-ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic, Oleksii Pshemyskiy and Patrick Reevell
Aug 01, 3:47 AM EDT
1st ship carrying Ukrainian grain leaves Odesa port
The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain departed Odesa on Monday morning under an internationally brokered deal attempting to ease a global hunger crisis.
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni left the Ukrainian port city and is headed to Lebanon, a tiny Mideast nation that imports nearly all of its grain and lacks storage space after a 2020 explosion destroyed grain silos at its main port in Beirut. The vessel is expected to reach Istanbul on Tuesday, where it will be inspected before being allowed to proceed to Tripoli, according to a statement from the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.
Razoni, which is carrying 26,527 tons of corn, is the first commercial ship to set off from Ukraine’s port of Odesa since Feb. 26 and the first vessel to depart under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to a statement from the spokesperson for the the United Nations secretary-general. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. to allow Ukraine to resume its shipment of grain from the Black Sea to world markets and for Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fertilizer and fuel has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but a Russian blockade in the Black Sea combined with Ukrainian naval mines have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible. As a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
(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 04, 10:24 AM EDT
Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians, Amnesty International says
Ukrainian forces attempting to repel the Russian invasion have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals, Amnesty International said Thursday.
The London-based international human rights group published a new report detailing such tactics, saying they turn civilian objects into military targets.
“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas,” Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in a statement. “Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law.”
Between April and July, Amnesty International researchers spent several weeks investigating Russian airstrikes in the Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine. The organization inspected strike sites, interviewed survivors, witnesses and relatives of victims of attacks, as well as carried out remote-sensing and weapons analysis. Throughout the probe, researchers found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages in the regions, according to Amnesty International.
The organization said most residential areas where Ukrainian soldiers located themselves were miles away from front lines, with viable alternatives that would not endanger civilians, such as nearby military bases or densely wooded areas, and other structures further away. In the cases documented, Amnesty International said it is not aware of the Ukrainian troops asking or assisting civilians to evacuate nearby buildings in the residential areas, which the organization called “a failure to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians.”
Amnesty International, however, noted that not every Russian attack it documented followed this pattern. In certain other locations in which the organization concluded that Russia had committed war crimes, including in some areas of the city of Kharkiv, the organization did not find evidence of Ukrainian forces located in the civilian areas unlawfully targeted by the Russian military.
Aug 03, 11:21 AM EDT
Inspectors in Turkey clear 1st grain ship from Ukraine, but no sign of more
The first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain under a wartime deal has safely departed the Black Sea, the United Nations said Wednesday.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni set sail from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Monday, with more than 26,000 tons of Ukrainian corn on board. The vessel docked off the coast of Istanbul late Tuesday, where it was required to be inspected before being allowed to proceed to its final destination, Lebanon.
A joint civilian inspection comprising officials from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the U.N. inspected the Razoni on Wednesday morning, checking on the cargo and crew. After three hours, the team cleared the ship to set sail for Lebanon, according to the U.N. said.
“This marks the conclusion of an initial ‘proof of concept’ operation to execute the agreement,” the U.N. said in a statement Wednesday.
It’s the first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain to safely depart the Black Sea since the start of Russia’s ongoing offensive, and the first to do so under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. to allow Ukraine to resume its shipment of grain from the Black Sea to world markets and for Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Razoni’s journey a “significant step” but noted that “this is only a first step.”
No other grain shipments have departed Ukraine in the last two days and officials on all sides have offered no explanation for that delay.
The U.N. said Wednesday that three Ukrainian ports “are due to resume the export of millions of tons of wheat, corn and other crops,” but didn’t provide further details.
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fertilizer and fuel has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but a Russian blockade in the Black Sea combined with Ukrainian naval mines have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible. As a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
Aug 03, 9:58 AM EDT
Thousands flee ‘hell’ in Ukraine’s east
Two-thirds of residents have fled eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast since the start of Russia’s invasion in late February, according to the regional governor.
Speaking to Ukrainian media on Tuesday, Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said some 350,000 residents remain in the war-torn region.
During his Tuesday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the hostilities in Ukraine’s east “hell.”
“It cannot be described with words,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian forces cannot yet “completely break the Russian army’s advantage in artillery and manpower, and this is very noticeable in the fighting,” he added.
Last month, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 200,000 civilians must be evacuated from the Donetsk Oblast before the weather gets colder, as there is no proper electricity or gas supply in the area for residents to heat their homes. Russian forces are also destroying heating equipment, according to Vereshchuk.
Zelenskyy has ordered the mandatory evacuation of Donetsk Oblast residents, urging them to leave as soon as possible. Those who comply will be compensated.
“The more people leave [the] Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he said.
Although many refuse to go, Zelenskyy stressed that “it still needs to be done.”
Mandatory evacuation from Donetsk Oblast began on Aug. 1. The first two trains evacuated 224 people to the central Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi, according to local officials.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Fidel Pavlenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak
Aug 02, 4:25 PM EDT
Shipment carrying 27,000 tons of grain leaves Ukraine for Istanbul
A ship carrying 27,000 tons of corn has left the Ukrainian port of Odesa and is expected to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Joint Coordination Centre, Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The ship, adorned with the flag of Sierra Leon, left Odesa on Monday morning and is ultimately destined for Lebanon, according to the JCC.
The route will follow a humanitarian corridor, the JCC said.
The JCC is responsible for carrying out inspections on inbound and outbound vessels in Istanbul to ensure there is no unauthorized crew or cargo, according to the statement.
The arrival of the shipment from Ukraine is a beacon of hope amid the ongoing invasion from Russia. Since the war began, shipments of grain out of Ukraine, considered one of the breadbaskets of the world, have all but stalled — leading experts to fear a possible food shortage that could plunge millions into malnutrition.
Preparations and planning for ships that can export grain and similar foodstuffs from the three ports in Ukraine are still continuing, according to the JCC, which described the feat as a “historical” humanitarian mission. The initial run to move significant volumes of commercial grain is expected to last 120 days.
“The JCC ‘s work is critical to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative that helps address global food security,” the statement read. “The Initiative is focused on exporting grain, other foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from Ukraine.”
-ABC News’ Engin Bas
Aug 02, 9:19 AM EDT
Power plant used by Russia as ‘nuclear shield,’ Blinken says
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday condemned the conduct of Russian troops around the Zaporizhia power plant — the biggest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Europe — calling it “the height of irresponsibility.”
Speaking after nuclear nonproliferation talks at the United Nations in New York, Blinken said Russia was turning the power plant into a “nuclear shield.”
“Russia is now using the plant as a military base to fire at Ukrainians, knowing that they can’t and won’t shoot back because they might accidentally strike a nuclear reactor or highly radioactive waste in storage,” Blinken said.
The secretary added that Russia’s actions bring “the notion of having a human shield to an entirely different and horrific level.”
Russia was already accused of firing shells dangerously close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in March as Russian troops occupied the facility in the first weeks of the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday a nuclear war should “never be unleashed,” according to local media. Putin stressed that Russia continues to fulfill its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well as its bilateral agreements with the U.S. on the reduction of nuclear weapons.
Aug 01, 2:36 PM EDT
US announces new round of aid to Ukraine
The United States is sending a 17th round of aid to Ukraine, consisting of more ammunition for HIMARS rocket systems and howitzers, White House spokesman John Kirby announced.
This aid comes from presidential drawdown authority, separate from any aid passed by Congress.
This package totals $550 million and brings the total of U.S. presidential drawdown aid given to Ukraine since February to $8.8 billion.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Sarah Kolinovsky
Aug 01, 9:14 AM EDT
Russian troops on the move ahead of expected Ukrainian counteroffensive
The Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Monday Russian troops were massing in the direction of the town of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region, possibly in a bid to prepare for a large Ukrainian counterattack.
Talk of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at taking back the southern city of Kherson, about 140 miles south of Kryvyi Rih, has been gathering pace for several weeks.
The Ukrainian military also issued the maximum missile-fire-threat alert on Sunday in reaction to Russian troops massing in the Black Sea.
At least 17 warships and boats of the Russian Black Sea fleet were maneuvering near the Crimean coast on Sunday, according to Ukrainian military officials.
Among them were six Kalibr cruise missile carriers with more than 40 high-precision missiles on board, as well as four large landing ships.
Russia has also been transferring a large number of troops to occupied Crimea, Vadym Skibitskyi, of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said on Monday.
Russia plans to deploy these troops in the south of Ukraine to conduct future combat operations, Skibitskyi said.
The official added that Russia withdrew tactical groups of airborne troops from the eastern Donetsk region and transferred them to occupied Kherson about two weeks ago.
Russian forces have resumed localized ground attacks northwest and southwest of Izyum over the weekend and may be setting conditions for offensive operations further west into Kharkiv Oblast or toward Kharkiv City, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd and Max Uzol
Aug 01, 9:09 AM EDT
A ‘day of relief for the world’ as Ukrainian grain shipments resume
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba called Monday a “day of relief for the world” as his country resumed grain shipments for the first time since Russia’s offensive began.
“The day of relief for the world, especially for our friends in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, as the first Ukrainian grain leaves Odesa after months of Russian blockade,” Kuleba wrote in a post on Twitter. “Ukraine has always been a reliable partner and will remain one should Russia respect its part of the deal.”
Aug 01, 4:12 AM EDT
Ukrainian lawmaker hails departure of 1st grain ship a ‘historic moment’
Watching as the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain set off from Odesa’s port on Monday morning, Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko called it “Ukraine’s victory” over Russia.
Honcharenko, the son of a former Odesa mayor, said this “historic moment” was only possible because Ukraine had inflicted so much damage on the Russian Navy and had liberated nearby Snake Island, forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a deal.
“It shows again the the language of force is the only language Putin understands,” Honcharenko told ABC News.
Honcharenko said he believes 16 more ships in the port will now begin moving out in the coming days. But he cautioned that he thinks Putin will now try to do everything to limit the ships coming in and out to a minimum within the U.N.-brokered deal, utilizing airstrikes near Ukrainian ports as well as trying to invent bureaucratic obstacles.
The next big test of the deal will be when the first ships come to enter Odesa, which Honcharenko said is expected at the end of this week.
-ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic, Oleksii Pshemyskiy and Patrick Reevell
Aug 01, 3:47 AM EDT
1st ship carrying Ukrainian grain leaves Odesa port
The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain departed Odesa on Monday morning under an internationally brokered deal attempting to ease a global hunger crisis.
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni left the Ukrainian port city and is headed to Lebanon, a tiny Mideast nation that imports nearly all of its grain and lacks storage space after a 2020 explosion destroyed grain silos at its main port in Beirut. The vessel is expected to reach Istanbul on Tuesday, where it will be inspected before being allowed to proceed to Tripoli, according to a statement from the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.
Razoni, which is carrying 26,527 tons of corn, is the first commercial ship to set off from Ukraine’s port of Odesa since Feb. 26 and the first vessel to depart under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to a statement from the spokesperson for the the United Nations secretary-general. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. to allow Ukraine to resume its shipment of grain from the Black Sea to world markets and for Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fertilizer and fuel has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but a Russian blockade in the Black Sea combined with Ukrainian naval mines have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible. As a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
(NEW YORK) — As summer break draws to a close, parents are hitting the ground running with back-to-school shopping.
Back-to-school essentials traditionally ranged from notebooks and pens to t-shirts and gym socks — but now these lists have grown to include pricey technology like cell phones, tablets, laptops and more. All of those things can really add up.
Refurbished tech is one way to help combat elevated costs. “Refurbished” in this case typically means items that were returned for repairs or were no longer wanted. Deals on refurbished tech are available on websites like Back Market (not the black market!), eBay Certified Refurbished, Apple, Bose, Microsoft, Samsung and Amazon.
ABC News’ Becky Worley shared tips with Good Morning America recently for parents looking to buy refurbished — and save a few dollars — this back-to-school season.
What should you buy refurbished and how much can you save?
Savings from purchasing refurbished items can range from 15% to 50% off retail prices.
Worley found a refurbished Apple Watch with cellular connection for calls and texts can be purchased from Apple for about $80 to $190 off, depending on the model. A Samsung Galaxy S20 sells for $499 new, but $299 on Back Market, while an iPhone 11 sells for $549 new, but costs $80 less if bought refurbished.
When buying refurbished through Apple, you typically can get a “new outer shell, new battery, new box, and you can get Apple Care insurance for it,” she said.
When it comes to buying cell phones, Worley recommends buying them no older than two years to ensure the hardware can handle the newer operating systems.
What about laptops?
Worley found a refurbished Chromebook for $356, 15% off its original price of $429. Despite this, she said there were not ample options for laptops if you are looking for something specific.
“It can be tough to find the exact specification you want because of limited quantities of refurbished [items],” Worley said.
What should you be cautious about when buying refurbished?
Make sure you are purchasing certified refurbished products and not items from resellers. Buyers should also look for a good warranty and return policy.
Worley does not recommend purchasing refurbished TVs due to the high possibility of the item getting damaged during shipping.
“It’s really difficult to protect TVs in packaging during shipping, so if it’s been shipped to the original consumer, shipped back to the vendor on the return, then shipped to the manufacturer for refurbishing and then shipped out to you. That’s four opportunities for the thing to get damaged,” Worley said.
Other items she does not recommend buying refurbished are printers and hard drives.
“People don’t return them for cosmetic defects or worn-out batteries. They were more likely to have a mechanical issue that caused them to be returned. I say buy those new or make sure they have really long warranties,” Worley said.
(NEW YORK) — A Pennsylvania mom is sharing details of her son’s near-death experience to raise awareness of Powassan virus disease, a tick-borne illness.
Jamie Simoson told ABC News’ Good Morning America that her 3-year-old son Jonny was swimming in June when she noticed a tick on his shoulder, which she said she quickly removed.
“It was the tiniest tick,” said Simoson. “I, you know, grabbed it with a little pair of tweezers. It came right off.”
Two weeks after removing the tick from her son, Simoson said she received a phone call from Jonny’s day care providers that he had a headache and was “not himself.”
Within hours, Simoson said Jonny developed high fevers and became severely fatigued, sleeping all day and night and losing some speech recognition.
“It was so hard to watch,” said Simoson. “This is the little boy who’s been attached to me since the day he was born, and he didn’t even want to be held. It was just heartbreaking.”
Jonny was hospitalized, and doctors discovered swelling in his brain. He underwent a four-hour infusion of antivirals and antibiotics, which helped him improve quickly, according to Simoson.
Once he was discharged from the hospital, Simoson said doctors diagnosed her son with Powassan virus disease, a tick-borne illness that causes an infection of the brain.
The virus, which is spread to people by infected ticks, is rare. However, cases have been on the rise in recent years, with most occurring in the northeastern and the Great Lakes regions of the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms for Powassan virus, according to the CDC, may not develop until as long as one week to one month after the tick bite. Typical initial symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, vomiting and weakness.
If the virus progresses to severe, it can infect the brain or the membranes around the brain and spinal cord, causing confusion, loss of coordination, difficulty speaking and seizures, according to the CDC.
“People, when that happens, can develop altered mental status, meaning that they may be more sleepy than usual, have difficulty waking up, they may experience seizures, maybe some unusual behaviors, severe headaches,” Dr. Robert Posada, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, who was not involved in Jonny’s care, told GMA.
Around 1 in 10 people who develop severe disease from Powassan virus die, according to the CDC. Among those who survive, around half will have long-term health problems like memory issues, recurring headaches and loss of muscle mass and strength.
While there are treatments to support people with Powassan virus, there is no medication specifically used to treat this illness.
Simoson said her son Jonny is experiencing left-side weakness and some remaining cognitive delays, but she said she and doctors are hopeful he will make a full recovery.
There is no vaccine for Powassan virus, so the CDC says the best way to protect against the virus is to protect yourself, your pets and your home from ticks, which typically live in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas.
Experts also say early detection is key, so to seek medical treatment immediately if symptoms of Powassan virus disease are present.
