(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department’s top watchdog issued a report Wednesday criticizing former Attorney General Bill Barr’s management of the aggressive law enforcement response to protests in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2020 that turned violent in the wake the murder of George Floyd.
While DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz determined Barr was not personally involved in the controversial clearing of Lafayette Park to make way for former President Trump’s photo op in front of St. John’s Church on June 20, 2020, the 168-page report levels numerous criticisms regarding the “chaotic and disorganized” response by Barr and other DOJ leaders to the civil unrest that shook the nation’s capital.
“We were troubled by the Department leadership’s decision-making that required DOJ law enforcement agents and elite tactical units to perform missions for which they lacked the proper equipment and training,” the report says. “Multiple witnesses also told us that leadership did not timely and effectively communicate these deployment decisions to subordinates and non-DOJ agencies involved in the response.”
The report specifically singles out Barr’s efforts to show the DOJ could reign in the violence and vandalism surrounding the protests without military intervention, saying he “pressed DOJ law enforcement components to deploy personnel without sufficient attention to whether those personnel were properly trained or equipped for their mission.”
For example, the report confirms that Bureau of Prisons personnel deployed to respond to the unrest lacked jackets that had insignia identifying them as law enforcement personnel, which gained significant press attention and garnered harsh criticism from Democrats and civil rights groups. However, the review confirmed “that the lack of such markings was due to the fact that the BOP does not traditionally deploy personnel in a public-facing role outside the prison setting,” and not due to a deliberate effort to conceal the officers’ identities.
The review also scrutinizes the FBI’s deployment of personnel during the period between June 1 and June 3, following violent protests near the White House and a fire at St. John’s Church that led to former President Trump temporarily sheltering in the White House’s bunker on May 29.
According to the report, the deployment “lacked adequate planning, failed to provide sufficient guidance to personnel regarding their mission and legal authorities, and, by sending armed agents to respond to civil unrest for which they lacked the proper training or equipment, created safety and security risks for the agents and the public.”
“While we recognize that the civil unrest following George Floyd’s murder was a highly unusual situation that presented significant challenges the Department does not typically face, ensuring the safety of its personnel and the public should remain its utmost priority,” the report further said. “In the midst of a crisis, during pressure-filled moments when leadership must make hard decisions with little time to fully assess collateral and unintended consequences, the time-tested law enforcement practices and procedures that were collectively developed, after careful and calm deliberation, can and should be the first and most trusted resource for Department leadership.”
(EAST BATON ROUGE, La.) — A 6-month-old boy died after being left for hours in a hot car in Louisiana, authorities said.
The baby was found dead in the backseat by his parent at about 5:46 p.m. Tuesday, according to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.
When the parent went to pick up the baby from day care after work, they realized they forgot to drop him off at day care that morning, the sheriff’s office said.
The heat index — what temperature it feels like with humidity — reached a scorching 112 degrees in Baton Rouge on Tuesday.
The investigation is ongoing. The coroner will conduct an autopsy to determine how long the baby was in the car, according to the sheriff’s office.
At least 16 children have died in hot cars across the U.S. so far this year, according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org.
Since 1990, at least 1,100 children have died in hot cars — and about 88% of those kids were 3 years old or younger, according to KidsAndCars.org.
Click here for hot car safety tips to keep in mind this summer.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is moving full steam ahead in her bid for the White House, with her campaign saying Sunday it has raised more than $200 million in less than a week.
Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, have several campaign events set up this week as they aim their attacks on Harris.
Harris has secured commitments from enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee if they all honor their commitment when voting, according to ABC News reporting.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Trump interview at Black journalists association convention sparks controversy
Former President Donald Trump’s scheduled interview Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago has sparked criticism from some of its members.
Trump will be in conversation with ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner and Semafor political reporter Kadia Goba at 1:30 p.m.
“While NABJ does not endorse political candidates as a journalism organization, we understand the serious work of our members, and welcome the opportunity for them to ask the tough questions that will provide the truthful answers Black Americans want and need to know,” Ken Lemon, the association’s president, said in a statement.
Some members have expressed criticism over the interview.
April Ryan, the Washington bureau chief of TheGrio who was awarded the NABJ’s “Journalist of the Year” back in 2017, wrote online that his invitation was “a slap in the face.”
Karen Attiah, the co-chair of the convention, resigned earlier this week after the NABJ announced Trump’s appearance. Attiah wrote in a post on X, “To the journalists interviewing Trump, I wish them the best of luck,” explaining that his appearance was only partly behind her decision and that it was “influenced by a variety of factors.”
Others, however, have defended the decision.
MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend, who was formerly Vice President Kamala Harris’s spokesperson, wrote on X: “Some of the best journalists in the country are members of NABJ. So, why wouldn’t they interview Trump? He is the Republican nominee.”
-ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler
Trump tries to downplay turnout at Harris rally
Former President Donald Trump attempted to pour cold water on the enthusiasm at Vice President Kamala Harris’ Tuesday night rally in Atlanta.
Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social Wednesday morning that the turnout was only high because artists performed ahead of her speech.
“Crazy Kamala Harris, voted the WORST Vice President in American history, needed a concert to bring people into the Atlanta arena, and they started leaving 5 minutes into her speech. I don’t need concerts or entertainers, I just have to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he said in his post.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Mark Kelly defends Harris’ immigration record
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, who is seen as a strong Democratic vice presidential pick, defended the vice president’s record on immigration and went on the attack against Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, in an interview on “Morning Joe” on Wednesday.
“Donald Trump and Senate Republicans, what did they do several months ago? We had a bipartisan bill that we negotiated faithfully with the administration, both sides of the aisle, and Donald Trump said that Senate Republicans can’t vote for it,” Kelly said. “He wanted to talk about this issue instead of actually fix it and JD Vance and other Republicans, they ran away from it.”
He said Vance, who plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday, should instead be back in Washington passing legislation on the border.
“I mean, JD Vance is down here,” Kelly said. “I think he’s in Arizona today probably getting a photo op at the southern border. Kamala Harris is about solving problems. Donald Trump wants to take us, drag us back a decade.”
Kelly said, in contrast, Harris wants to address border and immigration.
Vance says time to ‘load the muskets’ in Project 2025 leader’s book: Report
Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance said it was “time to circle the wagons and load the muskets,” in a forward to a book penned by Project 2025’s leader, according to a report.
The New Republic obtained the forward to Dawn’s Early Light, the book written by the Heritage Foundation leader Kevin Roberts, where Vance claims “explores many of the themes I’ve focused on in my own work.”
“Never before has a figure with Roberts’s depth and stature within the American Right tried to articulate a genuinely new future for conservatism. The Heritage Foundation isn’t some random outpost on Capitol Hill; it is and has been the most influential engine of ideas for Republicans from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump,” Vance wrote in the forward, according to the report published Tuesday.
Vance claims “Roberts sees a conservatism that is focused on the family,” and “cultural norms and attitudes matter.”
The senator ended his forward with an analogy about a garden that “needs to be recultivated.”
“As Kevin Roberts writes, ‘It’s fine to take a laissez-faire approach when you are in the safety of the sunshine. But when the twilight descends and you hear the wolves, you’ve got to circle the wagons and load the muskets,'” Vance wrote, according to the report. “We are now all realizing that it’s time to circle the wagons and load the muskets. In the fights that lay ahead, these ideas are an essential weapon.”
Harris to lay out path to strengthen middle class during Atlanta rally: Official
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to take the stage in Atlanta Tuesday night for her largest campaign rally to date.
Among the guests will be Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo.
During her speech, the vice president will lay out how she will prioritize the strengthening of middle-class families as president, according to a Harris official.
She will say a key to this is recognizing that prices remain too high for many essentials that families rely on, and she will lay out her plans to lower costs.
She will also discuss the state of the race, reiterating that she is the underdog in this race but has real momentum and grassroots enthusiasm at her side, and she is expected to call out former President Donald Trump for refusing to honor his commitment to debate, the official said.
Following her remarks, Harris will join a national campaign organizing call to thank volunteers for their support and talk about more ways to get involved with the campaign, the official said.
Biggest Harris donors push for Shapiro, Kelly, Beshear as VP picks: Source
The overwhelming majority of the largest Democratic donors are pushing for Vice President Kamala Harris to pick Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly or Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a top adviser to major Democratic donors told ABC News.
The source says many of them are making their views known to Harris’ team and have been pushing to have a say in the process after surging large amounts of money into her campaign.
The donors say Shapiro would make a good choice because he has massive charisma and is a political talent at “Obama level,” he’s got a great brand in Pennsylvania and has chastised both Democrats and Republicans for being too extreme, according to the source.
Kelly’s popularity among the donors comes from the fact that he’s a veteran with real toughness, can talk about political violence from his personal perspective and has major name recognition and credibility in Arizona, the source said.
Beshear is popular among the donors because he’s a centrist southern Democrat who has successfully won in Kentucky two times, according to the source.
Top Biden adviser Anita Dunn leaving White House to help pro-Harris super PAC
Anita Dunn, a top adviser to President Joe Biden, is leaving the White House next week to advise the largest super PAC supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, a source close to Dunn told ABC News.
This marks the first major shakeup to Biden’s inner circle since he announced he was dropping out of the presidential race. Dunn played a key role in Biden’s 2020 campaign and was previously a top adviser to President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve in this White House, with this President and this team, during this transformational term,” Dunn said in a statement shared with ABC News. “I am grateful to President Biden and Vice President Harris for their leadership and giving me the opportunity to be part of what they have accomplished for the American people.”
Dunn will be a senior adviser to the super PAC Future Forward and an adviser to its partner organization Future Forward USA. She will work on super PAC efforts that will coordinate with the Harris campaign, according to the source close to Dunn.
Biden said in a statement that he was grateful for Dunn’s work.
“I deeply value her counsel and friendship and I will continue to rely on her partnership and insights as we finish the job over the next six months,” he said.
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Schumer says he’s not worried about Senate majority if Harris picks senator for VP
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer brushed off concerns Tuesday about keeping the Senate majority if Kamala Harris were to select a Democratic senator as her vice presidential pick.
“I have total confidence that Vice President Harris will choose a great vice-presidential candidate,” Schumer said during his weekly press conference.
Schumer dodged a question about the possibility of a key swing state opening if Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is chosen as Harris’ running mate.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
Harris says she still hasn’t picked VP
Harris told reporters she still hasn’t decided who her running mate will be as she boarded a plane Tuesday for a trip to Atlanta.
“Madam vice president, have you chosen your VP yet? Have you chosen yet?” ABC News’ Fritz Farrow asked.
“Not yet,” Harris said with a smile as she stopped midway up the steps of Air Force Two.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Biden says he’s talking with Harris about VP choices
President Joe Biden told reporters Monday night after returning from a trip to Texas that he’s “talking” with Harris about her choices for vice president.
Biden was also asked about hitting the trail for Harris, and said he “did” with his trip.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Vance, in 2020, said those without kids are ‘more sociopathic’
As Vance continues to face criticism for his 2021 comments about “childless cat ladies,” more of his previous comments about individuals without kids have resurfaced.
In a podcast from November 2020, Vance said those without kids — especially in America’s leadership class — were “more sociopathic” than those with kids and made the country “less mentally stable.”
Vance’s comments occurred on the podcast after he discussed the impact having children had on him.
Vance also added that the “most deranged” and “most psychotic” people on Twitter, now known as X, are people who don’t have kids.
“There’s just these basic cadences of life that I think are really powerful and really, really valuable when you have kids in your life, and the fact that so many people, especially in America’s leadership class, just don’t have that in their lives, you know, I worry that it makes people more sociopathic, and ultimately, our whole country a little bit less less mentally stable,” Vance said in the podcast.
“And of course, you talk about going on Twitter. Final point I’ll make is you go on Twitter, and almost always the people who are most deranged and most psychotic, are people who don’t have kids at home.”
CNN was the first to report on the podcast.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Trump out with $12M ad buy criticizing Harris on the border
Trump’s campaign is targeting Harris in its biggest television ad buy since at least January, reserving eight-figure dollar worth of airtime in six key battleground states, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.
The 30-second ad zeroes in on the rhetoric that Harris “failed” in her role handling immigration issues in President Biden’s administration, calling her “weak” and “dangerously liberal.”
“This is America’s border czar, and she’s failed us. Under Harris, over ten million illegally here, a quarter of a million Americans dead from fentanyl, brutal migrant crimes, and ISIS now here,” a narrator in the ad says, followed by an interview clip of Harris appearing to admit she hasn’t visited the border.
Harris was assigned to address the root causes of migration in Central and South America. She made one visit to the southern border operations in June 2021.
The Harris campaign hit back that Trump was responsible for “killing the toughest border deal in decades” and accused him of misrepresenting her record.
“As a former district attorney, attorney general, and now vice president, Kamala Harris has spent her career taking on and prosecuting violent criminals and making our communities safer. She’ll do the same as president,” said Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa.
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Trump attempts to clean up Vance’s ‘childless cat ladies’ comments
Appearing on Fox News The Ingraham Angle on Monday night, Trump attempted to clean up his vice presidential pick’s previous comments about “childless cat ladies,” but didn’t really address the comments.
Instead, he rambled about how Vance is pro-family.
“He made a statement having to do with families. That doesn’t mean that people that aren’t a member of a big and beautiful family with 400 children around and everything else, it doesn’t mean that a person doesn’t have, he’s not against anything, but he loves family. It’s very important to him. He grew up in a very interesting family situation, and he feels family is good, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong in saying that,” Trump said downplaying Vance’s comments.
Gloria Steinem, Chelsea Clinton and more participate in ‘Women for Harris’ call
The Democratic National Committee held a “Women for Harris” call on Monday night.
Over the course of two-and-a-half hours, viewers heard from Chelsea Clinton, California Sen. Laphonza Butler, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Gloria Steinem, Ana Navarro and leaders of organizations like Emily’s List and Mom’s Demand Action.
Clinton lamented her mother’s loss in 2016 but told viewers that defeating the former president is even more important than it was in 2016 because Americans now have a “record” of things to hold him accountable for.
“My mom put a few more cracks in that glass ceiling. And Vice President Harris is going to obliterate that glass ceiling,” Clinton said.
The call included a host of organizations who support Harris, including Black women who held the first iteration of these pop up fundraising calls with the group Win with Black Women. Glynda Carr, founder of Higher Heights PAC, which supports Black women leadership, told attendees what made this call uniquely important was the realization that women from all walks of life are “stronger together.”
Another “Women for Harris” call is planned for Tuesday night.
Harris launches $50 million ad campaign
Vice President Kamala Harris rolled out an aggressive $50 million, three-week advertising blitz for the first ad of her presidential campaign on Tuesday, in which she introduces herself to voters, highlights her career and takes hits at former President Donald Trump.
“The one thing Kamala Harris has always been: fearless,” a narrator says at the start of the minute-long ad, as pictures of Harris over the years — from a toddler to college graduate to vice president — flash on screen.
“As a prosecutor, she put murderers and abusers behind bars,” the narrator continued. “As California’s attorney general, she went after the big banks and won $20 billion for homeowners. And as vice president, she took on the big drug companies to cap the cost of insulin for seniors. Because Kamala Harris has always known who she represents.”
The spot then leads into laying out Harris’ vision and attacking Trump, using footage from her first rally of the campaign last week in a high school gym just outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead. Where every senior can retire with dignity,” Harris said in the footage from the rally. “But Donald Trump wants to take our country backward, to give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations and end the Affordable Care Act.”
“But we are not going back,” she added.
Harris campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, said in a statement that because of Harris’ prosecutorial, congressional and vice-presidential experience, the vice president is “uniquely suited to take on Donald Trump, a convicted felon who has spent his entire life ripping off working people, tearing away our rights, and fighting for himself.”
‘White Dudes for Harris’ raises over $4 million in 3 hours
The “White Dudes for Harris” livestream held on Monday night raised over $4 million over three hours in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid, organizers said.
The event featured participants from politics and a parade of celebrities — including “The Dude” himself, The Big Lebowski’s Jeff Bridges — all making their own call to action for other white men to step up in their support for Harris.
Over 190,000 people tuned into the Zoom call, organizers of the unofficial event said at the conclusion of the stream.
Among the recognizable faces that cropped up during the livestream were Star Wars icon Mark Hamill, Supernatural alum Misha Collins, The West Wing alum Bradley Whitford, Frozen’s Josh Gad and singer Josh Groban. Several potential running mates for Harris also joined the event, including North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who withdrew from contention for vice president on the Democratic ticket around the time he spoke at the meeting. He did not mention his withdrawal on the call.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, all still in the running for Harris’ vice-presidential pick, were also part of the “White Dudes for Harris” meeting.
JD Vance said Democratic ticket switch to Harris was ‘sucker punch’: Report
Sen. JD Vance, running mate to former President Donald Trump, said over the weekend that Kamala Harris moving to the top of the Democratic ticket was a “sucker punch,” according to the Washington Post.
“All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch,” Vance said to donors over the weekend in Minnesota, per an audio recording the paper said it had obtained. “The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might have to say, Kamala is a lot younger. And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did.”
When asked about the report and Vance’s “sucker punch” comment, a spokesperson for the vice presidential contender took aim at Harris.
“Poll after poll shows President Trump leading Kamala Harris as voters become aware of her weak, failed and dangerously liberal agenda. Her far-left ideas are even more radioactive than Joe Biden, particularly in the key swing states that will decide this election like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin,” Vance spokesperson William Martin said in a statement.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will not be Kamala Harris’ VP pick
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statement on Monday night signaling that he’s removed himself from contention as a vice presidential running mate for presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“I strongly support Vice President Harris’ campaign for President. I know she’s going to win and I was honored to be considered for this role. This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket,” he said in a post on X.
“As l’ve said from the beginning, she has an outstanding list of people from which to choose, and we’ll all work to make sure she wins,” he added.
Trump says he’ll ‘probably end up debating’ Harris
Former President Donald Trump seems to be one step closer to formally agreeing to debate his opponent for the presidency, Vice President Kamala Harris.
During an interview on The Ingraham Angle Monday night, Trump told the Fox News host that he will “probably end up debating” Harris. In his remarks, though, he also appeared to downplay the necessity of debates.
“I want to do a debate, but I also can say this. Everybody knows who I am. And now people know who she is,” he said.
“If you’re going to have a debate, you gotta do it, I think, before the votes are cast. I think it’s very important that you do that. So, the answer is yes, but I can also make a case for not doing it,” Trump said.
A short while later, a spokesperson for Harris’ campaign issued a statement on Trump’s comments on Fox, insisting that the vice president will be at the next debate no matter what.
“Why won’t Donald Trump give a straight answer on debating Vice President Harris? It’s clear from tonight’s question-dodging: he’s scared he’ll have to defend his running mate’s weird attacks on women, or his own calls to end elections in America in a debate against the vice president. Vice President Harris will be on the debate stage September 10th. Donald Trump can show up, or not,” the statement said.
Megan Thee Stallion to perform at VP Kamala Harris’ campaign rally in Atlanta: Source
Rapper Megan thee Stallion will give a special performance at Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday, a source familiar confirmed to ABC News.
In addition to Megan thee Stallion, Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and former Rep. Stacey Abrams will be in attendance, supporting Harris’ 2024 presidential bid.
The news was first reported by Billboard.
Marianne Williamson suspends her Democratic presidential bid, again
Democratic long-shot nominee Marianne Williamson has suspended her campaign for president, announcing on X Monday that it is “time to let go” of her bid for the White House.
Williamson said she failed to register for the Democratic National Convention’s candidate directory by Saturday evening’s deadline.
Harris will be at ABC News debate with or without Trump, her campaign says
Vice President Kamala Harris will be at ABC News’ Sept. 10 debate with or without former President Donald Trump, her campaign communications director said Monday.
“As Vice President Harris said last week, the American people deserve to hear from the two candidates running for the highest office in the land and she will do that at September’s ABC debate,” her campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, said in a statement first reported by the Hill. “If Donald Trump and his team are saying anything other than ‘we’ll see you there’ — and it appears that they are — it’s a convenient, but expected backtrack from Team Trump. Vice President Harris will be there on September 10th — we’ll see if Trump shows.”
While Harris has previously affirmed her intention to be at the debate, this statement takes it a step further by saying she’ll show up regardless of Trump’s presence.
Trump accepted the debate when Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee, though his campaign has since said they’re waiting until there is an official Democratic nominee before agreeing to debates.
Election content on social media ‘could be propaganda’ for foreign adversaries: ODNI
Content about the election on social media “could be propaganda” for foreign adversaries, officials with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned on Monday.
“The American public should know that content that they read online, especially on social media, could be foreign propaganda, even if it appears to be coming from fellow Americans or originating in the United States,” an ODNI official said on a conference call with reporters on Monday. “In short, foreign influence actors are getting better at hiding their hand and using Americans to do it.”
Russia is still pervasive in this space and remains the biggest threat to the election, according to the officials.
The officials also warned that the influence operators will use the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump “as part of their narratives portraying the event to fit their broad goals.”
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
DNC says it raked in $6.5M in grassroots donations in 24 hours after Biden endorsed Harris
The Democratic National Committee is claiming it has raised $6.5 million in grassroots donations in the 24 hours after President Biden’s endorsement of Vice President Harris on July 21.
The DNC said $1 million was donated in the 5 p.m. hour alone for what they’re claiming is a record for its best online fundraising day of all time.
The DNC is making a significant push in battleground states, investing an additional $15 million into those crucial states this month to fund new field offices, build data infrastructure, mobilize volunteers and strengthen coordinated campaigns.
“Democratic voters, volunteers, and grassroots donors are fired up,” chairman Jaime Harrison said in a memo. “We are confident that in our battleground states, Democrats will win up and down the ballot in November.”
-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
5:28 PM EDT Gov. Andy Beshear rallies for Harris in Atlanta, calls out JD Vance
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear spoke on Sunday at the opening of Kamala Harris’ campaign office in Forsyth County, Georgia.
The possible VP pick for Harris has been an effective surrogate for the vice president’s White House bid over the weekend, coming to the metro Atlanta event fresh off of a stump in Iowa on Saturday night.
The red-state governor introduced himself to the Southern audience on Sunday while boosting Harris’ candidacy and taking a number of swipes at Trump’s Vice Presidential pick, JD Vance.
“Are you ready to beat Donald Trump? Are you ready to beat JD Vance? Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris president of the United States of America?” Beshear asked the crowd, adding, “Let’s win this race,”
“Let me tell you just a bit about myself,” Beshear said. “I’m a proud pro-union governor. I’m a proud pro-choice governor. I am a proud pro-public education governor. I am a proud pro-diversity governor and I’m a proud Harris for president governor,” he added.
Calling out Vance, Beshear said, “Just let me be clear. JD Vance ain’t from Kentucky. He ain’t from Appalachia. And he ain’t gonna be the vice president of the United States.”
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
2:18 PM EDT Former Vice President Al Gore endorses Kamala Harris
Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday.
“As a prosecutor, [Kamala Harris] took on Big Oil companies — and won. As [VP], she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the most significant investment in climate solutions in history, the Inflation Reduction Act. That’s the kind of climate champion we need in the White House,” he wrote on X.
“With so much at stake in this year’s election — from strengthening democracy in the US and abroad, to expanding opportunity for the American people, to accelerating climate action — I’m proud to endorse Kamala Harris for President,” he added.
-ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim
July 28, 2024, 10:42 AM EDT Vance says Trump ‘doesn’t care’ about his past criticism
During a quick stop at a diner in Minnesota on Sunday morning, Sen. JD Vance on Sunday spoke about his past criticisms of former President Donald Trump.
When asked by ABC News if he and Trump have talked about his past criticism of the former president, Vance said yes, adding that Trump “doesn’t care about what I said eight years ago.”
“I mean, look, President Trump and I have talked a lot about this,” Vance said. “In fact, I sometimes joke that I wish that he had the memory of Joe Biden, because he’s got a memory like a steel trap, and he certainly remembers criticisms that people have made.”
“But this is where the media, I think, really misses Trump — Donald Trump accepts that people can change their mind, and you ask, ‘Why did I change my mind on Donald Trump?’ Because his agenda made people’s lives better,” Vance said.
“This whole thing is not about red team versus blue team or winning an election for its own sake. It’s about getting a chance to govern so that you can bring down the cost of groceries, close that border and stop the fentanyl coming across our country for four years,” Vance continued, saying he was “wrong” about Trump.
“He did a better job of that than anybody that I’ve ever seen as president in my lifetime. So I changed my mind, because he did a good job. And that’s what you do when people do a good job and you’re wrong. I’ve talked to President Trump a lot about it, but look, he, I mean, he just, he doesn’t… He doesn’t care about what I said eight years ago. He cares about whether we together [and] can govern the country successful.”
When asked again if the two have talked about the subject, specifically in the last week since his comments have resurfaced, Vance admitted that they haven’t spoken about it and their conversations have focused on the race ahead.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim and Hannah Demissie
(JERUSALEM and LONDON) — Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader who was assassinated early Wednesday in Iran, was a longtime antagonist of Israel who rose to become leader of the Palestinian organization’s political bureau, expanded the group’s footprint outside the Gaza Strip and served as a key figure in the negotiations to end the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
He had long been accused by Western and Israeli leaders of having strong ties to the Hamas organization’s miltary wing, which claimed responsibility last year for the Oct. 7 surprise attack on southern Israel. He had been detained by Israel in 1989 and spent three years in an Israel prison before eventually rising to the top of the Hamas group.
Haniyeh had been a part of talks as Israel and Hamas negotiated for an end to the fighting in Gaza and a return to the hostages held by Hamas. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday declined to comment on the assassination or how it may affect those negotiations, saying it was an “enduring imperative to getting a cease-fire, and what I do know is we are going to work at that every day.”
“All I can tell you right now is I think nothing takes away from the importance of, as I said a moment ago, getting to the cease-fire, which is manifestly in the interests of the hostages and bringing them home,” Blinken told reporters in Singapore.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the assassination.
Haniyeh had led Hamas political bureau since 2017
As the civil-focused Hamas branch won in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in 2006, sweeping into power throughout Gaza, Haniyeh was named prime minister.
Israel in 2007 accused then-Prime Minister Haniyeh of “adherence to an ‘armed struggle'” against Israel. The Israeli Foreign Ministry quoted Haniyeh as saying, “We are concentrating on politics but have not abandoned our arms.”
Haniyeh was dismissed after a year in office by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, took control of the security services centers in Gaza. Haniyeh rejected the decision because he considered it “unconstitutional” and described it as hasty, stressing that “his government will continue its duties and will not abandon its national responsibilities towards the Palestinian people.”
The Palestinian Authority, another civil group in Gaza, was expelled from the territory in 2007, according to The U.S. Department of State. The U.S. described the political maneuvering by Hamas as a “violent takeover.”
Ten years later, in 2017, Haniyeh became leader of the Hamas political group, which by then was the “de facto ruler” in Gaza, the U.S. said. Members of the General Shura Council elected him in voting held simultaneously in the Qatari capital, Doha, and in Gaza.
Haniyeh when he came to power was in charge of the civil wing the of the Hamas organization, the branch that manages “charities, schools, clinics, youth camps, fundraising, and political activities,” as the U.S. State Department described it.
The following year, in January 2018, during the Trump administration, Haniyeh was placed on a U.S. government terrorism list, an official designation that named him as an individual associated with terror. His addition on that list would allow the U.S. government to block his assets under a Bush administration executive order.
“Ismail Haniyeh is the leader and President of the Political Bureau of Hamas. Haniyeh has close links with Hamas’s military wing and has been a proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians,” the U.S. Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism said in a 2018 report.
A State Department spokesperson at the time said Haniyeh had “reportedly been involved in terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. Hamas has been responsible for an estimated 17 American lives killed in terrorist attacks.”
Haniyeh had in the years since then called for Arab states to stop recognizing Israel by terminating agreements to normalize relations, according to a 2023 report on international religious freedom compiled by U.S. officials.
He had lived in exile since 2019 in Qatar, an Arab country that has played a key role in the Israel-Hamas negotiations.
Rise to power from a Gaza refugee camp
Born in 1963 in the Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, Haniyeh attended schools within and near the camp. He graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza in 1987, obtaining a degree in Arabic literature. He received an honorary doctorate from the Islamic University in 2009, according to the school. After graduating, he worked as a teaching assistant at the university, and then took over administrative affairs after that.
Haniyeh began his activity within the “Islamic Bloc,” which represented the student arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” emerged.
Haniyeh was widely considered to be a charismatic, popular and pragmatic leader within the Hamas movement. He was respected by many Palestinians when he became the first Palestinian prime minister for the Hamas movement and he refused to leave his simple home at a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas movement over the years lost dozens of its leaders in Israeli assassinations in Gaza, the West Bank and abroad, but those deaths have not appeared to weaken the movement. Israeli killed the founding and spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and many top leaders in the second intifada from 2001 to 2005, but in fact did not appear to diminish the movement.
Three of Haniyeh’s sons and many of his grandchildren, in addition to other relatives, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the ongoing war with Israel broke out on Oct. 7.
ABC News’ Lauren Minore and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Hamas claims Haniyeh was assassinated by rocket that entered his room
Hamas claimed that its political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a rocket that entered the room where he was staying, Khalil al-Hayya, a high ranking Hamas official said in a press conference Wednesday. He warned that Israel will pay the price for Haniyeh’s death
Al-Hayya also slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for hampering cease-fire talks.
-ABC News’ Hami Hamedi
Blinken calls Jordanian counterpart, discusses hostage deal and preventing escalation
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called his Jordanian counterpart Wednesday to discuss “the urgency of efforts to reach a ceasefire to the conflict in Gaza” and “the importance of preventing further escalation of the conflict,” according to a statement from the State Department.
The statement doesn’t specifically mention the Israeli strike in Lebanon or the killing of Hamas’ political leader, but Jordan is viewed as a key strategic partner for maintaining stability in the Middle East by U.S. officials.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
‘Time for a deal,’ families of hostages say
A group representing the families of hostages held in the war-torn Gaza Strip, who were abducted from southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attacks, released a statement on Wednesday urging “the Israeli government and global leaders to decisively advance negotiations.”
“This is the time for a deal,” the statement said.
The statement comes amid rising tensions in the region after Hamas’ political leader was killed by a predawn airstrike in the Iranian capital Tehran — and only hours after Israel targeted a top commander for Iran’s ally Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Iran has ‘duty to take revenge,’ supreme leader says
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said his country had a “duty to take revenge” after Hamas’ political leader was killed in Tehran.
“However, following this bitter, tragic event which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, we believe it is our duty to take revenge,” Khamenei said Wednesday.
No country or organization has yet taken credit for the assassination, but Khamenei appeared in his statement to blame Israel, saying the “criminal, terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our territory.”
Global reactions rolling in following Haniyeh killing
As news of the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, begins to spread on Wednesday morning, global leaders have started to react, condemning his death and calling it a “heinous assassination.”
In a statement, Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “condemned in the strongest terms Israel’s assassination of the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine (Hamas), Ismail Haniyeh, may God have mercy on him, in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in violation of international law and international humanitarian law, and an escalatory crime that will push towards more tension and chaos in the region.”
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned Haniyeh’s death, calling it a “heinous assassination” and reiterated the need to stop Israel from escalating regional tensions.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told state-owned RIA news agency that the killing of Haniyeh “is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions.”
The Israeli Government Press Office posted a photo of Ismail Haniyeh with the word “eliminated” over the Hamas political leader’s head. The post, which had been live for more than an hour, was then removed Wednesday morning.
“Eliminated: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas highest- ranking leader, was killed in a precise strike in Tehran, Iran,” the office said in a post on its official Facebook page.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the assassination.
Killing will strengthen Iranian-Palestinian bond, minister says
The death of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader, in Iran “will strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the beloved Palestine and the resistance,” an Iranian state spokesperson said.
“The pure blood of Martyr Haniyeh will never be wasted,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, according to Iranian state media.
Iranian authorities were investigating the assassination, he said.
Kanaani praised Haniyeh for spending his life in the “honorable struggle against the usurping Zionist regime” and for seeking the “the liberation of the oppressed Palestinian nation.”
Hamas, allies react to Haniyeh killing, calling it a ‘cowardly act’
Reaction from Hamas and its allies was swift, with Musa Abu Marzouq, a member of the Hamas political office, saying in a statement, “The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, is a cowardly act and will certainly not go unanswered.”
Islamic Jihad also issued a statement, saying the death of Haniyeh will not deter them.
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the state of Palestine, said he strongly condemned the assassination of Haniyeh, calling the attack “a cowardly act.”
Political leader of Hamas has been killed in Tehran, Iran says
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, has been killed in Tehran along with his bodyguard, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said in a statement.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack at this stage.
Haniyeh was killed in his home in Tehran after participating in the inauguration of the new Iranian president, according to Hamas.
IDF says it targeted senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut, Lebanon. The IDF said the commander is responsible for Saturday’s strike that killed children playing soccer in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on social media that Hezbollah “crossed the red line.”
The Lebanese Red Cross said the strike hit a residential building, killing at least two and injuring 20.
The target of Israel’s strike was Fouad Shukr, also known as Al-Hajj Mohsen, according to three security sources familiar with the operation.
The United States was given advanced notice ahead of Israel’s strike, according to a U.S. official familiar with matter. The message was communicated via security channels and limited operational detail was shared, the official said. It’s not clear whether the strike successfully eliminated its target.
Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that “Israel has the right to defend itself against a terrorist organization, which is exactly what Hezbollah is.”
“But all of that being said, we still must work on a diplomatic solution to end these attacks and we will continue to do that work,” she added.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters he didn’t have “any updates on any specific activity,” but added, “We have been in continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the incident over the weekend, and the United States is going to continue to support efforts to reach a diplomatic solution along the blue line.”
“Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad, and it’s unwavering, especially as it defends itself against Iran-backed threats, including threats from Hezbollah,” Patel said.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Shannon Kingston
85 sick and injured evacuated from Gaza in largest medical evacuation in 9 months
Eighty-five sick and severely injured people, including 35 children, have been evacuated from Gaza to get care in Abu Dhabi, said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization.
This was Gaza’s largest medical evacuation since October 2023, according to the WHO.
The evacuees’ illnesses include cancer, neurological conditions, cardiac disease and liver disease, Tedros said.
Sixty-three family members and caregivers accompanied the patients, the WHO said.
“We hope this paves the way for the establishment of evacuation corridors via all possible routes. Thousands of sick people are suffering needlessly,” Tedros said. “Above all, and as always, we call for a cease-fire.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
IDF says it targeted senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut, Lebanon. The IDF said the commander is responsible for Saturday’s strike that killed children playing soccer in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on social media that Hezbollah “crossed the red line.”
The target of Israel’s strike was Fouad Shukr, also known as Al-Hajj Mohsen, according to three security sources familiar with the operation.
The United States was given advanced notice ahead of Israel’s strike, according to a U.S. official familiar with matter. The message was communicated via security channels and limited operational detail was shared, the official said.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters he didn’t have “any updates on any specific activity,” but added, “We have been in continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the incident over the weekend, and the United States is going to continue to support efforts to reach a diplomatic solution along the blue line.”
“Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad, and it’s unwavering, especially as it defends itself against Iran-backed threats, including threats from Hezbollah,” Patel said.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Shannon Kingston
IDF withdraws from Khan Younis after weeklong raid killing 226
The Israel Defense Forces announced that it has “completed operational activity in the area of Khan Younis” in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning, more than a week after it began bombarding the eastern part of the city — a designated humanitarian zone.
At least 226 people have been killed by Israeli forces in and around Khan Younis since the IDF raid began early on July 22, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller and Samy Zyara
One dead in Israel, one dead in Lebanon amid rising tensions
At least one person is dead in northern Israel following a rocket salvo from Lebanon this afternoon, according to Israel’s national emergency service. One person was also killed in southern Lebanon following a drone strike targeting a house in the town of Beit Lif early Tuesday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
The Israel Defense Forces said its fighter jets conducted strikes in southern Lebanon earlier Tuesday.
Approximately 10 projectiles crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with the majority of the projectiles being intercepted, according to the IDF. A direct hit was identified in the area of HaGoshrim in northern Israel.
12:34 PM EDT US meetings with Netanyahu were ‘very constructive,’ Kirby says
U.S. officials’ meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, D.C., last week were “very constructive and certainly nothing that discouraged us in terms of trying to close the remaining gaps” while trying to secure the hostage deal, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday.
“We still believe those gaps can be narrowed … and we can move forward. But obviously, as I said earlier, it’s going to take compromise, it’s going to take leadership,” he said.
“There’s no indication that we see, at this point in time, the weekend strike by Hezbollah into the Golan [Heights] area is going to negatively affect those discussions,” Kirby added.
Kirby also pushed back on the suggestion that Vice President Kamala Harris had a different message for Netanyahu from President Joe Biden, saying there was “no daylight” between their messages, and that reporting suggesting otherwise was “unfortunate and inaccurate.”
“There was no daylight between anything, the president, the vice president told the prime minister. Same points, same emphasis — the commitment and reaffirmation to help Israel continue to defend itself against these threats. Same reaffirmation by both the president and the vice president, that we want to see the cease-fire deal get enacted because of what it can do to improve the humanitarian situation. And of course, getting those hostages home with their families,” Kirby said.
Pressed on why Harris had her own meeting if their message was the same, Kirby defended Harris.
“The vice president couldn’t be in town for the meeting in the Oval [Office], and as she has been a full partner in all our foreign policy, but certainly in particular, the policy that this administration has pursued with respect to the Middle East, she felt it was important to also sit down with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Kirby said.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
12:21 PM EDT White House condemns ‘horrific’ attack on Golan Heights
The United States “absolutely condemn this weekend’s horrific attack” that killed children playing soccer in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday.
At least 12 people were killed, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Hezbollah has denied involvement in the rocket attack but Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that “every indication” points to Hezbollah as responsible for the strike.
Kirby also assigned blame to Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying “it was their rocket launched from an area that they control.”
“The United States will continue to support efforts to reach a diplomatic solution along that blue line that will, No. 1, end these terrible attacks once and for all, and No. 2, allow Israeli and Lebanese citizens on both sides of the border to safely return to their homes,” Kirby said.
Kirby stressed that U.S. support for Israeli security remains “ironclad” against all Iran-backed threats, adding, “We believe that there is still time and space for a diplomatic solution.”
Asked if the administration was urging Israel to show restraint in any response, Kirby said that Hezbollah made the first strike on Israel back in October and that “Israel has every right to respond,” but he said he was confident that a broader conflict could be avoided.
“Nobody wants a broader war and I’m confident that we’ll be able to avoid such an outcome. I’ll let the Israelis really speak to whatever their response is going to be,” Kirby said.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
4:43 PM EDT Netanyahu and Gallant to decide how to retaliate for Golan Heights attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were granted the authority Sunday to decide the manner and timing of a response to the alleged attack by Hezbollah on the town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, according to the prime minister’s office.
During a meeting in Tel Aviv, members of Israel’s political-security cabinet gave Netanyahu and Gallant the authority to devise a plan to retaliate for the strike that killed 12 people, including children playing soccer, according to the statement from the prime minister’s office.
“The members of the cabinet authorized the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense to decide on the manner of response against the terrorist organization Hezbollah, and when,” according to the statement.
Hezbollah has denied involvement in the rocket attack. The Israel Defense Forces and the White House both blamed Hezbollah for the attack.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
1:41 PM EDT White House blames Hezbollah for deadly rocket attack on Golan Heights
The White House on Sunday blamed Hezbollah for the rocket strike Saturday on Golan Heights that it said killed children playing soccer.
At least 12 people were killed in the weekend attack in Majdal Shams, a town in the Golan Heights, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“We have been in continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts since the horrific attack yesterday in northern Israel that killed a number of children playing soccer,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “This attack was conducted by Lebanese Hezbollah. It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”
Hezbollah has denied involvement in the rocket attack in Majdal Shams. But the IDF said a Hezbollah rocket was used in the attack, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier Sunday that “every indication” points to Hezbollah as responsible for the strike.
-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow
July 28, 2024, 12:35 PM EDT Middle East Airlines delays flights following Israeli strike on Lebanon
Lebanon’s flagship air carrier, Middle East Airlines, delayed departures of several inbound flights to Beirut on Sunday, the airline announced.
The decision by Middle East Airlines came after the Israel Defense Forces announced on Sunday that the military struck targets “deep inside” Lebonnon overnight. The IDF attack in Lebanon unfolded a day after a rocket strike killed 12 people in Majdal Shams, a town in Golan Heights.
Hezbollah denied involvement in the rocket attack in Majdal Shams, but IDF officials claim it was a Hezbollah rocket that hit a sports field, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “every indication” points to Hezbollah as being responsible for the strike.
Middle East Airlines said it delayed the departures of six inbound flights to Beruit that would normally land at night. The flights are now scheduled to land during the day on Monday, the airline said.
Meanwhile, Royal Jordanian Airlines also told ABC News it is considering rescheduling a flight from Amman to Beirut to early Monday morning.
A queue of Palestinian vehicles waits at the Beit Furik checkpoint, east of the city of Nablus in the West Bank, July 7, 2024. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A Palestinian human rights activist has accused Israeli soldiers of being involved in a series of alleged offenses against him and his property in the occupied West Bank, amid a spike in violence since the Oct. 7 terror attack in southern Israel by Hamas.
These allegations follow a probe by the U.S. State Department into a string of other alleged human rights abuses by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers in the West Bank, prior to Oct. 7.
ABC News spoke to Issa Amro, a Palestinian human rights activist, at his home in Hebron, the West Bank’s second-largest city. Amro spoke on his back porch, from behind the wire fence that now blocks his spectacular view of the Old City.
Amro said he needs the fence for protection and alleges Israeli soldiers have repeatedly failed to protect him from run-ins with right-wing settlers — his neighbors — who he says have threatened him. He also highlighted one particularly frightening encounter.
“He came here with a gun, he was very happy to show his power,” Amro said of an encounter with a neighbor. “He went around, he pointed the gun and said, ‘I will shoot you if I want.’”
This incident happened a few feet away from an Israeli military outpost, according to the activist.
“In spite of the presence of the soldier, I was attacked many times,” he said. “They do nothing about it. I’m afraid to stand here in the middle of the night – I feel they may shoot me.”
Amro first connected with ABC News in 2023, after the IDF put parts of Hebron under lockdown in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. Months before that, an Israeli soldier was caught on video attacking Amro in the street. The IDF jailed the soldier for 10 days, they said.
After those incidents, Amro reinforced his windows with concrete stones to act as protection.
“From the settlers and the soldiers,” he said. “I see them the same now.”
He highlighted security camera footage that appears to show a soldier walking onto his property in November. The man stole a GoPro and CCTV cameras, Amro alleged.
“Then he told me that he would come to kill me on the night,” he said.
Amro alleged that soldiers took him from his home and interrogated him for 10 hours on Oct. 7. He held up a strip of cloth he said was used to gag him, putting it in his mouth to demonstrate his alleged treatment.
“I’m keeping it as a souvenir,” he said.
The Israeli military told ABC News that Amro had not filed a formal complaint alleging violence by its soldiers, and accused him of being linked to “illegal disturbances” in the area.
He highlighted security camera footage that appears to show a soldier walking onto his property in November. The man stole a GoPro and CCTV cameras, Amro alleged.
“Then he told me that he would come to kill me on the night,” he said.
Amro alleged that soldiers took him from his home and interrogated him for 10 hours on Oct. 7. He held up a strip of cloth he said was used to gag him, putting it in his mouth to demonstrate his alleged treatment.
“I’m keeping it as a souvenir,” he said.
The Israeli military told ABC News that Amro had not filed a formal complaint alleging violence by its soldiers, and accused him of being linked to “illegal disturbances” in the area.
In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, the IDF says it has conducted “over 200 operations” in the West Bank, “eliminating over 500 terrorists.” They claimed that more than 17,000 people they’ve arrested are linked with Hamas.
Palestinian officials say Israeli operations have killed 140 children in the West Bank and Jerusalem since the October violence. Israel argues that the raids are necessary to prevent terror attacks.
A U.S. State Department investigation into IDF conduct in the West Bank concluded that three Israeli Army battalions committed “gross human rights violations” against Palestinian civilians before Oct. 7.
One such unit was Netzah Yehuda, a unit made up primarily of ultra-Orthodox men. A 2019 video allegedly shows some of its soldiers abusing a pair of blindfolded Palestinian detainees.
An Israeli court convicted an officer and five soldiers for their roles in mistreating the two men.
Yossi Levi is the CEO of Netzah Yehuda Organization, which represents soldiers in the unit. They refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria, a reference to ancient Israelite kingdoms as some Israelis assert that the area is a historic Jewish homeland.
“It’s too complicated to deal with civilian people in Judea and Samaria, to deal with thousands of operations, success operations, by the way,” he said of the incidents. “So sometimes you have bad events.”
However, such events have sometimes turned deadly. In 2022, Omar Assad, a 78-year-old Palestinian-American, died while in Netzah Yehuda’s custody. He and Mamdouh Abu Aboud were arrested at random as they drove through the village, according to Aboud.
“That night there were no security incidents, there were no confrontations between us and them,” Aboud said, speaking in Arabic.
He lay on the ground to demonstrate the position soldiers allegedly held Assad in, before he suffered from a heart attack and died, according to Aboud.
“The soldier came and hit me. I looked left and right and see Omar on the ground. I got close to him and put my hand here,” Aboud said, indicating his neck. “I knew him and called him. He didn’t respond. I checked his pulse, he had no pulse.”
In response, the IDF said the soldiers “violated” a core value of protecting human life and two of the commanders involved were suspended from their positions for two years. After the unit’s misconduct came to light in 2022, Netzah Yehuda was redeployed out of the West Bank.
That hasn’t stopped the alleged abuses. In June, video showed Mujahed Abbadi — an injured Palestinian — tied to the front of an IDF unit’s jeep. The IDF said soldiers had violated orders and standard operating procedures during a counterterrorism operation.
Former tank commander Ori Givati, who is now part of an Israeli nonprofit called “Breaking the Silence,” is among the Israelis trying to highlight the IDF’s alleged abuses in the West Bank, and says the problem is the occupation itself.
“When you occupy millions of people with the military, you go through a process of dehumanization,” Givati said.
He acknowledges that the soldiers stationed in the West Bank are working under extremely difficult circumstances — soldiers and settlers in the area are constantly threatened with attack. However, he highlights Israel’s role in creating that tension.
“Occupying the Palestinians for almost 57 years now is not helping our security,” he said. “Militarily occupy them, invade their homes, disperse their protests, build settlements on their lands. Maybe that is something that is creating a lot of hostility and we should change course.”
Amro, the Palestinian human rights activist, doesn’t understand why the Israelis see him as an enemy, saying he isn’t a security threat.
“I am here to resist peacefully the inequality, the injustice, and try to give hope,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — Boar’s Head has expanded its previous recall on several types of deli meats to include an additional 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that may be contaminated with listeria.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced an update on Wednesday that Boar’s Head Provisions Co. has recalled an additional 71 products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names.
This is an expansion on Friday’s recall announcement amid an ongoing investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into an outbreak of listeria infections linked to meats sliced at delis that have sickened 34 people across 13 states. Authorities say further testing is required to determine whether any recalled products are linked to this outbreak.
Details of Boar’s Head deli meat recall
The Virginia-based meat producer recalled approximately 207,528 pounds of products that were distributed to retail deli locations nationwide, including all liverwurst products and “additional deli meat products that were produced on the same line and on the same day as the liverwurst” that could be “adulterated with L. monocytogenes.”
Boar’s Head deli meat recalled product information
The newly added items “include meat intended for slicing at retail delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold at retail locations,” FSIS stated Wednesday. “These products have ‘sell by’ dates ranging from 29-JUL-2024 through 17-OCT-24.”
Click here for the full list of product details with item numbers, brand names and sell by dates.
The ready-to-eat liverwurst products were produced between June 11, 2024, and July 17, 2024, and have a 44-day shelf life.
Recalled liverwurst products include 3.5-pound loaves in plastic casing, or “various weight packages sliced in retail delis,” according to the FSIS, and are labeled “Boar’s Head Strassburger Brand Liverwurst MADE IN VIRGINIA.”
The products, which the FSIS said were shipped to retailers, bear sell by dates ranging from July 25 to Aug. 30, 2024. Sell by dates are printed on the side of the packaging.
Additional ready-to-eat deli meats subject to recall
9.5-pound and 4.5-pound full product, or various weight packages sliced in retail delis, containing “Boar’s Head VIRGINIA HAM OLD FASHIONED HAM” with sell by date “AUG 10” on the product packaging.
4-pound, or various weight packages sliced in retail delis, containing “Boar’s Head ITALIAN CAPPY STYLE HAM” with sell by date “AUG 10” on the product packaging.
6-pound, or various weight packages sliced in retail delis, containing “Boar’s Head EXTRA HOT ITALIAN CAPPY STYLE HAM” with sell by date “AUG 10” on the product packaging.
4-pound, or various weight packages sliced in retail delis, containing “Boar’s Head BOLOGNA” with sell by date “AUG 10” on the product packaging.
2.5-pound, or various weight packages sliced in retail delis, containing “Boar’s Head BEEF SALAMI” with sell by date “AUG 10” on the product packaging.
5.5-pound, or various weight packages sliced in retail delis, containing “Boar’s Head STEAKHOUSE ROASTED BACON HEAT & EAT” with sell by date “AUG 15” on the product packaging.
3-pound, or various weight packages sliced in retail delis, containing “Boar’s Head GARLIC BOLOGNA” with sell by date “AUG 10” on the product packaging.
3-pound, or various weight packages sliced in retail delis, containing “Boar’s Head BEEF BOLOGNA” with sell by date “AUG 10” on the product packaging.
The recalled products bear establishment number “EST. 12612” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.
The above products were produced on June 27, 2024, according to Boar’s Head.
What prompted the Boar’s Head recall
According to the USDA, the problem was discovered when the FSIS “was notified that a sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health tested positive for L. monocytogenes.”
“The Maryland Department of Health, in collaboration with the Baltimore City Health Department, collected an unopened liverwurst product from a retail store for testing as part of an outbreak investigation of L. monocytogenes infections,” the agency stated. “Further testing is ongoing to determine if the product sample is related to the outbreak. Anyone concerned about illness should contact a healthcare provider.”
Details of listeria outbreak linked to deli meats
The FSIS is currently working with the CDC as well as state public health partners to investigate a multi-state outbreak of listeria infections linked to meats sliced at delis, USDA officials said this week.
According to the agency, as of July 25, “34 sick people have been identified in 13 states, including 33 hospitalizations and two deaths.”
As of July 19, states involved in the outbreak included Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.
“Samples were collected from sick people from May 29, 2024, to July 12, 2024,” the USDA stated this week, adding that “the investigation is ongoing.”
In a notice published July 19, the CDC stated that many of those sickened in the outbreak had reported eating meat that they had sliced at deli counters.
“Investigators are collecting information to determine the specific products that may be contaminated,” the CDC stated.
“Listeria spreads easily among deli equipment, surfaces, hands and food,” the agency added. “Refrigeration does not kill Listeria, but reheating to a high enough temperature before eating will kill any germs that may be on these meats.”
Symptoms, side effects of listeria
According to the CDC, listeria can cause severe illness “when the bacteria spread beyond the gut to other parts of the body” after a person consumes contaminated food. Those at higher risk include pregnant people, those aged 65 or older, or anyone who has a weakened immune system, the CDC says.
“If you are pregnant, it can cause pregnancy loss, premature birth, or a life-threatening infection in your newborn,” the CDC states on its website. “Other people can be infected with Listeria, but they rarely become seriously ill.”
According to the CDC, anyone infected with listeria may experience “mild food poisoning symptoms” such as diarrhea or fever, and many recover without antibiotic treatment.
An estimated 1,600 people get listeria food poisoning each year and about 260 die, according to the CDC.
(NEW YORK) — A Missouri woman is suing a Kansas hospital where she says she was denied an emergency abortion after she went into premature labor at 18 weeks of pregnancy, alleging she was denied emergency health-stabilizing care.
The lawsuit comes a year after a government investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that hospitals in Missouri and Kansas violated federal law when they refused to provide Mylissa Farmer with abortion care.
Farmer is now suing the University of Kansas Health System and the hospital authority that governs it under a law — Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, EMTALA — that federally mandates emergency stabilizing care for all patients in hospitals funded by Medicare.
In a lawsuit, Farmer alleged that she suffered preterm premature rupture of membranes — when a pregnant woman’s water breaks before the pregnancy is viable — in August 2022 and she had lost all her amniotic fluid by the time she arrived at the Kansas Hospital. She alleges she had been sent to the hospital after being turned away from a Missouri hospital due to the state’s abortion ban.
Without treatment, she was at risk of severe blood loss, sepsis, loss of fertility and death, according to the suit.
Farmer alleged that physicians at the hospital “refused to perform even routine emergency checks such as taking Ms. Farmer’s temperature and assessing per pain,” according to the lawsuit.
Physicians at the hospital told her of the risks she faced without an emergency abortion, but still turned her away without any treatment, Farmer alleged.
Farmer got abortion care two days later in Illinois, but her prolonged miscarriage “caused extensive damage to her health,” according to the suit.
She is seeking a “declaration that the hospital violated federal and Kansas law by turning her away and financial compensation for the harm she suffered,” the National Women’s Law Center, which is representing her, said in a statement.
“What happened to me should never happen to anyone. Denying me care not only put my life at risk but inflicted irreparable trauma, physical and mental suffering, and financial hardship on me and my husband,” Farmer said in a statement Tuesday.
Farmer “continues to suffer physically, psychologically, and financially as a result of her ordeal. Her doctor believes the trauma from the denial of care exacerbated a chronic illness, for which she has been hospitalized several times since TUKH’s denial of care,” the lawsuit said.
“The psychological and physical manifestations of the trauma Ms. Farmer suffered ultimately prevented her from working for many months. Without the ability to earn wages, Ms. Farmer lost the home she owned,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that blocked Idaho’s ban on abortions in cases where there is a threat to the health of the mother. The case was the first time the court has weighed in on a state abortion law since it overturned Roe v. Wade, ending federal protections for abortion rights.
The University of Kansas Health System told ABC News it “has not seen the lawsuit and don’t want to comment on something we’ve not had the opportunity to review.”
But in a statement following last year’s complaint, the hospital said it was following policy.
“It met the standard of care based upon the facts known at the time, and complied with all applicable law,” according to the statement, adding that it will “respect” the government’s process on the complaint.
(NEW YORK) — Several New York distributors have recalled ground cinnamon products that were potentially contaminated with increased levels of lead.
According to an announcement posted on the Food and Drug Administration website Monday, American Spices, LLC. has recalled its Spice Class branded ground cinnamon packaged in 7-ounce and 11-ounce plastic PET jars “because it has the potential to be contaminated with elevated levels of lead.”
The recalled cinnamon powder was distributed by the Ozone Park-based company to retailers in New York City between Dec. 1, 2023, and May 15, 2024, and has an expiration date of December 2026.
“The recall was the result of an analysis conducted by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSAGM) that revealed the product contained elevated levels of lead,” the announcement stated. “The company has ceased the production and distribution of the product as FDA and the company continue their investigation as to what caused the problem.
In small amounts, lead exposure may not lead to any symptoms, but the FDA notes that increased or chronic lead exposure can cause various health issues including hypertension, kidney dysfunction, or cognitive decline and neuropathy effects in adults, and central nervous system damage like seizures and developmental defects such as learning disorders or other long-term health problems in children.
When reached by phone, a supervisor for American Spices, LLC. told ABC News’ Good Morning America the company stopped distribution of the affected products in May, adding that the company has not received any reports of any individuals being sickened by the recalled cinnamon.
In its recall announcement, American Spices advised anyone with the recalled cinnamon product to stop use immediately and return the product to the point of purchase for a full refund.
Also on Monday, Advance Food International, Inc. of Maspeth, New York, issued a company announcement, posted on the FDA website, recalling its Shahzada brand Cinnamon Powder in 7-ounce packaging “because it has the potential to be contaminated with elevated levels of lead.”
The recalled Shahzada brand Cinnamon Powder was distributed to retailers located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts between Jan. 1 and May 24, 2024, according to Advance Food International. The company said the products were not sold online and that no illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the recalled items.
Like the American Spices recall, the Advance Food recall was initiated following analysis by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, which “revealed the product contained elevated levels of lead,” the announcement stated.
“Consumers who have purchased Shahzada brand Cinnamon Powder 7oz are urged not to consume the product and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund,” the company said. “Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-718-482-0123.”
Monday’s recalls come just days after ALB-USA Enterprises, Inc. issued a recall of its own cinnamon powder products on July 26.
In a company announcement shared to the FDA website, the Bronx, New York-based ALB-USA Enterprises said it was recalling its ALB Flavor brand Cinnamon Powder, “because it potentially contaminated with elevated levels of lead.”
The ALB Flavor brand Ground Cinnamon was distributed to retailers in New York, Connecticut, Michigan and Massachusetts between Dec. 15, 2022, and May 13, 2024. It was not sold online.
“The product is branded under the ALB FLAVOR name and is packaged in a plastic bag with a net weight of 100 grams,” the company wrote in its recall announcement, adding that the brown carton packaging features “an image of cinnamon powder and two cinnamon sticks centered at the bottom.”
The recalled cinnamon powder bears the UPC code 5304000333362, a “Best Before” date of Aug. 30, 2025, and the Lot number LA02, according to the company.
No illnesses have been reported to date.
GMA has reached out to Advance Food International Inc., the distributor of Shahzada branded cinnamon powder bags, and ALB-USA Enterprises, Inc. for comment.
This is not the first time the FDA has investigated elevated metal levels in foods. The federal agency, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, launched an investigation in October 2023 into elevated chromium and lead levels in cinnamon applesauce pouches after children in 44 states who consumed them were reported to have increased lead levels in their blood, which indicated possible acute lead toxicity.
The investigation resulted in the removal of recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches in the U.S. market.
According to the CDC, lead exposure can seriously harm a child’s health and can cause “well-documented adverse effects” including damage to the brain and nerves that can lead to slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems, and hearing and speech problems.
“There is also evidence that childhood exposure to lead can cause long-term harm,” the agency states.
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Education will send an email to Americans with student debt on Wednesday, laying out options for how roughly 25 million could have some, or all, of their debt canceled this fall.
The email is the first step of the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed rule announced in April — and still being finalized — for narrower, targeted debt relief.
The proposed rule has been in the works as a plan B ever since President Joe Biden’s initial effort to cancel some or all debt for 43 million people was overturned by the Supreme Court last summer.
If it’s implemented as drafted, and survives the expected Republican-led lawsuits, it could give some amount of debt relief to 25 million people, on top of the nearly 4.8 million people that have already had their debts canceled under Biden’s tenure.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will outline in the email the pathways for debt relief — most of which are targeting people with runaway interest or who have been paying their debt for over two decades — and inform borrowers that they have until Aug. 30 to inform their servicers if they’d like to opt-out.
The Education Department “is in the process of finalizing who will be eligible for student debt relief, but we want to make you aware of this potential relief,” Cardona writes in the email.
Biden, in a statement on Wednesday, said the goal is to notify borrowers of the upcoming debt relief programs in advance, so they can “benefit swiftly once the rules are final.” Moving quickly to get relief out the door is sure to be important to the program’s success, given the barrage of lawsuits from Republicans on any debt relief or student loan system reform Biden has attempted so far.
“Despite attempts led by Republican elected officials to block our efforts, we won’t stop fighting to provide relief to student loan borrowers, fix the broken student loan system, and help borrowers get out from under the burden of student debt,” Biden said.
Biden’s hallmark reform to student debt repayment, the SAVE Plan, was put on hold by a court earlier this month after Republicans argued it was overstepping the administration’s authority. The plan has been touted as the most affordable loan repayment plan for borrowers, tying monthly payments to borrowers’ incomes and allowing debt relief after 10 years for people who took out small initial loan balances.
Here is who the latest debt relief plan would apply to, under this new plan:
The largest group will be people who have runaway interest, which is more than half of all borrowers. Roughly 25 million people owe a larger debt now than when they initially took out their loans due to ballooning interest. The new rule would not cancel their loans entirely, but rather reduce or cancel the interest that’s built up, according to a draft rule of the plan.
Some people would get up to $20,000 of interest canceled, while those who make below a certain income — $120,000 as a single person or $240,000 as a married couple — will get their entire runaway interest canceled.
The Department of Education estimated that over 90% of people, or roughly 23 million, will fall into the second bucket and be fully reset back to their initial loan amount.
The second largest group will be people who have been paying down their loans for 20 years or more, but still haven’t paid it off. This could apply to 2.6 million borrowers, the Department of Education estimated. People would be eligible if they have undergraduate loans they’ve been paying since or before July 1, 2005, or if they have graduate school loans they’ve been paying since or before July 1, 2000.
The rule will also provide debt relief to a few hundred thousand people who already qualify under programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness but have never applied, and to those who paid for a degree from a school that didn’t provide students with the financial security it advertised.
A vaster component of the rule, which would evaluate borrower “hardship” as a qualifier for debt relief, is also still in the works but not likely on the same timeline.
