(WASHINGTON) — Deputy Homeland Security Secretary John Tien, a 24-year Army vet, now finds himself with a new challenge, handed down by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas specifically because of his background: defeating, disrupting and dismantling Mexican drug cartels.
“These cartels are responsible for human smuggling, human trafficking, narcotics trafficking in particular, who are making, shipping and selling dangerous and deadly narcotics,” Tien told ABC News in an interview, laying blame with them for the spread of opioids like fentanyl.
Tien is one of the most senior law enforcement officials in the country. His status as a veteran isn’t so unique — there are about 54,000 others working at the department, or about 20% of employees — but it informs his work even out of the military.
So, too, does his heritage.
“As a first-generation Asian American, I know that I’ve got a responsibility to be both seen and heard,” he explained. (May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.)
The son of Chinese immigrants, Tien spent his early childhood in Pittsburgh. He learned from his mother “how to be a servant leader” and from his father how to lead a life of public service. That path began with a single conversation in the weight room.
“I really think you should consider West Point, not any of the other military academies, just West Point,” Tien recalls his father saying. “And I said, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘Because you wouldn’t be sitting here today, you wouldn’t be [an] American citizen, without the United States of America accepting our family, your grandfather’s family … through Ellis Island.'”
Tien followed his father’s advice, attending the U.S. Military Academy, where he became the first Asian American to serve as the first captain and brigade commander, the school’s top-ranked cadet position.
He ultimately served three tours in Iraq — with his first being Operation Desert Storm — then went on to both private sector and government work.
Decades later, Tien said his motto while at the academy — “duty, honor, country” — and the motto of the Department of Homeland Security are “essentially one and the same.”
“That motto literally is in my DNA. It’s my life credo,” he said. “And it has indeed been the throughline of my life and how I aspire to act and behave.”
When Mayorkas called him about a job in 2021, Mayorkas told him he has “the right combination of experience and skills at the right time for the nation,” said Tien, who previously worked on the National Security Council in the Bush and Obama White Houses.
“The way al-Qaida operates is very similar to the way the cartels operate,” he said.
(SEATTLE) — Officers were investigating a shooting at a casino near Seattle, the King County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.
At least three people were injured at Roxbury Lanes Casino, a venue in southwestern Seattle, authorities who responded to the scene told ABC News affiliate KOMO.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(RED ROCK, N.M.) — Three people were killed and five others were injured in a shooting at an annual motorcycle rally in Red Rock, New Mexico, police said.
“The scene is secure, no ongoing threat to public safety,” New Mexico State Police said on Twitter.
One of the people injured in the shooting was airlifted to a hospital in Denver, authorities said. Police officers responded to “secure” two other hospitals, Holy Cross Medical Center and at The University of New Mexico Hospital, where injured people were being treated, State Police said.
As many as 28,000 bikers were expected to arrive in Red River this weekend for the 41st Annual Red River Memorial Day Motorcycle Rally, an annual event with live music.
Bikers from “all different backgrounds line Main Street for one crazy party,” according to the town’s website.
Officials in nearby Taos put in place an emergency curfew beginning at 10 p.m. Saturday. All alcohol sales were to be stopped during the emergency proclamation, which was posted on the town’s Facebook page.
“NMSP request the public to avoid Red River as we conduct our investigation,” State Police said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was responding to help State Police with the investigation, the Phoenix Field Division said on Twitter.
Police updated the number of deaths to three in a statement on Twitter early on Sunday morning, revising an earlier statement saying two people had died.
(WASHINGTON) — A bipartisan majority of Congress will approve a compromise in the coming days to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and avert a historic default that could upend the economy while enforcing some limits on government spending, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted on Sunday.
McCarthy, flanked by the two Republican negotiators who worked with him on brokering a debt and spending deal with the White House, spoke with reporters outside his office on Capitol Hill on Sunday.
He offered some specifics about the agreement with President Joe Biden while pushing back on already-emerging criticism from his party’s right flank that Republicans did not exact enough concessions on the federal government’s budget.
“I think people will look back and say, ‘Well I didn’t get exactly what I wanted.’ But there’s something in here that — it shouldn’t be about you, it should be about America,” McCarthy said. “America believes that we have spent too much, so this spends less.”
The bill “doesn’t get everything everybody wanted,” he acknowledged, “but that’s, in divided government, that’s what we end up with.”
McCarthy said he would speak with Biden again later Sunday, to review the finalized language of the legislation, and then the text will be posted publicly, starting a 72-hour clock that he has committed to members for reading the bill before a vote on Wednesday.
“This is a good, strong bill that a majority of Republicans will vote for,” the speaker told ABC News’ Trish Turner.
And with Biden’s backing, “I expect his party to be supportive as well,” McCarthy said.
While McCarthy and Reps. Garret Graves and Patrick McHenry, of Louisiana and North Carolina, deferred some details of the debt bill to the final text, expected to be released Sunday afternoon, they touted what they saw as major wins.
“This is the most conservative spending package in my service in Congress,” McHenry, a 10-term representative, said.
McCarthy again stressed that Republicans had forced Biden to reverse his monthslong insistence that the White House would only negotiate on the budget separate from any increase on the debt, with Democrats likening talks with Republicans under the threat of default to economic hostage-taking.
“It wasn’t until the final two weeks that we were really able to sit down,” McCarthy said.
The clock was ticking the whole time: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the federal government will run out of money to pay all of its bills by June 5 unless its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit is raised.
Such a default would risk undermining the credit of the U.S., which is a lynchpin of the international economy, and could delay payments on a swath of services including Social Security.
On Sunday, the speaker repeatedly praised both Graves and McHenry and Biden’s team of “professional,” “smart” and “tough” negotiators.
“The negotiations were intense, they were quite challenging,” McHenry told reporters. “The outcome of that is a fundamental shift in the spending trajectory in Washington.”
ABC News has previously reported that, according to sources familiar, the agreement is a two-year budget deal that would also separately raise the debt limit for two years while keeping non-defense spending roughly flat with current levels in fiscal year 2024 and increasing by 1% in 2025.
The agreement would phase in new work requirements for recipients of SNAP benefits — specifically time limits on the benefits for people up to age 54, excluding veterans and homeless people. Those new requirements would sunset in 2030, sources said.
The bill would fully fund medical care for veterans, including an extension of funding in the PACT Act, one source said.
And the deal would streamline the review process for certain energy projects.
McCarthy, Graves and McHenry on Sunday pointed to changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, in particular, and said that while government spending on defense and veterans would increase under the deal, other appropriations would fall below the 2022 level.
Ultimately, McCarthy and his negotiators said, Republicans could not enforce a more sweeping, 10-year spending reduction into the next Congress because future lawmakers would simply be able to vote to undue it.
McHenry said that the bill instead lays out, as one example, $704 billion in annual non-defense discretionary government spending while “hold[ing] vets harmless” — a rebuke of Democratic criticism that Republicans were seeking spending cuts that could affect vets.
The speaker was pressed several times by reporters on comments by some House Republicans that the debt deal doesn’t go far enough, especially in light of the Limit, Save, Grow Act that was passed along party lines in the House last month.
“This ‘deal’ is insanity. … Not gonna vote to bankrupt our country. The American people deserve better,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., tweeted.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., likewise shared his displeasure on social media. “Conservatives have been sold out once again!” he tweeted.
McCarthy played down reports of in-fighting, insisting more than 95% of his conference had been “overwhelmingly excited” about the compromise during an earlier conference call.
“Let’s let the members actually read the bill before they make a decision and go forward,” he told reporters.
He also brushed off the potential risk of a snap vote to boot him from the speakership, which any single member could trigger under an earlier deal McCarthy made to win the gavel in January.
“Not at all,” he said when asked if he was worried about such a move, known as a motion to vacate.
The GOP holds only a narrow majority in the House right now. Passing a debt compromise theoretically would require at least a bare majority of Republicans — with enough Democrats to make up for any conservative defections.
In a “dear colleague” letter shared Sunday morning, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Democrats that the Biden administration would brief them later in the day on the terms of the deal.
Jeffries made no commitments about the scope of his caucus’ support but struck an optimistic tone on raising the borrowing limit: “I am thankful to President Biden for his leadership in averting a devastating default and look forward to our collective discussion,” he wrote.
McCarthy told reporters that he has spoken to Jeffries multiple times and spoke with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Saturday.
The speaker first announced a deal in principle on Saturday night, after weeks of talks with Democrats and a seesawing tone from both sides on the ultimate fate of any agreement.
In a brief statement Saturday, Biden said their compromise was “an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone.”
“I strongly urge both chambers to pass the agreement right away,” the president said.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced at a brief presser on Saturday night that House Republicans and the White House have reached a tentative deal to raise the federal government’s debt limit, ending a monthslong stalemate.
“I just got off the phone with the president — I talked to him twice today — and after weeks of negotiations, we have come to an agreement in principle,” McCarthy said, emerging from his office shortly after 9 p.m. ET on Saturday. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
McCarthy, who did not take any questions from the press, laid out next steps for the deal, including plans to post the text on Sunday and vote on the bill on Wednesday.
“I expect to finish the writing of the bill, checking in with the White House and speaking to the president again tomorrow afternoon and then posting the text of it tomorrow and be voting on it on Wednesday,” he said.
The speaker was light on specific details regarding the bill, instead calling it “an agreement in principle that’s worthy of the American people.”
“It has historically reductions in spending, consequential reforms that will lift people out of poverty into the workforce, reign in government overreach. There are no new taxes, no government programs,” McCarthy said.
The agreement is a two-year budget deal that would also separately raise the debt limit for two years, sources familiar with the negotiations told ABC News.
Sources said the budget deal would keep non-defense spending roughly flat with current levels in fiscal year 2024, increasing by 1% in 2025.
One source said the negotiating team is now working on finalizing bill text and a term sheet. House Democrats are invited to a members-only White House briefing on Sunday at 5 p.m., per one source.
The agreement phases in new work requirements for recipients of SNAP benefits — specifically time limits on the benefits for people up to age 54, excluding veterans and homeless people. Those new requirements would sunset in 2030, sources said.
There are no changes to Medicaid requirements, sources added.
The agreement also fully funds medical care for veterans, including an extension of funding in the PACT Act, one source said. And it would streamline the review process for certain energy projects.
President Joe Biden issued a statement on the agreement in principle, calling it “an important step forward” and a “compromise” as the White House and Congress continue to finalize the text of the bill.
“It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone. And, the agreement protects my and Congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments,” Biden said.
“The agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want. That’s the responsibility of governing,” he said.
Biden said the deal will prevent “what could have been a catastrophic default and would have led to an economic recession, retirement accounts devastated, and millions of jobs lost” — though the deal will have to pass both chambers of Congress and get to his desk by June 5 to do so.
Given the tight timeline, Biden said work would continue between both sides and “I strongly urge both chambers to pass the agreement right away.”
The breakthrough on the government’s debt and spending comes just days before the so-called “X-date” when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the U.S. would run out of cash to pay all of its bills on time.
A tentative deal will have to pass the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate.
Time is of the essence to push the deal through before potential default. McCarthy has pledged to give House members 72 hours to review the legislation before a vote. And in the Senate, it would only take one lawmaker to possibly delay approval for up to a week.
Wings from both parties expressed dissatisfaction during talks and encouraged their respective leaders to stand their ground.
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative hardliners who held up McCarthy’s ascension to the speakership, signaled opposition to anything other than the Limit, Save, Grow Act passed in the House last month and said a major overhaul of the government’s spending is needed.
On the other side of the aisle, several progressive Democrats warned they would push back on any deal that gave too many concessions to Republicans, arguing that negotiating on the budget with default looming amounted to economic hostage-taking by the GOP.
The fight over the debt ceiling has threatened to sink the economy.
Economists have warned the U.S. being unable to fulfill financial obligations would put millions of jobs at risk, increase unemployment levels and lead to higher prices for everyday items.
A default could also result in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid payments — as well as military pay and veterans benefits — going unpaid or being delayed.
As the negotiations came down to the wire, Americans who depend on those checks expressed growing concern and anxiety surrounding their ability to pay rent, buy groceries and other daily expenses if default were to occur.
Air Force veteran Jacob Thomas in Minneapolis told ABC News’ Elizabeth Schulze the uncertainty over default was already hitting American military families.
“Even if a deal is reached, everything winds up being okay next week, that still means that right now, families and veterans across the country are having to think about what does it mean for me to have to ration my current paycheck or my current disability paycheck,” Thomas said.
(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — Newly released surveillance footage shows a dramatic shootout between a North Carolina public bus driver and passenger while the bus was in motion.
The shooting occurred on May 18 on a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus, after the passenger asked the driver to get off between stops near the Steele Creek Premium Outlet Mall, the transportation agency said.
During an approximately two-minute exchange, the passenger, identified by authorities as 22-year-old Omarri Shariff Tobias — can be heard saying, “I dare you. I dare you to touch me. I’m going to pop your a–,” in the footage, released Friday by CATS.
Tobias then walks away and can be seen pulling a firearm out of his jacket pocket, as two other passengers are visible seated on the bus, before moving back towards the front door of the bus and turning to face the driver.
The driver, identified by CATS as David Fullard, then pulls out his own firearm and both exchange rapid gunfire. CATS said it has been unable to determine who fired first. Multiple bullet holes can be seen in a transparent partition that separates the driver from passengers.
The driver then stopped the bus and left his seat as Tobias crawled his way toward the rear of the bus. The two bystander passengers had also quickly moved to the rear of the bus during the exchange of gunfire.
The driver continued to fire his gun after the initial exchange, the video shows. While standing in the aisle, he fired toward the rear of the bus where Tobias was ducking for cover. After Tobias and another bystander were able to open the rear door and exit, Fullard exited from the bus’ front door and fired at Tobias again, CATS said.
Both men were struck by gunfire in the shooting — the driver in the arm and the passenger in the abdomen — and transported to a local hospital, CATS said. Both are expected to recover from their injuries, the agency said.
One of the bystanders could be seen tumbling to the ground as Tobias exited the bus, though both bystanders were unharmed in the incident, CATS said.
Officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to the scene and confiscated both firearms, police said.
CATS interim CEO Brent Cagle called the incident a “tragic expression of the gun violence in our community.”
“We will not be able to solve this problem on our own. However, CATS is committed to doing what we can to address this with our partners at CMPD, and our partners at RATP Dev who employ and manage our bus operators,” Cagle said in a statement on Wednesday.
Tobias has since been arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injuries, communicating threats and carrying a concealed firearm, police said. He is currently detained at the Mecklenburg County jail, online inmate records show. It is unclear if he has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has not yet announced whether charges will be brought against Fullard, who has been fired, CATS said.
Fullard was an employee of RATP Dev/Transit Management, which does not allow employees to carry weapons while working, CATS said.
Fullard’s attorney said he had the gun because he didn’t feel safe on the job, ABC Charlotte affiliate WSOC reported.
CATS said it also determined that Fullard did not follow standard safety protocols, including de-escalation, during the altercation.
“Ninety-nine percent of CATS transit happens without any operator needing to engage emergency protocols. In this case, the operator did not leverage any,” CATS said, noting that Fullard could have just let the passenger off the bus between the stops in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.
Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Future Publishing via Getty Images
(BELGOROD, Russia) — At least two people have died in strikes on Russian territory as Russia reported more attacks on Saturday, with drones crashing in its western regions and areas on the border with Ukraine coming under shelling, according to Russian officials.
Russia’s Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine came under multiple rounds of shelling, killing one person, according to its governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov.
In the neighboring Kursk region, which also borders Ukraine, one person was killed by cross-border mortar fire, Kursk Gov. Roman Starovoit said.
Two drones attacked an oil company’s administrative building in Russia’s western Pskov region that borders Belarus, Latvia and Estonia, Pskov Gov. Mikhail Vedernikov reported Saturday.
Vedernikov said the building was damaged as the result of an explosion.
Another drone went down in the Tver region about 150 kilometers, or 90 miles, north of Moscow, according to local authorities.
Meanwhile, Russian forces continued their offensive operations, but the pace of the attacks decreased, according to Ukrainian officials.
“Yesterday and today there have not been any active battles – neither in the city nor on the flanks,” Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Telegram.
She added that Moscow’s troops were shelling the outskirts and approaches to Bakhmut.
“The decrease in the enemy’s offensive activity is due to the fact that troops are being replaced and regrouped,” Maliar said. “The enemy is trying to strengthen its own capabilities.”
According to Maliar, Ukrainian troops “firmly hold” the heights overlooking Bakhmut from the north and south, as well as a portion of the outskirts, but have not advanced during the past two days to focus on “other tasks.”
(SAN FRANCISCO) — The family of a man fatally shot by a security guard in a San Francisco Walgreens last month during an apparent shoplifting altercation has filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit.
Banko Brown, 24, died on April 27 following an altercation with the guard, police said. The guard, 33-year-old Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, has not been charged in the shooting.
Attorneys for Banko’s parents announced Friday they have filed a civil lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against Walgreens, Anthony and Kingdom Group Protective Services, which provides security for Walgreens and employs Anthony.
“Deadly force was not the way to handle this,” civil rights attorney John Burris told reporters during a Friday press briefing, calling it a “petty theft situation.”
“You’re talking about taking a person’s life in connection with $15, $14,” Burris said.
The lawsuit claims that Walgreens and Kingdom Group Protective Services have encouraged their armed security officers to use force to detain suspected shoplifters.
“Walgreens is responsible,” Burris said. “It’s Banko’s blood that’s on their heart and on their conscious and on their hands.”
A Walgreens spokesperson told ABC News they are not commenting on the lawsuit. ABC News has reached out to Kingdom Group Protective Services.
A Walgreens spokesperson previously told ABC News: “We are offering condolences to the victim’s family during this difficult time. The safety of our patients, customers and team members is our top priority, and violence of any kind will not be tolerated in our stores.”
A spokesperson for Kingdom Group Protective Services told ABC News previously that it is “fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation of this extremely unfortunate incident and are deeply saddened by the loss of Banko Brown’s life. At this time, we are not permitted to comment further.”
ABC News was unable to reach Anthony for comment.
The incident took place at a Walgreens in downtown San Francisco on April 27 just after 6:30 p.m. PT, according to the police report. The surveillance video, which does not have sound, purportedly shows Brown attempting to leave the store without paying for a bag full of items. The on-duty and lawfully armed security guard, Anthony, stops Brown then the two engage in a struggle. The two struggle for less than a minute until Anthony pins Brown to the ground, as shoppers continue to enter and exit the store.
The video then purportedly shows Anthony letting go of Brown, who picks up the bag and heads for the exit. Brown turns around and walks backward out the door then appears to step toward Anthony. Anthony lifts his gun and fires a single shot, striking Brown in the chest. Brown falls to the ground just outside the store.
In an interview with police, Anthony said he told Brown to “put the items back” but that Brown “refused” and was “aggressive.” Anthony said he went to take the items but that Brown fought to keep them and repeatedly threatened to stab him as a struggle ensued. Police said a knife was not found on Brown.
Attorneys for Brown’s family also pushed back against claims that Brown threatened to stab the guard, saying Friday that witnesses have not corroborated that.
Brown, who struggled with homelessness, worked as a community organizer for the Young Women’s Freedom Center, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides support for young women and transgender youth across California.
In seeking at least $25 million in damages, Burris said they want the lawsuit to send a message that “the value of a human life cannot be diminished because of their station in life, who they are.”
“This was a young person, 24 years old, whose life was taken unnecessarily so,” Burris said.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office declined to file criminal charges against the security guard, citing insufficient evidence that Anthony was not acting in lawful self-defense.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta this week agreed to review the district attorney’s office’s decision this week to see whether it was an “abuse of discretion,” ABC San Francisco station KGO reported.
Brown’s parents are calling for murder charges against the guard.
“I would like him to go to prison for life,” Brown’s mother, Kevinisha Henderson, told “Good Morning America.”
Brown’s funeral service was held Thursday, a month after he was killed.
“[I’m] in a state of shock, it’s still hard to believe,” Henderson said. “It’s very hard for me.”
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Tenzin Shakya contributed to this report.
(KUWAIT CITY) — An American soldier was killed in a non-combat rollover accident in Kuwait, U.S. officials said late Friday.
Spc. Jayson Reed Haven, 20, of Aiken, South Carolina, died from a rollover accident that occurred in a non-combat situation on Thursday at Camp Buehring in the northwestern desert of Kuwait, about 20 miles from the southern border of Iraq.
The fatal incident remains under investigation, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Defense. Further details were not immediately available.
The news of Haven’s death came just days before Memorial Day, a federal holiday for honoring and mourning those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
“There are no words that can adequately express how deeply saddened I am at the loss of one of our own,” Maj. Gen. Van McCarty told Haven’s hometown newspaper, the Aiken Standard. “SPC Jayson R. Haven was more than just a member of the South Carolina National Guard; he was family.”
Haven, a machine gunner, had received multiple medals and awards during his service with the South Carolina National Guard. He was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, based in Charleston. He initially joined the U.S. Army in 2020, according to the Aiken Standard.
Haven was deployed to Kuwait to support Operation Spartan Shield, an effort to strengthen U.S. defensive relationships throughout Southwest Asia, according to the Army.
Vehicle accidents involving rollovers are a leading cause of death for the U.S. military.
While rollovers only account for a quarter of vehicle accidents, they contribute to 63% of accidents involving a death between 2010 and 2019, according to a 2021 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
That same report found that the military did not take sufficient action during that time frame to reduce the often preventable accidents, which accounted for 123 deaths for the Army and Marines between 2010 and 2019.
(DELRAY BEACH, Fla.) — A missing youth basketball coach in Florida was found dead nearly a week after police said he was last seen going for a run.
Makuach Yak, 31, was found dead Friday evening inside the Delray Oaks Natural Area, a park in Delray Beach, Florida, local authorities said.
“Right now, it appears his death is not criminal in nature,” the Delray Beach Police Department said in a social media post.
The medical examiner will determine Yak’s cause of death, and the investigation remains open, police said.
Yak, a youth basketball coach from Delray Beach, was supposed to coach on May 20 but was nowhere to be found, his friend and business partner, Tate VanRoekel, told ABC West Palm Beach affiliate WPBF.
Home security footage shared with WPBF recorded Yak in his front yard around 6:30 a.m. that day in a purple shirt and black shorts, the station reported.
VanRoekel told WPBF that Yak’s wallet, keys, cellphone and Apple Watch were “all on the counter, just sitting there.”
In the days since he was reported missing, friends and family have held search parties throughout Delray Beach, a city on Florida’s east coast located between West Palm Beach and Boca Raton.
Friends also spread the word through a Facebook group, Missing: Find Coach Yak.
“We ask that you pray for his family and all who loved him. We are devastated,” the group posted on Friday.
Yak, a native of South Sudan who was also known by the name Paul, coached youth basketball in the South Florida region. He competed in cross country at Augustana University in South Dakota and once had ambitions to compete in the Olympics, according to a 2018 Des Moines Register profile of the runner.
