(NEW YORK) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order Friday in response to the growing monekypox outbreak in the state and declared it to be a “disaster emergency.”
“After reviewing the latest data on the monkeypox outbreak in New York State, I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our aggressive ongoing efforts to confront this outbreak,” Gov. Hochul said. “More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond. It’s especially important to recognize the ways in which this outbreak is currently having a disproportionate impact on certain at-risk groups. That’s why my team and I are working around the clock to secure more vaccines, expand testing capacity and responsibly educate the public on how to stay safe during this outbreak.”
According to data by the Centers Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New York has the highest reported cases of monkeypox.
There have been 1383 reported cases of monkeypox in New York, according to state data and almost 5,000 in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the executive order will allow the state to respond more quickly to the monkeypox outbreak and enable health care workers to help get more New Yorkers vaccinated.
Hochul’s declaration came a day after monkeypox was considered an “imminent threat” to the public health by New York state’s health commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett.
Commissioner Barrett said in a statement that the designation meant that “local health departments engaged in response and prevention activities will be able to access additional State reimbursement, after other Federal and State funding sources are maximized.”
Monkeypox is primarily spread from person to person contact through close and physical contact. A fever, muscle ache, chills, headache and fatigue are some of the symptoms. Sores and painful rashes also develop on a person’s body.
Most cases in the U.S. have been reported among the gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men community and related to male-to-male sexual contact. Though health officials have repeatedly stressed that the virus can affect anyone who has close contact with people who have monkeypox. Those with weakened immune systems, pregnant people and children under the age of 8 may be at heightened risk for severe outcomes, according to the CDC.
“Every American should pay attention on monkeypox,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters Thursday. “Monkeypox is not COVID, but it is contagious. It is painful and can be dangerous.”
The World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern last week.
ABC News’ Matt J. Foster and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn, said publicly that he would not support President Joe Biden in 2024 amid a slew of new polling reflecting Democrats’ desire for a new presidential candidate.
The White House on Friday dodged probing by ABC News’ Molly Nagle into what the administration thought about the House Democrat’s comments.
“Look, I’m going to stay where I am,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News. “The President intends to run in 2024. We are ways away from 2024. We are going to continue to focus on doing the business of the American people by delivering for families by lowering costs for families.”
Phillips on Friday called for a “new generation” of leadership on Friday in the White House in an interview on the Twin Cities-based radio show WCCO-AM.
“I think the country would be well-served by a new generation of compelling, well-prepared, dynamic Democrats who step up,” Phillips said.
“I think it’s time for a generational change,” said Phillips, who told host Chad Hartman he expects more Democrats to start speaking out about their concerns. “And I think most of my colleagues agree with that.”
President Biden is experiencing heightened levels of doubt from inside his own party, with a New York Times/Siena College poll earlier this month showing 64% of Democratic voters saying they would prefer a new standard-bearer for a White House bid in 2024. His job-approval rating remains at 33%, according to the same poll.
“I have respect for Joe Biden, I think he has — despite some mistakes and some missteps, despite his age — I think he’s a man of decency, of good principle, of compassion, of empathy and of strength,” Phillips added.
Biden and other White House officials have attempted to defend his electability in recent weeks, however.
Biden fired back in early July at ABC News reporter Ben Gittleson, who asked about Democrats who’d prefer he didn’t run again.
“Read the poll,” Biden said, referring to the NYT/Siena College poll. “92% said if I did [run again], they’d vote for me.”
Jean-Pierre also cited the 92% figure when asked to react to the poll– which, administration supporters were also quick to note, did show him winning a hypothetical rematch with former President Donald Trump.
“You know, there’s going to be many polls,” she said. “They are going to go up and they are going to go down. This is not the thing that we are solely focused on.”
Polling data also shows that a majority of Americans would not prefer the former president seek another White House term either.
Trump has teased, but has not officially confirmed a plan to run for another White House term, while Biden has said multiple times that he will seek reelection.
“When you have such a sour, negative political environment, voters in general are looking for change,” GOP pollster Robert Blizzard told ABC News earlier this week. “They’re looking for new voices, new people.”
(DECATUR, Ga.) — The family of a Georgia woman who died after she was taken into custody and fell out of a moving police patrol car earlier this month is demanding answers in her death.
Brianna Grier, 28, was taken into custody on July 15 after two Hancock County Sheriff’s Office responded to her home in Sparta, Georgia, authorities said.
Her mother had called 911 because her daughter was having a mental health crisis, according to civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family.
While being transported to the sheriff’s office, Grier fell out of a patrol car and sustained “significant injuries,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), which is investigating the death, said in a statement.
Grier suffered brain trauma and was in a coma before she died on July 21, according to Crump.
“Yet again, we have another African American citizen killed in just an unbelievable way while in the custody of the police,” Crump said during a press briefing Friday.
The briefing comes two days after GBI released new details in the incident.
According to GBI, Grier was placed in the backseat of the patrol car while handcuffed with no seatbelt on. The rear passenger side door was never closed before they drove away, GBI said.
Before the deputies placed her in the car, Gier was on the ground “refusing to get in the patrol car” and “made a statement that she was going to harm herself,” GBI said.
Both the rear driver’s side door and rear passenger side door were open while the deputies put Grier in the backseat, but they only closed the rear driver’s side door before leaving the scene and driving a short distance, GBI said.
“The investigation shows that the deputy thought he closed the rear passenger side door,” GBI said. “Body camera footage reveals the deputies had no other contact with Grier from the time she was placed in the car until she fell out of the moving car.”
The family is calling for more transparency as they try to make sense of what happened, including the release of the body-camera footage.
“We’re trying to get answers of what really happened, that’s all we want to know,” Grier’s father, Marvin Grier, said during Friday’s press event. “We want to know what happened.”
“That was my child,” he continued. “That was my child.”
The incident is still under investigation by GBI.
Hancock County Sheriff Terrell Primus told protesters gathered outside the sheriff’s office on Wednesday that he plans to release body-camera footage of the incident once GBI’s investigation is completed, the Union-Recorder reported.
“A lot of people have already drawn their own conclusions,” he said, according to the publication. “Some people already feel as though we have things to hide. But we do not have anything to hide. The video footage will show evidence based on what has been stated already.”
Crump said his team plans to perform an independent autopsy once her body is released from GBI, and that they will investigate what led to Grier, a mother of 3-year-old twin daughters, falling out of the car while it was moving.
“That’s what we are primarily for — is to get answers and demand justice,” Crump said. “What this is really about is those 3-year-old little babies [who are] going to have to grow up without their mother.”
Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, joined the family on Friday and called for accountability.
“To the Hancock County sheriff, it’s time to be transparent. It’s time to be accountable,” he said. “To the GBI, it’s time for y’all to meet with this family. To the governor, it’s time for you to recognize, again, that Georgia has a police accountability problem.”
“Georgians of all color deserve to feel protected in the custody and control of law enforcement,” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Friday said he did not “recall” speaking to former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson on Jan. 6 after the former White House official testified about their conversation under oath to the Jan. 6 select committee.
Last month, Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows who was in the West Wing on Jan. 6, testified that McCarthy called her angrily on Jan. 6 after former President Donald Trump told his supporters in a speech to march to the U.S. Capitol.
“He then explained the President just said he’s marching to the Capitol. ‘You told me this whole week you aren’t coming up here. Why would you lie to me?’ I said, ‘I wasn’t lying to you, sir. We’re not going to the Capitol,'” Hutchinson said in her testimony.
She also said McCarthy texted her, “Do you guys think you are coming to my office?”
McCarthy, who has rebuffed the committee’s subpoena for his records and sworn testimony regarding the Capitol riot, said he didn’t remember talking to Hutchinson, and only called White House aides to “find the president.”
“I don’t recall talking to her that day. I recall talking to [Trump aide] Dan Scavino, I recall talking to Jared [Kushner], I recall talking to Trump,” he said Friday.
“If I talked to her, I don’t remember it. If it was coming up here, I don’t think I wanted a lot of people coming up to the Capitol. But I don’t remember the conversation.”
McCarthy said “I don’t remember” being concerned about Trump’s comments at his Jan. 6 rally because he “didn’t watch the speech.”
“I was working, so I didn’t see what was said, I didn’t see what went on until after the fact,” he added.
McCarthy has previously said he spoke to Trump on Jan. 6 and encouraged him to get his supporters out of the Capitol.
He later said Trump “bears responsibility” for the Capitol riot, but quickly moved to mend his relationship with Trump, opposing his second impeachment and visiting with him at his Palm Beach, Florida, club.
In leaked audio of GOP leadership calls first reported by the New York Times, McCarthy suggested to colleagues he would encourage Trump to resign and said, “I’ve had it with this guy.” Asked later about the remarks, McCarthy told reporters he spoke hypothetically.
McCarthy also opposed efforts to set up an independent outside commission to investigate the Capitol attack, after initially deputizing a top Republican to negotiate a bipartisan agreement with Democrats.
Asked Friday about Trump potentially announcing a 2024 election bid ahead of the congressional midterms, McCarthy replied, “The only thing the president and I have talked about is winning in 2022.”
(NEW YORK) — Three members of the Olivares family left their homes in Veracruz, Mexico, for a better life in America. Instead of finding the employment they hoped would lead to a better future, they were among the 53 migrants who were found dead in a tractor-trailer that was left abandoned in the sweltering heat on a back road outside of San Antonio, Texas.
The site is now a roadside memorial, marking the spot where, on June 27, dozens died in the highest death toll of any suspected human smuggling attempt in United States history.
Thousands of miles away, families of the victims are just now starting to say their final goodbyes.
The family of brothers Jair Olivares, 19, and Giovanni Olivares, 16, and their cousin Misael Olivares, 16, had to fundraise in Mexico to pay for funeral costs while mourning their loss.
“They wanted to build a house and start a business. Here there is work, but it is very poorly paid… that’s why they went to look for a better life,” Valencia, the mother of Jair and Giovanni Olivares, told Reuters.
The family said they had agreed to pay a smuggler $10,000 for each teen.
Jair and Giovanni Olivares’ father said the last text message he received from his 19-year-old son was that the teens were in the trailer and hoping the smuggler would return for them shortly.
In the small town of Tzucubal, Guatemala, Maria and Casimiro Guachiac waited for weeks to have their son’s body sent back to them from the U.S.
Their son, Pascual Melvin, was just 13 years old.
Maria Guachiac said that before her son left, he said he was going to the United States to study, find a job and build a house.
Pascual Melvin was not alone. He was traveling with Wilmer Tulul, his cousin, who was also 13 years old and died in the trailer.
Both boys grew up in the town of Tzucubal, an indigenous Mayan community located in the area of Sololá, nearly 100 miles from Guatemala City where more than 70% of the population lives in poverty, according to the most recent census data in Guatemala.
Both boys left to find work in the United States to help their families.
The last time Casimiro Guachiac spoke to his son was three hours after the boys had arrived in San Antonio. Relatives in the United States had helped arrange the boys’ journey and said they agreed to pay the smugglers $6,000 for each boy before they arrived in San Antonio.
Guachiac said that his son had told him they were in a trailer, but that was the last time he heard from him.
In Honduras, funerals also are being held for those lost in the trailer tragedy. Brothers Fernando Jose Redondo Caballero and Alejandro Migue Andino Caballero and Margie Tamara Paz, a girlfriend of one of the brothers, died in San Antonio.
Many of the families of the victims, and those who survived, are afraid of speaking out. They say they fear retaliation from the unlawful organizations that orchestrated the trip. Many families say they still owe smugglers money, despite the journey ending in tragedy.
Guatemalan Foreign Minister Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores said that the human smuggling industry is “sophisticated” and “transnational.”
“We formed a task force with the United States, Mexico and Honduras, working together with the district attorneys and the intelligence officers to be able to dismantle the organized crime industries,” Búcaro told ABC News Live Prime.
According to Búcaro, smugglers charge up to $15,000 to shepherd migrants across the border.
“We know that the numbers are growing, but it doesn’t just depend on the side of the government,” Búcaro said.
Four arrests have been made in the migrant deaths and two of the alleged smugglers, Homero Zamorano, Jr. and Christian Martinez, face charges that may result in life in prison or the death penalty. Both remain in federal custody and have not yet entered pleas.
The families in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico are left praying to find peace and justice as they lay their loved ones to rest.
“I hope that in the United States, we’ll have justice,” said Maria Guachiac.
(GATLINBURG, Tenn.) — There is an ongoing investigation after a woman was found dead in an apparent suicide at a theme park in the Smoky Mountains, police said.
The woman, Jessica Rhea Ford, 40, was found on Thursday night beneath the Scenic Chondola at Anakeesta, according to a statement from the Gatlinburg police.
The City of Gatlinburg said that they are continuing the investigation as an apparent suicide, in part due to witness statements holding that the victim jumped from the chairlift.
The Gatlinburg Fire & Rescue Department responded to the scene at 7:41 p.m. for an incident on the park’s chairlift. The woman’s body was found shortly thereafter.
Sevier County Medical Examiners’ Office responded to the scene and pronounced the victim dead.
The office told ABC News that the body of the deceased was taken in for an autopsy Thursday night, and is still being examined.
The office said that they cannot offer any further information on the cause of death until the investigation of the incident is complete.
The incident remains under investigation, the city of Gatlinburg said.
The Gatlinburg Police Department has not yet responded to ABC News’ request for further details.
“A tragic incident occurred this evening. 911 was called immediately. Our hearts are with the family of the deceased,” Anakeesta said in a statement.
The area the victim was found was underneath the chairlift that brings guests to and from attractions on the mountain, according to police.
WVLT News spoke to two witnesses on scene.
Jeffrey McConnell told WVLT News he was visiting the Gatlinburg attraction with his fiancée and three children.
According to McConnell, the woman, who he described as being in her late-20′s, fell from the chairlift once it was about three-quarters of the way up the mountain.
McConnell told WVLT News that other visitors tried to alert the woman that her safety railing was up before the fall happened, but she did not respond.
Jay Deuro, another witness who spoke with WVLT News, said the Anakeesta staff kept the rides going despite the fall.
On his way back down, McConnell told WVLT News that staff told visitors to “not look down” as they got onto the chairlift.
A spokesperson from Anakeesta told ABC News that staff only operated the chairlift long enough for riders to exit before shutting it down. The spokesperson added that staff used its transportation fleet to allow the guests to exit the mountain top.
“We mourn this tragic loss of life. Our deepest sympathies are with the family,” the spokesperson said.
(NEW YORK) — As JetBlue prepares to begin its takeover of Spirit Airlines in a $3.8 billion deal, many are left wondering what the future holds for both airlines and their loyal customers.
The JetBlue-Spirit agreement still faces a shareholder vote and regulatory approval, which could prove difficult if federal officials believe the deal would reduce competition and increase fares. Spirit is known for its barebones and deeply discounted fares, while JetBlue is more of a full-service airline.
“I think it’s bad news for travelers,” Scott Keyes, founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, said in an interview with ABC News. “Competition between airlines is the single biggest determinant of how many cheap flights you see on any given route.”
Keyes said Spirit is an “anchor” in the airfare market and its low fares tend to drive down ticket prices offered by mainline carriers.
“Your Delta fares, your American fares are actually cheaper if they’re on a route where they’re competing with Spirit, because they need to drop those fares to try to compete and get more customers,” Keyes said.
JetBlue’s CEO Robin Hayes said the acquisition could be a “solution to the lack of competition” in the U.S. airline industry, saying in a press release, “Spirit and JetBlue will continue to advance our shared goal of disrupting the industry to bring down fares from the Big Four airlines.”
While experts say the Spirit shareholder vote should pass, JetBlue is expected to face regulatory hurdles.
“[The Department of Justice] will try to model what will happen with one fewer airline. What will that do to route structure, to load factors, capacity and fares,” Ravi Sarathy, professor of International Business and Strategy at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, told ABC News. “And they’ll also try to model whether this will improve overall air quality and flight service quality.”
Sarathy said the merger could help improve JetBlue’s product. With the $3.8 billion purchase, JetBlue would also gain Spirit’s Airbus fleet and its pilot staffing – both in high demand as airlines face the ongoing pilot shortage and delayed aircraft deliveries amid supply chain disruptions.
“The question will be, do Spirit passengers want better service, or are they really more concerned about the lowest possible cost of flying?” Sarathy said. “That remains to be seen.”
JetBlue offers lie-flat seats on some transcontinental routes and to London, while Spirit does not have a first/business class cabin. JetBlue also offers free, seatback in-flight entertainment and snacks; Spirit does not have inflight televisions or free food. It’s unclear how the two airlines would blend their products if a merger is approved.
Spirit shareholders are expected to vote next month on the merger. If that vote passes, a review from the federal government could take months if not years.
(NEW YORK) — Nothing gets New Yorkers steamed like traffic woes and close encounters with the native wildlife — a.k.a. rats. Now the city is considering changes to trash pickup rules that could affect both.
The department says it’s “strongly considering” requiring individual black trash bags to be placed outside after 8 p.m. The city will pick the bags up during overnight hours to minimize time on the street.
“New Yorkers put millions of pounds of trash and recycling on the street starting at 4pm – right as the evening rush is getting underway – and then it stays out, serving as a nightclub for rats and other pests, until it’s collected. Well soon, we’re going to try to shut the club down,” the department said in a statement.
Carve-outs under consideration would apply to most commercial and residential buildings.
Residential building owners would be permitted to put their trash out at 6 p.m., to conform to daytime maintenance staffing, as long as they place the trash in a bin with a secure lid.
Businesses would be permitted to put their trash out in the hour before closing for the day, to minimize staffing disruption, as long as the trash is also in bins with secure lids. For many businesses, that would be in the 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. hour
For their part, the sanitation department will shift to picking up more trash in the midnight to 8 a.m. shift, prioritizing the single bags. That will also help get the sanitation vehicles off the roads earlier, easing street traffic during the morning commute.
The aim is for residents, particularly those using individual black bags, to try to put their trash out later at night and for sanitation to try to pick it up earlier in the morning, which will help ease the rats and the traffic concurrently.
The Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 owners of more than 1 million apartments in the five boroughs, told ABC News the policy will likely not eliminate the rat issue entirely.
“This is not going to alleviate the city’s rat problem,” a spokesperson for the association said. “Rats aren’t on a feeding schedule.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jul 29, 2:53 PM EDT
Blinken speaks with Lavrov, pushes him to accept ‘substantial proposal’ from US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday. Blinken said he pushed Lavrov to accept the “substantial proposal” the U.S. put forth to free detained Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan.
This marked the first time the two leaders spoke since the war began.
Blinken called it “a frank and direct conversation.”
“I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” he said. “I’m not going to characterize his responses and I can’t give you an assessment of whether I think things are more or less likely.”
On Russia’s stated plans to annex parts of Ukraine, Blinken said he told Lavrov that “those plans will never be accepted. The world will not recognize annexations. We will pose additional significant costs on Russia if it moves forward with its plans.”
Blinken did reaffirm that their call did not cover brokering peace in Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, tragically, we’ve seen no opening–willingness on the part of Russia to engage meaningfully on ending the aggression,” Blinken lamented. “At the same time, I’ve also said that if there are issues where we could make a difference in senior Russians hearing directly from me or from colleagues, we would of course, pursue that.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the conversation and said it was initiated by the U.S.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said, “Regarding the possible exchange of imprisoned citizens of Russia and the United States, the Russian side is urged to return to the mode of professional, without speculative information stuffing, dialogue in the mode of ‘quiet diplomacy.'”
White House spokesperson John Kirby said Friday, “We very much tried to keep details of the negotiations of this nature as private as possible so that we can allow as much space for negotiators to come to a successful conclusion. We felt that in the context of what was happening in both Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan’s cases, as well as what was not happening, that it was important to lay out publicly that there was, in fact, a serious offer made by the American side that has not been acted on.”
Jul 29, 2:12 PM EDT
White House doesn’t consider fighting in eastern Ukraine ‘stalled’
The U.S. doesn’t consider fighting in eastern Ukraine “stalled,” White House spokesman John Kirby said Friday.
“I don’t believe we consider what’s going on in the Donbas is stalled,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “There’s a lot of activity still going on in the Donbas.”
He did note that over the last “48 to 72 hours, there has not been that many significant changes in the battle lines” in the east and the south.
“It can be true that in some places in eastern and southern Ukraine, the Russians appear to be taking a knee, refitting, refreshing, moving troops around,. And in other places in the east and in the south, there’s actual battle going on between Russian and Ukrainian forces,” Kirby said.
“There are units that are in actual contact with one another, and there are days where the Russians make a mile or two, and then there are days when the Ukrainians push them back a mile or two. And there’s days when the Ukrainians are going on the counter-offensive on a tactical level and then they will stop to reconsider their next move,” he said.
Jul 29, 8:28 AM EDT
US ambassador to Ukraine speaks to ABC News as grain ships prepare to leave
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink told ABC News on Friday morning that she is “optimistic” ships carrying grain will begin leaving Ukraine this weekend, but that it’s up to Russia to keep its side of the deal.
During an interview in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, Brink told ABC News there is currently “no obstacle” to the ships’ departure.
“Ukraine is ready to ship this grain, but it’s also up to Russia to agree on the grain corridor and the ships will be ready to go,” Brink said. “It can be done, it should be done and, in fact, it must be done.”
She declined to say whether the United States would impose consequences on Russia if it disrupted the United Nations-brokered deal or attacked the ships. But she underlined her country’s support for Ukraine and the deal, saying it was important that Ukrainian grain starts reaching countries that need it.
“Twenty-four hours after the deal was agreed a week ago today, Russia bombed this very port where we’re standing,” Brink noted. “So I think it’s imperative on Russia to live up to its commitments and to implement the agreement it signed onto, and imperative on all of us to ensure that Russia lives up to those commitments.”
When asked if there was a “Plan B” if the deal failed, Brink said the focus was on doing everything to ensure “Plan A” works.
Earlier Friday, Brink and ambassadors of other G-7 countries held a press conference in Odesa while overseeing the preparations. She told reporters that she hopes an agreement confirming the safe corridors of the grain ships to sail through this weekend would be reached. Under the deal, Ukraine and Russia have been negotiating the precise routes the vessels will take across the Black Sea.
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but Kyiv has been unable to ship exports due to Moscow’s offensive. Last month, the Ukrainian Grain Association warned that Ukraine’s wheat harvest is expected to plummet by 40%.
In recent weeks, there has been an all-out push from the U.S. and the U.N. to facilitate exports from war-torn Ukraine, desperate to offset what they foretell is a looming global food crisis with the potential to devastate the developing world. A Russian blockade in the Black Sea, along with Ukrainian naval mines, have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible and, as a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
Jul 29, 7:11 AM EDT
Ukraine says 1st grain ships should leave this weekend
Ukraine announced Friday that it hopes the first ships carrying grain will finally be leaving two ports this weekend under a United Nations-brokered deal to end Russia’s blockade.
The departure of the first ships will be a major test of whether the deal with Moscow will hold and Ukrainian food can begin to ease the global hunger crisis worsened by the blockade amid Russia’s war.
Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksander Kubrakov, who is overseeing the operation, told reporters in Odesa on Friday morning that the port as well as the nearby Chernomorsk port are prepared to begin, with 17 ships already loaded with grain.
A final agreement mediated by the U.N. and Turkey needs to be signed off on the routes the vessels will take out of the heavily mined ports. Kubrakov said Ukraine had provided a number of options and that, from its side, the country is ready. Ukraine is waiting for the U.N. to confirm the routes are accepted by both sides.
Kubrakov said the first ships should leave by the end of the weekend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also in Odesa on Friday morning to see the preparations and meet with Kubrakov as well as other officials, including U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Jul 27, 2:51 PM EDT
Blinken and Lavrov to discuss US proposal to free Griner and Whelan
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he plans to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the coming days, marking the first time the two leaders will speak since the war began.
Blinken said a critical topic of discussion would be securing the freedom of detained Americans Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, revealing that the U.S. has already put forward a plan to accomplish that.
“We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release. Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal, and I’ll use the conversation to follow up personally and I hope move us toward a resolution,” Blinken said.
“I can’t and won’t get into any of the details of what we’ve proposed to the Russians over the course of some many weeks now,” Blinken said.
Blinken said President Joe Biden played an active role in crafting the proposal for Griner and Whelan.
Blinken also stressed, “My call with Foreign Minister Lavrov will not be a negotiation about Ukraine,” adding, “Any negotiation regarding Ukraine is for its government and people to determine.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jul 27, 9:32 AM EDT
Ukraine uses US rocket system to strike key bridge in Russia-held Kherson
Ukrainian forces struck a strategic bridge in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson early Wednesday, according to local officials.
High-precision missile strikes by the Ukrainian military damaged the Antonivskiy bridge, forcing the occupied authorities to close the structure to civilian traffic. The mile-long bridge across the Dnieper River is an essential artery used by Moscow to supply its troops occupying southern Ukraine.
“Strikes were delivered on the bridge, on its road. The bridge is currently closed to the civilian population,” Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Moscow-appointed administration for the Kherson region, told local media on Wednesday.
The bridge’s pillars and spans were still intact as of Wednesday morning, according to Stremousov.
“It is simply that the number of holes on the road has increased. The strike on the bridge has affected only the civilian population,” he added.
According to Stremousov, Ukrainian forces hit the bridge with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) supplied by the United States. He said ferry crossings across the Dnieper River will be organized during the bridge’s restoration, and that traffic will resume in the near future.
“We have prepared a pontoon bridge. We have a ferry link,” he told local media.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian military officials said the number of Russian soldiers killed in the war has surpassed 40,000, just more than five months after Russia launched its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in late February.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Max Uzol and Yuriy Zaliznyak
(NEW YORK) — “A lot of people” remain unaccounted for amid devastating flooding in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Friday.
“We’re going to do our best to find them all,” Beshear said, without providing a number of the missing.
Beshear toured the devastation by helicopter on Friday and called it the worst flooding he’s seen since being in office.
The official death toll stands at 16, including two children.
Beshear said Friday afternoon that he’s learned of the recovery of four children’s bodies, adding, “We do not have an official update at this time as they have to be verified” by the Department for Public Health.
The governor anticipated that authorities may be updating the number of deceased for “several weeks.”
On Thursday, Beshear called it “one of the worst, most devastating” floods in the state’s history and said he anticipates this will be one of the deadliest floods in Kentucky in “a very long time.”
The flooding hit Kentucky late Wednesday, pounding the state with 2 to 5 inches of rain.
Kentucky is combating washed out roads, destroyed homes and flooded schools, according to the governor.
Thousands of residents are expected to lose their homes, he said.
More than 294 people have been rescued from floodwaters in eastern Kentucky so far and that number will likely rise, Beshear said.
The rain may return to Kentucky late Sunday through early next week, but significant rainfall isn’t expected.
“While rain totals are not expected to be as high, flooding still remains a concern due to saturated grounds,” the governor tweeted.
President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration and is receiving updates “very regularly,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.
“Our hearts break for the families of those who have lost their lives or are missing, and to all those who have been impacted,” she said.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul, Kenton Gewecke, Josh Hoyos, Justin Ryan Gomez and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
