(BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss.) — Two teenagers were killed and at least four others were wounded when a gunman opened fire early Sunday at a house party in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, police said.
One suspect, identified as 19-year-old Cameron Everest Brand, was arrested on six counts of aggravated assault. Following Brand’s arrest, two of the shooting victims died, according to the Bay St. Louis Police Department.
The shooting unfolded around 12:34 a.m. Sunday at a house in the Gulf Coast town about 30 miles west of Biloxi.
“Upon arrival, multiple persons were found suffering from gunshot wounds,” Bay St. Louis Police Chief J. Toby Schwartz said in a statement.
He said two of the victims, an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old, were taken to University Medical Center in New Orleans, where they were pronounced dead. Their names were not immediately released.
Schwartz said the other victims, all between 15 and 18 years old, were taken by private cars to nearby hospitals. One victim remains in critical condition and three others are in serious condition, police said.
“Through a thorough investigation, including witness and victim statements, Cameron Brand was identified as the sole shooter,” Schwartz said.
Brand was taken into custody at his home in the nearby town of Pass Christian, Mississippi, after police obtained an arrest warrant for him, Schwartz said. Everest was jailed without bail.
A motive for the shooting was under investigation Sunday.
(WASHINGTON) — The annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was held Saturday night in Washington and, as is customary, featured a mix of celebrities, media personalities and remarks from a featured performer and the president.
While the night included laughs, there were also noted moments of reflection. Outside, climate protesters gathered.
Here are highlights from the event.
Biden’s remarks: Praising journalism, joking about cable hosts
Opening his address, President Joe Biden initially struck a serious tone as he addressed U.S. citizens who are being held abroad, naming Evan Gershkovich, Austin Tice, Paul Whelan and WNBA star Brittney Griner, the latter of whom was released last year.
“We’re working every day to secure his release, looking at opportunities and tools to bring him home,” Biden said about Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges he denies. “We keep the faith.”
“Tonight our message is this: Journalism is not a crime,” Biden said. “Evan and Austin should be released immediately, along with every other American held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.”
Biden praised the power of journalism itself. “You make it possible for ordinary citizens to question authority. And, yes, even to laugh at authority without fear or intimidation,” he said.
The president, who launched his 2024 campaign last week, joked about his age, which some claim makes him unfit for a second term. At 80, he is the oldest president in U.S. history.
“Call me old? I call it being seasoned. They say I’m ancient, I say I’m wise,” Biden said to laughter from the audience. “They say ‘over the hill.’ Don Lemon would say that’s a man in his prime,” he continued, referencing a headline-making gaffe by the former CNN anchor about presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Lemon wasn’t the only cable news personality to get a mention.
“Truth is, we really have a right to be proud of vaccinating the nation, transforming the economy, around historic legislative victories and midterm results. But the job isn’t finished — I mean, it is for Tucker Carlson,” Biden said of the now-departed Fox News host.
As he finished his speech, Biden donned a pair of dark aviator sunglasses and quipped about his “Dark Brandon” persona, which is a popular internet meme.
Roy Wood’s routine roasts Biden, Thomas
Comedian Roy Wood Jr. elicited many laughs from the audience during his stint as the featured performer — a tradition that was paused under President Donald Trump and before COVID-19, after comedian Michelle Wolf’s jokes about Trump aides stirred controversy.
During his routine on Saturday, Wood took jabs at Biden and the recently settled Dominion lawsuit against Fox News.
“We should be inspired by the events in France. They rioted when the retirement age went up two years to 64,” Wood said. “Meanwhile in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work.”
Joking about trying to avoid a Dominion suit himself, Wood praised the company.
“Let me just say right now, my favorite voting machine is Dominion voting machines,” he said. “When I go to the polls, I make sure it is a Dominion machine that I use.”
“If your election needs the truth, put Dominion in your booth,” he continued.
More pointedly, Wood also addressed a recent ethics scandal involving Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas privately receiving years of gifts from friend Harlan Crow, a GOP donor.
“This man bought a Supreme Court justice. Do you understand how rich you have to be to buy a Supreme — a Black one on top of that?” Wood joked. “There’s only two in stock, and Harlan Crow owns half the inventory.”
The night’s biggest guests
Dinner attendees mixed some of the biggest names in Washington and beyond.
Griner attended with her wife, Cherelle; and the family of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was also reportedly at the dinner.
Other guests included Oscar-winning actor Ke Huy Quan, model Winnie Harlow, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Anthony Fauci.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and actress Julia Fox were also pictured together.
Climate demonstrators outside
The lavish event at the Washington Hilton drew demonstrators, too.
Climate Defiance organizers told ABC News before the dinner that they planned to try and blockade the area near the hotel in an effort to hold Biden accountable for what they say was his 2020 campaign promise to end fossil fuel extraction on public lands.
“We disrupted the rich + powerful b/c Joe Biden’s approval of deadly new oil + gas projects is killing the planet,’ the group wrote on Twitter. “We will continue to disrupt until we #EndFossilFuels.”
The youth-led group of activists protested in Washington for most of the week leading up to Saturday’s event.
ABC News’ Noah Minnie and Beatrice Pearson contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Severe weather is continuing on the East Coast, bringing more opportunities for tornadoes to form in regions that have already experienced several twisters in the past few days.
On Thursday, seven tornadoes were reported in Florida and Georgia. More tornadoes, some with winds up to 60 mph, rolled into Florida’s Atlantic coast on Saturday, flipping cars and uprooting trees in places like Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Boynton Beach.
Residents all over the South woke up Sunday morning to damage caused by violent storms overnight.
More storms are bringing heavy rain and damaging winds to the east on Sunday. A tornado watch is in effect in for 19 million residents in Florida until 2 p.m.
The weather extends to the eastern Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic, which are also at risk for damaging winds and isolated tornadoes, forecasts show.
Farther north, heavy rain has been drenching the Northeast all weekend.
Another round of rain is on the way for cities like Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Hartford, Connecticut.
The heaviest rain will arrive Sunday evening and continue into the overnight hours.
Flood watches have been posted for several states in the Northeast, leading to an additional 1 inch to 3 inches of rain into Sunday night.
While the heaviest of the rain finally moves out of the Northeast by Monday, a stubborn low pressure system will park itself over the Great Lakes in the next few days, leading to an unsettled period of weather for much of this upcoming week.
(CLEVELAND, Texas) — Authorities are continuing the search for the suspect connected to an “execution-style” shooting that killed five family members in Texas, including an 8-year-old boy.
The carnage began Friday night after neighbors asked the suspect, Francisco Oropesa, 38, to stop shooting his gun in the yard of his home in Cleveland, Texas, about 50 miles north of Houston, investigators said.
The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office received a call around 11:31 p.m. Friday detailing harassment, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told reporters on Sunday. When deputies arrived at the home, they found five victims at the property, Capes said.
Three minors who were found uninjured but covered in blood were transported to a local hospital, authorities said. Two of the female victims were discovered in the bedroom lying on top of two surviving children, authorities told ABC News.
All of the victims are from Honduras, police said.
Oropesa is still on the loose and likely armed with an AR-15-style rifle. He is a “threat to the community,” FBI Houston field office agent James Smith told reporters during a press briefing on Saturday.
The neighbors had asked the suspect to stop shooting his gun in the front yard because there was a baby trying to sleep, Capers told ABC Houston station KTRK.
Oropesa, who allegedly had been drinking, responded, “I’ll do what I want to in my front yard,” Capers said.
The massacre went from a case of harassment to a shooting very quickly, Capers said. All of the victims were shot from the neck up, “almost execution-style,” Capers told KTRK.
The victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, 8. Five other people who were in the home were not harmed.
Footage from a Ring doorbell at the victims’ house shows the shooter entering the home with a weapon, Capers said.
Four of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene. The youngest, an 8-year-old boy, was declared dead after being transported to the hospital, police said.
Some of the victims were trying to shield their children from the bullets, Capers said.
Shell casings were found in Oropesa’s front yard, police said.
Wilson Garcia, who owns the home, told KTRK that the family was preparing a meal when Oropesa began shooting on his property.
Garcia said he moved in three years ago and “never had a problem” with his neighbor until Friday, he said. Garcia’s wife and 8-year-old son were among the victims killed in the shooting.
Neighbor Veronica Pineda told KTRK that she had grown accustomed to neighbors shooting firearms in the area.
“There’s always shooting,” she told the station. “There’s always people calling the cops and there’s nothing being done.”
Another neighbor named Shawn told ABC News that the tight-knit neighborhood is typically “peaceful” and described the victims as “good people.”
“It is a shock that this took place in our neighborhood,” he said.
Investigators described Oropesa as a 5-foot-8 Hispanic man with a goatee and short black hair. He was last seen wearing jeans, a black shirt and work boots.
Authorities believe they have the weapon used in the attack, a .223 rifle, but do not know if Oropesa is carrying a smaller weapon, Capers said.
Investigators have found Oropesa’s abandoned cellphone and several articles of clothing, Capers said.
The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI’s Houston Field Office are assisting in the manhunt.
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Nadine El-Bawab, Meredith Deliso, Jon Haworth, Jamie McCarty and GIna Sunseri contributed to this reported.
(WASHINGTON) — Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons on Sunday pushed back on concerns that President Joe Biden’s age and the lack of enthusiasm he inspires in voters make him unfit for reelection — predicting instead that Biden would win in a 2024 rematch with the “the alternative”: Donald Trump.
“Two years later, President Biden is stronger,” Coons, a national co-chair of Biden’s campaign, told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “He has an incredible record to run on. And the former president is weaker. He’s been indicted. He spent years just re-litigating 2020.”
In the interview, Coons defended the Biden White House, and the performance of Vice President Kamala Harris, while criticizing Republicans, including the GOP’s latest strategy on raising the debt ceiling to avoid default.
Biden launched his 2024 bid with a video announcement on Tuesday that contrasted his work with what he called “MAGA Republicans.”
“I’ll remind you, our president often says, ‘Don’t compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative,'” Coons said on Sunday. “When folks get polled on a head-to-head if Donald Trump should be the Republican nominee again, he wins, and he wins decisively.”
But Raddatz pointed to polling that also shows a majority of Democrats don’t want Biden to be their nominee in the next election. Coons contended that a different set of numbers matter more: the millions of jobs — 850,000 of which are in manufacturing — created during the Biden administration.
“I look forward to talking about the numbers based on what we’ve gotten done with President Biden in the White House, on infrastructure, manufacturing, prescription drugs,” Coons said. “It’s a great record to run on.”
Still, Raddatz noted that many voters raise concerns about Biden’s age. At 80, he is the oldest president in U.S. history. (Trump is 76.)
Coons cited to two of Biden’s recent high-profile appearances: His annual State of the Union speech in February and his remarks at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
“He had great delivery. You saw the State of the Union address — nearly an hour and a half, he was faster on his feet than most members of Congress. I think Joe Biden is agile, is capable,” Coons said. “His record of leadership both at home and abroad makes him imminently qualified. And we should be focusing some on the wisdom and experience he brings to the job.”
Raddatz followed up that “some of those people have watched him and still have doubts, so what would you say to them about those stumbles?”
“I’d say, ‘Compare him to the alternative,'” Coons responded. “Recognize the value of experience and seasoning, recognize that his values align better with where we want America to go.”
As Biden’s 2024 campaign ramps up in the coming months, Coons said the president is eager to be on the trail, in contrast to the last cycle during the onset of COVID-19, when Republicans like Trump accused Biden of avoiding the public.
“Joe Biden loves campaigning. He loves going to a coffee shop, a union hall, a fire station,” Coons said.
GOP presidential candidates have continued to stress Biden’s age and what they say is his lack of stamina.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s team said last week that a vote for Biden would in effect be a vote for Kamala Harris because she suggested Biden wouldn’t live through a second term.
On Harris’ role going forward, Coons defended her work as vice president and said she is a capable leader in her own right.
“The vice president, like many vice presidents, has struggled to get positive press coverage and to get the credit she deserves for the hard work that she’s been doing,” Coons told Raddatz, adding, “The vice president’s ready to run and ready to be president, should that ever happen. I know our president has great confidence in her and so do I.”
Separately, Coons criticized a bill passed by House Republicans last week to address the nation’s debt ceiling, which must be raised to avoid a historic default. Coons labeled the GOP strategy as a form of “hostage negotiations.”
Conservatives argue Democrats must compromise on spending and policy changes to avoid a default. Biden has insisted the limit be raised without conditions, but he would also look at brokering a deal on the budget.
“The Republicans are demanding hostage negotiations where they will crash the full faith and credit of the United States,” Coons said. “That would raise the rates that your viewers are paying on credit cards or student loans or mortgages. It would throw our country into recession and hurt us globally.”
When Raddatz pressed the senator on the issue, Coons indicated Democrats are interested in negotiations on spending separate from the debt limit.
“What’s the mix of revenue increases and spending cuts that makes sense going forward?” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise on Sunday urged President Joe Biden to negotiate with Speaker Kevin McCarthy amid the threat of political brinkmanship over raising the nation’s debt ceiling to avoid an unprecedented default.
“We just passed a bill through the House. And we’ve been very vocal. It’s been over two months since President Biden has sat down with Speaker McCarthy to have negotiations. President Biden is clearly trying to run out the clock and create a debt crisis. That’s irresponsible,” Scalise told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
“The White House needs to ultimately get into this negotiation. The president’s been in hiding for two months, Martha. That’s not acceptable to Americans,” Scalise said.
While much of his appearance focused on the national debt, Scalise also briefly touched on the 2024 GOP primary. He said the party must pick “a strong leader who’s going to focus on getting our country back on track.” But he didn’t yet back any candidate, including former President Donald Trump.
Scalise instead talked at length about how he wants debt talks to unfold. The national government hit its debt limit early this year and has been employing “extraordinary measures” to continue paying its bills since then.
As Scalise noted, House Republicans last week narrowly passed legislation to increase the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion while reducing federal government spending and reversing some key Biden-backed policies.
The GOP bill is dead on arrival in the Democratic Senate, with the president repeatedly insisting the debt ceiling be raised without any spending or policy compromises included in the legislation — as has happened multiple times in the past — while the budget is addressed in separate talks.
Scalise maintained on Sunday that the issues were connected: “As we’re addressing the debt limit, we also have to address the problem that got us here.”
“If the president is going to sit this one out, we’re not, we’re gonna lead,” he said. “We passed a bill to address the problem. It’s time now for the president to get in this game, get off the sidelines and let’s start negotiating and figuring this out. Not in June when we get to the midnight hour, but today.”
Scalise’s comments mark the latest salvo in Republicans’ pressure campaign on Biden to compromise with the House’s GOP majority over the debt ceiling.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said her department will exhaust its “extraordinary measures” sometime after June, though a specific date for a default — the so-called “X-date” — remains unclear.
While they disagree on how to solve the problem, lawmakers from both parties agree that the U.S. defaulting on its debt is not an acceptable outcome.
“We can’t default Martha. You know what the consequences would be for your viewers in our country if we were to default, and that’s what this is really about. The Republicans are demanding hostage negotiations,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Raddatz in a separate appearance on “This Week.”
Pressed by Raddatz, Coons said, “I’d be happy to negotiate. What’s the mix of revenue increases and spending cuts that makes sense going forward?”
Scalise and other Republicans say that the ball is now in Democrats’ court to put forward a plan after passing their own legislation.
“For all that we hear from our Senate friends, Martha, they’ve yet to pass anything,” Scalise said. “If they’ve got a better idea, I want to see that bill.”
He insisted the Republican legislation included “basic, commonsense” provisions such as work requirements for some recipients of federal aid as well as efforts to reduce “red tape, so we can promote American energy production.”
He pushed back on criticism from Coons and some veterans’ advocates that the GOP bill could harm veterans because it would reduce government spending. A letter last week, signed by two dozen groups, underlined that concern.
“Show me in the bill where it says any of those things. It doesn’t,” Scalise told Raddatz, adding, “The president doesn’t want to talk about what’s in the bill because, ultimately, we do things like reclaim unspent COVID money.”
Raddatz also asked Scalise about his relationship with McCarthy, who has privately described Scalise as ineffective, according to The New York Times.
“We have a very strong open relationship. We don’t always agree on everything, but we have a very candid relationship,” Scalise said. “I know palace intrigue sells papers.”
When asked about the 2024 GOP presidential primary, Scalise praised Trump’s record on the economy and foreign policy — but said he was not yet ready to announce his support for any particular hopeful.
“You’re gonna know what my announcement’s going to be in time. I’ve been focusing on our House agenda, and we’ve been moving a really strong agenda for the American people,” he said. “That’s what families want.”
(NEW YORK) — Thousands of guns — including numerous assault-style rifles and “ghost guns” — were surrendered in a single day over the weekend across the state of New York in exchange for gift cards, according to the state attorney general.
Describing it as a “landmark event,” New York State Attorney General Letitia James, whose office hosted and coordinated Saturday’s program, said more than 3,000 guns were surrendered at nine buyback locations throughout the state, including two in New York City.
In Syracuse, New York, where police crime statistics show a 133% jump in homicides in the first four months of this year compared to the same time frame last year, 751 firearms were turned over by community residents.
“Gun violence has caused so many avoidable tragedies and robbed us of so many innocent New Yorkers,” James said in a statement. “Every gun that we removed out of Syracuse homes and off the streets is a potential tragedy averted and another step in protecting communities throughout New York state.”
The buyback program came just days after Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said at a news conference that the ongoing proliferation of guns in his community is contributing to a rise in the city’s violent crime rate in the first quarter of the year.
“There are too many damn guns in this country. They’re everywhere. And we have too many states that are abdicating their responsibility to ensure that guns are being sold safely,” Walsh said at the news conference. “And our federal government is abdicating their responsibility to ensure that guns are being handled safely.”
In comparison to the weekend’s gun buyback program, Syracuse police officers have seized and removed 76 guns from the community this year compared to 55 at the same point last year, Walsh said. He said 90% of the guns seized by police are from out of state.
Officials said 90 guns were surrendered in the first three hours of the buyback program at the at the All Saints Catholic Church in Brooklyn, New York.
“There’s a lot of firepower on this table,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, standing beside a table full of firearms turned over Saturday at the All Saints Church. “And each and every one of these guns is a potential life saved, and a non-fatal shooting avoided.”
In exchange for firearms with no questions asked, participants were given $500 gift cards for turning in assault-type rifles and untraceable “ghost guns.” People turning over handguns also received $500 gift cards for the first weapon surrendered and $150 give cards for each additional handgun.
Those surrendering other types of rifles and shotguns received $75 gift cards and $25 cards were given out for each non-working replica, antique or 3D printed gun.
(DENVER) — Governors in two states passed major gun control legislation this week and a third is poised to do the same soon.
On Friday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the legislative package that included a longer waiting period for firearm sales, and an increase in the minimum age to purchase a gun.
Colorado’s move came three days after Washington state became the 10th state in the nation to ban assault rifles and handguns after Gov. Jay Inslee signed a gun reform package.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters this week that he will sign a gun control package that includes prohibitions for civilian gun owners to bring their guns to schools and other sensitive locations.
While gun control advocates have praised the states for their moves, contending it will curb gun violence, some gun rights groups are already threatening court action against the Democratic leaders.
Washington
On Tuesday, Washington state banned the purchase of new assault weapons for residents as part of a three-bill gun control-related package.
The ban covers 61 automatic rifles and pistols, including the AR-15.
“Inaction against gun violence is unacceptable,” Inslee told reporters after signing the legislative package Tuesday.
Residents who already own the prohibited weapons are allowed to retain the weapons, according to the law.
Another law in the package mandated training for gun purchasers that included instructions on “proper storage, handling, use and transportation practice.”
The third bill “clarifies legal liabilities for gun dealers and manufacturers for knowingly creating, maintaining or contributing to a public nuisance by designing, selling or marketing,” to children or people who are prohibited from buying firearms.
Although the White House praised Inslee and the Democratic-led legislature for banning the weapons, gun rights groups criticized the legislation contending it was infringing on second amendment rights.
The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Washington challenging the ban.
“Instead of arresting, prosecuting and punishing criminals, Gov. Inslee is focusing on restricting the rights of law-abiding Americans who use these rifles for a variety of lawful purposes,” Aoibheann Cline, Washington state director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement.
Colorado
Polis signed four gun control bills Friday that were passed by the Colorado legislature during this session.
“Coloradans deserve to be safe in our communities, in our schools, and our grocery stores, nightclubs. Everywhere in between, Coloradans shouldn’t have to fear the threat of robbery or gun violence,” the governor said at a news conference before signing the package.
The most major of the bills raised the age for legally purchasing firearms from 18 to 21. There are exceptions for law enforcement, military members and those with valid hunting licenses, according to the law’s language.
Another law now requires a three-day minimum waiting period for purchasing a firearm to allow for background checks.
A third bill strengthened the state’s red flag laws and allows teachers, medical care providers and mental health providers to petition the court to confiscate someone’s weapons if they pose a danger to themselves or others.
The fourth bill rolled back legal protections for gun manufacturers and made them more liable for civil suits related to gun violence.
Republican state leaders pushed back against the bills with filibusters, contending that they were too restrictive, but the Democratic-led house and state pushed them forward.
Minutes after those four bills were signed into law, the nonprofit gun rights advocacy group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners said they were going to challenge the bills related to the legal age.
“This is simply bigoted politicians doing what bigoted politicians do: discriminating against an age,” Taylor Rhodes, the executive director of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, told the Associated Press.
Maryland
The Maryland state legislature passed several bills that were created following last year’s Supreme Court ruling over state concealed carry prohibitions.
The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen ruling ended a Maryland requirement for people to demonstrate a particular need to get a license to carry a concealed gun in public.
One of the bills, SB1 passed by the legislature removes the “good and substantial reason” from the law, which Democratic lawmakers said would make the prohibition of concealed carry legal under the new Supreme Court decision.
The bill would prohibit a person from wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun in an “area for children or vulnerable individuals,” such as schools, or in a “special purpose area,” such as a restaurant or other place that serves alcohol.
It also prohibits a civilian from bringing a firearm onto someone’s property without the permission of the property’s owner.
“We’re going through and checking on the constitutionality now, but, yes, I plan on signing them soon,” Gov. Moore told reporters Thursday.
Gun rights groups questioned the constitutionality of the bill and have threatened legal action.
Mark Pennak, president of Maryland Shall Issue, told the Associated Press his group plans on suing if the bill is signed.
“The court could not have been clearer, and what they have respectively done with the enactment of SB1 is truncate that right far beyond what the Supreme Court had permitted in Bruen,” he told the AP.
The Maryland legislature also passed a bill that raised the minimum age for purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21.
(NEW YORK) — More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops have liberated nearly 30,000 square miles of their territory from Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, but Putin appeared to be preparing for a long and bloody war.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 30, 2:00 PM EDT
Leader of Russian mercenary group threatens mutiny
The Russian oligarch behind the Wagner private paramilitary group fighting for the Kremlin in Ukraine is threatening a mutiny if his forces are not resupplied with ammunition soon.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner and curator of the Wagner group, penned a letter to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigue, demanding ammunition be provided to his forces on the battlefield.
In the letter, Prigozhin wrote that if supply problems are not fixed fast, he will complain to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his mercenaries would abandon their positions in Bakhmut, Ukraine, where heavy fighting has been going on for weeks, The Moscow Times reported.
“I appeal to Shoigu with a request to immediately issue ammunition. In case of refusal, I consider it necessary to convey to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief information about the existing problem in order to make a decision and about the advisability of further presence of Wagner PMC in Bakhmut in the conditions of a shortage of ammunition,” Prigozhin wrote.
He added, “If the deficit is not replenished … we will be forced to withdraw part of the units from this territory, and then everything else will crumble. Therefore, the bell is already ringing — it is called an alarm.”
Emphasizing the urgency, Prigozhin noted that Ukraine is planning to launch a counteroffensive soon.
There was no immediate public response from Shoigu or the Kremlin.
“We need to stop deceiving the population and telling that everything is fine with us,” Prigozhin wrote. “I must honestly say: Russia is on the brink of disaster. If these screws are not adjusted today, the ‘aircraft’ will crumble in the air.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday wished Ukrainian military forces success in what he described as the “main battles” that are “coming soon.”
Zelenskyy’s statement came a day after he said at a news conference in Kyiv that Ukrainian forces will soon launch a counteroffensive, likely before F-16 fighter jets promised by Western allies arrive.
“Dear warriors, the main battles are coming soon. We must free our land and our people from Russian slavery,” Zelenskyy said at an event where he bestowed medals to members of the county’s Border Guard forces.
Apr 30, 5:52 AM EDT
Counteroffensive expected ahead of Western jet deliveries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian counteroffensive will start before Ukraine receives F-16 fighter jets promised by Western countries.
“Frankly speaking, it would help us a lot. But we also understand that we can’t drag it [the counteroffensive] out, which is why we’ll start before we receive F-16 [aircrafts] or other models,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference for Scandinavian media held in Kyiv on Saturday, according to a script provided by Reuters.
He added, “But to calm Russia down with the fact that we’d still need a couple of months to train on the aircrafts and only then we’d start; No, this won’t happen. We’ll start and go forward, while at the same time, simultaneously, I think this is very important [to receive western fighter aircrafts.]”
He said Ukraine is “capable of putting an end to this war.”
Also on Saturday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine received a signal from some countries about the readiness to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
According to Kuleba, the F-16 fighter jet is the ideal aircraft due to its technical characteristics, although Kyiv does not overlook other aircraft, either. The minister added that the decisive word on issuing F-16s will be with the United States, because these are American fighters.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres and Max Uzol
Apr 29, 1:49 PM EDT
23 dead in Russian attack on high-rise building, 17 saved from rubble
A Russian attack on a high-rise building in Uman has left 23 people dead. Among the dead were six children between the ages of one and 17 years old, according to the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Volodymyrovych Klymenko.
Rescuers, policemen and volunteers managed to save 17 people from the rubble. Heavy machinery and special equipment were involved, according to officials.
Two more women are considered missing, officials said. But the search and rescue operation has concluded, officials said.
“My sincere condolences to the relatives of the deceased. We will punish this evil. We will not allow it to grow. We will definitely stand up and win,” Klymenko said.
-ABC News’ Tatyana Rymarenko
Apr 28, 12:18 PM EDT
Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities kill 24, including children
Russian airstrikes targeted several cities across Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 24 people, Ukrainian officials said.
The city of Uman in central Ukraine’s Cherkasy Oblast was the worst affected. Several buildings were damaged or destroyed. One of the strikes hit an apartment building, killing at least 22 people, including three children, and injuring another 18 people, according to Cherkasy Oblast Gov. Ihor Taburets. The attack happened at around 4:30 a.m. local time, when most people would have been asleep. An entire section of the nine-story building collapsed, with 27 apartments completely destroyed. There were 109 people who lived in that part of the building, according to Ukrainian police. Rescue teams were expected to spend all day and night searching for survivors in the rubble.
Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city and a major industrial hub located in southeastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, was hit by “high-precision” strikes in the early morning hours, leaving a woman and a 3-year-old child dead, according to Dnipro Mayor Boris Filatov.
Russian strikes also targeted Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital and largest city, but there were no reports of any casualties or damages. It was the first such attack on the capital in 51 days, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. Preliminary data shows 11 cruise missiles and two drones were destroyed in Kyiv’s airspace, the city military administration said.
Apr 28, 11:54 AM EDT
Ukraine says it’s ‘ready’ for counteroffensive
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Friday the military is “ready” to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces.
“It’s up to the general staff and the command,” Reznikov said during a press briefing in Kyiv. “We will do it as soon as there is God’s will, the weather and the commanders’ decision.”
Ukraine has received Patriot missile defense systems from the United States as well as Germany and the Netherlands. The Ukrainian military has been trained on how to use the systems and “mastered” them within weeks, according to Reznikov.
“The exact number of batteries, I’m sorry, I won’t say,” he added. “Let the enemy guess.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the world not to consider or call the anticipated counteroffensive “a decisive battle.” Speaking at a press conference in Odesa on Friday, Kuleba said the decisive battle is the one that will lead to the liberation of all occupied Ukrainian territories.
One person was killed and 23 people, including a child, were wounded in a Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv early Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The missile struck a block that had apartments, houses and a historic building, according to Zelenskyy.
“The terrorists will not get away with this yet another crime against humanity,” the president said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Apr 26, 12:50 PM EDT
Zelenskyy has 1st call with China’s Xi Jinping since war began
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in what was the two leaders’ first official contact since January 2022, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Xi announced that he will send a special envoy to visit Ukraine and “other countries” to work on a political solution.
“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on Twitter.
The Chinese government’s official position still refuses to call the war an “invasion.”
The call between the two leaders is said to have lasted an hour, according to Zelenskyy’s office.
“Before the full-scale Russian invasion, China was Ukraine’s number one trading partner. I believe that our conversation today will give a powerful impetus to the return, preservation and development of this dynamic at all levels,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Karson Yiu, Cindy Smith and Will Gretsky
Apr 25, 1:03 PM EDT
At least 2 dead, 10 injured in strike that hit Ukrainian museum
At least two people were killed and 10 injured after a Russian missile hit a Ukrainian museum Tuesday, officials said.
The local history museum is located in the city center of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region.
“The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy us completely. Our history, our culture, our people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media while sharing a video that showed the damaged building. “Killing Ukrainians with absolutely barbaric methods.”
Apr 24, 5:48 AM EDT
Russian passports pushed on occupied Ukraine
Russian officials have warned Ukrainians in occupied Kherson that they may be “deported” if they don’t accept Russian passports, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Monday.
“Russia is using passports as a tool in the ‘Russification’ of the occupied areas, as it did in Donetsk and Luhansk before the February 2022 invasion,” the ministry on Twitter.
Residents of Kherson have been warned of penalties for those who don’t accept Russian passports by June 1. Some may be removed from the territory or may have their property seized, according to the U.K.
Apr 23, 11:42 PM EDT
Russia says US has denied journalist visas, vows it ‘will not forgive’
Russia said Sunday that the U.S. has denied visas to Russian journalists who wanted to cover Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip to New York.
Lavrov promised that the decision will not be forgotten by their side.
“The country that calls itself the strongest, smartest, most free, fairest has chickened out, has done a silly thing and shown what its sworn assurances on protecting freedom of speech, access to information and so on are worth,” he told reporters at the airport before his flight to New York.
“Most importantly, you can be sure: we will not forget, we will not forgive this,” the minister told the pool of journalists who have not been granted U.S. visas.
The journalists had planned to cover Lavrov’s appearance at the United Nations to mark Russia’s chairmanship of the Security Council.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called the U.S.’s decision “outrageous” on Sunday, Interfax, a Russian news agency, reported.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva, Edward Szekeres, Natalia Shumskaia
Apr 21, 3:35 PM EDT Over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in the EU so far
Over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers trained in the European Union, Josep Borrell, an EU representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said Friday.
The EU has delivered over $600 million of ammunition and missiles to Ukraine, according to Borrell.
-ABC News’ Oleksiy Pshemyskiy
Apr 20, 7:08 PM EDT
Russian warplane accidentally fires weapon into Russian city of Belgorod: Defense ministry
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that ammunition from a Russian Su-34 military aircraft fell in Belgorod, a city in the southern region of Russia.
“On the evening of April 20, during the flight of the Su-34 aircraft over the city of Belgorod, an abnormal descent of an aviation munition occurred,” the agency said.
The ministry claimed buildings were damaged but there were no immediate reports of victims. An investigation is underway, according to the agency.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Apr 20, 5:18 PM EDT
Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in NATO: Secretary-General
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg held a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, to highlight the more than €150 billion of support to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion.
“Allies are now delivering more jets, tanks, and armored vehicles, and NATO’s Ukraine fund is providing urgent support,” he said in a statement. “All of this is making a real difference on the battlefield today.”
While in Ukraine, the secretary-general visited Bucha and paid his respects to the victims of Russian atrocities.
He also laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine, paying tribute to all those who have lost lives or suffered wounds in defense of their homeland.
“Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. And over time, our support will help to make this possible,” Stoltenberg said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Apr 20, 4:13 PM EDT
Russian athletes will not be accepted in 2024 Olympics if war goes on: Paris mayor
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, which is hosting the 2024 summer Olympics, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russian athletes “cannot be accepted in Paris,” if the war with Ukraine is still ongoing when the games begin.
“Paris is the capital of human rights,” Hidalgo said in a statement. “We are trying to convince athletes, international federations and countries. We stand with you.”
Hidalgo and Vasco Cordeiro, the president of the European Committee of the Regions, met with Zelenskyy as part of the International Summit of Cities and Regions Thursday.
Zelenskyy thanked Hidalgo for her support and presented her with Ukraine’s “Rescuer City” honorary award.
-ABC News’ Max Uzol and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
(TULARE COUNTY, Calif.) — A man and child were rescued from a California river Friday night, while another adult remains missing, authorities said.
Rescue crews responded to the Kaweah River in Tulare County, where the man and 7-year-old child were stranded on a rock in the middle of the river, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies and teams from Tulare County Fire and Naval Air Station Lemoore base were able to recover the two, according to the sheriff’s office, which shared images from the scene of rescuers using a raft to reach the stranded people.
Both were being treated at a local hospital following the rescue.
Crews were still searching for a missing adult who did not surface from the water, the sheriff’s office said.
The rescue occurred at the Slick Rock Recreation Area, in the town of Three Rivers, near Sequoia National Park.
The Kaweah River is fed by runoff from the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which experienced a historic winter snowpack that has sparked flooding concerns as it melts.
