(NEW YORK) — A 70-year-old man survived a cougar attack in Utah without serious injuries, officials said.
He suffered only lacerations to his head and arms when he was confronted by the animal at Spanish Fork Canyon around 1 p.m. Thursday, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said.
He was hospitalized and listed in fair condition, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said officials with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will search for the cougar on Friday.
Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, are seen regularly in mountainous regions of Utah. There are about 1,600 cougars in Utah, according to the Division of Wildlife Resources, though that number is declining “due to increased trophy hunting and habitat loss.”
(NEW YORK) — Multiple tornadoes were reported in Florida and Georgia on Thursday, as a new storm brings a severe weather threat and possible tornadoes to Texas.
Seven tornadoes were reported in the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia on Thursday. A large and “extremely dangerous” tornado was confirmed west of Tallahassee Thursday afternoon. Major damage to homes was reported in Hosford in the area.
Straight-line winds gusted to 76 mph near Panama City, Florida, as severe storms progressed east across the southeast Big Bend.
Another storm is forecast to bring a severe weather threat for most of eastern Texas Friday, from Dallas to Houston and down to Corpus Christi.
Damaging winds in excess of 75 mph, huge hail and tornadoes are possible. The highest tornado threat will be from Dallas to Waco Friday afternoon between 3 and 7 p.m. CT.
On Saturday, this severe threat moves into the Florida Panhandle again, as well as southern Georgia and Alabama. Damaging winds will be the biggest threat, but a few tornadoes can’t be ruled out.
(NEW YORK) — The American Heart Association released a report Thursday that ranked the top 10 diets according to their guidelines for heart-healthy eating. Researchers found that some of the most popular diets – like keto and Paleo — ranked lower for heart health.
Nutritionist Maya Feller spoke to Good Morning America about the results of the study and what heart-healthy habits to keep in mind.
Feller said that researchers used the American Heart Association (AHA) criteria for heart-healthy eating patterns as the basis of the rating system, which includes nutrition requirements based on limited fat, saturated fats, cholesterol, trans fat or sodium.
“What they found was that these diets that were very low in carbohydrates like Atkins or diets that were very high in fat like keto actually scored lower,” Feller explained. “In the short term, there was some weight loss and there was some improvement in lipids as well as blood sugar. However, in the long term, it really can raise the risk for LDL [or] high cholesterol. That’s the bad cholesterol and that is a risk factor for heart disease.”
The very low carbohydrate diets and high-fat diets, like the ketogenic and Paleolithic diets, scored the lowest on the AHA scale.
“Restrictions on fruits, whole grains and legumes may result in reduced fiber intake. Additionally, these diets are high in fat without limiting saturated fat. Consuming high levels of saturated fat and low levels of fiber are both linked to the development of cardiovascular disease,” the AHA said in a statement.
The report also took other factors into consideration like diet flexibility, cultural relevance, personal preference and affordability.
The DASH diet, Mediterranean diet, pescatarian diet and vegetarian diet were among the top-scoring diets. The first two diets aid in managing hypertension, a known risk for heart disease.
“What we see when we’re looking at the top rated diets is there’s tons and tons of seafood. There’s legumes, there’s really nice carbohydrates, ones that have fiber,” Feller noted. “Across the board, we see these patterns of eating that are really rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, as the way to think about bolstering your cardiovascular health.”
The AHA’s top-ranked diets often include vegetables, seafood, lean proteins, nuts, seeds and potassium-rich foods.
While people do not have to cut carbohydrates and fats completely out of their diet, Feller said that the best course of action is finding a pattern of eating that works best for the individual while just staying mindful.
“Carbohydrate literacy is key. We need carbohydrates as fuel and energy for our brain,” she said. “In terms of fat, replacing saturated and synthetic fats with mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids found in nuts, seeds and some fruits like olive and avocado can be a heart-healthy choice.”
(NEW YORK) –The threat of a looming recession has heightened interest in the most commonly used measure of economic health: Gross domestic product, or GDP.
The metric commands attention as an all-in-one report card that signals whether the economy is awash in prosperity, mired in disaster or shuffling forward somewhere between the two.
While imperfect, GDP carries implications for real-world outcomes of everyday people, such as their risk of unemployment or dream of buying a first home, experts said.
Here’s what GDP is, why it matters and what critics says about it, according to experts:
What is GDP?
GDP is a measure of all the goods and services produced in a given economy, ranging from cars built in an auto factory to musicals staged on Broadway.
“It’s the sum of everything the country makes,” Luke Tilley, chief economist at investment firm Wilmington Trust, told ABC News.
“It’s everything from retail goods to services provided, like legal services, haircuts and movies,” he added.
As such, economists often invoke GDP as an indicator of the size and health of an economy, since large, bustling economies deliver greater output than smaller, idle ones.
Similarly, the change in GDP over time provides crucial information about whether an economy is growing or shrinking.
A positive change in GDP indicates that an economy expanded over a particular period, while a drop off in GDP shows that an economy shrank.
For instance, if the GDP for the first three months, or quarter, of the year is larger than the GDP over the ensuing quarter, then growth slowed.
Many observers define a recession through the shorthand metric of two consecutive quarters of decline in a nation’s inflation-adjusted GDP.
“You can tell if the economy is improving or not,” Tilley said. “GDP going up means there’s more likely to be job growth and improved wellbeing.”
Why does GDP matter?
GDP is significant because it offers insight into the bedrock activity level upon which all economic outcomes depend, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told ABC News.
“GDP is the value of all of the things that go into driving incomes and stock prices and home values,” Zandi said. “It’s the fountain of economic growth.”
The presence of such output in turn enables a given material quality of life, said Tilley, of Wilmington Trust.
“It means that there’s more stuff out there for people to avail themselves of,” Tilley said.
“All other things being equal, a country that has a higher GDP is thought to have a better standard of living,” he added.
The trend in GDP also helps workers and consumers gauge the health of the economy, informing decisions about their savings, job prospects and other major life choices, experts said.
“It’s the bottom line for the economy,” Zandi said.
What do critics of GDP say?
Critics of GDP often say that the measure is either too comprehensive to accurately reflect the inner workings of the economy, or not comprehensive enough to account for aspects of life that exist beyond economic output.
Inevitably imprecise, GDP tries to assess value across vast and diverse economic offerings, Zandi said.
“It covers everyone from the person cutting your lawn to the investment banker merging your companies to the automaker making your car,” he said. “It gets pretty complicated, pretty fast.”
“It’s our best attempt at measuring something that’s very difficult to measure,” he added.
On the other hand, some critics point out that the ostensibly comprehensive metric excludes a host of relevant activities.
GDP fails to measure unpaid work such as housework or care for a family member, Nancy Folbre, a professor emerita of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told ABC News.
On top of that, the data point omits the harmful effects of some economic output, such as environmental degradation, she added.
“Everybody likes a simple scorecard,” Folbre said. “A simple scorecard is misleading.”
(PARIS) — France could become the first country in Europe to regulate influencer marketing, cracking down on what people can monetize and promote online with a proposed law expected to be adopted next month.
Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing that involves people leveraging their reputation to endorse products or services in exchange for money.
There are an estimated 150,000 influencers creating content on social media aimed at a French audience, according to France’s Ministry of Economics, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty.
“Being an influencer is a responsibility,” Aurelie Siou, a communications director for media intelligence firm Cision, told ABC News. Siou was one of the experts called on by French legislators to help define the scope of influencer marking.
“We have existing laws but they are not being applied in terms of social media context,” Siou added.
France’s National Assembly, the lower chamber of the French parliament, advanced the bill last month. The bill will now move to the Senate where it is expected to pass next month.
The Ministry of Economics and Finance has already released guidance for paid influencers ahead of the final vote.
Stéphane Vojetta, one of the French legislators shepherding this new bill, tells ABC News that the law would close an existing loophole when it comes to online advertisement.
The law would make it unlawful for influencers to create paid content promoting cosmetic surgeries, online betting, or financial products like cryptocurrencies. Additionally, influencers will be required to label any image or video that is part of a paid campaign that has been filtered or edited.
As for the promotion of other products and services, content creators will have to abide by existing French advertising laws. For example, posts promoting sodas or processed food will have to include a message reminding consumers to undertake physical activity.
“It is a sector in which we believe in because it creates jobs, and because it values French culture and creativity,” said Bruno Le Maire, the French economic minister, describing the influencer economy at a press conference in March.
He added, “The best way to protect it is to define a framework and rules so that in this dynamic sector, there are no profiteers, stowaways, or people who can take advantage of the weakness of certain consumers.”
Influencers and companies caught violating the law could face up to two years in prison and 300,000 euros ($330,000) in fines, and see their ability to post on platforms potentially be revoked, according to the text of the bill.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a set of guidelines that encourage influencers to disclose their relationships to brands they are endorsing.
The FTC “could bring an enforcement action” against an influencer engaging in behavior that violates the commission’s prohibition against unfair and deceptive practices.
According to the FTC, they do not restrict the types of products or services that can be endorsed or promoted.
Over 42 million consumers in France use the internet to purchase goods or services, according to a report by the government’s Directorate General for Enterprise.
And even though lawmakers have seen strong pushback from various lobby groups, Vojetta says many influencers have been supportive of the new rules because it legitimizes their work.
“This law has gotten so much media attention that even before it’s been adopted the [influencer marketing] sector has already started to transform itself,” he said.
Vojetta insists that the bill should not be seen as an attempt to punish the industry, but rather a step towards protecting both influencers and consumers.
It will apply to any person or organization whose content targets a French audience, even if they are located abroad.
The legislation also moves toward protecting all minors under the age of 16 who participate in any revenue making work on social media; these young people will now be protected under the law similar to existing laws protecting child actors or child models.
The French government would also put in place a system for users to report violating content to both the platforms and authorities.
(WASHINGTON) — There’s no conservative-liberal divide on the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to calls for a new, enforceable ethics code.
All nine justices, in a rare step, on Tuesday released a joint statement reaffirming their voluntary adherence to a general code of conduct but rebutting proposals for independent oversight, mandatory compliance with ethics rules and greater transparency in cases of recusal.
The implication, though not expressly stated, is that the court unanimously rejects legislation proposed by Democrats seeking to impose on the justices the same ethics obligations applied to all other federal judges.
“The justices … consult a wide variety of authorities to address specific ethical issues,” the members of the high court said in a document titled “Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices.”
It appears to be the first time an entire court has publicly explained its approach to ethics issues and attested to specific parts of federal law governing their conduct.
“This statement aims to provide new clarity to the bar and to the public on how justices address certain recurring issues,” they wrote, “and also seeks to dispel some common misconceptions.”
The Supreme Court has come under mounting pressure to address its procedures for handling potential conflicts of interest after a wave of recent headlines alleging ethical lapses by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.
Public confidence in the justices is at its lowest point in more than 20 years of Gallup polling.
The justices’ statement, appended to a letter from Chief Justice John Roberts to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., appears squarely aimed at answering critics’ concerns and demands from some for outside oversight.
“Without a formal code of conduct, without a way to receive ethics complaints and without a way to investigate them, the Supreme Court has set itself apart from all other federal institutions,” said Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, a nonpartisan judicial watchdog group that has been lobbying Congress to mandate a high court code.
Durbin said Thursday in a statement that the justices’ explanation of their approach to ethics “raises more questions than it resolves.”
“Make no mistake,” he said, “Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the Court participates in the process or not.”
The Judiciary Committee, which is considering draft legislation to govern the justices’ ethics compliance, invited Roberts to testify next Tuesday, but he declined, citing “separation of power concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence.”
In a letter released Thursday, Durbin asked Roberts to provide more details in writing about how the court drafted its ethics statement this week and how it enforces its terms internally.
The tussle between Congress and the current court over ethics is not new.
More than a decade ago, amid a similar wave of headlines alleging misconduct by several justices, Roberts worked to fend off a similar political push for regulation.
“I have complete confidence in the capability of my colleagues to determine when recusal is warranted,” Roberts wrote in his 2011 year-end report on the federal judiciary. “They are jurists of exceptional integrity and experience whose character and fitness have been examined through a rigorous appointment and confirmation process.”
He promised at the time to study the question of whether to have a code of judicial conduct that is applicable only to the Supreme Court. But then — as now — he also forcefully defended the institution from what he saw as undue meddling by other, co-equal branches of government.
The justices argued in their joint statement this week that proposals to force members of the court to recuse themselves under specified circumstances, publicly elaborate on the recusal process and subject their decisions to review could create more harm than good.
“If the full Court or any subset of the Court were to review the recusal decisions of individual justices,” they wrote, “it would create an undesirable situation in which the Court could affect the outcome of a case by selecting who among its members may participate.”
Later, they added that public disclosure of the basis for recusal could “encourage strategic behavior by lawyers who may seek to prompt recusals in future cases” by framing them a certain way in an attempt to disqualify a particular member of the court.
Many conservative lawmakers and legal scholars point out that justices already face the prospect of discipline for misbehavior: impeachment. It remains the only constitutionally authorized mechanism for removing a life-appointed justice accused of wrongdoing.
And many veteran court watchers note that few of the recently surfaced ethics allegations likely rise to that level.
“There’s no actual evidence of corruption in the outcome of any case or even the appearance of corruption in any case,” said Sarah Isgur, an ABC News legal contributor and former Justice Department attorney. “It’s just that something like this could lead to the appearance of corruption.”
Many ethics experts say, on the whole, that members of the current court appear to have reasonably complied with financial disclosure and gift and travel guidelines, but they noted there are several high-profile examples of reporting lapses, inadvertent or not, including those in the latest headlines.
Justices appointed by presidents of both parties have routinely had to amend their financial disclosure forms after errors or omissions have been observed. It is not clear whether Justices Thomas or Gorsuch have moved to amend their disclosure forms following the recent reports about unreported gifts and real estate transactions.
Senate Democrats, who have called for an investigation of Thomas, received notice last week from the federal courts’ administrative body — the Judicial Conference of the U.S. — that their complaint had been referred to a committee which oversees financial disclosure compliance.
Thomas has denied wrongdoing. His allies insist the cascade of news stories scrutinizing his relationships, travel and business dealings with conservatives are politically motivated.
“It’s no surprise that the justices who are being targeted by these stories are all on one side of the ideological spectrum, because it’s not that there aren’t other justices who have wealthy friends,” said Carrie Severino, a former Thomas clerk and president of the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative legal group.
“It’s very clear [all the justices] recognize what’s going on. That’s why they signed this statement. This isn’t about the ethics code, because they’ve got one,” Severino contended. “This is about intimidating certain members of the court, and they all can get behind exactly what the proper guidelines are.”
(FAIRBANKS, Alaska) — Three soldiers were killed and one has been injured after two Army helicopters crashed during training over Alaska on Thursday, officials said.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson said two AH-64 Apache helicopters returning from a training mission collided and crashed near Healy.
Two of the soldiers were declared dead at the scene and another died while en route to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, the base said. The fourth soldier is being treated at the hospital for injuries.
The helicopters were from the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion’s 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, officials said.
“This is an incredible loss for these soldiers’ families, their fellow soldiers, and for the division,” Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said in a statement. “Our hearts and prayers go out to their families, friends and loved ones, and we are making the full resources of the Army available to support them.”
“The Fort Wainwright community is one of the tightest military communities I’ve seen in my 32 years of service,” Eifler added. “I have no doubt they will pull together during this exceptional time of need and provide comfort to our families of our fallen.”
Fort Wainwright’s Emergency Assistance Center has been activated for support, and people can call 907-353-4452, officials said.
The incident is being investigated. Healy is about 110 miles southwest of Fairbanks by vehicle.
In March, nine service members died after two Army Black Hawk helicopters crashed during a training mission in Trigg County, Kentucky, an Army official said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Victoria Arancio, Kevin Shalvey and Jaclyn Lee contributed to this report.
(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 28, 4:47 AM EDT
Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities kill 12, including child
Russian airstrikes targeted several cities across Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 12 people, Ukrainian officials said.
The city of Uman in central Ukraine’s Cherkasy Oblast was the worst affected. One of the strikes hit an apartment building, killing at least 10 people, including a child, 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. Several other buildings were also damaged or destroyed. Rescue teams are 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.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd, Natalia Kushnir and Joe Simonetti
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.
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas outlined plans for reducing the number of migrants at the southern border, expanding restrictive measures and creating new foreign processing centers to direct migrants toward legal pathways for immigration.
The Biden administration will establish regional processing centers throughout Latin America as a way to mitigate the number of migrants heading to the southern border, the Cabinet officials said. These centers will be used to pre-screen individuals to assess eligibility for entry into the United States through refugee resettlement, humanitarian parole programs, family reunification or other lawful pathways.
The plans are intended to blunt an expected surge in migration following the end of a pandemic era policy known as Title 42, which has been used over 2.7 million times to quickly expel migrants with limited opportunities for asylum claims. The policy is expected to end on May 11, when the COVID-19 public health emergency expires.
“Working with our neighbors in the region, we can and will reduce the number of migrants who reach our southern border,” Mayorkas told reporters Thursday. “The regional processing centers announced today will be a critical addition to the programs and processes DHS has in place for qualifying individuals to obtain authorization to enter the United States before arriving at our borders.”
International organizations will oversee the new processing centers, which will be established in several countries like Colombia and Guatemala and in heavily-trafficked areas like the Darien Gap. Migrants will be able to make an appointment on their phones ahead of time before visiting the closest regional processing center.
Blinken focused his remarks on the diplomatic side of the effort, which he called a “global approach” to an “unprecedented migration challenge,” fueled in recent years by elements like the economic unrest caused by the pandemic, turbulent governance and climate change.
“The magnitude, the range of drivers, the push and pull factors, all demand that we work together,” he said.
He urged patience from those hoping to see results quickly, noting that “many of these investments can take time to bear fruit.”
Turning to measures intended to make near-term impacts, Blinken discussed supporting other host countries in providing legal protections and assistance to refugee applicants and countering disinformation spread by traffickers, as well as expanding access to and information about legal pathways.
On a call with reporters on Thursday, senior administration officials said eligible migrants will also be offered options for resettlement in the host countries. The governments of Spain and Canada will also be accepting referrals from the centers, one official said.
Thursday’s joint announcement represents a significant partnership consisting of the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and countries in the western hemisphere to create a buffer between migrants fleeing their home countries and the southern border of the U.S.
The administration is continuing to add new migration restrictions while opening up new opportunities for those who may qualify for refugee status or asylum. Those restrictions, which have been focused on Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians and Nicaraguans at the southern border, will now expand to disqualify those who take to the seas to enter the U.S. illegally, Mayorkas said. Authorities have seen more migrants illegally landing in southern Florida on rickety boats.
More broadly, Homeland Security has been working to expand fast-track migrant removals even after Title 42 ends.
Further, the administration is moving forward with its most restrictive policy yet, one that will temporarily penalize asylum seekers if they cross the border illegally. Mayorkas said Thursday these measures are designed to reduce the expected strain on immigration authorities once Title 42 lifts.
“We have been preparing for this transition for more than a year and a half,” Mayorkas said. “Notwithstanding those preparations, we do expect that encounters at our southern border will increase as smugglers are seeking to take advantage of this change and already are hard at work spreading disinformation that the border will be open after that. High encounters will place a strain on our entire system, including our dedicated and heroic workforce and our communities. The smugglers’ propaganda is false.”
During the Thursday call, a senior administration official stressed that the end of Title 42 doesn’t mean the border is open and that migrants who fail to submit eligible claims for asylum will still be processed under the standard immigration processes outlined in Title 8 of the U.S. code.
Prior to the implementation of Tile 42 in 2020, Title 8 was the sole authority through which Customs and Border Protection processed and removed migrants who crossed the border illegally without a legal basis to stay in the country. But the process through which migrants are removed is much slower than the streamlined expulsions that are allowed by Title 42.
Under Title 8, some migrants can request asylum before being removed. In the past, that has created a bottleneck of migrants at CBP processing facilities and border communities. Migrants who are removed under Title 8 are also susceptible to a five-year ban for reentry and may face legal repercussions if they repeatedly attempt to enter the country unlawfully.
As previously reported by ABC, DHS has been beefing up resources at the border, in part, by holding “credible fear” screening interviews for migrants while they’re in CBP custody as opposed to after they’re released.
Migrant encounters by Border Patrol agents increased 25% from February to March of this year, with authorities apprehending or detaining migrants more than 250,000 times during that interval, according to CBP.
(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) — Lawyers for the school board in Newport News, Virginia, have filed a motion to dismiss the $40 million lawsuit filed by first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner who was shot in her classroom by a 6-year-old student.
The attorneys for the board claim that her injuries are covered under the state’s worker’s compensation law for which she was approved to receive benefits, but they say she refused to accept them and filed suit instead.
In Zwerner’s lawsuit, she alleged that school administrators were told the boy brought a gun to school prior to the shooting and “had a history of random violence,” yet did nothing to stop him from harming her.
In response to her lawsuit, the motion filed on Wednesday by the attorneys for the Newport News School division claims the allegations made in the lawsuit fall under Virginia’s Workers’ Compensation Act.
They argue the act doesn’t fall in the jurisdiction of the Newport News Circuit Court.
The lawyers for the board are representing former Newport News School Superintendent Dr. George Parker, III, and former Richneck Elementary Principal Briana Foster Newton. Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal at Richneck who was named in Zwerner’s lawsuit, was not included in the school board’s motion.
Lawyers for the school board wrote in the motion that Zwerner’s complaints about the shooting in her lawsuit, “alleges in detail a long list of workplace conditions that were a direct and proximate cause of the attack on Zwerner.”
The motion argues that under the Workers Compensation Act, Zwerner is barred “from maintaining a cause of action against the School Defendants for the injures she sustained in the course of her employment as a first-grade teacher with Newport News School.” The court, thus, lacks subject matter jurisdiction over Zwerner’s claims arising from the injuries she sustained during the shooting, the motion argues.
It further argues that Zwerner’s assertion that the 6-year-old’s attack was personal to her is in violation of the state’s laws that children under the age of seven are unable to be guilty of negligence. The attorneys for the board add that Zwerner’s lawsuit “attempts to circumvent the Act” by alleging that the child’s actions on the day of the shooting were “personal” and pointing to the handgun as the problem.
Zwener “goes as far as to claim that she reasonably anticipated that ‘she would be working with young [elementary school] children who posed no danger to her.’ While in an ideal world, young children would not pose any danger to others, including their teachers, this is sadly not reality,” the motion says.
The motion says this is why Zwerner focused on the use of the handgun compared to any other weapon “with less perceived notoriety and shock value, even though serious injuries can be inflicted with scissors, knives, pencil, rocks, chairs, and hands.”
The motion alleges that Zwerner, alongside other school officials, allowed the 6-year-old who shot her to return to school without the requirement of a parent. They claim that Zwerner had raised that the 6-year-old’s improvement in class warranted an extended school day and other modifications.
Diane Toscano and Jeffrey Breit, attorneys for Zwerner, told ABC News on Thursday, “No one believes that a first grade teacher should expect that one of the risks of teaching first grade is that you might get shot by a six-year-old.”
Zwerner’s lawyers added, “The school board’s position is contrary to how every citizen in Newport News thinks teachers should be treated, and the law does not support the board’s position. Teachers across the district will be alarmed to learn their employer sees this as part of the job description.”
