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Russia-Ukraine live updates: Biden announces $800M more in aid

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Biden announces 0M more in aid

(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:

Jun 30, 10:09 am
Biden announces $800M more in aid, ‘going to support Ukraine as long as it takes’

President Joe Biden at his press conference in Madrid Thursday announced $800 million more in aid for Ukraine, including air defense systems and offensive weapons.

A reporter asked how to explain to the American people a joint statement from Biden and other G-7 leaders Monday that read: “We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Asked if that meant indefinite support from the U.S., or whether there would be a time support from the U.S. would stop, Biden replied: “We are going to support Ukraine as long as it takes.”

“I don’t know what — how it’s going to end,” Biden added, “But it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said recently that the war needs to end by the winter. But Biden said that, “no,” that assessment hadn’t changed his calculation in terms of the pace and kind of assistance the U.S. is sending Ukraine.

Biden was also pressed on record high gas prices that he has attributed to the war in Ukraine. “How long is it fair to expect American drivers and drivers around the world to pay that premium for this war?” he was asked by a reporter.

“As long as it takes,” he replied. “Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. This is a critical, critical position for the world.”

Biden highlighted his domestic efforts to bring down the price at the pump, like releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and asking Congress and states to approve a gas tax holiday to help save consumers money at the pump.

“So I think there’s a lot of things we can do, and we will do, but the bottom line is ultimately the reason why gas prices are up is because of Russia,” he said. “Russia, Russia, Russia. The reason why the food crisis exists is because of Russia. Russia not allowing grain to get out of Ukraine.”

-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Molly Nagle

Jun 30, 8:10 am
Nearly all released Azov defenders return wounded

Almost all soldiers of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment who were released from Russian captivity return home wounded, a representative of the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders told local media on Wednesday.

“Almost everyone – 99% – were left without arms, without legs. Some do not hear, some do not see, but their eyes are happy,” Tetiana Kharko said.

According to Kharko, the sister of a captured Marine commander, some troops “talk with tears in their eyes, some can’t [speak].” The representative added that the soldiers from the latest exchange of prisoners need urgent medical care and an examination.

In his Wednesday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 95 Azovstal defenders returned home from Ukrainian captivity, along with dozens of other troops.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Natalya Kushnir and Yuriy Zaliznyak

Jun 30, 7:07 am
Mariupol theater airstrike was ‘a clear war crime’ by Russian military: Amnesty International

The Russian military committed “a clear war crime” when its forces bombed a packed drama theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in March, Amnesty International said Thursday.

The London-based international human rights group published a new report documenting how the deadly blitz on the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater unfolded, citing interviews with numerous survivors and witnesses as well as “extensive digital evidence,” which included photographs, videos, radio intercepts, satellite imagery and radar data. The report concluded that the evidence indicates the attack “was almost certainly an airstrike carried out by the Russian military,” with the theater as “the intended target.”

“After months of rigorous investigation, analysis of satellite imagery and interviews with dozens of witnesses, we concluded that the strike was a clear war crime committed by Russian forces,” Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said in a statement Thursday.

Jun 30, 7:01 am
War outlook remains ‘grim,’ top US intelligence officer says

Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to seize most of Ukraine, and the outlook for the war remains grim, Avril Haines, the top U.S. intelligence officer, said Wednesday as reported by Reuters.

“In short, the picture remains pretty grim and Russia’s attitude toward the West is hardening,” Haines said at a Commerce Department conference.

The intelligence officer added that U.S. spy agencies expect the war to grind on “for an extended period of time.” But the Russian forces are so degraded by combat, Haines said, that they likely can only achieve incremental gains in the near term.

Haines also said it will take years for Russia to rebuild its forces. Still, U.S. intelligence agencies foresee three possible scenarios in the war, according to Haines, the most likely being a grinding conflict in which Russian forces “make incremental gains, with no breakthrough.”

The other scenarios include a major Russian breakthrough and Ukraine succeeding in stabilizing the frontlines while achieving small gains, perhaps near the Russian-held city of Kherson and other areas of southern Ukraine.

Ukraine is likely to rely on more NATO support as the conflict drags on, with Ihor Zhovkva, the Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, stating Wednesday that Ukraine believes it already meets NATO standards and maintains a course to continue integration.

“No one removes Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration from the agenda,” Zhovkva said at the NATO summit in Madrid.

Zhovka, who headed the Ukrainian delegation in Madrid, said he was satisfied with the results of the summit. The official also stressed that Ukraine maintains its course to join NATO.

Russia warned Tuesday that Ukraine joining NATO could lead to World War III should Kyiv then attempt to encroach on the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Natalya Kushnir and Yuriy Zaliznyak

Jun 29, 3:20 pm
Zelenskyy addresses NATO summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the NATO summit Wednesday, commending the decision to invite Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

Zelenskyy told the NATO leaders, “The goals of Ukraine are exactly the same as yours: We are interested in security and stability on the European continent and in the world.”

“This is not a war of Russia only against Ukraine, this is a war for the right to dictate conditions in Europe,” he said.

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Jun 29, 1:37 pm
Biden, Erdogan meet after Turkey drops opposition to Finland, Sweden joining NATO

President Joe Biden met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the NATO summit in Madrid Wednesday, where he thanked Erdoğan for dropping his objections to Finland and Sweden becoming NATO members.

“I want to particularly thank you for what you did putting together the situation with regard to Finland and Sweden and all the incredible work you’re doing to try to get the grain out of Ukraine and Russia,” Biden said.

“We think your pioneering in this regard is going to be crucial in terms of strengthening NATO for the future,” Erdoğan said. “And it’s going to have a very positive contribution to the process between Ukraine and Russia.”

Senior administration officials told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. made no formal offer in exchange for Erdoğan dropping Turkey’s resistance to Finland and Sweden becoming NATO members.

The U.S. Department of Defense earlier came out in support of Turkey’s plans to modernize its aircraft fleet with American-made F-16s.

-ABC News’ Gabe Ferris

China’s president returns to Hong Kong for 25th anniversary of British handover

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(HONG KONG) — When Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped off a high speed train into Hong Kong on Thursday to throngs of flag waving residents and a traditional lion dance performance, it marked his first trip outside the borders of Mainland China in nearly 900 days, since the very beginning of the pandemic and also the first time the Chinese leader has set foot in the Chinese territory since the 2019 anti-government protests paralyzed the city.

“Hong Kong has withstood severe tests time and time again,” Xi said in brief remarks upon his arrival. “After ups and downs, Hong Kong has risen from the ashes and showed vigorous vitality.”

Amidst an incoming typhoon warning, a tight security blanket and a COVID-19 bubble, Xi returned to the city for a two-day visit to inaugurate the new Beijing-approved administration and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China, marking the halfway point of the 50 year ‘One Country, Two Systems’ promise to Hong Kong that it could maintain its autonomy and capitalist system.

Everyone attending and interacting with Xi and his delegation over the next two days has had to isolate beforehand because COVID-19 infections in Hong Kong are much higher than on the zero-COVID-adhering mainland. Local media reports say Xi is not expected to overnight in Hong Kong, instead choosing to head back over the border before returning Friday morning. His total time in the city will only add a few hours over the two day span.

Nevertheless, Xi was bullish in his praise.

“One country, two systems has strong vitality,” Xi declared. “It can ensure Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability.”

For many, the foundation of that “One Country, Two Systems” promise has crumbled since Xi was last in Hong Kong in 2017 for what was then the 20th anniversary of the handover.

In a speech five years ago, Xi issued a terse warning that “any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty and security, challenge the power of the central government” or to “use Hong Kong to carry out infiltration and sabotage against the mainland is an act that crosses the red line and is absolutely impermissible.”

Hours after that speech, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents were still able to take to the streets that year for an annual pro-democracy protest march that coursed its way through the vibrant Asian financial center. Newsstands still sold pro-democracy papers and magazines and a boisterous contingent of opposition politicians locked heads with pro-Beijing counterparts.

Five years later Xi arrived in a very different city, one that has been silenced of outward dissent.

The at-times violent street protests that captured the world’s attention in 2019 had — in Xi’s view — crossed the “red line” he warned about.

Amid the pandemic, Beijing imposed a security crackdown that has not only quietened the streets but remade the fabric of the city. The National Security Law that was seeded into Hong Kong two years ago has either locked up, chased out or silenced nearly the entire once-vocal opposition.

Though its supporters deny it, speech has also been curtailed in the name of national security. Protest marches disappeared and all remembrances of the Tiananmen Square crackdown erased. Media outlets were either brought in line or forced to shutter like pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai’s Apple Daily did last year. Lai, himself, now sits behind bars on multiple counts including national security charges that may keep him in prison for the rest of his life.

The electoral system for all officials and lawmakers was rewritten last year to ensure “only patriots governed Hong Kong,” tipping the scale in Beijing’s favor for the foreseeable future and closing the door on further democratic reforms. Hong Kong’s mini-constitution “The Basic Law” had aimed to work towards eventual universal suffrage but that is now on hold indefinitely.

School curriculums have been overhauled to ensure Beijing approved “patriotism” is instilled at a young age including new textbooks waiting in the wings that deny Hong Kong was ever a British Colony — apparently because, they argue, China never recognized British rule over their sovereign territory.

On top of it all, Hong Kong’s strict COVID measures and sealed borders have cut off the city not only from mainland China but from the rest of the world, which has seen Hong Kong’s status as an aviation hub and international financial center squeezed away by local government policies as its economy contracted by 4% in the first quarter of this year — one of the worst performances in 30 years.

A combination of some or all these factors have contributed to Hong Kong residents voting with their feet. Since the beginning of the year there has been 154,000 net departures from the city, the highest rate since Hong Kong returned to China.

Chinese state media has played the developments differently with the People’s Daily declaring on Thursday, “the Hong Kong National Security Law has become the “patron saint” for safeguarding Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.”

Hong Kong’s future is at a trepidatious crossroad and Beijing knows it. Earlier this month, the Hong Kong & Macau Affairs Office in Beijing which oversees the city took the unprecedented steps — despite the city’s supposed autonomy — to publish targets for the incoming administration led by John Lee, the former security official who implemented Beijing’s crackdown against the pro-democracy movement and press.

On the top of the list is affordable housing concerns, which Beijing blames for discontent in the city and “to improve Hong Kong’s international competitiveness.”

At the anniversary ceremony on Friday morning, Xi is expected again to give a speech outlining his vision for Hong Kong over the next five years. Unlike the speech he gave in 2017, he will no longer have to worry about issuing red lines because the government claims they’ve already dealt with those who he viewed to have violated them.

Xi, who is solidifying his case to be given an unprecedented third term as president later this year, will likely take a victory lap as the leader who finally brought this once rebellious city firmly back in the fold.

As Biden aims to punish Russia on world stage, sanctions hurt at home

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As the leaders of NATO’s 30 member countries convene in Madrid this week, preserving the alliance’s remarkable unity against Russian aggression is at the top of President Joe Biden’s agenda.

But as the war’s economic fallout ripples far beyond Eastern Europe, maintaining Americans’ support for Ukraine amid mounting fallout at home may be the greater challenge.

Before Russia launched its attack, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S was near $3.50. Now, it hovers near $5. Inflation concerns were already ballooning before the war, and since its onset in February, year-over-year rates continue to surge.

Biden has pledged to do whatever he can to bolster the U.S. economy while promising to take down Russia’s — pledging to make President Vladimir Putin pay a staggering price for inciting the conflict.

So far, though, higher global prices have made it possible for Russia to reap higher revenues from its fuel exports, even while it exports less.

ABC News asked experts about whether the financial penalties levied against Russia are having unintended consequences and what other tools the Biden administration could use to counter Putin’s aggression that don’t hurt American consumers.

Sanctions’ side effects?

When it comes to evaluating the efficacy of the allies’ sanctions and embargo strategy, economists stress it will take time for the measures to show their true bite — on Russia.

In fact, in the near-term, Ginger Faulk, an international lawyer at Eversheds-Sutherland who represents multinational companies in matters involving the U.S. government’s regulation of foreign trade and investment, said there’s evidence the policies have been “counterproductive.”

“The sanctions have not stopped Russia from continuing its war and they’re not even threatening Putin’s hold on power in Russia,” Faulk said. “To date, Russia has been able to increase its spending on the war in spite of these sanctions.”

While Biden might blame “Putin’s price hike” for Americans’ pain at the pump, Faulk said there’s more to the story.

“The rise in gas prices that people are seeing is caused by a lot of factors, but make no mistake — one of the big factors is the shunning of Russian oil in global markets,” she said.

“I think if we had approached the embargoes more strategically at the outset, it wouldn’t have caused this.”

Douglas Rediker, a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution, argues that beyond the Biden administration’s policies, the war’s roiling of supply chains and a diminished wiliness to trade with Russia have had a much greater role in rising costs.

“To some degree, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is what caused the price hikes, rather than the U.S. and E.U.’s reaction to it,” Rediker said.

“Gasoline prices have gone up. But they have not gone up primarily because of the sanctions that we’ve imposed on Russia. They’ve gone up because of the overall impact on supply chains, on trade, and diminish willingness to transact with Russia,” he added, noting that penalties on Moscow’s national banking system have also played a part.

Capping the cash flow

Fewer customers willing to do business with the Kremlin has resulted in other countries like China scooping up Russian oil at discounted rates. But instead of trying to hinder countries going against the U.S. and its allies from benefiting, experts say imposing a price cap on how much an importer can pay for Russian oil might be a better strategy.

“Sanctions lawmakers have to get smarter,” Faulk said. “That’s why you see the Treasury Department and the White House talking about reducing the price that Russia receives for the oil itself without actually taking those barrels off of the world market.”

Indeed, it’s a proposal that was on the table at this week’s meeting of G-7 nations, where a U.S. official said the leaders of the world’s most advanced economies were able to come “very close” to an agreement on a mechanism that would set a global price cap on Russian oil by imposing shipping restrictions on any product purchased above a certain threshold.

In theory, the restrictions would be enforceable because a London-based company insures the vast majority of the world’s oil tankers, so only countries in compliance would be allowed to use the company’s services.

“The goal here is to starve Russia, starve Putin of his main source of cash, and force down the price of Russian oil to help blunt the impact of Putin’s war at the pump,” a senior administration official said.

In addition to being able to charge less for its product, Faulk says Moscow will have to be content with the added expense of sending oil to faraway customers.

“It’s much more complex and expensive to send oil to China or to India rather than to Europe,” she said. “Those increased logistics costs and the sanctions discount will eat into Russian revenues.”

But whether importers would follow suit with price limits or establish workarounds is still unclear.

And there’s also the possibility that the Kremlin could respond to the measure by abruptly cutting off oil exports to the E.U. before its gradual embargo comes into full effect, or halting its supply of natural gas — which Europe relies on to heat nearly half of its homes.

“Russia is responding in a kind of economic tit-for-tat by cutting gas flows into Europe. And that doesn’t bode well for this winter,” Faulk said.

No easy fixes

The key to bringing down prices at home lies in a simple economic model: supply and demand. But experts say those variables are exceedingly difficult to manipulate.

To ramp up supply, Rediker says, the Biden administration has shown a willingness to work towards expanding the amount of fuel available to the global market, even if it means courting unsavory trade partners.

“There are steps to do deals with — if not the devil — certainly do deals with countries we have demonized for human rights and political behavior,” Rediker said, referencing authoritarian governments like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

Trying to limit demand may be even less politically palatable.

“The Biden administration is very reluctant to see comparisons to the Carter administration,” Rediker said, recalling a speech the former president gave advising Americans to turn down their thermostats amid rampant inflation and the energy crisis of the 1970s. “I think they have that deeply penetrated in their political thinking and they want to avoid being seen as asking Americans to reduce the demand for fossil fuels.”

As for the White House proposal to temporarily lift the federal gas tax, Rediker says most economists would describe it a “political theater,” and that if it were to be enacted, it could actually result in increased inflation by prompting more federal borrowing.

With no straightforward solution, he says support for the war could wane.

“As the war has continued on, the American public may still be supportive of Ukraine. But the question is, are they willing to make an overt sacrifice that’s being reflected in higher prices at the pump?” Rediker said. “I think that’s an open question.”

20-year-old mother gunned down on NYC street was apparently targeted: Sources

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A 20-year-old woman was fatally shot in the head while pushing her 3-month-old baby in a stroller on New York City’s Upper East Side on Wednesday night, police sources said.

The killing appears to be targeted but a motive is not yet clear, police sources told ABC News. NYPD detectives are digging into the victim’s life and relationships.

The unidentified woman was pushing a baby stroller on Lexington Avenue and East 95th Street around 8:25 p.m. when a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt came up from behind and shot her in the head, police said.

An unknown person approached her and fired a single shot at close range, police said. The suspect fled immediately afterward on foot, traveling east along East 95th Street, according to the NYPD. He was last seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants.

Police said the baby was unharmed.

No arrests have been made and an investigation is ongoing, police said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams tweeted overnight, “More guns in our city means more lives lost. It means more babies crying as those who love them lie dead. We cannot allow this epidemic to keep claiming lives.”

This shooting comes less than one week after the Supreme Court struck down a New York law that has restricted the concealed carry of handguns in public to only those with a “proper cause.”

On Thursday the New York legislature will reconvene in a special session to address the fallout.

State lawmakers are expected to vote on “sensitive places” where guns are off limits, including: health and medical facilities; polling places; public transportation; educational institutions; children’s gathering places; and federal, state and local government buildings.

Proposed legislation also includes a default position against guns indoors, requiring business owners to put up sign saying “conceal carry weapons welcome here” if they want to allow guns on their premises.

ABC News’ Will Gretsky contributed to this report.

Manhunt underway after two sheriff’s deputies shot in Alabama

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BIBB COUNTY, Ala.) — A manhunt is underway in Alabama for a suspect who allegedly shot two Bibb County Sheriff’s deputies, officials said.

The shooting occurred Wednesday afternoon on Highway 25 in the Cahaba River Wildlife Management Area during the pursuit of a stolen vehicle, according to Bibb County District Attorney Michael Jackson.

Authorities identified the suspect as 26-year-old Austin Patrick. He’s considered to be armed and extremely dangerous, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.

Hall has a criminal record with 72 different charges since 2012, including assault, attempting to elude police and resisting arrest, authorities said. He tried to choke a corrections officer in Calhoun County in 2020, according to the ALEA. Hall was released from Calhoun County Jail in April.

The condition of the deputies has not been released at this time.

ABC News’ William Gretsky contributed to this report.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be sworn in as Supreme Court justice at noon

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — When Justice Stephen Breyer retires from the U.S. Supreme Court at noon on Thursday, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, his former law clerk, will mark a milestone in American representation when she is sworn in as the first Black woman in history to sit on the nation’s highest court.

“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments,” Jackson said at the White House after her Senate confirmation, “But we’ve made it.”

“And our children are telling me that they see now, more than ever, that here in America, anything is possible,” she said.

Her joining the court also will make it the first time four women will sit on the high court bench at the same time.

President Joe Biden announced in January that Breyer would retire at the end of the term after 27 years on the court, fulfilling the wishes of progressives wary of waiting, and setting off what would become a month-long process to name Jackson and another 42 days for her confirmation.

Three Republicans ultimately joined Senate Democrats in confirming her, marking a significant political win for Biden’s long-term legacy — and his short-term efforts to energize Democrats.

Biden said, when he was considering nominees, that he was looking for someone with Breyer’s judicial philosophy and “a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people.” And with Jackson’s nomination, he delivered on a key promise from the 2020 campaign trail, before the all-important South Carolina primary, that he would nominate the court’s first Black woman.

“This is going to let so much sun shine on so many young women, so many young Black women,” Biden said in April, alongside Jackson and Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation’s first female and first Black vice president. “We’re going to look back and see this as a moment of real change in American history.”

Jackson, 51, born in Washington D.C., comes off the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, considered the most important federal court next to the Supreme Court. She has more than eight years of experience on the federal bench, following a path through the judiciary traveled by many nominees before her.

Like other associate justices, she is a graduate of Harvard Law School, but she marks her place in history in multiple ways, as also the first former public defender and first Florida-raised judge to sit on the Supreme Court. She’ll also be the first justice since Thurgood Marshall to have criminal defense experience.

Asked what her message to young Americans would be during her Senate confirmations, she recalled to the Senate Judiciary Committee feeling out of place at Harvard in her first semester — when a stranger provided a remarkable lesson in resilience.

“I was walking through the yard in the evening and a Black woman I did not know was passing me on the sidewalk, and she looked at me, and I guess she knew how I was feeling. And she leaned over as we crossed and said ‘persevere,'” Jackson said. “I would tell them to persevere.”

She has also spoken with emotion about descending from slaves and her parents growing up in Jim Crow South.

“In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States,” Jackson said at the White House after she was confirmed. “And it is an honor, the honor of a lifetime, for me to have this chance to join the court, to promote the rule of law at the highest level, and to do my part to carry our shared project of democracy and equal justice under law forward into the future.”

Jackson and her husband Patrick, a cardiologist, have two daughters, Talia, 21, and Leila, 17. Her family is expected to join for the historic swearing-in.

Four charged after 53 found dead in Texas tractor-trailer

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(SAN ANTONIO) — Four men have been charged in connection with the alleged migrant smuggling operation that took the lives of 53 people who were trapped in the sweltering heat of a tractor-trailer in Texas.

Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, of Pasadena, Texas, was charged with one count of alien smuggling resulting in death on Wednesday. Zamorano was allegedly the driver of the truck that was found outside San Antonio. Mexican investigators said the driver allegedly tried to pass himself off to authorities as one of the surviving migrants.

On Tuesday, police arrested Christian Martinez, 28, in Palestine, Texas, after they discovered he was in contact with Zamorano about the alleged smuggling operation.

If convicted, Zamorano and Martinez face up to life in prison and possibly the death penalty.

Martinez had a court appearance on Tuesday and is being transported to San Antonio, while Zamorano has a scheduled court appearance for Thursday, authorities said.

Two other men have been arrested in connection with the truck deaths on gun charges, according to federal authorities.

Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao were identified as unauthorized migrants in possession of multiple weapons, according to federal authorities.

D’Luna-Bilbao was traced to the semi-truck when he was seen near the residence connected to the truck’s registration, according to a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives affidavit. After he was stopped by police, Bilboa allegedly admitted to possessing a firearm, according to court documents.

D’Luna-Mendez was also stopped near the residence connected to the semi-truck’s registration, where he allegedly admitted to possessing multiple firearms at the home.

D’Luna-Mendez and D’Luna-Bilbao have detention hearings scheduled for Friday. They face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison plus fines on the ATF charges.

The incident unfolded in the southcentral Texas city on Monday evening at around 5:50 p.m. local time, when a nearby worker heard a cry for help and found the tractor-trailer with the doors partially opened and the bodies of 46 people inside, according to San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus and San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood.

The trailer was refrigerated but did not have a visibly working air-conditioning unit and there were no signs of water inside, according to Hood.

An additional 16 people — 12 adults and four children — had been transported to area hospitals in what officials called a “mass casualty event.”

The victims taken to hospitals were hot to the touch and all suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion, Hood said. There were no child fatalities that authorities know of so far, he added.

“They suffered, horrendously, could have been for hours,” Hood said.

Chris Magnus, the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told reporters he was “horrified” by the incident.

“Horrified at this tragic loss of life near San Antonio,” Magnus said Monday. “This speaks to the desperation of migrants who would put their lives in the hands of callous human smugglers who show no regard for human life.”

Of the 53 bodies in the custody of the medical examiner’s office, 40 are male and 13 are female, the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday

Rebeca Clay-Flores, the Bexar County Precinct 1 commissioner, said at a press conference Tuesday that some of those found are under the age of 18, likely teenagers.

Thirty-seven of the victims have potential identification, officials said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said those who have been identified so far were from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. The criminal investigation remains ongoing, as Homeland Security Investigations and its partners continue to work to identify all of the victims, according to ICE.

It’s the deadliest incident of human smuggling in U.S. history, an HSI spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, citing information provided by U.S. authorities, said the dead included 22 Mexican citizens, seven Guatemalan citizens and two Honduran citizens. The other victims have yet to be identified and Mexico is working with the U.S. on an investigation, according to Ebrard.

“We are in mourning,” Ebrard said in a statement Tuesday via Twitter. “Huge tragedy.”

Hood told ABC News that the the smell of meat tenderizer, which was reportedly put on top of the bodies before the suspects fled, was overwhelming.

Hood said there were personal items near where the bodies were found, including prayer cards in Spanish and a new pair of Air Jordans.

President Joe Biden issued a statement Tuesday calling the deaths “horrifying and heartbreaking,” blaming the criminal smuggling industry for preying on migrants. Biden also highlighted the anti-smuggling campaign the U.S. has launched with its partners, saying they have made more than 2,400 arrests.

“Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy, and my Administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry,” Biden said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed Wednesday that the truck had not been inspected by Border Patrol, despite passing through a border checkpoint.

“It was not inspected because the Border Patrol does not have the resources to be able to inspect all of the trucks,” Abbott said.

Abbott announced that the Texas Department of Public Safety will add additional truck checkpoints, beginning immediately. He said they will target trucks like the one involved in the migrants’ deaths.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar sent Biden a letter, requesting a meeting and assistance. Salazar wrote he was “angry” that he has made several appeals to the administration, without response. He also criticized the “lack of action” that has allowed Abbott to use this as a “campaign stunt.”

Making statements Wednesday, Abbott blamed Biden, saying Biden was warned in advance that reduced border enforcement would lead to dire consequences. Abbott said those consequences are a record number of people crossing the border illegally, a greater sense of lawlessness coming from not enforcing the law, increased brazenness by cartels because the federal government is not pushing back against them and the death of the 53 people on the truck.

“Many of these deaths could be prevented if Biden simply fully funded the border patrol operation of the United States of America and implemented the policies that the border patrol needs in order to do their real job and their real job is not the paper-processing work that they have been assigned to do. Their real job is both to secure the border as well as to do things like inspect the vehicle that was carrying those people who lost their lives,” Abbott said.

ICE said initially that HSI agents found more than 40 deceased individuals upon arrival at the scene on Monday when responding to a call from the San Antonio Police Department regarding “an alleged human smuggling event.”

“HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities,” ICE said in its statement. “We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled. To report suspicious activity, we encourage people to call the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. All calls are kept confidential.”

HSI is the arm of ICE responsible for taking down smuggling networks.

The San Antonio Fire Department confirmed to ABC News that HSI and CBP are taking over the investigation from local authorities.

CBP is the umbrella agency of the U.S. Border Patrol, which responded to assist at the scene and is supporting ICE in the federal investigation, according to Magnus, the CBP commissioner.

“We will be working with our federal, state and local partners to assist in every way possible with this investigation,” Magnus told reporters Monday night.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration will “continue to take action to disrupt human smuggling networks which have no regard for lives.”

“Our prayers are with those who tragically lost their lives, their loved ones, as well as those still fighting for their lives. We are also grateful for the swift work of federal, state and local first responders,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday.

When asked about the criticism from Republicans, including Abbott, who say Biden’s border policies have led to dangerous journeys for immigrants, Jean-Pierre said the White House is focused on the victims and their families.

“But the fact of the matter is, the border is closed, which is in part why you see people trying to make this dangerous journey using smuggling networks,” Jean-Pierre said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took to Twitter to say that he was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of life today and am praying for those still fighting for their lives.”

“Far too many lives have been lost as individuals — including families, women, and children — take this dangerous journey,” he tweeted Monday night. “Human smugglers are callous individuals who have no regard for the vulnerable people they exploit and endanger in order to make a profit. We will work alongside our partners to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable and continue to take action to disrupt smuggling networks.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security released more details on the Biden administration’s efforts to combat human smuggling and unauthorized migration in conjunction with the Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles.

The series of operations launched across the Western Hemisphere is part of the largest human smuggling crackdown ever seen in the region, with more than 1,300 deployed personnel and nearly 2,000 smugglers arrested in just two months.

Agencies from across the administration, including the intelligence community and the U.S. Treasury Department, have engaged to disrupt smuggling operations in real-time and strip down the financial backing of the transnational criminal organizations that coordinate these crimes.

“The Biden administration is focused on putting these organizations out of business,” DHS said in a recent statement prior to Monday’s incident. “But human smuggling is, by definition, a transnational problem and we are committed to working with our regional partners in the Americas to commit our collective expertise and resources to put an end to human smuggling.”

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Marilyn Heck, Matt Gutman, Robert Zepeda, Anne Laurent, Scottye Kennedy and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Are record corporate profits driving inflation? Here’s what experts think

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — While sky-high inflation has crunched budgets for essentials like gas and groceries, many large corporations have reported record profits, eliciting anger from some everyday people and public officials over price-gouging.

Such frustration recently rose to the fore over eye-popping gas prices. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden sent a letter to major oil refinery companies accusing them of taking advantage of the market environment to reap profits while Americans struggle to afford gas.

The problem extends well binfeyond gas, according to progressives like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who backed a bill last month that would empower a federal agency and state attorneys general to enforce a ban on excessive price hikes.

But economists disagree over the role that elevated corporate profits have played in driving inflation, as some say they account for more than half of the increase in prices while others say they have caused little or none of the hikes.

Some who do blame corporate price-gouging for a portion of the price increases said it arises from market concentration that allows a handful of dominant companies in a given sector to raise prices without fear of competitors undercutting them with lower-priced alternatives. But others doubt that explanation, noting the unlikelihood that a major shift in corporate concentration took place over just a couple years amid the pandemic.

The divide among economists also owes in part to mixed assessments over whether corporate profits have driven inflation or merely responded to it, since a global market rocked by pandemic-induced supply-demand shocks has created a favorable environment for many companies to hike prices.

“It’s a very intense time for people and their pocketbooks — I understand why these debates are very heated,” Michael Konczal, the director of macroeconomic analysis at the Roosevelt Institute, told ABC News. “A lot of people are on team demand, team supply, team transitory, team corporate gouging.”

“I think there’s reflection that there are a lot of causes,” he added. “Even as those causes are evolving.”

Economists agree that inflation owes at least in part to a supply-demand crunch amid the pandemic in which federal stimulus helped consumers purchase goods at the exact time that they got stuck in a production and distribution bottleneck, experts told ABC News.

But economists disagree over how much that supply disruption has contributed to inflation, as opposed to the market environment that it has created, in which companies could raise prices knowing that their competitors faced similar supply shortages that prevented any of them from flooding the market with cheaper alternatives.

“In the case of sector-wide supply chain issues, as during the pandemic, firms know that their competitors face the same bottlenecks as themselves,” Isabella Weber, a professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told ABC News. “The public, too, is aware of the supply issues. Taken together, this presents a pretext to increase prices.”

Josh Bivens, the director of research at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, published a study in April that found corporate profits accounted for more than half of the price growth between 2020 and 2021 in the non-finance corporate sector, which makes up about 75% of the private sector.

But the surge in profits stems from a confluence of factors that is likely unique to the pandemic-era economy, Bivens said.

“I view the big fattening of profit margins that boosted prices as another shock, like the pandemic, like the oil price shock,” he said.

A separate report from the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank, found that companies that imposed higher-than-typical markups before the pandemic were likely to be the same companies that hiked prices during the pandemic, suggesting that certain firms exploited their market position to raise prices during the pandemic. In other words, if a company could mark up prices before the pandemic without fear of competitors, it could do so during it.

“This makes us think there’s a small but real role for corporate power to be involved with the increase in inflation,” said Konczal, the economist at the Roosevelt Institute, who co-authored the study.

But other experts contested the explanation that market power or greed has driven companies to exploit market conditions during the pandemic, arguing that high prices reflect forces of supply and demand rather than any misdeed on the part of a company.

Michael Faulkender, a professor of finance at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, compared companies charging high prices to an individual who puts his or her home on the market at a favorable time.

“Let’s say I bought a house five years ago, and I’m looking to sell it for whatever reason. Do I price it at what the market will bear or what I bought it for plus a politically correct predetermined markup?” he said. “I’m going to price it at what the market can bear.”

The high prices at the grocery store or the pump are the expected outcome of a market in which individuals have ample money to spend but few products to buy, Faulkender said.

“The limited supply available goes to those with the highest value,” he said. “The profits then generated are a consequence but not the cause.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appears to share a view that minimizes the role of corporate profits as a cause of inflation. Earlier this month, at a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Yellen refused an opportunity to blame price hikes on company greed, citing supply and demand as the primary explanation.

Bivens, the economist at the Economic Policy Institute, criticized the value of recent price hikes as market signals, which typically tell market actors where to invest resources. The pandemic-induced shift to goods like Pelotons and lumber and away from face-to-face services is unlikely to persist for a prolonged period, he said.

“The line between price gouging versus useful market signals is always a pretty tough one,” he said. “I don’t think these are useful signals.”

Where economists come down on corporate profits informs what, if anything, they think should be done about it. Bivens said he supports a tax on windfall corporate profits, a version of which was proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.., in March. Meanwhile, Faulkender said the government should promote greater supply, especially in the energy sector, as a key way to address high prices.

Personal finances nationwide will depend on the outcome for corporate profits, Konczal said.

“Whether they’re naturally competed away on their own, whether policy intervention is going to help nudge the process along, it does have important consequences for inflation and everyday people’s pocket books,” he said.

Verdict in France’s ‘trial of the century’: Between relief and the years ahead

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(PARIS) — Wednesday marked the epilogue of a nearly 10-month-long and emotional trial for the Paris terror attacks of Nov. 13, 2015, with Salah Abdeslam — the only person directly involved in the planning who’s still alive — receiving the heaviest sentence under French law.

Families of victims and journalists were amassed either in the cafés or under the shades afforded by the trees circling Place Dauphine, in front of the 1st Arrondissement Tribunal, on Wednesday afternoon, waiting for the verdict in the “trial of the century.”

They waited all afternoon for the court, which had retired to deliberate Monday, to finally learn the fate of the 20 defendants, among whom is 32-year-old Abdelsam, the only survivor of the death commando and key suspect in the landmark trial for the 2015 terror attacks that claimed 130 lives, and more than 400 others were wounded.

Nine suicide bombers committed simultaneous attacks outside the Stade de France in Saint-Denis during a soccer match, on a number of Parisian cafés and restaurants and inside the Bataclan concert hall during a packed performance, where the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal was playing. The attacks were later claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. At the Bataclan alone, 90 people were killed by terrorists with machine guns after being taken hostage.

The trial for the deadliest attacks ever committed in France opened on Sept. 8, 2021. There were 1,800 plaintiffs and 330 lawyers, and the trial took place in front of a specially composed panel of professional judges, instead of a jury of peers.

The 149 days of the trial that followed, often interrupted by cases of COVID-19 among the accused, were punctuated by the emotional and graphic testimonies of 415 people — out of the thousands of victims — along with testimony from first responders, former President François Hollande, the defendants and Belgian investigators.

Stéphane Sarrade, a member of the victims’ association 13Onze15 — a name that refers to the date of the attack, lost his then-23-year-old son Hugo at the Bataclan.

“It’s going to start. It smells of beer,” was the last text he received from Hugo at 8:00 p.m. that night, the father of two told ABC News.

Stéphane Sarrade, who “had almost no expectations at the start of this trial,” was happy to end the trial with “some details on the chronology of events,” which allowed him to imagine his son’s last moments.

On May 17, some of Hugo’s heroes — Eagles of Death Metal’s singer Jesse Hughes and former guitarist Eden Gavino — joined the victims’ families on l’Île de la Cité to testify before the court.

“I felt like broken,” Gavino said, while Hughes said he “forgive[s] them [the terrorists]” and “hope[s] that they find the peace of God themselves.”

Alexis Lebrun, 33, a Bataclan survivor and a member of the victims’ association Life for Paris, hesitated “a lot,” like many, but ultimately did not testify, he told ABC News near the tribunal on Wednesday.

Awaiting the verdict, Lebrun, who vehemently refuses to be seen as only “a victim of November 13 and nothing else,” told ABC News he now “aspire[s] to a form of banality.”

When Périès announced the verdict — ranging from two years to life in prison, with Abdeslam receiving life without the possibility of parole — before a very packed court, 39-year-old Thibault Morgant, who escaped the Bataclan attack with his wife, felt “nothing,” he said

However, as one of the administrators of 13Onze15, he told ABC News he felt pride “seeing that my country has been able to carry out such a procedure to its conclusion without renouncing its values.”

“The ordeal is over,” Stéphane Sarrade told ABC News.

Talking with French media France Info after the verdict, Arthur Dénouveaux, who was at the Bataclan and presides over Life For Paris, had words for the other silent victims of terrorism, the 200 children of French jihadists who still live in detention camps in Syria with their mothers.

This landmark trial will give way to another in September, as France isn’t done reckoning with terror on its soil. This time, the special Paris court will house the trial for the 2016 Nice terror attack that left 86 dead on the Promenade des Anglais.

In October, five of the 20 defendants from the Nov. 13 trial — including Abdeslam and his childhood friend Mohammed Abrini, who was filmed by CCTV cameras during the attacks in Brussels pushing a cart with two other suicide bombers — will be among the 10 defendants on trial before the Brussels Court of Appeal for the March 2016 attacks in Belgium.

In 2027, the Terrorism Memorial Museum, which aims to pay tribute to the victims of terrorism across France and around the world, is expected to open its doors.

ABC News’ Ibtissem Guenfoud contributed to this report.

What you need to know about medication abortion after the overturning of Roe v. Wade

June 30, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, many pregnant people living in states where abortion is now illegal are expected to turn to medication abortion, also known as the abortion pill. For now, it is still legal in most states to receive this medication by mail.

A medication abortion consists of two pills, mifepristone and misoprostol. This combination of pills can be used to end an early pregnancy, up to 10 weeks.

These medications are prescribed by a health care provider and can be taken wherever people feel comfortable. The abortion pill is one of two ways to safely end a pregnancy, the other option being an in-person procedure. In the U.S. currently, medication abortion accounts for half of all abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that focuses on sexual and reproductive health.

Now, with in-clinic abortion services banned or threatened in more than half of U.S. states, the abortion pill is expected to become an even more important option.

Are these medications safe?

The Food and Drug Administration and major physician groups have found these medications to be safe and effective.

“Medication abortion within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy has been demonstrated to be so safe that sonograms are no longer needed to detect ectopic pregnancies before the medication is administered,” said Dr. Jacques Moritz, a board-certified OB/GYN and medical director at Tia, a healthcare system centered around female-related care.

“Medication abortions pose no increased risk to the mother’s health nor impacts future pregnancies,” Moritz said. “Medication abortion can be likened to undergoing a spontaneous miscarriage in terms of the expected effects of the procedure.”

This medication should not be used by those with bleeding conditions, long term steroid therapy and adrenal failure, or people who have a contraceptive IUD present in the uterus.

How are these medications taken?

When terminating a pregnancy, 200 mg of mifepristone is taken orally; 24 to 48 hours after taking mifepristone, 800 mg of misoprostol is taken buccally (in the cheek pouch). About seven to 14 days after taking mifepristone, patients should follow-up with their health care provider.

What should someone expect when having a medication abortion?

People undergoing a medication abortion can expect vaginal bleeding greater than normal as well as pelvic cramping and pain. The success rate of medical abortion is 95-98%.

Other common side effects of a medicated abortion include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fevers, chills, headache and dizziness. Typically, medications are needed for pain relief such as NSAIDs for most people.

What else are these medications used for?

Misoprostol can be used to induce labor by softening and opening the cervix in patients ready to give birth vaginally, prevents drug induced gastric ulcers and treats postpartum hemorrhage in combination with oxytocin.

Mifepristone can also treat persistently high blood glucose in patients with Cushing Syndrome.

How is the abortion pill different from Plan B or emergency contraception?

Emergency contraception is intended to prevent pregnancy from occurring after unprotected intercourse rather than terminating an already existing pregnancy.

Emergency contraception or Plan B is an oral medication that contains levonorgestrel, which prevents ovulation and fertilization of an egg. This treatment option does not affect existing pregnancies and cannot cause abortion.

The emergency contraception pills should not be used as a long-term contraceptive method since repeated use can cause menstrual irregularities and is not as effective as other known options, such as IUDs, depot shots and birth control pills.

What other abortion options are present?

Both medical and surgical abortions are available in both the first and second trimesters. In the first trimester, surgical abortion is called uterine aspiration and is offered up to 13 weeks of pregnancy. This procedure takes place under anesthesia, takes less than 15 minutes to complete and is greater than 99% effective, which allows for women to leave the medical center knowing their abortion is complete.

“Both are excellent options, and it really comes down to personal preference and sometimes logistics,” said Dr. Gariepy, the director of complex family planning at Weill Cornell Medicine. “We saw an increase in the number of abortions that were accomplished via medical abortion during the pandemic because of all the various health restrictions, lack of access to clinics, etc. during COVID.”

Although less common, the CDC found that in 2019, 7.2% of abortions happen in the second trimester or after 13 weeks.

In the second trimester between 13 and 20 weeks of pregnancy, a medical abortion is called an induction abortion, and is done in a hospital or clinic setting where monitoring can occur. A combination of misoprostol and mifepristone as well as anesthesia and pain medication are given, with the abortion usually taking 12 to 24 hours to complete.

Surgical abortion in the second trimester is called a dilation and evacuation (D&E). In a D&E, the cervix will be dilated with medication or dilator rods and then a suction device is used to remove all fetal tissue present in the uterus.

“The reasons someone may prefer a medication abortion is for privacy, the fact that you don’t have to have surgery, and the fact that you can take the pills at home with a loved one, and your heating blanket,” said Gariepy.

Erica Jalal, MD, is an internal medicine resident physician at George Washington University and a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.

Emma Egan is an MPH candidate at Brown University and a contributor to the ABC Medical Unit.

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