(NEW YORK) — Consequential primary races in five states, including some battlegrounds, helped shed light Tuesday night on what the rest of the midterms might look like.
For Republicans, former President Donald Trump’s star-making power and election conspiracies thrived on the ticket in swing state Pennsylvania, but one controversial North Carolina-based member of Congress heavy in MAGA-orbit fell to scandal. And on the left, progressives locked horns with establishment Democrats in North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania while the strength of President Joe Biden’s introductory midterm race endorsement bore out in Oregon.
Here are three major takeaways from the primaries in Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Idaho:
Election integrity on the ballot
Trump notched a significant win in the Republican primary for the Pennsylvania governor’s race with the success of state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a conservative grassroots candidate who attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on Jan 6. The Republican candidate for governor has been subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 committee and posits a full-throated endorsement of the debunked conspiracy theory that the 2020 general election was tampered with and stolen from Trump.
His win is a direct challenge to a less extreme wing of the Republican Party (remember, Biden won the state by about 2% in 2020), some of whom backed Rep. Lou Barletta. For what it’s worth, Barletta was backed by Trump in his losing Senate race in 2018.
Another key race in Pennsylvania full of loaded election integrity rhetoric was the GOP primary for Senate, a true-nail biter that has Trump-endorsed celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz in a dead heat with former Bridgewater executive David McCormick. The race edged into too-close-to-call territory around midnight Tuesday, and tight margins could leave Pennsylvanians waiting. No matter who wins, a candidate who at least pushes some sort of election integrity policy — promoting election skepticism without outright embracing the “big lie” — will represent Republicans on the ballot come November.
A MAGA candidate’s concession
What may be the biggest blow to Trump’s magic touch so far this election cycle was the crushing loss of his endorsed candidate Rep. Madison Cawthorn, the embattled congressman embroiled in several controversies, notably one in which he claimed his Washington colleagues partake in orgy and drug-filled romps. He later walked his claims back, saying he had been exaggerating. Cawthorn conceded the race Tuesday night (in not very MAGA fashion) to state Sen. Chuck Edwards.
Edwards boasts support from Republicans like Sen. Thom Tillis, who leans more moderate.
Cawthorn, a freshman lawmaker, quickly made enemies — sparring with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, carrying a loaded firearm into an airport and calling Ukrainian President Vlodomymyr Zeleksnyy a “thug,” among other incitements.
In the waning days of the primary race, many began to cast doubts on Cawthorn’s staying power. Several attempts from Trump to save Cawthorn — even at the 11th hour on Truth Social — clearly failed.
Earlier, before the concession, Cawthorn’s communication director said his team was “not listening to the beltway media.” Now, they don’t have to.
And while Trump may still be a kingmaker for some, his endorsement doesn’t equate to a sure path to victory either.
Progressive setbacks
Progressives failed to capture North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District with the loss of incumbent Nida Allam, a 28-year-old county official who boasted support from progressive Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Allam was overtaken by Valerie Foushee, a Black state lawmaker with largely establishment backing. Foushee benefited from millions of dollars in support from outside groups that spent big to sink Allam — a trend slammed by Sanders on Monday.
“The goal of this billionaire funded effort is to crush the candidacies of a number of progressive women of color who are running for Congress,” Sanders wrote to Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie Harrison. “I am writing to you today to demand that the Democratic National Committee make it clear that super PAC money is not welcome in Democratic primaries.”
Clay Aiken, who some may remember as the runner-up in Season 2 of American Idol, was also singing a sad tune Tuesday night, having lost the chance to represent Democrats on the national stage.
A win for the center is also a proxy win for Biden. Worrisome approval ratings for the White House and mass conflict abroad spell an uphill battle and then some for Democrats — though Foushee’s playbook (and embrace of those lucrative contributors) may offer a helpful playbook to victory.
(NEW YORK) — Wildlife officers are investigating a reported mountain lion attack in northern California that left a woman’s dog fighting for its life after it attempted to defend its owner.
The incident took place Monday afternoon near Big Bar, where the woman took her Belgian malinois for a walk on a trail near a picnic area, according to wildlife officers.
The reported attack unfolded when the mountain lion swiped at the woman’s left shoulder, wounding her and causing her to scream. The dog then returned and came to her defense against the animal, wildlife officers said.
“The mountain lion bit the dog’s head and would not let go,” California Department of Fish and Wildlife law enforcement division Capt. Patrick Foy said in a statement. “The woman attempted to throw rocks, tug and pull them apart. [She] even attempted to gouge the eyes out of the lion, to no avail.”
Seeking help, the woman ran back to the road where she left her vehicle and flagged down a passerby for assistance, wildlife officers said. Spraying the mountain lion in the face with pepper spray did not stop the attack, they added.
The animal then proceeded to drag the woman’s dog off to a different location, wildlife officers said. The woman and passerby were finally able to release the dog from the mountain lion’s grip by repeatedly hitting it with a PVC pipe they found in the area.
Wildlife officials collected samples at the scene for analysis, which are being processed at a lab.
“Initial evidence from the investigation is strong enough to allow wildlife officers to treat the investigation as a legitimate attack,” Foy said.
The woman drove herself to receive medical treatment for non-life threatening injuries, including bite wounds, scratches and abrasions. The dog’s condition has been described as “guarded” and it remains unknown if she will survive, wildlife officials said.
(WASHINGTON) — Voters were heading to the polls Tuesday for primary elections in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Idaho and Oregon amid a midterm season that will test the endorsement power of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
While Trump wasn’t successful across the board, at least 22 of his 25 endorsed candidates for Senate, House and governor (mostly in noncompetitive races) won Tuesday night, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Here is how the news developed Tuesday. All times Eastern:
May 18, 12:12 am
Pennsylvania Senate primary too close to call between Oz, McCormick
As the Pennsylvania Republican Senate race tightens, David McCormick and Dr. Mehmet Oz both appeared to thank supporters at their respective election night parties but said their race would not be called Tuesday because of outstanding votes, errors on some mail-in ballots — and, experts note, a split electorate.
“We’re not going to have a resolution tonight, but we can see the path ahead,” said McCormick, the former hedge fund owner whose wife worked in the Trump administration. “We can see victory ahead, and that’s all because of you.”
Oz, speaking minutes after McCormick, thanked former President Donald Trump for his endorsement and then, Fox News host Sean Hannity for his “behind-the-scenes” advice.
“We’re not going to have a result tonight,” Oz told supporters. “When all the votes are tallied, I am confident we will win.”
Within the past couple of weeks, far-right conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, who marched at Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, saw a surge in support in the race. Though she trailed behind on election night, her presence in the race appeared to split votes among Trump’s MAGA base and away from Oz.
May 18, 12:03 am
Gisele Fetterman speaks with ABC News about husband’s projected win, health scare
Gisele Fetterman, wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, spoke with ABC News’ Linsey Davis after her husband’s projected win in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. Fetterman suffered a stroke just five days ago and underwent surgery on Election Day to get a pacemaker and defibrillator.
“It’s been a long road here and we’re grateful to celebrate together very soon,” she told Davis from an election night party in Pittsburgh. She said Tuesday’s surgery was “very successful” and that her husband is “well on his way to a full recovery.”
Gisele Fetterman also spoke about the role Pennsylvania will play in national politics this midterm election cycle. The state was the center of former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election results after Joe Biden flipped the state from red to blue. Democrats see the race as their best shot to pick up a seat in the chamber from retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
“This is the city that can decide everything,” she said. “So it’s why it’s going to be the most watched seat in the country. And it’s critical to make this seat a blue seat.”
May 17, 11:50 pm
Bo Hines projected to win in North Carolina GOP House primary
In North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, ABC News projects Bo Hines will win the Republican House primary.
Hines’ win is a victory for former President Donald Trump, who is testing his endorsement power in several races this midterms season. Trump also endorsed incumbent Rep. Madison Cawthorn in another North Carolina House race — but Cawthorn conceded his loss earlier Tuesday and threw his support behind Republican State Sen. Chuck Edwards.
Hines is running in an area he has no connection to and does not live in, and many people have criticized him for using this campaign to launch his political career. His campaign finance disclosure shows that only six people from North Carolina donated money to him in the first quarter, and those same six people do not live in the district he is trying to represent.
The 26-year-old is a former college football star who played for the North Carolina State Wolfpack and Yale Bulldogs. He has said his ultimate goal is to become president.
May 17, 11:12 pm
Last polls close in Idaho, Oregon
All polls are now closed in Tuesday’s primary elections.
In Idaho, there will be a showdown between incumbent Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Little and McGeachin have clashed over coronavirus protocols during their administration, with McGeachin once issuing an executive order to “fix” statewide rules while Little was out of town.
In Oregon, term-limited Democratic Gov. Kate Brown’s unpopularity could open the door for Republicans to hold the governorship for the first time in more than three decades. There are 19 Republicans running for the party’s nomination on Tuesday.
President Joe Biden’s influence will be put to the test in Oregon, where Rep. Kurt Schrader is facing a challenge from progressive Jamie McLeod-Skinner in a redrawn district. Biden threw his support behind Schrader a few weeks ago, marking his first endorsement of the 2022 election season.
Returns are still coming in from Kentucky, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, with the winners of several key races already projected by ABC News.
May 17, 10:56 pm
Rep. Madison Cawthorn concedes to Chuck Edwards in North Carolina
Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s wild freshman year appears to have caught up with him.
ABC News has learned that Cawthorn has just conceded the race in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District — a seat he won in 2020 at the age of 25, making him the youngest person in the 117th Congress.
State Sen. Chuck Edwards, one of seven Republicans challenging Cawthorn for the nomination, declared victory in a statement on Tuesday night. ABC News has yet to project a winner in the race, but early returns showed Edwards ahead of the pack.
“This is simply incredible,” Edwards said. “Against all odds, we fought hard to win this election and provide clear conservative leadership for the mountains. I am so grateful for the support I received and am forever indebted to the hardworking people of this district who made this victory possible. Now, we will harness this energy, come together as a party, and keep this seat in Republican hands in November. My campaign has been about staying true to mountain values and delivering real results for Western North Carolina, and that is exactly what I intend to do.”
Republican voters were tasked with deciding if they wanted to keep Cawthorn around despite multiple scandals, including his unsubstantiated claims that some of his GOP colleagues on Capitol Hill invited him to sex parties and used cocaine.
He later told House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., that his remarks were exaggerations, but the incident caused some in the party to look to Edwards as a possible replacement.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who backed Edwards in March, said Cawthorn had “fallen well short of the most basic standard western North Carolina expects from their representatives.”
Other controversies surrounding Cawthorn include allegations of insider trading, trying to bring a loaded gun through airport security and his description of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “thug.”
Still, Cawthorn had former President Donald Trump on his side heading into Tuesday’s contest, but it doesn’t appear to have been enough to sway enough voters. Trump said Monday that Cawthorn should be given a “second chance” after making some “foolish mistakes.”
May 17, 10:33 pm
Shapiro blasts Mastriano’s stance on abortion, support of Trump’s ‘big lie’
Josh Shapiro, who is quarantining with COVID Tuesday and running unopposed for the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania governor, put out a statement about his general-election opponent, Trump-backed Doug Mastriano, now that Mastriano is projected to win.
Shapiro slams Mariano’s stance on abortion rights and election conspiracies, saying in a statement that “Pennsylvanians need a Governor who can meet this moment, but Republicans just nominated a dangerous extremist who wants to take away our freedoms. The contrast in this election could not be clearer – Doug Mastriano wants to ban abortion without exceptions, restrict the right to vote and spread conspiracy theories, and destroy the union way of life for hard working Pennsylvanians.”
Mastriano participated in the Jan. 6 rally before the march to the Capitol, organized buses to the rally and was caught on camera walking past barricades at the Capitol ahead of the deadly attack. He has denied participating in any violence.
Republicans in the state were worried about Mastriano getting the nomination, while Democrats were vying for that outcome, hoping Shapiro can appeal to more voters in a general election. The race takes on additional significance because the winner appoints the secretary of state, the officer who will oversee elections in the battleground state.
May 17, 10:15 pm
Chris Deluzio projected to win primary for Rep. Conor Lamb’s seat
ABC News projects that Chris Deluzio will win the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District.
Deluzio is a veteran and voting rights attorney and beat out LGBTQ rights advocate Sean Meloy for the Democratic nomination in the seat currently held by a Democrat. The district Deluzio ran in is being vacated by Rep. Conor Lamb, who ran for Senate in the state but fell short to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in the Democratic primary earlier Tuesday night.
May 17, 9:56 pm
Mastriano projected to win GOP gubernatorial primary in Pennsylvania
In the Pennsylvania gubernatorial Republican primary, ABC News projects state Sen. Doug Mastriano will win, beating out his closest primary rival, former Rep. Lou Barletta.
Mastriano, a retired Army colonel and long proponent of “the big lie,” gained former President Donald Trump’s endorsement only three days ago. Mastriano attended Trump’s Jan. 6 rally in Washington and falsely claimed in December 2020 that “cheating and fraud happened in our state.” As a state senator, he also attempted to launch a forensic “audit” of the state’s election results, similar to the partisan inquisition that took place in Arizona. It failed to find any evidence of widespread fraud.
The race is especially significant since the governor of Pennsylvania gets to name the secretary of state — the state’s chief election official, charged with overseeing elections.
The House Jan. 6 committee has subpoenaed Mastriano, given that he was in communication with Trump on Jan. 6, but neither he nor the committee has confirmed whether he complied with the order.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro, running unopposed for the Democratic nomination for governor, has called Mastriano “the most extreme and dangerous GOP candidate.” The two will face off in November.
May 17, 9:50 pm
Fetterman’s wife thanks supporters, calls out two key campaign promises
Gisele Fetterman, wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, spoke to supporters at an election night party in Pittsburgh following her husband’s projection to win the Democratic primary for Senate as he recovers from a stroke in the hospital.
She opened by “addressing the elephant in the room,” which is that “my husband John Fetterman is not in the room,” and said Fetterman would be “back on his feet in no time.”
“This race we’re running is a race for the future,” she said to a warm audience. “It’s a race for every job that has been lost, every factory that has been closed, every cost that has been rising, every worker that can’t keep up. It’s a race for a better Pennsylvania.”
She also mentioned two issues her husband raises at almost every stop: a commitment to legalizing marijuana and to eliminating the Senate filibuster.
May 17, 9:42 pm
Biden celebrates Fetterman’s projected win
President Joe Biden didn’t endorse in the race, but the son of Pennsylvania celebrated John Fetterman’s win in the state’s Senate Democratic primary on Tuesday.
“John Fetterman understands that working class families in Pennsylvania and across the country have been dealt out for far too long. It’s time to deal them back in, and electing John to the United States Senate would be a big step forward for Pennsylvania’s working people,” the president wrote.
May 17, 9:36 pm
Foushee wins North Carolina primary in setback for progressives
In North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District, ABC News projects state Sen. Valerie Foushee will win the House Democratic primary.
Foushee defeated eight other candidates vying for the nomination, including American Idol star Clay Aiken. Aiken launched his bid in January, citing white supremacy and racism as reasons for his second congressional bid.
She also defeated Nida Allam, a 28-year-old county official who is Muslim and who got wide support from the Bernie Sanders-Elizabeth Warren wing of the party. Sanders on Tuesday called out national groups who spent a large amount of money trying to sink Allam’s candidacy.
The safely Democratic district has been held by Rep. David Price for nearly 35 years. Price announced in October 2021 that he is retiring at the end of this term.
May 17, 9:15 pm
Fetterman thanks supporters in a tweet
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, recovering in the hospital from a stroke and primary day surgery, tweeted a thank you to supporters Tuesday night after he was projected to win the Senate Democratic primary in Pennsylvania.
“The fate of our Democratic majority all comes down to Pennsylvania,” tweeted.
The front-runner candidate who supports progressive policies but refuses the progressive label, Fetterman defeated Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb, considered an establishment candidate, and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a progressive representing Philadelphia, in the primary race.
Fetterman voted from his hospital earlier Tuesday via an emergency absentee ballot. His wife, Gisele, is slated to speak later at his campaign party.
May 17, 9:03 pm
Fetterman projected to win Pennsylvania primary after suffering stroke
ABC News projects Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will win the Senate Democratic primary in Pennsylvania — after a stroke just five days ago took him off the campaign trail.
Fetterman, the lieutenant governor since 2019, who led in the polls for the Democratic nomination, beat out Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. Fetterman and Kenyatta both staked out progressive positions on policy, while current Lamb is considered more centrist.
Fetterman will not be present at his campaign party Tuesday while he recovers in the hospital, but his wife, Gisele, will speak instead.
Earlier Tuesday, Fetterman underwent a “successful procedure,” his campaign said, to get a pacemaker and defibrillator, after suffering a stroke late last week. He also voted via an emergency absentee ballot from his hospital.
Fetterman doesn’t fit the mold for what a typical senator looks like: Standing 6-foot-8, he is bald, goateed and tattooed and frequently eschews traditional suits and ties in favor of shorts and Dickies shirts. He earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University but has campaigned with a blue-collar approach, having served as the mayor of the small borough of Braddock, just outside Pittsburgh, for 16 years before being elected alongside Gov. Tom Wolf, a fellow Democrat, four years ago.
The general election in Pennsylvania later this year could help decide the balance of power in Congress. Democrats see the Keystone State as their best shot to pick up a seat from retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
Fetterman will face either Trump-backed Dr. Mehmet Oz, businessman David McCormick or right-wing fringe candidate Kathy Barnette.
May 17, 8:53 pm
‘The big lie’ candidates in big races Tuesday
Often when checking for candidates who endorse Trump’s “big lie” — his baseless claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent — they wind up being fringe candidates or trailing in their races. But that’s less so the case Tuesday night, where multiple candidates who support ‘the big lie” are competitive, or even the front-runners in some of tonight’s biggest races.
Take Pennsylvania, where Doug Mastriano, a retired Army colonel who marched with Trump supporters on Jan. 6, is the front-runner in the Republican primary for governor. He’s been a proponent of “the big lie” from the start, claiming in December 2020 that “cheating and fraud happened in our state.” As a state senator, he also attempted to launch a forensic “audit” of the state’s election results, similar to the partisan inquisition that took place in Arizona. (It failed to find any evidence of widespread fraud.) He recently gained Trump’s endorsement.
“The big lie” has cast a shadow over another hot race: the GOP primary for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat. All three front-runners have offered mixed responses regarding whether they endorse the idea that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.
FiveThirtyEight’s Kaleigh Rogers is tracking all of these races and others where “the big lie” believers are on the ticket here.
May 17, 8:31 pm
More voting trouble in Pennsylvania
After news surfaced of voting issues in Lancaster County, it became clear that Berks County is also dealing with minor issues but will be able to keep its polling places open an extra hour.
The Reading Eagle, a local news outlet, reported that polling places in Berks County were having issues with new electronic poll books, forcing a return to paper. Attorneys for both Democratic and Republican county parties successfully filed emergency petitions to keep the polls open past the regular 8 p.m. closing time.
May 17, 8:11 pm
Trump-endorsed Rep. Ted Budd to face Beasley in North Carolina Senate race
ABC News has projected Rep. Ted Budd will win the North Carolina GOP Senate primary, setting him up to run against North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley, the projected Democratic nominee, in November.
There were over 10 candidates in the GOP race — but Budd, carrying the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, came out victorious and led the pack heading into the primary after lagging in the polls and in fundraising early on. Other candidates included former Gov. Pat McCrory, who had a record of running statewide, and former Rep. Mark Walker, a Trump loyalist who stayed in the race even though he faded down the stretch.
Budd voted against the certification of election results after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, though he has acknowledged Joe Biden’s legitimacy as president.
Democrats are hoping to pick up the seat from retiring Republican Sen. Richard Burr — but it’s an uphill battle as the seat leans red.
May 17, 8:00 pm
Pennsylvania polls close
Polls are now closed in Pennsylvania, which is home to one of the most competitive primaries of the night featuring celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Oz shook up the Republican primary for Senate after launching his campaign late last year, winning former President Donald Trump’s endorsement over businessman David McCormick. But it’s been another candidate, conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, making headlines in the final weeks of the race as she experiences a sudden surge.
Trump said of Barnette last week that she will “never be able to win the general election against the radical left Democrats.” Her momentum in the polls has jeopardized his second attempt to influence the race — he endorsed Oz after Sean Parnell, his initial pick, dropped out of the race.
Leading candidates for the Democratic nomination include Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Rep. Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta.
Another race to watch will be the gubernatorial primary. Attorney General Josh Shapiro is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination to take over for term-limited Gov. Tom Wolf, while several Republicans are looking for the opportunity to flip control of the governor’s mansion.
May 17, 7:51 pm
Cheri Beasley projected to win in North Carolina Dem Senate primary
In the North Carolina Democratic Senate Primary, ABC News projects that former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley will win.
North Carolina presents a key opportunity for Democrats to possibly pick up another seat in the chamber as Republican Sen. Richard Burr retires this year.
Beasley was seen as the presumptive front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
On the Republican side, incumbent Rep. Ted Budd, carrying former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, is hoping to beat two standouts in the GOP field: Former Rep. Mark Walker and former Gov. Pat McCrory. Tuesday presents a telling test of Trump’s endorsement power across state lines, as he also aims for Dr. Mehmet Oz to win the Republican primary race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat.
May 17, 7:32 pm
Polls close in North Carolina
Polls have officially closed in North Carolina, where voters are picking their party’s nominees for the Senate and House elections.
The battleground state presents a key opportunity for Democrats to possibly pick up another seat in the chamber as Republican Sen. Richard Burr retires this year. Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley is seen as the presumptive frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, while there are three standouts in the Republican field: Rep. Ted Budd, former Rep. Mark Walker and former Gov. Pat McCrory. Budd was endorsed by Trump earlier this year.
Another test of Trump’s influence will be in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District and 13th Congressional District, where he’s backed two 26-year-olds: Rep. Madison Cawthorn, widely known across the country for his scandals and irreverent attitude, and Bo Hines, a former college football star with little name recognition running in a district he doesn’t live in.
Candidates will need to receive more than 30% of the vote to become the party’s nominee or face a runoff election on July 26.
May 17, 7:21 pm
Pennsylvania county reports voting issue
The Lancaster County Board of Elections on Tuesday reported issues with its mail-in ballots, stating that a mistake by a vendor left it unable to scan thousands of ballots because it printed them with the wrong identification codes.
County officials called the error “unacceptable.”
“About 22,000 mail ballots were printed by the print vendor with the incorrect code and could not be read by the county’s scanners,” the secretary of state’s office told ABC News. “County election officials will re-mark the ballots by hand and then scan them. This is allowed under [Pennsylvania] law. It is likely to take county officials a few days.”
It’s unclear how the glitch will impact the election. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET in the state, where voters are choosing their party’s nominees for Senate and governor.
May 17, 7:13 pm
Sens. Rand Paul, Charles Booker projected to win respective Kentucky primaries
The first poll closure of the night comes in Kentucky, where Republican Sen. Rand Paul is seeking a third term and ABC News projected he will win the GOP primary.
Paul has garnered national recognition for his libertarian-leaning views and recently made headlines for single-handedly delaying a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, which ultimately passed with bipartisan support. Five other Republicans had challenged Paul in the primary race, though he was expected to easily clinch the nomination and win the general election in November.
On the Democratic side, ABC News projected Sen. Charles Booker would win the Senate primary. Booker rose to prominence in the 2020 election cycle when he nearly upset a well-funded, establishment-backed Democratic rival in a Senate primary to challenge Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
May 17, 6:58 pm
Fetterman’s primary day surgery ‘successful’: Campaign
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the front-runner in the state’s Democratic Senate primary race, has completed a “successful procedure” to recieve a pacemaker and defibrillator, his campaign said Tuesday, after he suffered a stroke late last week.
“John Fetterman just completed a successful procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator. The procedure began at 3:15pm, John was released at 5:56pm, and he has been given the all-clear that it was successful. He is resting at the hospital and recovering well. John continues to improve every day, and he is still on track for a full recovery,” the campaign said in a statement.
Dr. Jay Bhatt, an internal medicine physician, instructor at the University of Illinois School of Public Health and ABC News Contributor, said the procedure to implant a defibrillator and pacemaker are “common but carry risks of infection, bleeding, and complications and inappropriate shocks from the defibrillator.”
A day after Fetterman announced his stroke, his team said that he would not be attending his election night party and would remain in the hospital. His wife, Gisele, will speak in his place. His campaign released a photo Tuesday morning of Fetterman voting with an emergency absentee ballot from the hospital, where he is recovering.
May 17, 5:41 pm
Democratic House primaries could foreshadow party’s direction
While much of the focus this midterm cycle has been on statewide races and the momentum behind Republicans amid dismal approval numbers for President Joe Biden, several Democratic House primaries could be emblematic of the direction of the party ahead of November.
In these contentious primary races in North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania, voters will choose between progressive and more moderate candidates. These races have drawn the attention of progressive heavyweights, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Click here to read what you need to know about key Democratic House primary races, which include incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader in Oregon gaining Biden’s endorsement, and in North Carolina, Clay Aiken of “American Idol” fame taking another shot at Congress.
-ABC News Deputy Political Director Averi Harper
May 17, 5:38 pm
Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb says primary will offer ‘lessons’ for Dems
With primary day underway in some of the hottest races of the year, Rep. Conor Lamb, a moderate two-term Democrat vying for the U.S. Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, told ABC News’ Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer that results in the state Tuesday could be a key bellwether for the future direction of the party and control of the Senate.
“I think the Democratic Party is going to have to, you know, think really hard about how we’re going to succeed and what is a very, very challenging political environment — and today is going to have some lessons,” Lamb said outside a polling place in his district.
Lamb, who has been trailing progressive Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in recent polls, acknowledged that Democrats face a choice between “two very different paths based on two different sets of experience and two different personalities,” as many in the party view the race as their best shot at flipping a Senate seat.
Asked by ABC News whether he thinks Fetterman’s hospitalization for a stroke will have any impact on the race, Lamb said “I don’t know” and then offered what seemed to be criticism of his rival for “very little information about it [his condition] much like the rest of the general public.”
“I wish him well, but I really can’t forecast that and people are just got to make up their own minds,” he said.
May 17, 5:35 pm
Top Dem candidates face health issues on primary day
Two top Democrats in midterm races in Pennsylvania are facing health issues on primary day, causing them both to miss their election night events. One is isolated with COVID and another was in the hospital Tuesday undergoing surgery after a stroke.
Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary race for governor, announced this morning on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID-19 Monday night. He said he’s isolated at home with “mild symptoms” and will be back on the campaign trail next week.
Shapiro also shared on Tuesday afternoon that he voted using an emergency absentee ballot, speaking in a video posted from his campaign’s Twitter account.
Meanwhile, the front-runner in the Democratic Senate primary race, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, underwent surgery on Tuesday to get a pacemaker and defibrillator after he suffered a stroke last Friday. As a result, his campaign team said he would not be able to attend his election night rally; instead, his wife, Gisele, will speak in his place.
Earlier on Tuesday, ahead of sharing the news of his surgery, Fetterman’s campaign shared a photo of him voting via an emergency absentee battle in the hospital.
May 17, 5:26 pm
Dr. Oz touts Trump endorsement, says opponent has ‘had her moment in the sun’
In a somewhat last-minute endorsement in April, former President Donald Trump threw his support behind Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary, citing the television doctor’s popularity and compliments regarding Trump’s health.
ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott was the only network reporter with Dr. Oz as he voted this morning in Pennsylvania. On his way out, Oz told Scott he’s confident he will win this evening’s primary. But a last-minute surge by conservative commentator Kathy Barnette has now shaken up the race.
When Scott asked Dr. Oz about her momentum, he said, “I think that Kathy, metaphorically, had her moment in the sun.”
“And I’m very proud of the president’s endorsement. He said I was smart-talking — never let you down, smart enough to understand the issues tough, tough enough to not weather in the face of criticism. When you go to bed at night, you know, I’ll never let you down,” he added.
“I just cast a vote for myself, which is not a humble thing to do,” Oz said. “But it’s what I’m humbly asking all Pennsylvanians to do to vote for someone that they know will win in the general election which is one of the main reasons President Trump endorsed me.”
May 17, 5:23 pm
McCormick speaks about missing out on Trump endorsement
McCormick did not get the coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who threw his weight behind Dr. Mehmet Oz, so McCormick tried to balance complimenting the former president and saying Trump’s endorsement doesn’t have much impact.
“He’s very popular in Pennsylvania with good reason, in my opinion, but in terms of his endorsement — of course, his endorsement matters — but his endorsement to Mehmet Oz hasn’t had much of an impact,” McCormick said. “And the reason for that is much more about Mehmet Oz than it is about the president in that Mehmet doesn’t have a track record.”
McCormick also said the race boils down to two main issues: inflation and authenticity.
Recent polls have shown many Pennsylvania voters were still undecided leading up to primary day.
-ABC News’ Alexa Presha
May 17, 4:44 pm
Here’s what time polls close by state
Here’s what time the polls close in each state Tuesday. All times Eastern.
May 17, 4:43 pm
Tuesday’s contents test endorsement power of Biden, Trump
Tuesday’s primaries span five states, the most so far this season, and will test of the strength of endorsements from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Biden handed out his first endorsement just a few weeks ago to Oregon incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader in a race that was low profile until the president weighed in.
Trump has interjected himself in several primary races so far, including backing Dr. Mehmet Oz for Senate in Pennsylvania and Doug Mastriano for the state’s governor.
The state is one of several battlegrounds across the country where supporters of Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results, and Mastriano attended the rally preceding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as did Kathy Barnette, a dark horse ultra-conservative GOP Senate candidate.
One question that will be answered Tuesday night is if the Trump endorsement can save tainted candidates. Trump put his neck out for two 26-years-olds in North Carolina: GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn, widely known across the country for his scandals and irreverent attitude, and Bo Hines — running for Congress in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District where he doesn’t live or have wide name recognition.
(NEW YORK) — A growing movement is calling on Black women to do something long held out of their reach as the country faces an ongoing pandemic, racial conflict and a growing political divide — to rest.
Tricia Hersey of Atlanta is one woman behind that movement. In 2016, the artist and theologian founded The Nap Ministry, a collective that examines the power of rest through collective nap sessions, lectures and community workshops, prioritizing rest as radical resistance, particularly for Black women.
“This culture has made it so that we are not living in a human way anymore,” said Hersey. “We’re so disconnected and disembodied from our bodies.”
Hersey said the ministry is designed to combat what she describes as the “unsustainable,” “machine level pace” required by the world today.
“Everything is go-go-go, be-be-be, keep going, keep going, never stopping,” said Hersey. “I think that increases the risk of mental health issues when we don’t allow our bodies and minds enough time to just kind of settle into what is right now and to actually make space for a new way.”
For Black women in particular, according to Hersey, the pressure to persevere and at least appear OK while suffering can contribute additional stressors to already difficult situations.
Rooted in racist antebellum stereotypes, the trope of the perpetually “strong Black woman” harms Black women’s mental health in its inherent dismissal of the effect any hardship may have, according to Hersey.
“‘Strong Black woman,’ to me, allows so much time for abuse and manipulation, for not resting, for burning yourself out,” she said. “So the ‘strong Black woman’ has never been anything I’ve ever related with. I want rest. I want ease. I need help.”
Hersey said she sees the trope of the “strong Black woman” as one reason Black women in particular struggle with mental health.
Women overall are more likely to experience depression than men, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and for Black women, burnout and stress are also “rampant,” according to research analyzed by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Black women, like all Black Americans, are also less likely to have access to mental health care, data shows. Only one-in-three Black Americans who need mental health care receives it, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
In addition to socioeconomic disparities and a lack of inclusive research on mental health, the APA identifies stigma, distrust and limited access to diverse and culturally competent health providers as barriers to care for Black Americans.
For Mental Health Awareness Month, ABC News’ Janai Norman led a Good Morning America digital roundtable conversation on what many consider the taboo topic of mental health for Black women, exploring how racial injustice and the “strong Black woman” trope impact mental health.
Black women speaking out to change the conversation
For Ianne Fields Stewart, a New York City-based activist and storyteller, being given the power to rest was a transformative experience.
“Your work has been a massive part of how I’ve done my own healing,” Fields Stewart told Hersey during the conversation.
Fields Stewart, who identifies as transgender and uses the pronouns she/they, said that while growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, the myth of the strong Black woman was the “model of womanhood” she tried to emulate and follow.
Now, she said she no longer believes that “every Black woman must be a strong Black woman,” but wonders what spaces are left for Black women to hold.
“The problem is that I don’t think we’ve yet decided what Black women can be in this space that’s left behind,” said Fields Stewart, adding separately, “Do we have space for soft Black women, for emotional Black women, for Black women who aren’t really good at their jobs, but are great as people and human beings … or even that we don’t have to talk about black women in terms of what we can contribute, but as far as we are just being?”
Fields Stewart, an actor and founder of The Okra Project, which works to provide meals to Black trans people, said when the pandemic began two years ago, it forced her to think about the spaces she held.
“I was someone who defined myself by what I did, and suddenly when the pandemic struck, I didn’t have an industry anymore,” she said of her acting profession. “I didn’t have anything to ground me.”
The experience, according to Fields Stewart, made her question the weight of the pressure she was under.
For Hersey, the start of the pandemic was a time to embrace what she called the new “slowed down, not normal.”
Hersey noted that, pre-pandemic, mental health in the Black community was already in “crisis.” The pandemic motivated her to expand her work with The Nap Ministry to reach more people.
“[I] really wanted people to see this as a beautiful opportunity to take space to listen to our bodies, to really take account of what’s really happening,” she said. “Because we don’t have a chance to do that in our lives.”
Theresa Taylor Williams, a New York-based psychotherapist, said she had seen firsthand the ways in which the changes brought about by the pandemic, including, for some, the ability to rest, had impacted her clients, including Black women.
“I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve had to turn people away, because I can’t physically handle the number of people that are trying to get appointments with me,” she said. “The one question that was common amongst most of all of my new clients was, ‘Tell me when I’m gonna feel like myself again,’ and that’s the question that has been so hard to answer.”
As a Black woman herself, Taylor Williams said she had seen the downside of the “strong Black woman” stereotype.
What she called the “Superwoman complex” can distract from larger issues that affect self-esteem and mental health overall, she said.
“If we think about what allows us to go beyond, to be able to think and explore and daydream about ‘what could I be,’ we have to be comfortable right where we are,” said Taylor Williams. “We have to be mentally healthy right where we are.”
Fields Stewart said she wants the conversation around mental health and rest to be something all Black women have access to.
“These are conversations and these are ideas and these are luxuries that should be given to every Black woman,” she said.
“When we talk about mental health … it does not care what clothes you wear, it does not care about any of that,” she said. “Your mental health is your mental health and we have to be able to have that conversation amongst all of us.”
Hersey said she hopes people take away from the conversation a desire to move toward a more mindful, even leisurely, way of life as a way to protect Black women’s space.
“The systems of grind culture, of capitalism, of patriarchy, of white supremacy, we can disrupt these systems by just being in these moments of joy and holding ourselves and space to love and care and rest,” she said. “And when we do that, collectively, I think things begin to shift.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
(NEW YORK) — It’s almost hard to believe that we’re approaching the summer of 2022 — but we’re here for it.
To kick off the summer, many brands are offering major deals and discounts on everything from fashion and beauty products to home and outdoor garden necessities.
But you don’t have to wait until Memorial Day weekend to shop — there are plenty of sales happening now so that you can prepare for any weekend festivities.
Check out some of the sales below:
Aerie
Shop 40% off all swimsuits with free shipping and free returns when you buy swim. You can also shop 25-60% off Aerie’s collection (including 700+ new arrivals).
Asos
Shop an extra 30% off Asos’s sale section with code MORE.
Best Buy
Shop featured deals through May 22 at Best Buy on categories like TVs and projectors as well as video games, laptops, tablets, kitchen appliances and more.
Chi Haircare
Shop flat irons, curling irons, shampoos, thermal protection and more during Chi’s Memorial Day Sale from May 27-30. Enjoy 25% off site wide with code MEMORIAL25.
Express
Shop an extra 50% off for up to 70% off clearance styles at Express.
Gap
Take 40% off everything with code FRIEND, going on now at Gap.
J.Crew
Right now, J.Crew is offering 25% off full price styles and an extra 50% off sale styles. You can also take 50% off full price with the code SUNNY.
Levi’s
Get 30% off orders of $150+ at Levi’s right now.
Macy’s
Macy’s Ultimate Shopping Event is happening now through May 22 — perfect for prepping for the holiday. Take an extra 25% off marked items with the code SUMMER.
Nolah
Score up to $700 off mattresses (plus two free pillows!) at Nolah’s Memorial Day sale, running now through June 6. Plus, find deals on adjustable bases, mattress protectors, bamboo sheet sets, weighted blankets and more.
Nordstrom
Shop the sale section of Nordstrom for deals on everything from shoes and dresses to home décor, beauty and electronics.
Overstock
Now through May 30, shoppers can get 70% off thousands of items at Overstock, including rugs starting at $49 and home decor starting at $24. Plus, there’s free shipping!
Revolve
Get dressed for your Memorial Day weekend dinner party with up to 65% off at Revolve.
Spongelle
Take 30% off at Spongelle from May 26-31 with code MDW2022. Shop hand care, body wash, moisturizers and more — perfect for an at-home spa day over the long weekend.
West Elm
Snag up to 50% off new clearance styles as well as up to 50% off outdoor living now at West Elm.
(NEW YORK) — One out of every six deaths in 2019 were attributed to pollution, according to a new estimate published in The Lancet Planetary Health.
The analysis, led by an international team of scientists, indicates that pollution played a role in 9 million deaths globally in 2019 — the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. This impact on health is higher than malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, drugs or alcohol. Experts said it’s not clear how the global pandemic will impact the analysis moving forward.
Despite improvements made in water pollution in recent years, a rise in air and chemical pollution means the death rate has been relatively unchanged since 2015. Air contamination alone contributed to an estimated 75% of the reported deaths.
“Air pollution is similar to smoking cigarettes. It damages the lungs, preventing us from absorbing oxygen we need for life,” said Dr. Keith Martin, executive director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health and co-author of the paper.
Another primary concern is the growing numbers in chemical and heavy metal pollution, particularly lead poisoning. High concentrations of lead in the blood can cause problems with the heart, kidneys and cognition. This type of pollution arises from batteries and electronic waste, such as computers.
According to the World Health Organization, The Lancet report’s estimates of deaths from lead and chemical pollution are in line with 2019 WHO estimates.
“They are like little trojan horses, those particles, they have toxic chemicals, lead… carcinogens, and once that gets into the bloodstream, it’s like a guided missile” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, director at the Global Observatory on Planetary Health at Boston College and co-author of the report.
The U.S. and other high-income countries have made some strides to combat pollution, such as through the Clean Air Act. Many low- and middle-income countries are facing the brunt of the effects, accounting for most of the deaths reported. But experts say pollution doesn’t know borders — and pollution in one country can lead to health consequences on a global scale.
“Both climate change and pollution are global problems that require global solutions, and it is in the vital interest of people in the U.S. to help make this transition happen globally with all deliberate speed,” Dr. Robert Dubrow, professor of environmental health at the Yale School of Public Health.
The scientists who led the recent analysis hope the report will spur politcal action. Proposed avenues for change include standardizing monitoring of pollution levels, investing in research, strengthening pollution control partnerships and highlighting this issue in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Transitioning the use of fossil fuels — coal, oil and gas — to clean, renewable energy sources are ways the researchers propose society could level improvements. Individually, researchers call for people to limit their carbon footprint, such as limiting meat consumption, avoiding waste, or walking or biking as a means of transport when possible.
“Addressing pollution is a political choice. We must all advocate at all levels of government and in our communities to scale up known interventions that reduce our dependence on fossil fuels… and engage in source control for dangerous chemicals and heavy metals,” Martin added.
As the world is faced with worsening air quality and rising chemical contamination levels, experts believe that deaths due to pollution will continue to rise in the coming years if interventions are not made.
“There are incredible projections which have concluded the deaths from ambient air pollution could double in number by 2050 if we don’t take aggressive measures to do something about it,” Landrigan said.
Dubrow said switching to non-polluting renewable energy sources should be an “urgent public health priority.”
Dr. Rebecca Fujimura is a Family Medicine resident physician at MedStar Health/Georgetown-Washington Hospital Center and is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
(CONCORD, N.H.) — A person of interest is being sought in the slayings of a retired New Hampshire couple found shot to death last month on a hiking trail near their Concord home, authorities announced on Tuesday.
The New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella and Concord Chief of Police Bradley Osgood said in a joint statement that the man investigators want to speak with was seen in Concord on April 18 in the vicinity of where the bodies of Stephen Reid, 67, and his wife, Djeswende “Wendy” Reid, 66, were found three days later.
The person of interest is described as a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, authorities said. He’s about 5-foot-10, has a medium build, has short brown hair and is clean-shaven. He was seen wearing a dark blue jacket, possibly with a hood; khaki-colored pants and was carrying a black backpack.
Formella and Osgood released a sketch of the man.
They also announced that a reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the killer has grown to $33,500.
The FBI is assisting in the investigation.
The Reids were last seen alive on April 18 when they left their home in the Alton Woods apartment complex in Concord around 2:30 p.m. and went for a walk in the Broken Ground Trails area, authorities said.
The couple was reported missing on April 20 when Stephen Reid failed to show up at a planned event, according to the state attorney general’s office. Their bodies were discovered a day later off a hiking trail in the Broken Ground Trails system, officials said.
Autopsies determined they both died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Homicide investigators and the couple’s children have asked the public to report any information that could possibly help crack the case.
The couple’s family, including their children, Lindsay and Brian Reid, released a statement, describing Stephen and Wendy Reid as soulmates who traveled the world and shared a “mutual love of adventure and fitness.”
The Reids moved to Concord about three years ago when Stephen Reid, who grew up in Concord, retired from a more than 30-year career as an international development specialist working on humanitarian projects around the world through USAID, their family said.
The couple met while Wendy Reid, who was from West Africa, was studying in Washington, D.C., on an athletic scholarship, the family said.
After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, Stephen Reid served in the Peace Corps in West Africa for four years, according to relatives.
(WASHINGTON) — As Democrats have ratcheted up condemnation of “replacement theory” in the wake of Saturday’s mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, some Republicans on Capitol Hill have shied away from rejecting the racist idea that some members of their own party have espoused.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was asked repeatedly about his views of “replacement theory,” a conspiracy theory that holds that Democrats are trying to replace white Americans with undocumented immigrants and people of color in order to win elections.
He repeatedly avoided denouncing it outright.
McConnell was asked whether he, as the party leader, had a responsibility to speak out against the theory, which authorities say was adopted by the 18-year-old white man accused of killing 10 Black people at a local food market.
He responded by denouncing the actions of the suspect, calling him a “deranged young man,” but making no mention of “replacement theory.”
Pressed again by reporters on whether the Republican Party is obligated to denounce the theory, McConnell condemned racism generally.
“Look — racism of any sort is abhorrent in America and ought to be stood up to by everybody, both Republicans, Democrats, all Americans,” McConnell said.
He then was asked whether he believed that Democrats are seeking amnesty for undocumented immigrants for the purpose of influencing and changing the electorate. He responded by criticizing the Biden administration’s policy at the southern border.
McConnell’s comments Tuesday came as the Senate GOP conference hosted Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance, who has used language similar to the theory on multiple occasions.
Vance secured the GOP nomination during Ohio’s primary race earlier this month after a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who has supported multiple Republicans who echo the theory’s main points, if not its outright racist basis.
In a March 17 appearance on Fox News, according to the news monitoring site Mediaite, Vance told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that Democrats are intentionally creating a surge in undocumented immigration.
“You have to ask yourself who is benefiting from this and who is getting rich from it? First of all Chamber of Commerce-style Republicans and Democrats who love the cheap labor who love the fact that these immigrants are displacing America’s workers but also Democrat politicians who have decided that they can’t win reelection in 2022 unless they bring in a large number of new voters to replace the voters that are already here,” he said.
Vance’s campaign declined to comment to ABC News and he did not answer a barrage of reporter questions as he left the Senate GOP luncheon.
McConnell was not the only Republican leader to avoid calls to denounce replacement theory Tuesday.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, House GOP Conference Chair, has faced renewed criticism in recent days for her campaign ads echoing replacement theory. Her campaign released a statement about the attack, and another from her senior adviser calling the focus on the ads a “disgusting low for the left, their Never Trump allies and the sycophant stenographers in the media.”
When pressed by reporters, Stefanik didn’t respond directly, saying she didn’t want to make the Buffalo shooting political.
“Our nation is heartbroken and sad and of the horrific loss of life in Buffalo. This was an act of pure evil and the criminal should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Stefanik said. “It is not the time to politicize this tragedy. We mourn together as a nation.”
Republican reticence to reject replacement theory comes as President Joe Biden traveled to Buffalo on Tuesday and in a speech called on Americans, to “reject the lie” and condemn those “who spread the lie for power, for political gain and for profit.”
Later, speaking to reporters, Biden declined to name names but was blunt when asked if he thinks members of the Republican Party, and cable news pundits like Fox News host Tucker Carlson, deserve blame for violence.
“I believe anybody who echoes a replacement is to blame not for this particular crime, but it’s for no purpose, no purpose, except profit and or political benefit,” Biden said. “And it’s wrong. It’s just simply wrong,”
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has gone further, calling out Fox News and pundits like Carlson by name.
Schumer penned a direct appeal to media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, his son, and the heads of Fox News Tuesday urging them to “to immediately cease all dissemination of false white nationalist, far right conspiracy theories on your network.”
Invoking massacres with racial motivations in Pittsburgh and El Paso, Schumer wrote about his Buffalo constituents, saying that they’ll “be forced to relive this tragic event every single time they visit the supermarket for a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk” —- asking that Fox take into consideration the very real impacts of the dangerous rhetoric…”
Carlson has denied that discussing what he claims is a political matter is racist.
A spokesperson for Fox pointed to a comment Carlson made on his show earlier this week regarding the Buffalo shooting. Carlson, she said, called the shooter “racist” and “immoral” and “called for a de-emphasis of racial tensions and working toward a “colorblind meritocracy” adding “all people have equal moral value, no matter what they look like” and quoted Martin Luther King, Jr.”
She did not directly address Schumer’s letter.
The shooting has revealed a divide in the Republican ranks. While McConnell and Stefanik have fallen short of denouncing “replacement theory,” others have been outspoken on condemning it.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., had no qualms about rejecting the theory outright.
“Oh, it’s … an outrageous theory. I totally reject it as any reasonable discussion to be had.”
Blunt, who is retiring, is from a state where two GOP politicians have openly espoused the racist theory.
On Monday, GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, whose role as GOP conference chair was usurped by Stefanik, called her colleagues out directly in a tweet.
“The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism,” Cheney tweeted. “History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse. @GOP leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them.”
“Despite sickening and false reporting, Congresswoman Stefanik has never advocated for any racist position or made a racist statement,” Alex DeGrasse, a senior adviser to Stefanik, said in a statement. “The shooting was an act of evil and the criminal should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.
ABC News’ Ben Siegel, Lalee Ibssa and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
(TOMS RIVER, N.J.) — One person is dead and another has been rescued after the siblings became trapped under sand while digging at a Jersey Shore beach Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Police and emergency medical services responded to a barrier island beach in Toms River, New Jersey, shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday “for reports of juveniles trapped in the sand as it collapsed around them while digging,” the Toms River Police Department said on Facebook.
First responders were able to rescue a 17-year-old girl, who was treated at the scene, though her brother, 18, died at the scene, police said.
The victim was identified by police as Levy Caverley of Maine.
The teen was visiting the region from out of town with his family, police said.
Police urged people not to respond to the area while the rescue was in progress.
Live footage from the scene Tuesday evening showed more than a dozen first responders near the shoreline. Emergency crews from several neighboring towns aided in the rescue effort.
Rescue workers are currently working to recover the body from the collapse, police said.
(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, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
May 17, 6:26 pm
State Department ‘confident’ in NATO expansion
As Turkey becomes more vocal about its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, the State Department said it is still assured of the alliance’s unified support for the two prospective members.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a briefing Tuesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken came away from meetings with NATO allies with a “sense of confidence there was strong consensus for admitting Finland and Sweden into the alliance if they so choose to join, and we’re confident we’ll be able to preserve that consensus.”
Price said that assessment came from what Blinken heard in conversations behind closed doors.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has publicly said that both candidates are untrustworthy because he perceives them as being supportive of groups Ankara views as extremist.
There is speculation that Turkey’s opposition is an attempt to leverage the moment to achieve its own policy goals or concessions from the U.S. Price said Tuesday that Turkey has not made any specific requests.
Price confirmed that Blinken will meet with his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of the U.N. on Wednesday, adding that “other conversations are ongoing between and among current NATO allies and potential aspirant countries.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
May 17, 2:22 pm
Finland, Sweden to jointly submit applications for NATO membership on Wednesday
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s office announced Sweden and Finland will jointly submit an application for NATO membership on Wednesday, after she met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Stockholm.
“It is a message of strength and a clear signal that we stand united going into the future,” Andersson said in a joint press conference with the Finnish president.
The two leaders are set to meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday.
The two countries have stepped away from nonalignment in the wake of Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, and fears for their own security.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 17, 2:11 pm
ICC sends 42 investigators to Ukraine
The International Criminal Court deployed a team of 42 investigators forensic and support personnel to Ukraine to advance investigations into crimes falling under ICC jurisdiction and provide support to Ukrainian authorities.
“This represents the largest ever single field deployment by my office since its establishment,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said Tuesday.
Khan said 21 countries have offered to send national experts to his office and 20 states have committed to provide financial contributions.
“I look forward to working with all actors, including survivor groups, national authorities, civil society organisations and international partners, in order to accelerate this collective work moving forward,” Khan said.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 17, 1:33 pm
US commerce secretary says export controls on Russia are working
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters Tuesday that the export controls the U.S. and other countries have put on Russia are working, including compliance from China.
“These export controls are having a strong and significant effect,” Raimondo said Tuesday.
Raimondo returned from Paris where she co-chaired the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council Ministerial Meeting. She said there was consensus and partnership amongst countries with respect to cutting off Russia’s access to “critical technologies.”
“We’ve had extensive discussions on export controls,” she said.
The Commerce Department and 37 other countries have limited semiconductor chips that can be exported to Russia, which help not only everyday Russian carmakers, but the Russian military build and use military equipment.
“You’ve all heard the anecdotal stories of Russia’s inability to continue to produce tanks and auto companies shutting down but overall U.S. exports to Russia have decreased over 80%, between February and a week ago,” she said. “So we essentially stopped sending high tech to Russia, which is what they need for their military.”
Even China, Raimondo said, stopped shipping tech products such as laptops to Russia by 40% compared to a year ago.
Asked whether she trusts the Chinese data, Raimondo said it is “consistent” with what the Ukrainians are seeing on the ground.
“We are not seeing systematic efforts by China to go around our export controls,” she said. “So yes, I think this is probably quite accurate.”
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
May 17, 9:20 am
Biden to meet with leaders of Sweden, Finland as they seek to join NATO
President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland at the White House on Thursday as the two countries seek to join NATO, the White House announced Tuesday.
The three leaders will “discuss Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO applications and European security,” according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
