(TEL AVIV, Israel) — Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran journalist working for Al Jazeera, was killed Wednesday morning in the West Bank city of Jenin, according to the network and the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Abu Akleh was on assignment covering an overnight Israeli military raid in the city. Exchanges of fire erupted between Palestinian militants and Israeli soldiers, according to the Israeli Defense Forces.
Abu Akleh, who had been wearing a protective vest identifying her as a member of the press, was shot in the head and rushed in critical condition to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the health ministry. She was 51.
The ministry confirmed another Palestinian Journalist, Ali Samodi, was wounded.
Qatar-based Al Jazeera said its reporter was killed by Israeli forces. An IDF spokesman said the military was “investigating the event and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.”
“The Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty,” the network said in a statement. “Al Jazeera holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of Shireen. It also calls on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their intentional targeting and killing of Shireen.”
Political leaders called for an investigation into the death, with Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, saying that “media workers should never be targeted.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas R. Nides said Abu Akleh was a dual American-Palestinian citizen.
“I encourage a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death and the injury of at least one other journalist today in Jenin,” Nides said on Twitter.
Abu Akleh’s death comes amid a rise in tensions in the West Bank and Israel, where a spate of terrorist attacks this year have sparked renewed fears that the security situation is deteriorating.
An international coalition of journalists, including the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, filed a formal complaint in April at the International Criminal Court accusing Israel of “the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it had “preliminary findings” that indicated “no gunfire was directed at the journalist — however the investigation is ongoing.”
“On the other hand, we have seen footage of indiscriminate shooting by Palestinian terrorists, which is likely to have hit the journalist,” the ministry said. “We will communicate our findings in a clear and transparent manner to our American friends, as well as to the Palestinian Authority.”
Lior Haiat, ministry spokesperson, added, “A free and fair press is fundamental to Israel and all democracies, and as such, journalists must be protected.”
(NEW YORK) — For snack purists, original Goldfish may be the perfect poppable bite, but for those in search of something bolder than cheddar or parmesan, there’s a new line that adds a cult-favorite flavor to the mix.
Goldfish hooked up with Old Bay to create a limited-time offering made with the zesty, bold taste of Old Bay.
Fans of the Baltimore-based seafood seasoning brand are notoriously passionate about the blend of 18 herbs and spices used on everything from crab boils to a limited-time hot sauce that sold out within an hour of release in 2020.
“The Old Bay and Goldfish teams knew they had to join forces to deliver a delicious, one-of-a-kind snacking for fans and foodies, alike,” a representative for the brand said in a statement.
The popular spice blends black pepper, paprika, celery salt and red pepper flakes to complement the classic taste of Goldfish.
The new Goldfish will roll out nationwide with a limited quantity available on the McCormick website in early May.
Each 6.6-ounce bag will be sold for $2.79 and can be found at a nearby location using the Pepperidge Farm website.
This also marks the second limited-time offer licensed ingredient partnership with McCormick. The popular Goldfish Frank’s RedHot ranked at the time as the fastest-selling launch of summer 2021.
(NEW YORK) — As the nation looks ahead to a possible post-Roe v. Wade world in which abortion is banned in multiple states, medical experts warn there could be wide-ranging health and financial complications for women.
As soon as next month, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority of justices is poised to overturn abortion rights established by Roe v. Wade, according to a draft opinion leaked to Politico.
If Roe is overturned, nearly half of the nation’s 50 states are prepared to ban or heavily restrict abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights organization.
One of the most immediate impacts on women’s health would be maternal health, given that the United States already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, according to Dr. Ana Langer, director of the Women and Health Initiative and a professor of public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
According to Langer, for some women, “simply continuing a pregnancy is more risky than having a safe abortion.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 700 women die each year due to pregnancy or delivery complications within the first year after giving birth in the U.S., which continues to have the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations.
Black women in the U.S. die of maternal causes at nearly three times the rate of white women, according to the CDC.
The disproportionate rate at which women of color are impacted by pregnancy complications is one reason abortion rights advocates say abortion bans disproportionately impact that population, many of whom are already impacted more greatly by poverty, lack of health care access and racism in the health care system.
“The same folks that are impacted by inequities in maternal health outcomes — Black women, indigenous folks, LGBTQ communities, young people, those living on low incomes — are the same ones that are going to be deeply impacted and more brutally enacted by restricting access to abortion care,” said Dr. Jamila Perritt, a board-certified OBGYN in Washington, D.C., and president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health. “It’s a double hit.”
In 2018, the most recent data available, two people in the U.S. died due to abortion-related deaths, and both deaths were related to legal abortion, according to the CDC.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) calls abortion “an essential component of women’s health care.”
In instances of pregnancy complications like preeclampsia, placental abruption, placenta previa and cardiac conditions, abortion can often be the only measure to save the mother’s health, according to ACOG.
“There can be things that develop during a pregnancy that can be dangerous, and it can be dangerous for them to continue those pregnancies,” said Dr. Krishna Upadhya, vice president of quality care and health equity at Planned Parenthood. “Not having access to abortion means they will have to continue those pregnancies, no matter the consequences.”
Abortion is a common medical procedure that can be similar to the care a woman gets when she has had a miscarriage, according to Upadhya. She said limiting or banning access to abortion care could also complicate miscarriage care in legal and medical ways.
“When we ban abortion, that also means we prevent or we reduce the opportunities for doctors to know how to provide this care, and then that puts at risk people who need related care,” said Upadhya, adding, “I’m also concerned that people who experience a miscarriage or other pregnancy complication could be questioned about their pregnancy outcome with potential legal implications and that’s a whole other unnecessary problem that people could face as a result of overturning Roe.”
Medical experts including Upadhya and Langer say they also worry what the overturning of federal abortion rights by the Supreme Court could do for other aspects of women’s reproductive and overall health.
For many women, access to abortion care also means access to overall health care like well-woman exams, prenatal care, contraceptive care, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, HIV testing, Pap smears and screenings for breast and cervical cancers. At Planned Parenthood, for example, abortion care accounts for just 3% of the services they provide, according to the organization’s 2019 annual report.
“Planned Parenthood’s motto is care no matter what, so we provide a full range of sexual and reproductive health care,” said Upadhya. “We are doing everything we can to provide all of that care because we know people need that care.”
Another point of concern for women’s health advocates is what the fall of Roe v. Wade could mean for the future of birth control access.
Based on the leaked draft opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, it’s not a far leap to imagine the Supreme Court taking on contraception, according to Kate Shaw, an ABC News contributor and constitutional law professor at Cardozo School of Law.
“A lot of the logic in this opinion suggests that other Supreme Court rulings are quite vulnerable to being revisited and possibly overturned by this Supreme Court that seems really emboldened to torch longstanding precedents because there are the votes to do it,” said Shaw, citing one of the cases as Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a Connecticut law that made it illegal to use birth control devices or to advise about their use.
Experts say in addition to the immediate health complications for women, restricting access to abortion care has also been shown to have socioeconomic impacts on women, which can trickle down to, again, impact their health.
One frequently-cited study, The Turnaway Study, followed nearly 1,000 women who sought abortions in 21 states. The five-year study concluded that, “receiving an abortion does not harm the health and wellbeing of women, but in fact, being denied an abortion results in worse financial, health and family outcomes.”
Specifically, the study — led by researchers at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), based at the University of California San Francisco — found that women who were denied abortions were at nearly four times greater odds of a household income below the federal poverty line; had three times greater odds of being unemployed; had an increased likelihood of not being able to cover basic necessities like food and housing; and were more likely to stay with violent partners, putting themselves and their children at risk, according to the study brief.
The study also found women who were denied abortions were more likely to face greater mental health struggles and were less likely to complete advanced degrees.
“When we put restrictive laws in place like this, that ignore a person as a whole and ignore all of the complex decisions that go into deciding to become pregnant and parent,” said Dr. Jennifer Conti, a California-based OBGYN and abortion care provider. “We create dangerous situations where they have to choose between continuing a pregnancy and sometimes worsening their own medical conditions or worsening their own financial, economic decisions.”
In remarks Wednesday at a U.S. Senate hearing, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described how access to abortion can change the course of not only a woman’s life, but society’s circumstances, too.
“Roe v. Wade and access to reproductive health care, including abortion, helped lead to increased labor force participation,” she said. “It enabled many women to finish school. That increased their earning potential. It allowed women to plan and balance their families and careers, and research also shows that it had a favorable impact on the well being and earnings of children.”
If Roe v. Wade is overturned and, as a result, as many as two dozen states potentially ban or restrict abortion access, experts like Perritt, of Physicians for Reproductive Health, predict both the socioeconomic and health divides in this country will become even greater.
Already, in states like Texas, where abortion is heavily restricted, there are high rates of maternal and infant mortality and poverty, data shows.
And Texas’ ban on most abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, instituted last year, has not slowed the rate of abortions but rather has required people seeking abortion care to travel out of state, according to research from the University of Texas at Austin.
“We know what happens when you eliminate access to abortion at the state level. It means that people who have resources, people who have the ability, will travel to get care if they can, but most people cannot and will not,” said Perritt. “What we’ll be faced with is folks that are seeking care outside the formal medical system, and also folks who will be forced to carry pregnancies to term that they cannot and do not want to carry.”
(WASHINGTON) — In the wake of a bombshell leak last week of a Supreme Court draft opinion indicating the court’s conservative majority could soon overturn Roe v. Wade, Senate Democrats on Wednesday will force a vote to advance a bill that would enshrine abortion rights into federal law.
The Women’s Health Protection Act would codify the Roe v. Wade ruling while also banning requirements some states have put into place related to abortion care, such as waiting periods and mandatory doctor visits before the procedure. But without the 60 votes needed to overcome a GOP-led filibuster, the legislation is all but certain to fail in the Senate, sending Democrats scrambling for alternatives.
Still, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer argued Wednesday’s vote is worth taking, to put Republicans on the record.
“There’ll be no more hiding. There’ll be no more distracting. No more obfuscating where every member in this chamber stands,” Schumer said Tuesday on the Senate floor. “Senate Republicans will face a choice. Either vote to protect the rights of women to exercise freedom over their own bodies, or stand with the Supreme Court as 50 years of women’s rights are reduced to rubble before our very eyes.”
Schumer filed cloture on Monday on a motion to start debate on the Women’s Health Protection Act, setting the bill up for a procedural roll call vote on Wednesday. The bill cleared the House last year but already failed once to pass through the upper chamber in February, when Schumer failed to get the entire Democratic caucus on board, in a 46-48 vote. Democrats currently control 50 seats in the Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, serving as their tie-breaking vote — but 60 votes are needed to end debate on a piece of legislation, under the filibuster rule.
Not only are Democrats lacking the 60 votes needed to get past a GOP-led filibuster, but it’s also unclear whether they’ll have the full support of their caucus, since Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., voted with Republicans to block the measure earlier this year.
Republicans and Manchin have taken issue with how broad the Women’s Health Protection Act is, prompting Democrats to draft a modified version. Still, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — the sole Senate Republicans who support abortion rights — told reporters this week the bill still goes too far for them and that they would be voting “no.”
Collins and Murkowski have their own proposal to codify Roe called the Reproductive Choice Act, which they say would prohibit states from imposing an “undue burden” on the ability of a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy pre-viability but allow states to keep other restrictions in place. However, 17 abortion-rights groups this week said would not protect the right to abortion.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told ABC News’ Trish Turner on Tuesday he’s been negotiating with Collins since last week to try to change the Reproductive Choice Act to find a way in federal law to protect access to abortion and contraception.
“We would like to codify the set of holdings beginning with Griswold up through the Whole Women’s Health case,” Kaine said of the bipartisan effort, referring to the Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut upholding a constitutional marital right of privacy. But that measure, again, would need 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster.
Anticipating the Senate vote, abortion-rights activists spilled over from outside the Supreme Court to the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night, calling on lawmakers to protect abortion access nationwide.
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Lisa Cook to be the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.
The vote was 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie.
The confirmation comes as inflation rates continue to soar.
“As President Biden said today, addressing inflation remains a top priority of the Biden-Harris Administration, as we work to lower costs for hardworking families,” a White House official said. “It is important to have a fully-staffed Federal Reserve who can take on these challenges for the American people.”
Senate Republicans argued that Cook is not qualified for the position, especially when it comes to interest rate policy.
“Professor Cook has no proven expertise in monetary economics at all, much less fighting inflation,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, on the Senate floor earlier Tuesday.
Senate Democrats defended the nomination.
“We got more letters, I believe, in support of Lisa Cook than any nominee for the Fed,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee chair.
Cook earned her doctorate in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a joint professor at Michigan State University in economics and international relations,. The university lists her expertise as being in macroeconomics, development, innovation, economic history and international finance.
She also served as an adviser for the Federal Reserve, Banking, and Securities Regulators Agency Review Team on the Biden-Harris transition team and on the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2011 to 2012.
(NEW YORK) — Of the numerous primary races held Tuesday, two resonated beyond state politics: the Republican gubernatorial primary in Nebraska and the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary in West Virginia — two races that together offered mixed messages about the power of an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
ABC News projected Jim Pillen, a businessman and member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, as the winner in the Nebraska Republican gubernatorial primary, beating Trump’s endorsed candidate, wealthy businessman Charles Herbster, who has been accused of sexual assault by eight women — allegations he has denied.
The former president held a rally in Nebraska last week in support of Herbster, but almost all of Nebraska’s GOP establishment leaders, including Gov. Pete Ricketts, supported Pillen.
Across the country, in the rare matchup between two incumbent lawmakers in West Virginia, ABC News projected Trump-backed Rep. Alex Mooney as the winner.
Rep. David McKinley faced off against Mooney and three other challengers in the primary.
Trump put his weight behind Mooney, who has echoed the former president’s false claims about the 2020 election. McKinley, however, had the support of Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
Manchin even released an ad denouncing Mooney and declaring his support for McKinley.
“Alex Mooney has proven he’s all about Alex Mooney. But West Virginians know David McKinley is all about us,” Manchin said in the ad.
The impact of congressional redistricting was also on full display in the race.
West Virginia lost one of its three House seats, and while both existing districts lean strongly Republican, there is one fewer seat for Republicans to hold onto, according to analysis from FiveThirtyEight.
West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner told ABC News Live’s Diane Macedo on Monday that he didn’t think the Trump or Manchin endorsements would decide the race.
“He’s certainly very popular… I think people still are tuned in to what he has to say. But I really don’t think that’s going to be the decisive factor in this election,” Warner said of the former president. “Endorsements are important, but I think people really vote their conscience.”
As for Manchin’s endorsement, Warner was unsure of whether it would have “much play at all in this in this particular race,” which was also a test of one of President Joe Biden’s signature policies.
West Virginia is one of the nation’s poorest states, and McKinley is one of 13 Republicans who voted for Biden’s infrastructure bill that is expected to funnel $6 billion to the state. Mooney voted against it and won Trump’s endorsement when Biden signed the bill into law.
Greg Thomas, a Republican political consultant in the state who knows both candidates and once worked for McKinley, was of the belief that Trump’s support for Mooney could, in fact, be a tipping point.
“Trump’s personality isn’t something that we see a lot here in West Virginia. But his issues, these are West Virginia conservative issues and have been before Trump came along,” he told ABC News.
McKinley was also been hurt by Trump’s focus on his vote to establish an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Unfounded claims about the 2020 election overshadow the two races, as both Herbster and Mooney have pushed the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. Herbster attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, which preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Mooney has also supported a Texas-led lawsuit seeking to throw out the election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin; and he objected to certifying the election results in Pennsylvania and Nevada.
(WASHINGTON) — Just weeks before the first midterm primary elections, the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter reminding postsecondary institutions throughout the country of their legal requirement to distribute voter registration materials and provide voter education.
The 1998 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 began requiring colleges and universities to distribute voter registration information to all enrolled students, but according to Elizabeth Bennion, campus director of the American Democracy Project at Indiana University, South Bend — a university initiative that supports civic engagement for undergraduates — very few campuses were actually doing so.
“This is really a great time just to remind campuses of, you know, their responsibility under the Higher Education Act under federal law, as we head into the primaries and midterm elections,” said Clarissa Unger, co-founder and executive director of the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition — the largest nonpartisan coalition dedicated to increasing student voter participation.
Nonprofit coalitions like SLSV exist to serve and support universities as they fulfill their civic engagement requirement.
Katie Montgomery, director of government relations at Cuyahoga Community College, said the college prepares students for primaries by advertising a voter registration day at nearly 70 campus locations. Students are encouraged to have a “voting plan,” whether they are voting in-person, early, or on Election Day, she said.
“Once you register to vote and vote once, you’re more likely to be tagged as a likely voter in the massive databases that campaigns run and that nonprofits run,” said Adam Gismondi, director of impact at the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. “So then, you’re more likely to be contacted in future elections and reminded about your social responsibility to vote and you’re more likely to be asked for your vote by candidates. That actually perpetuates your involvement.”
The letter, issued by Michelle Asha Cooper, acting assistant secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education, strongly encourages higher education institutions to make preparations over the next several months to fulfill their legal requirement this election cycle. It also includes a clarification that federal work-study funds may be used for voter registration activities on- or off-campus.
“One of the reasons why the Department of Education issuing this letter is so important is they have the reach of all the campuses, which is over 2,000 in the whole country,” Unger said, calling it a step toward greater “equity.”
A reminder like this has not been sent out to colleges and universities since 2013, said Unger, noting her coalition has been calling for one since 2016. Instead, she said, groups like Students Learn Students Vote, a nonpartisan network focused on “student voter participation,” have been helping to educate students while some institutions themselves do not.
Part of the problem has been ambiguity. While the Higher Education Act says colleges and universities have to make a “good faith effort” to educate students, according to Unger it doesn’t specify who at a university should be responsible for handling that role. Her coalition has been pushing the Department of Education to incentivize campuses to participate and give some form of recognition to campuses that already have voter education initiatives in place, she said.
Joy Fulkerson, director of Leadership and Civic Engagement at East Tennessee State University, said the letter helps provide “encouragement” to continue doing the work.
“We’re holding regular voter registration drives and looking at our data in terms of who’s voting and who’s not, and thinking about ways in which we can engage particular populations of students,” said Fulkerson. “We’ve been out tabling and visiting organization meetings or classrooms or residence halls to really make students know about the opportunity to participate in democracy.”
Youth voter participation is generally trending upward, with 50% of young people ages 18-29 voting in the 2020 presidential election. That was an 11-point increase from 2016’s 39% youth turnout and “likely one of the highest rates of youth electoral participation since the voting age was lowered to 18,” according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
It also estimated that voter participation among eligible young people more than doubled in midterm elections from 2014 to 2018 — increasing from 13% to 28%. Data on youth voter participation from the most recent midterm primaries is not yet available.
In addition to educating young voters, college-based voter education programs can also provide meaningful experiences for students who participate through work-study or as volunteers.
Sebastián Canales, a student advisory board member with the Campus Vote Project at Cleveland State University, which partners with the school’s Office of Civic Engagement, said being a democracy fellow with the organization has been “one of the most inspiring, motivating, life-changing experiences” that he’s had in college. As a fellow, he educates peers on registering to vote and navigating their ballots.
He cast his own first ballot in the 2016 presidential election alongside his dad, a first-time voter from Honduras who had just been granted citizenship. He said he and his father felt “lost” in the voting process, but they were able to get through it because they had each other’s support.
“My dad came from a country where voting was not necessarily encouraged, there was a lot of voter suppression, a lot of ballot-box stuffing and we would have conversations about that. He would say, ‘You know, we live in America where your voice should be heard,'” Canales said.
(NEW YORK) — Comedian Amy Schumer revealed Monday that she is taking the COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid as part of her overall care package as she recovers from the infection.
Paxlovid is a Food and Drug Administration-authorized treatment given as a series of pills over five days that can dramatically reduce the risk of severe illness. The U.S. government has purchased millions of doses in an effort to expand access to the drug for everyday Americans.
But in a series of social media posts, Schumer rhetorically asked if she is eligible for Paxlovid considering she is also taking the antidepressant, Lexapro. Although experts say it’s safe to take Lexapro and Paxlovid at the same time, they say Schumer’s posts raise awareness of an important issue: Paxlovid works, but it should be used with caution.
“Paxlovid is very important and has really been a game-changer as it’s the first oral antiviral that’s been authorized by our FDA and recommended by the CDC for high-risk patients with COVID 19 symptomatic infection…and has been shown to decrease hospitalization and death by close to 90%,” said Dr. Todd Ellerin, director of Infectious Disease and Chief of Medicine at South Shore Health.
But the drug shouldn’t be used at the same time as many common prescription drugs, including some medications to treat mood disorders, heart conditions, high cholesterol, hypertension, migraines and many others. A full list of drugs that can react with Paxlovid can be found on the FDA Fact Sheet.
According to Ellerin, anyone taking a prescription medication should speak to their pharmacist or doctor before taking Paxlovid.
In some circumstances, people can stop taking their existing medication for five days while they take Paxlovid. In other cases, a doctor might be able to adjust drug doses, or recommend an alternative to Paxlovid, such as Remdesivir or a monoclonal antibody to help reduce the risk of severe COVD-19.
Paxlovid contains two drugs, Nirmatrelvir and Ritonavir and experts warn that Ritonavir in particular can cause unsafe reactions with a long list of medications. Paxlovid can inhibit the ability to break down other medicines within the body, leading to an unsafe buildup of those medicines when recently taken.
Ellerin says people shouldn’t feel discouraged from seeking Paxlovid to ease COVID-19 symptoms, but anyone with questions should speak to a healthcare provider first.
“Your pharmacist can be really helpful,” said Ellerin. “If they say you have to be careful with these meds, then you want to speak to your provider.”
Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(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 last month launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 10, 11:18 pm
House approves $40 billion in Ukraine aid, sending measure to Senate
The House on Tuesday approved a nearly $40 billion package of humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, the latest tranche of relief to the country the U.S. is aggressively backing in its fight against Russia.
The bill, which was finalized earlier Tuesday and includes nearly $7 billion more funding than requested by the Biden administration, was approved in a 368-57 vote, with all Democrats backing the bill and all opposition coming from Republicans.
With the vote, Congress has now directed more than $50 billion to support Ukraine in the war with Russia. The House voted 36-169 on March 9 on a $13.6 billion package for Ukraine and other key European allies.
The Senate is expected to vote on the measure in the coming days.
The package includes $6 billion to help train, equip and support the Ukrainian armed forces, and more than $9 billion to replenish the U.S. stockpiles of military equipment and ammunition in the U.S. and abroad that have been tapped to re-arm Ukraine.
The measure would also help fund and support U.S. troops stationed in Europe and the operation of a Patriot air defense missile system in Europe, and it includes more than $900 million to support Ukranian refugees with housing, counseling and English language classes, as well as helping process and screen those traveling to the United States.
Additionally, the bill directs the inspector general of the Defense Department to provide a written report to the House and Senate defense committees reviewing the Ukraine program spending within 120 days of the law’s enactment.
May 10, 6:46 pm
State Department calls on Congress to pass additional aid
The State Department is urging Congress to quickly move on passing additional funding for Ukraine, calling the aid “vital” and warning the administration’s other means of financing military support were quickly running out.
“Our assistance to Ukraine has been just as we promised: massive,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during his daily briefing Tuesday. “We have provided $4.5 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine since the start of this administration, some $3.8 billion worth of security assistance since the invasion began. These are supplies — weapons — precisely what Ukraine needs to defend itself.”
But, he said, maintaining that support depends on lawmakers fulfilling the White House’s request for another $40 billion in funding.
“The fact, however, is that right now, our coffers in terms of drawdown funding — they’re dwindling,” he said. “We now have less than $100 million left and we will exhaust those funds within the next week.”
Price said the new tranche of funding would “help our Ukrainian partners and also our NATO allies do precisely what we feel it is imperative that they be positioned to do at this moment.”
Pressed on whether the administration had a limit in mind when it came to sending lethal aid to Ukraine, Price said the focus was on fulfilling its promises to “provide Ukraine with the security assistance it needs to defend itself” and ensuring “our allies — especially our allies on the eastern flank — had what they needed to deter and potentially even respond to Russian aggression.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
May 10, 5:32 pm
Nominee for US ambassador to Ukraine testifies in confirmation hearing
Amid a three-year vacancy and with Ukraine in the grips of a brutal war, the U.S. Senate took its first major step towards confirming an American ambassador to Ukraine on Tuesday with a hearing in its Foreign Relations Committee for President Joe Biden’s nominee, Bridget Brink.
Brink — a veteran diplomat with 25 years of experience and the current U.S. ambassador to Slovakia — acknowledged the great difficulties that would come with the post but said it would be the “honor of a lifetime.”
“We face the biggest threat to peace and security in Europe in decades,” she said during her opening statements. “If confirmed, I pledge to work with you to continue our commitment to a sovereign, democratic and independent Ukraine — free to choose its own future.”
Brink has bipartisan support and her path to confirmation appears to be a smooth one, though Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the ranking member of the committee, foretold “a lot scrutiny from Washington” when it comes to moving the U.S. embassy back to Kyiv and “helping to shepherd U.S. military, humanitarian and financial aid in the right places.”
“I think it’s really important for us to be there in person and present,” Brink responded when questioned on plans to reopen the embassy in Kyiv. “I don’t know exactly how fast we will be able to do this process, but I know we are trying to do it as fast as possible and it is certainly my hope and plan, if confirmed, to be able to start my mission in Kyiv.”
She later added: “It’s necessary for us to be there on the ground.”
The nominee was also asked about the need for the aid package currently working its way through Congress.
“It is incredibly important that the supplemental move fast,” Brink said. “The needs are large.”
Brink also promised to work to assist Ukraine in holding Russia accountable for alleged war crimes.
“We are going to use every tool at our disposal,” she said. “I can tell you it’s a personal priority of mine.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
May 10, 3:23 pm
House expected to vote on nearly $40 billion Ukraine aid package
The House will vote on a new roughly $40 billion Ukraine aid package Tuesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced.
The request includes funding for “critically needed resources, including military aid, support for the Ukrainian economy, and humanitarian assistance for food security to address the worldwide hunger crisis.”
The White House had initially requested $33 billion in assistance for Ukraine, but congressional leaders decided to tack on an additional $7 billion for more military and humanitarian assistance.
“This package, which builds on the robust support already secured by Congress, will be pivotal in helping Ukraine defend not only its nation but democracy for the world. Time is of the essence – and we cannot afford to wait,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues. “With this aid package, America sends a resounding message to the world of our unwavering determination to stand with the courageous people of Ukraine until victory is won.”
The bill is expected to pass in the House, after which it would head to the Senate.
-ABC News’ Mariam Khan
May 10, 3:10 pm
Pelosi, lawmakers to brief Biden on trip to Ukraine
President Joe Biden will host House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress in the Situation Room on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the lawmakers’ recent trip to Ukraine, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Biden previously spoke with Pelosi over the phone about her trip but wanted a more thorough discussion in person, Psaki said.
Expected to attend are: Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.; Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-NY; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass.; and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Mariam Khan
May 10, 2:59 pm
Putin has goals beyond Donbas, US says
Russian President Vladimir Putin “is preparing for prolonged conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas,” according to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
“The next month or two of fighting will be significant as the Russians attempt to reinvigorate their efforts. But even if they are successful, we are not confident that the fight in the Donbas will effectively end the war,” Haines told senators at an Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.
For now, Putin’s goal is to take control of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and encircle Ukrainian forces from the north and south of the Donbas “in order to crush the most capable and well-equipped Ukrainian forces who are fighting to hold the line in the East,” Haines said.
Putin also hopes to “consolidate control of the land bridge Russia has established from Crimea to the Donbas, occupy Kherson, and control the water source for Crimea,” Haines said. The U.S. sees indications his military wants to extend that land bridge to Transnistria in Moldova, she added.
Haines said Russia might be capable of achieving “most” of those goals in the coming months. However, “We believe that they will not be able to extend control over a land bridge that stretches to Transnistria and includes Odessa without launching some form of mobilization. And it is increasingly unlikely that they will be able to establish control over both oblasts and the buffer zone they desire in the coming weeks,” she said.
Sanctions from the West are having a “pretty significant” impact on Russia, according to Haines.
“Among the indicators that one might look at are, for example, the fact that we’re seeing close to about, we predict, approximately 20% inflation in Russia; that we expect that their GDP will fall about 10%, possibly even more over the course of the year,” she said.
The fighting itself has also worn on Russia’s capabilities.
“The ground combat forces have been degraded considerably. It’s going to take them years … to rebuild that,” she said.
But that could drive Putin to other means of exerting force. Haines said, “They may rely more on things like cyber, nuclear, precision, etc. … Putin would probably only authorize the use of nuclear weapons if he perceived an existential threat to the Russian state or regime.”
Haines warned, “The current trend increases the likelihood that President Putin will turn to more drastic means, including imposing martial law, reorienting industrial production, or potentially escalatory military actions to free up the resources needed to achieve his objectives as the conflict drags on, or if he perceives Russia is losing in Ukraine.”
“The most likely flashpoints for escalation in the coming weeks are around increasing Russian attempts to interdict Western security assistance, retaliation for Western economic sanctions or threats to the regime at home. We believe that Moscow continues to use nuclear rhetoric to deter the United States and the West from increasing lethal aid to Ukraine and to respond to public comments that the U.S. and NATO allies that suggest expanded Western goals in the conflict,” she said. “If Putin perceives that the United States is ignoring his threats, he may try to signal to Washington the heightened danger of its support to Ukraine by authorizing another large nuclear exercise involving a major dispersal of mobile intercontinental missiles, heavy bombers, strategic submarines.”
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
May 10, 11:29 am
Russia has lost 8 to 10 generals so far, US believes
The U.S. believes eight to 10 Russian generals have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier told senators on Tuesday at an Armed Services Committee hearing.
This is slightly below the estimate from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which said up to 12 Russian generals have been killed.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
May 10, 8:18 am
Ukrainian police probe over 10,000 cases of suspected war crimes
The national police chief of Ukraine, Gen. Igor Klimenko, told ABC News on Tuesday that his officers are currently investigating 10,800 cases of suspected war crimes across the country, in areas that were previously occupied by Russian forces.
In the Kyiv region alone, police said they have so far recovered 1,262 bodies of slain civilians. The head of Kyiv police, Andriy Nebytov, told ABC News on Tuesday that his officers are currently working to identify 258 of those bodies.
Local police said five bodies were recovered on Monday, including three men who were lying in a mass grave. Police said the men had been shot in the head.
Local officers in the Kyiv region said they have found so many dead bodies of people killed when Russian forces occupied the area that they do not have the capacity to store them all in morgues. Instead, DNA samples will be taken before the bodies are buried while the process of identifying the victims is carried out.
Once the DNA process is complete, the graves of the deceased can be properly marked, according to local police.
French police officers are also in Ukraine to help with the identity process. According to Ukrainian police, technology available to their French counterparts can finish the DNA identification process within 24 hours — something which would normally take Ukrainian police three to four days.
May 10, 6:47 am
Russia paying the price for underestimating Ukrainian resistance, UK says
Russia is paying the price for underestimating Ukrainian resistance, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Tuesday in an intelligence update.
“Russia’s invasion plan is highly likely to have been based on the mistaken assumption that it would encounter limited resistance and would be able to encircle and bypass population centres rapidly,” the ministry said Tuesday in an intelligence update. “This assumption led Russian forces to attempt to carry out the opening phase of the operation with a light, precise approach intended to achieve a rapid victory with minimal cost.”
“This miscalculation led to unsustainable losses and a subsequent reduction in Russia’s operational focus,” the ministry added.
According to the ministry, these “demonstrable operational failings” prevented Russian President Vladimir Putin from announcing significant military success at Monday’s Victory Day parade in Moscow.
Although he showed no signs of backing down, Putin did not make any declarations of war or victory in his annual speech for Victory Day, a national holiday in Russia commemorating the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Instead, he drew parallels between Soviet soldiers battling Nazi troops and the Russian forces fighting now in Ukraine, as he has vowed to “de-Nazify” the former Soviet republic.
“You are fighting for the motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of the Second World War,” Putin said Monday during a military parade in Moscow’s Red Square.
May 10, 6:30 am
US suspends tariffs on Ukrainian steel
The U.S. will temporarily suspend 232 tariffs on Ukrainian steel for one year, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced Monday.
Ukraine’s steel industry is one of the foundations of the country’s economy, employing 1 in 13 Ukrainians, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Some of Ukraine’s largest steel communities have been among those “hardest hit by Putin’s barbarism,” the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a press release, and the steel mill in Mariupol has become a “lasting symbol of Ukraine’s determination to resist Russia’s aggression.”
“Steelworkers are among the world’s most resilient — whether they live in Youngstown or Mariupol,” Raimondo said.
The pledge to slash tariffs “is a signal to the Ukrainian people that we are committed to helping them thrive in the face of Putin’s aggression,” she said, “and that their work will create a stronger Ukraine, both today and in the future.”
Ukraine is currently losing about $170 million every day due to blocked ports and the country’s export potential has fallen by more than half, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmysal said on Monday.
Ukraine also submitted a several-thousand-page questionnaire, the second part of the answers, that must be completed by countries aspiring to join the European Union, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday during his nightly address.
“It usually takes months. But we did everything in a few weeks,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president held talks with EU leaders on Monday and claimed Ukraine could be granted EU candidate status as early as June.
Russia running out of missiles
Russia has used up about half of its existing missiles during its invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Monday. But the Russians still maintain the capacity and a certain supply of components to replenish some of their depleted arsenal, Malyar added.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense also stated in its Monday intelligence update that Russia’s stockpile of precision-guided munitions “has likely been heavily depleted.” Instead, the Russian military is now using “readily available but ageing munitions that are less reliable, less accurate and more easily intercepted.”
Russia will likely struggle to replace the precision weaponry it has already expended, the ministry said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted Monday that he has “never been more certain that Ukraine will win,” adding that Britain will stand “shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Fighting continued on May 9 at the Azovstal steel plant while “some occupiers were walking along the streets” of the surrounding city of Mariupol parading with flags and Ribbons of Saint George, a traditional Russian military symbol, said Petro Andriushchenko, the Mariupol mayor’s advisor. Russian forces on Monday tried to blow up the bridge used to evacuate people from the steel plant, trying to “cut off our defenders from the possibility to exit,” Andriushchenko said.
There are still more than 100 civilians trapped in Azovstal, Pavlo Kyrylenko, who heads the Donetsk military administration, told local media.
(WASHINGTON) — The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to recognize House staff members’ right to unionize after announcing an increase to their minimum pay. The vote was straight down party lines, with 217 Democrats voting for the measure and 202 Republicans voting against it.
“Congressional staffers deserve the same fundamental rights and protections as workers all across the country, including the right to bargain collectively,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement on Friday.
Pelosi also announced on Friday she is increasing the minimum annual pay for House staff members to $45,000 effective Sept. 1. Staff wages come from each congressional office’s budget.
“This is also an issue of fairness, as many of the youngest staffers working the longest hours often earn the lowest salaries,” Pelosi said in the statement.
The Congressional Workers Union launched in February it says after a survey distributed by the Congressional Progressive Staff Association found that 91% of the 516 staff surveyed want more protections to give them a voice at work.
It has since been pushing for the House to take up the resolution introduced by Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich. with 165 House co-sponsors, all of whom are Democrats. An earlier April 29 deadline to do so was not met.
“Many of us write and work tirelessly to advance the very laws that protect and promote every worker’s right to organize. We deserve those same rights–Congress should not be above the laws it creates,” The Congressional Workers Union wrote in a letter to Pelosi and other leaders.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the DCCC Staff Union announced they are voluntarily recognizing its staff union Tuesday as well. The union is organized as part of Teamsters Local 238.
“Today’s voluntary recognition is a testament to our shared commitment to live the values we fight for – both at the ballot box and within our places of work,” DCCC executive director Tim Persico wrote in a statement.
The union is now the largest collective bargaining unit in the Democratic Party.
“We are eager to meet at the bargaining table, roll up our sleeves, and secure a contract to guarantee the DCCC is the best place to work in Democratic politics for all current and future staff,” said Jacob Haythorn, a representative for the DCCC Staff Union, in a statement.
The $45,000 minimum pay for congressional staff, however, would still not amount to a living wage in Washington, D.C., according to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology living wage calculator.
A report by Issue One, a political reform group that calls itself “crosspartisan,” found one in eight congressional staff members are not paid a liveable wage for Washington, D.C. A 2021 House Compensation and Diversity Study found the median annual earnings for all house staff members is $59,000 and for member offices, staff members earned a median of $50,000 a year.
Traditionally, entry-level staff on capitol hill work long hours and frequently make less money than their peers who work in similar roles in the private sector. Many often leave government work after several years of public service for more compensation outside of government.
A survey distributed by the Congressional Progressive Staff Association found 90% of nonmanagement staff members who participated in the study reported working weeknights after 6:30 p.m. and/or on weekends.
