(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — The former sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey in her Illinois home while responding to her call for help has held six different police jobs since 2020, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board confirmed to ABC News.
Body camera footage released Monday shows former deputy Sean Grayson yelling at Massey, an unarmed 36-year-old Black woman and mother of two, to put down a pot of boiling hot water.
The footage, reviewed by ABC News, shows that Massey told the deputy, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” and then she apologized after the officer threatened to shoot her. She poured the water into the sink and ducked down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt. She briefly rose, and Grayson shot her three times in the face.
A review by Illinois State Police found that Grayson was not justified in his use of deadly force.
Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in Massey’s death.
The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) records show that Grayson, 30, worked three full-time and three part-time jobs in four police departments and two sheriff’s offices over the past four years, all within the state of Illinois.
Grayson was employed at three different police departments in 2021 alone, the records show. His shortest term of employment was with the Kincaid Police Department, where he was employed for just over three months. Records list his reason for leaving as “other.”
His longest term of employment was with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked for a year and two months. Grayson was fired from Sangamon County last week, following Massey’s death.
Grayson worked part time at the Pawnee Police Department from August 2020 to July 2021; his reason for leaving is listed as “other.” He also worked part time at the Kincaid Police Department from February to May of 2021.
The Kincaid Police Department told ABC News that Grayson was “let go by the Village of Kincaid board when he refused to live within the 10-mile radius of the village.” They also said they have no complaints against Grayson and no disciplinary actions were taken against him while he worked with the Kincaid police.
The Virden Police Department hired him part time from May to December 2021, and he also worked full time at the Auburn Police Department from July 2021 to May 2022. Both departments list his reason for leaving as “resigned.”
Grayson then worked at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office full time from May 2022 until he resigned in April 2023. He was hired at the Sangamon Sheriff’s Office in May 2023 where he remained until he was fired last week.
ABC News is seeking further details on Grayson’s employment history.
“It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards. Therefore, Sean Grayson’s employment with the Sheriff’s Office has been terminated,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell wrote in a statement last week announcing Grayson’s termination.
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, questioned Grayson’s employment history.
“The biggest question is: How did this man ever get hired in law enforcement?” Wilburn told ABC News. “When a Black man has just a little blemish in his credit, he can’t get hired in the police department. But here’s a man who, in four years, he’s been in six different departments.”
Wilburn has also criticized Sheriff Campbell for his role in Grayson’s employment and called for Campbell to resign at a press conference on Tuesday.
“The sheriff here is an embarrassment,” Wilburn said. “[Grayson] should have never had a badge. And he should have never had a gun. He should have never been given the opportunity to kill my child.”
Campbell told ABC News he will not be resigning.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Massey’s family, says that Grayson must be held accountable for his actions.
“Sonya Massey needed a helping hand. She did not need a bullet to the face. We cannot continue to shoot first and ask questions later when it’s Black people,” Crump said to ABC News.
ABC News’ Davi Merchan and Emily Chang Contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, urging American leaders to provide more bipartisan support to Israel amid its ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza while also criticizing the protesters who have spoken out against the war that has left tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians killed.
Netanyahu was invited to speak primarily by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been severely critical of President Joe Biden’s response to the war, including pausing a shipment of large unguided U.S. bombs due to concerns about civilian casualties. Republicans have pushed back, saying that pausing that shipment violates Israel’s right to defend itself.
During his remarks, the prime minister called Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, “a day that will forever live in infamy,” comparing it to the attack on Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
Netanyahu launched into his address seeking to strike a chord of unity in his appeal for sustained American support.
But not long into his speech, he departed from that tone — digging into domestic political divisions that have emerged in the wake of the war in Gaza.
Near the top of his remarks, he lauded Biden’s “half century of friendship to Israel” and support following the attacks of Oct. 7.
“He rightly called Hamas ‘sheer evil.’ He dispatched two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war. And he came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour — a visit that will never be forgotten,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister continued, expressing his gratitude to Biden “for being, as he said, a proud Zionist. Actually, as he says, a proud Irish American Zionist.” He also praised Biden’s leadership and assistance in helping to return hostages.
But later, playing to the other side of the aisle, Netanyahu also thanked former President Donald Trump for his role in brokering the Abraham Accords — saying it could pave the way for a new defensive alliance in the Middle East — as well as for more controversial moves, like recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Republicans stood up in unity when Netanyahu thanked Trump for everything he did for Israel.
Netanyahu also expressed Israel’s relief that the former president “emerged safe and sound from that dastardly attack on him, dastardly attack on American democracy.”
Netanyahu’s speech came as the prime minister has so far rejected Biden’s proposal for a cease-fire that would free the hostages Hamas still holds, as part of a larger regional peace plan.
Netanyahu’s visit also comes amid domestic political turmoil for both him and Biden, and questions about how Biden’s new lame-duck status will affect his ability to make any progress on ending the fighting, given his already fraught relationship with the Israeli leader.
Protesters occupied parts of the U.S. Capitol complex on Tuesday and again on Wednesday ahead of Netanyahu’s speech.
U.S. Capitol Police claimed part of the crowd had “become violent” on Wednesday. The police said in a statement that hey had to take action after a crowd at First Street and Constitution Avenue NW “failed to obey our order to move back from our police line.”
“We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line,” the police said roughly 20 minutes before Netanyahu’s speech started.
The police later said five people in the House Gallery were removed when they tried to disrupt the address. Johnson has threatened to have anyone who tries to disrupt the speech arrested.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attended the address, despite some harsh words he had for the prime minister in the spring. In March, Schumer called on Israel to hold new elections, saying at the time that he believed Netanyahu had “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Netanyahu criticized Schumer at the time for his remarks.
As Netanyahu approached the podium on Wednesday, he did not shake Schumer’s hand but thanked him for inviting him to Congress during his address.
“Even though I disagree with many of Bibi Netanyahu’s policies, I will attend the speech because the United States relationship with Israel remains ironclad and transcends any prime minister or president, and we must do all we can to get our hostages home,” Schumer said earlier Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the House’s only Palestinian member, addended the address but remained silent throughout the event. She held up a small black-and-white sign that had two sides, one saying “guilty of genocide” and the other saying “war criminal.”
Vice President Kamala Harris wasn’t sitting behind Netanyahu in the vice president’s chair as she customarily would in her capacity as president of the Senate, as she will be attending a campaign event in Indianapolis instead.
“The idea that they’re making political calculations when our ally is in such dire straits fighting for its very survival and fighting back against the horrific attack of Oct. 7 is unconscionable to us,” Johnson said Tuesday of Harris’ absence.
The White House said Harris and Biden will meet with Netanyahu separately on Thursday instead. Former President Donald Trump said he will meet with Netanyahu on Friday at Mar-a-Lago.
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, a stalwart Israel supporter who is retiring, took Harris’ place on the House dais.
Large-scale anti-Israel protests in support of the Palestinian cause this past spring on college campuses and across the country dominated U.S. politics for months and forced Biden to modify his previous full-throated support for the U.S. ally.
Congress sent $26 billion in aid to Israel and provided humanitarian relief for people in Gaza in April as part of a foreign aid package.
About $4 billion of that was dedicated to replenishing Israel’s missile defense systems. More than $9 billion of the total went toward humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu attended a memorial service for Sen. Joe Lieberman, a longtime supporter of Israel, who died in March.
(WASHINGTON) — A week before Thomas Mathew Crooks opened fire on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, he became “very focused” on Trump and the rally, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Crooks also searched for information on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, he said.
Wray told Congress in the last few days the FBI has been able to analyze a laptop connected to Crooks.
“On July 6, he did a Google search for quote, ‘how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?’ So that’s a search that’s obviously significant in terms of his state of mind,” Wray said.
He added that Crooks had pictures of public figures on his phone, but had “no rhyme or reason” to their methodology.
The FBI director said there is no apparent motive yet for the July 13 assassination attempt.
“We’re hoping to learn more, and we’re still exploiting a number of digital devices,” Wray said.
Crooks went to the site a week before the assassination attempt, he also said.
“He traveled to the grounds, I think, a week before, he spent roughly 20 minutes there,” he said. “Then he went to grounds again on the morning of the event, it appears, for about 17 minutes.” Crooks went to the site a third time “for good.”
Crooks flew a drone about 200 yards from the rally venue and had it up in the air for about 11 minutes, he testified.
“We have recovered a drone that the shooter appears to have used,” Wray said, adding the drone was recovered in the shooter’s vehicle.
“It appears that around 3:50 p.m., 4 o’clock, in that window, on the day of shooting, that the shooter was flying the drone around the area,” he said.
“Let me be clear about the area, not over the stage, and that part of the area itself, but I would say about 200 yards, give or take away,” he said.
Wray said it appears the shooter was a “loner” and didn’t have a lot of contacts in his cell phone.
“A lot of people describe him as a loner … that does kind of fit with what we’re seeing in his devices. You know, his list of contacts, for example, is very short, compared to what you would normally see from most people … there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of interaction between him, you know, face to face or digital, with a lot of people,” Wray said.
The FBI has conducted over 400 interviews with “many more to conduct,” he said.
Border threat
In addition to questions about the assassination attempt against Trump, the FBI director was asked about the threat emanating from the southern U.S. border.
Over the past five or six years, the number of known or suspected terrorists encountered along the southern border “has increased,” and “that should be of concern,” Wray testified.
He also said that it doesn’t take a lot of foreign terrorists to be a “real problem.”
“I am increasingly concerned that foreign terrorists could seek to exploit vulnerabilities at our Southwest border or at other ports of entry or in other aspects of our immigration system to facilitate an attack here in the United States. I think that is something we have to be concerned about,” he said.
Election threats
Wray also said the Russians are continuing attempts to “influence” and “in various ways interfere with our democracy.”
“In fact, just in the last few weeks, we announced a significant disruption of a generative AI, enhanced social media and a bot farm, essentially of the Russians that was designed, designed to be an influence operation, and some of the fake, fictitious profiles of those bots purported to be US persons, so they’re still at it,” Wray said.
(NEW YORK) — The planet reached the hottest day on record for the second day in a row, according to preliminary data from Copernicus, Europe’s climate change service.
Earth’s daily global average temperature hit 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, setting a new record for the warmest day in the organization’s dataset, which started in 1940.
This beats the previous record of 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit) set the day before, Copernicus announced Wednesday in an updated report.
The top 10 highest annual maximum daily average temperatures on record all occurred in the last 10 years, according to Copernicus. Multiple years between 2015 to 2024 not only set new records but broke them by large margins, the data show.
Earth’s warmest days on record
1. July 22, 2024: 17.15 degrees Celsius (62.87 degrees Fahrenheit)
2. July 21, 2024: 17.09 degrees Celsius (62.76 degrees Fahrenheit)
4. Aug. 13, 2016: 16.80 degrees Celsius (62.24 degrees Fahrenheit)
Much of the U.S. will continue to experience scorching heat in the coming week
The global average temperature typically reaches its peak between late July and early August.
In the U.S., persistent, extreme heat will be blanketing much of the country for the foreseeable future, forecasts show.
July tends to be the hottest month in the U.S. The majority of the country will likely experience above-average temperatures for the remainder of July into early August, with several significant heat waves likely for parts of the Northeast and West.
The South typically sees peak average temperatures during the second half of August, while the West Coast sees its hottest temperatures into September.
Summer nighttime low temperatures in the U.S. are warming nearly twice as fast as summer daytime high temperatures, according to Climate Central.
Earth has experienced 13 consecutive months of record-breaking global temperatures, according to Copernicus.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Here’s how the news is developing:
129 killed, over 400 injured in Khan Younis as Israeli operation continues
At least 129 Palestinians have been killed and 416 others have been injured in and around Khan Younis since the beginning of the Israeli operation there earlier this week, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Wednesday.
The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged the operation in Khan Younis was ongoing in another release Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz and Jordana Miller
5 people removed, arrested from House gallery during Netanyahu address
Five people have been removed and arrested from the House of Representatives gallery for disrupting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, according to U.S. Capitol Police
Capitol Police also said they deployed pepper spray toward part of a crowd of protesters that they alleged became “violent.”
“The crowd failed to obey our order to move back from our police line. We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line,” Capitol Police said in tweet on X.
Schumer did not shake Netanyahu’s hand, some Senate Democrats not clapping for certain lines
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered the chamber, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not shake his hand.
Notably, a group of Senate Democrats sitting in the front row middle section of the chamber, including Schumer and Sen. Mark Kelly, stood but did not clap as Netanyahu entered the chamber — and many of them are not clapping at the applause lines that the majority of the chamber is clapping for.
In the earliest stages of his remarks, the group is seeming to be very strategic about which sentiments they do clap for.
Though they didn’t clap at Netanyahu’s entrance, they did all rise and stand to clap when Schumer said, “America and Israel must stand together.”
The group that appears to be being selective with their clapping includes Sens. Gary Peters, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kelly, Maggie Hassan, Cory Booker, Alex Padilla, Schumer, Debbie Stabenow, Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar.
21 Senate Democrats skip Netanyahu’s address to congress
Twenty-one Senate Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris were not in attendance for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
Thirty senate democrats were in the chamber on Wednesday. Sen. Ben Cardin, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is presiding over the chamber.
Notably, Rep. Rashida Tlaib — the only Palestinian-American in Congress — is sitting in the House chamber. She has said in the past Netanyahu should be arrested and is a war criminal. As Netanyahu entered the chamber, she remained seated.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in attendance and sitting front and center on the aisle.
Sen. Mark Kelly, a potential vice president pick for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, is seated in the second row.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Allie Pecorin
No confirmed polio cases in Gaza yet, vaccination rate drops from 99% to 89%
No cases of poliovirus infection have been reported in Gaza yet, days after evidence of poliovirus was detected in wastewater across Gaza, Gaza Ministry of Health’s first care manager, Dr. Musa Abed, told ABC News.
Before the start of the conflict in October 2023, Polio vaccination coverage — conducted through routine immunization — was estimated at 99% in 2022, Abed said, confirming a United Nations report.
However, this number decreased with the outbreak of the war. The latest World Health Organization-UNICEF routine immunization statistics said that the number fell to approximately 89% in 2023 as newborns did not get vaccinated.
“Premature infants, children, and those with weak immunity are the groups most in need of these vaccinations,” Abed added.
He explained that people who were vaccinated before the war do not need to repeat the vaccination “because vaccination consists of several doses once in a lifetime.”
The Israel Defense Forces said it is planning to vaccinate troops that have been deployed to Gaza to prevent polio infection “to maintain the health of both the soldiers and Israeli citizens.”
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller, Emma Ogao and Morgan Winsor
Harris will separately meet with Netanyahu after Biden’s meeting
Vice President Kamala Harris will meet separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he meets with President Joe Biden, according to a White House official, who said that this was the plan prior to Biden announcing he’s exiting the race.
A cease-fire-hostage deal is believed to be close to being secured, with the United States saying to the Israelis, that it’s “too good a deal to pass up,” the official said.
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Khan Younis bombardment death toll rises to 73
Gaza health officials said Tuesday that at least 73 people have been killed — including 24 children and 15 women — amid the Israeli military’s raids on eastern Khan Younis, which it had designated as a humanitarian zone.
The bombardment began early Monday as the Israel Defense Forces ordered people to evacuate.
About 200,000 Palestinians have evacuated the area since then, according to the IDF, and still many remain behind not knowing where to go.
Hamas, Fatah sign unity declaration in Beijing
Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a unity declaration in Beijing working to end a yearslong rift, Chinese state media said Tuesday.
This is the 16th signed agreement between the rivals over the past decade. However, this agreement highlights China’s attempt to deepen its influence in the Middle East.
In a statement, Hamas described the so-called Beijing Declaration as an “additional positive step on the path to achieving Palestinian national unity,” adding “its importance comes in terms of the location and the host country.”
Hamas leader Hossam Badran described the declaration as “an important step on the path to national unity” and highlighted the host country’s role and “international weight.”
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz condemned Fatah “embracing” Hamas “instead of rejecting terrorism.”
“In reality, this won’t happen because Hamas’s rule will be crushed, and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar. Israel’s security will remain solely in Israel’s hands,” Katz said.
Families of hostages visit White House, urge Netanyahu to accept deal
Following their 10th meeting at the White House Monday, the families of Americans being held by Hamas demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accept a deal with Hamas to free the hostages.
“There are no more major security issues to be solved on Israel’s part, it is time to bring this to an end, to end the suffering of millions on the Palestinian side,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told reporters following the meeting. “It is time to make that decision. No more delays.”
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, told reporters their assumption is that Netanyahu will thank America for its steadfast support over the last 10 months and announce that he is “ready to be doing this deal.”
“If this deal doesn’t start, if the process doesn’t start, it will be seen as a failure,” she said. “We know that there are just a couple people deciding at this point. And we have optimism and hope and faith that these deciders will make the right decisions and we can start this process now.”
The families declined to share any details from their meeting with the White House National Security Council, which comes ahead of Netanyahu’s address to Congress this week.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Netanyahu arrives in DC
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Washington, D.C., according to the Embassy of Israel to the USA.
He is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden and give an address to Congress this week.
Sen. Ben Cardin to preside over Netanyahu address to Congress: Source
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., will preside over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday, a source confirmed to ABC News.
Cardin, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will be behind Netanyahu in the House chamber for the address.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the first in line to preside over the session, will be traveling on Wednesday and therefore not be in attendance.
A separate source confirmed to ABC News that Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. — who, as the Senate president pro tempore, is second in line for presiding — declined to preside.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
At least 70 killed in Khan Younis area after new evacuation order: Gaza Health Ministry
At least 70 people were killed Monday in areas in eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
It’s not clear how many of those 70 people were in a designated humanitarian safe zone or in areas where people were forced to evacuate.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed its forces hit more than 30 terror infrastructure sites in Khan Younis on Monday.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
2 hostages ‘no longer alive,’ IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday said two hostages, Alex Dancyg and Yagev Buchshtab, who were taken by Hamas militants, were “no longer alive.”
Their bodies “were being held by the Hamas terror organization,” IDF said in a statement. They were determined to be dead based on intelligence gathered by Israel’s Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Religious Services and the Israel Police, the IDF said.
“The circumstances of their death in Hamas captivity are being examined by all the professional authorities,” IDF said.
There are 120 abductees still in Gaza. Of those, 46 abductees are no longer alive, according to the prime minister’s office.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Netanyahu shares what he will discuss with Biden on US trip
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will land in the U.S. on Monday, released a statement detailing what he plans to discuss with President Joe Biden.
He said they’ll talk about “how to advance in the critical months ahead the goals that are important for both our countries — achieving the release of all our hostages, defeating Hamas, confronting the terror axis of Iran, and ensuring that all of Israel’s citizens can return safely to their homes in the north and the south.”
Netanyahu added, “This will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the war and during his long and distinguished career in public service, as senator, vice president, and president.”
Gaza death toll passes 39,000
The death toll in Gaza has risen to 39,006, with another 89,818 people hurt since the war broke out on Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
About one-third of the war victims were children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health
Dozens killed, including children, in Israeli strike in Khan Yunis, hospital official says
At least 44 people, including six children, were killed in an Israeli strike on Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip, an official at Nasser Hospital told ABC News.
At least 90 people were injured, the hospital’s head of nursing said.
The Israeli military on Monday ordered the evacuation of part of a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza. The military said it will begin an operation against Hamas militants who are in the area and use it to launch rockets toward Israel.
The deadly strike in Khan Yunis began Sunday night before the evacuation order was announced.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
2 hostages ‘no longer alive,’ IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday said two hostages, Alex Dancyg and Yagev Buchshtab, who were taken by Hamas militants, were “no longer alive.”
Their bodies “were being held by the Hamas terror organization,” IDF said in a statement. They were determined to be dead based on intelligence gathered by Israel’s Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Religious Services and the Israel Police, the IDF said.
“The circumstances of their death in Hamas captivity are being examined by all the professional authorities,” IDF said.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Poliovirus detected in wastewater across Gaza: WHO
Poliovirus has been detected in wastewater in multiple locations of the Gaza Strip, including two major cities in the region, the World Health Organization (WHO), Gaza health and Israeli officials confirmed on Sunday.
Among the locations where the poliovirus has been found in wastewater are Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in southern Gaza, two major cities where the majority of people in the war-torn region currently reside, the officials said.
WHO officials said that while they have received no reports of people contracting polio symptoms in Gaza, an investigation is underway to identify how the virus has spread. WHO said it is working with UNICEF and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to investigate and establish “prompt vaccination campaigns.”
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age, according to WHO’s website. Since 1988, poliovirus cases worldwide have decreased by 99%, according to WHO.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday that it will vaccinate all soldiers operating in Gaza to prevent the spread of poliovirus.
The IDF also said is is working with international organizations to provide polio vaccines for people in Gaza.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, sounded the alarm in a statement on Friday, saying, “The decimation of the health system, lack of security, access obstruction, constant population displacement, shortages of medical supplies, poor quality of water and weakened sanitation are increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio.”
Ghebreyesus added, “This poses a risk for children and creates the perfect environment for diseases like polio to spread.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
Netanyahu to meet with Biden on Tuesday in Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with President Joe Biden in Washington on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Sunday.
The meeting between the two leaders is scheduled to occur at noon on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office said.
Netanyahu’s flight to Washington is scheduled to leave Israel on Monday morning, the prime minister’s office said.
The meeting between Biden and Netanyahu will come ahead of the Israeli prime minister’s July 24 address to a joint session of Congress.
The two governments had tentatively scheduled a meeting between Biden, who is recovering from COVID, and Netanyahu on Monday.
However, a Biden administration official on Sunday disputed that a date and time have been set for the meeting with Netanyahu, and that an exact date and time are still dependent on when the president tests negative for COVID and returns to Washington, D.C. Biden has been self-isolating in Rehoboth, Delaware.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé and Justin Ryan Gomez
Jul 20, 2024, 2:05 PM EDT Houthis say ‘multiple’ dead, injured in Israeli airstrike on Yemen
Multiple people were killed and others have been injured in an Israeli strike on oil storage facilities in the port of Hodeidah in Yemen, according to the Houthis who said the attack will “only increase the resolve […] of the Yemeni people.”
The Houthis accused Israel of an attack that “targeted civilian facilities, oil tanks and the electricity station in Hodeidah, with the aim of doubling people’s suffering and pressuring Yemen to stop supporting Gaza.”
Israel said its attack came in response to over 200 projectiles that the Houthis have launched toward Israel, saying they targeted the port as as the main supply route for weapons transfers with Iran.
(NEW YORK) — Shares of Tesla fell 12% in early trading on Wednesday after an earnings release showed slumping profits in the face of strengthened competition and sluggish sales.
The earnings report fell short of Wall Street expectations for profit.
“There have been quite a few competing electric vehicles that have entered the market and mostly, they have not done well, but they have discounted their EVs quite substantially, which has made it more a bit difficult for Tesla,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk told analysts on Wednesday.
Tesla shares plummeted more than 25% at the outset of 2024 but the company had recovered all of those losses this month after it released a better-than-expected report on vehicle deliveries. The stock price decline on Wednesday puts shares at their lowest level in more than three weeks.
The earnings results released on Tuesday mark two consecutive quarters of declining profits. Revenue from government credits increased to $890 million in the most recent quarter, accounting for more than half of the company’s profits.
Gordon Johnson, CEO and founder of data firm GLJ Research, who is bearish on Tesla, said the boost in revenue from government credits afforded the company a financial lifeline even as it struggled in its main line of business: selling vehicles.
“What is the core business doing?” Johnson told ABC News, suggesting the decline in performance was even worse than the earnings indicate.
Critics say demand for the company’s vehicles has slowed as a result of its failure to release a new, affordable model, as well as a softening in the overall EV market. As competitors roll out alternatives, Tesla faces a difficult path to regain its previous breakneck growth, analysts previously told ABC News.
Proponents, however, point to the company’s record of industry-leading innovation, suggesting the breakthroughs that fueled its sprint ahead of the competition could reemerge as it readies for new EV models and perfects its autonomous driving software.
Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at the investment firm Wedbush, who is bullish on Tesla, downplayed the weaker-than-expected earnings report and highlighted potential gains from the company’s development of autonomous vehicles.
“We were not looking for major fireworks this quarter from Tesla,” Ives said on Wednesday in a note to investors. “The next phase of the Tesla growth story is around autonomous, Robotaxis, and AI playing out for Musk & Co. in our view and that vision is on the doorstep.”
Speaking to analysts on Tuesday, Musk said the company had made “a lot of progress” on its full self-driving software over the most recent quarter.
“We think customers will experience a step-change improvement in how well supervised full self-driving works,” Musk added.
That product has faced challenges, however. In December, Tesla recalled about 2 million cars over a safety issue tied to its autopilot system. Two months later, the company recalled about 360,000 more cars over crash risks tied to its self-driving system. Musk said on Tuesday that the company is delaying the launch of its Robotaxi service until October.
Johnson, of GLJ Research, voiced skepticism about the Robotaxi initiative.
“Tesla doesn’t have one Robotaxi on the road,” Johnson said.
Vice President Kamala Harris during the start of her nationwide “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour in Big Bend, WI, Jan. 22, 2024. (Daniel Steinle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — March For Our Lives, the youth-led organization dedicated to ending gun violence following the 2018 Parkland, Florida, high school shooting, will be endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election — the first time the organization has ever endorsed a political candidate, and an indicator of the mounting youth support for the vice president.
“As one of the largest youth-led movements in the nation, we are clear-eyed about the challenge ahead, and we believe that Kamala Harris is uniquely suited to meet this moment,” the group said in a news release shared first with ABC News.
The group goes on to say that Harris is the right candidate to meet the political moment the country currently finds itself in.
“We need an ardent defender of democracy, a gun violence prevention champion, and a leader who will listen to young people, give us a seat at the table, and fight for our future. We believe that Kamala Harris is that candidate and the right person to stand up for us and fight for the country we deserve,” the news release read.
The organization’s endorsement of Harris comes as she oversees the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and has met regularly with advocates and survivors of gun violence.
In an interview with ABC News, Natalie Fall, executive director of March For Our Lives, said there’s energy brewing from youth voters with Harris now being the presumptive Democratic nominee that wasn’t seen before with President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket. Biden announced Sunday that will not be running for reelection in the 2024 race — instead endorsing Harris for the job.
“We see a lot of energy around Vice President Harris in this election; there’s no denying that. I think everybody’s seeing it right now,” Fall said to ABC News.
“I just think young people in particular didn’t really see themselves represented or reflected in the Biden ticket in the way that they wanted. It’s not to say that President Biden hasn’t had great accomplishments … But I think we need someone who can meet this moment and who is up to the challenge of taking Donald Trump to task and really defeating his effort to erode all of our institutions and our democracy.”
The coveted youth vote is something both Harris and former President Donald Trump will seek as November approaches — especially in an election that’s expected to be a close contest.
Trump Campaign National press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the former president will work to help “young people achieve their American dream.” Leavitt slammed Harris and the Democratic Party for creating policies that have created “a more expensive, divided, and dangerous country for young Americans to grow up in.”
The Republican National Committee has been working to court youth voters ahead of the election. They had youth influencers at the party’s convention earlier this month and have a program dedicated to youth outreach.
Falls told ABC News that March For Our Lives will mobilize young voters to cast ballots for Harris and other down-ballot candidates through door-knocking, phone banking and creative campaigns.
The group’s endorsement comes as youth voters and organizations mobilize behind Harris.
Voters of Tomorrow, a Gen Z-led organization that engages young Americans in politics and government, announced on Sunday their endorsement of Harris and their efforts to mobilize youth voters behind her.
Following their announcement, the group said it raised $125,000 on Sunday — its best fundraising day ever.
“There’s so much authentic excitement surrounding Vice President Harris online and on the ground, and now we’re channeling that into political action,” Jack Lobel, press secretary for Voters of Tomorrow, said to ABC News in an interview.
Lobel said the excitement and energy surrounding Harris’ campaign is something that likely intimidates Trump and his political operation.
“It’s not just memes; it is record-breaking fundraising hauls, tens of thousands of people joining Zoom calls to organize, people talking to their friends about voting, and Voters of Tomorrow are channeling this momentum to ensure we have record youth voter turnout in November.”
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Here’s how the news is developing:
5 people removed, arrested from House gallery during Netanyahu address
Five people have been removed and arrested from the House of Representatives gallery for disrupting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, according to U.S. Capitol Police
Capitol Police also said they deployed pepper spray toward part of a crowd of protesters that they alleged became “violent.”
“The crowd failed to obey our order to move back from our police line. We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line,” Capitol Police said in tweet on X.
Schumer did not shake Netanyahu’s hand, some Senate Democrats not clapping for certain lines
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered the chamber, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not shake his hand.
Notably, a group of Senate Democrats sitting in the front row middle section of the chamber, including Schumer and Sen. Mark Kelly, stood but did not clap as Netanyahu entered the chamber — and many of them are not clapping at the applause lines that the majority of the chamber is clapping for.
In the earliest stages of his remarks, the group is seeming to be very strategic about which sentiments they do clap for.
Though they didn’t clap at Netanyahu’s entrance, they did all rise and stand to clap when Schumer said, “America and Israel must stand together.”
The group that appears to be being selective with their clapping includes Sens. Gary Peters, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kelly, Maggie Hassan, Cory Booker, Alex Padilla, Schumer, Debbie Stabenow, Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar.
21 Senate Democrats skip Netanyahu’s address to congress
Twenty-one Senate Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris were not in attendance for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
Thirty senate democrats were in the chamber on Wednesday. Sen. Ben Cardin, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is presiding over the chamber.
Notably, Rep. Rashida Tlaib — the only Palestinian-American in Congress — is sitting in the House chamber. She has said in the past Netanyahu should be arrested and is a war criminal. As Netanyahu entered the chamber, she remained seated.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in attendance and sitting front and center on the aisle.
Sen. Mark Kelly, a potential vice president pick for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, is seated in the second row.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller and Allie Pecorin
No confirmed polio cases in Gaza yet, vaccination rate drops from 99% to 89%
No cases of poliovirus infection have been reported in Gaza yet, days after evidence of poliovirus was detected in wastewater across Gaza, Gaza Ministry of Health’s first care manager, Dr. Musa Abed, told ABC News.
Before the start of the conflict in October 2023, Polio vaccination coverage — conducted through routine immunization — was estimated at 99% in 2022, Abed said, confirming a United Nations report.
However, this number decreased with the outbreak of the war. The latest World Health Organization-UNICEF routine immunization statistics said that the number fell to approximately 89% in 2023 as newborns did not get vaccinated.
“Premature infants, children, and those with weak immunity are the groups most in need of these vaccinations,” Abed added.
He explained that people who were vaccinated before the war do not need to repeat the vaccination “because vaccination consists of several doses once in a lifetime.”
The Israel Defense Forces said it is planning to vaccinate troops that have been deployed to Gaza to prevent polio infection “to maintain the health of both the soldiers and Israeli citizens.”
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Jordana Miller, Emma Ogao and Morgan Winsor
Harris will separately meet with Netanyahu after Biden’s meeting
Vice President Kamala Harris will meet separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he meets with President Joe Biden, according to a White House official, who said that this was the plan prior to Biden announcing he’s exiting the race.
A cease-fire-hostage deal is believed to be close to being secured, with the United States saying to the Israelis, that it’s “too good a deal to pass up,” the official said.
-ABC News’ Selina Wang
Khan Younis bombardment death toll rises to 73
Gaza health officials said Tuesday that at least 73 people have been killed — including 24 children and 15 women — amid the Israeli military’s raids on eastern Khan Younis, which it had designated as a humanitarian zone.
The bombardment began early Monday as the Israel Defense Forces ordered people to evacuate.
About 200,000 Palestinians have evacuated the area since then, according to the IDF, and still many remain behind not knowing where to go.
Hamas, Fatah sign unity declaration in Beijing
Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah signed a unity declaration in Beijing working to end a yearslong rift, Chinese state media said Tuesday.
This is the 16th signed agreement between the rivals over the past decade. However, this agreement highlights China’s attempt to deepen its influence in the Middle East.
In a statement, Hamas described the so-called Beijing Declaration as an “additional positive step on the path to achieving Palestinian national unity,” adding “its importance comes in terms of the location and the host country.”
Hamas leader Hossam Badran described the declaration as “an important step on the path to national unity” and highlighted the host country’s role and “international weight.”
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz condemned Fatah “embracing” Hamas “instead of rejecting terrorism.”
“In reality, this won’t happen because Hamas’s rule will be crushed, and Abbas will be watching Gaza from afar. Israel’s security will remain solely in Israel’s hands,” Katz said.
Families of hostages visit White House, urge Netanyahu to accept deal
Following their 10th meeting at the White House Monday, the families of Americans being held by Hamas demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accept a deal with Hamas to free the hostages.
“There are no more major security issues to be solved on Israel’s part, it is time to bring this to an end, to end the suffering of millions on the Palestinian side,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told reporters following the meeting. “It is time to make that decision. No more delays.”
Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, told reporters their assumption is that Netanyahu will thank America for its steadfast support over the last 10 months and announce that he is “ready to be doing this deal.”
“If this deal doesn’t start, if the process doesn’t start, it will be seen as a failure,” she said. “We know that there are just a couple people deciding at this point. And we have optimism and hope and faith that these deciders will make the right decisions and we can start this process now.”
The families declined to share any details from their meeting with the White House National Security Council, which comes ahead of Netanyahu’s address to Congress this week.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Netanyahu arrives in DC
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Washington, D.C., according to the Embassy of Israel to the USA.
He is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden and give an address to Congress this week.
Sen. Ben Cardin to preside over Netanyahu address to Congress: Source
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., will preside over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday, a source confirmed to ABC News.
Cardin, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will be behind Netanyahu in the House chamber for the address.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the first in line to preside over the session, will be traveling on Wednesday and therefore not be in attendance.
A separate source confirmed to ABC News that Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. — who, as the Senate president pro tempore, is second in line for presiding — declined to preside.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
At least 70 killed in Khan Younis area after new evacuation order: Gaza Health Ministry
At least 70 people were killed Monday in areas in eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
It’s not clear how many of those 70 people were in a designated humanitarian safe zone or in areas where people were forced to evacuate.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed its forces hit more than 30 terror infrastructure sites in Khan Younis on Monday.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
2 hostages ‘no longer alive,’ IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday said two hostages, Alex Dancyg and Yagev Buchshtab, who were taken by Hamas militants, were “no longer alive.”
Their bodies “were being held by the Hamas terror organization,” IDF said in a statement. They were determined to be dead based on intelligence gathered by Israel’s Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Religious Services and the Israel Police, the IDF said.
“The circumstances of their death in Hamas captivity are being examined by all the professional authorities,” IDF said.
There are 120 abductees still in Gaza. Of those, 46 abductees are no longer alive, according to the prime minister’s office.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Netanyahu shares what he will discuss with Biden on US trip
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will land in the U.S. on Monday, released a statement detailing what he plans to discuss with President Joe Biden.
He said they’ll talk about “how to advance in the critical months ahead the goals that are important for both our countries — achieving the release of all our hostages, defeating Hamas, confronting the terror axis of Iran, and ensuring that all of Israel’s citizens can return safely to their homes in the north and the south.”
Netanyahu added, “This will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the war and during his long and distinguished career in public service, as senator, vice president, and president.”
Gaza death toll passes 39,000
The death toll in Gaza has risen to 39,006, with another 89,818 people hurt since the war broke out on Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
About one-third of the war victims were children, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health
Dozens killed, including children, in Israeli strike in Khan Yunis, hospital official says
At least 44 people, including six children, were killed in an Israeli strike on Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip, an official at Nasser Hospital told ABC News.
At least 90 people were injured, the hospital’s head of nursing said.
The Israeli military on Monday ordered the evacuation of part of a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza. The military said it will begin an operation against Hamas militants who are in the area and use it to launch rockets toward Israel.
The deadly strike in Khan Yunis began Sunday night before the evacuation order was announced.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
2 hostages ‘no longer alive,’ IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday said two hostages, Alex Dancyg and Yagev Buchshtab, who were taken by Hamas militants, were “no longer alive.”
Their bodies “were being held by the Hamas terror organization,” IDF said in a statement. They were determined to be dead based on intelligence gathered by Israel’s Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Religious Services and the Israel Police, the IDF said.
“The circumstances of their death in Hamas captivity are being examined by all the professional authorities,” IDF said.
-ABC News’ Morgan Winsor
Poliovirus detected in wastewater across Gaza: WHO
Poliovirus has been detected in wastewater in multiple locations of the Gaza Strip, including two major cities in the region, the World Health Organization (WHO), Gaza health and Israeli officials confirmed on Sunday.
Among the locations where the poliovirus has been found in wastewater are Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in southern Gaza, two major cities where the majority of people in the war-torn region currently reside, the officials said.
WHO officials said that while they have received no reports of people contracting polio symptoms in Gaza, an investigation is underway to identify how the virus has spread. WHO said it is working with UNICEF and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to investigate and establish “prompt vaccination campaigns.”
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age, according to WHO’s website. Since 1988, poliovirus cases worldwide have decreased by 99%, according to WHO.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Sunday that it will vaccinate all soldiers operating in Gaza to prevent the spread of poliovirus.
The IDF also said is is working with international organizations to provide polio vaccines for people in Gaza.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, sounded the alarm in a statement on Friday, saying, “The decimation of the health system, lack of security, access obstruction, constant population displacement, shortages of medical supplies, poor quality of water and weakened sanitation are increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio.”
Ghebreyesus added, “This poses a risk for children and creates the perfect environment for diseases like polio to spread.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
Netanyahu to meet with Biden on Tuesday in Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with President Joe Biden in Washington on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Sunday.
The meeting between the two leaders is scheduled to occur at noon on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office said.
Netanyahu’s flight to Washington is scheduled to leave Israel on Monday morning, the prime minister’s office said.
The meeting between Biden and Netanyahu will come ahead of the Israeli prime minister’s July 24 address to a joint session of Congress.
The two governments had tentatively scheduled a meeting between Biden, who is recovering from COVID, and Netanyahu on Monday.
However, a Biden administration official on Sunday disputed that a date and time have been set for the meeting with Netanyahu, and that an exact date and time are still dependent on when the president tests negative for COVID and returns to Washington, D.C. Biden has been self-isolating in Rehoboth, Delaware.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé and Justin Ryan Gomez
Jul 20, 2024, 2:05 PM EDT Houthis say ‘multiple’ dead, injured in Israeli airstrike on Yemen
Multiple people were killed and others have been injured in an Israeli strike on oil storage facilities in the port of Hodeidah in Yemen, according to the Houthis who said the attack will “only increase the resolve […] of the Yemeni people.”
The Houthis accused Israel of an attack that “targeted civilian facilities, oil tanks and the electricity station in Hodeidah, with the aim of doubling people’s suffering and pressuring Yemen to stop supporting Gaza.”
Israel said its attack came in response to over 200 projectiles that the Houthis have launched toward Israel, saying they targeted the port as as the main supply route for weapons transfers with Iran.
(WASHINGTON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday amid high tensions over U.S. support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians killed.
Netanyahu was invited to speak primarily by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been severely critical of President Joe Biden’s response to the war, including pausing a shipment of large unguided U.S. bombs due to concerns about civilian casualties. Republicans have pushed back, saying that pausing that shipment violates Israel’s right to defend itself.
The prime minister called Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, “a day that will forever live in infamy,” comparing it to the attack on Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
Netanyahu’s speech came as the prime minister has so far rejected Biden’s proposal for a cease-fire that would free the hostages Hamas still holds — as part of a larger regional peace plan.
Netanyahu’s visit also comes amid domestic political turmoil for both him and Biden, and questions about how Biden’s new lame-duck status will affect his ability to make any progress on ending the fighting, given his already fraught relationship with the Israeli leader.
During his address, the prime minister praised Biden’s leadership and assistance in helping to return hostages.
“He rightly called Hamas sheer evil, [and sent] carriers to the Middle East to deter a wider war. And he came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour — a visit that will never be forgotten,” Netanyahu said.
Protesters occupied parts of the U.S. Capitol complex on Tuesday and again Wednesday ahead of the speech, and family members of some of the hostages have been given guest tickets to attend by Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of dozens of Democrats — including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sens. Dick Durbin and Patty Murray — who are boycotting the speech. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders also will not attend.
Johnson has threatened to have anyone who tries to disrupt the speech arrested.
U.S. Capitol Police claimed part of the crowd had “become violent” on Wednesday. The police said in a statement they had to take action after a crowd at First Street and Constitution Avenue NW “failed to obey our order to move back from our police line.”
“We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line,” the police said roughly 20 minutes before the speech started.
The police later said five people in the House Gallery were removed when they allegedly disrupted the address.
Vice President Kamala Harris will not be sitting behind Netanyahu in the vice president’s chair as she customarily would in her capacity as president of the Senate, as she will be attending a campaign event in Indianapolis instead.
“The idea that they’re making political calculations when our ally is in such dire straits fighting for its very survival and fighting back against the horrific attack of Oct. 7 is unconscionable to us,” Johnson said Tuesday of Harris’ absence.
The White House said Harris and Biden will meet with Netanyahu separately on Thursday instead. Former President Donald Trump said he will meet with Netanyahu on Friday at Mar-a-Lago.
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, a stalwart Israel supporter who is retiring, will take Harris’ place on the House dais.
Large-scale anti-Israel protests in support of the Palestinian cause this past spring on college campuses and across the country dominated U.S. politics for months and forced Biden to modify his previous full-throated support for the U.S. ally.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer confirmed on the Senate floor Wednesday that he will be attending Netanyahu’s address. Netanyahu did not shake Schumer’s hand but thanked him for inviting him to Congress.
“Even though I disagree with many of Bibi Netanyahu’s policies, I will attend the speech because the United States relationship with Israel remains ironclad and transcends any prime minister or president, and we must do all we can to get our hostages home,” he said.
In March, Schumer called on Israel to hold new elections, saying at the time that he believed Netanyahu had “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Netanyahu criticized Schumer at the time for his remarks.
New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Netanyahu critic, will attend his speech, saying in a statement, “Out of respect for the State of Israel and the office of the Prime Minister, I plan to attend tomorrow’s joint address.”
Congress sent $26 billion in aid to Israel and provided humanitarian relief for people in Gaza in April as part of a foreign aid package.
About $4 billion of that was dedicated to replenishing Israel’s missile defense systems. More than $9 billion of the total went toward humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu attended a memorial service for Sen. Joe Lieberman, a longtime supporter of Israel, who died in March.
ABC News’ Mariam Khan and Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
(INDIANAPOLIS) — As Vice President Kamala Harris ramps up her presidential campaign, she spoke to fired-up members of historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta in Indianapolis on Wednesday, where she highlighted Biden administration wins and worked to shore up support from Black voters — a key voting group in the 2024 election.
“In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation, one focused on the future, the other focused on the past, and with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future, and let us be clear about what that future looks like,” said Harris, who was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority — another historically Black sorority.
“I know the leaders in this room, and I know the future we believe in, and we fight for,” the vice president added.
Harris’ 15-minute-long speech was well-received in the room of about 6,000 Zetas, where she was met with raucous applause throughout.
Harris touted some wins under President Joe Biden such as forgiving student loan debt, working to establish affordable childcare and tackling prescription drug costs.
She mentioned Biden’s address to the nation on Wednesday night — where he will talk about his decision to abandon his reelection bid.
“Tonight, our president will address the nation about his decision to step down as a candidate, and he will talk about not only the work, the extraordinary work that he has accomplished, but about his work in the next six months,” Harris said.
Harris also slammed former President Donald Trump over Project 2025, the conservative presidential transition blueprint fronted by the Heritage Foundation.
Zeta Phi Beta, like Harris’s own sorority, is a part of the “Divine Nine” — a collection of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities. Both the Zetas and the AKAs were founded at the vice president’s alma mater of Howard University, a historically Black university.
The significance of this moment for these women is profound. A last-minute organizing fundraising Zoom call Sunday night saw some 44,000 Black women donating nearly $1.6 million, which contributed to a record-breaking $126 million raised since President Joe Biden’s endorsement of Harris for the job, according to a memo the campaign sent outlining its path forward.
“Vice President Harris has well-documented support from the Biden-Harris coalition of voters that delivered victory in 2020,” said campaign chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon. “She has significant advantages with key parts of the Democratic base: Black voters, Latino voters, AANHPI voters, women, and young voters.”
Black voters are a key group of voters that both Harris and Trump will work to connect with as the November election approaches.
During her speech, Harris encouraged the Black attendees to head to the polls to “make history.”
“We know when we organize, mountains move; when we mobilize, nations change; and when we vote, we make history,” Harris said. “So let us continue to fight with optimism and faith and hope. Because when we fight, we win.”
Trump — as well as then-candidate Biden — have worked to court Black and Hispanic voters on the issues of the economy, education, immigration and more.
Trump has recently attended events at Black Conservative Federation Gala in South Carolina, 180 Church in Michigan and New York City’s South Bronx to court Black voters and announce his “Black Americans for Trump” coalition.
Trump has centered his appeal to Black voters by equating his criminal prosecutions to the historic discrimination Black Americans have faced.
The Harris campaign’s push comes at a time when it’s trying to shore up continued interest from a constituency that has historically voted for Democrats.
Harris’ event, which the White House announced in early July — before Biden’s decision to leave the 2024 race, came at a controversial time. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington this week and addressed Congress on Wednesday — yet Harris was not there. It marks the first time Harris will miss a world leader visit since she has become vice president.
Harris, who in her secondary role to the president, has created some distance from Biden on the war in Gaza. Some pro-Palestinian groups tell ABC News that if she is able to strike the right tone in the coming weeks, she could win back the support Biden had lost.
The vice president is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday.
