(NEW YORK) — The Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General is launching an audit into how the Food and Drug Administration responded leading up to the massive February recall of baby formula and closure of Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis plant.
OIG will examine whether the FDA upheld its duty “to safeguard the nation’s food supply, including infant formula and ensure all ingredients are safe” and if FDA regulators followed proper recall protocol once a deadly bacteria had been detected inside the plant.
The Sturgis, Michigan, plant was shut down in mid-February after contamination issues inside had been linked to four infants being hospitalized with a rare but serious bacterial infection, two of whom ultimately died.
The review of the FDA’s actions marks an extraordinary and uncommon move from the watchdog agency.
The American public and lawmakers alike have been searching for accountability on the ongoing infant formula shortage — a now-national supply crisis which was exacerbated by Abbott’s contamination issues and ultimate shutdown.
This is not first time Abbott’s quality control had come under questioning.
Federal regulators warned months ago of potential problems at a manufacturing plant for baby formula, according to documents and a public timeline of the events.
The FDA found sanitation issues at Abbott’s Sturgis plant in September 2021, saying it “did not maintain a building used in the manufacture, processing, packing or holding of infant formula in a clean and sanitary condition,” according to an inspection report.
(NEW YORK) — The rate of young people taking their own lives with firearms in the U.S. has increased faster than for any other age group, and the youth suicide rate is at its highest point in more than 20 years, according to a new gun violence prevention report by Everytown For Gun Safety and first obtained by ABC News.
While firearm suicide overall increased about 2% during the pandemic, the rate among young people increased 15% and nearly half of all suicide attempts by young people involve a gun, researchers with Everytown For Gun Safety found.
Experts have not pinned down exactly what is causing more young people to turn to suicide with guns, the report notes. But increased anxiety and depression, likely exacerbated by the pandemic, along with the impacts of social media and cyberbullying are among the theorized drivers.
“The research shows pretty clearly that people who struggle with mental illness are much more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crimes,” Everytown research director Sarah Burd-Sharps told ABC News. “That said, certainly knowing the warning signs and learning to talk about mental health — particularly, we’re talking about young people — so the way we talk about mental health with young people in our lives is a huge part of the solution.”
“One of the most effective things we can do to help young people in crisis is to keep it out of their hands,” Burd-Sharps said.
The report’s authors point to “red flag” laws as a plausible solution that allow for temporary restrictions on firearm ownership when a person is determined to pose an extreme risk to themselves or others. So far, 19 states have passed such laws that allow local authorities and family members to petition in civil court for the restriction of a person’s firearm access, according to Everytown.
“Research shows they save lives,” Burd-Sharps said. “They very much prevent youth suicide, so it’s it’s one of the most important policies that can reduce this, tragic spike in youth gun suicide.”
Safe storage measures for parents who own guns as well as waiting periods for gun purchases are among tools that can help create a safety buffer when someone is in the throes of a mental health episode, Burd-Sharps added.
The firearm-related increases documented in the new report track with overall increases in teen and young adult suicide in recent years. Between 2007 and 2018 the suicide rate among those age 10 to 24 increased nearly 60%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The split-second between pulling the trigger of a firearm and the projectile’s impact makes suicide attempts with guns much more lethal too. Overall, acts of suicide are fatal in 8.5% of cases while acts of suicide involving a firearm are fatal 90% of the time, according to a 2019 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Suicides have long been a driver of firearm-related deaths. More than half of all gun deaths in 2020 were suicides, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center report.
Boys and young men are disproportionately afflicted by firearm suicide and are seven times more likely to kill themselves with a gun compared to their female peers, according to the CDC.
Racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. are among those hit hardest by the increased suicide rate, Burd-Sharps said. A lack of access to mental health care resulting in higher rates of untreated depression as well as traumatic exposure to discrimination and racism are among the driving factors.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among children and young people ages 10 to 24, according to the CDC.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
(TULSA, Okla) — At least four people are dead and multiple people are injured following a shooting at the Natalie Building at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday evening, according to police.
Dispatchers received a 911 call shortly before 5 p.m. local time about a man walking with a rifle at the Natalie Building, a physicians’ office building on the Saint Francis Hospital campus. When police responded, they said it turned into an active shooter situation, according to Tulsa Police Capt. Richard Meulenberg.
When police entered the building, they found multiple people shot in one area on the second floor, including in an orthopedic office, authorities said. The victims could be a combination both of employees and visitors, authorities initially said.
“Officers immediately rushed to the second floor where the shooting was taking place, when they got there they found a few people had been shot, a couple were dead at that time,” Meulenberg told ABC News. “We also found at that time who [we] believe and still believe to [be] the shooter because he had a long rifle and a pistol with him.”
The Tulsa shooting comes amid a spate of shootings in the U.S., including the Uvalde shooting in Texas where 21 people — including 19 children — were killed, and a mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that saw 10 Black people shot dead.
One of the Tulsa victims died after leaving the scene trying to seek medical aid, according to Meulenberg. It is unclear at this time how many others were wounded in the shooting, though Meulenberg believed it to be under 10.
The shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Tulsa Police Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish. Police were still working to confirm the identity of the suspected shooter, a man believed to be between the ages of 35 and 40, Dalgleish said during a briefing.
It appears both weapons were fired, according to Dalgleish. It is unclear if the suspect was targeting anyone specifically, he said.
Police said they went through the five-story medical complex room by room to secure the building.
“We are doing a meticulous floor-by-floor, room-by-room search,” Meulenberg said. “It’s calmed down. We’re trying to connect people and we’re hoping not to find any victims.”
Police said they are also investigating a possible bomb threat that may be connected to the suspected shooter.
Authorities evacuated a home in Muskogee, Oklahoma, about 50 miles southeast of Tulsa, after receiving a tip that the suspect “may have left a bomb at this residence,” Muskogee Chief of Police Johnny Teehee said Wednesday night.
A bomb squad was on scene and police were working to obtain a warrant to search the residence, he said.
Muskogee Mayor Marlon Coleman later said the bomb squad cleared the location of a potential threat, and that the scene had been “turned over to the necessary authorities.”
The Tulsa Police Department said to stay away from the area of the shooting and that reunification for families will be at Memorial High School on the west side of LaFortune Park.
Saint Francis Health System said in a statement late Wednesday that, “out of respect for the families,” it is “not commenting on or releasing names of those lost or injured at this time.”
“Saint Francis Health System is grieving the loss of four members of our family. As a faith based organization, the only recourse we have at this moment is to pray while we navigate this tragedy,” Saint Francis Health System said. “We are sincerely thankful for the quick response by the Tulsa Police Department, first responders and EMS agencies. And, our deepest gratitude extends to the members of our own Saint Francis family who cared for their own during this incident.”
“To allow our staff and caregivers the opportunity to process today’s tragedy, all Warren Clinic appointments in Tulsa and Broken Arrow scheduled before noon tomorrow have been cancelled. Additionally, the Warren Clinic Orthopedic offices in the Natalie Building will be closed until further notice,” the statement continued. “We ask that you please pray for the employees and physicians of the Saint Francis Health System.”
Tulsa Mayor G. T. Bynum expressed “profound gratitude” for the “broad range of first responders who did not hesitate today to respond to this act of violence.”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt also praised the first responders who “did their best to contain a terrible situation” and offered to provide the city with any state resources needed.
“What happened today in Tulsa is a senseless act of violence and hatred,” he said on Twitter.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been briefed on the shooting, White House officials said.
“The White House is closely monitoring the situation and has reached out to state and local officials to offer support,” the White House said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — Just days after two mass shootings took place in New York and Texas, state lawmakers are pushing for tighter gun laws in an effort to mitigate gun violence around the country.
The move from officials in several states comes as federal lawmakers fail to take any action on gun reform in Congress.
This comes after 21 were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas and a gunman in Buffalo, New York shot and killed 10 people, all of whom were Black.
Here’s what state lawmakers are doing on gun violence since:
New York
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Democrats have introduced 10 bills in the State Assembly and Senate that would tighten gun laws, close loopholes and address gaps exposed in the deadly Buffalo shooting last month, Hochul announced.
“New York already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country but clearly we need to make them even stronger,” Hochul said in a press release.
The proposed bills would require state, local and federal agencies to share information in crimes that involve guns, make it a crime to threaten mass harm and require new guns to be microstamped.
New York lawmakers are also proposing a law that would require an individual to obtain a license to purchase a semiautomatic rifle and requiring them to be at least 21 years old.
Other bills would prohibit anyone not working in an eligible profession from being able to purchase body armor and strengthen a Red Flag law by expanding the list of people who can file for Extreme Risk Protection Orders and other measures.
California
Last December, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a proposal his office said would include “the nation’s largest gun buyback program.” This includes a one-time fund of $25 million to establish a competitive grant program that would support local gun buyback programs.
“This statewide effort will not only provide opportunities for the safe disposal of firearms, but will also serve to promote awareness about gun and youth violence,” Newsom’s proposed budget summary for 2022 – 23 stated.
Newsom’s office told ABC News this proposal is “currently moving through the budget negotiation process.”
Newsom and California legislators have also fast-tracked gun safety reform bills that were already going through the legislative process, according to Newsom’s office.
Bills fast-tracked include one modeled after the Texas abortion ban, which would enable private citizens to sue those who manufacture, distribute, transport and import into California or sell assault weapons, .5 BMG rifles, ghost guns or ghost gun kits, Newsom’s office said.
Delaware
A permit to purchase bill proposed in Delaware passed in the state Senate and has been stalled in the House for months, according to Sen. Elizabeth Lockman, the majority whip.
Lockman said despite the majority of gun violence in Delaware coming from street violence, the mass shootings have reignited public attention.
Lockman said she has been hearing the renewed push from members of the community, gun control advocates, who have been focused on this all along, and her colleagues.
“I have senators that are part of our caucus, who have been very frustrated in light of recent events that we had, kind of at our fingertips, legislation that we think could really make an impact in the coming years, that’s just being left on the table,” Lockman said.
The shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, resurfaced attention on gun control, creating urgency among state lawmakers.
“It’s just really giving people that ‘enough is enough’ feeling. And so we have senators taking to various outlets to also speak to their frustration that we haven’t been able to pass some more significant pieces of legislation to slow down gun trafficking and access to higher powered, or frequently problematic types of firearms,” Lockman said.
The House has made moves indicating interest in pushing forward the proposed permit to purchase law, according to Monisha Henley, senior director of State Affairs at Everytown.
“[The House] had a conversation about finance, which is usually a procedure that happens in Delaware if there is a fiscal note on it. And they’re currently having ongoing conversations about getting this bill out of the house,” Henley told ABC News in an interview.
Henley told ABC News there are also renewed efforts in Rhode Island to push gun safety bills that had lost steam.
Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — If you’ve ever watched a culinary competition show and wished you could dig into the winning dish at home, that dream is finally a reality.
Grubhub and MasterChef have teamed up to create a delivery-only virtual restaurant featuring recipes from the show’s winners and fan-favorite cheftestants.
“The dishes we create on ‘MasterChef’ are enjoyed by a few legendary judges, but as a chef, I always want as many people as possible to experience my culinary creations,” season 11 winner Kelsey Murphy said. “With MasterChef Table, Grubhub is giving me and a few of my favorite Chefs the special opportunity to share our unique twists on comfort foods with fans and diners all over the country.”
MasterChef Table will be available in over 20 market and features 11 gourmet dishes that embody American comfort foods crafted by Murphy as well as season 10 winner Dorian Hunter, season 9 winner Gerron Hurt and season 10 fan-favorite winner, Michael Silverstein.
The menu is complete with appetizers, sides and main courses from specific MasterChef alumni. Check out the full lineup below:
Dorian Hunter: Down South Quesadilla; Bangin Buffalo Chicken Fries; Italian Hoagie Burger (The Dorian Burger)
Gerron Hurt: Southern Horsey Slaw; Nashville Hot Mac n’ Cheese; Nashville Hot Shrimp Tacos
Michael Silverstein: Loaded Blue Cheese Lovers’ Steakhouse Wedge; Queso-Smothered Texas Fajitas; Triple-Stacked Smash Burger
Marnie Boyer, vice president of restaurant acquisition at Grubhub, said the company is always looking to deliver new experiences for diners. The new MasterChef partnership, Boyer said, “gives them exactly that, a seat at the table in the comfort of their home.”
The virtual restaurant concept and first-of-its kind partnership with Fox Entertainment comes just in time for the launch of MasterChef season 12.
“Across Fox Entertainment, we take pride in creating impactful, relevant, and highly customized opportunities that enable our partners to authentically reach the audiences they most value,” Suzanne Sullivan, executive vice president of ad sales at FOX Entertainment, said in a statement.
Ahead this season on MasterChef, chefs will be given a Grubhub-themed Mystery Box challenge, where they must create a gourmet version of the most popular dishes on the online food delivery marketplace.
Find more information about MasterChef Table, including the menu, the chefs and availability in your area at grubhub.com/mastercheftable.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 02, 6:35 am
Ukrainian first lady sits down for exclusive interview with ABC News: ‘Don’t get used to our pain’
Since the start of Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian first lady has been in hiding with her two children. A difficult question her 9-year-old son keeps asking is when the war will end, Olena Zelenska said in an exclusive interview with ABC News.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think any Ukrainian would be able to answer that question,” Zelenska told Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts in her first televised solo interview since the invasion began.
In discussing the state of the conflict nearly 100 days after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Zelenska said that conceding territory to Russia won’t stop the war.
“You just can’t concede … parts of your territory. It’s like conceding a freedom,” Zelenska, 44, said in the interview, airing on Good Morning America Thursday. “Even if we would consider territories, the aggressor would not stop at that. He would continue pressing, he would continue launching more and more steps forward, more and more attacks against our territory.”
Jun 02, 4:34 am
Russia takes most of key city in Donbas
Russian forces have taken control of most of Sieverodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday in an intelligence update.
“The main road into the Sieverodonetsk pocket likely remains under Ukrainian control but Russia continues to make steady local gains, enabled by a heavy concentration of artillery,” the ministry said. “This has not been without cost, and Russian forces have sustained losses in the process.”
Sieverodonetsk, an industrial hub, is the largest city still held by Ukrainian troops in the contested Donbas region of Ukraine’s east, which comprises the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.
“Crossing the Siverskyy Donets River — which is a natural barrier to its axes of advance –- is vital for Russian forces as they secure Luhansk Oblast and prepare to switch focus to Donetsk Oblast,” the ministry added. “Potential crossing sites include between Sieverodonetsk and the neighbouring town of Lysychansk; and near recently-captured Lyman. In both locations, the river line likely still remains controlled by Ukrainian forces, who have destroyed existing bridges.”
Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk are the last major cities in the Luhansk area still controlled by Ukraine.
“It is likely Russia will need at least a short tactical pause to re-set for opposed river crossings and subsequent attacks further into Donetsk Oblast, where Ukrainian armed forces have prepared defensive positions,” the ministry added. “To do so risks losing some of the momentum they have built over the last week.”
Jun 01, 9:27 pm
Ukraine’s first lady tells ABC News that giving up land is ‘like conceding a freedom’
In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska spoke about the state of the ongoing conflict with Russia and where the Ukrainian people currently stand as a country.
In her first televised solo interview since the invasion began, Zelenska, 44, told Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts that conceding territory to Russia won’t stop the war.
“You just can’t concede…parts of your territory. It’s like conceding a freedom,” Zelenska said. “Even if we would consider territories, the aggressor would not stop at that. He would continue pressing, he would continue launching more and more steps forward, more and more attacks against our territory.”
The interview with Zelenska will air Thursday, June 2, on Good Morning America and across ABC News. GMA airs at 7 a.m. ET on ABC.
(WASHINGTON) — A White House event on Wednesday meant to highlight the action President Joe Biden is taking to deal with the nation’s baby formula shortage turned into a political problem when he raised new questions about when he realized just how urgent the situation was — and why he and the administration didn’t take stronger action sooner.
Biden asked formula company executives at a virtual roundtable whether they had anticipated just how profound an effect Abbott’s closure would have on America’s formula supply — and if they realized how bad it would get and how quickly.
Spokespeople for two of the five infant formula manufacturers explicitly said they had recognized from the start how huge a problem the formula shortage would eventually become.
“We knew from the very beginning this would be a very serious event,” Reckitt’s executive, Robert Cleveland, said.
He said his company had reached out to retail partners like Target and Walmart “immediately” to warn them and to start troubleshooting available inventory to ensure they could get what they had onto shelves.
“The very first thing we did when we heard about the Abbott recall was, we could foresee that this was going to create a tremendous shortage,” Perrigo CEO Murray Kessler said.
Their words prompted reporters to ask, as they have for weeks, whether the administration should have acted faster — something Biden has repeatedly dismissed.
“I don’t think anyone anticipated the impact of the shutdown of one facility, the Abbott facility,” he said, responding to their shouted questions. “Once we learned the extent of it … we kicked everything into gear.”
He said he became aware of the issue in April — though in mid-February, Abbott had issued a voluntary recall and shuttered its Sturgis, Michigan, plant, citing contamination concerns and ordering a recall.
Since U.S. manufacturers had just told him they had anticipated the impact, reporters asked Biden why he, too, didn’t see this coming.
“They did, but I didn’t,” Biden answered.
Later, at the White House briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pummeled with more questions.
Asked repeatedly when the White House was informed and when it was decided Biden himself should get involved, Jean-Pierre said, “I don’t have the timeline on that.”
“All I can tell you, as a whole of government approach, we have been working on this since the recall in February,” she said.
ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked if Jean-Pierre was saying the administration’s response would have been exactly the same if the president had known sooner.
“I am saying that we have been working on this. We, as a whole of government approach, have been working on this since the recall, which was in February,” Jean-Pierre repeated. “That is what I’m saying. I’m talking about internally, not just the agencies, not just FDA, USDA, but also we have been working on this for months, for months. And we’ve taken this incredibly seriously.”
The Abbott Nutrition plant in Michigan is set to resume operations on Saturday, the Food and Drug Administration and the company have said, though it will take another six to eight weeks for its plant to ramp back up to full capacity and get its product out to the barren store shelves and families in need.
In the meantime, the administration says it has been working feverishly to bring formula in from abroad amid vociferous complaints from desperate parents — as well as political heat from both Democrats and Republicans.
“We’re going to continue to pull every lever that we have,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Wednesday.
Earlier Wednesday, in what was intended to highlight a positive development ahead of Biden’s event, the administration announced several additional planeloads of formula are set to get airfreighted in from overseas as part of the president’s “Operation Fly Formula.”
A third round of baby formula shipments is set to make its way to U.S. shores by way of United Airlines beginning next Thursday, administration officials announced.
It will come from U.K. formula manufacturer Kendal Nutricare and contain more than 300,000 pounds of its Kendamil infant formula — the equivalent of roughly 3.7 million 8-ounce bottles of formula.
The shipments are expected to be flown from Heathrow Airport to “multiple airports” across the U.S. over the course of “a three-week period,” beginning June 9.
They will include the equivalent of approx. 3.2 million 8-ounce bottles of Kendamil Classic Stage 1, made with full cream whole British cow’s milk for babies beginning at birth, and the equivalent of 540,000 8-ounce bottles of Kendamil Organic, made with organic whole milk.
The formula will be distributed and become available for purchase “at selected U.S. retailers nationwide, as well as online,” the administration said.
This first shipment will be available at Target stores across the country “in the coming weeks,” the administration said, a key detail for parents who have been combing grocery shelves and news bulletins for specifics on where and when they might find what they need during the ongoing shortage.
Besides being the largest shipments to date, the formula will get put on store shelves and will be available online — not just at hospitals or from doctors’ offices as with shipments from earlier flights.
A fourth round will bring in 380,000 pounds of Bubs Australia formula, the equivalent of 4.6 million 8-ounce bottles, and will arrive on two flights next week, facilitated by the Department of Health and Human Services, officials said.
The shipments on the two flights from Melbourne to Pennsylvania and California will be on June 9 and June 11, respectively.
Additional deliveries from Bubs will be announced “in the coming days,” the White House said.
(NEW YORK) — Kim Kardashian is back on the beauty scene with a brand new launch.
The reality star and businesswoman will debut a line of skin care products, SKKN BY KIM, on June 21. The collection will include nine products, meant to mirror her own daily skin care routine.
“I’ve been so privileged to learn about skin and skincare over the years from the world’s top dermatologists and estheticians, and every bottle from my new line is filled with the knowledge I’ve accumulated along the way,” Kardashian said in an Instagram post.
“You will experience refillable packaging, and clean, science-backed ingredients designed to nourish all skin types, tones, and textures at all stages of maturity,” she added.
According to a press release from the brand, Kardashian’s passion to create a skin care line was born out of her dream to bridge the gap between the world’s most renowned dermatological experts and people at home seeking high-performance skin care products.
The collection features a cleanser, toner, exfoliator, serum, face cream, eye cream and two face oils ranging between $43 – $95.
Unique standouts from the upcoming launch include the Vitamin C8 Serum, which targets fine lines, pigmentations and wrinkles, and the Oil Drops, which have Vitamin C and reduce the look of pores, the brand said.
“What began as a psoriasis diagnosis became the catalyst for my journey of skincare discoveries, inspiring me to learn more about my skin and how to care for it,” Kardashian said in a statement. “Working with some of the top dermatologists and estheticians over the years has given me the incredible opportunity to learn from their expertise — and I knew I had to share my learnings.”
Together with Coty Inc., the new skincare-focused brand has kept sustainability top of mind by using minimalistic refillable packaging, with refills also housed inside eco-friendly materials.
News of the skin care line comes approximately one year after Kardashian announced that her former cosmetics line KKW Beauty was temporarily shutting down.
The reality TV star is also the founder of solutionwear brand SKIMS, which offers a range of undergarments, accessories and loungewear.
Press Service of the Office of the President of Ukraine
(NEW YORK) — Since the start of Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian first lady has been in hiding with her two children. A difficult question her 9-year-old son keeps asking is when the war will end, Olena Zelenska said in an exclusive interview with ABC News.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think any Ukrainian would be able to answer that question,” Zelenska told Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts in her first televised solo interview since the invasion began.
In discussing the state of the conflict nearly 100 days after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Zelenska said that conceding territory to Russia won’t stop the war.
“You just can’t concede … parts of your territory. It’s like conceding a freedom,” Zelenska, 44, said in the interview, airing on Good Morning America Thursday. “Even if we would consider territories, the aggressor would not stop at that. He would continue pressing, he would continue launching more and more steps forward, more and more attacks against our territory.”
World seeing Zelenskyy’s ‘true identity’
Zelenska’s son has also continued to ask about his father, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom they have been separated from since the start of the war.
“We said goodbye to one another on the very first day. And over the next two months, we only had a chance to speak via the phone,” Zelenska said.
As he’s handled the stress of war, she said she is “proud” that the whole world has gotten to see Zelenskyy’s “true identity.” The two met at university and have been married for nearly 20 years. She said Zelenskyy’s decision to run for president of Ukraine amid a successful comedy career was “unexpected.”
“There’s one trait about Volodymyr that’s very important — he likes to change things around himself,” she said. “And that’s why I clearly realized that there wouldn’t be anything even closely related to the word boring when you were staying with him.”
But as his family, she said she will support him in any way she could.
“If one day he would say that, ‘OK, I’m going to go to space as an astronaut,’ then, well, I would have to fly with him,” she said, laughing.
‘I have to be strong’
Zelenska said she doesn’t feel as courageous as her husband, but as first lady, she feels motivated to “keep on working to do my own part in order to … get closer to our victory.”
“I realized that I have to be strong, that I have to be courageous, that I have to support him,” she said.
Zelenska has drawn attention to the women involved in the war, saying in an Instagram post in March that the Ukrainian resistance “has a particularly female face.”
“I always thought that Ukrainian women are the best. And I was really proud of how the Ukrainian women behaved themselves during the war,” she said. “Now, I’m proud of the fact that the whole world has seen the true face of the Ukrainian women.”
Zelenska said there are countless stories that have inspired her, though one, in particular, involved a maternity nurse in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol.
“She continued working, despite all those shelling,” she said. “There was no water supplies. There was no electricity supply. And she kept on working until that maternity hospital was completely destroyed.”
The nurse, Tatiana, helped deliver 27 newborns during that time, Zelenska said.
Another story of heroism involved a 15-year-old girl named Leeza who helped evacuate four people from a village in eastern Ukraine even after both her legs were wounded during shelling.
“When I saw her on the news report … that was the face of a child,” Zelenska said. “And still, she found the courage to keep on driving.”
Addressing trauma
For all the stories of unity and heroism, Zelenska noted that the war has been deadly for Ukraine’s children. As of Wednesday, 243 children have been killed as a result of the conflict, she said.
June 4 marks the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, as commemorated by the United Nations.
“Unfortunately, this year we will be marking this event,” the first lady said.
Children have also been traumatized by the war; Zelenska recounted hearing about two boys who saw their mother killed in front of them, and then had to bury her themselves.
“We need to help people to live that through. We need to help people psychologically, mentally, in whatever ways possible,” she said.
To that end, she is introducing a national program to provide mental health support for those impacted by the war’s “atrocities,” she said.
“The medical institutions and medical system as we have it right now, it might simply be not enough to cover all the needs,” she said. “That’s why we need to be prepared.”
Another challenge will be getting Ukrainians who might not be used to seeking mental health support to avail themselves of this help, she said.
“Even the parents, they might not recognize that their child is having a problem, is having some sort of PTSD,” she said.
Global support
Zelenska discussed the “enormous support” Ukraine has felt from across the globe amid the war — before the interview was interrupted by an air raid siren.
“It’s really important, because you feel you’re not alone,” she said once the interview was able to safely resume.
First lady Jill Biden’s surprise visit to western Ukraine last month was another “tremendous” sign of support, Zelenska said.
“I finally managed to see her face-to-face, and it was a tremendously courageous action that she has made,” Zelenska said. “She came to the country which is at war, and the people of Ukraine, they highly appreciated that.”
This week, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will be sending Ukraine more sophisticated military equipment as part of a $700 million package of security assistance. The move comes following calls from Zelenskyy last month for long-range rocket systems to “allow the defeat of tyranny.”
Zelenska said they are grateful for the humanitarian and security assistance Ukraine has received so far, and that they “hope and wait for more assistance to come.”
As the war continues, another difficult question Zelenska finds herself unable to answer is what message she would give to the Russian people.
“Whenever we are trying to ask them a question or relay any message, they tend to answer that we have other information. … Or they might be saying that we have other viewpoints on the situation,” she said. “But how can you have any other view on those killings? On those atrocities committed?”
In a message to the American people, she implored them to “not get used to this war.”
“Otherwise, we are risking a never-ending war and this is not something we would like to have,” she said. “Don’t get used to our pain.”
The interview with Zelenska will air Thursday on Good Morning America and across ABC News. Good Morning America airs at 7 a.m. ET on ABC.
(NEW YORK) — One woman has died and another is missing after a group of 12 kayakers became stranded and then went over Bosher’s Dam in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday afternoon.
Ten kayakers were rescued shortly after the incident took place on the James River at around 3 p.m. local time, according to Richmond Fire Department Assistant Chief Jeffrey Segal. The dam has a 12-foot drop.
Two kayakers — identified by the Henrico County Police Division as Lauren Winstead and Sarah Erway — were initially deemed missing. Their last known location was where most of the kayakers were rescued. Winstead’s body was recovered from the James River on Wednesday afternoon, while the search for Erway has transitioned from a rescue mission into a recovery operation, police said.
The search and rescue mission for the missing women ceased Monday night because it was getting dark, Segal had said. The operation resumed the next morning.
Henrico County Police Division spokesman Lt. Matthew Pecka said Tuesday that multiple agencies responded to assist in the search between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., searching from the Bosher Dam to Powhite Parkway along the James River. Agencies used drones, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and inflatable vessels in their efforts, Pecka said.
The search continued Wednesday. That evening, Henrico County Police Division took to Twitter to announce that search teams had recovered Winstead’s body from the James River, just west of the Powhite Parkway Bridge, at approximately 1:30 p.m. local time.
“Our deepest condolences are with Ms. Winstead’s family during this difficult time,” police tweeted. “The search for Sarah Erway will continue and is transitioning from a search and rescue mission to a recovery operation.”
It was unclear if all the kayakers knew each other, according to Segal, and if they were all physically inside the kayaks at the time of the emergency.
