(LONDON) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was fined in connection with the police investigation into illegal parties and gatherings held at his residence and other government premises during coronavirus-induced lockdowns, Downing Street confirmed Tuesday.
Johnson is the first sitting prime minister in U.K.’s history to have broken the law while in office.
Johnson, his wife, Carrie, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have all been handed fines in connection with a host of lockdown breaches reported last year. Details as to how much the fines were worth, or which gatherings they were issued in connection with, were scant.
“The Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan Police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices,” a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement. “We have no further details, but we will update you again when we do.”
The investigation into a number of events held at Downing Street by the prime minister’s staff while the country was under lockdown conditions dominated headlines earlier this year. U.K.’s Metropolitan Police Service announced it was investigating at least eight gatherings, and they were currently examining over 500 documents and 300 images provided to them by a separate, internal investigation led by top civil servant, Sue Gray.
A number of gatherings during lockdown took place at government residences, including a Christmas event, two leaving parties for departing staff and a summer gathering in the Downing Street garden, where up to 100 staffers were invited to bring their own alcoholic drinks. The Prime Minister has previously denied any wrongdoing, though recieved backlash for saying he believed that one of the gatherings, where pictures were leaked to the press of staff drinking alcohol, was a “work event.”
The announcement that Johnson and Sunak are to be issued with fixed penalty notices — fines which must be paid to avert criminal proceedings — came a day after the Metropolitan Police announced an update to their investigation, saying at least 50 people have been fined so far.
Though media attention soon turned to the prime minister’s handling of the crisis in Ukraine, where he has taken a strong line against Russia and was recently pictured with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, the announcement of the fines has led to fresh calls for his resignation.
While Parliament is in recess, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, has already called for both Johnson and Sunak to resign.
“Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have broken the law and repeatedly lied to the British public,” he posted on Twitter. “They must both resign. The Conservatives are totally unfit to govern. Britain deserves better.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian troops invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Russian forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
In recent days, Russian forces have retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv, the United States and European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 12, 9:28 pm
White House could announce up to $750M in new Ukrainian military aid, official says
The Biden administration could announce as early as Wednesday upward of $750 million in additional military assistance to Ukraine, a U.S. official told ABC News.
The new assistance could possibly include a range of military hardware — including howitzers, artillery and Humvees — though the full package still needs to be finalized, the official said.
Apr 12, 6:48 pm
Biden uses ‘genocide’ for first time regarding Ukraine
President Joe Biden used the word “genocide” for the first time to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine during remarks on Tuesday.
“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank — none of it should on hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away,” Biden said in Menlo, Iowa, during remarks primarily about the U.S. economy.
Biden was asked by reporters on April 4 if he thought the atrocities in Bucha were a genocide, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had claimed. “No, I think it is a war crime,” Biden responded then.
That same day, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the administration had not yet seen the “systematic deprivation of life” necessary to meet the definition of genocide.
Biden confirmed his word choice to the White House pool Tuesday evening before boarding Air Force One, saying that since last week the “evidence is mounting.”
“Yes, I called it genocide,” Biden said. “Because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian.”
He then qualified that the determination of genocide is officially up to legal experts, but that “it sure seems that way to me.”
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Apr 12, 6:42 pm
White House could announce up to $750M in new Ukrainian military aid, official says
The Biden administration could announce as early as Wednesday upward of $750 million in additional military assistance to Ukraine, a U.S. official told ABC News.
The new assistance could possibly include a range of military hardware — including howitzers, artillery, Humvees and Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters originally intended for Afghanistan’s military — though the full package still needs to be finalized, the official said.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Apr 12, 5:56 pm
Biden uses ‘genocide’ for first time regarding Ukraine
President Joe Biden used the word “genocide” for the first time to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine during remarks on Tuesday.
“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank — none of it should on hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away,” Biden said in Menlo, Iowa, during remarks primarily about the U.S. economy.
Biden was asked by reporters on April 4 if he thought the atrocities in Bucha were a genocide, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had claimed. “No, I think it is a war crime,” Biden responded then.
That same day, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the administration had not yet seen the “systematic deprivation of life” necessary to meet the definition of genocide.
It is unclear if Biden’s latest remarks were an ad-lib or represent an intentional shift in the White House’s position.
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Apr 12, 5:34 pm
US State Department condemns arrest of Russian opposition activist
The U.S. State Department is condemning the arrest in Russia of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition activist and critic of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Kara-Murza’s arrest on Monday is another example of a Russian government “that is more aggressive beyond its borders and more oppressive within its borders.”
He condemned Kara-Murza’s arrest, noting that the activist has previously been arrested by Russian authorities and that he has survived two poisoning incidents.
“The Russian people — and this is the key point — like people everywhere, have the right to speak freely, to form peaceful associations, to exercise their freedom of expression and to have their voices heard through free and fair elections,” Price said.
Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist who has testified before Congress, survived poisoning incidents in 2015 and in 2017. At the time of his second poisoning, Kara-Murza’s wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, gave an exclusive interview to ABC News in which she pleaded for then-President Donald Trump to support her husband and warned that Putin “cannot be dealt with on friendly terms.”
Following her husband’s arrest this week, Evgenia Kara-Murza posted a message on Twitter calling attention to her husband’s arrest.
“Twice have the Russian authorities tried to kill my husband for advocating for sanctions against thieves and murderers, and now they want to throw him in prison for calling their bloody war a WAR. I demand my husband’s immediate release!” Evgenia Kara-Murza, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, tweeted.
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Apr 12, 4:04 pm
Pro-Russian oligarch captured in Ukraine: Zelenskyy
Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Russian oligarch and personal friend of Vladimir Putin, has been captured in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy posted a photo on his official Telegram account of the captured Medvedchuk in handcuffs and wearing military fatigues.
The photo was accompanied by a caption praising the Security Service of Ukraine’s “special operation” that led to Medvedchuk’s capture. “Well done! Details later. Glory to Ukraine,” the caption reads.
Medvedchuk is a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and leader of Ukraine’s Opposition Platform.
In May 2021, Ukraine indicted Medvedchuk on charges of treason and attempting to steal natural resources from Russia-annexed Crimea. He was initially placed under house arrest in Ukraine but escaped just days after the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24.
Medvedchuk’s detention was also confirmed by Ukraine’s Security Service on their official Facebook page. The agency said Medvedchuk was wearing a uniform from the Ukrainian armed forces to disguise himself.
Medvedchuk is a business oligarch in Ukraine with very close ties to Putin. The Ukrainian National News Agency reported that Putin is the godfather of one of Medvedchuk’s daughters.
Apr 12, 2:34 pm
Biden, British prime minister discuss more Ukraine assistance
President Joe Biden spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson by phone Tuesday about the need to accelerate military and economic assistance to Ukraine, according to a spokesperson for Johnson.
“The Prime Minister updated President Biden on his recent visit to Kyiv, and said he had been humbled by President Zelenskyy’s strength and resolve,” the spokesperson said.
The leaders discussed the need to accelerate assistance to Ukraine, including bolstering military and economic support as Ukrainian forces prepare for another Russian onslaught in the east of the country.
“The prime minister paid tribute to the U.S.’ colossal military contribution to Ukraine, and updated on the U.K.’s new package of support, including anti-ship missiles and military vehicles, which would arrive in the coming days and weeks,” the spokesperson said. “Both leaders were clear that Putin would never be able to hold down the spirit of the Ukrainian people, despite his monstrous attempts.”
The most recent $800 million U.S. military aid package for Ukraine has mostly been delivered and will be completed in the coming days, a U.S. defense official said Tuesday.
“Yesterday, two U.S. flights arrived in the region with everything from small-arms ammunition, machine guns, body armor, grenades and other explosives,” the official said.
So far, the United States has sent 19 out of an expected 20 flights needed to deliver the $800 million package.
Johnson, according to his spokesperson, told Biden that a long-term commitment to Ukraine was needed from the international community to ensure the Ukrainian people’s vision for their country’s freedom can be realized.
“The pair also agreed to continue joint efforts to ratchet up the economic pressure on Putin and decisively end Western reliance on Russian oil and gas,” Johnson’s spokesperson said.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Apr 12, 1:44 pm
403 bodies recovered in Bucha: Mayor
In a televised announcement on Tuesday, Anatoliy Fedoruk, the mayor of Bucha, Ukraine, said that the bodies of 403 people presumably killed by Russian forces have been recovered in his city and that he expects the number to rise.
Fedoruk said 16 residents of Bucha remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead.
He said 163 of the 403 bodies recovered have been identified.
Fedoruk alleged last week that nearly all of those killed in Bucha are civilians.
Surviving residents of the besieged town told an ABC News crew in Bucha last week that Russian troops allegedly tortured people before killing them and executed many men under the age of 50.
When ABC News arrived in Bucha on Tuesday, bodies still lay in the streets.
Russia has denied committing atrocities in Ukraine and said it is not targeting civilians.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Apr 12, 1:10 pm
US concerned Russia could disguise chemical weapons: Official
A senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday that the United States cannot confirm whether Russia used chemical agents in Mariupol or elsewhere in Ukraine but that the Pentagon is concerned Russian forces could disguise such attacks.
The Department of Defense has seen evidence Russia has considered disguising the use of chemical weapons by making them appear to be more benign riot control agents, the official said.
“In the past we’ve had indications that that could be one thing that the Russians look at is the potential mixing of agents with the idea that they could disguise a more serious attack by using the vehicle and the techniques of riot control agents,” the official said.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby released a similar statement Monday night to address social media reports claiming Russia used a chemical weapon in Mariupol.
“These reports, if true, are deeply concerning and reflective of concerns that we have had about Russia’s potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine,” Kirby said.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Apr 12, 12:42 pm
Blinken meets with UN refugee chief amid Ukraine crisis
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was meeting Tuesday morning with U.N. refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi amid the crisis in Ukraine and other upheavals that have displaced people around the globe.
“We’ve only seen that challenge increase and, of course, Ukraine is now added to the mix with Russian aggression displacing, within Ukraine or outside of Ukraine, two-thirds of the children in that country, as well as, of course, many, many adults,” Blinken said while sitting across the table from Grandi.
There are some 95 million people displaced across the globe, with the number of refugees alone larger than the populations of Spain or South Korea, Blinken said.
Blinken added the United States is “grateful” for the work the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is doing to meet the needs of refugees. He said the United States is working with the agency to both resettle refugees in the United States and care for refugee populations overseas.
Grandi praised the United States for being the largest donor and the largest resettlement country for refugees.
But weeks after the Biden administration said it would admit up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, Grandi said the White House has released no details about how the United States will do that.
“This figure that he (Blinken) mentioned — 95 million — maybe 96 million by today, who knows?” Grandi said, adding that the number of refugees had gone up by 12 million in less than two months with the crisis in Ukraine.
Grandi noted other crises from Afghanistan to Africa and Venezuela that have displaced people and said of Russia’s war in Ukraine, “That crisis should not make us forget everything else.”
-ABC News Conor Finnegan
Apr 12, 8:59 am
Putin calls Russia’s objectives in Ukraine ‘noble’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that his country’s “special military operation” in Ukraine would undoubtedly achieve its “noble” objectives.”
“On the one hand, we are helping and saving people, and on the other, we are simply taking measures to ensure the security of Russia itself,” Putin said, according to Russian news agencies. “It’s clear that we didn’t have a choice. It was the right decision.”
Putin made the comments while visiting the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian spaceport in the Amur Oblast in the Russian Far East, to mark Russia’s annual Cosmonautics Day.
He was joined by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The two leaders held talks on bilateral relations and the situation in Ukraine, without the participation of Russian or Ukrainian delegations.
Apr 12, 8:07 am
Nine humanitarian corridors to open in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday
Nine humanitarian corridors are expected to open in eastern Ukraine again on Tuesday to allow civilians escape heavy fighting, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
She said in a statement via social media Tuesday that evacuation routes were agreed upon for those traveling by private cars from besieged Mariupol in the Donetsk Oblast, as well as from Berdyansk, Tokmak and Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast — all of which lead to the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
In the Luhansk Oblast, Vereshchuk said routes were established from the cities of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Popasna, Hirske and Rubizhne, leading to the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk Oblast.
The same routes were opened Monday, allowing a total of 4,354 people to evacuate via buses and private cars, according to Vereshchuk. However, Vereshchuk said buses carrying people from Berdyansk, Tokmak and Enerhodar to Zaporizhzhia city were being held up by Russian forces at a checkpoint in Vasylivka for a third day in a row.
Apr 12, 7:26 am
Ukraine investigating alleged chemical attack in Mariupol
Ukraine announced Tuesday it is investigating claims that chemical weapons were used in an attack against Ukrainian soldiers in besieged Mariupol.
The Azov Regiment, a far-right group now part of the Ukrainian National Guard, alleged in a statement via Telegram on Monday that a Russian drone had dropped “a poisonous substance of unknown origin” on its fighters defending a giant metals plant in Mariupol, a southeastern port city in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast that has been subjected to heavy bombardment since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24. The Azov, which did not provide evidence of the alleged attack, said its fighters had suffered minor injuries.
The claims could not be independently verified by ABC News.
Eduard Basurin, a spokesperson for Russia-backed separatist forces in Donetsk Oblast, denied the allegations, telling Russian news agency Interfax that separatist forces “haven’t used any chemical weapons in Mariupol.” However, on the eve of the alleged attack, Basurin appeared to urge their use, telling Russian state media that Russia-backed forces should seize the Mariupol metals plant from Ukrainian soldiers by blocking all the exits and using “chemical troops to smoke them out.”
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Tuesday the government is investigating the claims, adding that preliminary information suggested phosphorous munition had been used.
When deployed as a weapon, phosphorus can inflict excruciating burns and lead to infection, shock and organ failure. Although phosphorus is not classified as a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention, its use as an incendiary weapon in civilian areas is forbidden under the Geneva Conventions.
The United Kingdom is “working urgently” to investigate the reports, according to U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who noted that any confirmed use of chemical weapons in Mariupol would be a “callous escalation” of the war.
U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told Sky News on Tuesday that “all options are on the table in terms of how the West might respond.”
Meanwhile, the United States said it was “aware” of the reports.
“We cannot confirm at this time and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement Monday. “These reports, if true, are deeply concerning and reflective of concerns that we have had about Russia’s potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine.”
(NEW YORK) — An American family living in Poland is doing what it can to help Ukrainian refugees in need amid the war.
In February, OT and Julie Benson and five of their eight kids moved from the Detroit suburbs to Krakow, Poland, looking for an adventure. But nearly a month after arriving in Poland, their lives changed instantly when Russia invaded Ukraine.
The couple told ABC News’ Good Morning America that they couldn’t turn a blind eye.
“When you’re staring [at] refugees who have been traveling for many days, and they have nothing but the clothes on their backs, you don’t really make a plan, you just say yes, and I’ll figure it out,” OT Benson said.
It was at a church during those first few days of the war when OT decided to heed the Bishop’s call to house Ukrainian refugees in his own home.
Over the past four weeks, the Benson’s house has been a home for at least nine families — some staying the night, others for weeks. At one point, OT and Julie packed the house with 21 people.
“Our job is trying to make them feel safe,” Julie Benson said. “Make them feel like they’re with us, that they are like at their home. So that’s what we’re trying to do. And every day see them happy, smiling — I think that is the best reward.”
The couple’s daughter, Leo, said she was nervous at first living in a full house, but she said welcoming their home to those in need was humbling.
“We had our first group of people stay with us, and they were so amazing and so kind and genuine,” Leo Benson said. “It was really humbling to see them. I don’t even know how I can express it into better words. I just love them so much.”
“This family is great,” Oksana Tymchenko told GMA of the Bensons. Oksana is staying with the family with her three daughters, but her husband had to stay and fight in Ukraine. She said her daughters miss their dad, but living with the Bensons has helped keep their spirits up.
“I’d never expected they’d receive us like that,” Tymchenko said. “Like their own children. We don’t even have a language barrier — they understand us, we understand them.”
The Bensons said hosting refugees has shown how the war has impacted families like Oksana’s.
“We had boys that would be here like in the backyard playing and they would see a plane fly over and react in very scary ways screaming,” OT Benson said. “The other kids would say, ‘Rocket, rocket’ — it looks like something they saw a few weeks ago.”
While the Bensons and the families who stay with them are still learning to adapt, the Bensons said they are also learning from their own kids, who they said are also changing from the experience too.
“I would say certainly when living in the U.S., you feel disconnected with this kind of thing. Think they come quickly to the realization that this is a different place, a different time, and it makes you grow up a lot faster,” OT Benson said. “Which for me as a dad I’m glad that they can do that, that they can see that and I want them to understand what it means to serve others and help others.”
(NEW YORK) — The New York City Police Department has announced a person of interest in connection with Tuesday morning’s subway shooting in Brooklyn.
Investigators said they are looking for Frank James and released a photo of the person, asking the public to call NYPD Crime Stoppers with any information on his current whereabouts.
This is Frank James who is a person of interest in this investigation. Any information can be directed to @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/yBpenmsX67
A gunman donned a gas mask, detonated a smoke canister and opened fire on a New York City subway train Tuesday morning, shooting 10 people and sparking panic during the rush-hour commute. The suspect fired 33 times, according to police.
Twenty-nine victims went to Brooklyn hospitals with various injuries. Five people were critically injured and have since stabilized, according to a fire department official.
Police described the gunman, who is still on the run, as an “active shooter.” The bloodshed comes amid a surge in crime on New York City’s transit system.
The shooting, reported just before 8:30 a.m. local time, erupted on a Manhattan-bound N subway car as it approached the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a news conference.
According to a police official, the suspect was seen mumbling before he put on the gas mask, released a smoke canister commonly bought online and opened fire with a .380 caliber handgun.
The gun jammed during the incident, according to a police official.
Investigators recovered the gun, three extended magazines, a hatchet, gasoline, four smoke grenades and a bag of consumer-grade fireworks, according to police. The gun was not stolen, police said.
A credit card was also recovered from the scene and investigators said the card was used to rent a U-Haul, according to a police source. Keys to the vehicle were also found in the shooter’s possession, according to police.
Investigators located the vehicle in Gravesend, Brooklyn, on Tuesday afternoon, roughly five miles southeast of the subway station and were investigating to determine if it has any connection to the suspect, according to the police.
Police later said James rented the van in Philadelphia. There is a $50,000 reward for information that leads to his wherabouts.
The NYPD said it is still piecing together clues about the suspected shooter.
“At this time, we still do not know the suspect’s motivation. Clearly this individual boarded the train and was intent on violence,” police commissioner Keechant Sewell said at an evening press conference.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams told New York station WABC that police are working on getting as much evidence and clues from the vehicle as they can.
“We want to make sure that all of the evidence that is gathered is going to assist us in apprehending this person. We must make sure that we have it protected correctly so that we can convict this person for,” he said.
There were no working cameras in the 36th Street station, according to a police official. The cameras, which are aimed at the turnstiles, didn’t transmit in real-time due to a glitch computer malfunction, a source said. The same glitch impacted cameras at the stops before and after 36th Street.
Investigators are looking into how this malfunction happened.
But police were able to get an image of the suspect from a bystander’s cellphone video, a law enforcement official told ABC News.
Yav Montano, 24, was on the train when he said the whole car filled with smoke.
“It was hard to breathe, it was hard to see. It was hard to hear or pay attention to what was going on with the chaos that was happening,” he said.
“I didn’t see anything because the smoke in the train was so thick. I couldn’t even see halfway down the length of the train car,” he added.
“After the smoke went on, there was a bunch of popping, which I thought at first was firecrackers,” he went on. “I ducked behind a chair to protect myself.”
From a crouching position on the floor, Montano said, “I saw a lot of blood on the floor. Too much blood.”
Montano said the doors opened at 36th Street about three to four minutes later. “As soon as the doors opened, everyone started to pour out and run,” he recalled.
Multiple smoke devices and a bag of commercial-grade fireworks have been recovered, according to a law enforcement official.
Sewell said there are no known explosives on subways and a motive is still unknown.
After initially saying the shooting was not being investigated as an act of terrorism, Sewell later said police are “not ruling anything out.”
Sewell described the suspect as a man wearing a green construction-type vest and a gray-hooded sweatshirt. The suspect has a “heavy build” and is believed to be about 5 feet 5 inches tall, Sewell said.
A man who works in a bodega outside the subway told ABC New York station WABC about 10 to 15 people ran to his store for safety.
“It was horrifying,” he said.
“I saw three or four people with gunshot wounds to their legs. They just fell to floor before the cops came…They just stayed here for a couple of minutes before the coast was clear,” he said. “Everyone was terrified, I was terrified.”
A senior federal law enforcement source told ABC News authorities are concerned this shooting showed a level of planning and commitment to kill scores of commuters during rush hour. The source said it is too early to know if the suspect acted alone.
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have been briefed on the situation, the White House said.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday afternoon that he’s “praying for those that are injured and all those touched by that trauma.”
“And we’re grateful for all the first responders … including civilians, who didn’t hesitate to help their fellow passengers,” Biden said.
Freelance photographer Derek French, who was on the platform when the incident took place, told ABC News how he and two other good Samaritans created makeshift tourniquets out of a jacket and applied them to the wounded.
“When I saw the pool of blood from one of the victims I essentially just snapped into first-aid mode,” French said, noting he’d previously trained with the Red Cross.
“It wasn’t a second thought, it was that I needed to do that,” he said.
The FBI is assisting and officials from the ATF are at the scene.
Later in the evening, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul visited victims who were recuperating at Maimondes Hospital
One of the victims was an 18-year-old student on the way to school, she said. The student was awaiting surgery, according to the governor.
“He seems to be doing well, and is in very good spirits, as well as his mother and grandmother who are there,” Hochul said.
The governor also said she spoke to the mother of a 16-year-old victim who had just undergone surgery.
“All she has is her son,” she added. “So I had a long, long hug with her and let her know that we send the love of all New Yorkers.”
Anyone with information, video or photos related to the shooting is urged to call 800-577-TIPS.
(NEW YORK) — Authorities in Suffolk County, New York, on Tuesday released video evidence from the unsolved Gilgo Beach murders, showing the last known surveillance of Megan Waterman, one of the victims.
Suffolk County Police also announced it is doubling the Crime Stoppers reward to $50,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.
Waterman, whose remains were found along Ocean Parkway, near Gilgo Beach in 2010, was last seen at Holiday Inn Express in Hauppauge, New York, in June 2010. She had advertised escort services on Craigslist.
The remains of 10 people were found in 2010 and 2011 in the weedy sections off Ocean Parkway near Jones Beach. At the time, police said half of the identified victims worked as prostitutes.
Earlier this year, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison created the Gilgo Beach Homicide Investigation Task Force. The task force includes representatives from the FBI, New York State Police, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office.
In 2020, police released photos of a belt believed to be handled by the suspect, which did not belong to any of the victims, hoping to advance the investigation.
Authorities discovered the remains during the search for Shannan Gilbert, a sex worker from New Jersey, but she is not believed to be tied to the other deaths because she did not match the pattern of the Gilgo Beach homicides, police said in 2020.
Remains found on Dec. 11, 2010 during the search for Gilbert, were later identified as the remains of 24-year-old Melissa Barthelemy. Two days later, three more victims were found on Ocean Parkway. They were later identified as Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25; Amber Lynn Costello, 27; and Megan Waterman, 22.
All four women worked as Craigslist escorts.
The remains of another woman who worked as an escort were found on March 29, 2011, but the remains have not been identified.
On April 4, 2011, three more sets of remains were found on Ocean Parkway, which were those of a toddler, an unidentified Asian male and a third victim who was later identified as Valerie Mack.
Two more sets of remains were found a week later, one of which was discovered to be the mother of the toddler. The mother’s partial remains were first found in 1997.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House says extending the federal mask mandate for airlines and other forms of transportation is still possible despite urging from GOP lawmakers and transportation industry leaders to end the measure, which is set to expire next week.
The decision could be influenced by an increase in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and a large increase in travelers. The TSA screened 2.6 million travelers on March 20 — a record since the pandemic began and an upward trend many experts expect to continue as summer approaches.
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said extending the public health order is “absolutely on the table” on NBC’s “Today Show” on Monday. Dr. Jha was asked whether rising case numbers could justify extending the order.
“This is a decision that the CDC Director Dr. Walensky is going to make,” Dr. Jha said. “I know the CDC is working on developing a scientific framework for how to answer that. We are going to see that framework come out I think in the next few days.”
CEOs of airlines including Alaska Air, American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue Airways and United sent a letter to President Joe Biden in late March asking him to roll back the mask mandate on airlines as well as the testing requirements for passengers. They pointed to the efficacy of vaccines and to the “burden” enforcing such measures puts on airline staff.
“Now is the time for the Administration to sunset federal transportation travel restrictions – including the international pre-departure testing requirement and the federal mask mandate – that are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment,” the letter said.
“Importantly, the effectiveness and availability of high-quality masks for those who wish to wear them gives passengers the ability to further protect themselves if they choose to do so,” industry leaders said in the letter. “It makes no sense that people are still required to wear masks on airplanes, yet are allowed to congregate in crowded restaurants, schools and at sporting events without masks, despite none of these venues having the protective air filtration system that aircraft do.”
GOP Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Roger Wicker R-Miss., as well as Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Garret Graves, R-La., also called on the White House to roll back the order in a letter last week.
“At a time when operators across all modes of our Nation’s transportation system are grappling with skyrocketing fuel prices and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the Administration’s policies should reflect nothing less than steadfast support for the transportation sector’s rapid recovery. To that end, we urge you to join us in supporting our Nation’s transportation operators, employees, and users by ending immediately the Federal transportation mask mandate, or allowing it to expire once and for all,” the letter from lawmakers said.
Airlines for America, a group representing major airlines, and other travel industry groups also sent a letter to Dr. Jha last week urging the administration to roll back the COVID mitigation measures.
“Simply put, the pre-departure testing requirement and the mask mandate no longer provide the public health benefits they once did,” the letter said. “Today, these measures are imposing significant costs on the traveling public, airline employees, and the American travel and tourism industries.”
(NEW YORK) — Opioid overdose deaths in adolescents rose far more rapidly than the general population between 2019 and 2021, according to a new study of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The study found that deaths from opioid overdoses in teens ages 14 to 18 increased by 94% between 2019 and 2020 and by an additional 20% between 2020 and 2021.
One specific driver of these deaths was fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that the Drug Enforcement Administration says is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
The researchers, who hailed from multiple institutions, found that adolescent fentanyl-related overdose deaths leapt 350% over the study period. Overall, fentanyl was associated with 77% of adolescent overdose deaths in 2021.
Additionally, specific youth faced elevated risk. Opioid overdose deaths were higher in adolescents from American Indian and Alaska Native and Latinx communities.
The findings come amid the widespread — and rapid — proliferation of fentanyl across the country.
According to the DEA, the number of forensic drug reports testing positive for fentanyl has skyrocketed in recent years from under 20,000 in 2015 to 117,045 in 2020. A recent study from the National Institutes of Health found that the number of individual fentanyl pills seized by law enforcement increased nearly 50-fold from the first quarter of 2018 to the last quarter of 2021.
Even though the adolescent rates outpaced them, adults haven’t been spared from the rising ubiquity of fentanyl. Provisional data released by the CDC in March showed that overdose deaths across age groups had reached record highs, taking the lives of nearly 106,000 Americans within the prior year.
These deaths were in large part driven by fentanyl.
A separate CDC study showed that of the more than 100,000 people who died from drug overdoses between May 2020 and April 2021, nearly two-thirds were linked to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
Overall, deaths linked to synthetic opioids have nearly doubled in Americans of any age over the past two years, the provisional data showed.
Advocates say that the record highs in overdose deaths highlight the importance of adopting new strategies to combat the opiate epidemic.
“Urgent action is needed to address America’s spiraling overdose crisis, including expanding access to opioid addiction treatment and investing in harm reduction,” the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit health care research organization, wrote in a February report, “but these lifesaving tools continue to be underutilized and resistance remains strong in many areas of the country.”
The authors of the study echoed those recommendations for youth specifically.
“Increasing adolescent overdose deaths, in the context of increasing availability of illicit fentanyls, highlight the need for accurate harm-reduction education for adolescents and greater access to naloxone and services for mental health and substance use behavior,” the authors wrote.
According to guidance by the U.S. Surgeon General, individual citizens also have an important role to play. The guidance recommends that individuals learn the signs of opioid overdose — including slowed breathing and pinpoint pupils — and get trained in the use of naloxone, a potent antidote for opioid overdoses.
“Knowing how to use naloxone and keeping it within reach can save a life,” the guidance reads.
Eli Cahan, MS, is a contributor to the ABC News medical unit. He is a fourth year medical student at NYU School of Medicine and will be starting his residency in pediatrics at UCSF in June.
(MENLO, Iowa) — President Joe Biden traveled to Iowa on Tuesday for his first time as president to announce new efforts to bring down gas prices as the administration faces an 8.5% jump in the consumer price index compared to a year ago, which it attributes mostly to what he called “Putin’s Price Hike.”
“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should on hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away,” Biden said, appearing to ad lib that Russia’s actions in Ukraine amount to “genocide” for the first time. The U.S. government has an internal process for designating whether genocide has occurred, and other Western nations haven’t made the determination.
Biden was asked directly last week if he thought the atrocities in Bucha were genocide, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed, but responded at that time, “No, I think it is a war crime.”
But on Tuesday, he said: “Yes, I called it genocide. Because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian. And the evidence is mounting.”
The president also offered brief remarks on the subway shooting in New York City from Menlo, Iowa, before pivoting to his plan to ease gas prices amid intensifying inflation.
The March CPI report released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed inflation is at its highest point in the U.S. in more than 40 years as rising prices have an impact on consumers worldwide. Prices were up 1.2% compared to just a month ago, the report said, raising concerns that, if the Federal Reserve gets more aggressive in raising interest rates to temper inflation, that might trigger a recession.
“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas prices and food prices all over the world,” Biden said. “So everything is going up. We saw it in today’s inflation data. Seventy percent of the increase in prices in March came from Putin’s price hike in gasoline.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tried to preemptively cushion the blow of the report numbers on Monday. She said the White House expected a large difference between core and headline inflation, pointing to the price of gas as the main reason for the discrepancy.
“Just as an example, since President Putin’s military buildup in January, average gas prices up more than 80 cents. Most of the increase occurred in March and gas prices, at times, prices were up more than a dollar above pre-invasion level. That roughly 25% increase in prices will drive tomorrow’s inflation rating,” Psaki said.
To address those prices, Biden announced Tuesday he issuing a temporary, emergency waiver for the summer to allow the sale of “E-15” — a blend of gas with 15% ethanol, rather than the usual 10%, which the White House says will bring down gas prices by 10 cents a gallon. Usually, E-15 is not sold in the summer because it’s believed to add to smog.
“The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to issue an emergency waiver to allow E15 gasoline that uses more ethanol from homegrown crops to be sold across the United States this summer in order to increase fuel supply,” Biden said. “It’s not going to solve all our problems. But it’s going to help some people and I’m committed to do whatever I can to help. Even if it’s an extra buck or two in the pockets.”
But the move will have a limited impact: Only 2% of gas stations around the country carry E-15, mostly in the Midwest. The White House countered a question from ABC News on whether the impact would be insignificant for Americans.
“Ultimately this is about giving Americans more options and more flexibility,” a White House official said ahead of the president’s remarks. “President Biden knows that every cent matters and families will see savings even after taking into consideration the difference in energy efficiency.”
Inflation and even gas prices have been on the rise even before the invasion of Ukraine. A new ABC News/Ipsos poll found Americans are more likely to place a “great deal” or a “good amount” of the blame for the price increases on Democratic Party policies (52%) and Biden (51%) than on Republican Party policies (33%) and former President Donald Trump (24%). A strong majority of Americans (68%) also disapproves of the way Biden is handling gas prices.
Biden’s trip to Iowa comes with the midterm elections seven months away. It’s a state he spent a lot of time in amid the 2020 campaign, but ultimately lost to former President Donald Trump by nine points.
While his remarks are set to focus on his administration’s actions to lower gas prices and the bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year, Biden might feel obligated to address Tuesday’s report, which showed increases in prices for gasoline, rent and food were the largest contributors to inflation for Americans. Gasoline prices rose 18.3% compared to a month ago and were a major contributor to inflation; other energy prices also increased. Food prices increased by 1% and the food at home prices by 1.5%.
Aside from food and energy, rent was the biggest factor in the price increases. Airline fares, household furnishings and operations, medical care and motor vehicle insurance also contributed to inflation. Used cars and trucks fell 3.8% compared to a month ago.
The report, though in line with expectations, does nothing to temper concerns that the Federal Reserve has a tough job ahead of it in cooling this inflation without sparking a recession.
ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
(HOUSTON) — A 23-second running gun battle in which 30 to 50 shots were fired during a teen’s birthday party at a rented Airbnb house in a suburb of Houston left one person wounded and police searching for suspects, authorities said.
Ring doorbell camera footage from a home near the party house was obtained by ABC station KTRK in Houston and captured the chaotic scene of multiple people running down a residential street and diving behind parked cars for cover as the gun violence unfolded.
“There were so many shots, I just can’t believe more weren’t wounded, killed, more damage,” a woman who lives near the Airbnb rental and witnessed the incident after arriving home with her daughter told KTRK. “You know it could have been so much worse.”
Investigator Robert Gonzales of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office said the shooting happened Saturday night in Manville, about 24 miles south of Houston. He said one teenager was shot in the foot.
Gonzales said the shooting erupted when a fight broke at a 16th birthday party that was being held at the rented Airbnb house.
No arrests were reported as of Tuesday morning.
“We’re attempting to locate and get more information from the public,” Gonzales said.
Authorities said at least three guns were involved in the shooting, which left numerous cars in the neighborhood pocked with bullet holes and at least one window of a neighboring home shattered.
Airbnb said in a statement that it has removed the home from its website and suspended the person who rented it pending its own investigation.
“Airbnb bans parties, and we condemn this senseless gun violence,” the company said in its statement. “We have reached out to the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office and stand ready to support their investigation. We take party house issues seriously and support fair regulations that balance anti-party measures while empowering our local Host community to continue earning meaningful additional income.”
The Texas shooting happened on the same day as another shooting at an Airbnb rental house in the Sacramento, Calif., suburb of Elk Grove left an 18-year-old man dead, according to the Elk Grove Police Department. No arrests have been made.
A preliminary investigation found that the Airbnb rental was being used for a party at the time of the fatal shooting in Elk Grove, police said in a statement. Detectives suspect there were 10 to 15 people at the house party but most were gone when officers arrived and found the victim inside the house, according to the statement.
(NEW YORK) — A gunman donned a gas mask, detonated a smoke canister and opened fire on a New York City subway train Tuesday morning, shooting 10 people and sparking panic during the rush-hour commute.
Twenty-nine victims went to Brooklyn hospitals with various injuries. Five people were critically injured and have since stabilized, according to a fire department official.
Police described the gunman, who is still on the run, as an “active shooter.” The bloodshed comes amid a surge in crime on New York City’s transit system.
The shooting, reported just before 8:30 a.m. local time, erupted on a Manhattan-bound N subway car as it approached the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a news conference.
According to a police official, the suspect was seen mumbling to himself before he put on the gas mask, released a smoke canister commonly bought online and opened fire with a .380 caliber handgun.
A credit card was also recovered from the scene and investigators said the card was used to rent a U-Haul, according to a police source. Police located the vehicle in Gravesend, Brooklyn, on Tuesday afternoon, roughly five miles southeast of the subway station and were investigating to determine if it has any connection to the suspect, the source said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams told New York station WABC that police are working to get as much evidence and clues from the vehicle as they can.
“We want to make sure that all of the evidence that is gathered is going to assist us in apprehending this person. We must make sure that we have it protected correctly so that we can convict this person for,” he said.
There were no working cameras in the 36th Street station, according to a police official. The cameras, which are aimed at the turnstiles, didn’t transmit in real-time due to a glitch computer malfunction, a source said. The same glitch impacted cameras at the stops before and after 36th Street.
But police were able to get an image of the suspect from a bystander’s cellphone video, a law enforcement official told ABC News.
In the subway station, police found a handgun with three extended round magazines: one on the shooter’s backpack, one empty on the floor and one in the gun jammed, the law enforcement official said. The gun jamming is believed to have saved lives, the official said.
Yav Montano, 24, was on the train when he said the whole car filled with smoke.
“It was hard to breathe, it was hard to see. It was hard to hear or pay attention to what was going on with the chaos that was happening,” he said.
“I didn’t see anything because the smoke in the train was so thick. I couldn’t even see halfway down the length of the train car,” he added.
“After the smoke went on there was a bunch of popping, which I thought at first was firecrackers,” he went on. “I ducked behind a chair to protect myself.”
From a crouching position on the floor, Montano said, “I saw a lot of blood on the floor. Too much blood.”
Montano said the doors opened at 36th Street about three to four minutes later. “As soon as the doors opened, everyone started to pour out and run,” he recalled.
Multiple smoke devices and a bag of commercial-grade fireworks have been recovered, according to a law enforcement official.
Sewell said there are no known explosives on subways and a motive is still unknown.
After initially saying the shooting was not being investigated as an act of terrorism, Sewell later said police are “not ruling anything out.”
Sewell described the suspect as a man wearing a green construction-type vest and a gray-hooded sweatshirt. The suspect has a “heavy build” and is believed to be about 5 feet 5 inches tall, Sewell said.
A man who works in a bodega outside the subway told ABC New York station WABC about 10 to 15 people ran to his store for safety.
“It was horrifying,” he said.
“I saw three or four people with gunshot wounds to their legs. They just fell to floor before the cops came…They just stayed here for a couple of minutes before the coast was clear,” he said. “Everyone was terrified, I was terrified.”
Victims range in age from 17 to 50, according to a police official.
A senior federal law enforcement source told ABC News authorities are concerned this shooting showed a level of planning and commitment to kill scores of commuters during rush hour. The source said it is too early to know if the suspect acted alone.
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have been briefed on the situation, the White House said.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday afternoon that he’s “praying for those that are injured and all those touched by that trauma.”
“And we’re grateful for all the first responders … including civilians, who didn’t hesitate to help their fellow passengers,” Biden said.
“We’re gonna continue to stay in close contact with New York authorities as we learn more about the situation,” he said.
The FBI is assisting and officials from the ATF are at the scene. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was also at the scene for an afternoon news conference.
Anyone with information, video or photos is urged to call 800-577-TIPS.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Mark Crudele, Miles Cohen and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
