(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) — New Haven Chief of Police Karl Jacobson on Tuesday recommended the termination of four officers involved in an incident that left Richard “Randy” Cox paralyzed last June.
Officers Luis Rivera, Jocelyn Lavandier, Oscar Diaz and Ronald Pressley as well as Sgt. Betsy Segui were placed on paid administrative leave in June of 2022. In November, they were charged with reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons; they pleaded not guilty to those charges. Pressley retired from the New Haven Police Department in January and received a pension, despite the charges.
Jacobson recommended the terminations following the conclusion of an internal investigation and hearings for the officers.
Jacobson noted that two other officers involved in the incident – a supervisor and an officer involved in detention – would also be disciplined. Jacobson said the penalty for those officers would be less than 15 days suspension.
“This department has gone through a lot since that incident, this community has gone through a lot,” Jacobson said at a press conference. “And the message to the community is that we … will be transparent and we will be accountable.”
According to Jacobson, New Haven’s Board of Police Commissioners will make the final decision about whether the officers are fired by early May.
Jacobson said that the internal investigation yielded enough information to pursue termination, despite the criminal case being ongoing.
“I think the days of waiting for criminal cases to conclude needs to stop; that’s one of the things the community has asked us to do,” he said.
He added that Segui and Diaz would still be eligible to receive a pension despite the charges and potential termination since their conduct did not violate the “bad boy” clause of their contracts.
In June of 2022, the officers placed Cox in a police van for criminal possession of a firearm and breach of the peace. Cox was seriously injured when the van’s driver stopped abruptly at an intersection to avoid a collision, causing Cox to hit his head on a metal partition. Despite asking for repeated help, the officers did not immediately render aid to Cox. Video footage later showed the officers dragging Cox by his feet to a wheelchair.
Jacobson said his department has implemented training and policy changes since the incident, including adding seat belts to all prisoner vans, training officers on de-escalation and revising department policy on transporting suspects in police vehicles.
“I asked my officers to continue to take each situation under those guidelines and to treat members of this community with respect and dignity, whether they’re an arrestee or complaintant, or whatever the case may be,” Jacobson said.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Cox and his family were “encouraged” by the discipline for the four officers. Crump added that Cox is still paralyzed from the chest down because of injuries sustained in the back of the police van.
“These officers were sworn to protect their community, but they inflicted unnecessary and traumatizing harm to Randy, who will pay the price for the rest of his life,” Crump wrote in a statement.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker Randy applauded the actions by the police department at a separate press conference on Wednesday.
“When Randy Cox was arrested, he entered a police van able to walk and now he is not able to walk. We need to ensure that this never, ever happens again,” he said.
(ATLANTA) — A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed the fungus Candida auris is spreading rapidly through U.S. health care facilities.
Also known as C. auris, reports of cases linked to the drug-resistant fungus have doubled in 2021.
In addition, the fungus is behind an outbreak in Mississippi that began in November, infecting at least 12 people and potentially responsible for about four deaths, according to figures provided by the state Department of Health to ABC News.
Although C. auris does not present a threat to most healthy people, and infections are rare, it can affect vulnerable groups of people and can be resistant to several classes of drugs.
Here’s what to know about the fungus, why these rare cases occur and how Americans can help prevent the spread:
What is Candida auris?
“C. auris is a species of Candida and Candida is the most common yeast that causes human infections,” Dr. Shira Doron, chief infection control officer for Tuft Medicine, told ABC News. “People are quite familiar with the term ‘yeast infections’ or ‘thursh’; those are caused by other species of Candida.”
According to the CDC, it’s a relatively new type of fungus, being first identified in Japan in 2009.
However, studies conducted since then have found samples of C. auris can be dated back to South Korea in 1996.
Public health experts refer to C. auris as an emerging pathogen, which means an organism that has newly appeared or been discovered but has since rapidly spread — either in terms of cases or countries where it is now reported.
Why is C. auris potentially dangerous?
Dr. Scott Roberts, associate medical director of infection prevention at Yale School of Medicine, told ABC News that C. auris can spread either from person-to-person transmission or by people coming into contact with contaminated surfaces.
“This spreads person to person and we do not think of really any other fungus as spreading person to person in a meaningful way,” he said. “And it’s really hard to kill. Standard Lysol wipes, disinfectant wipes don’t kill it. We need dedicated bleach wipes or additional products geared for Candida auris.”
The other issue is there are strains of C. auris that are drug-resistant, meaning infections caused by the yeast will not respond to multiple antifungal drugs commonly used to treat Candida infections.
How is it diagnosed?
Patients with C. auris infections are typically diagnosed after cultures of blood or other bodily fluids are analyzed.
However, experts said this can be difficult because analyzing these cultures requires updated machines or updated libraries, not all labs of which have the capability.
Additionally, it can be hard to identify C. auris on the culture results and it can be confused with other species of Candida.
“The way cultural results come back, first it’s like, ‘Okay, it looks like yeast,'” said Doron. “Then it’s like, ‘Okay, it looks like Candida’ only it could take days before it’s Candida auris and you may be using the wrong drugs.”
Who is at risk?
Most healthy people do not need to worry about C. auris infections, experts said.
However, those with weakened immune systems or who are immunocompromised are at risk of hard-to-treat infections.
Additionally, nursing home patients or hospital patients who have or have had lines and tubes in their body — such as a catheter or a breathing tube — are also at high risk.
How are C. auris infections treated?
Despite several strains C. auris infections being multi-drug resistant, there is a class of antifungal drugs called echinocandins that can be used and are given intravenously.
According to the National Institutes of Health, echinocandins prevent a key enzyme needed to maintain the cell wall of the fungus.
In some cases, when the infection is resistant to all three main classes of drugs, multiple high doses may be required, the CDC said.
Are C. auris infections fatal?
According to the CDC, studies are limited but anywhere between 30% and 60% of people with C. auris infections have died.
However, many of these patients also had other serious illnesses that also increased their risk of death.
“Unless there’s a break in the skin or some sort of deeper systemic infection, the risk of mortality, or some deeper complication, is relatively low unless that fungus gets in a place that it should not be,” Robert said. “For example, there’s a break in the skin, it gets in the bloodstream and there’s a Candida auris blood stream infection, and that can be quite fatal.”
He continued. “Candida auris, it sticks to everything. It can stick to heart valves and stick to catheters. I do want to emphasize that’s a rare occurrence, though.”
What can we do to prevent the spread?
There’s not much that can be done on an individual level to prevent the spread of the fungus, but the experts recommend avoiding patients with C. auris infections and that people practice proper hand hygiene when visiting at-risk populations such as hospital patients or nursing home residents.
Doron said people also need to be careful about the overuse of antibiotics. While they can be helpful in treating some infections, these medications can kill off bacteria in the gut and give more room for yeasts like C. auris to grow.
Roberts said there needs to be continued focus on equipping more labs to easily identify C. auris and focus on public health infrastructure that can identify, isolate and group patients who are infected.
“There’s many examples of this but, you know, a nursing home, a patient has Candida auris,” he said. “They spread it to their roommate, for instance. It’s really critical in that standpoint to have a mechanism to test everyone else in the nursing home to see who’s infected, put them in an isolated area, like one hallway, and put those who aren’t colonized in the other hallway.”
Roberts continued, “And if that patient needs to get admitted to the hospital, we let the hospital know this patient should be in Candida auris isolation. Don’t reuse blood pressure cuffs on that patient and go to the next patient, for instance.”
ABC News’ Aerial Petty contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning that a powerful veterinary sedative is being combined illicitly with fentanyl, making it even more dangerous.
DEA issued a public safety alert about the widespread threat posed by a mixture of a non-opioid animal sedative called xylazine, also known as “Tranq,” and fentanyl. There has been a sharp increase in the trafficking of the drug combination, according to DEA.
The fentanyl-xylazine mix has been found in 48 states, according to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” Milgram said. “DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 States. The DEA Laboratory System is reporting that in 2022 approximately 23% of fentanyl powder and 7% of fentanyl pills seized by the DEA contained xylazine.”
Xylazine is a powerful sedative approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1972 for veterinary use, but it is not approved for use in humans.
Users of the mixture can be at higher risk for deadly overdose because unlike fentanyl, xylazine is not an opioid, and so the common opioid overdose treatment naloxone (Narcan) is not known to be effective in reversing its effects, according to the federal government.
In addition to the risk of increased risk of death posed by xylazine, “people who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis — the rotting of human tissue — that may lead to amputation,” the DEA said in a statement.
Xylazine is not readily detected by routine toxicology screening, making exposure to the drug difficult to diagnose, according to an FDA warning to stakeholders in the health care community last November.
Since 2020, drug overdoses have been linked to more than 100,000 deaths annually in the U.S., about two-thirds of which are fentanyl-related.
(NEW YORK) — A judge declined Tuesday to move the trial date for a civil lawsuit filed against former President Donald Trump, his eldest children and his company by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging they duped banks and insurers by inflating the value of Trump’s real estate portfolio.
Trump’s legal team sought the delay but Judge Arthur Engoron said there was no need to postpone what he called a “seemingly simple case” of whether Trump’s disclosures to his lenders and insurers, known as statements of financial condition, were accurate or not.
“The issue is whether the statements were false,” Engoron said. “This case is complex, but it is not complicated.”
Trump has denied wrongdoing and cast the lawsuit as politically motivated by the New York attorney general.
The trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 2
Trump’s attorneys also sought the court’s permission to take depositions from more than 30 witnesses, which the attorney general’s office called an excessive “fishing expedition.”
“We’re asking for a fair opportunity,” defense attorney Christopher Kise said. “They’ve had three years to talk to 80 people plus.”
The attorney general’s office filed a $250 million civil lawsuit in September alleging the Trumps altered the values of their holdings to suit different business purposes like arranging loans or applying for tax breaks.
The lawsuit accused them of engaging in “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation in the preparation of Mr. Trump’s annual statements of financial condition” that overstated the values of nearly every major property in the Trump portfolio over at least a 10-year period.
“These acts of fraud and misrepresentation grossly inflated Mr. Trump’s personal net worth as reported in the Statements by billions of dollars and conveyed false and misleading impressions to financial counterparties about how the Statements were prepared,” the lawsuit said.
The judge has already rejected several defenses, including what Engoron called the “everyone was doing it” defense.
“You don’t have to have an accounting degree,” Engoron said. “A triplex apartment is worth less money if it’s 11,000, not 30,000 square feet,” referring to an allegation in the state’s 214-page complaint that Trump overvalued his apartment in Trump Tower. Until he moved to Florida, Trump lived in an 11,000-square-foot triplex. From 2012 to 2016, Trump represented the size of the apartment to be 30,000 square feet and valued it as high as $327 million, according to the lawsuit.
Trump is defending himself in the civil suit as he awaits a possible criminal indictment.
(NEW YORK) — More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops have liberated nearly 30,000 square miles of their territory from Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, but Putin appeared to be preparing for a long and bloody war.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 21, 12:48 PM EDT
US to speed up delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine
The United States is going to speed up the manufacture and delivery of the 31 Abrams tanks President Joe Biden approved sending to Ukraine, a U.S. official confirmed Tuesday.
Instead of making new tanks from scratch, the Department of Defense will now refurbish the hulls of several older models that will be equipped with more modern equipment, according to the official.
The new delivery target date is fall 2023, the official said; previously the anticipated delivery time was believed to be mid-2024.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby hinted at the accelerated timeline on Tuesday.
“We’re working on that,” Kirby said on MSNBC. “There’s some changes that you can make to the process to sort of speed that up.”
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Teresa Mettela
Mar 21, 11:49 AM EDT
Japanese PM visits Ukraine for 1st time during war
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Ukraine on Tuesday for the first time since the start of Russia’s invasion.
In Kyiv, Kishida laid a wreath at the memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers. In Bucha, where Ukrainian officials said more than 400 civilians were killed last year by Russian forces, he laid a wreath outside a church before observing a moment of silence and bowing.
“The world was astonished to see innocent civilians in Bucha killed one year ago,” Kishida said. “I really feel great anger for all the atrocious acts.”
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Mar 20, 6:33 PM EDT
Ukraine claims it destroyed Russian cruise missiles in Crimea drone attack
Ukrainian forces destroyed Russian Kalibr-NK cruise missiles in a drone strike in Crimea as the weapons were being transported by rail, the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate said on their official Telegram channel Monday.
Sergey Aksyonov, an adviser to the head of the Republic of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, confirmed a drone attack on his official Telegram channel.
Debris from the aerial object damaged a household and a shop and one person was injured from the explosions, Aksyonov said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Mar 19, 6:44 PM EDT
Indications China could be supplying electrical components to Russia military use, senior Ukrainian official says
Ukraine has been monitoring multiple flights between Russian and Chinese cities during which the aircrafts’ transponders are temporarily switched off, according to a senior Ukrainian official, who called it a cause for concern.
The official said the belief is that China could be supplying Russia with electrical components that Moscow needs for military equipment, thus diminishing the impact of Western sanctions.
The senior official, who spoke exclusively to ABC News on the condition of anonymity, added that Ukraine currently has “no proof” that China is supplying weaponry or ammunition to Ukraine.
The official also dismissed the notion of a Chinese-brokered peace plan in the near future and said Ukraine is focused on retaking more land from Russia and is preparing for a fresh offensive “in the spring or early summer.”
-ABC News’ Tom Burridge
Mar 19, 1:13 AM EDT
Putin arrives in Mariupol, marking first visit to newly annexed territories
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Mariupol to inspect a number of locations in the city and talk to local residents, the Kremlin press service said on Sunday.
Putin travelled by helicopter to the Ukrainian city, which has been occupied since last year by Russians. He drove a vehicle along the city’s streets, making stops at several locations.
The visit was Putin’s first to newly annexed territories.
Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin reported to Putin about construction and restoration work. In the Nevsky area, a newly built residential area, Putin talked with residents. He went inside a home at the invitation of one of the families.
Putin also inspected the coastline of the city in the area of a yacht club, a theater building that was heavily bombed with civilians sheltering inside and other memorable places of the city.
-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova
Mar 18, 11:04 AM EDT
Putin visits Crimea on anniversary of annexation
Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine on Saturday, one day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes.
Putin visited an art school and a children’s center.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world denounced as illegal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded that Russia withdraw from the peninsula as well as the areas it has occupied since last year.
Putin has shown no intention of relinquishing the Kremlin’s gains. Instead, he stressed Friday the importance of holding Crimea. “Obviously, security issues take top priority for Crimea and Sevastopol now,” he said, referring to Crimea’s largest city. “We will do everything needed to fend off any threats.”
President Joe Biden called the arrest warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday by the International Criminal Court “justified,” though acknowledged it might not have strong teeth.
“Well, I think it’s justified,” Biden told reporters Friday evening. “But the question — it’s not recognized internationally, by us either. But I think it makes a very strong point.”
In a earlier statement on the warrant, the White House said it supports “accountability for perpetrators of war crimes.”
“There is no doubt that Russia is committing war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, and we have been clear that those responsible must be held accountable,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in the statement.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Davone Morales
Mar 17, 2:35 PM EDT
Turkey agrees to start ratifying Finland’s NATO bid
Turkey is beginning the process of ratifying Finland’s application to join NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday, 10 months after both Finland and Sweden applied to become NATO members in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“At a critical time for our security, this will make our alliance stronger and safer,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.
The breakthrough came as Finnish President Sauli Niinisto was in Ankara, Turkey, to meet with Erdogan.
Erdogan said Finland fulfilled its part of the agreements and therefore he saw no reason to further delay the ratification process. Erdogan did not provide an update on Sweden’s bid.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement, “We encourage Türkiye to quickly ratify Sweden’s accession protocols as well. In addition, we urge Hungary to conclude its ratification process for both Finland and Sweden without delay. … The United States believes that both countries should become members of NATO as soon as possible.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Mar 17, 11:54 AM EDT
ICC issues arrest warrant for Putin
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying in a statement Friday that Putin is “allegedly responsible for the war crime of” unlawfully deporting children from occupied areas of Ukraine and bringing them to Russia.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, alleging she carried out the same war crime.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement that the arrest warrants “have no meaning for the Russian Federation” and “are legally null and void.”
Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, tweeted that the arrest warrants are “just the beginning.”
Mar 16, 12:15 PM EDT
Russia has committed ‘wide range of war crimes’ in Ukraine: UN-backed report
Russia has committed a “wide range of war crimes” and possible crimes against humanity in Ukraine, according to a new United Nations-backed investigation.
“The body of evidence collected shows that Russian authorities have committed a wide range of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in many regions of Ukraine and in the Russian Federation,” the human rights report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine stated. “Many of these amount to war crimes and include willful killings, attacks on civilians, unlawful confinement, torture, rape, and forced transfers and deportations of children.”
Additionally, Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy-related infrastructure and use of torture “may amount to crimes against humanity,” the report concluded.
The commission said it conducted interviews with nearly 600 people, inspected graves, destruction and detention sites and consulted satellite imagery and photographs as part of its investigation.
Mar 16, 11:51 AM EDT
Poland to deliver MiG-29 jets to Ukraine ‘in the coming days’
Poland plans to deliver four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine “in the coming days,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said at a press conference on Thursday.
The latest news shortens the timeline announced earlier this week by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who had said they might send the Soviet-designed fighter jets to Ukraine in the next four to six weeks.
Mar 16, 11:08 AM EDT
225 Russians killed in last 24 hours in Bakhmut
Ukrainian forces have killed 225 Russian fighters and injured another 306 in the past 24 hours in the Bakhmut area, according to Serhiy Cherevaty, the spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Ukraine army.
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a brutal battle for the city in eastern Ukraine for months, with both sides seeing high rates of casualties.
Cherevaty said that in the last day, the occupiers in the area of Bakhmut and nearby villages — including Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bohdanivka and Ivanivskoho — tried to attack Ukrainian positions 42 times. There were 24 combat clashes in the Bakhmut area alone.
In total, in the Bakhmut direction, the occupiers shelled Ukrainian positions 256 times with various types of artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, Cherevaty said. Of them, 53 shellings were in the area of Bakhmut itself.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Mar 15, 12:08 PM EDT
Putin says effort underway to increase weapons production
Russia is working to increase its weapons production amid an “urgent” need, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
“Prosecutors should supervise the modernization of defense industry enterprises, including building up capacities for the production of an additional volume of weapons. A lot of effort is underway here,” Putin said at a meeting of the Collegium of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation.
Putin added that the weapons, equipment and ammunition are “urgently” needed.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Mar 13, 4:04 PM EDT
White House welcomes Xi Jinping speaking to President Zelenskyy
The White House is welcoming reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to soon speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since Russia’s invasion began, while cautioning that after speaking with Ukrainian counterparts, “they have not yet actually gotten any confirmation that there will be a telephone call or a video conference.”
“We hope there will be,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during a briefing on Air Force One. “That would be a good thing because it would potentially bring more balance and perspective to the way that the new PRC is approaching this, and we hope it will continue to dissuade them from choosing to provide lethal assistance to Russia.”
“We have been encouraging President Xi to reach out to President Zelenskyy because we believe that PRC and President Xi himself should hear directly the Ukrainian perspective and not just the Russian perspective on this,” Sullivan continued. “So, we have in fact, advocated to Beijing that that connection take place. We’ve done so publicly and we’ve done so privately to the PRC.”
Sullivan said the U.S. has “not yet seen the transfer of lethal assistance of weapons from China to Russia,” after previously warning it was being considered.
“It’s something that we’re vigilant about and continuing to watch carefully,” he added.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Mar 13, 12:27 PM EDT
Russia agrees to 60-day extension of Black Sea Grain Initiative
Russia said Monday it will extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative after it expires on March 18, but only for 60 days. The announcement came after consultations between U.N. representatives in Geneva and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin.
“The Russian side, noting the package nature of the Istanbul agreements proposed by UN Secretary General António Guterres, does not object to another extension of the Black Sea initiative after the expiration of the second term on March 18, but only for 60 days,” Vershinin said, according to Russian media reports.
Russia’s consultations in Geneva on the grain deal were not easy, Vershinin said. Russia will rely on the effectiveness of the implementation of the agreement on the export of its agricultural products when deciding on a new extension of the grain deal, according to reports.
Ukraine, which is a key world exporter of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and fertilizer, had its shipments blocked in the months following the invasion by Russia, causing a worldwide spike in food prices. The first deal was brokered last July.
Mar 12, 4:13 PM EDT
More than 1,100 Russians dead in less than a week, Zelenskyy says
Russian forces suffered more than 1,100 dead in less than a week during battles near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the focal point of fighting in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
During his nightly address, Zelenskyy described the battles as “Russia’s irreversible loss.”
Russian forces also sustained about 1,500 “sanitary losses,” meaning soldiers were wounded badly enough to keep them out of further action, Zelenskyy said.
Dozens of pieces of enemy equipment were destroyed, as were more than 10 Russian ammunition depots, Zelenskyy said.
-ABC News’ Edward Seekers
Mar 10, 3:17 PM EST
Russia says Nord Stream explosion investigation should be impartial
The investigation into who was behind the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline explosion should be “objective, impartial and transparent,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agency Interfax.
“I do not want to threaten anyone. I do not want to hint at anything either. I just know that this flagrant terror attack will not go uninvestigated,” Lavrov added.
Russia also said it will distribute its correspondence with Germany, Denmark and Sweden on the investigation of the Nord Stream explosion among the members of the United Nations Security Council soon.
Russia claimed the three countries are denying Russia access to information and participation in the investigation, first deputy permanent representative to the U.N. Dmitry Polyansky said in an interview, according to Russian news agency TASS.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva and Tanya Stukalova
Mar 10, 3:03 PM EST
Russia says Nord Stream explosion investigation should be impartial
The investigation into who was behind the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline explosion should be “objective, impartial and transparent,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agency Interfax.
“I do not want to threaten anyone. I do not want to hint at anything either. I just know that this flagrant terror attack will not go uninvestigated,” Lavrov added.
Russia also said it will distribute its correspondence with Germany, Denmark and Sweden on the investigation of Nord Stream explosion among the members of the United Nations Security Council soon.
Russia claimed the three countries are denying Russia access to information and participation in the investigation, first deputy permanent representative to the U.N. Dmitry Polyansky said in an interview, according to Russian news agency TASS.
Mar 10, 9:46 AM EST
Zelenskyy says Ukraine had nothing to do with Nord Stream explosions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied that Ukraine had anything to do with the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions last year.
“As for the Nord Stream, we have nothing to do with it,” Zelenskyy said Friday.
The New York Times published a report that U.S. intelligence suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the pipeline.
Zelenskyy also suggested that the information being spread about the involvement of pro-Ukrainian groups in the attack could be done to slow down aid to his country.
-ABC News’ Natalia Shumskaia
Mar 09, 2:45 PM EST
Power returns to Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after attacks
Electricity supply has been fully restored in Kyiv after Russia’s overnight barrage of missile attacks on Ukraine, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said in a Telegram post Thursday.
Also, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is now “receiving electricity for its own needs from the Ukrainian grid after power supply was cut,” Russian news agency Interfax reported.
-ABC News’ Tatiana Rymarenko and Natalia Shumskaia
Mar 09, 7:25 AM EST
Russia ‘brutalizing’ Ukrainian people, White House says
Russia’s overnight barrage of missiles aimed at civilian infrastructure may have knocked heat out to as much as 40% of Ukrainians, the White House said on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to “brutalize” the people of Ukraine, John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America on Thursday.
“It also appears, George, that they were definitely targeting civilian infrastructure,” Kirby said. “I would agree with the Ukrainians. He’s just trying to brutalize the Ukrainian people”
Russian forces early on Thursday launched 81 missiles from land and sea, Ukrainian officials said. Eight uncrewed drones were also launched in what officials described as a “massive” attack.
Eleven regions and cities were targeted in an attack that lasted at least seven hours, officials said.
Kirby said on Thursday that the White House expects to see more fighting on the ground in Ukraine for at least the “next four to six months.”
“We know that the Russians are attempting to conduct more offensive operations here when the weather gets better,” he said.
Mar 09, 3:59 AM EST
Zelenskyy decries Russia’s ‘miserable tactics’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said Russian officials had returned “to their miserable tactics” as they launched at least 81 missiles at Ukrainian sites overnight.
“The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That’s all they can do. But it won’t help them,” he said on Telegram. “They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done.”
He added, “We thank the guardians of our skies and everyone who helps to overcome the consequences of the occupiers’ sneaking attacks!”
Mar 09, 3:34 AM EST
81 missiles launched in ‘massive’ Russian attack, Ukraine says
Waves of missiles and a handful of drones were launched overnight by Russia, targeting energy infrastructure and cities across Ukraine, officials said.
The attack on “critical infrastructure” and civilian targets lasted throughout the night, Verkovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, said on Twitter. Energy was being gradually restored on Thursday morning, the body said.
Ukraine’s parliament and military said at least 81 missiles were fired from several bases. Eight Iranian-made drones were also launched, the military said.
Ukraine destroyed 34 cruise missiles and four drones, military officials said on Facebook.
“Russia’s threats only encourage partners to provide long-term assistance to Ukraine,” said Yehor Chernev, deputy chairman of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.
Russia “will be sentenced as a terrorist state” for its attacks, Ruslan Stefanchuk, Rada’s chairperson, said on Twitter.
Mar 09, 12:35 AM EST
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant now running on diesel generators, energy minister says
The last line that fed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been damaged following missile strikes, and the plant is now working on diesel generators, according to the Ukrainian energy minister, Herman Galushchenko.
Mar 09, 12:16 AM EST
Emergency power outages nationwide due to missile attacks, provider says
DTEK, the largest private grid operator in Ukraine, said emergency power outages are in effect due to the missile attacks in the Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Dnipro regions.
Mar 09, 12:27 AM EST
Multiple missile strikes reported across Ukraine
Multiple explosions have been reported in city centers all over the country, including Dnipro, Odesa, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi and Kharkiv.
Residents in multiple areas are being asked to shelter in place, and communication and electricity has been impacted.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said multiple explosions were reported in the Holosiiv district.
The governor of Kharkiv, Oleh Syniehubov, said Russia struck the city at least 15 times overnight.
The head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration said there had been no casualties and that the power supply is being restricted.
Mar 08, 2:05 PM EST
Ukraine says it was not involved in Nord Stream Pipeline bombings
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov denied Ukraine was involved in the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline, which carries natural gas from Russia to Germany. While the pipeline was not active at the time of the bombing last September, it was filled with fuel.
The denial comes after The New York Times reported that intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the Nord Stream bombings last year.
After the story broke, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned against “jumping to conclusions” about who carried out the explosion, suggesting it could have been a “false flag” operation to blame Ukraine.
German authorities were reportedly able to identify the boat used for the sabotage operation, saying a group of five men and one woman using forged passports rented a yacht from a Poland-based company owned by Ukrainian citizens. The nationalities of the perpetrators are unclear, according to a separate report by Germany’s ARD broadcaster and Zeit newspaper.
“We have to make a clear distinction whether it was a Ukrainian group, whether it may have happened at Ukrainian orders, or a pro-Ukrainian group [acting] without knowledge of the government. But I am warning against jumping to conclusions,” Pistorius said on the sidelines of a summit in Stockholm.
A Russian diplomat said Russia has no faith in the U.S.‘s “impartiality” in the conclusions made from intelligence.
(NEW YORK) — Flight attendants are renewing calls to ban children 2 years and younger from sitting in the laps of their adult caregivers and parents while flying, citing safety concerns that have come under the spotlight again following recent incidents of mid-air and extreme turbulence.
Many domestic airlines including American Airlines allow infants under 2 to travel for free while seated “in the lap of their parent (any age), or any accompanying adult 16 years or older traveling in the same cabin.”
Sara Nelson is the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the largest union of flight attendants in the U.S., which represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants across 19 airlines. Nelson told the Washington Post the union has been advocating for a change in lap baby rules for the last three decades.
“The G-forces are not something even the most loving mother or father can guard against and hold their child. It’s just physically impossible,” Nelson told the Post.
The union has in the past called for every passenger on an airplane to be seated in their own seat and with a restraint, like a seat belt, and continues to do so.
“The current practice of merely recommending that infants and small children under the age of 2 be in child restraint seats during critical phases of flight is inadequate to protect our most vulnerable passengers,” Nelson said previously in 2019.
At a safety summit held last Wednesday, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, noted that turbulence is “especially dangerous for flight attendants” and accounted for “3 out of every 4 flight attendant injuries.”
“We issued a report in 2021 to prevent turbulence-related injuries. It had 21 new recommendations and four that we re-iterated on weather reports, increased sharing of turbulence events, the need for flight attendants to be seated with their seatbelt buckled during certain phases of flight, and the need for parents to secure children under 2 in their own seat with an [Federal Aviation Administration]-approved child restraint system,” Homendy said. “All 25 turbulence recommendations remain open.”
The FAA agrees that children ages 2 and under sitting in another passenger’s lap while flying is not a safe practice.
“Although children who have not reached their second birthday are permitted to travel as lap children, the FAA strongly discourages this practice and recommends that you secure your child in an approved [child restraint system] in their own seat for the entire flight,” the agency advises. “While there is no regulatory prohibition from using a booster seat or harness vest (or other non-approved devices) for a lap child during the cruise portion of the flight only, airlines have policies which may or may not allow the use of those devices. Check with your airline.”
Congressional lawmakers are currently reviewing federal aviation rules and legislation in order to reauthorize the FAA by the end of September, which is currently funded until the end of fiscal year 2023.
(NEW YORK) — A gun used earlier this month by cartel members to kidnap a group of Americans and kill two of them was illegally trafficked from the U.S., according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
It’s a stark reminder of how the violence that often makes the news in Mexico is in large part fueled by the U.S.—by the steady flow of guns and the strong demand for illicit drugs.
Roberto Lugardo Moreno appeared in court Monday to face charges for conspiring to illegally export a firearm—days after admitting to federal agents that he purchased guns in the U.S. and knowingly provided them to members of the Gulf Cartel in Mexico.
In particular, one AR-style pistol that was bought in October 2019 and allegedly provided to a Gulf Cartel member was “recovered by Mexican authorities and linked to an incident involving the murders and kidnappings of U.S. citizens which occurred on March 3, 2023 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico,” according to the complaint.
Moreno told federal agents he got paid just $100 “during the period that he purchased firearms for individuals that he knew were going to provide them to a Gulf Cartel figure in Mexico,” per the complaint.
His case is just a drop in the bucket. The Mexican government estimated that every year, between 500,000 and 873,000 guns are trafficked from the U.S. across the southern border into Mexico, it said in a $10 billion lawsuit against top U.S. gun manufacturers first filed in August 2021.
That may seem like an astronomical figure, but the U.S. government has shockingly high figures, too. A February 2021 federal watchdog report said approximately 200,000 guns are trafficked from the U.S. each year, calling it the government’s “best estimate available.”
In that lawsuit, the Mexican government argued that gun companies’ “carelessness and negligence” and their marketing and distribution practices “actively” facilitate gun trafficking into Mexico, but they ultimately lost the case last October.
“NSSF is pleased the court dismissed Mexico’s misguided and baseless lawsuit against members of the firearm industry that sought to blame them for Mexico’s unwillingness and inability to bring Mexican drug cartels to justice in Mexican courtrooms,” NSSF, the firearms industry trade association, said in a statement after the court dismissed the lawsuit. “Like the court, we sympathize with the plight of the Mexican people and the criminal violence involving illegal firearms they have endured. However, the crime that is devastating the people of Mexico is not the fault of members of the firearm industry.”
But last week, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry announced it would appeal that decision—arguing that immunity law “has no effect on damages caused in Mexican territory.”
“With all these actions the Mexican Government is seeking to involve the actors that until now have not been involved in the fight against arms trafficking: The gun companies,” the Foreign Ministry added—accusing them of “negligent practices” that help fuel “violence in Mexico, as well as other crimes such as human trafficking and drug trafficking, particularly of fentanyl.”
A second lawsuit filed in October against five Arizona gun stores argues that they “routinely and systematically engage in the illicit trafficking of weapons, including of military-style weapons, for criminal organizations in Mexico through sales to straw purchasers and sales meant for arms smugglers,” the Mexican government alleged. That case is still working its way through the judicial system.
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday again ripped into the Manhattan district attorney when asked about the potential charges against Donald Trump at a news conference at the House GOP retreat in Orlando while seemingly growing frustrated with reporters after multiple questions about the former president who has continued to dominate the news cycle.
McCarthy was asked directly if had concerns specifically about Trump’s alleged conduct regarding a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels and quickly pivoted to talking about Hillary Clinton and did not answer the question — before instead targeting the Manhattan DA.
“What we see before us is a political game being played by a local … Look this isn’t New York City, this is just a Manhattan, this is just a borough DA. Okay,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy told ABC News when asked that he hasn’t spoken to Trump in three weeks and that he has not talked to him about his calls for House committees to investigate the Manhattan DA.
“I have not talked to the president, maybe three weeks? No, I have not talked to him about the investigation at all,” McCarthy said.
At times, McCarthy seemed to grow frustrated that, at the House issues retreat, he’s being asked repeatedly about Trump amid potential charges, blaming the press who he claims keeps bringing up the former president.
However, ahead of this weeks retreat McCarthy announced he would direct House committees to investigate the investigation into Trump, which helped fuel the news cycle heading into this week’s retreat.
“We’re not talking about this in our conference; you’re asking about it,” McCarthy said. When asked if Trump is still the leader of the Republican Party, McCarthy again took a jab at the press: “In the press room, for all of you, he is.”
McCarthy’s comments targeting the press come as other GOP members at the retreat have privately complained to ABC News about how the former president has once again dominated the coverage around this week’s retreat, which members had hoped to use to promote their legislative goals.
(DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va.) — Prosecutors released video on Tuesday of the March 6 chain of events that ended with the death of Irvo Otieno at Virginia’s Central State Hospital.
The video shows sheriff’s deputies and medical staff at the hospital carrying a handcuffed Otieno into a room and placing him on the floor. Otieno is forcibly held down for nearly 11 minutes until he stops moving, according to the video. The Washington Post published video of the encounter on Monday.
Cabell Baskervill, Dinwiddie County’s Commonwealth attorney, said the incident began in the Henrico County Jail, where Otieno was allegedly punched by officers in his side and torso. She alleged that Otieno was pepper-sprayed while he sat in his cell alone.
Otieno was later transported to Central State Hospital, a state-run inpatient psychiatric facility.
“State Police investigators were told he had become combative during the admission process” at Central State, Baskervill said.
She has pushed back against officers’ claims that Otieno was combative, saying video footage shows that Otieno “was not agitated and combative” but fidgety, stressed and anxious. Baskervill also alleged that seven Virginia sheriff’s deputies then held 28-year-old Otieno down for 12 minutes and suffocated him.
He died of asphyxiation by smothering, according to Baskervill, who described the incident as “cruel and a demonstration of power that is unlawful … it killed him.”
Baskervill said Otieno’s death was not reported for three-and-a-half hours and 911 was not alerted.
Between Otieno’s death and the call made to state police, Otieno’s body was moved, handcuffs were removed and washed and a funeral home had been called instead of the medical examiner’s office, the commonwealth’s attorney said in court.
At some point, an injection was given to Otieno by hospital staff. Baskervill asserted the injection was likely given after he had died of asphyxia.
Baskervill said none of the seven deputies “made truthful statements to the State Police either that night or yesterday upon arrest.”
Seven Henrico County Sheriff’s deputies and three Central State Hospital employees have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Additional charges and arrests are pending, according to the commonwealth’s attorney.
Footage from Central State and Henrico County Jail captured the incidents. ABC News has not viewed the video.
The Henrico County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an independent review of Otieno’s death alongside an investigation by Virginia State Police.
The FBI is now in touch with state and local investigators.
“FBI Richmond has been in contact with authorities investigating the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Mr. Irvo Otieno. We have no further comments to share at this time,” read a statement shared with ABC News from an FBI spokesperson.
The seven arrested deputies were identified as Randy Joseph Boyer, 57; Dwayne Alan Bramble, 37; Jermaine Lavar Branch, 45; Bradley Thomas Disse, 43; Tabitha Renee Levere, 50; Brandon Edwards Rodgers, 48; and Kaiyell Dajour Sanders, 30.
Lawyers for Disse said that the officer was asked by a supervisor to drive to Central State Hospital because of issues officers were having with the inmate and because they were told he could not be controlled with just three officers.
In court, a lawyer for Branch alleged the officer “did not administer any blows to the deceased, or violence towards him, other than simply trying to restrain him.”
Branch’s lawyer, Cary Bowen, told ABC News by phone that Baskervill was trying to fashion the case as something that is “malicious.”
“There was no weapon used. There was no pummeling or anything like that. I think everybody agrees,” Bowen said. “And the way she was casting it was that they ended up suffocating. He couldn’t breathe. And she’s acting like the guy didn’t resist and he wasn’t manic or bipolar or whatever. Just a nice guy who they’re picking on.”
The seven deputies have been placed on administrative leave.
Henrico County Sheriff Alisa A. Gregory released a statement the week after Otieno’s death, extending her “deepest sympathies and condolences” to Otieno’s family and friends.
“The events of March 6, at their core, represent a tragedy because Mr. Otieno’s life was lost. This loss is felt by not only those close to him, but our entire community,” Gregory said in the statement.
Otieno’s family saw the footage before the video was set to be released to the public.
“My son was treated like a dog, worse than a dog. I saw it with my own eyes on the video,” said Otieno’s mother, Caroline Ouko, last week.
The Sheriff’s Department and local union Henrico Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 4 have yet to return ABC News’ request for comment.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab, Beatrice Peterson, Nakylah Carter and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday that “the situation is stabilizing and the U.S. banking system remains sound,” after regional bank failures have shaken the U.S. banking system.
“The Fed’s facility and discount window lending are working as intended to provide liquidity to the banking system,” she said during a speech at a meeting of the American Bankers Association in Washington. “Aggregate deposit outflows from regional banks have stabilized.”
She said the government’s intervention in the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were “necessary” — and said “similar actions could be warranted” to protect smaller banks.
“The steps we took were not focused on aiding specific banks or classes of banks,” she said. “Our intervention was necessary to protect the broader U.S. banking system, and similar actions could be warranted if smaller institutions suffered deposit runs that pose the risk of contagion.”
She argued that the existence of smaller banks was important.
“Large banks play an important role in our economy, but so do small- and mid-sized banks,” she said. “These banks are heavily engaged in traditional banking services that provide vital credit and financial support to families and small businesses. They also increase competition in the banking sector, and often have specialized knowledge and expertise in the communities they invest in.
“Large banks play an important role in our economy, but so does small and mid-sized banks,” she said. “These banks are heavily engaged in traditional banking services that provide vital credit and financial support to families and small businesses. They also increase competition in the banking sector and often have specialized knowledge and expertise in the communities they invest in. Indeed, many of these banks have played an important role in supporting our economic recovery in the depths of the pandemic.”
“The Treasury is committed to ensuring the ongoing health and competitiveness of our vibrant community and regional banking institution,” she said.
