(BOULDER, Colo.) — Last September, Ryan Christoff found his then 16-year-old daughter barely breathing in their home near Boulder, Colorado.
Little did he know at the time, but his daughter was suffering from an overdose. She had taken a half of a Percocet pill given to her by her then boyfriend not knowing that it was laced with Fentanyl – a synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain and is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin.
“I’m bored in my room,” said Sofia Christoff, who said she had found some “powder” substance. “I crushed it up, took a line. Felt kind of sparkly for two seconds and then I woke up in the hospital.”
Ryan Christoff said he had known that his daughter “smoked a little weed” occasionally, but had no idea that the sophomore had actually been secretly experimenting with a long list of drugs.
“Cocaine, Xanax, Ketamine once. Acid, Shrooms, Adderall,” said Sofia Christoff. “So just pills. Just like everything I could get my hands on.”
During that year, she was suspended from school and her grades fell.
“I felt stupid that I should have known,” said Ryan Christoff. “I just didn’t think she was doing that.”
Sergeant David Cohen of the Lafayette Colorado Police Department was in the vicinity when the frantic 9-1-1 call came in from Sofia Christoff’s father.
Cohen arrived on the scene in minutes as the 9-1-1 dispatcher and started chest compressions. He quickly administered Narcan to an unconscious and barely breating Sofia Christofff. Within seconds, she began gasping for air, according to Cohen. She was taken to the hospital, but was released only hours later.
Cohen said he used his training and experience to recognize the situation.
“I mean, I don’t know if it ever became clear to me until I administered Narcan, and it worked,” said Cohen, who said he also noticed “miscellaneous drug paraphernalia” in the bedroom.
On that day, Sofia Christoff survived. Others who have experienced Fentanyl-linked drug overdoses have not been as lucky.
“I get daily reports of suspected individuals who have passed away as a result of Fentanyl overdoses,” said Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen.
Pazen said bringing awareness to the issue is key.
“Folks think that this might be something else that they’re ingesting. So bringing awareness to this issue that that pill may not be Percocet. That pill may not be Xanax. That that pill may contain Fentanyl and potentially could be deadly is critical.”
Deaths linked to synthetic opioids like Fentanyl have nearly doubled over the past two years, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Additional CDC data revealed that of the more than 100,000 people who died from drug overdoses in a 12 month period ending in October 2021, nearly two-thirds of those deaths are linked to synthetic opioids like Fentanyl.
Fentanyl is cheap to produce and extremely potent, so it is sometimes mixed into other illicit drugs heroin, meth and cocaine and other pain pills like Percocet, Xanax, Vicodin and Oxycontin and can create a lethal combination, according to Pazen.
“It’s so cheap, it’s so easy to move, it’s so addictive for the end user,” Pazen said. “We are going to need everybody coming together as a country, as a state, federal, state, local law enforcement.”
In March, Colorado’s House of Representatives introduced a bill to enact stiffer criminal penalties on those involved with the sale and distribution of Fentanyl.
For Sofia Christoff, she said that buying drugs is as easy as sending the right emoji to a “plug,” a drug dealer who often finds customers on apps like Snapchat.
“I’m looking for a little plug emoji or like a fire emoji or you’re just whatever emoji the normal dealers have,” said Christoff.
“If you know where to go, it’s really easy,” she added.
The use of emojis to connect with drug dealers is not unique to Colorado, but now so common across the country that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency released a cheat sheet for parents and guardians to raise awareness of the emojis commonly used to buy drugs on social media.
“I cannot emphasize enough how deadly this drug is to human life, especially to unsuspecting youth in our community,” said Tatum King, a Homeland Security investigator. “These pills are widely available and often sold for dollars apiece on social media.”
On April 1, Snapchat issued a statement that detailed their efforts to flush out drug-related content and announced steps to curb illegal activity, saying they have “zero tolerance” for the promotion of illegal drugs on its platform.
Sofia Christoff said she carries the weight of her near-death experience everyday.
“’I’m the one that came back like, why me? So I’m just trying to have the mindset that I’m here, and I was a lucky one, and I gotta make it worth it,” said Christoff.
Sofia Christoff is now enjoying her junior year of high school and said she’s looking forward to being back on the field with her softball team next season. Her father is now on a mission to educate other teens and parents on the dangers of drug use and carries Narcan wherever he goes.
“I would want people to see that it can happen to even someone like Sofia, to even their daughter, to even their son,” he said. “Even [to] people you think you know it is the least likely to happen to, it can happen.”
Last month, Ryan Christoff and his now 17-year-old daughter visited the Lafayette Police Department to meet Sergeant David Cohen again, six months after his quick actions saved a life. After both giving him giant hugs of gratitude, Ryan Christoff gave the officer a framed picture of his daughter saying, “that’s her celebrating her birthday which she was only able to experience because of you.”
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Police say at least five men were involved in last weekend’s mass shooting that left six people dead and a dozen injured.
Investigators said Wednesday that number could grow as they piece together clues.
The police said in a statement that it “is increasingly clear that gang violence is at the center of this tragedy.”
“While we cannot at this time elaborate on the precise gang affiliation of individuals involved, gangs and gang violence are inseparable from the events that drove these shootings,” the police said in a statement.
A fight broke out before gunfire went off in downtown Sacramento early Sunday morning, police said.
The victims were identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office on Monday as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; and Devazia Turner, 29.
Two suspects, Smiley Martin, 27, and his brother, Dandrae Martin, 26, have been arrested in connection with the shooting. Smiley Martin was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun. while the younger Martin was charged with assault and possession of an illegal firearm, police said. Smiley Martin has a long criminal history and was just released from prison in January.
A third person, Daviyonne Dawson, 31, was arrested for possession of a firearm following the incident, but he is not believed to be directly related to the shooting.
The Sacramento police said it has received nearly 200 videos, photographs and other pieces of evidence from the public.
“The suffering inflicted by gang violence does not limit itself to gang members. It spills over to claim and shatter innocent lives and harm our entire community,” Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow’s forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 06, 4:37 pm
White House will focus on mitigating cost on Americans: Psaki
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told ABC News Wednesday that the administration is focused on mitigating the war’s cost for the American people, including by releasing restricted petroleum reserves.
She said the administration will “take steps to reduce the impact on the American people over time.”
Psaki was also asked by ABC News if the rate of financial assistance the U.S. has provided to Ukraine is sustainable for a long-term war.
Psaki acknowledged that with Putin consolidating his troops, “We’re entering a new phase of the conflict that could last for some time.”
“It doesn’t mean it will look exactly the same or the needs or the resources will be exactly the same, and that is something we will continue to assess in our conversations with the Ukrainians, as well as with our allies and partners around the world,” she added.
Psaki noted that the administration’s current goal is to continue to amp up military and humanitarian aid.
“There will be different needs that will come about over the course of time,” she said. “And that’s something we are of course committed to continuing to support their recovery from this their continued fight from this, but I can’t make an assessment about sustaining because obviously this war, and the needs, will change over the course of time”
-ABC News’ Armando Tonatiuh Torres-García, Mary Bruce
Apr 06, 4:20 pm
UN special adviser on genocide warns war is worsening tensions elsewhere
Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the United Nations’ special adviser for the prevention of genocide, said the scenes of dead civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha indicate “hundreds of victims [were] deliberately targeted, which point to very serious signs of possible commission of war crimes.”
Wairimu Nderitu in a statement said Russia’s war is exacerbating existing tensions elsewhere, particularly in the western Balkans, where Bosnian Muslims were killed in the Srebrenica genocide less than 30 years ago.
“In the last six weeks, the conflict in Ukraine has deteriorated some of these dynamics,” she said. “Open vindication of violence against members of one national group, appeal to religion as a source of legitimacy for violence, or alignment of national pursuits to the cause of warrying parties in the Ukraine conflict do not only constitutes symptoms of insufficient healing in a region where conflict was present — they are also signs that the risk of recurrence is real and serious.”
Tensions in Bosnia were increasing long before the war, despite efforts from a U.S.-brokered peace deal to patch up the wounds of war and genocide. Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has threatened to tear apart the country’s ethnically-divided federal institutions and the country itself, which has brought him under tighter U.S. sanctions.
Along with protests from Peru to Sri Lanka over fuel and food prices, and humanitarian crises in Yemen and Afghanistan with funding and food aid drying up, it’s another reminder of how Russia’s war is sending shockwaves around the world.
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Apr 06, 2:15 pm
Biden addresses Bucha in-depth for 1st time, calling it ‘major war crimes’
President Joe Biden on Wednesday spoke in-depth for the first time about the horrific images of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
“I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures from Bucha and just outside of Kyiv, bodies left in streets as Russian troops withdrew. Some shot … with their hands tied behind their backs. Civilians executed in cold blood,” Biden said at the North America’s Building Trade Union legislative conference in Washington, D.C.
“Bodies dumped into mass graves… There is nothing less happening than major war crimes,” he said.
Biden called on responsible nations to “come together to hold these perpetrators accountable.”
“The steps we’re already taken are predicted to shrink Russia’s gross domestic product by double-digits this year alone. Just in one year, our sanctions are likely to wipe out the last 15 years of Russia’s economic gains and because we’ve cut Russia off from important technologies like semiconductors and encryption security and critical components of quantum technology that they need to compete in the 21st century. We’re going to stifle Russia’s ability in its economy to grow for years to come,” Biden said.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Apr 06, 1:43 pm
All Russian troops have left Kyiv and Chernihiv: US official
All Russian troops have left the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv, withdrawing north toward the borders of Belarus and Russia to consolidate before likely redeploying to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Wednesday.
But even with the Russians gone, the territory remains treacherous.
“There are some indications that they left behind mines and things like that, so the Ukrainians are being somewhat careful in some areas north of Kyiv as they begin to clear the ground and clear the territory and re-occupy it,” the official said.
While the U.S. hasn’t yet seen these troops redeploy elsewhere in Ukraine, it’ll likely happen soon, according to the official. Ukrainian forces are preparing for a major fight in Donbas, the official said.
The official also said the Pentagon is “monitoring” an apparent nitric acid explosion in Ukraine’s Luhansk region, which Russia blamed on Ukraine.
“We’ve seen the Russians claim that this was a Ukrainian attack on this. We do not believe that is true,” the official said. “We do believe that the Russians are responsible, but exactly what they used when they did it, why they did it, what the damage is, we just don’t have that level of detail,” the official said.
The official also noted that a small number of Ukrainians currently in the U.S. for “professional military education” were pulled aside for a couple days of training on Switchblade drones, which the U.S. is sending overseas as part of its military aid, according to the official.
“Although it’s not a very difficult system to operate, we took advantage of having them in the country to give them some rudimentary training on that,” the official said.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Apr 06, 1:03 pm
Yellen says goal of sanctions is to ‘impose maximum pain on Russia’ while shielding allies from economic harm
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testified before the House Committee on Financial Services that the Treasury would continue to take steps to prevent Russia from participating in the international financial system.
“Russia’s actions, including the atrocities committed against innocent Ukrainians in Bucha, are reprehensible, represent an unacceptable affront the rules based global order and will have enormous economic repercussions in Ukraine and beyond,” she said.
Yellen said the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have assisted Ukraine, allowing the country “fiscal space to pay salaries for civilians, soldiers, doctors and nurses.”
Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., asked Yellen why the U.S. continues to provide licenses that permit certain bank transactions related to Russian energy despite a ban on Russian oil imports. Yellen said that although the sanctions aim to cripple Russia’s economy, some of the U.S.’s European allies are still dependent on Russian gas.
“Our goal from the outset has been to impose maximum pain on Russia while, to the best of our ability, shielding the United States and our partners of undue economic harm,” she said. “Unfortunately, many of our European partners remain heavily dependent on Russian natural gas as well as oil.”
-ABC News’ Armando Tonatiuh Torres-García
Apr 06, 12:05 pm
Human Rights Watch racing to document war crimes
Hugh Williamson, director of the Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division, wrote in an OpEd in the Telegraph that the HRW is racing to document war crimes in Ukraine.
Williamson said one apparent war crime was when seven Ukrainian civilians were allegedly executed by Russian soldiers.
Regarding the images of civilian bodies in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, Williamson said they’re concerned many of the deaths may be the result of war crimes, but “it’s too early to say for certain now, and legal proceedings are still at a nascent stage.”
This comes as a spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs doubled down on Russian claims that civilian killings in Bucha were staged.
“On April 3, the world witnessed another crime by the Ukrainian authorities, this time in the town of Bucha, where a criminal false flag operation [showing] the alleged killing of civilians by Russian troops had been staged,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday according to state-run TASS. Zakharova claimed that when Bucha was controlled by the Russian Armed Forces, not a single local resident was affected by acts of violence.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Apr 06, 11:25 am
New US sanctions target Putin’s children, largest Russian bank
New U.S. sanctions are targeting “the key architects of the war” and their family members, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adult children, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s wife and daughter and members of Russia’s security council, a senior administration official told reporters.
“We believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden with family members and that’s why we’re targeting them,” the official said.
The new sanctions are also the most severe sanctions yet on Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa Bank, and its largest financial institution, Sherbank, the official said.
This will “generate a financial shock” to Russia’s economy,” the official said. “[Sherbank] holds nearly one-third of Russia’s total banking sector assets. That’s over $500 billion. That’s roughly twice the size of the second largest Russian bank, which we previously fully blocked. And in total, we’ve now fully blocked more than two thirds of the Russian banking sector, which before the invasion held about $1.4 trillion in assets.”
The official warned that “Russia will very likely lose its status as a major economy.”
The official noted how these sanctions will hurt everyday Russians.
“It means their debit cards may not work. They may only have the option to buy knockoff phones and knockoff clothes. The shelves at stores may be empty. The reality is the country’s descending into economic and financial and technological isolation. And at this rate, it will go back to Soviet style living standards from the 1980s,” the official said.
Apr 06, 11:14 am
DOJ charges Russian oligarch with sanctions violations, announces disruption of global botnet
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has charged Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev with sanctions violations, alleging Malofeyev was one of the main sources of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea and for providing material support for the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
These actions are part of the KleptoCapture Task force, which is a Justice Department task force established last month aimed at seizing Russian oligarch assets from around the country.
“After being sanctioned by the United States, Malofeyev attempted to evade the sanctions by using co-conspirators to surreptitiously acquire and run media outlets across Europe,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters. “We are also announcing the seizure of millions of dollars from an account at a U.S. financial institution, which the indictment alleges constitutes proceeds traceable to Malofeyev’s sanctions violations.”
One of Malofeyev’s co-conspirators, according to the DOJ, is former U.S. TV producer Jack Hanick, who was arrested last month in the United Kingdom, where he had been living for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions stemming from Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The Justice Department also on Wednesday announced the disruption of a global botnet run by the GRU, Russia’s Chief Intelligence Office. FBI Director Christopher Wray told reporters the team behind the global botnet was responsible for some of the most infectious cyberattacks in recent memory, including the cyberattacks against the Winter Olympics in 2018, attacks on Ukrainian power grid in 2015 and the attack on the country of Georgia in 2019.
The Justice Department seized a yacht that belongs to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg in Marina Real in the Spanish port of Palma de Mallorca, according to court documents unsealed Monday.
In addition to the seizure of Vekselberg’s yacht, U.S. authorities also obtained seizure warrants unsealed in Washington, D.C., Monday that target roughly $625,000 associated with sanctioned parties at nine U.S. financial institutions, the Justice Department said.
At the news conference, Garland also expressed outrage over the images of civilian bodies in Ukraine.
“We have seen the dead bodies of civilians, some with bound hands, scattered in the streets. We have seen the mass graves. We have seen the bombed hospital, theater, and residential apartment buildings. The world sees what is happening in Ukraine. The Justice Department sees what is happening in Ukraine,” Garland said.
Garland said the DOJ is in the “collection of evidence” stage of any war crime prosecution.
-ABC News’ Alex Mallin, Luke Barr
Apr 06, 11:12 am
School-turned-shelter attacked in Donetsk region, governor says
A school-turned-shelter in eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donetsk region came under attack on Wednesday, according to Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Kyrylenko released images showing several wounded people lying on the ground among debris outside the school, which is currently being used as a humanitarian aid center. First responders were seen helping the victims. Another image showed the inside of a classroom that was damaged during the attack, with the windows shattered and some desks broken.
ABC News’ Visual Verification team confirmed that the photos were taken at a school in Vugledar, a small village about 40 miles from Donetsk city.
-ABC News’ Fergal Gallagher
Apr 06, 11:00 am
UN vote scheduled for Thursday to suspend Russia from UN Human Rights Council
The U.N. General Assembly has scheduled a Thursday vote on suspending Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council.
A two-thirds majority is needed to suspend Russia, which would become only the second country to face this censure after Libya was suspended in 2011 for Muammar Gaddafi’s forces firing on protesters.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Tuesday that she “know[s] we’re going to get” the two-thirds majority, pointing to two previous U.N. General Assembly resolutions that passed with 141 and 140 votes each.
(NEW ORLEANS) — An American nun was abducted from a parish in Yalgo, Burkina Faso, where she has been stationed as a missionary since 2014, according to the archdiocese of New Orleans.
The 83-year-old Sister Suellen Tennyson was abducted overnight on Monday and taken to an unknown destination by unidentified armed men, according to Bishop Theophile Nare.
The archdiocese of New Orleans said the kidnappers vandalized the convent where Tennyson lived before she was taken.
“We first and foremost are praying for Sr. Suellen’s safety and for her release from her captives. Let us pray too for all impacted by the actions of this group, particularly our sisters who witnessed the vandalism and kidnapping. We are in touch with governmental leaders who have pledged to keep us informed as they learn more,” Marianite congregational leader Sister Ann Lacour said.
Asked about Tennyson’s case, a spokesperson for the State Department told ABC News they are aware of reports of a U.S. citizen missing in Burkina Faso.
The U.S. embassy in Ouagadougou is working “diligently” with local authorities on the case and monitoring the situation, they added – “ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
“Until the search for her is successful, we remain in communion of prayer for the release of Sr. Suellen Tennyson,” Nare said in a statement.
Suellen has strong ties to the New Orleans area having served here for many years prior to her work as a missionary, according to the archdiocese of New Orleans.
“For many years, Sr. Suellen ministered to the people of the Archdiocese of New Orleans with great joy. Today, we express our sadness and shock at her abduction and offer our prayers for her safe return. Please join me in praying for Sr. Suellen, the Marianite Sisters of the Holy Cross, and all who know and love her during this difficult time,” Archbishop Gregory Aymond said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the U.S. assessment of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.
Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Wednesday on Day 42:
All Russian troops withdrawn from around Kyiv and Chernihiv
The tens of thousands of Russian troops arrayed against Kyiv and Chernihiv have withdrawn north across the borders of Belarus and Russia to consolidate before likely redeploying to eastern Ukraine, according to the senior defense official.
“We are assessing that they have completely withdrawn from Kiev and from Chernihiv,” the official said.
But even with the Russian forces, the territory remains treacherous.
“There are some indications that they left behind mines and things like that, so the Ukrainians are being somewhat careful in some areas north of Kyiv as they begin to clear the ground and clear the territory and re-occupy it,” the official said.
On Monday, the Pentagon estimated that roughly one-third of the Russian forces apparently originally designated to take the capital remained.
Before the withdrawal, there were about 20 Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) consisting of 800-1,000 troops each in the areas north and northwest of Kyiv, and another 20 BTGs near Chernihiv, according to the official.
While the U.S. hasn’t yet seen these troops redeploy elsewhere in Ukraine, it’s likely to happen soon, according to the official.
“Our assessment is that they won’t want to spend too much time on refit and resupply because they have made a very public show of saying that they’re going to prioritize their efforts on the Donbas region,” the official said.
But the timing will depend on how much work is needed to get the Russian forces back into fighting condition.
“Some of these units have been much more depleted than others, and it’s possible that the Russians could combine units to make new BTGs as a result, we just we just don’t know,” the official said.
Of the roughly 130 BTGs Russia dedicated to the invasion, about 80 are still inside Ukraine, according to the official. More than 30 are already in the Donbas region.
US sending ‘urgent’ shipment of anti-tank missiles for fight in Donbas
Ukrainian forces are preparing for a major fight in the east as Russia prepares as many as 40 BTGs to join 30 more battalions already in Donbas.
“They’re not waiting,” the official said. “They are already adapting to increased Russian activity in the Donbas region and doing the best they can.”
On Tuesday, the Biden administration authorized a $100 million drawdown package to “meet an urgent Ukrainian need for additional Javelin anti-armor systems,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement.
The senior U.S. defense official said this move was specifically to help in Donbas.
“One of the reasons why you saw us describe this $100 million drawdown package last night as an urgent need for Javelins was in fact because of the activity in the Donbas and the Ukrainians wanting to make sure that they’re ready for increased Russian activity there,” the official said.
Ukrainians get drone training in US
A small number of Ukrainians currently in the U.S. for “professional military education” were pulled aside for a couple days of training on Switchblade drones, which the U.S. is sending overseas as part of its military aid, according to the official.
“Although it’s not a very difficult system to operate, we took advantage of having them in the country to give them some rudimentary training on that,” the official said. “And there may be some additional rudimentary training while they’re here.”
The official said fewer than 12 Ukrainians were given this U.S.-based training.
Pentagon blames Russia for nitric acid explosion
The official said the Pentagon is “monitoring” an apparent nitric acid explosion in the Luhansk region, which Russia blamed on Ukraine.
“We’ve seen the Russians claim that this was a Ukrainian attack on this. We do not believe that is true,” the official said. “We do believe that the Russians are responsible, but exactly what they used when they did it, why they did it, what the damage is, we just don’t have that level of detail,” the official said.
‘Premeditated’ Russian atrocities in Bucha
“When you see individuals with their hands tied behind their backs and evidence of being shot in the head, that certainly appears to be premeditated,” the official said, again calling for Russian war crimes in Ukraine to be investigated.
Long-range strikes shifting east
Russia has now launched more than 1,450 missiles against Ukraine, according to the official. The Pentagon is seeing more airstrikes targeting the east than Kyiv as Russia shifts its overall focus to the Donbas region.
Anatolii Siryk/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
(BUCHA, Ukraine) — As Mykola Pavlyuk stood outside his apartment building in Bucha, tears streamed from his eyes, cutting through the grime on his face. He was desperate to share his story but shook from the trauma of it.
Pavlyuk, 53, was one of the surviving residents of the besieged Ukrainian town, northwest of Kyiv, where gruesome evidence of killings and torture has come to light following the withdrawal of Russian forces. He told ABC News when Russian troops came to his apartment building, they killed all the men who were younger than 50, including two of Pavlyuk’s friends.
Pavlyuk said he was given 20 minutes to bury them. He showed ABC News the shallow graves he hastily dug in the backyard, each marked with a plank of wood and topped with a religious icon. He wanted to give them whatever dignity he could.
“But it’s too shallow,” Pavlyuk said. “I just wanted to protect them from the dogs.”
Pavlyuk and other residents spoke with ABC News in the days after Russian forces departed Bucha, leaving an apparent trail of death, destruction, terror and trauma that has shaken the global community. Hundreds of people were said to have been killed during the occupation. When ABC News arrived on Tuesday, bodies still lay in the streets. The international community has called for an investigation into whether war crimes, including genocide, were committed.
When Russian troops arrived in Bucha, which they occupied Feb. 27, they asked everyone for documentation and forced the men to strip down naked to reveal any tattoos, according to Pavlyuk. They immediately shot and killed anyone whom they deemed a threat, without asking any questions, he said.
The mayor of the nearby town of Motyzhyn, Olga Sukhenko, and her family appear to have met the same fate. ABC News witnessed their lifeless bodies in a wooded area.
Another Bucha resident, who declined to give her name, told ABC News her husband was also forced to remove his clothes to show whether he had any tattoos.
Russian soldiers took over Pavlyuk’s apartment building, turning the homes of Ukrainian families into wartime dormitories for drunk, violent thugs, he said. Rooms Pavlyuk showed ABC News were strewn with blankets and old food.
Pavlyuk said he and his wife lived in the basement for more than month with little food or water, only leaving to cook on a stove outside.
He told ABC News they faced the constant fear of an arbitrary killing or a random act of violence, like when a friend was killed by a grenade he said was thrown as a joke by a drunk soldier. The friend’s body parts lay outside on the ground for days until Pavlyuk was allowed to gather them, put them in a bag and bury them in a grave next to his two other friends, he said.
More bodies were dumped in a mass grave outside a church. Residents had gone out to collect some of the dead from the streets while the town was under Russian occupation. The trench was filled with bodies in black plastic bags that lay on top of other victims, who were either wrapped in sheets or nothing at all. Locals told ABC News there could be as many as 90 people buried there.
Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, seizing territory and bombing entire cities. As the war grinds on, Russia faces strong resistance from Ukraine, whose troops managed to take back some territory in recent days as Russian forces retreated.
According to Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venedyktova, at least 410 civilians have been found dead in Bucha and other recently recaptured towns near Ukraine’s capital, where there’s an ongoing investigation into possible war crimes committed by Russian forces. Graphic images have emerged from Bucha showing unarmed individuals in civilian clothes who appear to have been executed with their hands or legs bound, sparking outrage from the United States and a number of nations and institutions.
Russia has denied responsibility, calling the images “fake” and saying all of its units withdrew completely from Bucha around March 30. An ABC News analysis of videos and satellite imagery confirms some of the bodies seen lying in the streets of Bucha were there as early as March 19, when the town was still occupied by Russian forces, contradicting Russia’s claims that the scene was “staged” after its troops left.
While in Bucha, ABC News encountered a Human Rights Watch team gathering evidence of war crimes.
“What we’ve seen so far and what we’ve heard from residents — what we’ve been documenting — is really horrific, including reports that Russian forces have pulled people out of their homes, briefly interrogated them and then executed them,” said Richard Weir, a researcher in the Crisis and Conflict division at Human Rights Watch.
A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross was also on scene in Bucha, assessing needs and delivering humanitarian aid.
“Humanitarian situation is dire,” ICRC spokesperson Alyona Synenko told ABC News. “We have seen extremely vulnerable people — elderly, people with limited mobility, people who are sick, who are alone in their unheated apartments with no electricity, with no running water, with medical needs.”
Bucha residents Tatyana Chernysh and her husband told ABC News they must have survived “by God’s will” when so many of their neighbors did not.
“At any time, the occupiers could enter our premises and do with us whatever they wanted,” said Chernysh’s husband, who said he was too frightened to give his first name. “It was terrifying. It was awful.”
The couple didn’t leave their house while Russian troops occupied the town. They said “good people” brought them food and medicine. Although the Russian soldiers camped away from their home, Chernysh and her husband said they heard unyielding gunfire and that stray bullets pockmarked their house.
Since the withdrawal of Russian forces and the recent arrival of aid, Chernysh and her husband have finally come out of hiding to see what remains of their battered town. They recalled seeing bodies strewn across the streets and sidewalks.
“It is obvious their intention was to destroy Ukraine, destroy our people, destroy our economy, destroy our culture,” Chernysh’s husband said of the Russian troops. “They claimed they came to liberate. They didn’t. They are terrorists.”
After surviving such “senseless” horror, the family said they “feel safe” and intend to stay in Bucha, despite a lack of electricity, running water and reliable communication.
“It’s where we live. We don’t want to yield our homes to occupiers,” Chernysh’s husband said. “It is our town. It is our home. We are going to stay.”
Although he admitted they might think twice if Russian forces return.
“Hopefully they won’t come back,” he added, “but with them you can never tell.”
(WASHINGTON) — Ohio Republicans introduced a House bill on Monday prohibiting “divisive or inherently racist” curriculum and banning instruction that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. The proposal is now facing backlash from local LGBTQ advocates.
The bill combines language from Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, and anti-critical race theory legislation proposed by Republicans in some states.
The bill states that “curriculum or instructional materials on sexual orientation or gender identity” would be banned in classrooms starting from kindergarten through third grade.
In grades four through twelve, such instruction would be banned if presented in “any manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,” the bill reads.
It is unclear how age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate-ness is defined and applied.
Opponents of restricting LGBTQ content have been vocal with their outcries after Florida passed its Parental Rights in Education law.
LGBTQ advocates say the legislation would make LGBTQ identities taboo again and silence LGBTQ students and teachers in the classroom.
They say they expect these policies to have negative mental health impacts on LGBTQ youth who are already vulnerable to discrimination and bullying.
More than 225 bills that target LGBTQ content or identities have been filed in the first three months of 2022, according to LGBTQ media watchdog GLAAD.
“Ohio’s Don’t Say Gay bill is yet another insidious attempt to chill and censor free speech in the classroom. Lawmakers are effectively trying to erase LGBTQ+ people and skew history in their favor,” said Equality Ohio’s executive director, Alana Jochum, in a statement.
“Attacks like these are a product of a small minority of people pushing their agenda to dismantle diversity at all costs — and in the process putting educators and families in jeopardy for political gain,” she continued.
The ban on “divisive or inherently racist concepts” includes “critical race theory, intersectional theory, the 1619 project, diversity, equity, and inclusion learning outcomes” and “inherited racial guilt.”
Critical race theory is a discipline in higher education that analyzes how racism impacts U.S legal systems. Intersectional theory analyzes how the different aspects of a person’s identity can affect how they may be impacted by discrimination.
The 1619 project is a New York Times initiative that reframes the story of America by placing “slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of the [country’s] national narrative,” according to the project’s website.
Opponents of this legislation say such laws villainize attempts to teach about race and diversity in public schools, shutting down lessons that could make students think about the history of oppression in the U.S.
Supporters of these kinds of bills, including Rep. Jean Schmidt who introduced the Ohio legislation, say that the legislation is intended to give parents more say over what their children learn.
“The classroom is a place that seeks answers for our children without political activism,” Schmidt said in a press release Tuesday. “Parents deserve and should be provided a say in what is taught to their children in schools. The intent of this bill is to provide them with the tools to be able to see what their child is being taught.”
So far, the bill only has two sponsors: Schmidt and Rep. Mike Loychik. Gov. Mike DeWine has yet to publicly announce his support for this bill.
Bills that restrict LGBTQ discussions, books, or curricula from classrooms have been introduced in Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana and other states.
However, a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found that more than 6 in 10 Americans oppose legislation that would prohibit classroom lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary school.
Researchers from Monmouth University found in a November 2021 study on critical race theory that respondents seem to approve of education on race, but not when the question is phrased asking about “critical race theory:”
When asked about teaching “the history of racism” in schools, 75% supported the idea. However, when asked about teaching critical race theory, only 43% supported it.
(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland tested positive for COVID-19 via antigen tests Wednesday afternoon, the Department of Justice said.
“He asked to be tested after learning that he may have been exposed,” the DOJ said in a statement.
The news comes hours after Garland participated in a press conference alongside multiple other top law enforcement officials, including FBI Director Chris Wray.
Garland, who is vaccinated and boosted, doesn’t have any symptoms, the statement said.
The attorney general is one of several prominent officials to test positive after attending Saturday’s Gridiron dinner in Washington, D.C.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, all attended Saturday’s event and have all tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
Garland will work virtually while isolating at home, and the DOJ will conduct contact tracing, the statement said.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow’s forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 06, 2:15 pm
Biden addresses Bucha in-depth for 1st time, calling it ‘major war crimes’
President Joe Biden on Wednesday spoke in-depth for the first time about the horrific images of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
“I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures from Bucha and just outside of Kyiv, bodies left in streets as Russian troops withdrew. Some shot … with their hands tied behind their backs. Civilians executed in cold blood,” Biden said at the North America’s Building Trade Union legislative conference in Washington, D.C.
“Bodies dumped into mass graves… There is nothing less happening than major war crimes,” he said.
Biden called on responsible nations to “come together to hold these perpetrators accountable.”
“The steps we’re already taken are predicted to shrink Russia’s gross domestic product by double-digits this year alone. Just in one year, our sanctions are likely to wipe out the last 15 years of Russia’s economic gains and because we’ve cut Russia off from important technologies like semiconductors and encryption security and critical components of quantum technology that they need to compete in the 21st century. We’re going to stifle Russia’s ability in its economy to grow for years to come,” Biden said.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Apr 06, 1:43 pm
All Russian troops have left Kyiv and Chernihiv: US official
All Russian troops have left the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv, withdrawing north toward the borders of Belarus and Russia to consolidate before likely redeploying to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Wednesday.
But even with the Russians gone, the territory remains treacherous.
“There are some indications that they left behind mines and things like that, so the Ukrainians are being somewhat careful in some areas north of Kyiv as they begin to clear the ground and clear the territory and re-occupy it,” the official said.
While the U.S. hasn’t yet seen these troops redeploy elsewhere in Ukraine, it’ll likely happen soon, according to the official. Ukrainian forces are preparing for a major fight in Donbas, the official said.
The official also said the Pentagon is “monitoring” an apparent nitric acid explosion in Ukraine’s Luhansk region, which Russia blamed on Ukraine.
“We’ve seen the Russians claim that this was a Ukrainian attack on this. We do not believe that is true,” the official said. “We do believe that the Russians are responsible, but exactly what they used when they did it, why they did it, what the damage is, we just don’t have that level of detail,” the official said.
The official also noted that a small number of Ukrainians currently in the U.S. for “professional military education” were pulled aside for a couple days of training on Switchblade drones, which the U.S. is sending overseas as part of its military aid, according to the official.
“Although it’s not a very difficult system to operate, we took advantage of having them in the country to give them some rudimentary training on that,” the official said.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Apr 06, 1:03 pm
Yellen says goal of sanctions is to ‘impose maximum pain on Russia’ while shielding allies from economic harm
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testified before the House Committee on Financial Services that the Treasury would continue to take steps to prevent Russia from participating in the international financial system.
“Russia’s actions, including the atrocities committed against innocent Ukrainians in Bucha, are reprehensible, represent an unacceptable affront the rules based global order and will have enormous economic repercussions in Ukraine and beyond,” she said.
Yellen said the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have assisted Ukraine, allowing the country “fiscal space to pay salaries for civilians, soldiers, doctors and nurses.”
Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., asked Yellen why the U.S. continues to provide licenses that permit certain bank transactions related to Russian energy despite a ban on Russian oil imports. Yellen said that although the sanctions aim to cripple Russia’s economy, some of the U.S.’s European allies are still dependent on Russian gas.
“Our goal from the outset has been to impose maximum pain on Russia while, to the best of our ability, shielding the United States and our partners of undue economic harm,” she said. “Unfortunately, many of our European partners remain heavily dependent on Russian natural gas as well as oil.”
-ABC News’ Armando Tonatiuh Torres-García
Apr 06, 12:05 pm
Human Rights Watch racing to document war crimes
Hugh Williamson, director of the Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division, wrote in an OpEd in the Telegraph that the HRW is racing to document war crimes in Ukraine.
Williamson said one apparent war crime was when seven Ukrainian civilians were allegedly executed by Russian soldiers.
Regarding the images of civilian bodies in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, Williamson said they’re concerned many of the deaths may be the result of war crimes, but “it’s too early to say for certain now, and legal proceedings are still at a nascent stage.”
This comes as a spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs doubled down on Russian claims that civilian killings in Bucha were staged.
“On April 3, the world witnessed another crime by the Ukrainian authorities, this time in the town of Bucha, where a criminal false flag operation [showing] the alleged killing of civilians by Russian troops had been staged,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday according to state-run TASS. Zakharova claimed that when Bucha was controlled by the Russian Armed Forces, not a single local resident was affected by acts of violence.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Apr 06, 11:25 am
New US sanctions target Putin’s children, largest Russian bank
New U.S. sanctions are targeting “the key architects of the war” and their family members, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adult children, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s wife and daughter and members of Russia’s security council, a senior administration official told reporters.
“We believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden with family members and that’s why we’re targeting them,” the official said.
The new sanctions are also the most severe sanctions yet on Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa Bank, and its largest financial institution, Sherbank, the official said.
This will “generate a financial shock” to Russia’s economy,” the official said. “[Sherbank] holds nearly one-third of Russia’s total banking sector assets. That’s over $500 billion. That’s roughly twice the size of the second largest Russian bank, which we previously fully blocked. And in total, we’ve now fully blocked more than two thirds of the Russian banking sector, which before the invasion held about $1.4 trillion in assets.”
The official warned that “Russia will very likely lose its status as a major economy.”
The official noted how these sanctions will hurt everyday Russians.
“It means their debit cards may not work. They may only have the option to buy knockoff phones and knockoff clothes. The shelves at stores may be empty. The reality is the country’s descending into economic and financial and technological isolation. And at this rate, it will go back to Soviet style living standards from the 1980s,” the official said.
Apr 06, 11:14 am
DOJ charges Russian oligarch with sanctions violations, announces disruption of global botnet
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has charged Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev with sanctions violations, alleging Malofeyev was one of the main sources of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea and for providing material support for the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
These actions are part of the KleptoCapture Task force, which is a Justice Department task force established last month aimed at seizing Russian oligarch assets from around the country.
“After being sanctioned by the United States, Malofeyev attempted to evade the sanctions by using co-conspirators to surreptitiously acquire and run media outlets across Europe,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters. “We are also announcing the seizure of millions of dollars from an account at a U.S. financial institution, which the indictment alleges constitutes proceeds traceable to Malofeyev’s sanctions violations.”
One of Malofeyev’s co-conspirators, according to the DOJ, is former U.S. TV producer Jack Hanick, who was arrested last month in the United Kingdom, where he had been living for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions stemming from Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The Justice Department also on Wednesday announced the disruption of a global botnet run by the GRU, Russia’s Chief Intelligence Office. FBI Director Christopher Wray told reporters the team behind the global botnet was responsible for some of the most infectious cyberattacks in recent memory, including the cyberattacks against the Winter Olympics in 2018, attacks on Ukrainian power grid in 2015 and the attack on the country of Georgia in 2019.
The Justice Department seized a yacht that belongs to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg in Marina Real in the Spanish port of Palma de Mallorca, according to court documents unsealed Monday.
In addition to the seizure of Vekselberg’s yacht, U.S. authorities also obtained seizure warrants unsealed in Washington, D.C., Monday that target roughly $625,000 associated with sanctioned parties at nine U.S. financial institutions, the Justice Department said.
At the news conference, Garland also expressed outrage over the images of civilian bodies in Ukraine.
“We have seen the dead bodies of civilians, some with bound hands, scattered in the streets. We have seen the mass graves. We have seen the bombed hospital, theater, and residential apartment buildings. The world sees what is happening in Ukraine. The Justice Department sees what is happening in Ukraine,” Garland said.
Garland said the DOJ is in the “collection of evidence” stage of any war crime prosecution.
-ABC News’ Alex Mallin, Luke Barr
Apr 06, 11:12 am
School-turned-shelter attacked in Donetsk region, governor says
A school-turned-shelter in eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donetsk region came under attack on Wednesday, according to Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Kyrylenko released images showing several wounded people lying on the ground among debris outside the school, which is currently being used as a humanitarian aid center. First responders were seen helping the victims. Another image showed the inside of a classroom that was damaged during the attack, with the windows shattered and some desks broken.
ABC News’ Visual Verification team confirmed that the photos were taken at a school in Vugledar, a small village about 40 miles from Donetsk city.
-ABC News’ Fergal Gallagher
Apr 06, 11:00 am
UN vote scheduled for Thursday to suspend Russia from UN Human Rights Council
The U.N. General Assembly has scheduled a Thursday vote on suspending Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council.
A two-thirds majority is needed to suspend Russia, which would become only the second country to face this censure after Libya was suspended in 2011 for Muammar Gaddafi’s forces firing on protesters.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Tuesday that she “know[s] we’re going to get” the two-thirds majority, pointing to two previous U.N. General Assembly resolutions that passed with 141 and 140 votes each.
(WASHINGTON) — Six oil company executives were grilled by lawmakers Wednesday about skyrocketing gas prices amid a political messaging battle over pain at the pump.
BP America, Chevron and ExxonMobil executives are among the “Big Oil” leaders facing questions from members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
The hearing comes after costs for gas rose following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the U.S. to put a ban on imports of Russian oil and gas. Though the price of gas has dropped slightly in recent days, Americans were still paying an average $4.16 as of Wednesday, according to American Automobile Association data.
“While American families are forced to pay record-high prices at the pump, frankly this committee is not going to sit back and allow this system — which forces American taxpayers to pay oil companies out of both pockets, first at the pump, and then through tax breaks — to continue in its current form,” said Rep. Dianna DeGette, D-Colo., chair of the subcommittee, in her opening remarks.
Oil executives took turns defending themselves and their companies, pushing back on accusations of price gouging.
“I want to be absolutely clear: We do not control the market price of crude oil or natural gas, nor of refined products like gasoline and diesel fuel, and we have no tolerance for price gouging,” Chevron CEO Michael Wirth said.
The executives cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason for cost increases and promoted increasing production to offset the prices.
“While there is no quick fix, the answer in the near term, until there are more widely available and affordable alternatives, is straightforward. We need to increase the supply of oil and natural gas,” ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle continue to fight over who’s to blame for gas prices, and Democratic lawmakers on the subcommittee weren’t buying the oil company executives’ explanations.
“One bad year does not excuse the practice of ripping off American consumers,” Rep. Kuster, D-N.H., said.
“It’s a matter of patriotism,” Pallone added, “something must be done on your part.”
Democrats have worked hard to pinpoint Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the source of the rise in gas prices, with President Joe Biden coining it “Putin’s price hike.”
Republicans, on the other hand, are quick to argue that the higher costs kicked in long before the war began and that Biden’s energy policies are what’s hurting Americans’ pocketbooks.
Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, accused House Democrats of hosting a “show trial” with the hearing.
“It’s kind of an annual right of passage bringing forward energy oil and gas executives,” he said. “You know what a show trial is, the subject of the trial being flogged for something that is usually the fault of the very officials conducting the trial.”
Senators described the increase of energy prices as “purposeful” — arguing that the Biden administration intentionally tried to raise gas prices to advance green energy policies. They balked at the administration’s finger pointing at Russia, noting that gas prices were on the rise before Putin invaded Ukraine.
“When it costs you 100 bucks to fill the tank of your truck that is Joe Biden’s fault,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said. “When it costs 100 bucks to fill the families minivan that is Joe Biden’s fault.”
Patrick De Haan, head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News the reasons behind the cost of gas are more complex than any one of the partisan narratives suggests.
“There’s too many political games being played in too many political points trying to be won. Neither side is portraying it accurately,” he said. “There’s a lot of factors that go into this and the politicians on both sides of the aisle are, you know, just using buzzwords and phrases and they’re using regurgitated, establishment talking points by their own parties … “
De Haan also noted the “extremely volatile” situation gas companies are in with regard to fluctuating oil prices.
“Stations are not eager to lower prices right now. Not necessarily because of, you know, they’re greedy or something but because the market is extremely volatile,” De Haan said, adding that “if they were to pass along a decrease one day, they may have to raise prices another 25 to 50 cents the day after if the market goes back up.”
Instead, he said the “stations are essentially smoothing out the incredible volatility and they’re cautiously passing along decreases once they are kind of certain that they’re not going to have to raise prices again.”
PolitiFact also noted that “experts who study the price of oil and gas said it can take weeks for gasoline prices to respond to changes in crude oil costs” and that “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increased labor costs, the pandemic and additional taxes and inflation have all contributed to rising gasoline prices.”
When pressed on why gas prices remain high despite crude oil prices dropping, BP President David Lawler said it was “complex.”
“It is a very complex set of factors that impact the price of gasoline,” he said.
Later, some lawmakers called out the executives for their lack of answers.
“Can’t you bring more clarity to this than just saying that everything is so complex,” Rep. Eshoo, D-Calif., quipped.
Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, a nonprofit focused on climate policy and holding corporations accountable, says Democrats aren’t wrong to shift the blame onto Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The Democrats aren’t making something up to point out how this is a really acute example of what dependency on oil and gas would get you. That’s exactly right. And the oil companies, they don’t care at all,” he said.
But Wiles noted the gas prices started rising long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Oil companies are bad in war and peace,” he said.
As the oil company executives face members of the House, lawmakers are also scrambling to pass legislation to provide immediate relief as a consequential midterm season quickly approaches.
Most recently, Biden announced the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from oil reserves to combat high gas prices; though, senior White House administration officials couldn’t say how quickly Americans will start to feel relief from it.
At her weekly press conference last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress is looking to help as long as the benefit goes directly to consumers, likely in the form of a rebate card or a direct payment.
And some progressive Democrats are renewing their push toward more long-term investments in renewable energy to end oil dependency.
For their part, House Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee introduced a package of bills last week reversing the Biden administration’s moratorium on federal onshore and offshore lease sales.
