(NEW YORK) — On the third anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic, public health experts can point to clear instances where the United States succeeded in beating back the virus and others where it didn’t.
Even as the virus continues to spread, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that weekly cases, hospitalizations and deaths are declining, and the nation survived its first winter since the pandemic began without a true winter wave.
Public health experts said that while the U.S. government and federal health agencies succeeded in many aspects — including the rollout of vaccines and at-home tests — there are also lessons to be learned from mixed messaging.
“I think it’s important to remember that we lost millions and millions of lives and that we don’t forget all the things we’ve learned,” Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, a professor of medicine and the head of infection control for Mayo Clinic, told ABC News. “So learning is one thing but retaining that memory and being ready to come together to prevent another pandemic is really important.”
Speedy rollout of the vaccines
Experts agree that the development and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines is one of the country’s biggest successes.
In April 2020, the Trump administration launched “Operation Warp Speed” to fast-track the development and production of COVID-19 vaccine, providing unlimited funding and other resources to pharmaceutical companies.
The majority of vaccines, from the first steps of academic research to arriving on the market, generally take 10 or more years to be available, experts said. However, researchers were able to perform several steps usually performed in a linear fashion simultaneously, allowing companies to obtain U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization and scale up production without lessening vaccine safety requirements.
“It really unlocked a new sort of a new era of vaccine,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. “We’ve recognized that we can develop and deploy a vaccine in actually reasonably fast pace from identification of a new virus to actual first prototype.”
“For the first time, we recognize that there’s a lot of places that can be parallel process, so the process of manufacturing, and regulatory approval can happen relatively simultaneously,” he added.
Sampathkumar said another reason the vaccines were able to be developed so quickly is because the genome sequence, or the genetic makeup, of the virus was uploaded quickly to global databases.
“We really very quickly sequenced the virus from the first case being reported in China in late December to about seven weeks later, we have the entire sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which was step towards making a vaccine,” she said. “For most previous viral epidemics, it took anywhere from six to 18 months to do that. So that very first step happened so quickly and set the stage for vaccine development.”
Additionally, the relatively new technology of messenger RNA, or mRNA, was used. While most vaccines use a weakened or inactivated virus to stimulate an immune response, mRNA vaccines teach the body how to make proteins that can trigger an immune response and fight off an infection.
Because researchers can design mRNA vaccines more quickly than they can produce the live or weakened pathogens needed for a traditional vaccine, mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 were quickly developed, tested, mass produced and delivered to the general population, preventing millions of hospitalizations and deaths, according to analyses.
At-home COVID tests available for everyone
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are considered the “gold standard” when it comes to COVID-19 testing. They look for genetic material from the virus and are considered to be very accurate.
However, in the early days of the pandemic, they had a very long turnaround time because samples must be sent to a laboratory and be analyzed by a medical professional.
Companies quickly began scaling up production of rapid at-home antigen tests, which check for antigens, or proteins on the surface of the virus.
While less accurate than PCR tests, these rapid tests are still considered quite accurate when used in people with symptoms of infection and can deliver results in 15 minutes or less.
Sampathkumar said the widespread use of at-home tests was “very amazing” because it was, for many Americans, the first time they were able to test themselves at home for a virus, compared to flu tests and strep tests that are often performed at doctors’ offices, urgent care centers or hospitals.
“When you think about it, when you’re feeling sick or when you’re infectious to others, it’s the worst possible time to expect you to go to a crowded clinic or hospital,” she said.
Last winter, the Biden administration launched a website where Americans could request free at-home rapid COVID tests delivered to their doorsteps.
“Making the tests available to every person living in the U.S., you could order the tests and have them delivered to your home for free was also a major step forward,” Sampathkumar said.
Mixed messaging
Experts say public health officials made missteps by having mixed messaging about preventive measures like masking.
In February and March 2020, officials including then Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams and Dr. Anthony Fauci downplayed the need for the general public to wear masks.
However, in early April, the CDC changed its guidance and recommended that everyone wear a mask or face covering.
While reports have suggested the CDC and other officials delayed recommending masking because they were worried about causing a run on masks and other PPE supplies for health care workers, experts say this also means agencies didn’t provide the clear messaging that the public needed.
“I think that that kind of mixed messaging created enormous space for doubt enormous space for skepticism among the public,” Dr. Richard Keller, a professor in the department of medical history and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, told ABC News. “It created levels of uncertainty that were really unnecessary and deep and eventually became harmful.”
The experts say it’s normal for their understanding of a virus to evolve as more information is learned, but they noted that public health officials did not do a good job of communicating that process to the public.
“That was really made clear through the pandemic: our inability to communicate the nuance of science as the science was evolving,” Brownstein said. “That was really our Achilles heel because we were not able to explain to the public that a recommendation could change based on how the science evolves.”
People viewing COVID-19 deaths as victims’ fault
Keller said that as the pandemic has worn on, many Americans have come to view COVID-19 deaths as the fault of the victims and lost a sense of compassion.
Some of this may have been the fault of public health messaging including the Biden administration calling it a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” and stressing how much more likely people are to die of COVID if they don’t get vaccinated.
According to the CDC’s most recent estimates, people who are up to date on their vaccines have a nearly tenfold lower risk of dying compared to an unvaccinated person. Other risk factors include lower socioeconomic status and/or underlying medical conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
“To label this a ‘pandemic at the unvaccinated’ suggests the people who are dying are dying because it’s their own fault,” Keller said. “I think that’s a harmful message because it does a couple of things.”
“It suggests that people are to blame for their own misfortune. It also mischaracterizes the true nature of mortality statistics as ti where people are dying and what their circumstances are,” he added.
(MOSCOW) — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow on Monday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a significant moment, punching a hole in the international isolation that’s surrounded Putin since the start of his invasion of Ukraine and signaling China now sees far less need to publicly distance itself from Putin amid the war.
The two-day state visit will be Xi’s first trip to Russia since the war began and comes as Western countries are increasingly concerned China is moving to more actively support Moscow and play a more assertive role in shaping the conflict, at a moment when Ukraine is readying for a much-anticipated spring counteroffensive.
“This state visit in the middle of the war shows that Xi Jinping sees the relationship with Russia as absolutely quintessential, he will not be deterred or embarrassed by the fact that Russia conducts a genocidal war against Ukraine,” Alexander Gabuev, an expert on Russia-China relations at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told ABC News. “It’s a significant visit.”
Three weeks before the invasion Putin travelled to Beijing where he and Xi declared a “partnership with no limits.” But during the war, China in practice has observed substantial limits on the level of its support for Russia. It has pursued a difficult line: trying to present itself as neutral, while largely backing Putin’s narrative of the war, and quietly helping Russia weather sanctions and prop up its military with technology and parts.
But China has never abandoned its partnership with Russia, Gabuev said, and the visit in “a way is a step up” in its support.
“Throughout last year China has demonstrated that ties with Russia are absolutely normal and unabated despite Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” said Gabuev. He noted joint military exercises, as well as visits by senior Chinese and Russian officials, had taken place as scheduled.
A senior Kremlin aide on Friday said Xi and Putin would sign two joint declarations announcing “the deepening of relations of an all-round partnership and strategic cooperation, entering into a new era.”
China’s commitment to Russia will face fresh pressure following the International Criminal Court’s announcement Friday of an arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges. The announcement casts an uncomfortable shadow over Xi’s trip: China is not party to the ICC and does not recognize the warrant, but an enthusiastic public embrace of Putin will again undermine Beijing’s efforts to present itself as neutral, just as it is pushing to be seen as a potential peacemaker.
The United States last month began warning it believes China is considering providing Russia with lethal aid for the war for the first time. The U.S. and its allies have already accused China of helping Russia source components under Western sanctions, such as computer chips, needed to keep its war machine going. China has denied it is considering sending lethal aid.
China in recent weeks has mounted a diplomatic offensive seeking to present itself as a potential peacemaker. Last month, China published a so-called “peace proposal” and after meeting Putin, Xi is reportedly expected to speak with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time by video call.
But the Chinese proposal in reality was not a plan but largely a vague restatement of principles that support Moscow’s framing of the conflict, experts said. Its key point was an immediate ceasefire that experts say would currently favor the Kremlin by locking in its territorial gains seized from Ukraine.
“China’s vague plan is aimed not at actually ending the war, but at impressing the developing world and rebutting accusations that Beijing has become a silent accomplice to Moscow,” Gabuev wrote in an article for Carnegie.
Gabuev said the peace proposal in reality was meant to provide “diplomatic cover” for Xi’s Moscow trip and support for Russia. The proposal, he said, also was intended to allow China to present itself to countries in the Global South as seeking peace, while in fact continuing to back Putin.
It’s “really just a fig leaf,” he said.
Ukrainian officials have said they believe the Chinese proposal follows Kremlin efforts to freeze the conflict as it stands that would leave it control of occupied areas without making concessions.
“I believe that all peace plans that provide for an immediate ceasefire and preservation of the current territorial status quo are exclusively a game in favor of the Russian Federation,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a top advisor to Zelenskyy told a Ukrainian media outlet in February.
“The 12-point ‘plan’ does not present any actual solutions. In fact, it merely reiterates Beijing’s standard talking points on the war in Ukraine – which are closely linked to its Russia-friendly perspective and its own strategic interests,” Alicja Bachulsk, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations wrote last month.
“Beijing is not a neutral actor,” she wrote. Western countries have warned China it will face heavy sanctions if it moves to providing Russia with lethal aid. But experts said the economic support China is already providing is important in allowing the Kremlin to continue the war.
“For Beijing, the worst-case scenario for the end of the war in Ukraine is Russia’s complete failure and subsequent regime change. The Chinese leadership will go to great lengths to prevent this from happening.”
(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Mike Pence indicated that he is not challenging all aspects of the subpoena issued last month by special counsel Jack Smith in his probe of the failed attempt by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election.
Pence, who has argued that he is covered by the “speech and debate clause” that shields congressional officials from testimony related to their work, was pressed by ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl on whether he was objecting to every topic area covered by the subpoena.
“We’re not asserting executive privilege, which may encompass other discussions,” Pence told Karl in a sit-down for “This Week.”
Pence has invoked the speech and debate clause because in his role in Congress’ certification of the vote on Jan. 6, 2021, he was acting as president of the Senate and was a legislative branch member.
“I just believe that the work that I did preparing for and conducting on my role as President of the Senate is covered by the speech and debate clause. I believe we have the law on our side,” he told Karl.
But according to Pence’s subpoena — which has been described to ABC News by sources familiar with the document — there are a number of items that do not relate to Pence’s duty certifying the election, including documents and communications relating to efforts to contest the 2020 election and relating to Trump’s Jan. 6 rally that led to the Capitol attack.
The subpoena also asks for any documents and communications Pence has related to efforts to install Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general, which critics say would have empowered Clark to pursue baseless allegations of voter fraud. Clark emerged as a key player in Trump’s efforts to leverage the powers of DOJ to find widespread corruption in the 2020 electoral process after it became clear that Joe Biden had won the election.
Sources tell ABC News that the special counsel also wants information from Pence related to Trump attorney John Eastman and any communications Pence may have had with him or involving him. Eastman drafted a plan for Trump to cling to power by falsely claiming that Pence could reject legitimate electors during the certification on Jan. 6.
Investigators also want to know whether Pence had any communications with state or local officials related to any claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
Pence has vowed to fight the subpoena to the Supreme Court, if necessary, telling Karl, “We’re going to respect the decisions of the court, and that may take us all the way to the highest court in the land.”
Trump, for his part, is challenging Pence’s subpoena as well, but on the basis of executive privilege. The court battles, which are taking place out of public view, are shrouded in secrecy due to the confidential nature of the grand jury.
Pence’s subpoena was issued after months of negotiations between federal prosecutors and Pence’s legal team.
(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 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) — Former President Donald Trump claimed in a post on his social media platform that he will be arrested on Tuesday related to the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
As part of the post, Trump also called on his supporters to protest.
In a statement, a Trump spokesperson appeared to walk back the comments.
The spokesperson said there is no notification the DA “has decided to take his Witch-Hunt to the next level. President Trump is rightfully highlighting his innocence and the weaponization of our injustice system. He will be in Texas next weekend for a giant rally.”
Trump has not been charged with a crime in the probe.
ABC News has not verified the claims and the Manhattan district attorney’s office has no comment.
However in an email to staff, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he would not be intimidated by calls for protest as he considers whether to make Trump the first former president to face criminal charges.
“We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” Bragg said in the emai obtained by ABC News.
The email was sent Saturday evening, hours after Trump posted on social media that he expected to be arrested.
Bragg’s email did not mention Trump by name but referenced “the ongoing press attention and public comments surrounding an ongoing investigation by this office.”
Bragg told his staff their safety “is our top priority” and said the office “will continue to coordinate” with the NYPD and Office of Court Administration on matters of security.
“Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in place so all 1600 of us have a secure work environment,” the email said. “I’m the meantime, as with all of our investigations, we will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly and speak publicly only when appropriate.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., criticized the probe as politically motivated and said he’s directing relevant congressional committees to investigate whether New York prosecutors have federal funds.
“Here we go again — an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump,” McCarthy tweeted Saturday. “I’m directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence also called the probe a “politically charged prosecution” during a gaggle with reporters on Saturday in Iowa.
“The idea of indicting a former president of the United States is deeply troubling to me,” Pence said. He added, “I know, I know President Trump can take care of himself.”
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Trump’s statement Saturday calling for protests was “reckless.”
“Whatever the Grand Jury decides, its consideration makes clear: no one is above the law, not even a former President of the United States,” Pelosi tweeted. “The former president’s announcement this morning is reckless: doing so to keep himself in the news & to foment unrest among his supporters.”
(NEW YORK) — A New York state assemblyman landed a small plane on a Long Island beach after the aircraft experienced engine failure.
Assemblyman Clyde Vanel said he landed the airplane at the nearest safe location while he was out practicing maneuvers in his airplane.
A video shows the plane making the emergency landing on Long Island’s Shoreham Beach.
“As per my training, I landed the airplane at the nearest safe location, while attempting to minimize damage to persons or property. I am thankful that I was able to walk away without injury,” Vanel said in a post on Twitter.
“The FAA’s training on emergency procedures works. For all my fellow pilots, follow the emergency procedures – it will save your life,” he added.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that a single-engine Beechcraft V35 made an emergency landing on the beach in Shoreham, New York, due to a reported engine issue around 2:15 p.m. on Friday. Two people were on board the flight.
(BALTIMORE) — Three children are dead after a fire broke out at a rowhome in Baltimore early Saturday, authorities said.
The fire was reported shortly after 2:30 a.m. and appeared to start on the second floor of the West Baltimore home, according to Baltimore Fire Assistant Chief Roman Clark.
Firefighters rescued three children from the home in critical condition, though fire officials updated that all three died from their injuries.
Update on the Brighton Street fire it has just been confirmed that the three children have died from their injuries
The victims were ages 1, 2 and 7, according to Clark.
An adult was also rescued from the home and transported to a local hospital in critical condition, authorities said.
The victims have not yet been identified and it is unclear if any are related, Clark said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with this family, our communities and the men and women of @BaltimoreFire during this tragic loss,” Baltimore Police said.
(NEW YORK) — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed a bill banning medication abortions into law, making it the first state to target the abortion pill. A second bill he will allow to go into law without his signature will ban most abortions.
The most effective medication abortion regimen involves taking two medications, mifepristone and misoprostol. Medication abortion is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for up to 10 weeks into pregnancy.
Wyoming was one of 13 states that had enacted trigger bans on abortion that were set to go into effect when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The trigger ban, which prohibits abortions in all circumstances except rape, incest or if the mother is at serious risk of death or injury, was blocked by a court as litigation to determine its legality under the state constitution continues.
The medication abortion ban signed by Gordon on Friday makes Wyoming the first state to ban medication abortions separate from a ban on all abortion services.
“I have a strong record of protecting the lives of the unborn, as well as their mothers. I believe all life is sacred and that every individual, including the unborn, should be treated with dignity and compassion,” Gordon said in a letter to Wyoming’s Secretary of State released publicly.
The new law makes it a misdemeanor to dispense, distribute, sell, prescribe or use abortion medications punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $9,000. This does not include women seeking abortion medication for themselves.
Gordon said he will also allow a second bill, banning abortions except those necessary for the health of the mother, to go into law without his signature, saying he believes that if the state legislature seeks to settle the issue of abortion, it may have to come through a constitutional amendment.
“If the Legislature wants to expressly address how the Wyoming Constitution treats abortion and defines healthcare, then those issues should be vetted through the amendment process laid out in Article 20 of the Wyoming Constitution and voted on directly by the people,” Gordon said.
The ban would allow abortions in cases of rape and incest and to save a woman’s life or prevent harm to her health. Abortions will be permitted for ectopic pregnancies, fetuses with fatal anomalies and women who need cancer treatment, among other exceptions. The new law makes violating the ban a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.
(NEW YORK) — Awkward dads and their eager children may not dance together on TikTok for much longer — at least not in the U.S.
The prospect of a nationwide TikTok ban has escalated from a theoretical possibility to a serious policy consideration, drawing growing support in Washington, D.C.
However, scant details are known about how the policy would be implemented and what it would mean for more than 100 million U.S.-based users of the app.
China-owned TikTok has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could ultimately be weaponized by China to spread misinformation.
The Biden administration has stiffened its posture toward TikTok in recent weeks, endorsing a bipartisan bill earlier this month that would empower the federal government to ban apps like TikTok.
The administration’s stance hardened further this week, when officials demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owner sell its stake in the app or risk getting banned, the company and a U.S. official previously told ABC News.
A TikTok ban could take effect in a variety of ways, including its forced removal from Apple and Google app stores or an outright block of access by internet service providers, experts told ABC News.
While dedicated users would find ways to circumvent any government crackdown, the app would suffer a dramatic decline in popularity and eventually be rendered defunct, they added.
“The U.S. doesn’t typically ban websites like this — it would be very much uncharted territory,” Timothy Edgar, a computer science professor at Brown University and a former national security official, told ABC News. “It would be an enormous undertaking.”
TikTok did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
In response to bans of TikTok on some government devices, TikTok previously told ABC News in a statement: “We appreciate that some governments have wisely chosen not to implement such bans due to a lack of evidence that there is any such need, but it’s disappointing to see that other government bodies and institutions are banning TikTok on employee devices with no deliberation or evidence.”
“We share a common goal with governments that are concerned about user privacy, but these bans are misguided and do nothing to further privacy or security,” the company added.
Here’s what to know about the different ways the government could implement a nationwide TikTok ban, and what it would mean for TikTok users:
The removal of TikTok from app stores
A simple way to significantly curtail access to TikTok is in the form of a mandatory withdrawal of the app from major app stores, such as those maintained by Google and Apple.
Such a measure would bar new users and limiting existing ones, experts said.
“It would prevent new users from downloading and installing the app,” Qi Liao, a professor of computer science at Central Michigan University, told ABC News. “And the app would not be able to download updates, eventually becoming obsolete.”
The approach has gained support from at least one U.S. Senator. Last month, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-CO, sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, calling on their companies to remove TikTok from their respective app stores and cited concerns about how TikTok handles the data of American users.
Google and Apple did not respond to a previous request for comment about the letter.
Savvy users could get around such a ban by using offline app installation that bypasses the app stores, Liao said.
Still, an app store ban would immediately limit TikTok’s audience, he added.
“As soon as you ban TikTok on the app store, it’s going to make an impact,” Liao said.
A block of access to TikTok’s servers or IP address
A ban of the app could also take effect using a barrier that blocks access to TikTok’s web servers or its IP address, the experts said.
In such a case, attempts to access the app would fail because users would not be able to receive digital content from TikTok or reach its web host.
“It would do enormous damage to TikTok,” Edgar said.
The government could use a “sinkhole,” or a specially designed server that redirects web traffic when users try to reach illicit websites, such as child pornography or pirated material, Edgar said.
“Users may go to a page saying, “TikTok was banned by the U.S. government and this page was seized by the Department of Justice,'” Edgar said.
As with other approaches, users could elude the government-imposed barrier, experts said.
To access the app, users could use a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, which allows one to pose as a user logging on from a location abroad, thereby circumventing the U.S.-specific ban, Liao said.
“In China, it’s the reverse,” Liao said. “People use a VPN to access blocked U.S. services because the Chinese government has such censorship.”
Despite the readily available workaround, the effort required to log in from a VPN will deter many people from continuing their use of TikTok, Edgar said.
“One you’ve banned it, mainstream users may not want to take those kinds of risks — it may not be that important to them,” he said. “TikTok influencers will lose huge amounts of followers.”
A clampdown by internet service providers
A TikTok ban may take shape as a denial of access imposed by internet service providers, companies like Verizon and AT&T that deliver internet access for individuals, homes, businesses and other institutions, experts said.
Internet service providers could “totally block the TikTok network,” leaving all customers unable to access the app, Liao said.
A TikTok ban imposed by India in 2020 required internet service providers to deny customers the ability to use the app, Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute, told ABC News.
“This is a case where in the U.S. you’d have to get Verizon to essentially block this app,” she said.
Liao, who noted that India’s approach also mandated the removal of TikTok from app stores, said a denial of access by internet service providers would expand measures that some companies already take to prevent the use of specific websites, such as age-inappropriate content.
“They’re already doing lots of traffic shaping,” Liao said.
Customers could potentially get around a barrier from internet service providers, or ISPs, by using a different SIM card, the chip implanted in a mobile device that identifies a customer, Liao said. Users could also forego a SIM card altogether, he added.
“Then you’ll completely bypass the ISP-blocking of TikTok,” he said.
As with the other solutions, this approach would not eliminate access entirely but would shrink the user base, Kreps said.
“The hope with that would be to slow down the flywheel,” she said. “You’re not going to prevent every single user from using TikTok but that would certainly make it much more difficult to use.”
(NEW YORK) –Former President Donald Trump claimed in a post on his social media platform that he will be arrested on Tuesday related to the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
As part of the post, Trump also called on his supporters to protest.
In a statement, a Trump spokesperson appeared to walk back the comments.
A Trump spokesperson said there is no notification the DA “has decided to take his Witch-Hunt to the next level. President Trump is rightfully highlighting his innocence and the weaponization of our injustice system. He will be in Texas next weekend for a giant rally.”
Trump has not been charged with a crime in the probe.
ABC News has not verified the claims and the Manhattan district attorney’s office has no comment.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
