(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested positive for COVID-19 via a PCR test Wednesday afternoon, the State Department said.
Blinken, who is vaccinated and boosted, is experiencing mild symptoms.
Blinken attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, where President Joe Biden was in attendance.
The State Department said Blinken hasn’t seen Biden “in person for several days, and the President is not considered a close contact according to guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Three alleged gang members have been charged with multiple counts of murder stemming from a mass shooting last month in downtown Sacramento, California, that left six people dead and a dozen wounded, authorities said.
Two of the suspected gunmen are in custody, while the third suspect is still being sought by police, officials said.
“What we know is that this was clearly gang related. There was a gunfight between multiple gang rivals,” Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert identified the murder suspects as Smiley Martin, 27, his 26-year-old brother, Dandrae Martin, and 27-year-old Mtula Payton.
Smiley and Dandrae Martin have been in custody since the shooting occurred.
Payton remains on the run and Lester said a team of police officers is doing everything they can to locate him and bring him to justice.
Schubert said the three suspects are each charged with three counts of murder stemming from the killings of “innocent bystanders” — Melinda Davis, 57, Johntaya Alexander, 21, and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21.
Schubert said the three other people killed in the shooting — Sergio Harris, 38, Devazia Turner, 29, and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32 — participated in the gun battle.
“The evidence shows and will show that these individuals armed themselves with guns,” Schubert said.
Citing California law, Schubert said if “individuals are involved in a gun battle and they kill innocent bystanders, all participants in that gun battle are responsible for the deaths of those innocent bystanders.”
“It doesn’t matter whose bullet killed who. What matters is that this was a gun battle between rival gang members who came armed to this scene in downtown Sacramento and innocent bystanders died,” Schubert said.
Schubert said the investigation is ongoing and more charges will likely be filed, including attempted murder charges.
On April 3, the shooting broke out around 2 a.m. at the corner of 10th and K Streets in a popular nightlife area of Sacramento, just blocks from the State Capital Building. Lester said 70 to 80 people were in the vicinity of the gunfire and many were caught in the cross fire.
Harris, Turner or Hoye-Lucchesi were identified as having weapons when they were shot dead, Schubert said.
Lester said investigators believe there were a total of five shooters.
Schubert declined to say if Harris, Turner and Hoye-Lucchesi were among those identified as having opened fire.
She said more than 100 shell casings were collected at the crime scene.
Schubert said Smiley Payton faces an enhancement charge of being in possession of a fully-automatic 9mm firearm with an extended magazine.
In addition to murder, the Martin brothers and Payton are also charged with being convicted felons in possession of weapons. Because they are each charged with multiple slayings, they all face capital murder enhancements that could make them eligible for the death penalty, Schubert said.
MORE: 3rd shooting near youth sports field in 7 days leaves several hurt
At the time of the shooting, Payton was free on $50,000 bail, stemming from a January 2020 arrest for allegedly being a felon in possession of a firearm, Schubert said.
Lester said more than 40 detectives were involved in the investigation, 12 of them full-time. The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive are assisting in the investigation.
“This act of violence devastated families and made members of our community concerned for their safety,” Lester said. “And as I said the day this happened, we are resolved to find those responsible and to secure justice for those victimized.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday said that the federal government will pay down the national debt this quarter for the first time in six years.
His remarks on economic growth came ahead of the Federal Reserve announcing a hike in interest rates Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to manage soaring inflation.
“Bringing down the deficit is one way to ease inflationary pressures in an economy, where a consequence of a war and gas prices and oil, food, and it all — it’s just a different world right this moment because of Ukraine and Russia,” Biden said.
Inflation is a big political problem for him and fellow Democrats ahead of the midterm elections as Republicans try to capitalize on soaring energy prices.
“For all the talk the Republicans make about deficits, it didn’t happen a single quarter under my predecessor, not once,” Biden said. “The bottom line is the deficit went up every year under my predecessor, before the pandemic and during the pandemic, snd it’s gone down both years since I have been here. Period. There are the facts.”
Biden’s remarks from the White House come after the Treasury Department updated estimates this week to project that the U.S. deficit will fall by over $1.5 trillion this year, a revision from the $1.3 trillion projected in Biden’s budget.
He credited the American Rescue Plan for growing the economy, though that relief bill has also been criticized for contributing to current inflation problems.
“Looking ahead, I plan to reduce the deficit even more which will help reduce inflationary measures and lower the cost for everyone’s families,” Biden said, as he tries to revive a stalled legislative agenda in Congress.
A White House official said, “This deficit reduction is occurring because the robust economic recovery means earnings and incomes are higher, which is increasing revenue, and because the Administration is winding down emergency spending.”
“There is no reason why a billionaire should be paid a lower tax rate than a teacher or firefighter,” Biden said Wednesday. “That is a sharp contrast to what’s today’s Republican Party is offering.”
Raising a plan released by Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott, Biden blasted what he called “this ultra-MAGA agenda,” which he said would raise costs for Americans families.
The budget deficit fell by more than $350 billion in Biden’s first year, according to the White House, but with inflation at a 40-year high, Republicans are hitting Biden on the economy as the 2022 midterm election cycle kicks off and Americans are still paying more at the pump.
In an effort to manage inflation, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise the short-term interest rate by a half-percentage point Wednesday — double the usual amount and the sharpest rate hike since 2000, meaning it will soon cost Americans more to buy big-ticket items like cars and homes.
The annual deficit has expanded to around $3 trillion due to the pandemic’s blow on the economy, with the gross national debt surpassing $30 trillion for the first time earlier this year. Former President Donald Trump’s massive tax cut in 2017 has added more than $1 trillion to the debt by some estimates — a point Biden hit head on.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military last month launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 04, 12:26 pm
Ukraine claims Russia plans to hold WWII Victory Day parade in Mariupol
Ukraine’s military intelligence claims Russia is planning to hold a World War II Victory Day parade in Mariupol on May 9. The military intelligence said streets are being cleared of bodies and debris.
Russia claimed Wednesday that its military has taken complete control of Mauripol, a strategic port city in Ukraine’s war-torn east.
May 9 is a major holiday in Russia known as Victory Day, commemorating the country’s victory over the Nazis. It’s usually celebrated with a military parade in Moscow and a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Last week, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace told LBC Radio that Putin will “probably” use the occasion to declare war. Russia has maintained that it’s carrying out “special military operations” in Ukraine and hasn’t declared war. In a call with reporters Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said claims Russia will declare a general mobilization are “absurd.”
-ABC News’ Yuriy Zaliznyak
May 04, 11:41 am
Russia claims to have taken full control of Mariupol, ‘securely blocked’ steel plant
Russia claimed Wednesday that its military has taken complete control of Mauripol, a strategic port city in Ukraine’s war-torn east.
“Peaceful life is being established in the territories of the LPR and DPR and Ukraine liberated from nationalists, including Mariupol, the largest industrial and transport hub on the Sea of Azov,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said during a teleconference. “It is under the control of the Russian army.”
According to Shoigu, Russian forces have “securely blocked” remaining Ukrainian fighters on the grounds of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works plant in Mariupol. The sprawling industrial site, which includes a maze of underground tunnels and bunkers, is the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol.
“In accordance with the instructions of the supreme commander, the remnants of the militants located in the industrial zone of the Azovstal plant are securely blocked around the entire perimeter of this territory,” Shoigu told reporters. “Repeated proposals to the nationalists to release civilians and lay down their arms with a guarantee of saving lives and decent treatment in accordance with international law, they have ignored. We continue these attempts.”
During a daily briefing call later Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the situation at the blockaded plant hadn’t changed and denied reports that Russian forces had begun storming the bombed-out territory, but said they have seen sporadic attempts by Ukrainian fighters to open fire.
“The supreme commander-in-chief has publicly ordered that the storm be canceled. There is no storm,” Peksov told reporters. “We can see that escalations happen as the fighters come to firing positions. These attempts are suppressed quite rapidly.”
ABC News recently spoke with Denys Prokopenko, a commander of the Azov Regiment, a far-right group now part of the Ukrainian military that was among the units defending Mariupol and is holed up inside the Azovstal plant with others. He said the fighters inside have tried to initiate a cease-fire to create conditions to allow people to flee but have yet to surrender, despite the odds. There are a number of people wounded and dead inside the plant, with some out of reach after sections of a bunker collapsed from Russian bombardment, according to Prokopenko.
“We are in full blockade, full circle of surrounding and we are under fire and the city is under fire,” Prokopenko told ABC News.
Earlier this week, a humanitarian convoy evacuated more than 100 civilians from the Azovstal plant and escorted them safely to Zaporizhzhia, a Ukrainian government-controlled city located about 140 miles northwest of Mariupol. Hundreds more civilians remain trapped inside the plant and Russian forces have resumed shelling of the area, according to Ukrainian officials.
-ABC News’ Clark Bentson, Dragana Jovanovic and Ian Pannell
May 04, 5:19 am
EU leader proposes import ban on Russian oil
The European Union’s top official called on the 27-nation bloc on Wednesday to gradually ban oil imports from Russia as part of a sixth set of sanctions against Moscow for its war in Ukraine.
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed that member nations “phase out” imports of Russian crude oil within six months and refined oil products from Russia by the end of the year. She also recommended sanctions targeting Russia’s biggest bank and major broadcasters.
“We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimizes the impact on global markets,” von der Leyen said. “Thus, we maximise pressure on Russia, while at the same time minimising collateral damage to us and our partners around the globe. Because to help Ukraine, our own economy has to remain strong.”
The proposals must be unanimously approved to take effect. Von der Leyen admitted that getting all 27 member countries to agree on oil sanctions “will not be easy.” Hungary and Slovakia, both of which are highly dependent on Russian energy, have already demanded exemptions.
“Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it,” she said. “We now propose a ban on Russian oil. This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined.”
(WASHINGTON) — It was a cold, sunny morning in late January when Sen. Ben Ray Lujan awoke on his farm in New Mexico. His girlfriend was leaving early for a visit with friends, and he had set the alarm for 5:45 a.m.
Lujan got up, made coffee, and helped out with packing the car. After seeing his girlfriend off, he headed back to bed for a bit more shut-eye.
“I got up at 6:15 a.m. So, half hour went by, I felt completely normal. Nothing was wrong,” the 49-year-old New Mexico Democrat recounted to ABC News in an exclusive interview for Good Morning America.
The freshman senator would soon learn that he had suffered a stroke in the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance. Extreme dizziness hitting him to such a degree that he would find himself crawling on his hands and knees. This ambitious former longtime House member once on a track potentially to the speakership, would have his life turned upside-down by a potentially deadly medical event, a moment that has sparked new meaning and new focus for the rising political star.
“I just, when I wake up and when I sit in the bed, the world’s spinning, but not spinning such that I don’t have my legs. I could still get up, but it was spinning so I was moving around a little bit right? The only thing I can compare it to is when you’re on a merry-go-round or something. You get off and you’re trying to catch those legs,” Lujan explained to ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott. “Went to the restroom, came back, closed my eyes for another 35 to 45 minutes and woke up because something felt funny. When I sat up that time, the room was like on its side, it felt like. It was topsy-turvy, and I was feeling the weakness.”
The harrowing account — the senator’s first — comes as the U.S. marks National Stroke Awareness month in May. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every 40 seconds someone in the U.S. has a stroke, and every three and a half minutes someone dies from it. While the senator is relatively young and in good health, an avid mountain biker, the CDC states that strokes can occur at any age, though the chance of having one increases as we grow older. And though death rates have been declining for most races and ethnicities over the years, Hispanics — like Lujan — have seen an increase in death rates since 2013.
Still, Lujan’s medical team does not know why he had the stroke.
As the senator’s world was spinning that Thursday morning and he was quickly losing strength, Lujan placed a crucial call to his chief of staff, Carlos Sanchez, who told his boss to contact his doctor immediately, a move that was likely life-saving. Lujan’s doctor, in turn, told him to get to an emergency room immediately, a critical decision.
“I called my sister, told her what was going on and by the time she got there — which wasn’t long thereafter — I went from being able to move around the house, wobbly and hitting walls, to crawling,” Lujan recounted as he moved to the edge of his seat, his hands at times clenched as the memories flooded back.
When the senator opened the door for his sister, Jackie, that morning, the fear in her eyes said it all.
“She had a lot of panic in her eyes, which I still remember the way she looked at me, and I said we got to go, but I need your help,” as the senator was unable to walk.
“She’s a little, she’s shorter than I am, but she was able to prop me on her shoulder and then as we went out the door, I told her, ‘I can’t walk,’ and she grabbed a broom, I think, or a stick that was on my front porch, and she said to use this on your other hand. ‘We’ll get you there.'”
On the way to the hospital, the senator’s sister spotted some firefighters outside their building. She pulled into the station and asked one of them to come and look at her ailing brother. Not liking what they saw, Lujan was quickly loaded into a nearby ambulance and rushed to the emergency room at Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Santa Fe where the doctors would have him quickly transferred to the state’s only comprehensive stroke center at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque for further evaluation.
All of the swift action decisive in his ultimate recovery.
Dr. Diana Greene-Chandos, Lujan’s neurologist, would later explain in a video tweeted out by the senator that the team discovered the cause of the stroke, a tear in Lujan’s vertebral artery, adding, “We did determine that medication would not be enough, and Senator Luhan underwent decompressive surgery to relieve the pressure in his brain.”
That diagnosis of a stroke for the 49-year-old New Mexican was a total shock.
“I never thought it was a stroke. Even as I was going to the hospital, I just thought I wasn’t feeling well. And a stroke hitting me, that wasn’t on my mind at all,” Lujan said.
To date, Lujan said, doctors are still not sure what ultimately caused the tear in his arteries.
“I had gone for a long mountain bike ride a few days before we had a freak snowstorm so I was shoveling snow for myself and mom for a couple hours. Two days before you know just normal weightlifting with kettlebells. I was working doing interviews and constituent meetings the day before. So they could not pinpoint something that this is what caused it. This is what triggered it,” Lujan remembered.
Over that late January weekend, surgeons removed a silver dollar size portion of the senator’s skull to allow the brain to swell and then heal.
“I don’t remember much coming out of the recovery, because they put me under to do this, but as I came out, you know, I was fortunate. My sister, Jackie, who took me to the hospital and she’s been with me a lot and then my partner, Dawn, she’s been with me as well. She came in a few days later. But it was that comfort, as well. And it was frightening, right?” said Lujan, feeling gingerly for the still-visible scar at the nape of his neck.
While a stroke can often be associated with a loss of motion or facial muscles, Lujan stressed to ABC News that he never lost motor movement or his voice throughout his entire ordeal. “I was a little weak on the left. I was wobbly. I didn’t have that balance,” the senator noted, which made physical therapy a challenge.
His most difficult day, he recalled, was that day he emerged from the life-saving surgery.
“I think that’s where it really set into me, like, this is serious. You know, granted, you’re there in a hospital room in an ICU. You’re connected to IVs. You got folks checking on you. But coming out of that surgery, I had staples on the back over here,” Lujan said, again touching his scar through his buzzed hair now growing out in the weeks after surgery. “Wasn’t allowed to touch it, right? Because you don’t want to mess with anything. And that’s when it set in, like, no, this is serious. Like, you got to fight on your hands. And it was tough.”
But Lujan gave his therapists a set of goals from the outset.
“I said I want to walk, I want to dance, and I want to ride my mountain bike again, and they said ‘well, we’re gonna help you hit all those goals,'” the senator said.
Therapists had Lujan performing balancing techniques, doing squats, riding the stationary bike, and even jogging, something that was painful, at first.
“Jogging was tough, because every time I would jolt, it would hurt back here where they did the work on me. But now that’s all gone,” said Lujan, who is still completing his therapy and has yet to get on his mountain bike. “They have me doing, you know, shoulder shrugs and pull ups, and they’re working on all that upper body strength. And it’s just, it’s special, but the best part of it is the people you’re working with.”
One nurse, in particular, pushed Lujan through the difficult moments in therapy. When Lujan did not feel like pushing, the nurse — named Tyler — told him, ‘You can be your own worst enemy and just stay here and not get better, or you can be positive. And you can take every day in that positive light and be positive with everything going on and get better,’ and it just stuck with me,” Lujan remembered, the emotion palpable in his voice.
The senator said the positive thinking made a true difference, but Lujan, a devout Catholic, also drew on his faith, telling ABC News he prayed daily, something that also helped with the intense feelings of loneliness that can permeate a sterile intensive care unit.
“It’s tough. People go through tough times during this, and there were people around me that passed away while they were trying to get care when the therapists were walking me around. I was often the only person walking around. Others were there behind closed doors. Some I don’t know if they had visitors and my family and my faith.”
It is that feeling of wanting to help others that aides say has Lujan and his team now looking for legislative and advocacy options. Lujan also said he plans to speak out to educate others about the risks of stroke and the importance of early detection.
The American Stroke Association uses the acronym, FAST, which stands for Face drooping; Arm weakness; Speech difficulty; and Time to call 9-1-1, emergency services, if these symptoms are observed.
As dramatic as the medical events were that played out far from Washington in January, the public and political world was none the wiser. It would take five days before Lujan’s condition was made public. The freshman senator’s chief of staff released a brief statement breaking the news, sending a seismic political jolt through the nation’s capital and an evenly-split Senate where Democratic leaders often say they are merely ‘a heartbeat away from the minority.’
Addressing the delay for the first time, Lujan told ABC News exclusively, “We put a press release out, I think it was the fifth day after I had the signs of that stroke on the 27th, and the reason for that was the docs told me you need a few days for us to give you an accurate portrayal of what your future may be like or what’s the outcome here. We don’t know where you’re going to do surgery yet, either. So, on the fifth day, they gave me and Carlos and my comms team an assessment. So we put a statement out to make sure everyone knew what was going on.”
But Lujan said the pressure from Washington, and the political machinations over how a Democratic absence might shift the balance of power in the Senate, never affected him and his recovery, this despite an historic Supreme Court nomination that would soon be announced for which Lujan’s vote might have proved decisive.
“Everyone knew that the Supreme Court nomination was on its way, and so one of the motivations for me even was you need to get better because you can’t miss that vote. And you need to get there, that’s your obligation,” said Lujan.
Lujan, a rising political star, manages to be both a fierce political strategist while also a humble man from humble roots, a member, along with Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., of the self-described “Head Start Caucus” — a reference to having been poor and in need of government assistance as children.
The senator is so beloved by his colleagues on both sides of the aisle, that they flooded his inbox with messages of support, something that the senator says was invaluable to his recovery.
One Senate colleague, in particular, Cory Booker of New Jersey, stood out, taking it upon himself to send daily, uplifting selfie videos to Lujan, sometimes corralling his Senate colleagues to join in, a generosity that brought the freshman senator to tears.
“I looked forward to them, and the first time I saw them, I was bawling,” Lujan recalled.
“Senator Booker has an incredible way about him and for someone of his stature to stop what they’re doing,” Lujan said, choking back tears. “Sorry. For someone of Cory’s stature to stop what they’re doing and tell you a story. And he was even getting, you know, Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the way to votes to say hello and whatnot…I think that’s an example of the kind of humanity and generosity that you see from other people. And this way with people that are busy, and they took time to truly check in on me and see how I was doing, and it was genuine.”
In one video, shared exclusively with ABC News by Booker’s office, prayers and words of encouragement were offered by Lujan’s “Head Start caucus” colleague, Raphael Warnock, who is also a pastor at the storied Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, featured in another, sending well wishes and prayers, with a smiling Booker adding of his Mormon colleague, “And I can say he’s got powerful prayers.”
“Hey, Ben Ray. Get better soon,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a third video, flashing a thumbs up as Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., photo bombed the moment.
It’s a generosity and selflessness that Sen. Lujan said he’s anxious to share with others, a profound lesson from his stroke, among many that he said would stay with him.
“How many people do we see on the street that need help or elsewhere in the world? And we people are so busy. We just walked by them and you ignore them? Even if you can’t help them, smile. Say, ‘Good morning. Good afternoon.’ Right?” Lujan asked rhetorically, passion rising in his voice. “Because that humanity might save their lives. They know that they’re being seen. They know they’re worth something. And it’s just one of those reminders to me of how much more patient we can be as a society, how much more caring we can be. And something that we can give away for free, which is the smile or gesture to change everything.”
He has also been especially touched by people who have had strokes but never made them public, willing to share their experience to help him, or others who have offered advice along the way on what to expect.
“Take time to get better, right? Sleep matters. Listen to your therapists. Do what they tell you to do. Take your medicine. A lot of people have told me that one,” recalled Lujan. “But since that stroke, and since I’ve come back, I’m able to be even more present than I’ve been. I’m able to appreciate where I am or the people that I’m meeting more.”
Perhaps difficult for an ambitious politician, Lujan said he’s trying to be more patient, though having nearly recovered fully from the stroke, he is anxious “to push, because you have so much to deliver and a short time to get it done. But you treat more people with that respect and dignity, and I hope people thought that I did that already, but I’m more aware of it, and you just be good, right? Trying to make a difference. Be positive.”
He has clearly learned a lot from the life-changing experience, but as he has shared his experience with others, including with other stroke victims, one thing has also solidified in his mind — that on that cold January day, something bigger than Lujan saved him.
“A lot of them told me that they waited too long, that they tried to get better for a couple of days. And for whatever reason, even though I think that’s my natural inclination, I didn’t do that this time. Someone was looking out for me, something motivated me. And, you know, a lot of people saved my life and, you know, God is watching over me. God is good.”
The senator returned to his job in Washington full time just five weeks after his stroke, his colleagues greeting him with a standing ovation as he walked into a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. He joked with reporters afterward about his new “buzz cut” hairdo, later voting on the Senate floor for the first time in more than a month, his colleagues warmly embracing him.
The senator, who has kept a low profile since the, is not quite back to 100%, but he says he is close and has passed major milestones, including an annual, 9-mile pilgrimage in his home state he recently conquered just before Easter.
“For me, that was a big milestone, because I have a lot to be grateful for, a lot to pray for. And while I didn’t walk as far as I normally do, I did it from my home. So just under 9 miles, but nonetheless a lot of folks said we didn’t know if you can do it, and that’s just one of those times that are important to me, that I was able to still meet it, and it just begins to describe the recovery,” Lujan said.
And while Lujan is not yet back on his mountain bike, something he says he plans to do soon, he told ABC News that he is feeling stronger every day.
“I won’t say I’m 100 percent yet, because I haven’t gotten on my mountain bike once I do that, and I think that I’m there I can tell you that I’m stronger. I feel stronger every day that goes by. I feel better. You know, you can see that I’ve not lost my speech, although some of my friends maybe had hoped that that might be the case. But I’m able to engage in debate and thought and conversation and do that work. And I feel physically stronger as well. So I’ve been blessed that I’m getting better and that I’m almost there. So keep praying for me.”
(NEW YORK) — Authorities now believe that an Alabama corrections officer “willingly” participated in the escape of a capital murder suspect, according to the local sheriff in charge of the investigation.
“The pieces of the puzzle just came together,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton told ABC News in an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America.
“I think all of our employees and myself included were really hoping that she did not participate in this willingly. But all indications are that she absolutely did,” he added. “We’re very disappointed in that because we had the utmost trust in her as an employee and as an assistant director of corrections.”
Wednesday marked the sixth day of an intense search for Lauderdale County Assistant Director of Corrections Vicki White, 56, and inmate Casey White, 38. The pair — who authorities said are not related — went missing from Florence, Alabama, on Friday. That morning at the Lauderdale County Detention Center, Vicki White allegedly told her colleagues she was taking Casey White to the local courthouse for a “mental health evaluation,” though he didn’t have a court appearance scheduled. She violated policy by escorting the inmate alone, according to the sheriff.
“This particular guy and someone like that, no, that should have never happened, even if we had to delay getting him to court,” Singleton told ABC News on Wednesday.
Casey White, who is 6 feet, 9 inches tall, was charged with two counts of capital murder in September 2020 for the stabbing of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway. He could face the death penalty if convicted, according to the sheriff.
The inmate previously planned an escape from the Lauderdale County Detention Center in the fall of 2020, but authorities thwarted the plot before he could attempt it, the sheriff said. When authorities got word of the scheme, they found a homemade knife in his possession and learned that he was planning to take a hostage, according to the sheriff. Casey White was subsequently transferred to a state prison, where he remained until February 2022, when he returned to the Lauderdale County facility for court appearances related to the murder charge, the sheriff said.
Investigators have since learned that Casey White and Vicki White had a “special relationship” and were communicating after he was transferred from the county jail to state custody, according to the sheriff. The nature of that communication was not immediately clear.
“We know that they maintained contact while he was in the department of corrections up to and including until he was returned here Feb. 25 of this year,” Singleton told ABC News on Wednesday.
The pair “should be considered dangerous and may be armed with an AR-15 rifle, handguns and a shotgun,” and may be driving a 2007 orange or copper Ford Edge with minor damage to the left back bumper, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering up to $10,000 reward for information leading to Casey White’s capture and a $5,000 reward for information leading to Vicky White. A warrant was issued for Vicki White charging her with permitting or facilitating escape.
As of Wednesday morning, investigators “don’t have any idea where they might be,” the sheriff told ABC News.
“We were making some good progress on that. We may be hindered now that some of that information has gotten out,” he added. “But, you know, we’re still working around the clock to locate them and try to get them back in custody.”
Singleton has described Vicki White, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, as “an exemplary employee.” He said she had been talking about retiring for the last few months and turned in her paperwork last Thursday. The day she and Casey White went missing was set to be her last day on the job, according to the sheriff.
“My message would be: Vicki, you’ve been in this business for 17 years, you’ve seen this scenario play out more than once and you know how it always ends,” Singleton told ABC News on Wednesday. “Now go ahead and end it now, get to a phone and call 911, turn yourself in and help us get Casey White back behind bars because you know that’s where he’s going to eventually end up.”
(WASHINGTON) — Politically minded eyes were on Ohio and Indiana Tuesday night, as the Republican and Democratic parties faced renewed identity crises, pulled between election denialism and anti-Trump factions on the right and progressives and pro-Biden centrists on the left.
From questions of Trump’s influence to the growing threat of winnowed abortion access, here’s how Tuesday night’s midterm election primaries in Ohio and Indiana shaped the state of politics and set new goalposts for both parties as they vie for majority power in Washington and across the country come November:
Democratic establishment lives on
Progressives suffered dual crushing losses in Ohio, with Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan sailing to an easy victory in the Senate primary quickly after polls closed Tuesday evening. Ryan defeated a more left-leaning primary challenger, Morgan Harper. Harper embraced the Green New Deal, eliminating the Senate filibuster and expanding the size of the Supreme Court, and her wide-margin loss can be seen as a referendum on such progressive politics — even if they play well in Washington and trend popular with younger voters.
In Ohio’s closely watched 11th district, President Joe Biden-endorsed Rep. Shontel Brown delivered a devastating blow to Bernie Sanders-tied challenger Nina Turner. Ryan and Brown’s win could also mean a sigh of relief for Democrats who worry about centrist liberalism — and its champion, Biden, as some version of the Democratic establishment remains popular among this group of key voters in a state that voted for former President Donald Trump by eight percentage points in 2020.
According to ABC News’ Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer, who spoke to Ryan throughout election night, the 10-term congressman campaigned regularly in conservative areas and made a point to visit all 88 Ohio counties.
As the electorate trends Republican, thanks, in part, to this year’s redistricting process, Democrats who play well in red states may be the left’s key to maintaining what slim majority they now have.
Abortion access hangs in balance
It’s not entirely surprising that in the waning hours of Ohio’s Senate primary, Republican victor J.D. Vance, who will continue on to the general election, was quick to praise the prospect of Roe v. Wade being overturned as the unprecedented leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion sent shockwaves through the race — and the country — overnight.
“I do think Roe was a big mistake. And I think if the Supreme Court overturns it, it will be a big success for the pro-life movement,” Vance told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott.
And it may be even less surprising that an establishment Democrat like Tim Ryan, who is expected to go on to face Vance in the general election, said abortion access is an issue of “freedom.”
“I think in many ways to abortion is, in some sense, an economic issue as well … This is a freedom issue, really, for me, and I think it’s a freedom issue for a lot of these women,” said Ryan, who once opposed abortion but changed his mind come 2015.
But an inter-party spar on abortion became critical in the race to cinch Ohio’s Democrat gubernatorial spot, where former Dayton mayor Nan Whaley found a path to victory in part by slamming her challenger John Cranley’s record on reproductive rights. During the campaign, Whaley underscored that she has always been a proponent of abortion rights whereas Cranley reversed his position before the campaign season. A majority of Americans wish to uphold Roe v. Wade, according to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, and that message clearly resonates even in a state as red as Ohio.
Trump avoids slump
Ohio’s gubernatorial and senatorial primary results suggest that Trump’s so-called golden touch may in fact be rusty, but not completely out of magic.
Incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine, who rose in popularity after imposing more aggressive coronavirus restrictions in his state, won the Republican bid for reelection and defeated Trump-affiliated candidate Jim Renacci (who was endorsed by Trump in 2018, when Renacci ran and lost a Senate bid). DeWine’s win means a slight loss for the former president, who suggested DeWine needed to be primaried for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Even though Trump steered clear of a formal endorsement, his apparent disdain for the incumbent governor is no secret and his opponents differed little from Trump in campaign talking points, which calls into question the lasting power of Trump’s influence.
DeWine’s race is just one of a handful of governors’ races where anti-Trump Republicans are looking to send a clear signal to MAGA-world with incumbent wins.
Enter the counter-narrative: J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy author and Trump critic turned endorsee and ally, notched a major victory for himself and for MAGA-ism. Trump tapped Vance from a pack of higher-performing rivals. Vance’s victory is a notch in Trump’s victory belt, proving that despite attacks from other Republicans showcasing the apparent hypocrisy of transforming from critic to champion, his word holds some outsized weight with the base.
And in his reelection bid, Greg Pence, the older brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, is the projected winner of the Republican nomination for House in Indiana’s 6th Congressional District after gaining the “complete and total endorsement” of former President Donald Trump.
The question remains: Can Trump pull out wins in upcoming primaries where his picks are more controversial, or take on more established GOP veterans?
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates on Wednesday in an effort to help battle inflation.
The increase is expected to be half a percentage point.
So what does this latest hike mean for you? ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis appeared on Good Morning America Wednesday to break down how the increase could impact markets and your bottom line:
(NEW YORK) — This week, Skims, Kim Kardashian’s “solutions-oriented” brand of underwear, shapewear and loungewear, launched The Adaptive Collection for people with limited mobility.
The collection includes four pieces, all within the Fits Everybody wider range: an adaptive scoop bralette, thong, brief and boy short. Each piece comes in four different colors and sizes from XXS to 4X.
Moreover, these pieces all have added hook and eye closures “for added accessibility of dressing,” Skims explains on their website.
Stefanie Schaffer, 25, is one of the models featured in the Skims campaign for this collection. Schaffer lost both of her legs, sustained a spinal cord injury and paralysis, a traumatic brain injury, and suffered multiple broken bones and failing organs in a 2018 boating explosion, she says. She now has two prosthetic legs.
Since the accident, Shaffer says she has found new activities, like hand cycling and Nordic sit skiing, and has “been determined to make the most of what happened to me and live my best new life.”
She also recently signed a modeling contract which led her to “a dream” shoot with Skims, she says.
“From the moment that I was booked for the shoot, the entire Skims team was so professional, and so considerate, making sure they took all of our accessibility needs into consideration,” she adds. On set, “they made me feel beautiful and confident and worthy of being there.”
“A brand like Skims releasing an adaptive collection is so important!” Shaffer says, considering their influence on the industry. “So this was saying to us that being disabled doesn’t mean you have to compromise. You don’t have to miss out on shopping at your favorite brands because [Skims] can see that [you’re] valued and taken into consideration.”
Schaffer says her favorite pieces include the boy short and the briefs, and she adds that the hook and eye system on the sides of the underwear make them easy to take on and off.
People may not realize how tiring day-to-day tasks are for those with physical limitations, Schaffer says.
“Sometimes I’ll be exhausted just from getting clothes on for the day,” she notes. “So even just these basics of bras and underwear being easier, is like, such a relief. Serious props to Skims for this.”
In its launch email to customers, Skims says that this adaptive collection is “just the beginning,” and they “want to offer more solutions to more people.”
(NEW YORK) — After serving 31 years in Florida State Prison for a murder he did not commit, Thomas Raynard James is a free man.
“Emotionally I was overwhelmed. I was not in a state of disbelief, because I knew this day was coming, eventually. I was looking forward to it. But emotionally I wasn’t really prepared for it,” James told ABC News.
James was convicted in 1991, when he was 23, for the 1990 death of Francis McKinnon.
Witnesses told police the robbery and murder of McKinnon was committed by a man named “Thomas James” or “Tommy James.” James was convicted after a witness then told jurors she saw James kill her stepfather during a robbery, due to what his lawyer called a case of mistaken identity.
According to the state attorney for Miami-Dade County, Katherine Fernandez Rundle, the case lacked physical evidence and his fingerprints did not match those found at scene but he was still convicted after an eyewitness said she saw him shoot McKinnon.
James was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
“It was horrendous …To have somebody to be incarcerated can be dramatic in of itself, but to know that you’re sitting here, and you’re going through these days on a daily basis for something that you didn’t have anything to do with, it was torture,” James says.
James said he “never gave up” thinking that he would eventually be released, but says that life in prison had been difficult.
“It’s hard to even put into words, some of the things that I had to deal with and the feelings that I was dealing with for the last over three decades,” he said.
James said he spent years filing motions proclaiming his innocence and was denied many times. He said he had even reached out twice to The Innocence Project in Florida, and was told both times they could not “proceed with his case.”
Attorney Natlie Figgers who specializes in personal injury and family law, took on James’ case pro bono out of a legal “duty,” she said.
“Once I saw the evidence and reviewed the case, it was pretty clear that a mistake had occurred, and I was pretty flabbergasted that he submitted that many appeals and they didn’t see the same thing… when you hear that it’s just mistaken identity due to a name. How can somebody be wrongfully convicted just based on having the same name?” Figgers told ABC News.
“I was a personal injury attorney, so I never dealt with criminal law. So I definitely want to make sure that it was something that I would be able to prove on his behalf … There were no other attorneys that were taking this case on at that time. So I felt like I had a duty,” she added.
The witness whose testimony placed James behind bars recanted her previous testimony last month, according to Rundle.
While he is a free man now, supporting himself and finding a job could be difficult. James’ family has even launched an online fundraising campaign for him.
Figgers said she is pursuing a civil wrongful imprisonment case, seeking compensation for James.
James said he plans on becoming “gainfully employed,” and also said he is working on a book about his story.
He said he hopes to help others in similar situations, but said he is most focused on making up for lost time.
“The list of things that I missed out on is long. For me, one thing that would mention is that I lost a lot of family, a lot of friends… they went to their grave with me still sitting in prison for a crime I didn’t commit,” James said.
“Injustice to anyone is injustice to everyone. So when people such as myself are crying out don’t just brush them off and automatically call them guilty,” he said.
