(NEW YORK) — With young under 5 now the only group not yet eligible for vaccination against COVID-19, many parents have been vocal about their frustration pertaining to the delayed authorization process and rollout.
However, a new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor survey has found that less than a fifth of parents with children under the age 5 — 18% — reported that they are eager to get their child vaccinated right away.
More than a third of parents — 38% — said that they plan to wait in order to see how the vaccine works for others, while 27% of parents reported that they will “definitely not” get their child vaccinated, and another 11% stating that they will only do so if required.
More than half of parents said they feel that they do not have enough information about the vaccines’ safety and efficacy for children under 5 years of age.
Pfizer reported on Tuesday that it now expects to analyze and submit its data for its three-dose pediatric vaccine by late May or early June, and the company anticipates that both the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consider the submission soon after.
“We have been working with urgency to generate data,” Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer and president, Worldwide Research Development and Medical, said during an investors conference on Monday, adding that the company recognizes that “parents of younger children and health care providers have been waiting for an effective vaccine.”
Last week, Moderna announced it had submitted its request for the FDA to authorize its vaccine for children ages 6 months to 6 years.
“I think for these little children, they really represent an unmet medical need,” Paul Burton, chief medical officer for Moderna, told ABC News last week. “I would be hopeful that the review will go on quickly and rigorously — but if it’s approvable, this will be made available to these little children as quickly as possible.”
Burton said there will certainly be a “continued challenge ahead” as officials work to address hesitancy among parents.
The initial reluctance from parents of young children mirrors a similar trend to that seen with parents of older children and adolescents. Just under 26 million children ages 5 to 17 — or a little less than half of those eligible — remain completely unvaccinated, according to federal data. Overall, 43.2% of eligible children have been fully vaccinated, and when broken down further by age, just 28.8% of children ages 5 to 11 have been fully vaccinated.
Just under one-third of parents of 5- to 17-year-olds reported that they will “definitely not” get their child vaccinated, KFF found.
However, the poll found that the FDA’s delays in analyzing pediatric vaccine data have not been a deterrent for parents. Sixty-four percent of parents reported the delay has not affected their confidence in the safety of the vaccines for this age group, while 22% of parents said it has made them “more confident” in the vaccine’s safety for young children. Only 13% of parents reported the delay has made them “less confident.”
The continued push to convince parents to vaccinate their children comes amid a rise in pediatric COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
For the third consecutive week, COVID-19 infection rates among children in the U.S. have seen a notable increase, according to a new report released on Monday from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
Last week, 53,000 additional child COVID-19 cases were reported, an increase of about 61% from two weeks ago. Nevertheless, overall numbers remain significantly lower than during other parts of the pandemic. However, many Americans, who are taking at-home tests, are not submitting their results, and thus, experts said daily case totals are likely significantly higher than the numbers that are officially reported.
Hospital admissions are also up by about 21% in the last two weeks, with around 120 virus-positive children admitted to the hospital each day.
Vaccine hesitancy has not been limited just to parents, as the push back against the vaccine has plagued the rollout since its early days. Nationally, 54.6 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated.
In recent months, the drive for people to get their booster shot has also markedly slowed, as those most eager to get the shot have already been vaccinated.
Among vaccinated adults, who have not yet received a booster dose, 27% reported that they will only get the extra shot “if required,” while 23% said that they “definitely not” get a booster. Nearly a third — 30% — reported that they plan to get an additional dose “as soon as they can,” while 18% said they want to “wait to see” before getting a booster dose.
KFF found there is also a large gap by partisanship, with Democrats more than twice as likely as Republicans to report being vaccinated and boosted.
For those who have yet to receive a booster, 56% of respondents said they believe that they already have enough protection from either their initial vaccine doses or from a previous COVID-19 infection. Others reported that they simply do not want to get it, while 39% of people said they believe boosters are ineffective because some vaccinated people are still getting infected.
(NEW YORK) — Amid a political debate about offering gender affirming medical care to transgender children, a new study suggests that among children who have already socially transitioned very few are likely to “retransition” to their gender at birth.
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics, followed 317 socially transitioned children who had already been living as their authentic gender for more than a year, finding that almost 95% continued to identify as transgender five years later.
“What we are seeing is that a relatively small number of youth retransitioned,” Dr. Kristina Olson, a professor of psychology at Princeton University and first author on the paper, told ABC News.
Social transition describes the process of transgender people adopting the name, pronouns and gender expression, such as clothing and haircuts, that match their gender identity, and not the gender assumed by their sex at birth. In this study, retransition or “detransition” is when a person identifies as cisgender or nonbinary after identifying as transgender. Of note, many nonbinary people consider themselves to be transgender.
Prior research has suggested a much higher rate of retransition among young children, but many of these prior studies have focused on the period immediately after a child expresses a desire to socially transition. Because the new study followed children who were already 18 months into their social transition, specialists said it offers important context to prior research, suggesting children who persistently express their transgender identity for more than a year are unlikely to retransition.
In the study, children were surveyed from more than 40 states and two Canadian provinces between 2013 and 2017, when they were 3 to 12 years old. About 2.5% of children retransitioned to identify as cisgender at the end of the study, and 3.5% were living as nonbinary, using they/them pronouns. Children who transitioned before age 6 were more likely to retransition, the study said.
Under current medical guidance, children who transition do not undergo significant, irreversible treatments such as surgery. Young children don’t require any medical treatments to socially transition, while older children may safely be offered puberty blockers to halt changes associated with puberty.
Doctors who care for transgender youth said the study matches what they see in their clinical practice.
“I can count on one hand the number of kids in our 200 plus population who have retransitioned,” Dr. Kristin Dayton, a pediatric endocrinologist who works with youth undergoing gender transitions in Florida, told ABC News. She said this study reflects what she sees in her own clinic.
“This article sounds much more like my experience,” Dr. Hussein Abul-Latif, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Alabama told ABC News.
He said he has always been surprised by anecdotal reports that transgender youth frequently retransition because it’s not what he’s seen on a large scale in his medical practice.
One limitation of the study, researchers said, is that it likely reflects the experience of children with supportive families and therapy.
“In order for a kid to socially transition, you have to have some degree of parental support,” said Olson, who directs the TransYouth Project, the first large-scale, national, longitudinal study of socially-transitioned transgender children to date.
Studies show that transgender youth are far more likely to experience depression, anxiety and suicidal thought than their peers. But those who are supported in their transition are less likely to experience depression and suicidality.
“That’s probably why we are seeing our cohort has average rates of depression and only slight elevation in anxiety on average,” Olson said.
The new study comes amid legislative efforts in several U.S. states to limit medical care for transgender children. In Florida, recent health department guidance advising against supportive medical care for transgender children cited older research indicating 80% of youth are likely to retransition, but the data has been called into question for things like the inability to follow up with study participants regarding their true outcomes.
According to Dayton, who practices in Florida, the recent guidance was not based on a complete review of medical literature, including ample studies suggesting that allowing children to transition decreases suicide risk.
“We encourage social transition because there is ample data to show it markedly improves mental health and reduces suicidality in transgender kids,” Dayton said
In Alabama, where Abdul-Latif practices, new legislation means it could soon become illegal for doctors to offer gender-affirming medical care to transgender children.
“People forget that these are just kids,” Olson said. “We can so easily get lost in the rhetoric and forget that behind that rhetoric are kids just trying to live their life.”
Abdul-Latif said he worries most about the mental health of the youth he treats. He recently saw one transgender boy in clinic who had started testosterone a few months ago despite his father expressing some initial reservations.
“The father made a point of sharing that he had been hesitant at first but having seen his son and how much happier he is — more open and interactive — he is so happy he decided to do this. I think about those smiling faces, and I think, what will happen to them?” Abdul-Latif said.
(WASHINGTON) — The first multistate contest of the 2022 midterm season kicked off Tuesday with primary races in Ohio and Indiana.
Ohio’s Senate race marked the first major sign of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement power at the polls.
Here’s how the races developed on Tuesday. All times Eastern:
May 03, 11:28 pm
Trump-backed candidate projected winner in Ohio’s 13th
ABC News has projected Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, former co-chair of the national Women for Trump advisory board, as the winner in the GOP primary for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District.
Gilbert scored Trump’s endorsement in the race and aligned with him on most issues. Other GOP candidates in the race included Shay Hawkins, Santana Kings, Janet Folger Porter, Dante Sabatucci, Ryan Salor and Greg Wheeler.
May 03, 11:12 pm
GOP aims to flip Indiana House seat
ABC News has projected Jennifer-Ruth Green, an air force veteran, as the winner of the Republican House primary for Indiana’s 1st Congressional District.
“I have been blessed to have the opportunity to serve our country in uniform for 22 years, and I look forward to earning the opportunity to represent Hoosiers and continue my service in Congress,” Green said in a statement.
Republicans are aiming to flip the district, a long Democratic stronghold that is nevertheless seen as fertile ground in a wave election.
Green will face incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan in November.
May 03, 10:43 pm
Brown projected to defeat turner in Ohio House primary
In Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Shontel Brown is projected by ABC News to defeat progressive challenger Nina Turner for a second time, marking a victory for President Joe Biden’s endorsement power.
Brown was first elected to Congress in a special election last year following former Rep. Marcia Fudge’s appointment to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Biden offered his second endorsement of the midterm cycle to Brown last Friday, calling her “an ardent advocate for the people of Ohio and a true partner in Congress,” while leading progressive voices like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., backed Turner.
Turner, a former co-chair of Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, had previously criticized the Democratic Party and Biden’s leadership.
May 03, 10:24 pm
Former state senator wins GOP primary for IN-09
ABC News has projected that Erin Houchin, a former state senator, as the winner of the Republican House primary in Indiana’s 9th Congressional District.
“I am honored that Hoosier Republicans across Southern Indiana have entrusted me with their vote,” Houchin said in a statement. “I’ve spent my life in the Ninth District, and look forward to carrying our momentum through November and being the proven conservative fighter we need in Washington. It’s time to push back against the radical Biden-Pelosi agenda and take our country back.”
The seat was the only vacant congressional seat in the state after Republican Congressman Trey Hollingsworth announced he wouldn’t seek reelection.
May 03, 10:21 pm
Vance thanks Trump in victory speech
Fresh off his projected win, J.D. Vance thanked former President Donald Trump for his endorsement as he celebrated his projected primary victory with supporters in Cincinnati on Tuesday.
“I have got to absolutely thank the 45th President Donald Trump. One, for giving us an example of what could be in this country… and endorsing me,” Vance said.
Trump’s endorsement of Vance, the “never-Trumper” turned Trump ally, was not well received among all Republicans. Many criticized Trump’s pick, bringing up past comments Vance made attacking Trump supporters — but Vance still prevailed.
The Hillbilly Elegy author drew upon his midwest working-class background throughout the campaign. He initially struggled to stand out from a crowd of MAGA Republicans, but Trump’s endorsement gave him a significant boost that he used to carry him to victory, focusing the fight on “America First” values in recent weeks.
Vance is expected to face Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the general election.
May 03, 9:43 pm
J.D. Vance projected winner of GOP Senate primary, marking victory for Trump
In the Ohio Republican primary for Senate, ABC projects Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance as the winner, marking a massive victory for former President Donald Trump.
Polling showed Vance fading into third place in the weeks leading up to the election, behind Mike Gibbons and Josh Mandel, but an 11th-hour endorsement from the former president vaulted Vance into front-running status.
The “never-Trumper” turned Trump ally will face Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the fall.
Trump also endorsed former aide Max Miller in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District. Miller was also projected to win his primary race on Tuesday.
Mike Gibbons, the wealthy Ohio businessman who previously ran for Senate in 2018, conceded over Twitter he would not win the GOP primary nomination for retiring Sen. Rob Portman’s seat.
“We still don’t know who is going to win, but it is clear that we came up short. While tonight did not go as we had hoped, don’t be discouraged. We have a lot of work left to do. Tomorrow is the first day of the General Election- the most important election of our lives,” Gibbons wrote in a tweet.
While Gibbons touted his ties to former President Donald Trump and his efforts to raise money for Trump’s presidential campaign, he did not receive Trump’s endorsement, while the candidate who did — J.D. Vance — has led the race all night.
May 03, 9:20 pm
ABC News projects Max Miller winner of GOP House primary
In Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, ABC News projects Max Miller as the winner of the Republican primary election.
The race represented a test of former President Donald Trump’s kingmaking power after Trump threw his endorsement behind Miller, his former White House and campaign aide.
Miller was first vying for the seat of Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, a Republican who voted for Trump’s second impeachment, until Gonzalez announced he was not running again after their district was redrawn. Before redistricting, Gonzalez represented Ohio’s 16th Congressional District.
Incumbent Rep. Bob Gibbs withdrew from the 7th District race after ballots were already printed, so any votes for Gibbs will not be counted.
May 03, 9:12 pm
Tim Ryan celebrates victory in Columbus
Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, a 10-term congressman, former presidential candidate and the son of union workers from northeast Ohio, celebrated his projected primary victory from Columbus on Tuesday.
“We’ve been to all 88 counties. Ninety-seven percent of our donations are under $100. This campaign is about the people of Ohio,” Ryan told a room of supporters.
Ryan will face the winner of the GOP Senate primary race — where Trump-endorsed candidate J.D. Vance is leading — in an election that could help Democrats retain control of the Senate next year. A Democrat hasn’t won a statewide race in Ohio since 2006 with one exception: Sen. Sherrod Brown’s reelection in 2018.
Ryan told ABC News’ Senior Washington Report Devin Dwyer Tuesday in his hometown of Warren that he is looking to replicate Brown’s success by focusing relentlessly on jobs, wages, cutting taxes and cutting costs for families. He talked often about beating China — and even mentioned policy areas he agreed with former President Donald Trump.
Even in this primary, he stumped regularly in red areas — visiting all 88 counties.
Ryan said he likes to avoid the “stupid fights” and “culture war antics” of the “Trump knock-offs” he’ll soon face.
May 03, 8:56 pm
ABC News projects Nan Whaley to win Ohio Democratic gubernatorial primary
Former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley is projected to win the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Ohio, setting her up with a matchup with incumbent Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
Democrats face an uphill battle to win the governorship, which the party hasn’t captured since 2006.
Whaley tweeted Monday night when the Supreme Court draft opinion was leaked that Democrats have a chance to elect a “genuinely pro-choice candidate to be Ohio’s next governor.”
May 03, 8:40 pm
Signs of a close race in the Ohio Republican Senate primary
While less than 20% of the expected vote is in so far in the Ohio Republican Senate primary, there are early signs of a close race and a surge for one of the candidates.
“Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is currently leading, but State Sen. Matt Dolan is only a few percentage points behind him. Dolan, who self-financed his race, is the only candidate who broke with Trump in the race. He told ABC News that candidates who focus on the 2020 election are misguided.
Vance, meanwhile, has fully embraced Trump and his endorsement.
-ABC News Oren Oppenheim
May 03, 8:20 pm
ABC News projects Frank LaRose winner of GOP secretary of state race
In the Ohio Republican primary for secretary of state, incumbent elections chief Frank LaRose is projected to win.
Although LaRose once told the Cleveland Plain Dealer it is “irresponsible when Republicans say an election was stolen and don’t have evidence” in the fallout from the 2020 election, the Republican incumbent still received Trump’s endorsement for his reelection campaign.
“I think President Trump is incredibly influential here in Ohio. He won by an overwhelming margin, in a secure election — he got over 8%, that’s a record-setting 3 million votes in the state of Ohio,” LaRose said in an interview on ABC News Live on Monday touting the endorsement.
As Trump increasingly wades into state-level political contests, the shift in rhetoric by LaRose demonstrates an attempt to bridge the divide between sentiments of election denial expressed by many of Trump’s supporters with the wishes of broad swaths of Republicans who want to see the party move on from focusing on 2020. In doing so, LaRose appears to be superimposing Trump’s comments into existing voting parameters that he backs as the state’s top elections official.
-ABC News’ Alisa Wiersema
May 03, 8:12 pm
ABC News projects Mike DeWine winner of GOP gubernatorial primary
Incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine is projected to win the Republican gubernatorial primary in Ohio, holding off challenges from within his own party.
DeWine, who is seeking a second term, was favored to win but faced a spirited faceoff with Republicans who were disappointed with his relatively strict response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those looking to replace DeWine included former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, former state Rep. Ron Hood and Joe Blystone, a farmer who jumped into the race. Trump did not endorse a candidate in this primary contest, but Renacci campaigned on Trumpism and cited Trump’s support of him in 2018 during his failed campaign for Senate.
May 03, 8:01 pm
ABC News projects Rep. Tim Ryan winner of Ohio Senate primary
In the Ohio Democratic primary for Senate, ABC projects Rep. Tim Ryan to win.
May 03, 7:46 pm
Trump makes final primary push for Vance
Former President Donald Trump participated in a radio interview with Ohio 98.9 Tuesday to boost his favored Senate candidate J.D. Vance in the state during the final hours of the race.
While on the show, Trump was asked about the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade and denounced the leak as “demeaning” but did not comment on the draft itself. Notably, Trump vowed to appoint justices who would overturn the nearly 50-year precedent.
Trump went on to get out the vote for Vance but acknowledged, as he always does, that his preferred candidate wasn’t always on his side.
“Well, I’ve liked him. He was rough on me but so was everybody else, they all were, really. But he was pretty, I would say normal rough, relatively speaking,” Trump said. “And I just thought he was very exceptional. He came back a long way as you know, he retracted everything. Overall, I just think he’s gonna be very good.”
“They’re all good,” Trump added. “But J.D. is going to win.”
May 03, 7:33 pm
Polls close in Ohio
Polls closed at 7:30 p.m. across Ohio, where voters cast ballots in primaries for the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as for governor, attorney general, secretary of state and auditor.
Key races in the state are expected to shed light on the endorsement power of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
The Ohio secretary of state’s office released final early voting totals — showing that 301,837 absentee ballots were requested by-mail or in person, and that 263,542 votes had already been cast statewide.
Those numbers surpass the 2018 total of 300,765 absentee ballots requested through the end of the early voting period and 260,443 total early votes cast.
May 03, 6:22 pm
Abortion rights take center stage on primary day
In the final hours of Ohio’s Senate primary, Republican candidates were quick to praise the prospect of overturning Roe v. Wade as the stunning leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion rocked the race 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,” J.D. Vance, who got former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott.
“If it gets overturned, we’re gonna have a fight here in the state of Ohio. And I think I’m going to be on the front lines of that fight trying to get us here in Ohio to protect it,” he added.
Rep. Tim Ryan — the Democrats’ likely candidate in the hotly contested race, who once opposed abortion rights but changed positions in 2015 — called it a “freedom issue” that he predicted would motivate a lot of women “to vote for a senator who would be on their side.”
“I think in many ways to abortion is, in some sense, an economic issue as well. Should a woman be able to plan the size of her family? Should a woman be able to plan when she has a pregnancy? This is a freedom issue, really, for me, and I think it’s a freedom issue for a lot of these women,” Ryan told ABC News Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer.
Ohio and Indiana are among the 26 states which are likely or certain to ban abortion if Roe falls or is gutted, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights research organization.
May 03, 6:05 pm
Ohio race framed as national barometer for Democrats
Tuesday’s rematch between Rep. Shontel Brown and former state senator Nina Turner for Ohio’s 11th Congressional District offers a real-time reflection of the divisions between the Democratic Party’s progressive and establishment wings — and a barometer for Democrats running across the country at the top of the midterm season.
Brown was first elected to Congress in a special election last year following former Rep. Marcia Fudge’s appointment to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While President Joe Biden endorsed Brown last Friday, calling her “an ardent advocate for the people of Ohio and a true partner in Congress,” leading progressive voices like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are backing Turner.
Turner and Brown approached the campaign trail from different ends of the Democratic political spectrum. Turner, a former co-chairwoman of Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, has previously criticized the Democratic Party and Biden.
May 03, 5:30 pm
What to watch for in Ohio
Tuesday’s Ohio Senate primary is among the first litmus tests of many this midterm season to gauge how much influence former President Donald Trump holds over the Republican Party. Almost all of the candidates — except for Matt Dolan — align with the former president, so even if “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance doesn’t win, the GOP nominee could well be a Trump-aligned Republican who endorses falsehoods about the 2020 election.
Another race seen as a test of Trump’s kingmaking power is in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, where the former president endorsed challenger and former aide Max Miller.
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, chose to hand out only his second primary endorsement of the cycle in Ohio to Rep. Shontel Brown in her rematch against progressive powerhouse Nina Turner, a close ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a race that has pit establishment Democrats against progressives.
Gov. Mike DeWine, who is seeking a second term, is expected to survive a Trump-inspired, though not endorsed, challenge to his COVID governance and establishment leanings.
-ABC News’ Political Director Rick Klein
May 03, 5:18 pm
What to watch for in Indiana
Some races in Indiana — such as the state’s 1st Congressional District where a slew of Republican challengers are vying to win the seat held by incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan — are seen as possible bellwethers for whether Republicans manage can flip districts in Democratic strongholds.
Indiana’s 9th Congressional District — the only vacant congressional seat in the state — is also in play when it comes to which party will control the House of Representatives after the midterms.
Along with Ohio, the state is an early indicator of the power of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, as Trump carried the state in 2020. Trump has backed six incumbent members of the House of Representatives in the state, including Rep. Greg Pence, former Vice President Mike Pence’s brother.
Polls close in Indiana at 7 p.m. ET, though there is some variation because the state falls within two time zones.
May 03, 4:28 pm
Supreme Court bombshell lands as Ohio tests Trump and Biden
Voters head to the polls in Ohio on Tuesday on the heels of a shocking leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the court’s conservative majority may overturn nearly 50 years of abortion rights in America.
The endorsement power of former President Donald Trump — who promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe — faces a major test in the race of retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman in Ohio. While almost all the GOP candidates have centered their campaigns around being a Trump conservative, “never-Trumper” turned Trump ally J.D. Vance scored his coveted endorsement, upending the race.
On the Democratic side, the contest in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District between Rep. Shontel Brown and Nina Turner has pitted establishment Democrats against progressives. Biden endorsed Brown over Turner last week in his second primary endorsement of the election cycle, but progressives including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have backed Turner.
A new ABC News/Washington Post polling out Tuesday shows that 60% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents want the GOP to follow Trump’s leadership — about where that’s been since he left office. By contrast, only about 53% of Democrats and independents who lean that way want to follow Biden’s leadership, with younger Democrats most solidly favoring a new direction.
(NEW YORK) — As fentanyl overdoses and deaths have been on the rise across America, investigators have been setting their sights internationally to stop the flow.
Police and other experts say fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills have been illegally imported from as far out as China and even smuggled through the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now. And at one time, we would never find fentanyl. Now we’re catching it all the time -and it is coming in different forms,” Robert Meza, an import specialist with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, told ABC News.
Even with some recent crackdowns by governments, the fentanyl is still making its way into the country, into the hands of dealers and victims who have no idea they’re taking the potentially deadly substance, according to law enforcement.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told ABC News that the majority of fentanyl that his office has confiscated is in the form of counterfeit pills that are delivered in the mail. The pills are designed to look like painkillers and sold to unsuspected victims, especially kids and teens, Bianco said.
“They think they’re experimenting with other drugs,” the sheriff told ABC News.
Some dealers who have been arrested for selling the tainted pills, however, said they had full knowledge of what was going out into the street, the authorities said. Investigators said the dealers add fentanyl to other illicit substances, such as heroin, to drive new addiction and create repeat clients.
Eric Falowski, who was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison in 2016 in Florida for intentionally adding fentanyl to counterfeit pills, told ABC News that he had his pills sent from a contact in China.
“She actually solicited the relationship directly to me and said she can provide fentanyl. That was my best supplier,” he told ABC News.
Under pressure from the U.S., Chinese suppliers have had difficulty sending the pills straight to America, experts said. However, those suppliers have come up with an alternative plan that includes more pit stops.
Investigators said Chinese drug suppliers send the ingredients to make fentanyl to cartels in Mexico. After creating the fentanyl, either in raw powder or pill form, the cartels would ship them across the border in trucks, according to investigators.
Last year more than 11,000 pounds of fentanyl made its way into the U.S. and more than half of it came right through the border of Mexico and San Diego, according to investigators. That was more than double the amount of fentanyl seized at the border compared to 2020, investigators said.
“What you’re seeing now is something that was never possible when fentanyl was coming from China. And that is a coverage of fentanyl all across this country,” Sam Quinones, the author of Dreamland and Least of Us, which chronicled the country’s opioid crisis, told ABC News.
Border patrol agents have stepped up their searches for the pills and other related fentanyl contraband.
In one instance, agents picked up 2 pounds of fentanyl and nearly 82 pounds of meth from a car. The small amount of fentanyl is much more potent than the dozens of pounds of meth, experts said.
Investigators said they’re not sure if they can stop the inflow of the tainted drugs, but reiterated that something needs to be done to stop the flow into the hands of unknowing victims.
“America is being poisoned with fentanyl, and we don’t even know it,” Bianco said.
(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 03, 4:25 pm
Biden visits facility where Javelin anti-tank missiles are manufactured
President Joe Biden toured a Lockheed Martin facility in Troy, Alabama, where weapons systems such as Javelin anti-tank missiles are manufactured.
“The United States is leading our allies and partners around the world to make sure the courageous Ukrainians who are fighting for the future of their nation have the weapons and the capacity and the ammunition and the equipment to defend themselves against Putin’s brutal war,” Biden said at the facility.
To the Lockheed Martin employees, Biden said, “You make it possible.”
These highly lethal missiles can hit targets up to 2.5 miles away and have been key in Ukraine’s defense against Russia. The U.S. has sent over 5,500 Javelin anti-armor systems to so far, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
May 03, 4:11 pm
Ukrainian troops already using US howitzers
Ukrainian troops are already putting U.S. howitzers into the fight against Russia, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told senators Tuesday.
During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the 2023 defense budget, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., asked Austin whether Ukrainian forces have the training they need to use the 90 American 155mm artillery systems the U.S. is sending to aid in the battle, especially in the eastern part of the country.
“They’re using them as we speak,” Austin said. “As you may know, we took a number of troops out and trained them up very quickly on 155s, put them back into action, and they are employing those weapons systems now.”
A senior U.S. defense official told reporters Monday that some 200 Ukrainians have now been trained to use the M777 artillery pieces. The training was done by both U.S. and Canadian forces outside of Ukraine. Another 50 Ukrainians will begin howitzer training at an undisclosed location later this week.
The Ukrainian troops leaving the country to learn the American systems are already artillerymen, so training takes only about a week, according to U.S. officials. When they return they teach others what they learned.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters on Monday that a “significant majority” of the 90 howitzers committed to Ukraine have arrived in country. The U.S. is also sending 184,000 artillery rounds for the weapons.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
May 03, 2:58 pm
Civilians evacuated from plant have arrived safely in Zaporizhzhia: UN
Civilians, including women, children and the elderly, trapped for weeks inside the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works plant in Mariupol have arrived safely in Zaporizhzhia, according to the United Nations.
A woman evacuated from the plant told ABC News in Russian, “They bombed us every day … at night, in the morning.”
“It was horrible. It is just the complete elimination of all people,” she said.
“I’m relieved to confirm that the safe passage operation from Mariupol has been successful,” tweeted Osnat Lubrani, the U.N.’s resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine. “The people I travelled with told me heartbreaking stories of the hell they went through. I’m thinking about the people who remain trapped. We will do all we can to assist them.”
Lubrani said 101 civilians were brought out of the plant and another 58 civilians from the Mariupol area joined the evacuation. The youngest was 6 months old, she said.
“It was moving and horrifying to sort of witness people that have been locked in darkness, living under incessant shelling, coming and seeing the sky for the first time in two months,” Lubrani said at a Tuesday briefing.
Lubrani said some were too frightened to come out. She said they were in contact with about 30 civilians who chose not to leave, because they couldn’t leave without going back into the city to find out the fate of their loved ones.
For others, Lubrani said, it was physically challenging to leave.
They had also lacked proper access to water, food and sanitation, she noted.
Many more people remain trapped at the plant. The sprawling industrial site is the last holdout for the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, as Russian forces accelerate their efforts to fully capture city. The Mariupol City Council has previously said there are at least 1,000 people, including Ukrainian troops, on the grounds of the Azovstal plant.
-ABC News’ Zoe Magee and Christine Theodorou
May 03, 2:48 pm
Power outages in Lviv following missile strikes
Parts of Lviv are without power following missile strikes on Tuesday, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said.
Two power substations were damaged as a result of the strikes on the western Ukrainian city, near the Polish border.
It’s not clear if there are any casualties.
May 03, 1:50 pm
Civilians evacuated from plant have arrived safely in Zaporizhzhia: UN
Civilians, including women, children and the elderly, trapped for weeks inside the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works plant in Mariupol have arrived safely in Zaporizhzhia, according to the United Nations.
“I’m relieved to confirm that the safe passage operation from Mariupol has been successful,” tweeted Osnat Lubrani, the U.N.’s resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine. “The people I travelled with told me heartbreaking stories of the hell they went through. I’m thinking about the people who remain trapped. We will do all we can to assist them.”
Lubrani said 101 civilians were brought out of the plant and another 58 civilians from the Mariupol area joined the evacuation. The youngest was 6 months old, she said.
“It was moving and horrifying to sort of witness people that have been locked in darkness, living under incessant shelling, coming and seeing the sky for the first time in two months,” Lubrani said at a Tuesday briefing.
Lubrani said some were too frightened to come out. She said they were in contact with about 30 civilians who chose not to leave, because they couldn’t leave without going back into the city to find out the fate of their loved ones.
For others, Lubrani said, it was physically challenging to leave.
They had also lacked proper access to water, food and sanitation, she noted.
Many more people remain trapped at the plant. The sprawling industrial site is the last holdout for the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, as Russian forces accelerate their efforts to fully capture city. The Mariupol City Council has previously said there are at least 1,000 people, including Ukrainian troops, on the grounds of the Azovstal plant.
-ABC News’ Zoe Magee and Christine Theodorou
May 03, 9:47 am
‘He’s the main war criminal of the 21st century’: Ukrainian prosecutor on Putin
Ukraine’s lead prosecutor, Iryna Venediktova, said Russian President Vladimir Putin should “absolutely” be prosecuted for the war crimes she says occurred in the town of Irpin and surrounding communities.
“He’s the main war criminal of the 21st century,” she said.
“We all know who started this war. And this person is Vladimir Putin,” she said.
Venediktova said the first phase of the war crimes investigation in Irpin has ended. She said investigators found evidence of rape, torture and the use of banned weapons of war in the city.
May 03, 5:32 am
Russia’s military ‘now significantly weaker,’ UK says
Russia’s military is “now significantly weaker, both materially and conceptually,” than it had been prior to its invasion of Ukraine, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.
“Recovery from this will be exacerbated by sanctions,” the ministry said in an intelligence update. “This will have a lasting impact on Russia’s ability to deploy conventional military force.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 03 May 2022
(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, 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.”
(NEW YORK) — A former Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor accused of sexual harassment withdrew his candidacy for a position at New York University Langone Health, after news of his potential hiring received backlash from the NYU community.
Dr. David Sabatini, a biologist, resigned from MIT last month after a review found he violated its workplace policy on consensual relationships and recommended his tenure be revoked. Sabatini allegedly failed to disclose a sexual relationship he had with “a person over whom he held a career-influencing role” and didn’t take any steps to “relinquish his mentoring and career-influencing roles,” according to a letter by MIT President L. Rafael Reif.
The committee conducting the review also had “significant concerns regarding his unprofessional behavior toward some lab members,” the letter added.
Sabatini has denied allegations of sexual harassment and has said the relationship at the center of the investigation was consensual. He has sued his accuser, as well as others, for defamation. His accuser has also countersued.
Sabatini said he was withdrawing his name from consideration, but maintained that he will “eventually be vindicated.”
“False, distorted, and preposterous allegations about me have intensified in the press and on social media in the wake of reports last week that New York University Langone Health was considering hiring me. I understand the enormous pressure this has placed on NYU Langone Health and do not want to distract from its important mission. I have therefore decided to withdraw my name from consideration for a faculty position there,” Sabatini said in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday.
He added, “I deeply respect NYU Langone Health’s mission and appreciate the support from individuals who took the time to learn the facts. I remain steadfast in believing that the truth will ultimately emerge and that I will eventually be vindicated and able to return to my research.”
NYU Langone Health, the university’s academic medical center that includes the school of medicine, said in a statement Tuesday that both Sabatini and the NYU Grossman School of Medicine “reached the conclusion that it will not be possible for him to become a member of our faculty.”
“Our overarching mission at NYU Grossman School of Medicine is advancing science and medicine to save lives. That is what compelled us to give careful reflection to hiring Dr. Sabatini after he initially reached out to us,” NYU Langone Health said.
It added, “In the course of our due diligence, we heard voices of support from many dozens of Dr. Sabatini’s colleagues, lab alumni, and peers who described their first-hand experiences working with him. But we also heard clearly the deep concern from our own faculty, staff, and trainees. Our thorough review and deliberate approach was essential for us to make an independent evaluation consistent with our institutional priorities.”
News that Sabatini may be hired by NYU was first reported on science.org, which also reports that Sabatini has been forced out of or fired from three leading institutions for sexual harassment or for violating workplace or consensual sexual relationship policies.
Members of the NYU community, including its union for graduate workers, a group for women in STEM and a group of STEM researchers planning on forming a union, organized a protest against Sabatini’s hiring last week.
A petition against Sabatini’s hiring had gathered more than 400 signatures as of Tuesday. As long as Sabatini was being considered for a position, signatories pledged to not give or attend any talks, seminars, conferences or symposia hosted by NYU Langone Health. They also vowed not to teach any courses at NYU Langone or collaborate with any labs at NYU Langone.
(TULSA COUNTY, Okla.) — A judge in Oklahoma ruled Monday that a Tulsa Race Massacre reparations lawsuit may proceed. The decision by Tulsa County Judge Caroline Wall was welcome news to 107-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher and two other survivors of the 1921 massacre.
Fletcher is the oldest living survivor of the destruction that ensued when white mobs attacked the prominent Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Incensed crowds flooded the streets of what is often referred to as Black Wall Street, killing the prosperous neighborhood’s Black residents and demolishing their homes over two days.
Fletcher said she and her family never returned to Tulsa after they fled the night of May 31, 1921. Her home had been ravaged by fire, leaving her and hundreds of others without any of their possessions and livelihoods.
“There wasn’t anything to come back to,” she told ABC News.
She recalls the sounds of shooting and people screaming as she walked past neighbors lying dead in the street. Those memories have stayed with her, sometimes waking her up at night.
“We still have fear,” she said.
She and her co-plaintiffs, Lessie Benningfield Randle, also 107, and Hughes Van Ellis, 101, were all young children at the time. Fletcher will celebrate her 108th birthday on May 10.
The plaintiffs are suing for a victims’ compensation fund, pushing for “whatever it takes to replace our loss,” according to Fletcher.
Judge Wall partially denied Tulsa’s motion to dismiss the public nuisance civil court lawsuit on Monday. Oklahoma’s public nuisance statute allows authorities to be sued for what attorneys say is their role in endangering the safety of Greenwood’s residents and their property. The plaintiffs must show that the “comfort, repose, health, or safety” of Greenwood’s residents was harmed, and that Tulsa officials failed to perform their duties to protect Greenwood and its residents from that harm.
However, some officials are hesitant to pay monetary reparations to the victims and their families seeking restitution.
“I am not opposed to cash payments to descendants and the victims. It’s where the money comes from that for me is important,” Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, who led the effort to help find missing Tulsa victims, said to ABC News, before adding that he is ”opposed to levying a tax on this generation of Tulsans who are at no fault.”
The Mayor’s office declined to comment on the judge’s ruling as the lawsuit is under litigation.
Driesen Heath, a Tulsa-born reparations researcher and advocate, spoke with ABC News about the need for reparations to be paid to the massacre’s survivors.
“The city of Tulsa and the state of Oklahoma have documented culpability in the massacre and they need to repay in all forms that are necessary, the harms that they have perpetrated and facilitated,” Heath said.
Heath said the consequences of these harms are still affecting families 100 years later, causing some intergenerational pain while others accrue intergenerational wealth.
“People make arguments about not wanting to pay for the sins of their forefathers and their ancestors, but they want to benefit from those sins continually,” she said.
If won, the lawsuit could mean hundreds of millions of dollars awarded to victims, accounting for financial losses that Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney for the survivors, said “would have made a tremendous difference” in the lives of those affected.
“I have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And I really want this for my younger generation, something that I wasn’t able to do for them,” Fletcher said.
Over a century later, this lawsuit may be the last known living survivors’ last chance to see justice served for the racist decimation of their community that left over 300 people dead, hundreds more injured, and countless more marked by the devastation.
Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed an abortion bill Tuesday that is modeled after a controversial Texas law.
The bill, formally known as S.B. 1503, creates the “Oklahoma Heartbeat Act,” which bans abortions after cardiac activity or a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which typically occurs around six weeks — before a woman often knows she is pregnant.
There are exceptions when the mother’s life is danger but not for rape or incest.
The bill also allows any private citizen to sue someone who performs an abortion, intends to perform an abortion, or helps a woman get an abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. These citizens could be awarded at least $10,000 for every abortion performed.
A civil lawsuit, however, cannot be brought against a woman who receives an abortion. Additionally, someone who impregnated a woman through rape or incest would not be allowed to sue.
“I am proud to sign SB 1503, the Oklahoma Heartbeat Act into law,” Stitt tweeted Tuesday after signing the bill. “I want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state in the country because I represent all four million Oklahomans who overwhelmingly want to protect the unborn.”
Oklahoma’s bill is the second copycat of the Texas legislation after Idaho passed the first bill in March.
Because of the bill’s emergency clause, it goes into immediate effect after being signed by the governor.
A few weeks ago, Stitt signed another abortion bill that would make it a felony to perform abortions except when the mother’s life is in danger.
“We want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state in the country,” Stitt said at the time. “We want to outlaw abortion in the state of Oklahoma.”
This bill doesn’t go into effect until the summer and will likely be facing legal challenges.
Abortion rights advocates said this is why Republicans in Oklahoma have been passing several abortion bills — in the hopes that one sticks.
Several groups, including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice, have already filed a joint lawsuit to block S.B. 1503.
“These abortion bans will push abortion access out of reach for many communities who already face often insurmountable barriers to health care, including Black and brown communities, low-income communities, and people who live in rural areas,” Tamya Cox-Touré, co-chair of Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice, said in a statement. “These are the same communities who are most impacted by the maternal health crisis occurring in our country and in our state. The lawmakers who passed these bans do not care about access to healthcare, and we can’t allow this law to take effect.”
The signing comes as several Republican-led states — including Arizona, Kentucky and Wyoming — have been passing abortion legislation ahead of a Supreme Court decision that could decide the future of Roe v. Wade.
The court is expected to hand down a decision about a 15-week ban in Mississippi in June. If the ban is declared constitutional, it could lead to Roe v. Wade being overturned or severely gutted.
(WASHINGTON) — The first multistate contest of the 2022 midterm season kicks off Tuesday with primary races in Ohio and Indiana.
Ohio’s Senate race marks the first major test of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement power at the polls.
Here’s how the races are developing today. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.
May 03, 5:30 pm
What to watch for in Ohio
Tuesday’s Ohio Senate primary is among the first litmus tests of many this midterm season to gauge how much influence former President Donald Trump holds over the Republican Party. Almost all of the candidates — except for Matt Dolan — align with the former president, so even if “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance doesn’t win, the GOP nominee could well be a Trump-aligned Republican who endorses falsehoods about the 2020 election.
Another race seen as a test of Trump’s kingmaking power is in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, where the former president endorsed challenger and former aide Max Miller.
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, chose to hand out only his second primary endorsement of the cycle in Ohio to Rep. Shontel Brown in her rematch against progressive powerhouse Nina Turner, a close ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a race that has pit establishment Democrats against progressives.
Gov. Mike DeWine, who is seeking a second term, is expected to survive a Trump-inspired, though not endorsed, challenge to his COVID governance and establishment leanings.
-ABC News’ Political Director Rick Klein
May 03, 5:18 pm
What to watch for in Indiana
Some races in Indiana — such as the state’s 1st Congressional District where a slew of Republican challengers are vying to win the seat held by incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan — are seen as possible bellwethers for whether Republicans manage can flip districts in Democratic strongholds.
Indiana’s 9th Congressional District — the only vacant congressional seat in the state — is also in play when it comes to which party will control the House of Representatives after the midterms.
Along with Ohio, the state is an early indicator of the power of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, as Trump carried the state in 2020. Trump has backed six incumbent members of the House of Representatives in the state, including Rep. Greg Pence, former Vice President Mike Pence’s brother.
Polls close in Indiana at 7 p.m. ET, though there is some variation because the state falls within two time zones.
May 03, 4:28 pm
Supreme Court bombshell lands as Ohio tests Trump and Biden
Voters head to the polls in Ohio on Tuesday on the heels of a shocking leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the court’s conservative majority may overturn nearly 50 years of abortion rights in America.
The endorsement power of former President Donald Trump — who promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe — faces a major test in the race of retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman in Ohio. While almost all the GOP candidates have centered their campaigns around being a Trump conservative, “never-Trumper” turned Trump ally J.D. Vance scored his coveted endorsement, upending the race.
On the Democratic side, the contest in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District between Rep. Shontel Brown and Nina Turner has pitted establishment Democrats against progressives. Biden endorsed Brown over Turner last week in his second primary endorsement of the election cycle, but progressives including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have backed Turner.
A new ABC News/Washington Post polling out Tuesday shows that 60% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents want the GOP to follow Trump’s leadership — about where that’s been since he left office. By contrast, only about 53% of Democrats and independents who lean that way want to follow Biden’s leadership, with younger Democrats most solidly favoring a new direction.
