(MANASSAS, Virginia) — At least three people were injured Sunday when gunfire erupted near a middle school athletic field in Virginia, marking the third time in seven days that a shooting has occurred near youth sports facilities across the country.
The latest incident unfolded Sunday morning near Benton Middle School in Manassas, Virginia, about 30 miles southwest of Alexandria, according to the Prince William County Police Department.
Police said a youth flag football game was going on when the gunfire erupted. The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation.
Three gunshot victims were taken to area hospitals, but their ages and conditions were not immediately released.
No arrests were reported, but police said officers had secured the scene.
Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega released a statement on Facebook saying her office was monitoring the situation closely.
“For those who reside near Benton Middle School, please stay in your homes until we have further updates,” Vega said in her statement.
The shooting came just three days after nearly two dozen shots were fired near a high school baseball game in Chicago, prompting players on the field to drop to the ground and others to dive for cover. The shooting occurred just after 5 p.m. on Friday during a freshman baseball game between St. Rita High School and Marmion Academy.
No one was injured in that shooting, and police said they suspect the gunfire came from a McDonald’s across the street from the athletic field where gunmen were firing at a moving car, according to the Chicago Police Department.
On April 25, a barrage of gunfire interrupted a youth league baseball game in North Charleston, South Carolina. Dozens of shots were fired near Pepperhill Park, police said.
Cell phone video showed players on the field diving to the ground and their teammates, coaches and spectators seeking cover.
The North Charleston Police said no one was injured in the shooting. No arrests have been made.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of those responsible for the shooting.
“It destroyed the hearts of a lot of people: mothers, fathers, children out here participating in sports within our city,” Summey said at a news conference last week. “We will not tolerate this behavior, and we will not allow this behavior to carry forward.”
Gun violence prevention organization Everytown released a report last year showing that between Aug. 20 and Sept. 25, 2021, at least 22 incidents involving guns occurred at football games, soccer matches and Little League games in 14 states. Some incidents turned deadly, including a college football game in Durham, North Carolina, on Sept. 18, where police said two people were fatally shot.
(WASHINGTON) — Concerns about escalation and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine loom large in U.S. public opinion, even as majorities of Americans favor increased support for Ukraine, particularly in terms of humanitarian aid and further economic sanctions on Russia.
Fifty-five percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll also favor increased military support, even as 8 in 10 express worries about a wider war or the possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia. As many also worry about direct U.S. military involvement, a step most by far rule out.
Economically, two-thirds are very or somewhat concerned that sanctions against Russia will contribute to higher food and energy prices in the United States. Yet, two-thirds also support increasing such sanctions, a sign of commitment to Ukraine’s cause. Indeed, among those who are concerned about price impacts, 64% support sanctions anyway.
Assistance
Despite public concerns, majorities think the United States should take further action to support Ukraine on several measures in this poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates. Leading the list, three-quarters back increased humanitarian support, with, as noted, two-thirds for increased economic sanctions and 55% for greater military support. (As with humanitarian support, the nature of potential military support wasn’t specified.)
Notably, support for the United States providing each of these items reaches majorities across partisan lines, with single-digit differences between Democrats and Republicans on sanctions and military support. Democrats are 12% points more supportive of increased humanitarian aid.
Given another option, just 21% of Americans overall think the United States should take direct military action against Russian forces in Ukraine. This declines to 14% if it meant risking a nuclear war.
More generally, the public divides on whether the United States is doing too little (37%) or the right amount (36%) to support Ukraine. Fourteen percent say it’s doing too much. There’s a partisan split on this question, with 47% of Republicans saying the United States is doing too little, compared with 29% of Democrats. Independents fall in between.
Groups
Among other groups, women are 16 to 22 points more apt than men to express concern about each of the items tested — the war expanding into other countries, U.S. forces getting involved, Russia using nuclear weapons and sanctions raising food and fuel prices.
Concerns about price impacts of higher sanctions peak among more economically vulnerable Americans — those with no more than a high school diploma (77%) or with annual household incomes less than $50,000 (76%) — as well as among women (77%). Support for increased sanctions, in turn, is lower among less well-off adults, 60%, versus 77% in top-income households.
Methodology
This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone April 24-28, 2022, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,004 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 percentage points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 29-25-40%, Democrats-Republicans-independents.
The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates with sampling and data collection by Abt Associates. See details on the survey’s methodology here.
(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 02, 5:48 am
Pelosi leads delegation to Poland after visiting Ukraine
A high-level U.S. congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw on Monday, a day after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
“Our distinguished Congressional delegation came to Poland to send an unmistakable message to the world: that America stands firmly with our NATO allies in our support for Ukraine,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Pelosi said their talks with Duda and other Polish officials in the Polish capital “will be focused on further strengthening our partnership, offering our gratitude for Poland’s humanitarian leadership, and discussing how we can further work together to support Ukraine.”
Earlier, Pelosi and the half dozen U.S. lawmakers with her traveled to the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow, where they met with U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Poland to reassure NATO allies and deter Russian aggression.
“These engagements are even more meaningful following our meeting in Kyiv with President Volodymr Zelenskyy and other top Ukrainian leaders,” Pelosi said. “In that profound and solemn visit, our delegation conveyed our respect and gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his leadership and our admiration of the Ukrainian people for their courage in the fight against Russia’s diabolical invasion. Our Members were proud to deliver the message that additional American support is on the way, as we work to transform President Biden’s strong funding request into a legislative package.”
Pelosi, second in line to the U.S. presidency after the vice president, was the most senior American lawmaker to visit Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. The delegation’s trip to the Ukrainian capital was not disclosed until they were safely out of the country.
-ABC News’ Chad Murray
May 01, 4:57 pm
Russian shelling of Mariupol steel plant resumes: Ukrainian officials
Russian forces resumed shelling the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on Sunday after some civilians inside the facility and in nearby homes were evacuated during a brief cease fire, according Ukrainian officials.
“They are shelling the plant with all kinds of weapons,” said Denis Schlega, commander of the 12th Brigade of Operational Assignment in Mariupol.
Earlier Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and Russian Ministry of Defense all confirmed that some civilians were evacuated from the steel plant, where a Ukrainian military unit is making a last stand in the port city that is almost entirely under Russian control.
Zelenskyy said about 100 civilians were evacuated from the steel plant on Sunday and were being taken to Zaporizhia, a city under Ukrainian control.
The Mariupol City Council said in a statement that evacuations from Mariupol had stopped Sunday afternoon due to “security reasons.” The city council said the evacuations would resume on Monday.
May 01, 4:13 pm
Civilians killed, injured in shelling of Kharkiv region: Ukrainian official
At least three civilians were killed and eight others injured on Sunday as a result of heavy shelling from Russian forces in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official.
The casualties were reported in the residential areas of Saltivka, Bohodukhiv and Zolochif, according to Oleg Sinegubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 01, 12:24 pm
Pope Francis condemns ‘macabre regression of humanity’ in Ukraine
Pope Francis on Sunday described the war in Ukraine as a “macabre regression of humanity” that makes him “suffer and cry.”
Speaking to thousands of people crowded into St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, the pope called for humanitarian corridors to be opened to evacuate civilians trapped inside or near a steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
Evacuation of civilians at the Azovstal steel plant, where Ukrainian forces have been staging a last stand against Russian troops, have started, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Red Cross and the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed on Sunday.
During Sunday’s Vatican service, Francis repeated his criticism of Russia for invading Ukraine.
“My thoughts go immediately to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the city of Mary, barbarously bombarded and destroyed,” the pontiff said of the Russian-controlled southeastern port city, which is named after Mary. “I suffer and cry thinking of the suffering of the Ukrainian population, in particular the weakest, the elderly, the children.”
In Catholicism, the month of May is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Francis asked for monthlong prayers for peace in Ukraine.
“While we are witnessing a macabre regression of humanity, I ask you, together with so many anguished people, if we are really seeking peace, if there is the will to avoid a continuous military and verbal escalation, if we are doing everything possible to make the weapons stop? Please, let us not give in to the logic of violence, to the perverse spiral of arms. Let us take the path of dialogue and peace. Let us pray.”
(MANASSAS, Virginia) — At least three people were injured Sunday when gunfire erupted near a middle school athletic field in Virginia, marking the third time in seven days that a shooting has occurred near youth sports facilities across the country.
The latest incident unfolded Sunday morning near Benton Middle School in Manassas, Virginia, about 30 miles southwest of Alexandria, according to the Prince William County Police Department.
Police said a youth flag football game was going on when the gunfire erupted. The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation.
Three gunshot victims were taken to area hospitals, but their ages and conditions were not immediately released.
No arrests were reported, but police said officers had secured the scene.
Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega released a statement on Facebook saying her office was monitoring the situation closely.
“For those who reside near Benton Middle School, please stay in your homes until we have further updates,” Vega said in her statement.
The shooting came just three days after nearly two dozen shots were fired near a high school baseball game in Chicago, prompting players on the field to drop to the ground and others to dive for cover. The shooting occurred just after 5 p.m. on Friday during a freshman baseball game between St. Rita High School and Marmion Academy.
No one was injured in that shooting, and police said they suspect the gunfire came from a McDonald’s across the street from the athletic field where gunmen were firing at a moving car, according to the Chicago Police Department.
On April 25, a barrage of gunfire interrupted a youth league baseball game in North Charleston, South Carolina. Dozens of shots were fired near Pepperhill Park, police said.
Cell phone video showed players on the field diving to the ground and their teammates, coaches and spectators seeking cover.
The North Charleston Police said no one was injured in the shooting. No arrests have been made.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of those responsible for the shooting.
“It destroyed the hearts of a lot of people: mothers, fathers, children out here participating in sports within our city,” Summey said at a news conference last week. “We will not tolerate this behavior, and we will not allow this behavior to carry forward.”
Gun violence prevention organization Everytown released a report last year showing that between Aug. 20 and Sept. 25, 2021, at least 22 incidents involving guns occurred at football games, soccer matches and Little League games in 14 states. Some incidents turned deadly, including a college football game in Durham, North Carolina, on Sept. 18, where police said two people were fatally shot.
(JACKSON, Miss.) — One person was killed and five others were injured when multiple shooters opened fire Saturday at the Mississippi Mudbug Festival in Jackson, authorities said.
The person who died is suspected to have been one of the shooters and was shot by a law enforcement officer responding to the chaotic scene at the state fairgrounds, officials said.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said other people injured were hospitalized in stable condition Sunday morning, including a police officer.
The second annual Mudbug Festival was billed as a family fun event with live bands, carnival rides and a crawfish boil and eating contest.
“It’s very devastating and very tragic,” Jones said. “This is what’s to be considered a very family-oriented event, where families come to enjoy entertainment and food. You have individuals with no regards for the lives and safety of those attending the event. I think that is a very cowardly and selfish act to involve so many innocent people that are here to have fun and enjoy themselves.”
Two juveniles were detained, but no charges have been filed in the incident, authorities said.
Investigators found two rifles and a pistol at the scene, according to ABC affiliate station WAPT in Jackson. Investigators also seized a vehicle for evidence, officials said.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the probe due to an officer being involved in the shooting.
“We will find out exactly what happened. We will find out who’s all involved and they should be held accountable and responsible for this very reckless incident,” Jones said.
Sunday’s events at the Mississippi Mudbug Festival, which was supposed to be the festival’s final day, have been canceled, according to organizers.
This year’s Mudbug Festival featured musical headliners, including Blue Oyster Cult and Laine Hardy. Blues musician Bobby Rush had been scheduled to close out the festival with a performance Sunday night.
Saturday’s shooting marked at least the fifth time in less than a year that gunfire has erupted at entertainment events across the nation, including one on April 3 that left one person dead and 11 injured at a concert in Dallas. On Jan. 15, six people were shot at a concert in Eugene, Oregon.
Last May, 22 people were shot, two fatally, at a concert and birthday party at a banquet hall in suburban Miami, just days after a dozen people were shot at a concert in North Charleston, South Carolina.
(NEW YORK) — Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s surprise visit to Kyiv is “yet another sign of a very very strong support that Ukraine has in the United States,” calling it “symbolic” and “a special delight” to see her meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Overnight, Pelosi led a surprise congressional delegation to Kyiv and met Zelenskyy after Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with the Ukrainian leader last week.
“We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom,” Pelosi said in a video posted by Zelenskyy on Twitter early Sunday morning.
The trip comes just days after President Joe Biden announced his request for Congress to approve a $33 billion in supplemental aid to Ukraine.
“There appears to be support for that $33 billion aid package. What more do you need?” ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos asked the ambassador.
“We need all the assistance we can get in defensive weapons, in military support, in financial support, but also in humanitarian support. And I think this request covers all of these areas,” she said.
“We feel and we know that Americans are our brothers and sisters in this fight for freedom for democracy and as we are about to review here in the United States the next package of support to Ukraine, which President Biden submitted recently to Congress, I believe it’s very symbolic that Speaker Pelosi visited Ukraine,” she added.
The president’s aid request has received some bipartisan support. Speaking to Stephanopoulos on Sunday morning, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said he expects Congress to approve it quickly but expressed disappointment that the legislature is not in session and can’t move more quickly.
“If I were speaker for a day, I’d call Congress back into session, back into work as we’re not — we won’t be in session next week. But every day we don’t send them more weapons is a day where more people will be killed and a day where they could lose this war,” he said.
Russian leaders have been ramping up the rhetoric and nuclear threats in recent days as Russian President Vladimir Putin has intensified his military’s attacks in the southern and eastern regions.
When pressed by Stephanopoulos on whether Putin has turned the tide in the war, Markarova said Russia has yet to fulfill “any of the objectives that they have declared.”
“They are trying to scare Ukrainians, they are trying to scare the world, but the fact and the truth is that Ukrainians are not afraid and our president and all Ukrainians are bravely defending our country — and the world is not afraid,” she said.
Stephanopoulos continued: “We’re now on the third month of this war. When this begun, did you believe it’d go on this long?”
“Well, you know, this attack from Russia, our country experienced for the past 400 years,” Markarova said. “Sometimes, it was full fledge wars like now. Sometimes it was occupations and oppressions. So, this is not something unfamiliar to us. But I think it has been an eye-opening two months for the world.”
“So, of course, we are trying and we are doing everything possible on the battlefield but also on the diplomatic front to stop this war as soon as possible,” she added, “But as this war was started by Russians, it has to be ended by Russians. And we really hope that they will make their decision faster.”
(NEW YORK) — Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said the costs of the war in Ukraine include global food and fertilizer shortages, impacting prices for consumers and farmers around the world.
“It is just another catastrophic effect of Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Power told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.
Food prices have risen 34% compared to this time last year, Power said, “aided substantially, again, by this invasion.”
On Thursday, President Joe Biden asked Congress to consider supplying Ukraine with an additional $33 billion aid package, with $3 billion allocated for humanitarian assistance and food security funding.
“We’ve gone to Congress asking for a substantial increase in humanitarian assistance…in order to be able to meet those needs,” Power said. “But we’re also active, of course, in more than 80 countries around the world. … We’re working with farmers to also increase their production so that you actually have more supply brought on market.”
“But we really do need this financial support from the Congress to be able to meet emergency food needs,” she later added, “so we don’t see the cascading deadly effects of Russia’s war extend into Africa and beyond.”
Russia and Ukraine are mass producers of wheat and grain. Power said Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East may rely on upwards of 80% to 90% of wheat and grain imports from the countries at war.
Not only are there food shortages globally, but there is also a growing demand for fertilizer from farmers looking to protect their crops.
“Fertilizer shortages are real now because Russia is a big exporter of fertilizer. And even though fertilizer is not sanctioned, less fertilizer is coming out of Russia,” Power said. “As a result, we’re working with countries to think about natural solutions like manure and compost. And this may hasten transitions that would have been in the interest of farmers to make eventually anyway.”
Stephanopoulos pressed: “Listening to you lay out these consequences, it’s hard not to conclude that in some respects this has already become something of a world war.”
“Certainly in terms of effects, not confined to the horrors that the Ukrainian people are suffering,” Power responded.
Power pushed back on the idea that high food prices are due to the Biden administration’s sanctions on Russia, saying instead it’s the result of Russia’s “unwillingness now to come to the negotiating table.”
“That is what is causing these cascading effects,” she said, “so we want to meet those effects, but continue to ensure that that pressure is put on the Russian Federation through economic sanctions and through the security assistance so that they finally negotiate a peace.”
Power, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Ukraine’s European neighbors are handling the influx of Ukrainian refugees “remarkably well,” and the dire situation within Ukraine’s borders is where the greatest hardship is.
“I think the bigger challenges lie within Ukraine,” Power said. “It goes without saying that in places like Mariupol that haven’t been reached by meaningful humanitarian assistance in two months, where you have people dying of starvation, of dehydration,” she said.
“You’ve seen images this week of babies who are wearing diapers that are plastic bags taped together as diapers and women so cold that they’re in that steel plant wearing the uniforms of steel plant workers, shaking, having been injured, no access to trauma care,” she added. “I mean, those are the true horrors that are being perpetrated right now.”
(HONG KONG and NEW YORK) — As countries around the world slowly emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, China is battling its worst outbreak as the last holdout of a hardline “Zero-COVID” policy.
Residents are growing increasingly weary in Shanghai, where a lockdown of 25 million people is entering its fifth week. Cases in the economic powerhouse fell to their lowest levels in weeks on Thursday, raising hope that authorities might ease lockdown measures.
Kenie, a Shanghai resident whose last name ABC News is not including for privacy reasons, has been confined to her home with her two kids and elderly parents since March.
Like others in Shanghai, they are facing a shortage of food and finding it difficult to get deliveries. Kenie said in her neighborhood in the suburbs of Shanghai, the government rations are sparse, and she’s been forced to eat one meal a day so her kids and parents can eat more.
“I cannot cook because we have nothing to cook. I have only instant noodles left,” said Kenie. “Actually, I feel very disappointed and depressed.”
Kenie was finally able to source some insulin for her diabetic father through a friend, but she said authorities weren’t helping her find the medicine.
She was once supportive of the Chinese government’s policies, but her view has changed since she’s had to endure such tough conditions in lockdown.
“I’m angry, but I have no choice,” she told ABC News. “You feel helpless. I have no power to use. I’m angry, but I’m here. I don’t have any right to do something.”
Kenie said she’s more fearful of being sent to the city’s isolation facilities where everyone who tests positive must be sent than of the virus itself. The official death toll is comparatively low. In Shanghai, there have been nearly 300 deaths from more than half a million infections since the lockdown began.
Alessandro Pavanello, who moved to Shanghai several years ago to study and now lives there with his girlfriend, recorded his experience at one of the isolation facilities this month where he said he had no showering facilities or privacy.
While some expats have chosen to remain quiet out of concern for the consequences, Pavanello said he felt the need to share something he “was not OK with.”
“Sure, people have been quiet about this issue, presumably because they are maybe interested in staying in China after all this happens or they are afraid of repercussion,” he said.
Pavanello said that while in quarantine for six days, he lost weight and gained new grey hairs. He said that only sleeping for four hours each night and being constantly surrounded by loud sounds affected his mental well-being.
“A lot of other people that I have talked with that have been going to these places suffered in a variety of different ways, but mostly on their mental health, which I think is one of the aspects that was never taken into consideration when they decided here to start creating these isolation centers,” he said.
Other residents are also questioning a policy in which the social and economic costs are mounting.
Yet Chinese President Xi Jinping appears determined to stick with the country’s no-tolerance “Zero-COVID” policy, whatever it takes.
The toolkit of lockdowns, testing and surveillance helped China suppress infections to relatively low levels in the first two years of the pandemic, but with each new variant, maintaining the approach has become difficult.
China political expert and former State Department official Susan Shirk told ABC News’ “Nightline” last week that “Zero-COVID” required “a system of social control that was much more invasive, expansive, than anything that most other countries would be able to carry out.”
Shirk said the consequences of China locking down its economic powerhouse will be felt globally. Shanghai is home to one of the world’s major shipping ports, and cargo ships are currently backed up around the coast.
“We should care because it definitely is going to affect our ability of our economy to function smoothly,” Shirk said, “The disruption of the supply chains, aggravating inflation, is going to make our economic lives more difficult too.”
Two weeks ago, American writer Jamie Peñaloza, who lives in Shanghai, was remaining optimistic. The former chef made the most of the situation, getting creative with government food rations by making ricotta cheese out of milk supplies.
Now, Peñaloza’s tone has shifted after losing her main freelance job and seeing videos of harsh life in lockdown.
“It’s a bit like Groundhog Day in a bad way. It’s a bit surreal,” she told ABC News.
Peñaloza said she’s lucky compared with others who have experienced food shortages, but she feels a sense of helplessness.
Pavanello is now back at home in Shanghai, but he’s tested positive again and is worried he may be sent back to a facility.
The residents ABC News spoke with shared a common sense of helplessness, as if they were on a merry-go-round of restrictions and easing, with no end in sight.
Peñaloza said she is sticking it out in China for the near future, while Kenie and Pavanello both expressed plans to leave because of what they’d experienced under lockdown.
“I don’t know when this is going to end, and there’s nothing I can do about this,” said Pavanello.
As Peñaloza said, “One person can test positive and that just sets the score back to zero.”
(NEW YORK) — Broad Republican advantages in trust to tame inflation and handle crime are keeping the party in a strong position for the 2022 midterm elections in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, albeit off the historic peak in vote preference the GOP attained last fall.
Americans trust the Republican Party over the Democrats to handle inflation, by 19% points; the economy more generally, by 14 points; and crime, by a dozen points. Trust in the Republicans to handle crime is its highest (by a single point) in ABC/Post results back 32 years; trust on the economy, just slightly off its high two months ago.
On the Democratic side, Joe Biden’s job approval as president remains underwater, but with a 5-point gain since February, aided by better ratings for handling the coronavirus pandemic (+7 points) and the war in Ukraine (+9). Still, 52% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s performance overall, versus 42% who approve. Those who “strongly” disapprove outnumber strong approvers by a 2-1 margin, potentially indicating motivation to vote in the fall.
Moreover, with inflation its highest in 40 years, Biden’s rating for handling inflation is dramatically bad in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates: 68% of Americans disapprove. Fewer but still 57% disapprove of his work on the economy more broadly.
Looking to November, registered voters divide essentially evenly between Democratic and Republican candidates for Congress, 46-45%. That’s a comedown for the GOP from its lead of 7 points in February and 10 points last November — the latter, the largest Republican midterm advantage in ABC/Post polls back 40 years. The change is led by a close contest among political independents, swing voters in most national elections, from a 50-32% Republican lead in November to an even 42-42% now.
That said, a close overall division in congressional vote preferences among registered voters in pre-election polls historically has been sufficient to signal strong Republican outcomes. That was the case in 2010, when the GOP gained 63 seats in the House; and 1994, when it gained 54 seats. (Less so in 2014, but still a 13-seat GOP win.)
Inflation
Inflation is a major irritant. Half of Americans are concerned about it; an additional 44%, not only concerned but upset about it. Just 6% are unconcerned.
Views on inflation are associated with partisanship and vote preferences. Among registered voters who are upset about inflation (disproportionately Republicans), GOP House candidates lead their Democratic opponents by 63-26%. Among those who are concerned but not upset (plus the few who are unconcerned), this reverses to 62-30% for the Democrats.
In another economic indicator, with unemployment nearly back to its pre-pandemic level, Americans by 50-43% think good-paying jobs are easy to find in their community. That doesn’t help the Democrats, though, because registered voters who say good jobs are available in their area favor Republican candidates by a 10-point margin. And comparatively few people are looking for jobs, while everyone’s paying higher prices.
Issues
While the GOP leads on the economy and crime, the parties are essentially tied on the issue of immigration and close in trust to handle education. The Democrats have a lead on abortion (+10 points), worth watching as the Supreme Court readies a ruling on a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The Democratic Party vaults to extensive leads on two other issues, both related to social equity: Equal treatment of racial and ethnic groups, on which it’s trusted over the Republican Party by 52-31%; and equal treatment of groups regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, a 55-26% Democratic advantage.
Among groups, women generally are more apt than men to trust Democrats on the issues tested; in one example, the Republican Party has a 56-29% lead on the economy among men, compared with a split, 44-43%, among women. Similar to men, whites trust the GOP on the economy by 30 points; people in racial and ethnic minority groups favor the Democrats, but by a slimmer 11-point margin. Independents tilt Republican by 16 points; 15% of independents volunteer that they don’t trust either party on the economy.
Biden
Biden’s approval rating does not place him in enviable company. Only one previous president at about this point in office had higher disapproval — Donald Trump, at 56% — in polls dating to the Truman administration. (Four of his 13 predecessors have had about Biden’s level of approval).
Looking at it another way doesn’t offer Democrats any more encouragement. While Biden’s standing just ahead of the November election remains to be seen, it’s currently similar to Trump’s going into his first midterm (40%; his party lost 40 seats). It’s worse than Barack Obama’s approval in October 2010 (50%, loss of 63 seats); Bill Clinton’s in 1994 (48%, loss of 54 seats) and Ronald Reagan’s in 1982 (49%, loss of 26 seats). The exception is Jimmy Carter, who lost fewer seats, but still 15, in his first midterm, with 49% approval. There’s time, of course, for Biden’s approval rating to change.
Specifically on the economy, Biden’s poor rating is essentially unchanged from February; it includes a 25-point deficit among independents. In terms of his even worse rating on inflation, 38% within his own party disapprove, as do 42% of liberals, a stalwart Democratic group. Disapproval on inflation rises to 65% among moderates, 74% among independents and nine in 10 Republicans and conservatives alike.
Again, given low unemployment, Biden does less poorly — but not well — on creating jobs; 41% approve, 46% disapprove. His rating is similar on handling the war in Ukraine, 42-47%, approve-disapprove. In this case, while still underwater, approval is up 9 points since February, with a corresponding drop in those with no opinion. Disapproval is unchanged.
Biden peeks above 50% on handling one remaining issue tested in this survey, the pandemic: Here he has a 51-43% approval rating, a turnaround from 44-50% as the Omicron variant raged two months ago.
Overall, as mentioned, Biden’s general job approval rating is up 5 points, to 42%, from his low as president in February. That includes his best rating among Hispanic people (62% approve) since just after he took office and +9 points since February among urban residents.
Methodology
This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone April 24-28, 2022, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,004 adults, including 907 registered voters. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 percentage points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions in the full sample are 29-25-40%, Democrats-Republicans-independents, and 30-26-38% among registered voters.
The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates with sampling and data collection by Abt Associates. See details on the survey’s methodology here.
(SANTA FE, N.M.) — New mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in parts of New Mexico due to the rapid growth of a massive wildfire east of Santa Fe.
Since merging into one blaze a week ago, the Calf Canyon and Hermit’s Peak fires have burned 97,064 acres as of Saturday morning — a growth of over 30,000 acres in 24 hours, according to updates from state fire officials.
The blaze, which is primarily impacting San Miguel and Mora counties, is 32% contained with over 1,000 firefighters responding.
High wind speeds on Friday caused rapid fire spread east toward Las Vegas and south across Gallinas Canyon, fire officials said.
“It appears that part of the fire that had continued to grow through the night collapsed and sent a lot of embers out and caused some significant fire growth to the south,” Jason Coil, an operations section chief for a Southwest incident management team, said during a briefing Saturday.
Several areas in the south are now in mandatory evacuation status amid the rapid fire growth. Officials in San Miguel and Mora counties warned that the “emerging situation remains extremely serious, and that failure to evacuate could be fatal.”
Fire officials expect higher temperatures, lower relative humidity and wind conditions to make for a very active fire day Saturday.
“Today we’re supposed to get southwest winds… Tomorrow stronger, more southerly winds,” Coil said. “So there’s gonna be a big emphasis today to construct and hold this line and make sure that we do everything we can to protect structures within the perimeter.”
The fire danger continues throughout parts of the Southwest this weekend, with strong, gusty winds amid persistent dry conditions in the region. Red flag warnings are in effect from Nevada to New Mexico.
Several large wildfires continue to burn from the Texas Panhandle to Arizona, most of which are in New Mexico.
The widespread, relentless drought continues to provide ample dry fuels for fires to spread, with little relief in sight for the foreseeable future for a large swath of the drought zones. More than two-thirds of New Mexico is now facing extreme drought conditions, while the exceptional drought area has more than doubled in size over the past week, encompassing more than 15% of the state.
