College athlete speaks out about mental health pressures, gives advice to coaches, parents

College athlete speaks out about mental health pressures, gives advice to coaches, parents
College athlete speaks out about mental health pressures, gives advice to coaches, parents
Marcin Kilarski / EyeEm/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — A college athlete who took time away from her sport to focus on her mental health is speaking out to urge coaches, schools, parents and fellow players to pay attention to the mental health of student-athletes.

“One of my favorite things to tell myself, if I’m not succeeding in the way I want to, I’ll put my hands on my heart now to say, ‘I love you and I’m listening,'” Cailin Bracken, a sophomore lacrosse player at Vanderbilt University, told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “And I want people to experience that from their coaches and administrators. I want there to be grace on all ends.”

Bracken said of the relationship between parents and kids, “I want for student-athletes and for parents to have an open communication.”

Bracken said that as a freshman at Vanderbilt, she struggled with depression after a mid-season concussion, which led her to stepping away from playing on the school’s lacrosse team.

“[If] I had a good day of practice, I was happy, and if I had a bad day of practice, I didn’t want to talk to anyone,” Bracken said. “I was investing so much of my worth in lacrosse.”

After taking time off from competing, Bracken reentered the sport and now is sharing her story to help others.

Earlier this month, Bracken opened up about her experience in an essay titled, “Dear College Sports,” for The Mental Matchup. In it, she describes how college sports can take a toll on student athletes, and how they are met with many expectations from coaches and administrators.

“Playing a sport in college, honestly, feels like playing fruit ninja with a butter knife,” Bracken wrote. “There are watermelons and cantaloupes being flung at you from all different directions, while you’re trying to defend yourself using one of those flimsy cafeteria knives that can’t even seem to spread room-temperature butter.”

“And beyond the chaos and overwhelm of it all, you’ve got coaches and parents and trainers and professors who expect you to come away from the experience unscathed, fruit salad in hand,” she added.

In her letter, Bracken mentions college athletes like Stanford University soccer star Katie Meyer and Duke University lacrosse player Morgan Rodgers, both of whom died by suicide at the age of 22.

Bracken wrote that when she hears stories like theirs, she feels fear, adding, “It scares me so much to wonder if it could’ve been my team; if it could’ve been me.”

On college campuses in the United States, around 30% of women and 25% of men who are student-athletes report having anxiety, according to data shared by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Among athletes with known mental health conditions, only 10% seek care from a mental health professional, according to the ACSM.

The NCAA found that during the coronavirus pandemic, student-athletes’ mental health was even negatively affected, with students reporting stress due to academic concerns, lack of access to their sport, financial worries and COVID-19 health concerns.

Professional athletes like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka have been public in recent years about the pressure, stress and burnout they’ve faced at the top of their sports, and those are struggles college athletes may feel too.

According to the ACSM, student-athletes face pressures from academics and competing, as well as other stressors like being away home home, traveling for games, feeling isolated from campus and other students due to their focus on sport and adapting to being in the public spotlight.

Bracken said that it is because of the support of her team and coaches that she was able to return to the field, writing, “I was able to navigate my way out of the darkness instead of letting it consume me.”

“I want other coaches to just say, ‘Hey, how can I be here for you?,’ because I never ever want a coach or a parent or teammate to see a situation like Katie Meyer [or] Morgan Rogers and say, ‘I wish I had done more,” she told GMA.

She added that she has been heartened by the response she’s received to opening up about her own mental health battle, saying, “I’m so grateful people are listening.”

“I had a father reach out to me and telling me that after reading the essay, he drove two-and-a-half hours to his daughter’s lacrosse practice and waited outside to give her a hug,” said Bracken. “And it was the most beautiful thing, because it’s exactly why I wrote it.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. You can reach Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 (U.S.) or 877-330-6366 (Canada) and The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukraine says 197 children killed in invasion

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukraine says 197 children killed in invasion
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukraine says 197 children killed in invasion
Sergii Kharchenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian troops invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Russian forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.

In recent days, Russian forces have retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv, the United States and European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Apr 14, 4:51 am
197 children killed in invasion, Ukraine says

At least 197 children have been killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on Thursday.

Another 351 children have been injured during the invasion, the office said. The actual number of casualties was assumed to be higher, because Ukraine’s official figures didn’t include “full consideration of places with active hostilities,” the office said.

Two children died after being hospitalized for injuries from a rocket attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine last Friday, according to Thursday’s update. Seven children have now died following that Russian attack, the update said.

Apr 13, 9:43 pm
Ukraine claims to have struck Russia’s Black Sea fleet flagship

Several Ukrainian government sources reported Wednesday that armed forces have struck Russia’s Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva.

The governor of Odesa Maksym Marchenko claimed on Telegram that two anti-ship cruise missiles struck the cruiser in the Black Sea, causing “very serious damage.”

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych and Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, reported there was an explosion and that the cruiser is on fire.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said a fire onboard the Moskva caused a subsequent broadside munitions explosion.

“The ship received serious damage, the crew was evacuated,” the ministry said, adding that an investigation is underway.

There was no mention of a missile strike in the ministry’s statement, which was carried by Russia’s state-run news agency TASS.

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Store owner arrested in shooting of 9-year-old girl at California mall

Store owner arrested in shooting of 9-year-old girl at California mall
Store owner arrested in shooting of 9-year-old girl at California mall
KABC-TV

(LOS ANGELES) — A store owner has been arrested in the shooting of a 9-year-old girl police said was hit by an errant bullet at a Southern California mall when the merchant allegedly opened fire on a pair of shoplifters he was chasing.

Marqel Cockrell, 20, was being held on $1 million bail after he was arrested in Nevada and booked on suspicion of attempted murder, the Victorville Police Department announced Wednesday.

The shooting unfolded around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Mall of Victor Valley in Victorville, police said.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department sent deputies to the mall after receiving multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire at the shopping center, authorities said. Multiple law enforcement agencies also responded to the scene as the mall was placed on lockdown and officers began to evacuate people and searched for the shooter, who apparently fled by the time officers arrived.

Deputies found the wounded girl and immediately began rendering medical aid, Victorville police said. She was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where she was in stable condition.

The girl’s family members told ABC station KABC in Los Angeles that she suffered a gunshot wound to the arm.

Investigators believe the shooting occurred near a Barnes & Nobles outlet at the mall. Overnight, investigators worked to identify Cockrell as the suspect in the shooting.

Cockrell, who is the co-owner of a sneaker store at the mall called Sole Addicts, attempted to chase down two shoplifters out of his store according to police. In an attempt to stop the shoplifters, Cockrell fired multiple shots, missing the shoplifters and striking the young victim.

After fleeing the scene, Cockrell was arrested by the Nevada Highway Patrol in Clark County, Nevada, about 9 pm. Tuesday. He was booked at the Clark County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and is awaiting extradition back to California.

This is the second shooting to occur at the Mall of Victor Valley within the last six months. In November 2021, a man was killed and two other people, including a juvenile, were wounded in a shooting outside the mall.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

How the New York City subway shooting suspect was captured

How the New York City subway shooting suspect was captured
How the New York City subway shooting suspect was captured
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Brooklyn subway shooter suspect Frank James, was arrested within 30 hours after the incident through a combination of on-the-ground detective work, technology and possibly a tip from the fugitive himself, investigators said.

“We were able to shrink his world, quickly. There was nowhere left for him to run,” New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Officers got their first lead soon after the incident at the crime scene, the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where several eyewitnesses filmed and photographed James.

Police said the suspect also left behind key pieces of evidence that helped them track his movements before and after the incident — a 9 mm Glock allegedly used in the shooting, his coat, a bag filled with fireworks and James’ credit card.

James used the credit card to rent U-Haul van that was discovered parked five miles southeast of the station, police said. Officers recovered the vehicle later in the evening.

James legally purchased the gun in Ohio in 2011, according to the NYPD. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is currently looking over data related to the gun, according to the agency.

Cameras were not working inside the 36th Street subway station, but he was filmed entering the subway station near where the van was found, according to investigators. He was also spotted at the 7th Avenue station in Park Slope, roughly three miles north of the crime scene, less than 30 minutes after the shooting, police said.

James fled the scene in a R train from the 36th Street station, police said.

While investigators continued to probe through clues, including James’ social media posts where he ranted against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, police released his photo to the public Tuesday night and named James as a “person of interest.”

“That was a critical effect on raising the kind of public awareness,” John Miller, the NYPD deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, said at Tuesday’s news conference.

A cellphone alert with James’ description went out to New York City residents at 10:21 a.m. Wednesday, just hours after the police officially identified him as a suspect.

The NYPD said they received a Crime Stoppers tip a few hours later from some claiming James was inside a McDonald’s in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The tipster may have been James himself, according to sources.

“I think you’re looking for me. I’m seeing my picture all over the news, and I’ll be around this McDonald’s,” one of the tipsters reportedly said, according to sources.

An NYPD official said police are reviewing the 911 call.

When officers responded to the McDonald’s, James was nowhere to be seen, so officers drove around the neighborhood, according to the NYPD.

Around 1:45 p.m. officers found James in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan and arrested him without incident, according to police.

The FBI, ATF and other federal law enforcement agencies said they are still going through evidence and clues related to the shooting.

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Mark Crudele contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Biden announces $800M in new military aid for Ukraine

Biden announces 0M in new military aid for Ukraine
Biden announces 0M in new military aid for Ukraine
Scott Olson/Getty Images, FILE

(WASHINGTON) — Following a call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday his administration is authorizing an additional $800 million for weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, including artillery and armored personnel carriers, as it braces to defend itself from an expected new Russian offensive.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby walked reporters through the aid package in an afternoon press briefing, saying it includes “new capabilities that we have not provided to Ukraine.”

“We committed from the very beginning even before the invasion, to helping Ukraine be able to defend itself. This is a piece of that. And this is representative of the kinds of capabilities that the Ukrainians themselves have asked for and said they need as this fighting now gets focused on the eastern part of the country,” he said.

“How that gets interpreted by the Russians. you can ask Mr. Putin and the Kremlin,” Kirby added.

Biden announced the $800 million package in an earlier written statement. He also noted that Russia is preparing to focus its invasion in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine but affirmed the U.S. would continue to “provide Ukraine with the capabilities to defend itself.”

“This new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine. These new capabilities include artillery systems, artillery rounds, and armored personnel carriers,” Biden said.

“I have also approved the transfer of additional helicopters. In addition, we continue to facilitate the transfer of significant capabilities from our Allies and partners around the world,” Biden added.

According to the Pentagon, the list of new military hardware includes 155mm howitzer artillery — a specific request from Ukraine — 200 M-113 armored personnel carriers, 100 armored humvees, 300 Switchblade drones, and 11 MI-17 helicopters. The U.S. had given Ukraine five helicopters as part of an earlier shipment.

“And again, the Ukrainians have made it clear that in this fight that’s coming, artillery is a critical need — not just the artillery piece itself, but the rounds that go with it,” Kirby said following Biden’s announcement. “You can see, there’s 40,000 rounds that are going on with this — and we will be in an iterative conversation with them going forward and if they need additional artillery rounds, clearly the United States will do what we can to fill those needs.”

Reiterating the U.S. position not to send U.S. forces to fight in Ukraine, Kirby told reporters, “There will be no U.S. pilots flying the helicopters into Ukraine.”

“Unmanned coastal defense vessels” were also included on the lengthy list of equipment, some of which will require specific training.

The additional aid comes after Biden called Russia’s action’s in Ukraine “genocide” for the first time and as Zelenskyy warns Putin could use chemical weapons in Ukraine.

The U.S. has now given Ukraine more than $3 billion in security assistance.

ABC News’ Matt Seyler contributed to this story.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

NYC subway shooting updates: Suspect in custody, charged with terror-related offenses

NYC subway shooting updates: Suspect in custody, charged with terror-related offenses
NYC subway shooting updates: Suspect in custody, charged with terror-related offenses
Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Frank James, the man wanted for allegedly opening fire on a rush-hour subway train in Brooklyn, shooting 10 people, was taken into custody in Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon, officials said, ending an over 24-hour-long search.

“We got him,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced at a Wednesday news conference.

The NYPD received a tip saying the suspect was in the East Village, in a McDonald’s at 6th Street and 1st Avenue, police said. Responding officers didn’t see him in the McDonald’s, but they drove around the area and spotted James near St. Marks Place and 1st Avenue, where he was taken into custody without incident around 1:45 p.m. ET, police said.

James, 62, may have called police on himself, according to sources. Among the calls to Crime Stoppers was reportedly someone who said: “I think you’re looking for me. I’m seeing my picture all over the news, and I’ll be around this McDonalds.”

An NYPD official said police are reviewing the 911 call.

Once taken into custody, James asked for a lawyer and didn’t speak to officers, according to law enforcement sources.

James has been charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn with terror-related offenses, officials said, and has been transferred to federal custody.

James, wanted for the attempted murder of 10 people, was the subject of an intense search by the U.S. Marshals Service and other federal and local agencies.

In the chaos after the Tuesday morning shooting at the 36th Street subway station, James eluded law enforcement by boarding an R train that pulled into the station and traveling one stop before exiting at the 25th Street station, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig. After that, James was seen again at a Park Slope subway stop at 9:15 a.m. before fading from view, Essig said.

The “active shooter” incident unfolded on a Manhattan-bound N subway just before 8:30 a.m. as the train approached the 36th Street station.

A man mumbling to himself on the train donned a gas mask and detonated a smoke canister before pulling out a handgun and firing 33 bullets, a police official told ABC News. Three teenagers were among the 10 people shot.

The gun jammed during the incident, which is believed to have saved lives, a law enforcement official told ABC News.

Smoke poured out of the subway car as the doors opened and screaming riders ran out onto the platform of the station. Bloodied people were seen lying on the floor of the train and the platform.

Twenty-nine people suffered various injuries, hospital officials said. As of Wednesday morning, just four of the wounded remained hospitalized, according to Adams.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, we believe he was alone,” Adams told ABC News in an interview Wednesday on “Good Morning America.”

“We still do not know the suspect’s motivation,” New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a press conference Tuesday evening. “Clearly this individual boarded the train and was intent on violence.”

The Glock 9 mm semi-automatic handgun James allegedly used was purchased legally in 2011 in Ohio, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The gun, and the purchase of a gas mask on eBay, are among the pieces of evidence that elevated James from person of interest to suspect, the sources said.

Senior law enforcement officials told ABC News that they also uncovered a number of social media posts and videos tied to James and are studying them closely to see if they are relevant to the subway attack.

Sewell said she increased security for the mayor after investigators found what she called “concerning posts,” though she declined to call them “threats.”

“There are some postings possibly connected to our person of interest where he mentions homelessness, he mentions New York and he does mention Mayor Adams,” Sewell told reporters Tuesday. “And as a result of that, in an abundance of caution, we’re going to tighten the mayor’s security detail.”

Authorities are also tracking James’ whereabouts leading up to the shooting.

On Monday night, according to federal prosecutors, James accessed a storage unit with gun parts and ammunition in Philadelphia, near where he was living. According to prosecutors, police found “an empty magazine for a Glock handgun, a taser, a high-capacity rifle magazine and a blue smoke canister” in the apartment.

Prosecutors allege James rented a U-Haul van in Philadelphia on Monday. On Tuesday morning, James drove from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and then entered New York, reaching Brooklyn at about 4:11 a.m., prosecutors said.

Security cameras showed James at 6:12 a.m. Tuesday, wearing a hard hat and orange vest, two blocks away from the 36th Street station, prosecutors said. Police showed witnesses that surveillance video to identify him, according to prosecutors.

Police said the U-Haul was found Tuesday afternoon, parked near a subway station on Kings Highway in Brooklyn’s Gravesend neighborhood, about 5 miles from the 36th Street station.

The key to the van and a credit card, which law enforcement sources told ABC News was used to rent a U-Haul, were among the gunman’s possessions recovered from the shooting scene. Other items discovered at the scene of the shooting include the gun used in the attack, three extended magazines, a hatchet, gasoline, four smoke grenades and a bag of consumer-grade fireworks.

Phantom Fireworks, a company in Wisconsin, confirmed that James bought fireworks products there last year that were believed to have been left behind in the subway station.

None of the surveillance cameras inside the 36th Street subway station were working at the time of Tuesday’s shooting, a police official told ABC News. The cameras, which are aimed at the turnstiles, didn’t transmit in real-time due to a glitch computer malfunction, a source said. The same glitch impacted cameras at the stops before and after 36th Street. Investigators said they are looking into how this malfunction happened.

However, the cameras at the Kings Highway subway station in Gravesend were transmitting live feeds in real-time. That’s where investigators believe James entered the subway Tuesday morning, just blocks from where the U-Haul van was parked and eight subway stops away from the 36th Street station.

Police were able to get an image of the suspect from a bystander’s cellphone video, a law enforcement official told ABC News.

“The fact that these cameras are not working is a large concern,” Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso told ABC News Live on Wednesday. “There’s a lot of work to do in the city now to check every camera, make sure they’re all working, and also a deeper dive into what happened and what we can do in the future to ensure this doesn’t happen.”

Subway service at the 36th Street station resumed Wednesday morning.

The bloodshed came amid a surge in crime within New York City’s transit system. The mayor said he has already doubled the number of police officers patrolling the city’s subway stations and is also considering installing special metal detectors in the wake of Tuesday’s shooting.

But Reynoso said, “More cops is not necessarily going to solve for this problem.”

“I think there are root causes to this violence that exists, mostly mental health at this point, is what we’re seeing in New York City. And that’s where we should be spending resources and energy,” Reynoso said. “More cops to respond to a crime won’t necessarily stop the crime. In this case, this individual was inside a train car — unless you believe that you can put a police officer in every single train car in New York City, which is physically impossible … that’s not the way we’re going to solve that issue.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Wednesday, “The epidemic of gun violence that continues to terrorize communities across this country must end. My pledge to New Yorkers is this: I will fight every day to restore public safety, get guns off our streets, and prevent these horrific acts of violence.”

Anyone with information, videos or photos related to the shooting is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Mark Crudele, Alex Hosenball, Joshua Hoyos, Soo Rin Kim and Christopher Looft contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

NYC subway shooting updates: Suspect in custody, sources say

NYC subway shooting updates: Suspect in custody, charged with terror-related offenses
NYC subway shooting updates: Suspect in custody, charged with terror-related offenses
Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Frank James, the man wanted for allegedly opening fire on a rush-hour subway train in Brooklyn, shooting 10 people, is in custody, sources told ABC News, ending an over 24-hour-long manhunt.

Law enforcement sources told ABC News that police had probable cause to arrest James, 62, for the attempted murder of 10 people — a determination made overnight after more than 18 hours of investigation that included video, cellphone data and interviews with witnesses. The U.S. Marshals Service joined the search for James — who was considered a dangerous and wanted fugitive — along with other federal and local agencies.

The “active shooter” incident unfolded on a Manhattan-bound N subway car during the Tuesday morning commute, just before 8:30 a.m. ET, as the train approached the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, according to police.

A man mumbling to himself on the train donned a gas mask and detonated a smoke canister before pulling out a handgun and firing at least 33 bullets, a police official told ABC News. Three teenagers were among the 10 people shot. The gun jammed during the incident, which is believed to have saved lives, a law enforcement official told ABC News.

Smoke poured out of the subway car as the doors opened and screaming riders ran out onto the platform of the station. Bloodied people were seen lying on the floor of the train and the platform as others attempted to administer aid.

Twenty-nine people suffered various injuries, hospital officials said. As of Wednesday morning, just four of the wounded remained hospitalized, according to the mayor.

“At this time, based on the preliminary investigation, we believe he was alone,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams told ABC News in an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America.

“We still do not know the suspect’s motivation,” New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a press conference Tuesday evening. “Clearly this individual boarded the train and was intent on violence.”

The Glock 9 mm semi-automatic handgun James allegedly used was purchased legally in 2011 in Ohio, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The gun, and the purchase of a gas mask on eBay, are among the pieces of evidence that elevated James from person of interest to suspect, the sources said.

Authorities have at least one of James’ credit cards and are able to track his purchase history.

Phantom Fireworks, a company in Wisconsin, confirmed that James bought fireworks products there last year that were believed to have been left behind in the subway station.

Senior law enforcement officials told ABC News that they have uncovered a number of social media posts and videos tied to James and are studying them closely to see if they are relevant to the subway attack.

Sewell said she increased security for the mayor after investigators found what she called “concerning posts,” but declined to call them “threats.”

“There are some postings possibly connected to our person of interest where he mentions homelessness, he mentions New York and he does mention Mayor Adams,” Sewell told reporters Tuesday. “And as a result of that, in an abundance of caution, we’re going to tighten the mayor’s security detail.”

Police said James had rented a U-Haul van possibly connected to the violence. The key to the van and a credit card, which law enforcement sources told ABC News was used to rent a U-Haul, were among the gunman’s possessions recovered from the scene of the shooting. James had rented the same van in Philadelphia, according to police.

Police said the U-Haul van was found Tuesday afternoon, unoccupied and parked near a subway station on King’s Highway in Brooklyn’s Gravesend neighborhood, about 5 miles southeast of the 36th Street station. Nothing of investigative interest was discovered in the vehicle, apart from a pillow and other indications that James had been living inside, a law enforcement source told ABC News.

Other items discovered at the scene of the shooting include the gun used in the attack, three extended magazines, a hatchet, gasoline, four smoke grenades and a bag of consumer-grade fireworks.

None of the surveillance cameras inside the 36th Street subway station were working at the time of Tuesday’s shooting, a police official told ABC News. The cameras, which are aimed at the turnstiles, didn’t transmit in real-time due to a glitch computer malfunction, a source said. The same glitch impacted cameras at the stops before and after 36th Street. Investigators said they are looking into how this malfunction happened.

However, the cameras at the Kings Highway subway station in Gravesend were transmitting live feeds in real-time. That’s where investigators believe James entered the subway Tuesday morning, just blocks from where the U-Haul van was parked and eight subway stops away from the 36th Street station.

Police were able to get an image of the suspect from a bystander’s cellphone video, a law enforcement official told ABC News. Investigators are looking through video from other witnesses and surrounding businesses, hunting for any clues.

“The fact that these cameras are not working is a large concern,” Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso told ABC News Live on Wednesday. “There’s a lot of work to do in the city now to check every camera, make sure they’re all working, and also a deeper dive into what happened and what we can do in the future to ensure this doesn’t happen.”

Subway service at the 36th Street station resumed Wednesday morning.

The bloodshed came amid a surge in crime within New York City’s transit system. The mayor said he has already doubled the number of police officers patrolling the city’s subway stations and is also considering installing special metal detectors in the wake of Tuesday’s shooting.

But Reynoso said, “More cops is not necessarily going to solve for this problem.”

“I think there are root causes to this violence that exists, mostly mental health at this point, is what we’re seeing in New York City. And that’s where we should be spending resources and energy,” Reynoso said. “More cops to respond to a crime won’t necessarily stop the crime. In this case, this individual was inside a train car — unless you believe that you can put a police officer in every single train car in New York City, which is physically impossible … that’s not the way we’re going to solve that issue.”

Anyone with information, videos or photos related to the shooting is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Mark Crudele, Alex Hosenball, Joshua Hoyos, Soo Rin Kim and Christopher Looft contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

What parents need to know amid the national baby formula shortage

What parents need to know amid the national baby formula shortage
What parents need to know amid the national baby formula shortage
Scott Olson/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Amid a growing shortage of baby formula across the country, major retailers have begun limiting the amount of formula customers can buy.

As of April, 31% of popular formula brands may be sold out at stores nationwide, according to Datasembly, a tracking firm that tracks products stocked on store shelves.

In response, CVS and Walgreens are among the retailers now restricting purchases of formula products.

“Following supplier challenges and increased customer demand, we’ve added a limit of three baby formula products per purchase in our stores and online. We’re continuing to work with our baby formula vendors to address this issue and we regret any inconvenience this causes our customers,” Matt Blanchette, a senior manager of retail communications at CVS Pharmacy told GMA via email.

A Walgreens spokesperson also told GMA in a statement: “Due to increased demand and various supplier challenges, infant and toddler formulas are seeing constraint across the country. Similar to other retailers, we put into effect purchase limits of three per transaction on all infant and toddler formula to help improve inventory. We continue to work diligently with our supplier partners to best meet customer demands.”

The shortage is due to several factors, experts say, including supply chain issues, rising inflation and previous recalls of baby formula products.

Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to use certain Alimentum, EleCare, or Similac powdered infant formulas that were recalled due to possible bacterial contamination.

The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend breastfeeding infants as breast milk contains the optimal nutrients and health protection for babies. However, breastfeeding may not always be possible for a host of reasons and may need to be supplemented with formula.

Nearly 70% of babies in the U.S., or nearly 3 million babies, are fed infant formula and get some or all of their nutritional needs from it, according to a 2016 review based on FDA data.

As the baby formula shortage continues, experts say parents and caregivers should reach out to pediatricians and seek help from resources like the federal Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program. If a child needs specialized formula, like a hydrolyzed formula for a baby with allergies, they should talk to their child’s pediatrician or care team, like a pediatric dietitian, gastroenterolgist, or nephrologist.

Here are five more tips for parents, according to Dr. Steven Abrams, a professor of pediatrics at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.

Be flexible with formula brands

Experts like Abrams say for most families, if one formula isn’t available, look for generic or alternative formulas.

“If you use the one brand name, identify the comparable version that might be the other competing brand names or the generic versions,” Abrams told GMA. “They’re virtually identical. There’s no reason that the overwhelming majority of parents can’t use almost any of the routine formulas they see out there that are comparable to what they’re used to.”

Check for formula in different stores

Abrams suggests looking in multiple stores for formula, including groceries and supermarkets, big box stores, convenience stores, and warehouse stores. Another option is to search online from reputable stores or to order from manufacturers directly.

“It’s harder for people who are more isolated from cities or more rural, and that’s where they can look online. If it’s one of those super-specialized formulas like Elecare, sometimes the pediatrician will be able to connect them with a formula representative that can help them. Sometimes the hospital may have a small supply they can use,” Abrams said.

Don’t hoard baby formula

Abrams also added that there is no reason to panic buy baby formula.

“I know it’s tempting to stock up four months’ supply because you’re worried about it, but obviously, it’s like everyone going to the gas station at the same time. If everybody buys formula at the same time, then there isn’t for other people,” he said.

Never dilute formula

Diluting infant formula can be dangerous and even life-threatening for babies, leading to a serious nutritional deficit and health issues, such as brain damage and seizures.

Follow basic hygiene standards, like washing hands before preparation, and follow instructions on the formula packaging. If preparing powdered formula, the FDA recommends using clean, potable water to mix. Some liquid formula also requires water to be mixed in.

Don’t try to DIY formula

Commercially available baby formula is heavily regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration to be a safe breast milk alternative/supplement to provide babies the nutrition they need. The FDA does not recommend parents make or feed a child formula that hasn’t been evaluated as the formula may not have the correct amount or type of nutrients that a baby would need and could be adulterated.

“Only buy proper formulas that are sold legally in the United States via stores or online as legitimate formulas. There have been a couple of cases of babies actually getting homemade formulas and dying from them or being critically injured by them,” Abrams said.

The FDA has noted these past incidents, saying on its website, “The agency has received reports of hospitalized babies who had been fed homemade infant formula and then suffered from hypocalcemia (low calcium). Other potential problems with homemade formulas include contamination and absence of, or inadequate amounts of, critical nutrients.”

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Biden gets praise, criticism for calling Russia’s actions in Ukraine ‘genocide’

Biden gets praise, criticism for calling Russia’s actions in Ukraine ‘genocide’
Biden gets praise, criticism for calling Russia’s actions in Ukraine ‘genocide’
Scott Olson/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden is getting both praise and criticism after doubling down on describing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide” — the first time he’s used the term since the invasion began nearly 50 days ago — even as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for weeks has claimed that is what’s happening on the ground.

During prepared remarks in Iowa Tuesday blaming inflation and gas prices on “Putin’s price hike,” Biden said, “Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should on hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away.”

His use of the word raised questions among Washington reporters about whether it was an ad-libbed moment or a policy shift from the White House — until Biden later insisted he meant exactly what said.

“Yes, I called it genocide,” Biden told reporters after his remarks. “Because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian. And the evidence is mounting. It’s different than it was last week, the more evidence is coming out of the — literally, the horrible things that the Russians have done in Ukraine and we’re going to only learn more and more about the devastation.”

Biden went on to acknowledge the U.S. government has an internal, legal process for designating whether genocide has occurred but still stood by what he indicated was his opinion.

“We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me,” Biden added.

Genocide is defined as an act “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,” according to the United Nations’ Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Zelenskyy has argued — and pleaded — for weeks that Russia has met this definition and called on Western leaders to use the same term. He was quick to applaud Biden’s comments as “true words of a true leader.”

The Kremlin, meanwhile, blasted the comment as Putin indicated this week indicated his invasion won’t stop until his goals are met and said peace talks with Kyiv had reached a “dead end.”

“We consider this kind of effort to distort the situation unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday. “This is hardly acceptable from a president of the United States, a country that has committed well-known crimes in recent times.”

It’s not clear how many Western leaders will go as far as Biden and Zelenskyy — or what will take for them to reach the same conclusion.

No other Western nations have made the determination, aside from Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas tying Russia’s crimes to the term in a tweet. French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Wednesday he’s more “careful” with his words than the American president, saying only that “war crimes” have been confirmed.

“So far, it has been established that war crimes were committed by the Russian army and that it is now necessary to find those responsible and bring them to justice,” Macron told France 2 in an interview.

“I am very careful with some terms [genocide] these days,” he added. “I’m not sure the escalation of words is helping the cause right now.”

Macron also rebuked Biden’s language last month, when asked about Biden calling Putin a “butcher” and saying he “cannot remain in power” during remarks in Warsaw.

“I wouldn’t use those terms, because I continue to speak to President Putin,” Macron said in another interview with France 3. “Because what do we want to do collectively? We want to stop the war that Russia launched in Ukraine, without waging war and without escalation.”

Biden stood by his words then, saying he was “expressing moral outrage” but also clarified that he wasn’t “articulating a policy change” amid some fallout.

It’s unclear now what pushed Biden to change his stance on using the term “genocide” — because asked directly last week if he thought the atrocities documented in Bucha were genocide, he said no.

“I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal. Well, the truth of the matter, you saw what happened in Bucha,” Biden said April 4. “He is a war criminal — but we have to gather the information, we have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight, and we have to gather all the detail so this could be an actual — have a war crime trial. This guy is brutal. What’s happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone sees it.”

Asked directly, “You agree this is genocide?”

“No, it is a war crime,” Biden replied.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan followed Biden’s comment the same day by saying the administration had not yet seen the “systematic deprivation of life” necessary to meet the definition of genocide.

“This is something we, of course, continue to monitor every day. Based on what we have seen so far, we have seen atrocities, we have seen war crimes. We have not yet seen a level of systematic deprivation of life of the Ukrainian people to rise to the level of genocide,” Sullivan said.

According to the White House, President Biden called President Zelenskyy Wednesday morning to update him on ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine.

This call comes as the U.S. could announce an additional military assistance package to Ukraine as soon as Wednesday that could be as much as $750 million, and include a range of new military hardware.

ABC News Sarah Kolinovsky, Molly Nagle and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

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NYC subway shooting updates: Manhunt on for suspect

NYC subway shooting updates: Suspect in custody, charged with terror-related offenses
NYC subway shooting updates: Suspect in custody, charged with terror-related offenses
Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — New York City police are still hunting for a gunman who opened fire on a rush-hour subway train in Brooklyn, shooting 10 people.

The alleged shooter, identified by the New York City Police Department as 62-year-old Frank Robert James, was initially deemed a person of interest in the investigation before being named a suspect Wednesday morning.

“At this time, based on the preliminary investigation, we believe he was alone,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams told ABC News in an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America.

Law enforcement sources told ABC News that police now have probable cause to arrest James for the attempted murder of 10 people — a determination made overnight after more than 18 hours of investigation that included video, cellphone data and interviews with witnesses. The U.S. Marshals Service has joined the search for James — who is now considered a wanted fugitive — along with other federal and local agencies.

The “active shooter” incident unfolded on a Manhattan-bound N subway car during the Tuesday morning commute, just before 8:30 a.m. ET, as the train approached the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, according to police.

A man mumbling to himself on the train donned a gas mask and detonated a smoke canister before pulling out a handgun and firing at least 33 bullets, a police official told ABC News. Three teenagers were among the 10 people shot. The gun jammed during the incident, which is believed to have saved lives, a law enforcement official told ABC News.

Smoke poured out of the subway car as the doors opened and screaming riders ran out onto the platform of the station. Bloodied people were seen lying on the floor of the train and the platform as others attempted to administer aid.

Twenty-nine people suffered various injuries, hospital officials said. As of Wednesday morning, just four of the wounded remained hospitalized, according to the mayor.

A wanted poster released by police Wednesday morning described James as “armed and dangerous.”

“At this time, we still do not know the suspect’s motivation,” New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at a press conference Tuesday evening. “Clearly this individual boarded the train and was intent on violence.”

A senior federal law enforcement source told ABC News that authorities are concerned the shooting showed a level of planning and commitment to kill scores of commuters during rush hour.

Senior law enforcement officials told ABC News that they have uncovered a number of social media posts and videos tied to James and are studying them closely to see if they are relevant to the subway attack.

Sewell said she increased security for the mayor after investigators found what she called “concerning posts,” but declined to call them “threats.”

“There are some postings possibly connected to our person of interest where he mentions homelessness, he mentions New York and he does mention Mayor Adams,” Sewell told reporters Tuesday. “And as a result of that, in an abundance of caution, we’re going to tighten the mayor’s security detail.”

Police said James had rented a U-Haul van possibly connected to the violence. The key to the van and a credit card, which law enforcement sources told ABC News was used to rent a U-Haul, were among the gunman’s possessions recovered from the scene of the shooting. James had rented the same van in Philadelphia, according to police.

Police said the U-Haul van was found Tuesday afternoon, unoccupied and parked near a subway station on King’s Highway in Brooklyn’s Gravesend neighborhood, about 5 miles southeast of the 36th Street station. Nothing of investigative interest was discovered in the vehicle, apart from a pillow and other indications that James had been living inside, a law enforcement source told ABC News.

Other items discovered at the scene of the shooting include the Glock 9 mm semi-automatic handgun used in the attack, three extended magazines, a hatchet, gasoline, four smoke grenades and a bag of consumer-grade fireworks. The gun wasn’t stolen, according to police.

None of the surveillance cameras inside the 36th Street subway station were working at the time of Tuesday’s shooting, a police official told ABC News. The cameras, which are aimed at the turnstiles, didn’t transmit in real-time due to a glitch computer malfunction, a source said. The same glitch impacted cameras at the stops before and after 36th Street. Investigators said they are looking into how this malfunction happened.

However, the cameras at the Kings Highway subway station in Gravesend were transmitting live feeds in real-time. That’s where investigators believe James entered the subway Tuesday morning, just blocks from where the U-Haul van was parked and eight subway stops away from the 36th Street station.

Police were able to get an image of the suspect from a bystander’s cellphone video, a law enforcement official told ABC News. Investigators are looking through video from other witnesses and surrounding businesses, hunting for any clues.

“The fact that these cameras are not working is a large concern,” Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso told ABC News Live on Wednesday. “There’s a lot of work to do in the city now to check every camera, make sure they’re all working, and also a deeper dive into what happened and what we can do in the future to ensure this doesn’t happen.”

Subway service at the 36th Street station resumed Wednesday morning.

The bloodshed came amid a surge in crime within New York City’s transit system. The mayor said he has already doubled the number of police officers patrolling the city’s subway stations and is also considering installing special metal detectors in the wake of Tuesday’s shooting.

But Reynoso said, “More cops is not necessarily going to solve for this problem.”

“I think there are root causes to this violence that exists, mostly mental health at this point, is what we’re seeing in New York City. And that’s where we should be spending resources and energy,” Reynoso said. “More cops to respond to a crime won’t necessarily stop the crime. In this case, this individual was inside a train car — unless you believe that you can put a police officer in every single train car in New York City, which is physically impossible … that’s not the way we’re going to solve that issue.”

Anyone with information, videos or photos related to the shooting is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Mark Crudele, Alex Hosenball, Joshua Hoyos, Soo Rin Kim and Christopher Looft contributed to this report.

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