(NEW YORK) — As of Monday, more than 52.4 million birds across the United States have died of avian influenza, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This makes the outbreak the deadliest in history, surpassing the 2015 outbreak that killed 50.5 million birds in 2015.
While the 2015 outbreak was mainly contained to poultry farms, the current outbreak has spread to nearly every state.
What is so-called bird flu and what does it mean for Americans?
What is avian flu?
Avian flu is a disease of birds, which occurs when they are infected with avian influenza Type A viruses.
Domestic poultry, including chickens and turkeys, can be infected and spread the disease as well as other bird and animal species, according to the CDC.
“There are multiple versions of influenza, some that infect humans, some that infect animals,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. “It’s been something we’ve been monitoring for two decades now and it creates a real problem, not only for wildlife but it can have dramatic impacts on domestic stock.”
He added, “Because this virus is so contagious, drastic measures have to be put into place to stop the spread and that ultimately results in the death of millions of birds.”
Can people be infected with avian flu?
Avian flu viruses do not usually infect people but there have been rare cases.
Because the virus is shed through mucus, saliva and feces, most infections occur when a human comes into contact with these fluids or inhales them.
Symptoms can range anywhere from mild to severe and, sometimes, result in death, according to the CDC.
“We have to remind people the risk to humans is low, but at the same time, unprotected contact with birds that look sick can pose a risk,” Brownstein said. “An additional layer is when you have this much virus spread, there’s opportunities for mutation and this is where there’s an opportunity for a version of this virus that could actually have deeper impact in the human population as well.”
He said there is no evidence to suggest people can contract bird flu from eating poultry meat or poultry products, such as eggs.
Why is there an outbreak?
It’s believed that the outbreak began from wild birds. In January, the United States Department of Agriculture announced a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza was found in wild birds for the first time since 2016, mainly in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The birds then migrated, spreading the virus to farms, with the first outbreak confirmed Feb. 9 at a turkey farm in Dubois County, Indiana.
Since then, birds across 46 states have either died as a result of infection or been killed due to exposure of infected birds, according to the USDA.
By comparison, the 2015 outbreak only affected birds in 21 states.
What should people do?
The CDC recommends that people should avoid contact with wild birds whenever possible, especially because they can be infected with avian flu and not appear ill.
In addition, those who work directly with birds such as in zoos, in wildlife conservations centers at meatpacking plants or on farms — or those who have backyard poultry — should use protection.
“Right now you want to use protective equipment, like gloves and N-95 masks,” Brownstein said. “Just like any virus, you want to avoid touching your mouth, nose, your eyes after contact with birds. It’s important changing clothes if you’ve had any contact.”
He also recommended that people receive their flu vaccine as soon as possible.
“It won’t prevent infection from bird flu but can reduce the risk of getting sick,” Brownstein said.
(NEW YORK) — Parts of the Northwest could get up to two feet of snow on Monday and Tuesday, as a cross-country storm will bring snow and tornadoes in parts of the U.S.
A winter storm watch has been issued for Spokane, Washington late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, with heavy snowfall expected, the National Weather Service Spokane office tweeted.
A cross-country storm moving east is expected to bring heavy snow from Nebraska to Michigan on Monday night into Tuesday morning. Eighteen states are on alert for snow and strong winds due to the incoming storm.
Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado; and Casper, Wyoming, are expected to get between 6 and 12 inches of snow in the next two days.
Warm moist air could help produce tornadoes in parts of the South Tuesday afternoon into the evening.
The storm system could also bring strong, long-tracked tornadoes Tuesday evening to Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Greenville and Jackson, Mississippi; and Monroe, Louisiana.
In addition to tornadoes, damaging winds of more than 60 mph and large hail are also possible for the lower Mississippi River Valley and the Gulf Coast states.
Around 15 million Americans in the South will remain on alert as New Orleans to Nashville could see severe storms on Tuesday night.
(WASHINGTON) — Multiple high-profile Republican lawmakers returning to Washington on Monday chastised former President Donald Trump over his dinner last week with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
Their remarks are the latest round of rebukes after Trump met with the pair — in what he insisted was an inadvertent group meal — last week at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, news of which broke over the holiday and sparked outcry soon after Trump announced his third presidential campaign.
Fuentes has a history of racist, sexist and antisemitic comments and has been banned on all major social media platforms.
The dinner was attended by Fuentes, Ye — who recently lost major business deals over his own antisemitic remarks — and Florida Republican political operative Karen Giorno.
“It was wrong and inappropriate to have that meeting. White supremacy has no place in our nation’s culture. It’s antithetical to everything we stand for as Americans,” retiring Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said Monday.
“I think it’s ridiculous he had that meeting. Just ridiculous. That’s all I’m going to say,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, added.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a frequent Trump detractor and former Republican presidential candidate himself, called the dinner “disgusting.”
“I think it’s been clear there’s no bottom to the degree to which President Trump will degrade himself and the nation,” Romney said.
Their comments marked some of the first by congressional Republicans, who were largely silent about the dinner over the holiday weekend but were faced with questions by reporters in the halls of Congress on Monday.
Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell, the GOP leaders in the House and Senate, respectively, have not spoken publicly about the dinner. McCarthy is a legislative ally of Trump’s. McConnell has previously criticized Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection but declined to comment on the Mar-a-Lago meeting.
Trump has maintained that meeting with Fuentes was not intentional: He said in multiple statements that he only sought to meet with Ye and that the rapper brought Fuentes to the two-hour dinner without his knowledge. He also said he did not know who Fuentes was when Fuentes came to Mar-a-Lago.
Some Republican lawmakers on Monday declined to criticize Trump directly but said the meeting was still wrong and that it indicates Trump is not being served well by his aides.
“That’s just a bad idea on every level. I don’t know whose advising him on his staff, but I hope that whoever that person was got fired,” said Senate GOP Whip John Thune of South Dakota.
“I’m gonna take at face value that the president didn’t know who the guy was. I didn’t know who it was. Whoever allowed anyone with his background to get that close to the president should not have a job in the Trump team,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
Others took a different view.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said, “I suppose he can have dinner with whomever he wants. I wouldn’t have had dinner with him.”
And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said “the meeting was bad” but accused the press of a “double standard” because he said that Democrats didn’t face similar coverage when associating with polarizing figures. Still, he said, “I think Trump should be talking about what he did as president and how he could fix the problems that America is living with, and any day he is not doing that is a bad day for him.”
Beyond Washington, Trump also faced criticism from his former vice president and potential 2024 primary opponent, Mike Pence.
“President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an antisemite and a Holocaust denier a seat at the table, and I think he should apologize,” Pence told NewsNation in an interview.
Still, Pence said, “I don’t believe Donald Trump is an antisemite. I don’t believe he’s a racist or a bigot.”
The dinner and Trump choosing not to directly denounce Fuentes, as the controversy has unfolded, also became fuel for criticism from Democrats.
“For a former president to sit down and have dinner with an antisemite is disgusting and dangerous,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Monday. “To give an antisemite even the smallest platform much less an audience over dinner is pure evil. Even assuming the former president didn’t realize Mr. Fuentes was coming to Mar-a-Lago, for him to refuse to condemn Fuentes and his bigoted words after the dinner is appalling and it is dangerous.”
The White House, too, has weighed in.
“We should all be condemning this, and we should be very clear, very clear and say it in really absolute clear terms,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday. “This is something that we condemn, and we will continue to speak out against.”
ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who owns Twitter, attacked Apple on Monday in a series of tweets hammering the tech giant for allegedly decreasing the amount of ads it displays on Twitter and threatening to remove the platform from its App Store.
“Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter,” Musk tweeted. “Do they hate free speech in America?”
In a post addressed to the Twitter account of Apple CEO Tim Cook, Musk asked: “What’s going on here?”
The broadside against Apple arrives after a slew of major companies, including General Motors and Pfizer, have announced a pause of advertising on Twitter. Some of the companies have said they need time to evaluate their advertising presence on Twitter as the company pursues a new direction under Musk.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
In addition, Musk said Apple had threatened to remove Twitter from its App Store.
“Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why,” Musk posted.
Terms of use posted on Apple’s website include the prohibition of services that “post objectionable, offensive, unlawful, deceptive, inaccurate, or harmful content.”
Since he acquired Twitter last month, Musk has made significant changes. He fired top executives and cut the company’s 7,500-person workforce in half, while reinstating some formerly suspended accounts such as that belonging to former President Donald Trump.
He also revamped Twitter’s subscription service, Twitter Blue, allowing users to access verification if they pay a monthly fee of $8. The service was suspended after it gave rise to a flood of fake accounts impersonating public figures and brands.
Musk, who said he overpaid for the platform at the purchasing price of $44 billion, faces pressure to boost the company’s revenue. Earlier this month, he said that the company is losing $4 million each day.
In remarks on Monday, Musk also took aim at a 30% fee charged by Apple for digital sales made by apps hosted in its App Store that reach $1 million in revenue.
“Did you know Apple puts a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store?” Musk posted.
In recent years, Apple faced a lawsuit from gaming company Epic over the 30% fee alleging that the practice reflects an abuse of Apple’s monopoly power. Last September, a federal judge said Apple was not acting as a monopolist, but ordered the company to allow in-app links that direct users to make purchases outside of the app that circumvent the 30% fee.
Court proceedings resumed earlier this month after both sides appealed portions of the ruling.
For years, Apple has defended the fee it charges for sales made in its App Store as a reasonable rate that does not indicate the use of monopoly power on the part of the company.
(WASHINGTON) — Lawmakers return to Washington after Thanksgiving break with a long agenda and just weeks until a new Congress begins.
Come Jan. 3, Republicans will run the House, ending two years of total Democratic control of the federal government. Already, GOP members are jockeying for new leadership positions and turning their attention toward how they will mount a response to the Biden agenda.
But partisan preparation aside, the next few weeks are going to require some across the aisle cooperation if Congress is to get anything done in what is known as the lame duck between the election and the end of the current term. There is a laundry list of must-pass agenda items hanging in the balance. Among them: funding the government and passing a massive military spending bill.
Democrats, meanwhile, will look to maximize their final days unchecked by GOP blockades.
Dems zero-in on 2 outstanding priorities
Democrats are expected to seal a win later this week by finally passing federal legislation that would enshrine into law protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. While procedural votes still remain, the legislation cleared a key test vote in the Senate just before Thanksgiving, with 12 Republicans joining all Democrats in the chamber to prevent a filibuster.
“Let me be clear: Passing the Respect for Marriage Act is not a matter of ‘if’ but only of ‘when,'” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after that successful vote.
Approving the legislation would be a victory for Democrats who have been seeking to codify same-sex marriage — currently legalized by the Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges — since the high court overturned the right to an abortion earlier this year, with Justice Clarence Thomas suggesting in a separate opinion that Obergefell should also be reversed.
While the Senate’s marriage bill will need to return to the House once passed, a previous version cleared the House with the support of 47 Republicans.
Democrats also hope to take up legislation later this month that aims to clarify the role, as spelled out in the Electoral Count Act (ECA) of 1887, that the vice president plays in certifying election results. The new legislation is intended to head off arguments like those made by former President Donald Trump around Jan. 6, 2021: that the vice president holds the power to unilaterally reject electors presented by the states. The legislation would instead define the vice president’s role in certification as purely ceremonial.
ECA reform comes after months of behind-the-scenes bipartisan coalition building and has more than the requisite 10 Senate Republican co-sponsors, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. But it’s still not clear if or when the Senate will take it up.
“We’re working on it. We want to get it done,” Schumer said Monday when asked about the timing of a potential vote.
Other priorities are likely to fall on the cutting room floor as the clock ticks down.
Some Democrats had hoped to pass some sort of immigration reform to secure a pathway to citizenship for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, whose fate currently awaits a court ruling. But there’s little appetite for such a measure from Republicans and at least 10 would be needed to move any proposal in the limited remaining time.
A group of Democrats are also angling to reinstate their popular, pandemic-era child tax credit. Success on that front is also unlikely.
Any legislation that fails to make it to the finish line come the installment of the new Congress, in January, must return to square one with the next group of lawmakers.
Leadership fights take center stage
While Democrats will look to make the most of their remaining weeks in control of both chambers of Congress, House Republicans will spend much of that time trying to figure out who will be at the helm come Jan. 3.
Current House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is eying the speaker’s gavel, but it remains to be seen if he’ll have the votes he needs to secure it. Earlier this month, he won his party’s nomination during a closed-door election. But it was far from unanimous support among his own party — which will control at most 222 seats in the next House — and to clench the speakership, McCarthy will need 218 votes, which means he can avoid few defections.
So far, five House Republicans have said they are hard “no” votes for McCarthy.
Meanwhile, House Democrats will elect a new, history-making generation of leaders this week during elections on Wednesday and Thursday, following Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s pre-Thanksgiving announcement of her intention to step away from party leadership.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is largely expected to ascend to Pelosi’s post. Jeffries won’t have to scrap for votes; he is expected to take over for Pelosi with the overwhelming — if not unanimous — support of his caucus, putting the 52-year-old on track to be the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress.
It will also be the first time in 20 years that Pelosi hasn’t been in that role. The whip will be a woman — Katherine Clark of Massachusetts — and the No. 3, Pete Aguilar, will become the highest-ranking Latino in Congress; the Californian rose to prominence from his perch on the high-profile Jan. 6 committee.
Republican leadership in the Senate has already been decided, with members meeting behind closed doors last week and overwhelmingly selecting McConnell to remain at the party helm, despite facing his first challenge for the position in 15 years.
Rick Scott of Florida, the outgoing head of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, had 10 supporters back his bid to replace McConnell.
Senate Democrats are expected to hold their leadership elections later this month, likely after the Dec. 6 Georgia runoff election. Schumer is largely expected to remain atop the party.
Lawmakers will grapple with must-pass funding
One thing lawmakers must do in the coming weeks of the lame-duck session is fund the government. Current funding runs out on Dec. 16.
Democrats want to try to pass a year-long funding package composed of 12 major bills rolled into one. But there’s yet to be an agreement on a top-line figure for that massive package, slowing negotiations.
A huge sticking point in those discussions has been a request from the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with $38 billion in additional funding — the latest in a series of such aid — to assist the country in its war against Russia.
All along, funding for Ukraine has had strong bipartisan support. But some Republicans have recently signaled that the party would not back additional funding during the lame-duck without guarantees of what they called transparency and accountability.
McCarthy has said his conference would not support writing a “blank check” for Ukraine if they captured the majority. He later walked back his comments, saying he is supportive of Ukraine. Reps. Michael McCaul and Mike Turner said on “This Week” on Sunday that the incoming House Republican majority will support Ukraine, downplaying critics inside the GOP like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
There are a few paths forward to avert an immediate shutdown. Among them is a short-term funding bill to punt the problem slightly down the road, giving lawmakers more time to make a deal. Some Republicans favor this option, figuring they’ll have more negotiation power in the House come Jan. 3.
It’s not yet clear how Congress will maneuver through this and, before they do, senators are also set to wrangle a must-pass military appropriations bill: the National Defense Authorization Act.
That must-pass legislation has cleared the chamber every year for 50 years, and this Congress is behind schedule.
Chance to raise debt limit seems to be slipping
The federal debt limit, which allows the government to borrow money in order to pay for spending required by Congress, will need to be raised sometime next year. But previous increases of the debt limit — as under President Barack Obama and a Republican Congress — became politically poisonous battles.
Some Democrats in this Congress want to go ahead and deal with it now, before GOP cooperation is required in the new year.
Some House Republicans, meanwhile, have indicated they will use a deal over raising the debt limit to extract cuts to government spending, such as on social programs.
But hiking the limit without GOP support would require use of a cumbersome fast-track budget process known as reconciliation. The process eats up an incredible amount of floor time, all but wiping Democrats’ chances of using their remaining weeks in control to tackle other priorities.
While Democratic leadership has signaled interest in raising the debt limit before turning the House gavel over to Republicans, it does not seem likely to happen this Congress.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — More than six months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose forces began an offensive in August, has vowed to take back all Russian-occupied territory. But Putin in September announced a mobilization of reservists, which is expected to call up as many as 300,000 additional troops.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 28, 4:36 PM EST
UN lays out ‘dire’ situation in southern Ukraine
Denise Brown, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, traveled to the Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv over the weekend to get an update on the humanitarian issues affecting the southern part of the country, according to the U.N.
Although repairs to the area’s water system are finally able to commence, there is still a lot of work to be done to help the people in those cities, the U.N said.
“We continue to be concerned about the plight of civilians in Ukraine especially as winter sets in,” a U.N. spokesperson said in a statement.
Some heating points have already been established in Mykolaiv to help people who cannot heat their homes, according to the U.N.
“Aid workers are providing supplies and generators to make these places functional,” the U.N. said in a statement.
The agency added that donations and funding for humanitarian efforts are critical as the cold weather sets in.
Nov 25, 1:13 PM EST
Power restored in all regions, Ukraine grid operator says
All of Ukraine’s regions are now connected to the European Union’s energy system and all three nuclear power plants located in the Kyiv-controlled area are working, CEO of Ukrenergo grid operator Volodymyr Kudrytskyi announced.
“In one to two days, they will reach their normal planned capacity, and we expect to introduce planned rolling blackouts instead of emergency outages,” Kudrytskyi said.
Power is slowly returning to all Ukrainian cities, but blackouts and emergency shutdowns continue. Power issues are the worst in Kyiv, Kirivigrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava and Lviv, according to Kudrytskyi.
Kyiv’s critical infrastructure receives electricity, the water supply is fully restored and heating is being restored, but 50% of residential houses remain without power. Only one-third of houses currently have heating, according to the mayor.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Nov 25, 12:08 PM EST
Putin says he has no regrets over launching war in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with more than a dozen mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, telling those who had lost sons that he and the entire leadership shared their suffering.
Putin said he has no regrets about launching what he calls Russia’s “special military operation” against Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova
Nov 24, 11:28 AM EST
Journalists and monitors are being silenced in Russia, Amnesty International says
Russian authorities have developed a sophisticated system to suppress any reporting of protests by journalists and independent monitors, according to a new report released by Amnesty International.
These restrictions have increased since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The report documented dozens of cases of unlawful obstruction of journalists and monitors during public protests, including arbitrary arrests, use of force, detentions and heavy fines.
“We can see that the Russian authorities are hellbent not only on preventing and severely penalizing any protest, however peaceful, but also on minimizing any public awareness of it,” said Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty International’s Russia researcher.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Nov 24, 7:37 AM EST
European Parliament approves $18.7 billion loan to Ukraine
The European Parliament on Thursday approved a loan of 18 billion euros (about $18.7 billion) to help Ukraine “survive” Russia’s ongoing invasion and “restore its critical infrastructure.”
The move came one day after the European Parliament adopted a resolution recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and as a state that “uses means of terrorism.”
The loan would cover roughly half of the estimated 3 to 4 billion euros of monthly funding that Ukraine needs in 2023.
“The loan is conditional for Ukraine,” the European Parliament said in a press release on Thursday. “It requires reforms to strengthen the country’s institutions and prepare it both for reconstruction and its path towards EU membership.”
Next, the loan must be unanimously approved by the European Council on Dec. 6, before the European Commission can tap the markets and disburse the support early next year.
Since the start of the war, the European Union and its member states have provided 19.7 billion euros to support Ukraine, a large part of which has come in the form of macro-financial assistance approved by the European Parliament in September and July.
Nov 23, 11:26 AM EST
US announces additional $400 million in aid for Ukraine
The U.S. announced a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine to “help defend itself,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Tuesday.
“With Russia’s unrelenting and brutal missile and [Unmanned Aerial Systems] attacks on Ukrainian critical energy infrastructure, additional air defense capabilities remain an urgent priority. The additional munitions for [National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems] and heavy machine guns will help Ukraine counter these urgent threats,” the Department of Defense said in a statement.
The U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $19 billion in aid since the beginning of the war in February.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler and Luis Martinez
Nov 23, 11:20 AM EST
Newborn killed in Russian strike on hospital in Zaporizhzhya
A newborn baby was killed and two doctors wounded after a Russian strike on the town of Vilniansk, in the Zaporizhzhya region hit a hospital, including a maternity ward, according to the region’s governor.
The baby was only 2 days old. His mother survived the attack.
The hospital staff was evacuated, the emergency service workers are clearing the debris. Both wounded doctors were hospitalized and one of them is in critical condition, according to the local authorities.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd
Nov 23, 8:34 AM EST
Cities across Ukraine hit with missile strikes
Missile strikes have been reported in a number of cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv.
Residential buildings and an infrastructure object in Kyiv were hit with missile strikes leaving one person dead north of the city, according to Ukrainian officials.
Nov 23, 7:04 AM EST
European Parliament declares Russia a terrorist state
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Wednesday recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
“The European Parliament adopts a resolution declaring Russia a terrorist state,” Guy Verhofstadt, a member of the European Parliament from Belgium, said in a Twitter post. “Putin’s regime is a state sponsor of terrorism, complicit in war crimes [and] must face the international consequences.”
Nov 22, 4:14 PM EST
Investigation launched after claim that Russian soldiers who surrendered were killed
Ukraine’s prosecutor general launched an investigation after a video emerged on social media of the Kremlin claiming Russian soldiers were killed after surrendering to Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine claimed Russia staged the attack, but Ukrainian authorities said they will investigate.
The videos, verified by the New York Times as authentic, have been circled online and in Ukrainian and Russian media show moments before and after a group of at least 11 Russian troops were killed by Ukrainian fighters after one of their fellow fighters suddenly opened fire on Ukrainian soldiers standing nearby.
The Ukrainian prosecutor general said law enforcement opened the criminal case “after Russian occupiers pretended to give up and then opened fire on fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” according to a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Nov 22, 2:27 PM EST
Ukraine liberated over 1,800 settlements from Russian occupation, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Ukrainian forces have liberated over 1,800 settlements that were occupied by Russian forces. Zelenskyy claimed that more than 3,700 settlements have been occupied, he said in an address Tuesday.
Zelenskyy claimed that Russian soldiers mined and looted everything they could, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged by shelling.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Nov 19, 12:49 PM EST
US warns Russia’s eroding situation could lead to ‘more nuclear saber-rattling’
Russia’s eroding situation could lead Russian President Vladimir Putin to “more nuclear saber-rattling,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Saturday.
“The ripples of Russia’s invasion has traveled far beyond Europe. Beijing, like Moscow, seeks a world where autocrats can stamp out the flame of freedom,” Austin said while addressing the Halifax International Security Forum.
Austin said the deadly explosion in Poland this week was the result of the “recklessness of Putin’s war of choice.”
“Russia’s invasion offers a preview of a possible world of tyranny and turmoil that none of us would want to live in. And it’s an invitation to an increasingly insecure world haunted by the shadow of nuclear proliferation,” Austin said.
He went on, “Putin’s fellow autocrats are watching and they could well conclude that getting nuclear weapons would give them a hunting license of their own. And that could drive a dangerous spiral of nuclear proliferation.”
Nov 18, 2:36 PM EST
Trace of explosives found at Nord Stream pipelines, Swedish prosecutors say
An investigation into the cause of a leak from the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea revealed “extensive damage” and several “foreign items,” some with detectable “explosive residue,” the Swedish Security Service and a prosecutor said Friday.
“The advanced analysis work is still in progress – the aim is to draw more definitive conclusions about the Nord Stream incidents. The investigation is extensive and complex and will eventually show whether anyone can be suspected of, and later prosecuted for this,” prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist and the Swedish Security Service said in a statement.
Several blasts near the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines on Sept. 26 caused leaks. Officials are still investigating the cause of the blasts. Major pipelines which supply natural gas from Russia to Europe, were shut off in September. While they were not in use at the time of the blast, the pipelines were filled with natural gas.
Nov 17, 1:53 PM EST
Russian strike on Ukraine’s Dnipro leaves 23 injured
A Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro has left 23 people injured, 15 of whom are in hospital. One person is in grave condition, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Local officials earlier said the strike had left at least 14 people dead.
Air raid sirens went off in several Ukrainian cities including Odessa and Zaporizhzhia. Officials said four missiles were shot down in Kyiv.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Joe Simonetti and James Longman
Nov 17, 1:23 PM EST
Polish officials grant Ukrainian investigators access to site of missile explosion
Polish authorities have granted Ukrainian investigators access to site of the missile explosion, as an investigation into the origin of the missile continues, according to Jakub Kumoch, an aide to Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who denies that the missile originated from Ukrainian air defense, has been requesting access to the site.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Nov 17, 12:57 PM EST
Ukrainian officials refute US estimates on number of killed, injured soldiers
Top Ukrainian security officials are refuting U.S. estimates of how many Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the war. Last week, the U.S. chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said around 100,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed or injured.
Ukrainian officials are now saying that figure is “not entirely true.”
Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s secretary of National Security and Defense Council, said the casualty figures are “definitely not those.”
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge
Nov 17, 11:35 AM EST
Biden says Zelenskyy’s statements on Poland missile incident are ‘not evidence’
President Joe Biden was asked by reporters Thursday what his reaction was to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denying that the missile that landed in Poland was Ukrainian.
“That’s not the evidence,” Biden responded.
On Wednesday, the White House told reporters it had “seen nothing” to contradict the assessment that the explosion in Poland was likely caused by a Ukrainian defense missile.
“We will continue to assess and share any new information transparently as it becomes available. We will also continue to stay in close touch with the Ukrainians regarding any information they have to fill out the picture,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Lauren Minore
Nov 16, 3:00 PM EST
Zelenskyy disputes claim that missile blast in Poland was fired by Ukraine’s air-defense system
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed back Wednesday against claims that a Ukrainian defense missile landed in Polish territory on Tuesday, killing two.
Polish President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday that the Russian-made missile likely came from Ukraine’s air-defense system.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he backs Duda’s assertion.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Matt Seyler and Tom Soufi Burridge
Nov 16, 12:48 PM EST
Ukrainian air defense missile likely caused deadly blast in Poland: US official
The U.S. believes that the missile strike was likely due to a Ukrainian air defense missile, according to a U.S. official. The missile strike killed two Polish civilians.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Nov 16, 9:08 AM EST
CIA director met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv after meeting Russian counterpart
CIA Director Bill Burns traveled to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, following a meeting with his Russian counterpart in Turkey, according to a U.S. official.
Burns was in the Ukrainian capital during Tuesday’s widespread Russian missile strikes.
“He is safe and was safely in the U.S. embassy during the strikes,” the official said.
While in Kyiv, the official said, Burns “discussed the U.S. warning he delivered to the head of Russia’s SVR not to use nuclear weapons and reinforced the U.S. commitment to provide support to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.”
Nov 16, 7:27 AM EST
Polish police share photo of large crater from missile
Poland’s national police force posted an image on Twitter on Wednesday purportedly showing the site of Tuesday’s missile blast, which left two people dead.
The photo showed authorities collecting evidence from a large crater in the ground, alongside debris and a destroyed vehicle.
The Polish Police said in the tweet that its “officers have been securing the area” since the blast happened in the southeastern village of Przewodow, which is close to the border with Ukraine. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, but Polish President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday that the projectile was “probably a Russian-made S-300 missile” and, so far, appeared to be an “unfortunate accident.”
W #Przewodów, gdzie doszło do wybuchu policjanci od początku zdarzenia zabezpieczają teren. Policyjni eksperci m. in. z @CBSPolicji, #CLKP, Biura Kryminalnego @PolskaPolicja wspólnie z innymi służbami szczegółowo wyjaśniają okoliczności zdarzenia i zabezpieczają dowody. pic.twitter.com/ohBP0rT4u7
Nov 16, 7:10 AM EST
Kremlin notes ‘reserved and far more professional reaction’ from US to missile incident
Russia on Wednesday noted the “reserved and far more professional reaction” of the United States compared with other countries following Tuesday’s missile blast that killed two people in Poland.
“In this case, one should take note of the reserved and far more professional reaction of the American side and the American president,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing in Moscow.
Peskov said the U.S. government’s reaction “stood in contrast to the absolutely hysterical reaction of the Polish side and a whole number of other countries.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that it’s “unlikely” the missile was fired from Russia but that he and other leaders of the G-7 and NATO would support Poland’s investigation into what happened. Meanwhile, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Wednesday that the projectile was “probably a Russian-made S-300 missile” but that, so far, it appeared to be an “unfortunate accident.”
Nov 15, 9:18 PM EST
Biden says it’s ‘unlikely’ missile that hit in Poland was fired from Russia
Following his meeting with leaders of the G-7 and NATO on Ukraine, President Joe Biden said Tuesday night that it’s “unlikely” the missile that hit Poland was fired from Russia, but that the group would support the investigation into what happened.
When asked if it’s too early to say whether the missile was fired by Russia, Biden responded: “There is preliminary information that contests that. I don’t want to say that till we completely investigate, but it’s unlikely in the minds of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we will see.”
“I’m going to make sure we find out exactly what happened,” Biden said, and then determine the next steps, adding that there was “total unanimity” among leaders today on this decision.
The president added that recent Russian missile attacks were also a point of discussion this morning.
“They have been totally unconscionable, what they are doing, totally unconscionable,” he said.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Nov 15, 7:47 PM EST
Polish president says rocket may have been Russian-made; investigation underway
Polish President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday night that a rocket that landed near the Polish-Ukrainian border, killing two Polish citizens, may have been Russian-made. Though he said that there is no conclusive evidence at this time of who launched the missile and that an investigation is underway.
Duda said he has also spoken with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and President Joe Biden.
Stoltenberg said earlier that NATO is monitoring the situation.
Nov 15, 6:41 PM EST
Biden speaks with Polish president, offers ‘full US support’
President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Polish President Andrzej Duda and “expressed deep condolences for the loss of life in Eastern Poland,” according to the White House.
Biden “offered full U.S support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation” and the two agreed “they and their teams should remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds,” the White House said.
Polish officials confirmed that two Polish citizens were killed in an explosion Tuesday in the area of Hrubieszów. They were the owner of a granary that was stuck and a tractor driver who was transferring corn to the facility, according to local officials.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Tomek Rolski
Nov 15, 5:21 PM EST
Biden administration asks Congress for $37.7B for Ukraine
The White House said Tuesday it has asked Congress for $37.7 billion in additional funding for Ukraine.
The funding would include defense support and humanitarian assistance and be for the rest of the current fiscal year, which runs until Sep. 30, 2023, according to the White House.
“Together, with strong, bipartisan support in the Congress, we have provided significant assistance that has been critical to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield — and we cannot let that support run dry,” Shalanda Young, the head of the White House budget office, said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tuesday on the funding request.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Nov 15, 4:47 PM EST
State Department investigating reported strike in Poland, will determine ‘appropriate next steps’
State Department officials are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the reported strike in Poland, Principal Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.
Calling the reports “incredibly concerning,” Patel said they were in close communication with the Polish government and other NATO allies to “gather more information.”
“We can’t confirm the reports or any of the details at this time. But I can assure you we will determine what happened and what appropriate next steps would be,” he said during a briefing Tuesday afternoon.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan has spoken with Chief of the National Security Bureau of Poland Jacek Siewiera, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
“We’ve seen the reports out of Poland and are working with the Polish government to gather more information,” Watson said in a statement, also adding that the White House cannot confirm the reports or any details at this time.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the reports and will be speaking with Polish President Andrzej Duda “shortly,” the White House said.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Crawford and Ben Gittleson
Nov 15, 1:52 PM EST
Polish PM calls urgent meeting amid unconfirmed reports of rockets landing in Poland
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called a meeting of the Committee of the Council of Ministers for National Security and Defense Affairs amid unconfirmed reports that the NATO ally was hit with stray Russian missiles.
According to Polish media, two stray Russian rockets landed in Polish territory killing two people. The rockets reportedly landed in the Polish town of Przewodów, near the border with Ukraine. These reports have not yet been independently confirmed by ABC News.
-ABC News Tom Soufi Burridge and Will Gretsky
Nov 15, 11:48 AM EST
Lviv loses 80% of electricity, heating and hot water stopped, mayor says
After Russia hit critical infrastructure in the Lviv region, the area lost 80% of its electricity supply. The city’s heating and hot water supply has also stopped and there are mobile service interruptions, according to Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv.
Sadovyi warned residents to stay in shelters.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Nov 15, 11:45 AM EST
Zelenskyy lays out ‘peace formula’ to ‘G-19,’ which Lavrov calls ‘unrealistic’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday demanded that Russia end its invasion and reiterated that the territorial integrity of his country is not up for negotiation.
Appearing via video link from Kyiv, Zelenskyy addressed the leaders of the Group of 20 at a summit in Bali as the “dear G-19” — an apparent snub to Russia, whose foreign minister was attending the event.
“Apparently, one cannot trust Russia’s words and there will be no Minsk 3, which Russia would violate immediately after signing,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the Minsk 1 and 2 agreements signed in 2014 and 2015, respectively, which aimed to bring an end to fighting at that time. Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 before using Kremlin-backed proxies to seize territory in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
“I want this aggressive Russian war to end justly and on the basis of the U.N. charter and international law,” he added. “Ukraine should not be offered to conclude compromises with its conscience, sovereignty, territory and independence. We respect the rules and we are people of our word.”
The Ukrainian president called on the United Nations to dispatch a mission to assess the damages to his country’s energy infrastructure from Russian missile strikes. He said Russian forces should also withdraw from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — the largest in Ukraine and in Europe — so that the International Atomic Energy Agency — the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog — can take control of the site together with Ukrainian officials.
In addition, Zelenskyy said his country needs a framework that guarantees the long-term security of his country and he called again for a special tribunal to investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine. He called this series of proposals Ukraine’s “peace formula” and all of them, he said, must be achieved before there is an end to the ongoing war.
“If Russia wants to end this war, let it show it with actions,” Zelenskyy said. “We will not allow Russia to wait us out, to grow its forces and then start a new series of terror and global destabilization. I am sure that it is necessary and possible to stop this destructive Russian war now.”
In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was attending the G-20 summit in Bali, called Zelensky’s demands “unrealistic.”
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge and Patrick Reevell
Nov 15, 10:11 AM EST
Strikes on Kyiv part of Russian strikes across Ukraine
There are reports of Russian strikes in several regions throughout Ukraine after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to G-20 leaders.
The head of the regional administration in Kharkiv confirmed strikes in that region. Ukrainian media reported that people in the Zhytomyr region are without power after strikes.
There are also unconfirmed reports of explosions in the Lviv region, Rivne and Kryvyi Rih.
-ABC News’ Tom Burridge
Nov 15, 9:22 AM EST
Kyiv hit with a series of missile strikes
There have been a series of Russian missile strikes on Kyiv, with the city’s mayor, Vitaliy Klitchko, saying two residential buildings have been hit and several missiles were shot down by air defense.
So far there are no details on casualties; however, unverified videos circulating show an apartment block engulfed in flames.
Nov 14, 3:17 PM EST
International Atomic Energy Agency to dispatch security missions to 3 nuclear plants
The International Atomic Energy Agency will send security missions to three nuclear plants in Ukraine, the agency announced Monday.
Safety and security experts will be dispatched to the South Ukraine, Khmelnytskyi and Rivne Nuclear power plants following a request from Ukraine, the IAEA said in a statement. A security mission will also be conducted at the Chernobyl site, said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.
The IAEA already has a team of experts continuously present at the country’s largest such facility, the Zaporizhzhya plant, and has been carrying out safety measures and checks at three other locations in Ukraine at the request of the Ukrainian government following allegations by the Russian Federation about activities there, according to the agency.
“From the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the IAEA has been doing everything it can to prevent a nuclear accident with potentially serious consequences for public health and the environment,” Grossi said. “We have delivered nuclear safety and security equipment, produced impartial assessments of the situation, and provided technical expertise and advice.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretzky
Nov 14, 3:06 PM EST
UN General Assembly calls on Russia to pay reparations
The United Nations General Assembly has approved its fifth resolution this year that supports Ukraine and rebukes Russia, declaring that Moscow should pay for damages caused by its invasion.
The resolution, which 94 countries voted in favor of, calls for the creation of “an international mechanism for reparation for damage, loss or injury” resulting from the war.
The resolution was co-sponsored by Canada, Guatemala, Netherlands and Ukraine. China was among the 14 countries that voted against it. There were 73 absentations.
While not legally binding, General Assembly resolutions have been viewed by Western powers as a powerful messaging tool through the conflict, communicating worldwide opposition to Russia’s invasion.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Nov 14, 1:21 PM EST
US citizen among prisoners freed in liberated Kherson
A U.S. citizen has been freed from prison in Kherson, the southern city that Russia had occupied for about eight months, according to a member of Ukraine’s parliament.
Swede Merekezi was arrested in Kherson in July and had not been in contact with officials for “a long time,” Ukraine parliament member Alexandr Kovaliov said in a statement posted to Facebook on Monday.
Merekezi was in Ukraine to defend “our country’s independence” and will be heading home on Monday, Kovaliov said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State said they are aware of unconfirmed reports but declined to comment further due to privacy concerns.
“This once again proves the cohesion and hard work of our team,” Kovaliov said.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Will Gretsky
Nov 14, 6:31 AM EST
Zelenskyy visits Kherson after liberation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy on Monday visited Kherson, the southern city that Russia had occupied for about eight months.
He handed out awards and was seen speaking to soldiers and civilians. Video footage showed Zelenskyy waving to residents who waved at him from an apartment window and yelled, “Glory to Ukraine!”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the visit, other than to say that it was Russian territory.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Nov 13, 1:36 PM EST
Ukrainians celebrate Kherson liberation
Russian forces completed their retreat from the Ukrainian city of Kherson on Friday. Now, Ukrainians are celebrating the liberation.
Nov 12, 2:45 PM EST
Banksy mural unveiled in Ukraine
Renowned street artist Banksy debuted a new work in a war-torn Ukrainian town in the Kyiv region.
The anonymous British artist posted photos of a mural to Instagram on Friday in Borodyanka, which was liberated from Russian forces in April.
The piece, which depicts a young girl doing a handstand on a pile of concrete rubble, was painted onto the wall of a building destroyed by shelling.
Fans were taking photos of the work, as well as several others presumed to be by the artist, in the region on Saturday.
Nov 11, 3:15 PM EST
Satellite images show damage to bridge near Kherson
New satellite images from Maxar, a Colorado space technology company, show massive damage to Kherson’s Antonovskiy Bridge and other structures after the Russian withdrawal across the Dnipro River.
The bridge is the main way to cross over the Dnipro River near the city of Kherson.
Photos show several sections of the key bridge have been completely destroyed.
ABC News’ Stephen Wood
Nov 11, 10:54 AM EST
Russians leave Kherson Oblast, not just the city
Russian forces have retreated not just from the city of Kherson, but the rest of Kherson province that surrounds the city and lies north of the Dnipro River.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that its 30,000 troops have now crossed to the other bank of the river, a figure that is in line with how many forces U.S. officials had estimated were in Kherson.
Russians claimed they are continuing to shell areas around Kherson that they’ve just left, which could be a concern for Ukrainian troops who will be in the range of Russian artillery fire while in the city.
Russia also claimed that fire damage is being inflicted on the accumulations of manpower and military equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces on the right bank of the Dnipro River.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Nov 11, 10:06 AM EST
Russia says withdrawal from Kherson complete
Russian forces have completed their retreat from the Ukrainian city of Kherson, the Russian Ministry of Defense said, saying the last of its troops crossed over to the other side of the Dnipro river.
In a statement carried by Russia’s state news agencies, the ministry said the withdrawal was completed at 5 a.m. Moscow time on Friday.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Nov 10, 3:53 PM EST
Pentagon announces $400M in aid to Ukraine
The Pentagon announced a new $400 million defense package for Ukraine on Thursday.
The new aid will include four short-range Avenger air defense systems, which is a first for the packages approved for the war in Ukraine. It will also include more missiles for HAWK air defense systems, more anti-aircraft Stinger missiles, HIMARS ammunition, precision-guided artillery rounds and Humvees.
The Ukrainians will need some training on the Avengers, according to Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh, who did not give an estimate on when the systems might arrive and be ready to use.
With this latest drawdown, the U.S. has now committed more than $18.6 billion for the war since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Nov 10, 11:51 AM EST
US estimates 100,000 Russians killed or wounded in Ukraine
A new U.S. assessment estimates 100,000 Russians have been killed or wounded in the war in Ukraine, according to Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The U.S. last gave an estimate in early August that the number of Russians killed and wounded was between 70,000 and 80,000.
“There has been a tremendous amount of suffering, human suffering, you’re looking at maybe 15, 20, 30 million refugees, probably 40,000 Ukrainian innocent people who are civilians have been killed as collateral damage,” said Milley.
He added, “You’re looking at well over 100,000 Russian soldiers killed or wounded, same thing probably on the Ukrainian side.”
He pointed out that Russia invaded Ukraine with a force of 170,000 troops.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Nov 09, 12:54 PM EST
Oligarch close to Putin says Russian troop retreat was necessary
Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who runs the private military company Wagner, said Wednesday that Russia’s retreat from the key Ukrainian city of Kherson was painful but necessary.
Prigozhin, nicknamed “Putin’s Chef” due to his restaurant and catering businesses, said Russian troops had to withdraw from Kherson because they were nearly surrounded by Ukrainian forces and cut off from supply lines.
“Neither I, nor Wagner abandoned Kherson,” Pigozhin said. “Without question, it is not a victorious step in this war, but it’s important not to agonize, nor to fall into paranoia, but to make conclusions and work on mistakes.”
He praised Russian Gen. Sergey Surovikin for making the decision to withdraw Russian troops and saving the lives of thousands of soldiers.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Nov 09, 11:32 AM EST
Russian troops retreat from key Ukrainian city
Russia’s defense minister and top commander in Ukraine announced Wednesday that Russian troops will pull back from the key city of Kherson in southern Ukraine.
Defense minister Sergey Shoigu said he accepted a proposal from Russian Gen. Sergey Surovikin to order Russian forces to retreat to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, in effect abandoning the city of Kherson.
Surovikin said it was a “very difficult decision” and justified it as necessary to save the lives of Russian soldiers and to preserve their capacity for future operations.
“Besides that, it frees up part of the forces and resources, which will be employed for active actions, including offensive, in other directions,” Surovikin said in the televised meeting with Shoigu.
Kherson is the only regional capital the Russians have occupied since 2014. The city and the surrounding area act as a gateway to Crimea Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Nov 09, 3:21 AM EST
White House denounces Griner transfer to penal colony
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star detained in Russia, has been transferred to a penal colony, a move decried by White House officials.
“Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement early Wednesday. “As the Administration continues to work tirelessly to secure her release, the President has directed the Administration to prevail on her Russian captors to improve her treatment and the conditions she may be forced to endure in a penal colony.”
Griner’s lawyers said in a statement that she was transferred on Nov. 4 from a detention center in Iksha. She’s now on her way to a penal colony in an undisclosed location.
“We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination,” the lawyers, Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, said in a statement. “In accordance with the standard Russian procedure the attorneys, as well as the U.S. Embassy, should be notified upon her arrival at her destination.”
The White House said it had made a “significant offer” to Russian officials to “resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens.”
“In the subsequent weeks, despite a lack of good faith negotiation by the Russians, the U.S. Government has continued to follow up on that offer and propose alternative potential ways forward with the Russians through all available channels,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
She added, “The U.S. Government is unwavering in its commitment to its work on behalf of Brittney and other Americans detained in Russia — including fellow wrongful detainee Paul Whelan.”
ABC News’ Cindy Smith, Ahmad Hemingway and Tanya Stukalova
(OXFORD, Mich.) — Two resigned Oxford, Michigan, school board members claim the district failed to implement its threat assessment playbook that they say could’ve prevented last year’s mass shooting at Oxford High School.
“This board had been told over and over that the school had all the policies in place and that our team did everything right,” former school board treasurer Korey Bailey said — but he claims that’s not true.
The whistleblowers’ Monday news conference came just two days before the one-year anniversary of the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting that was carried out by a student and left four students dead and several injured.
Former school board president Tom Donnelly said, in August, Bailey started looking into the threat assessment policies and guidelines, and he came across a Homeland Security protocol referenced in their policies.
Donnelly said this document “changed everything from my perspective.”
The document showed the playbook for preventing school violence, which “clearly defines every step” of identifying and preventing threats, Bailey said at the news conference. The playbook was most recently updated in June 2021, just months before the shooting, he said.
Donnelly said the protocol is to address a threat preemptively, and assumes that trained counselors, resource officers and other staffers collect “markers” to help stop an incident before it happens. “Markers” include: changes in grades, changes in attendance, and students showing violent tendencies, Donnelly said.
The document “clearly states that the threshold for pulling a team together [to investigate] should be low,” Donnelly said. “It’s the team’s job to decide whether you have a low or a medium or a high-risk factor.”
“The district certainly didn’t use [the playbook] as designed in the months leading up to the shooting,” Donnelly said. “There’s no evidence that we’ve ever used it as designed — even though, since 2011, the policies and guidelines have been in our system.”
Bailey said a report completed by Secure Education Consultants “praised our team” for developing and executing comprehensive security protocols. But Bailey said this report “was not based on a complete investigation — it only focused on if we had the policies. It never touched on if we ever implemented or trained people to carry out these policies.”
Bailey said he later learned no schools put this playbook into practice. He said he learned that those responsible for safety had raised concerns over the lack of training, and those concerns were ignored.
“Oxford neglected to train,” Bailey said, and “the results were fatal.”
Donnelly said district counsel disagreed with his and Bailey’s assessment.
“I couldn’t in good conscience stay on the board,” Donnelly said.
“Our options became clear that we could either … go along and stay silent, or we could move along and be a voice for change,” Bailey added. “Remaining silent was not being honest or transparent.”
Days before the 2021 shooting, a teacher allegedly saw 15-year-old shooter Ethan Crumbley researching ammunition in class; school officials contacted his parents but they didn’t respond, according to prosecutors. His mother texted her son, writing, “lol, I’m not mad at you, you have to learn not to get caught,” according to prosecutors.
Bailey said, if the school “actually trained on threat assessment, the situation would’ve ended” there.
Hours before the shooting, according to prosecutors, a teacher saw a note on Crumbley’s desk that was “a drawing of a semi-automatic handgun pointing at the words, ‘The thoughts won’t stop, help me.’ In another section of the note was a drawing of a bullet with the following words above that bullet, ‘Blood everywhere.'”
Crumbley’s parents were called to the school over the incident and said they’d get their son counseling, but they did not take him home.
Crumbley pleaded guilty last month to all charges against him, including terrorism and murder. The teen’s parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after allegedly making the gun accessible and failing to recognize warning signs about their son before the shooting. They have pleaded not guilty.
Secure Education Consultants said in a statement to ABC News that it “conducted a safety and security assessment” after the shooting at the request of the school district.
“Our role was not to review the shooting but to assess the district’s facilities, technology, policies, procedures and training protocols through the lens of evaluating and enhancing security,” the statement said. “As part of our assessment, we recommended ways the district could improve its overall security through investments in detection and alarm devices, strengthened communications and increased security presence. We also recommended and provided trainings to district staff.”
The Oxford school district did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(SAVANNAH, Ga.) — Bones found in a Georgia landfill are confirmed to belong to missing Savannah, Georgia, toddler Quinton Simon, the FBI announced Monday.
The search for 20-month-old Quinton began on Oct. 5 when his mother, 22-year-old Leilani Simon, reported him missing. One week later, Chatham County police said they believed Quinton was dead and authorities named the boy’s mother as the primary suspect.
On Oct. 18, police said they believed Quinton had been left in a dumpster, and authorities said a search was underway for his body in the local landfill.
Searchers spent 30 days scouring 1.2 million pounds of trash, police said.
On Nov. 21, police said remains had been recovered in the landfill and testing was underway to determine whether they belonged to Quinton.
Police also announced last week that Simon had been charged with malice murder, concealing the death of another person, false reporting and making false statements.
(NEW YORK) — Kim Kardashian has broken her silence on Balenciaga’s recent ad scandal.
“I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened,” she wrote on social media Sunday, Nov. 27.
Kardashian has worn Balenciaga to high-profile events like the Met Gala in the past, and walked in the luxury brand’s couture show at Paris Fashion Week earlier this summer.
Kardashian’s post comes a week after Balenciaga was criticized for its advertisements featuring children posing with the company’s plush bear bags, which wear BDSM-inspired harnesses.
One photo featured a child standing on a bed with one of the plush bear bags, surrounded by other purses and accessories, which included what appeared to be a chain leash as well as a Balenciaga branded dog collar choker.
The reality star, businesswoman and mom to North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3, continued, “As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images. The safety of children must be held with the highest regard, and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period.”
“I appreciate Balenciaga’s removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again,” she concluded.
The SKIMS founder added that she is “currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand.” Kardashian said she would base her future relationship with the brand on its willingness to accept accountability, as well as its actions to protect children.
The Spanish luxury brand previously issued an apology for the ads on its Instagram on Nov. 22, writing, “We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.”
In a follow-up statement on Monday, Balenciaga added, “We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative. The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”
“The first campaign, the Gift collection campaign, featured children with plush bear bags dressed in what some have labelled BDSM-inspired outfits. Our plush bear bags and the Gift collection should not have been featured with children. This was a wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images. The responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone,” the brand continued.
“The second, separate campaign for Spring 2023, which was meant to replicate a business office environment, included a photo with a page in the background from a Supreme Court ruling ‘United States v. Williams’ 2008 which confirms as illegal and not protected by freedom of speech the promotion of child pornography. All the items included in this shooting were provided by third parties that confirmed in writing that these props were fake office documents. They turned out to be real legal papers most likely coming from the filming of a television drama,” Balenciaga said.
The company added, “The inclusion of these unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint. We take full accountability for our lack of oversight and control of the documents in the background and we could have done things differently.”
Balenciaga’s holiday campaign photographer, Gabriele Galimberti, also issued a statement on Nov. 23.
“I am not in a position to comment Balenciaga’s choices, but I must stress that I was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither chose the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same,” Galimberti wrote in the caption of an Instagram post. “As a photographer, I was only and solely requested to lit the given scene, and take the shots according to my signature style. As usual for a commercial shooting, the direction of the campaign and the choice of the objects displayed are not in the hands of the photographer.”
Galimberti also claimed he had “no connection with the photo where a Supreme Court document appears,” referring to a separate earlier ad for a purse, in which a Supreme Court ruling on child pornography laws could be seen.
“That one was taken in another set by other people and and was falsely associated with my photos,” he said.
Balenciaga has since filed a lawsuit against the North Six production company, as well as set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, over the Spring 2023 ad campaign.
According to court documents filed with the New York State Supreme Court for the County of New York on Friday, Balenciaga is seeking “redress for extensive damages defendants caused in connection with an advertising campaign Balenciaga hired them to produce” and accuses North Six and Des Jardins of “malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless” conduct.
“As a result of Defendants’ misconduct, members of the public, including the news media, have falsely and horrifically associated Balenciaga with the repulsive and deeply disturbing subject of the court decision. Defendants are liable to Balenciaga for all harm resulting from this false association,” the fashion house said in its court filing.
Balenciaga is seeking $25 million in damages from North Six and Des Jardins.
North Six has not yet commented publicly on the lawsuit. A source close to North Six told ABC News’ Good Morning America that the production company handled logistics for that shoot, including catering, shoot permitting, location booking and crew and equipment management, but did not have creative control or input in the ad campaign and was not on set during final set arrangements.
A representative for Des Jardins told the Washington Post on Monday that the Supreme Court documents seen in the earlier ad campaign “were obtained from a prop house that were rental pieces used on film [and] photo shoots.”
“Everyone from Balenciaga was on the shoot and was present on every shot and worked on the edit of every image in post production,” said Gabriela Moussaieff, Des Jardins’ agent, who claimed Des Jardins was “being used as a scapegoat,” according to the Post.
Moussaieff added that the set designer is currently hiring legal representation.
Good Morning America has reached out to North Six and Moussaieff for comment on the lawsuit.
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Payton Gendron pleaded guilty Monday to state charges stemming from the May shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Gendron pleaded guilty to 15 charges in all, including domestic terrorism motivated by hate, murder and attempted murder. He still faces more than two dozen federal charges, some of which carry the possibility of the death penalty. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 15, 2023. Domestic terrorism motivated by hate carries a mandatory life sentence.
“Thank God the families and the victims who survived this and this community don’t have to endure a long, protracted trial,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said following the plea. “Nothing will ever bring back the 10 beautiful people who lost their lives on that day. This past Thursday on Thanksgiving, there were 10 empty chairs at the Thanksgiving dinner … I can never provide full closure. There’s never going to be full closure for the families.”
Gendron fatally shot 10 Black people “because of the perceived race and/or color” of the victims, according to the indictment by the Erie County district attorney.
He was charged with carrying out a “domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate” along with 10 counts of murder in the first degree, 10 counts of murder in the second degree as a hate crime, three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.
Flynn said Gendron illegally modified his gun, practiced shooting at state parks in Broome County and wrote 180 pages of racist screed that also contained the names of past mass shooters he admired.
White supremacist rhetoric online, including the promotion of racist conspiracy theories, has been linked to Gendron and his motive behind the Buffalo attack, ABC News has previously reported. Gendron traveled from his home near Binghamton, New York, to carry out the shooting, according to officials.
A document of Gendron’s uncovered by investigators outlined “the goals behind the attack which were to kill as many African Americans as possible, avoid dying and spread ideals,” Flynn said. “The document also detailed the defendant’s hateful beliefs, specifically his hatred for African Americans, Jewish people, immigrants, and other minorities.”
Gendron is the first to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate in New York under a 2020 statute, which was implemented following an El Paso, Texas, shooting targeting Latinos in 2019.
He has been charged by federal prosecutors with a total of 26 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death and a hate crime involving bodily injury. He’s also charged with using a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence. In July, Gendron’s public defender entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
“His decision to plead guilty will deliver the families some justice, but it will not end the racism that drove him to kill in the first place,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of civil rights group National Action Network. “That horrific day was the byproduct of a white supremacy so blatant that its followers don’t hide under a hood — they livestream their hate for everyone to see,” referring to the livestream of the shooting captured by a camera on Gendron’s helmet during the attack.
The families of Buffalo victims are expected to speak following the hearing.
