(NEW YORK) — Uber drivers will take fewer left turns and soon be able to record rides through their smartphones as the ride-share company makes changes geared toward safety in the driver’s seat, officials said.
The company announced Thursday that it is launching a new pilot program in which certain drivers in three U.S. cities and in Brazil can use their phone’s front-facing camera to record audio and video during trips.
“Recording can just improve and make interactions on the Uber platform a little bit more comfortable because everyone knows that they’re going to be held accountable for their actions,” Rebecca Payne, group product manager on safety at Uber, said in an interview with ABC News.
The pilot is an expansion of the company’s already existing audio recording feature, in which drivers and passengers can both opt to record audio of trips.
Passengers will be notified after requesting a trip that their driver will be video-recording the ride, Uber said. If they don’t feel comfortable being recorded, passengers can cancel at no extra cost.
“We’ve seen many instances where this technology has helped us determine the best course of action after a safety incident, and the majority of riders and drivers in the pilot cities told us this feature helped them feel safer when using Uber,” the company said in a news release.
The new video recording technology will be available to select drivers in Cincinnati, Louisville and New York City as well as Santos and João Pessoa in Brazil, Uber said.
When asked about privacy concerns, Uber said the driver’s video recordings will be encrypted and stored directly on the driver’s device but inaccessible even to them.
“No one can access it … even Uber can’t access it,” Payne said. “If nothing bad happens on the trip, that recording will essentially just disappear after seven days.”
But should a safety incident occur during a trip, the driver could attach the encrypted video file to the safety report sent to Uber. Once the company had the report, the file would then be decrypted and a trained safety agent would review it to help determine what occurred, the Uber said.
The company also announced Thursday it will update its in-app navigation software to suggest drivers make fewer left turns. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 22% of crashes involved a car making a left turn at an intersection.
“Essentially what it does is when a rider puts in the destination, our algorithm and our navigation will choose a routing to reduce those lectures as much as possible without adding any additional time or cost for the trip,” Kristin Smith, Uber’s head of road safety policy, told ABC News. “We’re hopeful that this will be one of those tech interventions that can help to really improve road safety.”
(WASHINGTON) — With less than two weeks until midterm Election Day, President Joe Biden is doubling down on the message that a Republican-run Congress would be worse for the U.S. economy.
“If I had asked you — and we were just walking down the streets — can you tell me what the Republican platform is? What they’re for? I’m not joking. I’m being deadly earnest,” Biden said as he delivered remarks Thursday at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York.
“I’ve been around a long time in public life. Republicans used to always have platforms,” Biden continued. “Well they can’t tell you what they’re for, but they’ll make sure they tell you what they’re against.”
Arriving in Syracuse, Biden was asked by a reporter how he planned to help Democrats across the finish line this midterm cycle.
“I think they’re going to come across the finish line,” Biden replied.
The economy is top of mind for voters heading into Election Day, and polls show Americans trust Republicans to handle the issue more than they do Democrats. GOP candidates have seized on inflation in their midterms messaging, blaming higher costs on Democratic policies.
The White House, in an aggressive push to counter that message, sent out a document to reporters and held a conference call on Wednesday outlining what they are calling “congressional Republicans’ five-party plan to increase inflation and costs for American families.”
According to the White House, the five parts of congressional Republicans’ economic plan include “$3 trillion in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy — which would add to the deficit and make inflation worse;” “raising prescription drug costs for millions of seniors;” “increasing health insurance premiums;” “increasing energy bills in 2023 and beyond;” and “increasing student loan payments.” As a “bonus,” the White House said Republicans are also “threatening the global economy to cut Social Security or Medicare.”
Biden in his remarks criticized his predecessor, Donald Trump, saying the previous president “made a string of broken promises” when it came to the economy and infrastructure.
“We’ve kept our commitments … and it’s working compared to what the very conservative Republicans are offering these days,” Biden said.
Biden on Thursday was bolstered by new government data showing the U.S. economy expanded in July, August and September. Gross domestic product grew 2.6%, a contrast to the first six months of the year when the economy shrank 2.2%.
“So economic growth is up, the price of inflation is down, real incomes are going up and the price of gas is down,” Biden said. He also touted the deficit reduction, his student loan forgiveness plan, the administration’s crackdown on junk fees and other policies.
During the Syracuse visit, Biden touted Micron’s pledge to invest $100 billion in semiconductor production over the next 20 years, calling it the “one of the most significant investments in American history.” The Micron pledge came after Congress passed the CHIPS Act, which allocates more than $50 billion to encourage more domestic production of the chips.
Appearing with the president were New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, up for reelection this November against Republican Lee Zeldin; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand; Congressman John Katko and Micron’s CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.
“We wouldn’t be here without him,” Biden said of Schumer. Highlighting the bipartisan support for the CHIPS Act, Biden also thanked Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., for voting yes on the legislation.
Schumer and Biden were heard discussing some midterm races, including the Pennsylvania Senate debate this week between John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz, while they met at the Syracuse airport on Thursday.
“Let me close with this,” Biden said. “It’s been a rough few years for a lot of the people I grew up with, hard-working Americans. For a lot of families, things are still tough. But there’s some bright spots out there, where America’s reasserting itself.”
(NEW YORK) — In 1937, American explorer Bradford Washburn abandoned a cache of heavy equipment, including cameras, while attempting to climb Mount Lucania in the Saint Elias Mountains of northwestern Canada.
Washburn and his friend Bob Bates had to make their way back to civilization through the harsh Yukon wilderness when the weather made it unsafe for a pilot to pick them up, as chronicled in Escape from Lucania, a book by David Roberts.
Two sentences of that book stuck in the mind of professional skier Griffin Post: According to Roberts, Washburn was heartbroken to leave behind his cameras and always wanted to go back to get them.
So Post set out to do it for him, 15 years after his death — and 85 years after the equipment was abandoned.
He got in touch with Luke Copland, a glaciologist at the University of Ottawa, to help figure out where Washburn’s equipment may have ended up. It had been left on Walsh Glacier, and glaciers move, so Washburn’s notes about where he was were no longer directly useful.
That’s how Dora Medrzycka, who just earned a Ph.D. in physical geography with a specialization in glaciology with Copland as her supervisor, got involved.
Washburn is legendary in the mountaineering community for both his adventures and his research. His documentation of mountains has been used to build maps and routes that climbers still use to this day — so the images he would have gotten in 1937 could prove useful for research almost a century later to see just how much the landscape changed.
Copland and Medrzycka provided an estimate of where the glacier probably moved, and Medrzycka joined Post and a group, including a crew from Teton Gravity Research, to search.
The group adventured out to the mountains in late spring 2022, when the snow would be safer to ski on, but was unsuccessful in locating anything.
“But the information we got helped us kind of reassess the estimation of where the cache had moved to,” Post told ABC News.
They went back out again in August but were getting discouraged, as they weren’t finding the cache where they thought it would be.
“I was not only disappointed, but I pretty much knew that I was letting everybody down,” Medrzycka told ABC News. “Because technically, I was the one that was supposed to have the knowledge to figure out where it was. So I definitely felt like I had failed everyone, and that responsibility was pretty, pretty hard to bear.”
But she had a theory. Looking out at the field, she saw what looked like a break in the medial moraine, a line of debris that forms on a glacier’s surface. Medrzycka looked at a satellite image and could clearly see two places where that happened.
This is where it gets a little technical. Glaciers move, and sometimes they surge, moving very fast. It’s not clear why that happens, but it does, according to Medrzycka. The glaciologists knew the Walsh Glacier had surged twice since the 1930s, and Medrzycka theorized that the breaks in the moraine happened when a surge happened, so she calculated how far the glacier probably moved using the break points she could see as markers.
Following Medrzycka’s theory, they spotted something on the last day of the trip — just where she predicted it would be.
The group found several items sitting on the surface that were obviously Washburn’s, including goggles and fuel canisters, but it was farther down the glacier than they’d expected. Now, Post had a theory: The treasure Washburn left was abandoned at their base camp; were these scattered items just gear Washburn and Bates left at a camp higher up on the mountain?
They traveled a little farther and sure enough, found the full cache. Post, who had been preparing to come home empty-handed, said it was “so surreal.”
“For all the work that went into it and knowing all along that it was just a guess, and all that doubt that you had from others and yourself, to overcome that and be like, ‘Yeah, my gut was right. This was possible. This was here’ — it was just such a special moment to share with the crew and be with those people in that landscape and come back successful after essentially stealing victory from the jaws of defeat,” he said.
“When we did find it, man, that was priceless,” Medrzycka said. “I’ll never forget that moment.”
The equipment is now with Parks Canada, which was also involved in the venture, as they work to preserve it and see if it’s possible to retrieve any of Washburn’s footage.
Finding the location of the cache is already a gain for glaciology research. Before this, there was little data on this glacier movement from before the 1960s, so knowing how far Washburn’s cache moved from 1937 until now adds decades of information, Medrzycka said. That information can also be used to predict possible future movement or changes in the glacier.
Post was struck by how much the area had clearly changed since Washburn was there. There are some images from Washburn’s expedition they were using to try to figure out where things were. But it wasn’t lining up with what they saw, Post said.
“All of a sudden being there, you realize that maybe 100 or 200 vertical feet of ice has essentially disappeared,” he said. “And so the baseline or all the bottom of the photos, it’s just this new terrain that wasn’t visible before because it was under all of this ice.”
Arctic sea ice, as of September, is shrinking by 12.6% each decade, according to NASA, which points to that as evidence of rapid climate change.
“Everything that happens in the south doesn’t just stay in the south,” Medrzycka said. “And whatever happens in the Arctic or in high mountain environments doesn’t just stay there. So whatever activities we have in the south, whatever emissions, the pollution that we’re creating, all that does have an impact on the glaciers even if they are very far from us.”
The Arctic is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world, according to a 2021 report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and threatens the rest of the world with impacts like rising sea levels.
For Post and Medrzycka, this expedition was significant as an outdoors adventure, a research trove — and a combination of science and athleticism to succeed.
“We don’t usually operate around the same circles, but once we found each other on the ice surface, we all belong there, right?” Medrzycka said. “This is exactly our element, this is where we feel comfortable and really shows we’re all linked by our love of the mountains and of the glaciers.”
(NEW YORK) — Even though the number of people diagnosed with cancer each year remains roughly the same, recent medical advances mean that more people are surviving, and thriving, after being diagnosed.
A new study published on Thursday in the journal Cancer finds that overall cancer death rates decreased by 2.1% each year from 2015 to 2019, the fastest it has decreased over the last two decades. This continues over a two-decade trend of decreased cancer deaths in the U.S.
Yet, rates of new cancer diagnoses have remained approximately the same from 2014 to 2018, the report said. Among some groups, however, like women and young adults aged 15-39, as well as for certain types of cancers, the rate of new cancer diagnoses has actually increased.
“Improved treatments increase survival and can cure patients, leading to fewer cancer deaths even as more people are being diagnosed,” lead study author, Dr. Kathy Cronin of the National Cancer Institute, told ABC News.
Researchers said more people are surviving after a cancer diagnosis because of earlier detection and improved treatments.
However, some cancers continue to threaten patients at high rates. Those include cancers like female breast, kidney, pancreas, myeloma and others that are closely tied to medical conditions like obesity, diabetes and general inactivity, all of which have continued to rise in the U.S., according to data cited in the study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The decrease in cancer deaths was driven largely by the steep decline in lung cancer deaths, the study said. Far fewer people are smoking today than they did in decades past. Meanwhile, screening and treatments for lung cancer have improved. However, despite the progress, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S, according to the study.
Notable strides have also been made in other cancers including kidney, ovary and liver cancers, the study said. Significant disparities remain, particularly for African American women in uterine cancer and breast cancer. Cancer death is the highest among Black Americans, according to the study. Rates of new cancer diagnoses are highest among American Indian and Alaska Native people.
“We are making progress,” Dr. William Dahut, cancer physician and chief scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, told ABC News.
“This does show that prevention, screening, and better treatment can make a difference, but more work is needed,” Dahut said.
(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:
Oct 27, 11:27 AM EDT
In address Putin calls the West’s policy ‘bloody and dirty’
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a rhetorical attack on the West, claiming it believes its world view is universal.
“The policy of the West is bloody and dirty, it denies the sovereignty of countries and peoples,” Putin said, delivering an address at the Valdai Club, a think tank forum.
Putin said that the “rules-based order” proposed by the West is designed to enable it to live without rules at all. He claimed that the West has no unity, calling it a “conglomerate.”
He described the destruction of the European Gas pipelines as “beyond all reason.”
Oct 27, 7:27 AM EDT
Russia threatens to target US satellites
Russia is threatening to target commercial satellites from the United States and its allies if they become involved in the war in Ukraine.
“Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike,” Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the non-proliferation and arms control department at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was quoted as saying by state media on Thursday. “We are talking about the involvement of components of civilian space infrastructure, including commercial, by the United States and its allies in armed conflicts.”
Oct 26, 3:23 PM EDT
Body of American killed in Donbas transferred to Ukrainian authorities
The remains of an American killed while fighting in the Donbas region are now in Ukraine’s custody and will soon be returned to family members, the U.S. State Department said in a statement Wednesday.
The U.S. citizen was identified as Joshua Jones, a U.S. Army veteran whose remains were recovered as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine, according to Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Jason Volack
Oct 25, 3:10 PM EDT
Biden warns Russia would be making ‘incredibly serious mistake’ if it uses tactical nuclear weapon
President Joe Biden told reporters he is unsure if disputed Russian claims that Ukraine’s military is planning to use a “dirty bomb” were a “false-flag operation” or if Russia is planning on deploying a dirty bomb itself, warning Russia against using nuclear weapons.
“Russia would be making an incredibly serious mistake for it to use a tactical nuclear weapon. I’m not guaranteeing you that it’s a false flag operation yet, I don’t know, but it would be a serious, serious mistake,” Biden told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Oct 25, 2:50 PM EDT
Ukraine accuses Russia of dirty bomb deception at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear energy operator, accused Russian forces of performing secret construction work at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant over the last weeks, amid allegations from Russia that Ukraine’s military is preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device.
In calls with his British, French, Turkish and American counterparts over the weekend, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made an unsubstantiated allegation that Ukraine was preparing to launch a so-called dirty bomb. Britain, France and the U.S. rejected the claims calling them “transparently false.”
Ukraine also dismissed Moscow’s claim as an attempt to distract attention from the Kremlin’s own alleged plans to detonate a dirty bomb, which uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste in an effort to sow terror.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Oct 25, 12:42 AM EDT
Blinken again speaks with Ukrainian counterpart, second time in as many days
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, on Monday after having a call with him on Sunday, and the “rhetoric surrounding so-called dirty bombs” was again on the agenda.
“The secretary reaffirmed enduring U.S. support for Ukraine in the face of continued Russian aggression, atrocities and rhetoric surrounding so-called ‘dirty bombs’ in Ukraine,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. “He noted our commitment to work with allies and partners to continue meeting Ukraine’s security assistance needs on the battlefield.”
Blinken tweeted: “Connected with @DmytroKuleba again today. It is important to once again emphasize that U.S. support for Ukraine is concrete, comprehensive and enduring.”
Oct 24, 9:16 AM EDT
Russian commander says troops readied in case of ‘radioactive contamination’
A senior commander of the Russian military said Monday that his troops have been readied to operate “in the conditions of radioactive contamination,” amid Moscow’s allegation that Ukraine is preparing to use a “dirty bomb” on its own territory.
“Work has been organised by the [Russian] Ministry of Defense for combating possible provocations from the side of Ukraine: forces and equipment have been put in readiness for fulfilling tasks in the conditions of radioactive contamination,” Kirillov said during a press briefing, as quoted by Russian state media.
The comments are further worrying signs that Russia is trying to build a false-flag narrative, blaming Ukraine for the possible use of nuclear weapons, which is clearly intended as a threat to both Ukraine and its Western allies.
Oct 24, 9:04 AM EDT
Russia responds to US, UK, France rejecting its ‘dirty bomb’ allegation
Russia responded on Monday to a joint statement from the United States, the United Kingdom and France rejecting Moscow’s “transparently false allegations” that Ukraine is preparing a provocation with the use of a “dirty bomb” on its own territory.
“The thing is that their mistrust toward the information shared by Russia doesn’t mean that the threat of the use of such a dirty bomb ceases to exist,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a press briefing. “The threat is obvious. This information was shared by the defense minister with his counterparts, and now it is up to them to believe or not believe in it.”
Oct 24, 8:39 AM EDT
Top Ukrainian general speaks out in exclusive rare interview
The commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine is real and that the West “should be worried,” but said his country is nonetheless winning the war.
Gen. Col. Oleksander Syrskiy made the comments in an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Chief Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday. As the 57-year-old top commander of his country’s land forces, Syrskiy has played a decisive role in turning the war in Ukraine’s favor, first leading the successful defense of the capital, Kyiv, and then — most recently — masterminding the counteroffensive in the northeast that upended the monthslong conflict and threw Russian forces onto the defensive.
The rare interview, airing Monday on ABC News’ Good Morning America, is one of the few times Syrskiy has spoken publicly at length and he described Ukraine’s tactics, the importance of Western support, the threat of renewed attacks from Belarus and his determination that Ukraine will reclaim all of its territory, including the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Ukraine’s successes, however, have been shadowed by the recent threats from Putin that Russia might resort to nuclear weapons to reverse the course of his war in Ukraine. Syrskiy told ABC News that he takes the threats seriously.
“We are and should be worried,” Syrskiy said. “I do believe that such a threat really exists and we have to take it into account.”
Oct 24, 8:32 AM EDT
US, UK, France reject Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ allegation
The governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and France released a joint statement on Sunday rejecting “Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory.”
“We, the Foreign Ministers of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, reiterate our steadfast support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression,” they said in the joint statement. “We remain committed to continue supporting Ukraine’s efforts to defend its territory for as long as it takes.”
“Earlier today, the defense ministers of each of our countries spoke to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu at his request,” they continued. “Our countries made clear that we all reject Russia’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory. The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation. We further reject any pretext for escalation by Russia.”
They added: “The Foreign Ministers also discussed their shared determination to continue supporting Ukraine and the Ukrainian people with security, economic, and humanitarian assistance in the face of President Putin’s brutal war of aggression.”
Oct 24, 8:21 AM EDT
Blinken speaks with Ukrainian counterpart about Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ allegation
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke via telephone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, on Sunday “to reaffirm the United States’ steadfast support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independent, and territorial integrity,” according to a statement from U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price.
“Secretary Blinken expressed to Foreign Minister Kuleba that the United States rejects Russian Defense Minister Shoygu’s transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory and that the world would see through any attempt by Russia to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation,” Price said.
“They also discussed the U.S. and international commitment to continue supporting Ukraine with unprecedented security, economic and humanitarian assistance for as long as it takes, as we hold Russia accountable,” he added. “They further noted our ongoing efforts to manage the broader implications of President Putin’s war.”
Oct 23, 4:11 PM EDT
Russian Defense Minister claims Ukrainians planning ‘dirty bomb’ attack
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called the defense ministers of Turkey, France and the United Kingdom on Saturday, claiming Ukraine is preparing a provocation with the use of a “dirty bomb.”
The first mention of a possible Ukrainian “dirty bomb” attack appeared Sunday in a morning message of the RIA Novosti state-owned news agency. The article, citing “credible sources in various countries, including Ukraine,” stated that “the Kiev regime is preparing a provocation on the territory of its country related to the detonation of the so-called ‘dirty bomb’ or low-power nuclear munition.”
“The purpose of the provocation is to accuse Russia of using weapons of mass destruction in the Ukrainian theater of operations and thereby launch a powerful anti-Russian campaign in the world aimed at undermining confidence in Moscow,” RIA Novosti reported.
Shoigu also had a telephone conversation with the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sunday, during which they discussed the situation in Ukraine, according to a Pentagon official.
“Secretary Austin rejected any pretext for Russian escalation and reaffirmed the value of continued communication amid Russia’s unlawful and unjustified war against Ukraine,” said Pentagon press secretary, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.
Oct 23, 1:20 PM EDT
Russian military jet crashes into a residential building, 2nd time in a week
A Russian Sukhoi Su fighter jet crashed into a residential building in southern Siberia on Sunday during a an apparent test flight just six days after another Russian Sukhoi Su jet slammed into an apartment block in Yeysk, Russia, near the Ukrainian border.
Two pilots were killed in Sunday’s crash in the southern Siberia town of Irkutsk, Russian officials said. The crash ignited a giant fireball when the aircraft nosedived into a two-story house, Igor Kobzev, the regional governor, said in a post on Telegram.
Kobzev confirmed two pilots were killed and said no civilian residents were injured.
The Sukhoi Su-30 jet was on a test flight when the crash occurred, according to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The crash came about a week after a Russian Sukhoi Su-34 crashed into an apartment block in the southern Russian city of Yeysk, near Ukraine, killing at least 15 people.
Authorities said the initial investigation indicated a technical malfunction of the aircraft caused the crash and that the pilots eject from the jet and survived.
Oct 22, 4:39 PM EDT
33 missiles have been fired at Ukraine, air force says
Thirty-three missiles were fired at Ukraine on Saturday morning, 18 of which were shot down, the country’s air force claimed. Local officials in regions across Ukraine are reporting that the strikes were aimed at energy facilities.
More than a million people were without power as of Saturday afternoon, according to presidential adviser Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
In the southeastern city of Nikopol, local authorities warned that air raid sirens would be switched off as a result of power cuts. Instead, emergency vehicles driving around the city will warn resident of incoming aerial threats.
Oct 22, 1:45 PM EDT
Russian authorities tell civilians in annexed Kherson to leave immediately
Russian authorities in the Ukrainian city of Kherson told civilians to leave immediately on Saturday because of what they called a tense military situation as Ukrainian forces advance. Kherson was illegally annexed by Russia earlier this month.
“Take care of the safety of your family and friends! Do not forget documents, money, valuables and clothes,” Russian authorities said.
At Oleshky on the opposite bank of the Dnipro, the agencies caught up with people arriving by river boat from Kherson, loaded with boxes, bags and pets, according to an article in Russian News Agency Interfax.
One woman carried a toddler under one arm and a dog under the other. Some boats were loaded with vegetables and pallets of food. Staff from Russia’s emergency ministry carried elderly people and children in prams from the vessels. Families then waited to board buses to the Russian-annexed city of Crimea, according to Interfax.
Meanwhile, in a briefing on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had repelled a Ukrainian attempt to break through its line of control in the Kherson region.
Oct 21, 3:36 PM EDT
Ukraine accuses Russia of delaying passage of 150 grain ships
Russia is deliberately delaying the passage of ships carrying grain exports under a U.N.-brokered deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged in his evening address Friday.
Zelenskyy said the delay meant that Ukraine grain exports were short 3 million tons, which he said is enough to feed 10 million people.
“The enemy is doing everything to slow down our food exports … as of today, more than 150 ships are queuing to fulfill contractual obligations on the delivery of our agricultural products,” Zelenskyy said.
“This is an artificial queue. It only arose because Russia is deliberately delaying the passage of the ships,” he said.
-ABC News’ Jason Volack
Oct 21, 1:24 PM EDT
Russia has hit 30% to 40% of Ukraine’s overall power infrastructure, Ukrainian official tells Reuters
Russian attacks have hit 30% to 40% of Ukraine’s overall national power infrastructure, Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko told Reuters in an interview.
“We see that they targeted a number of new [facilities], but also they shelled [facilities] which had been already shelled before to destroy them absolutely,” Halushchenko said.
Asked about the scale of the damage, Halushchenko said Russian attacks have hit at least half of Ukraine’s thermal generation capacity and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
Halushchenko said electricity imports could be one of the options Ukraine pursues to get through the crisis.
-ABC News’ Jason Volack
Oct 21, 11:03 AM EDT
Austin speaks with Russian defense minister about Ukraine
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Russian counterpart, Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu, for the second time since the invasion of Ukraine on Friday.
“Secretary Austin emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid the ongoing war against Ukraine,” the Pentagon said in a brief statement.
The first call between the two was in May and lasted an hour. Officials did not say how long the Friday call was.
Oct 20, 4:33 PM EDT
US believes Iranians are on the ground assisting Russian drone attacks in Ukraine
The U.S. believes Iranians are “on the ground” in Ukraine to assist Russia with its drone operations, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday.
“We can confirm that Russian military personnel that are based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian [drones] and using them to conduct strikes across Ukraine, including strikes against Kiev in just recent days. We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,” Kirby told reporters.
Kirby did not know how many Iranians are in Crimea, but said the U.S. knows it is “a relatively small number.”
Kirby specified that the Iranians “have put trainers and tech support in Crimea, but it’s the Russians who are doing the piloting.”
“We’re going to continue to vigorously enforce all U.S. sanctions on both the Russian and Iranian arms trade. We’re going to make it harder for Iran to sell these weapons to Russia. We’re going to help the Ukrainians have what they need to defend themselves against these threats.”
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Oct 20, 2:53 PM EDT
DOJ says it will continue to be “relentless” in efforts to hold people responsible for war crimes accountable
The Justice Department will “continue” to be “relentless” in its pursuit to hold those responsible for war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine accountable, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday, while sitting next to his German counterpart, Minister of Justice Christine Lambrecht.
“We are committed to finding ways to expand our cooperation with our German partners in these efforts,” Garland said.
Garland also thanked Germany for its help in apprehending a suspect accused of getting sensitive technologies to Russia as part of an indictment announced Wednesday.
The Justice Department charged five individuals including Yury Orekhov, the alleged mastermind behind the plot. Orekhov was arrested in Germany as part of the Justice Department’s task force KleptoCapture, which is cracking down on Russian-related crimes as the war in Ukraine continues.
Asked if any U.S. intelligence was compromised after Germany replaced its head of cybersecurity over alleged ties to Russia, Garland didn’t answer, saying intelligence sharing is what makes the relationship with Germany so strong.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
Oct 20, 6:56 AM EDT
US will ‘not hesitate’ to sanction Iran over drone sales, official says
The United States is committed to stopping Russia from obtaining foreign weapons, including Iran-made drones, a State Department official said.
Officials from the United States, United Kingdom and France on Thursday raised the issue during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“The United States began warning in July that Iran was planning to transfer UAVs to Russia for use in Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, and we now have abundant evidence that these UAVs are being used to strike Ukrainian civilians and critical civilian infrastructure,” Price said. “As Iran continues to lie and deny providing weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, we are committed to working with allies and partners to prevent the transfer of dangerous weaponry to Russia.”
He added, “We will not hesitate to use our sanctions and other appropriate tools on all involved in these transfers.”
Oct 19, 8:08 PM EDT
Putin’s martial law declaration ‘speaks to his desperation’: Blinken
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC News’ Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos in a new interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of martial law in illegally annexed parts of Ukraine “speaks to his desperation” as Ukrainian forces continue to make progress in rebuffing the invasion.
“Just in the last few weeks, he’s tried to mobilize more forces. He’s gone through with this sham annexation of Ukrainian territory,” Blinken said in a preview from the sit-down, which will air Thursday on Good Morning America.
Oct 19, 3:34 PM EDT
Ukraine to restrict electrical supply after Russia knocks out power plants
Ukraine will start restricting electricity supplies across the country on Thursday after Russia knocked out more power plants, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Wednesday.
“From 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., it is necessary to minimize the use of electricity … if this is not done, you should prepare for temporary blackouts,” Tymoshenko wrote in a Telegram post.
-ABC News’ Jason Volack
Oct 19, 2:26 PM EDT
Biden says Putin imposing martial law may be ‘his only tool available’ to brutalize Ukrainians
President Joe Biden reacted to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to impose martial law in illegally annexed Ukrainian areas, telling reporters it may be his only tool available.
“I think that Vladimir Putin finds himself in an incredibly difficult position. And what it reflects to me is it seems his only tool available to him is to brutalize individual citizens, in Ukraine, Ukrainian citizens to try to intimidate them into capitulating,” Biden said Wednesday.
“They’re not gonna do that,” he added
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Oct 19, 8:31 AM EDT
Putin announces he is imposing martial law in four occupied Ukrainian territories
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he will impose martial law in four Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian forces — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye. All four regions were illegally annexed by Putin last month.
Marital law grants Russia’s authorities huge powers over the civilian population in the regions it is imposed. Martial law is set to go into effect on Thursday.
The decree, which Putin announced during a televised meeting with his security council, will now be sent to be rubber stamped by Russia’s upper chamber of parliament, the Federation Council.
Putin has also granted new powers to governors in several regions bordering Ukraine.
Putin’s decree includes other points ordering the rest of Russia itself put into various levels of “readiness.”
The decree puts eight regions bordering Ukraine into a state of “moderate level of response,” but also imposes a “level of heightened readiness” in the southern and central regions that include Moscow. All other Russians regions are put on a “basic level of readiness.”
The decree says these statuses grant special powers to local authorities that are similar to martial law and includes points imposing increased security at key facilities, puts transport and communications into a special regime and also envisages the creation of “territorial defense headquarters” in some regions.
Oct 19, 7:35 AM EDT
Russian civilians to evacuate Kherson
Russia has announced the mass evacuation of civilians from the key city of Kherson, as well as all of its civilian occupation administration there.
Russia’s newly appointed overall commander for its war in Ukraine, Gen. Sergey Surovikin, said on Tuesday that “difficult decisions” may have to be made in the near future regarding Russia’s position in Kherson. In his first public remarks since his appointment, he said the situation around Kherson was already “extremely difficult.”
The evacuation combined with Surovikin’s comments has fueled speculation that Russia may be preparing to retreat from the city in the face of a Ukrainian offensive, in what would be a major defeat for President Vladimir Putin.
Other Russian officials though have suggested the evacuation is in preparation of Russian defense of the city. Kherson’s Russian-appointed governor on Wednesday denied Russia was planning to “give up” the city.
Another senior occupation official has said the battle for Kherson will begin in the “very near future.”
Kherson is the only regional capital Russia managed to seize in its invasion and is a capital of one of the regions Putin annexed last month.
The city is located on the western side of the Dnieper river and Russian forces’ position there has become increasingly difficult, after Ukraine succeeded in destroying the bridges needed to supply it.
With the bridges destroyed, thousands of Russian troops risk becoming surrounded in Kherson city and cut off from any supplies.
Russia has already begun evacuating civilians to the eastern side of the Dneipr river. Independent military researchers said Russia has quickly built a pontoon bridge near Kherson that could be used for evacuation or re-supplies.
The Russian-appointed governor said around 60,000 civilians will be evacuated, over the course of seven days.
Oct 18, 5:14 PM EDT
Russia trying to make Ukrainians ‘suffer,’ US officials say
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian power stations shows Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to make Ukrainians “suffer” with deliberate attacks, speaking of attacks on Ukrainian power stations.
“He is trying to make sure that the Ukrainian people suffer,” Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing on Tuesday. “He’s making it very difficult for them.”
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder echoed those comments, saying Russia is trying to “inflict pain” on Ukrainian civilians with its strikes on population centers and infrastructure.
“We do continue to see them target, among other things, civilian infrastructure, to include energy related targets — power grids, for example,” Ryder said.
He added, “In terms of why we think they’re targeting those areas, I think obviously trying to inflict pain on the civilian society as well as try to have an impact on Ukrainian forces.”
ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Matt Seyler
Oct 18, 4:59 PM EDT
UN commission releases detailed report on war crimes in Ukraine
The United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has released its first in-depth, written report on what it calls “an array of war crimes, violations of human rights and international humanitarian law” committed in the country during the first weeks of Russia’s brutal invasion.
The report outlines what investigators say are “documented patterns of summary executions, unlawful confinement, torture, ill-treatment, rape and other sexual violence.”
The inquiry zeroed in on four regions of Ukraine– Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy–and focused on incidents that took place following Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24 through the end of March.
Investigators traveled to 27 cities and towns, conducted nearly 200 interviews and “inspected sites of destruction, graves, places of detention and torture, as well as weapon remnants, and consulted a large number of documents and reports.”
Due to the sheer number of allegations, the commission could not investigate all the claims it received. The commission said it intends to “gradually devote more of its resources” to a broader investigation within the country, according to the report.
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Oct 18, 2:25 PM EDT
NATO to send Ukraine anti-drone systems: NATO Secretary General
Ukraine will receive anti-drone systems from NATO in the coming days according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“The most important thing we can do is deliver on what allies have promised, to step up and deliver even more air defense systems,” Stoltenberg said, according to Reuters.
He added, “NATO will in the coming days deliver counter-drone systems to counter the specific threat of drones, including those from Iran.”
ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Oct 18, 7:00 AM EDT
30% of Ukraine’s power stations destroyed
About a third of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed by Russian attacks in the last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
“Since Oct. 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country,” he said on Twitter. “No space left for negotiations with Putin’s regime.”
(AUSTIN, Texas) — Families of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting victims slammed the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Col. Steven McCraw, at an ongoing public safety commission meeting in Austin on Thursday.
Brett Cross, guardian of 10-year-old Robb Elementary School victim Uziyah Garcia, said Thursday that police waited outside as the children were “slaughtered.”
Cross called for McCraw’s immediate resignation, saying he “disgraced the state.”
“If you’re a man of your word, you’ll resign,” Cross said before he read the names of the 19 children and two teachers who were killed.
Jesse Rizo, uncle of 9-year-old victim Jackie Cazares, said at the hearing that the aftermath of the shooting was “unacceptable” and was “adding insult to injury.”
“Mr. McCraw, you have all the resources in the world,” he said. “Yet you come out, your staff comes out, [providing] misinformation after misinformation. And it continues to happen.”
“You basically lit a match and set the town on fire,” he said.
“All we want are answers and full transparency,” he said. “Take urgency and responsibility and tell us where you and your departments are on the investigation and how soon we’ll have a complete report.”
Kimberley Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter, Lexi, was killed in the massacre, told ABC News Thursday morning that she’s attending the hearing to support another parent who is speaking and to push for McCraw to resign.
“DPS officers failed Uvalde students and teachers and our community,” Rubio said. “He is the leader, and sometimes when those below you fail, you have to take responsibility for that.”
Democratic Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who addressed law enforcement at the start of the hearing, also called for McCraw’s resignation.
The massacre “shattered” Texans’ “illusion” that they could trust law enforcement, Gutierrez said at the hearing.
“These children waited 77 minutes” for help, he said. “Children trapped in a classroom had the courage to seek help by calling 911 over and over again. Law enforcement knew there were kids inside.”
He went on, “We’ll never know how many children could have been saved.”
Gutierrez said the parents of the Uvalde victims “wake up every day from a dream thinking life’s OK. A minute later knowing that they’re living in this horrible reality.”
McCraw is expected to give an update on the shooting probe and the DPS’s internal investigation at Thursday’s meeting. This marks the first public update since mid-July.
Nineteen children and two teachers were shot and killed with an AR-15-style rifle in the May 24 massacre. Nearly 400 officers rushed to the school, but didn’t go into the classroom where the gunman was confined with his victims until over an hour later.
That slow response has led to a wide chorus of criticism for the responders. The school district’s police chief was fired, as was one of the first Texas state troopers to arrive at the scene. A second trooper who left DPS to work for the Uvalde school system has since been terminated by the district.
Uvalde’s entire school district police force has also been suspended.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — The head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Col. Steven McCraw, is expected to give an update on the Uvalde shooting probe and the DPS’s internal investigation at a public safety commission meeting in Austin on Thursday.
Families of the Robb Elementary School victims are also expected to speak.
This will mark the first public update since mid-July.
Nineteen children and two teachers were shot and killed with an AR-15-style rifle in the May 24 massacre. Nearly 400 officers rushed to the school, but didn’t go into the classroom where the gunman was confined with his victims until over an hour later.
That slow response has led to a wide chorus of criticism for the responders. The school district’s police chief was fired, as was one of the first Texas state troopers to arrive at the scene. A second trooper who left DPS to work for the Uvalde school system has since been terminated by the district.
Uvalde’s entire school district police force has also been suspended.
(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — The Grand Rapids, Michigan police officer charged with second-degree murder in Patrick Lyoya’s death had a preliminary court hearing on Thursday.
Evidence presented in the preliminary hearing will determine if there’s probable cause that Christopher Schurr, a seven-year veteran of the Grand Rapids Police Department, killed Lyoya. If probable cause is determined, the case may continue to a jury trial.
Schurr pleaded not guilty during his arraignment.
Lyoya, a 26-year-old native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was shot in the head on April 4 after Schurr pulled him over for a faulty license plate. His death prompted protests throughout Grand Rapids.
Body camera video showed Schurr shouting at Lyoya to “get in the car.” The footage was released nine days after the shooting.
Schurr can be heard asking Lyoya if he spoke English and then demanding that Lyoya show his driver’s license. Lyoya turned to a passenger in the car, closed the door and started to walk away from Schurr, according to the video.
Lyoya started to run. Schurr grabbed Lyoya and struggled with him before eventually forcing him to the ground, shouting “Stop resisting,” “Let go” and “Drop the Taser,” according to the video. Police said Lyoya grabbed at Schurr’s stun gun during the altercation.
The body camera was deactivated during the struggle, according to police.
Lyoya was then shot in the back of the head, according to an independent autopsy report and the Kent County medical examiner.
Schurr was fired from the Grand Rapids Police Department in June after waiving his right to a discharge hearing.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. economy expanded significantly to kick off the second half of the year, marking a dramatic reversal from the contraction experienced over the first six months, government data showed.
U.S. gross domestic product grew 2.6% over the three months ending in September, according to data released Thursday. By contrast, economic activity shrank a combined 2.2% over the first six months of the year.
The economic growth defies Federal Reserve efforts to slow economic activity and slash consumer demand in its fight against inflation.
The data arrives less than two weeks before the midterm elections, possibly bolstering Democratic claims of economic stewardship as polls show voters prefer Republicans on the issue.
Fears of an imminent recession may quiet in response to the data, which ends the streak of two consecutive quarters of negative GDP that many consider shorthand for identifying a downturn as a recession.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, or NBER, a research organization seen as the formal authority for identifying recessions, uses a more complicated definition that takes into account an array of factors. Many economists believe the U.S. has averted a recession so far this year.
Still, the positive overall indicator may veil signs of a cooling economy. The economic growth stemmed in part from a reduced trade deficit, signaling that the U.S. narrowed the gap between imported and exported goods, compared to the previous quarter. But that development also suggests that U.S. demand for imported goods has weakened.
In an effort to dial back inflation, the Fed has raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.75% at each of its last three meetings. Prior to this year, the Fed last matched a hike of this magnitude in 1994.
The rate increases appear to have slowed key sectors of the economy, sending mortgage rates soaring and slowing the construction of new homes.
U.S. hiring remains robust, however. Employers added 263,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate fell slightly from 3.7% to 3.5%.
But hiring has fallen from a breakneck pace sustained earlier in the year, suggesting that the Fed’s rate hikes may have begun to cool off the labor market. By the end of 2023, central bank moves will raise the unemployment rate from its current level of 3.7% to 4.4%, the Fed predicted last month.
(NEW YORK) — Prince Harry’s memoir will hit bookstores Jan. 10, 2023, Penguin Random House says.
The news, which leaked earlier on Wednesday by publishing insiders, was confirmed by Random House, who said “readers everywhere will be part of a landmark publication: the story of Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex,” in a tweet. “Personal and emotionally powerful, ‘SPARE’ will be published by @transworldbooks, supporting two special charities. Details at http://princeharrymemoir.com.”
On 10 January 2023, readers everywhere will be part of a landmark publication: the story of Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex. Personal and emotionally powerful, SPARE will be published by @transworldbooks, supporting two special charities. Details at https://t.co/3y6Vh4WRbx. pic.twitter.com/r3yXdWdt6K
Last year, Penguin Random House released a statement from Harry, the duke of Sussex, who announced his plans to release a memoir about his “firsthand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful.”
“I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become,” Harry said in the statement at the time. “I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story — the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned — I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.”
He added that he is “deeply grateful for the opportunity” to share what he’s learned over the course of his life so far.
Harry is the youngest son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana and is the husband of Meghan Markle, the duchess of Sussex. In 2020, he and Meghan stepped down from their senior roles with the royal family and now live in California with their two children, Archie, 2, and Lilibet, 1.
