(NEW YORK) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called on the United Nations to send a clear message to Russia’s Vladimir Putin demanding an end to his “reckless nuclear threats.”
Blinken, addressing a U.N. Security Council meeting, said Putin has “doubled down” on the conflict despite concerns from the international community about the months-long invasion of Ukraine.
“That President Putin picked this week, as most of the world gathers at the United Nations, to add fuel to the fire he started shows his utter contempt for the U.N. charter, for the general assembly and for this council,” Blinken said.
“The very international order that we have gathered here to uphold is being shredded before our eyes,” he continued. “We cannot, we will not allow President Putin to get away with it.”
Putin on Wednesday announced a partial mobilization expected to conscript 300,000 Russian reservists to the fight after Ukraine recaptured parts of the Kharkiv region earlier this month, making a potential turning point in the conflict.
The Kremlin is also moving this week to hold “sham referendums” in Russian-backed regions of Ukraine for people to vote on whether to join Russia. Blinken urged all U.N. members to reject these referendums and declare that all Ukrainian territory will remain part of the Eastern European nation.
Blinken said Putin’s war was a distraction from other pressing global issues the security council should address, including climate change, famine and international health security.
Blinken’s Russian counterpart — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — was not in the room when the secretary of state spoke.
Blinken also discussed the mass graves uncovered in the recently recaptured Izium, stating the actions of Russian forces in the northeastern city are not acts of rogue units but fit a “clear pattern.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implored world leaders to punish Russia in his virtual address to the U.N. General Assembly, in which he said Russia wants to prepare another offensive that would include “new Iziums.”
“Russia wants war,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s true. But Russia will not be able to stop the course of history. Mankind and the international law are stronger than one terrorist state. Russia will be forced to end this war.”
Blinken’s remarks came one day after President Joe Biden, in his own address to the U.N. General Assembly, rebuked Putin for having “shamelessly violated the core tenants” of the group’s charter.
Biden called for the U.N. to continue supporting Ukraine as he announced a U.S. commitment of $2.9 billion in global food aid as the war has disrupted supply chains and increased prices.
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Reserve’s string of interest rate hikes this year has thrown cold water on the once red-hot housing market.
Existing home sales fell for the seventh straight month in August, down 0.4%, according to the National Association of Realtors, as the central bank aggressively raises interest rates to cool the economy and drive down high inflation. That has led to higher mortgage rates, increasing borrowing costs for home buyers by hundreds of dollars a month.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has more than doubled since the beginning of the year and was at 6.02% in the week ending Sept. 15, according to housing finance agency Freddie Mac.
“The latest Fed rate hike could continue to have an impact on affordability,” Glenn Brunker, president of the financing company Ally Home, told ABC News.
While home prices have fallen from their springtime peaks in some markets, prices remain above where they stood a year ago.
The median sale price of an existing home in August was $389,500, down from $403,800 in July but still 7.7% higher than the same time last year. As home demand falls, the inventory of homes for sale has increased and homes are sitting on the market longer.
“So that bidding war that may have cost you more than a rate increase a few months ago is less likely to happen today,” Brunker said. “However, while home prices are moving down on a relative basis, they are not moving down as fast as rates are moving up.”
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) made up nearly 10% of all new home loan applications as of mid-2022. As interest rates rise, adjustable-rate loans become more attractive to buyers who prefer not to lock in a high rate.
When considering an ARM, experts said buyers should be aware of the loan’s cap, which limits the total amount a rate can increase after the fixed rate period has expired. It is designed to protect buyers against sharp increases when the adjustable period begins.
If you’re house hunting, Brunker recommended getting pre-approved for a mortgage.
“Having a pre-approval letter in hand is important when buyers are ready to place an offer on a home in a fast-moving market,” Brunker said. “It shows sellers that a buyer is serious about purchasing and also that a lender is committed to financing their home.”
Experts continue to point to the need for more housing to ease the inventory shortage but the latest numbers are not encouraging.
Confidence among homebuilders fell in September for the ninth straight month, according to the National Association of Homebuilders. Residential permits, which can be a bellwether for future home construction, fell 10% in August, according to the Commerce Department.
(NEW YORK) — An Indiana court granted abortion providers’ request for a preliminary injunction on Indiana’s abortion ban, allowing abortions to resume in the state after the ban had gone into effect on Sept. 15.
Plaintiffs asked the court for the temporary stop on the near-total ban until the court issues a final decision in their lawsuit, determining whether it violates the Indiana Constitution.
The ban makes providing an abortion a level 5 felony, only allowing three exceptions for when a woman’s life is in danger, the fetus is diagnosed with a fatal anomaly or if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.
The ban also eliminates abortion clinics in the state.
Providers who violate the ban will have their license revoked and could face between one to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Indiana was the first state to pass an abortion ban after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, removing federal protections for abortion rights.
The lawsuit alleges the abortion ban violates the state constitution in three ways: infringing on residents’ right to privacy, violating Indiana’s guarantee of equal privileges and immunities and violating the constitution’s due course of law clause because of its unconstitutionally vague language.
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 31 against members of the state’s Medical Licensing Board and county prosecutors by Planned Parenthood, the Lawyering Project, the ACLU of Indiana and WilmerHale on behalf of abortion providers including Planned Parenthood, Women’s Med Group Professional Corp and All-Options.
“We knew this ban would cause irreparable harm to Hoosiers, and in just a single week, it has done just that. We are grateful that the court granted much needed relief for patients, clients, and providers but this fight is far from over. Indiana lawmakers have made it abundantly clear that this harm, this cruelty, is exactly the reality they had in mind when they passed S.B. 1,” the plaintiffs said in a joint statement Thursday.
The lawsuit alleges that the ban will “severely limit access to abortion care, prohibiting nearly all pregnant [residents] from accessing care in Indiana” and forcing “thousands” of residents to travel out of state in order to get abortion care.
It also alleges women will be forced to incur more medical expenses as pregnancies advance, because the cost of an abortion procedure increases as the pregnancy advances.
The lawsuit also warns that patients unable to travel will “resort to self-managing their abortion outside of the medical system” or be forced to continue a pregnancy against their will.
(NEW YORK) — Hurricane Fiona, now a monster Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds, is taking aim on Bermuda as hard-hit Puerto Rico looks to recover.
Latest forecast
A hurricane warning is in effect for Bermuda, where tropical storm conditions are expected to begin Thursday evening.
Hurricane conditions are possible overnight, depending on how closely Fiona passes the island.
On Saturday morning, a weakened Fiona will make landfall in Nova Scotia, Canada, bringing powerful, gusty winds to Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Brunswick.
The East Coast of the United States could see an increased threat of rip currents, along with choppy surf.
Devastated Puerto Rico looks to recover
As Fiona charges ahead, Puerto Rico looks to recover after the storm barreled across the island this week, killing several people, knocking out power and demolishing water service.
The flooding was catastrophic, with Fiona dumping up to 30 inches of rain.
President Joe Biden has approved a disaster declaration for the U.S. territory.
Next potential storm
A tropical wave known as Invest-98L has a 90% chance of development over the next five days.
It’ll move into the western Caribbean this weekend where conditions will be ripe for tropical development. The tropical wave is heading to the warmest water source in the Atlantic Basin, which gives it the potential to become a significant hurricane.
After this weekend, models are split on its path. Most of the models take the storm into the Gulf. Some models predict a strong storm moving through Cuba and off Florida’s east coast, while a few models track a weaker storm into Central America.
(WASHINGTON) — House Democrats, hoping to notch another major legislative win before the midterm elections, will vote Thursday on a long-delayed package of changes to policing and public safety.
Moderate and progressive Democrats hammered out a deal on Wednesday after frenetic negotiations — and on one of the House’s last working days before entering a recess that will stretch past the November races.
This new package of bills would fund recruitment and training for police departments across the country and includes new language on police accountability.
“House Democrats are committed to … building safer communities across America,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer tweeted on Wednesday. “Tomorrow, I will bring four public safety bills to the House Floor for consideration. I thank my colleagues for their continued work on behalf of the American people.”
To address mental health crises, one of the bills, sponsored by California Rep. Katie Porter, would create a grant program for departments to hire and dispatch mental health professionals — not law enforcement officers — in instances involving individuals with behavioral health needs.
The package also includes a bill from Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford that would direct the Department of Justice to establish a grant program for local agencies to hire detectives and victim services personnel to investigate shootings.
The legislation targets funding to smaller police departments with fewer than 200 officers; gives the DOJ the ability to preference applicants that use the funds for officer training to improve community safety and accountability; and allows the funding to not only go to officer pay and training but also be used for data collection regarding police and community safety.
Progressives have said they were particularly concerned about providing more grants and funds to police departments without including requirements on accountability for officers’ actions.
Moderates have long insisted on bringing forth public safety bills as a way to fire back at Republican attacks that blame Democrats for rising crime. Polls show some key Senate races tightening, with GOP candidates pressing their opponents on the issue — often citing advocates’ “defund the police” slogan, despite Democratic leaders rejecting such messages.
While Republicans seek to paint Democrats as soft on crime, President Joe Biden has slammed members of the GOP both for denouncing federal law enforcement after an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s residence last month and for expressing support for those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Biden and Democrats pushed in the 2020 cycle for broader policing reform, including changes to the standard to prosecute police misconduct and qualified immunity, after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
But Senate Democrats ultimately failed to overcome Republican opposition to a major piece of legislation named after Floyd. Instead, Biden signed two smaller executive orders on policing earlier this year, on the second anniversary of Floyd’s death.
House Democrats can only afford to lose four votes on their new package, but party leaders are confident they will get the proposal over the line. If it passes, the legislation will then head to the Senate, where its fate is unclear.
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents the district in Minnesota where Floyd was killed, was one of the harshest critics of the ongoing police reform efforts but gave her approval on Wednesday. The package, she said, is “evidence-based, holistic legislation that addresses public safety and unifies the Democratic Caucus.”
“After significant, deliberate negotiations, we are pleased to share that … the bill will include a number of reforms to ensure funds are used to support smaller police departments, to invest in de-escalation and other important training, and for data collection and mental health,” Omar and Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said in a joint statement.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Sep 22, 8:00 AM EDT
What Blinken plans to say at Friday’s UN Security Council meeting
During Friday’s United Nations Security Council meeting in New York City, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to urge all members to send a clear message of opposition to Moscow over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent threats of nuclear warfare, according to a senior official with the U.S. Department of State.
The State Department official previewed what Blinken will say at the upcoming session, which his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov is expected to attend. While Blinken plans to tell the council that the United States takes Putin’s nuclear threats seriously, he is not expected to urge any specific action, given the obstacles that the council’s makeup presents. Rather, the official said Blinken sees Friday’s meeting as an opportunity to further shine a spotlight on the impacts of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, Blinken is expected to hit on the latest developments out of Russia, including the partial military mobilization and referenda. He also plans to reference evidence of atrocities uncovered in recent days, specifically in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, stressing that these are not the actions of rogue units but a clear pattern emerging across Russian-occupied territory and must be met with accountability.
While Lavrov is expected to attend Friday’s meeting, there is of course no guarantee he will be in the room when Blinken speaks. Blinken, however, is expected to remain through the entirety of the session, where both Russia and China will also have an opportunity to address the room.
Sep 21, 6:27 PM EDT
Zelenskyy demands punishment for Russia in UN remarks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded punishment for Russia in his remarks to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.
“A crime has been committed against Ukraine, and we demand just punishment,” he said in video remarks, the only state leader allowed to appear virtually this year.
Zelenskyy spelled out the alleged atrocities discovered in Izyum after Russian forces retreated. “The bodies of women and men, children and adults, civilians and soldiers were found there — 445 graves,” he said.
Zelenskyy vowed to other world leaders that Ukraine’s forces would ultimately emerge successful — and claimed any rhetoric from Russia about negotiating peace was a façade.
“We can return the Ukrainian flag to our entire territory. We can do it with the force of arms, but we need time,” he said. “Russia wants to spend the winter on the occupied territory of Ukraine and prepare forces to attempt a new offensive — new Buchas, new Izyums.”
He warned that Russia’s warfare near nuclear plants meant no one was safe and again made an appeal for Russia to be branded as a state sponsor of terrorism by all nations — something the Biden administration has so far said it is against.
“We must finally recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorists, at all levels, in all countries,” Zelenskyy urged. “This is the foundation for restoring global security.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Sep 21, 6:15 PM EDT
More than 1,400 people detained at antiwar protests in Russia
More than 1,400 people were detained at antiwar protests that have erupted across Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine, according to the independent Russian human rights monitoring group OVD-Info.
At least 1,408 people have been detained at mobilization protests in nearly 40 cities on Wednesday, OVD-Info said in its latest update. Most were reported at protests in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The protests followed a televised address Wednesday morning during which Putin announced the start of the first mobilization in Russia since World War II. The measure is expected to draft more than 300,000 Russian citizens with military experience, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Protesters could be seen holding “stop war” signs. One man shown being taken into custody in Novosibirsk had shouted, “I don’t want to die for Putin or for you,” according to Russian independent media outlet Mediazona.
Russia has criminalized protests against the war, and demonstrations held following its invasion have been met with a heavy police response.
Sep 21, 9:32 AM EDT
White House reacts to Putin’s partial military mobilization
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s partial military mobilization for his ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine is “definitely a sign that he’s struggling,” according to the White House’s National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“And we know that,” Kirby told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos during an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America.
“[Putin] has suffered tens of thousands of casualties. He has terrible morale, unit cohesion on the battlefield, command and control has still not been solved. He’s got desertion problems and he’s forcing the wounded back into the fight,” Kirby added. “So clearly manpower’s a problem for him, he feels like he’s on his back foot, particularly in that northeast area of the Donbas.”
Some 300,000 Russian reservists are expected to be conscripted, which Kirby noted is “a lot.”
“That’s almost twice as much as [Putin] committed to the war back in February,” he said.
Kirby said Putin’s latest nuclear threats are “typical” but something the United States and its allies still take “seriously.”
“We always have to take this kind of rhetoric seriously,” he added. “It’s irresponsible rhetoric for a nuclear power to talk that way, but it’s not atypical for how he’s been talking the last seven months and we take it seriously. We are monitoring as best we can their strategic posture so that if we have to, we can alter ours. We’ve seen no indication that that’s required right now.”
And if Russia does use nuclear weapons, “there will be severe consequences,” according to Kirby.
While Moscow appears poised to annex Russian-held regions in Ukraine and attempt to politically legitimize it with sham referendums in the coming days and weeks, Kirby said the United States will still consider those areas Ukrainian territory.
“We’re going to continue to support Ukraine with security systems and other financial aid, as the president said, for as long as it takes,” he added. “That is Ukrainian territory. It doesn’t matter what sham referendum they put in place or what vote they hold, it is still Ukrainian territory.”
Sep 21, 7:47 AM EDT
Putin orders partial mobilization, says he won’t ‘bluff’ on nukes
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia, in an apparent admission that his war in neighboring Ukraine isn’t going according to plan.
In a seven-minute televised address to the nation that aired on Wednesday morning, Putin announced the start of the mobilization — the first in Russia since World War II. The measure is expected to draft more than 300,000 Russian citizens with military experience, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
The move comes as Moscow is poised to annex all the regions it occupies in Ukraine in the coming weeks, with plans to hold sham referendums this weekend to legitimize its actions. By declaring those areas officially Russian territory, Putin is also threatening that any continued efforts by Ukraine to retake them will be seen as a direct attack on Russia. In his speech Wednesday, the Russian leader raised the specter of using nuclear weapons if Ukraine continues to try to liberate the occupied regions.
“In the event of a threat to the territorial integrity to our country, for the protection of Russia and our people, we of course will use all means in our possession,” Putin said. “This is not a bluff.”
“Those who are trying to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the wind can turn in their direction,” he added.
It’s an attempt to regain the initiative after disastrous setbacks in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Russia has been suffering severe manpower shortages in Ukraine after months of heavy losses, mainly because the Kremlin has pretended it is fighting not a war but a “special military operation.” That, in part, allowed Ukraine’s spectacular counteroffensive in the country’s northeast two weeks ago, which led to the collapse of Russia’s frontline there.
Military experts and Russian commentators themselves had acknowledged that without a mobilization, Moscow is not capable of anymore offensive operations in Ukraine and in the longterm might well be unable to even hold the territory it has already taken.
Putin has balked at ordering a mobilization, until now, because of the huge political risks it carries for him at home. Russians have proved relatively supportive of the war while they have not been ordered to fight it, but this carries much bigger risks now of domestic unrest. It will bring up dangerous memories of the Soviet disaster in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
Yet Putin has clearly decided he must take the risk, with losing the war in Ukraine seen as an existential danger to his regime.
The mobilization order has profound implications for not just Russia and Ukraine, but also for Europe and the United States. It means Putin is expanding the war in Ukraine even further, ready to throw hundreds of thousands more people into it — making the fight harder again for Ukraine, while also raising the threat of nuclear strikes on it. And at home, Putin is going to enter uncharted waters.
Sep 20, 3:50 PM EDT
US and Ukraine bolster efforts to prosecute Russia for war crimes
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland met Tuesday with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin and signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their investigative partnership in pursuing prosecutions against Russians accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine.
“America and the world have seen the horrific images and the heart-wrenching reports of the brutality and death caused by the unjust Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Garland said following the meeting at the Department of Justice in Washington.
Garland said the DOJ’s War Crimes Accountability Team has provided Ukraine with a “wide variety” of technical assistance on criminal cases, including collecting evidence and forensic analysis.
The memorandum of understanding, Garland said, will allow the two countries to “work more expeditiously and efficiently” in their investigations of Russian war crimes.
Kostin also delivered somber remarks on war crimes uncovered by Ukrainian investigators since the start of the Russia’s invasion. He said that two hours before his meeting with Garland, a prosecutor in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine informed him of a village “where about 100 graves” were just discovered.
“This place is not safe at the moment since it needs de-mining,” Kostin said. “But this is a new example of mass atrocities by the aggressor. This is a sign that Russia uses not only prohibited means and methods of warfare, but this is a clear and intentional policy of Russia.”
-ABC News’ Alexander Mallin
Sep 20, 2:49 PM EDT
Ukraine conflict could increase food prices, food insecurity: Study
The impact on crop production due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will likely continue to increase global food prices and food insecurity, though not as much as initially feared, according to a new study.
The price of corn and wheat are expected to increase by 4.6% and 7.2%, respectively, and crops such as barley, rice, soybeans and sunflower are also anticipated to rise, according to a study from Indiana University published this week in Nature Food.
Nations with current existing food insecurity will be most impacted by the conflict, according to the study.
Other countries, including Brazil, have stepped up their production to fill the gap left by the lack of exports coming out of the region, offsetting some of the impacts on world food prices and food insecurity, the study found. Clearing more land and vegetation to grow crops could increase deforestation and carbon emissions, the study said.
-ABC News’ Tracy Wholf
Sep 20, 2:35 PM EDT
White House slams referendums in Russia-backed regions of Ukraine
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said referendums planned for this week in Russia-backed areas of eastern and southern Ukraine are a “sham.”
“Russia is throwing together sham referendums on three days notice as they continue to lose ground on the battlefield and as more world leaders have distanced themselves from Russia on the public stage,” Sullivan said in a briefing Tuesday at the White House.
He also slammed legislation being pushed through the Russian parliament to lay the ground for a general mobilization of men aged 17-27 as “scraping for personnel to throw into the fight.”
“These are not the actions of a confident country. These are not acts of strength, quite the opposite,” Sullivan said. “We reject Russia’s actions unequivocally.”
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Sep 20, 12:24 PM EDT
Kremlin says referendums to be held in separatist regions of Ukraine
The Kremlin made a series of dramatic announcements Tuesday, signaling its response to its failing military campaign in Ukraine.
The Kremlin said referendums will be held later this week in Russian-backed regions of eastern and southern Ukraine for people to vote on whether to join Russia.
Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian minister of foreign affairs, called the proposed vote “sham referendums” in a post on Twitter.
“Russia has been and remains an aggressor illegally occupying parts of Ukrainian land,” Kuleba said. “Ukraine has every right to liberate its territories and will keep liberating them whatever Russia has to say.”
Depending on the results of the referendums, which critics say is a foregone conclusion, Russia will suddenly consider territory it has occupied in Ukraine as its own.
Meanwhile, legislation is being rushed through the Russian parliament, laying the ground for a general mobilization of men aged 17-27, an age range that could be expanded.
Russian state media reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his minister of defense will address the nation Tuesday night.
According to a Moscow-based military analyst, even parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas, which are not currently controlled by Russian forces, will be considered Russian territory.
After its apparently successful offensive in northeastern Ukraine, the Ukranian military now appears to be pushing further east and is contesting areas of the eastern Donbas region.
In a highly symbolic moment, Ukrainian forces claim they have retaken a village in Luhansk, in the northern part of the Donbas, an area the Kremlin took control of in July.
Sep 18, 4:01 PM EDT
Zelenskyy says preparation underway to liberate all of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday that he interpreted a lull in fighting after a series of victories by his country’s military forces as preparation for the liberation of all of Ukraine.
“Maybe now it seems to some of you that after a series of victories, we have a certain lull,” Zelenskyy said.
He went on to say, “this is not a lull. This is preparation for the next series. To the next series of words that are very important to us and must sound. Because Ukraine must be free … all of it.”
Ukrainian troops made good on Zelenskyy’s call to take back lands claimed by Russian forces with an aggressive counteroffensive over the past week in the country’s northeast region.
Ukrainian officials said their forces drove out the Russian in two key areas in the Kharkiv region and are not going to let up.
Sep 18, 1:59 PM EDT
Biden says China not supplying Russia weapons to use in Ukraine
President Joe Biden said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes that it does not appear China is sending weapons to Russia to use in Ukraine.
“Thus far there’s no indication that they’ve put forward weapons or other things that Russia has wanted,” Biden said in the clip from the interview released Sunday.
That’s consistent with the message his administration has repeatedly shared for months. But it doesn’t mean China has stopped helping Russia in other ways, including purchasing Russian oil.
Biden recounted how he had previously told China’s President Xi Jinping that if he thought “Americans and others are gonna continue to invest in China based on your violating the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia, I think you’re making a gigantic mistake. But that’s your decision to make.”
Biden also said he does not think there’s currently a “new, more complicated cold war” with China, as the interviewer, Scott Pelley, put it.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Sep 18, 12:06 PM EDT
‘True face of aggression’: Ukrainian ambassador condemns Russia over mass grave
Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, accused Russia on Sunday of committing “war crimes of massive proportions” after a mass grave was discovered in Ukraine.
“It’s tortures, rapes, killings. War crimes of a massive proportions,” Markarova claimed in an interview with ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “That’s why we need to liberate the whole territory of Ukraine as soon as possible because clearly Russians are targeting all Ukrainians. Whole families. Children. So, there is no war logic in all of this. It’s simply terrorizing and committing genocide against Ukrainians.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address on Thursday that a mass grave was found in the recently recaptured territory of Izyum. Over 400 bodies could be buried in the site, according to Ukrainian officials.
Markarova said the majority of the bodies recovered from the site are Ukrainian, including entire families. She also said most of the remains showed “clear signs of torture.”
She said an investigation of the mass grave is underway and that with the assistance of the United States her country is continuing to prepare national and international criminal cases against Russia.
Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, despite evidence otherwise.
“It’s so important for everyone to see the true face of this aggression and terrorist attack Russia is waging,” Markarova said.
(NEW YORK) — Heating costs for the upcoming winter season are expected to increase by 17%, mainly impacting lower-income families, according to a new report from National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
Costs are expected to reach above $1,200 in 2022-2023, up from $1,025 in 2021-2022, a 10-year-high, NEADA data reports.
Lower-income families are at a higher risk of falling behind on their energy bills and choosing to pay for medicine, food and rent, NEADA Executive Director Mark Wolfe said in a press release.
Last week, in a letter, the association asked Congress for a supplemental increase of $5 billion in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program to cover the rising costs of heating homes, as well as cooling them because of frequent heat waves during the summer.
Parts of the U.S. saw heat indexes reach dangerous levels this summer, which saw temperatures hitting the triple digits in some cities and towns.
Sweltering summers have led to increased electricity use, resulting in lower levels of natural gas headed into the fall, Wolf told ABC News.
“We expected at the beginning of this year for prices to be going up because of the increased demand,” Wolf said, adding that the high demand, combined with the war in Ukraine, has amplified the issue. He noted that prices in Europe are higher than in the U.S.
The electric power sector uses natural gas to produce electricity. Last year, the industry accounted for 37% of total natural gas consumption in the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
According to NEADA, this would be the second year homeowners have seen a significant price increase.
Home energy prices have gone up more than 35% between 2020-2021 and 2021-2023, according to the report.
The study found that the cumulative costs of heating homes could go from $127.9 billion in 2021-2022 to nearly $150 billion between 2022-2023, with the added expenses impacting low-income families the most.
(WASHINGTON) — As the November midterm elections quickly approach, all eyes are on the latest efforts by both parties to gain control of the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-M.D.) spoke with GMA 3 Wednesday to discuss his outlook on the Democrats’ chances of keeping their majority.
GMA 3:A recent Siena College-New York Times survey found Democrats up two percentage points over Republicans among registered voters. Here to discuss is House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer from Maryland. Leader Hoyer, thank you for being with us. And yes, T.J. just referenced that a lot is at stake. The power, the control of both the House and the Senate are at stake in that two percentage points. Difference is, as you know, razor thin. And we also know, looking back at 2016, not a lot of confidence necessarily in some of these polls that we’re seeing. So how are you feeling heading into the midterms as a Democrat?
Hoyer: Well, I’m feeling good.
Yes, that poll shows [two percentage points] but we’ve had some real polls. And what I mean by real polls, voting people going to the ballot box, casting their votes for candidates and expressing their opinion. And we’ve had two huge victories, actually, three but two members, one in New York, Pat Ryan, in a district that the Republicans were expected to win.
And then 2,600 miles further west in Alaska, again, we had former Gov. Sarah Palin running and our candidate, Mary Peltola, the first Native American to represent Alaska. And she is doing very, very well. So we won two races that we weren’t supposed to win, just this past four weeks.
And then the voters from Kansas, a red state with the Republican leadership, voted essentially 60-40 to make sure that a woman’s right to choose was protected, [and] that her freedom to choose her healthcare options would be protected. So, you know, in a red state, a Republican state, that we won that election as well.
But going forward, we have some very, very good candidates. The polling data you showed was a two-point ahead. But we have been as much as four or five points behind so that the movement and the momentum and the direction of support is coming our way. So I am confident that we’re going to hold the House. I think we can expand our membership in the Senate to beyond 50. And so I think that on Nov. 8, we’re going to have a good night and I’m looking forward to it.
And I think we are showing that by the issues that we’ve adopted, whether it was the rescue plan, whether it was the infrastructure investment that we’ve made that’s going to grow America and grow American jobs, or whether it was the bill that invests in science and chips to make sure that we rely on American technology, not a technology overseas that fails us. And then the inflation reduction plan where we’re reducing the costs of healthcare for people, reducing the cost of prescription drugs, capping the cost of insulin, and we’re going to make energy more available and more affordable for people. So I think that the issues are on our side, I think the people are on our side and I think the votes are on our side.
GMA 3:You talked about the polling and some of that polling that we look at has to do with the president’s approval rating, which has improved as gas prices continue to drop. We know that streak of gas prices dropping into the 99 days. They ticked up a little bit. We’ll see what happens then in the coming days and weeks. But also, look, food prices are at highs that we haven’t seen in the past since 1979, actually the inflation we’ve seen. So I know Democrats and the president love to talk about gas prices as one indicator, but what do you do when people are still hurting by trying to put food on the table?
Hoyer: T.J., what we did is we passed a food and fuel bill, unfortunately, got almost no Republican support for it, which was directed at making sure we have competition in the food producing industry, that we have availability of supply chains in getting food to where it needs to be. Now, that’s an uphill battle. Inflation is a serious issue that we are dealing with. That’s why we passed the Inflationary Reduction Act to bring other costs down. Medical costs in particular down and energy costs down for people. But we’ve got to bring food prices down as well. Unfortunately, we have a war in Ukraine. That is creating a real challenge of starvation in Africa and some other places, not in America, but it is pressing prices up and we’ve got to get a handle on that. I go to the grocery store almost every weekend and see those prices rising and people are hurting and we’re responding. And the Republicans don’t have any response to inflation. They can complain about it. They can point the finger.
And as you know, T.J., I’m sure inflation is impacting people throughout the world. Why? Because the pandemic, in effect, shut down the supply and it shut down supply routes. And so there are shortages. But people are hurting and we’re acting. The Republicans are simply talking and criticizing.
GMA 3:Let me ask you this. The president predicted and I’m going to quote him here, “If we lose the House or lose the Senate, it’s going to be a really difficult two years.” My question is, does it have to be difficult? Do you have any hope or belief that if either of those scenarios happen or one or both, could reach across the aisle, that Republicans and Democrats could work together to try and ease some of the pain that people are feeling in every part of their lives, especially when it comes to finances? Can you pass important legislation regardless?
Hoyer:We have passed important legislation. But very frankly, Amy, if you look at the record, when Paul Ryan was Speaker and when John Boehner was speaker just a few years ago, it was Democrats that stepped up to help them get legislation through that America needed because they couldn’t get the votes on their own side, even though they had the majority, very frankly, with a four-vote majority. We passed major pieces of legislation without help, which were designed to put people — put money in people’s pockets, get kids back in schools, and get 250 million shots in arms. Not a single Republican voted for that bill.
And so, yes, there is a possibility of doing that. But let me tell you what’s going to happen if the Republicans take over the House. They’ve said what they’re going to do. They’re going to investigate the president of the United States. They’re going to try to tear him down. And our country is going to be deeply divided. And very frankly, what the Republicans have done, what Donald Trump has done is deeply divide our country, [and] polarize our politics. That’s not good for our country. It’s not good for our people. It’s not good for success in the Congress of the United States. So I believe that Democrats over the years, whether it was Ronald Reagan, President George W. Bush, or any other president, we have seen Democrats support in a bipartisan way critical legislation. Frankly, we haven’t seen that from our Republican friends. And I hope we do in the future.
But I don’t want to see our country locked down by partisan politics. And that’s what’s going to happen, I’m afraid, if our Republican friends win the majority in the House of Representatives because their agenda is not a constructive agenda. It’s a negative agenda. It’s creating fear in people. It’s creating division in our country. And that’s not good for anybody. And it’s not good for the world. And we’re at war.
I’m wearing the Ukrainian flag as a symbol that we need to win this war against dictatorship and war criminals. And we need to be united to do that. And I think we Democrats, frankly, and I think Joe Biden, President Biden has worked all his life in trying to create bipartisanship. And so I will pursue that whatever happens in November.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the National Archives and Records Administration faced lawmakers Wednesday in an unusually contentious hearing for a position not typically involving political fanfare.
During the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, Republican senators raised questions about the records dispute that resulted in the FBI raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Biden’s pick to be the next chief archivist, Colleen Shogan, committed to promoting transparency at the National Archives generally, noting she was not involved in or briefed on the dispute.
Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma questioned why the National Archives’ request for documents in Trump’s possession was referred to the Justice Department.
“But as I understand it, when there is some concern about missing or damaged records in the general at the National Archives, at that point in time, to retrieve the records there is a voluntary exchange of communication with those individuals,” Shogan said. “And as I understand it — once again, I don’t have any past knowledge of this — the vast majority of the time the records are recovered and retrieved.”
Republicans pressed Shogan on her past analysis of presidential speeches, pointing to a paper she wrote titled, “Anti-Intellectualism in the Modern Presidency: A Republican Populism.” A scholarly work published by Cambridge University Press in 2007, the study described how leaders forge connections with the American people through presidential rhetoric. GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri accused Shogan of having “denigrated Republican presidents” in her writings.
“I will stand by my long experience — over 15 years — of nonpartisan service,” Shogan said in response.
The historian and scholar has held a series of nonpartisan positions, including at the Congressional Research Service, and most recently was a senior vice president at the White House Historical Association where she has served under both Biden and Trump. She defended her paper and said it does not constitute judgement on the American people or any voter.
Jason R. Baron, former director of litigation at NARA, stressed the importance of the apolitical work done at the archives, noting presidential records belong to the American people and should never have ended up at Mar-a-Lago.
“It would be unfortunate to characterize the National Archives staff as having any political bias in the course of the events since President Trump left office,” Baron said. “They have simply been fulfilling their important mission to the American people to preserve our shared history.”
Shogan’s nomination was broadly lauded by political scientists and historians after it was announced by the White House last month. She would be the first female Archivist of the United States if confirmed.
“Dr. Shogan has an outstanding record of executive leadership and service in government, an extensive record of research management, and an abiding commitment to the enduring value of the National Archives to our democracy and an informed citizenry,” the American Political Science Association said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — New boosters for 5- to 11-year-olds are just weeks away from authorization, the vaccine chief at the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Peter Marks, said Tuesday.
While primary vaccines are already authorized for children 6 months and older, the FDA has yet to authorize the newly updated booster shots — designed specifically to combat currently circulating omicron subvariants — for the youngest Americans.
Those boosters, which were authorized at the beginning of the month for everyone 12 and older, will next be authorized for children in the elementary school age range, and then later be authorized for kids under 5.
“I’m confident that we’re only a matter of weeks away” from authorizing the 5-11 age range, Marks said during an event with the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project. Marks said that the youngest age group, kids under 5, was still “a few months away” from authorization.
“Tailoring a vaccine against the most widely circulating variant is a similar approach used against the influenza virus, and I would not be surprised if this is an approach we see, seasonally, with COVID-19,” said Dr. Alok Patel, a pediatrician at Stanford Children’s Health and an ABC News medical contributor.
But kids under 5 were just recently authorized for primary vaccines, Marks said, so many are still in the process of getting their first doses and not yet in need of boosters.
Fewer than 40% of 5- to 11-year-olds and 10% of younger children 6 months to 4 years old have started their primary COVID-19 vaccination series, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Marks urged parents to generally get their kids vaccinated because the updated boosters cannot be given to people who haven’t yet received a primary series.
“There are a lot of kids ages 5 to 11 out there who haven’t had their primary series, so you can’t get the updated booster until you’ve had the primary series. So it’s a good idea to think about getting your child vaccinated against COVID-19,” Marks said.
“It’s critical parents not only get their children vaccinated but stay up to date about news on upcoming boosters,” Patel said. “While data and information becomes available regarding the omicron-specific booster for kids, I would encourage parents to make sure their kids have completed their primary vaccine series to prevent any delays.”
