(NEW YORK) — Juul agreed to pay nearly half a billion dollars Tuesday as part of a settlement with 34 states over the way it marketed its vaping products.
The $438.5 million agreement in principle with Juul Labs resolves a two-year investigation into the e-cigarette manufacturer’s marketing and sales practices. In addition to the financial terms, the settlement would force Juul to comply with a series of strict injunctive terms severely limiting its marketing and sales practices.
The company also misrepresented that its product was a smoking cessation device without U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to make such claims, according to the investigation.
While traditional cigarette use has plummeted among youth, vaping is skyrocketing, undermining national progress toward reducing tobacco use. The National Youth Tobacco Survey conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in 2019 that more than 5 million youth reported having used e-cigarettes within the past 30 days, up from 3.6 million just one year prior.
The FDA removed Juul products from the U.S. market earlier this year.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, one of those states in the settlement, said Juul became the dominant player in the vape market “by willfully engaging in an advertising campaign that appealed to youth, even though its e-cigarettes are both illegal for them to purchase and are unhealthy for youth to use.”
The investigation found that Juul relentlessly marketed to underage users with launch parties, advertisements using young and trendy-looking models, social media posts and free samples. It marketed a technology-focused, sleek design that could be easily concealed and sold its product in flavors known to be attractive to underage users. Juul also manipulated the chemical composition of its product to make the vapor less harsh on the throats of the young and inexperienced users, according to the investigators.
To preserve its young customer base, Juul relied on age-verification techniques that it knew were ineffective, Tong said.
The investigation further revealed that Juul’s original packaging was misleading in that it did not clearly disclose that it contained nicotine and implied that it contained a lower concentration of nicotine than it actually did. Consumers were also led to believe that consuming one Juul pod was the equivalent of smoking one pack of combustible cigarettes.
(WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash.) — The names of 10 people who perished after a floatplane crashed in Washington’s Puget Sound were released on Tuesday, a day after a search for nine of the victims was suspended, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard called off the search around noon local time on Sunday after conducting 26 search sorties it said covered about 2,100 square nautical miles.
“The Coast Guard offers its deepest sympathies to those who lost a loved one in this tragedy,” Coast Guard Cmdr. Xochitl Castaneda, the search and rescue mission coordinator for this incident, said in a statement Tuesday morning.
Those presumed dead from the crash were identified by the Coast Guard as Jason Winters, the pilot of the aircraft, and passengers Patricia Hicks, Sandra Williams, Lauren Hilty, Ross Mickel, Luke Ludwig, Rebecca Ludwig, Joanne Mera and Gabrielle Hanna. Also killed was a child, identified as Remy Mickel, according to the Coast Guard.
The body of only one person aboard the aircraft was recovered, but the Coast Guard did not say which of the victims the remains were identified as belonging to.
The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation into the accident.
Capt. Daniel Broadhurst, the incident management branch chief for the 13th Coast Guard District, described the agonizing decision to end the search after no signs were found of the remaining nine victims or wreckage from the aircraft.
“It is always difficult when it comes time to make a decision to stop searching,” Broadhurst said in a statement Sunday. “The hearts of all the first responders go out to those who lost a family member, a loved one or a friend in the crash.”
The de Havilland DHC-3 Otter float plane crashed in Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island around 3:10 p.m. local time Sunday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
There were 10 people onboard, nine adults and one child, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
At the time the search was suspended, rescue crews were focusing on Mutiny Bay, west of Whidbey Island, according to the Coast Guard.
“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate,” the FAA said. “The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide additional updates.”
The NTSB said on Twitter Monday that it is sending a seven-member team to investigate the crash.
The plane was traveling from Friday Harbor on San Juan Island to Renton Municipal Airport near Seattle when it crashed, the USCG said, with the cause of the crash unknown at this time. The Coast Guard had initially said the plane was traveling from Friday Harbor to Seattle Tacoma International Airport, which it later corrected.
The Coast Guard responded to a report of the crash that was initially said to have eight adults and one child onboard, according to USCG Pacific Northwest. The USCG later corrected its statement, saying there were 10 people unaccounted for in the crash.
South Whidbey Fire/EMS said that its crew was at the scene near the west side of Whidbey Island.
ABC News’ Jenna Harrison, Marilyn Heck, Teddy Grant and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Liz Truss became the prime minister of the United Kingdom on Tuesday, shortly after Boris Johnson formally resigned.
Johnson, who had announced his intention to resign two months ago, formally stepped down during an audience with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Tuesday morning. A short time later, Truss had her own audience with the 96-year-old queen and was formally asked to form a new government, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace. It was the first time in the queen’s 70-year reign that the ceremonial transfer of power was held at Balmoral, where she is vacationing, rather than at Buckingham Palace in London.
Truss, 47, took office a day after the ruling Conservative Party selected her as its new leader, putting her in line to be confirmed as the U.K. prime minister without the need for a general election because the Conservatives wield a majority in the House of Commons. In a speech following her victory on Monday, Truss said it was an “honor” to be chosen and paid tribute to Johnson, her “friend.”
She is the U.K.’s fourth prime minister since 2016 and the country’s third female premier ever.
In her first speech from the steps of 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence, Truss once again praised her predecessor as a “hugely consequential prime minister.”
“I’m honored to take on this responsibility at a vital time for our country,” she said, adding that she was “determined to deliver.”
Truss said her three priorities were economic growth, tackling the energy crisis “caused by Putin’s war,” and improving the National Health Service.
Truss previously served in Johnson’s cabinet as the foreign secretary along with Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor of the exchequer whose resignation helped bring about Johnson’s downfall earlier this year.
She ran against Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party’s leadership election, in which only the 172,000 dues-paying members were allowed to vote. The party’s members cast their votes after eight weeks of campaigning, with Truss — a supporter of Johnson who said she did not back his resignation — emerging as the overwhelming favorite.
The campaign was dominated by questions about what either candidate would do to tackle a looming economic crisis, with household energy bills set to skyrocket this winter and inflation — already reaching a four-decade high at 10.1% — expected to rise even further, according to the Bank of England. Truss and Sunak clashed most fiercely on the issue of tax, with Truss saying she would not raise taxes while Sunak has supported a windfall tax on energy companies’ profits to help ease the burden on households.
Truss has promised action on the energy crisis within a week of taking office, though she has not spelled out her plans in any detail and refused to elaborate when questioned by BBC News on Sunday. She is expected to unveil her plan on Thursday.
Truss will also have the task of uniting a divided Conservative Party. Johnson’s tenure in office was dogged by scandal, most notably with the issue of “Partygate,” or the illegal gatherings held at government residences while the U.K. was under a strict lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. While Johnson’s supporters will remember him for securing a huge election victory, Brexit and support for Ukraine, Johnson’s detractors say his conduct and flexible relationship with the truth damaged the Conservative Party’s brand.
In an op-ed published by The Sunday Telegraph over the weekend, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, said that the appointment of a fourth Conservative prime minister in recent years did not mark a “new dawn” for Britain.
“As summer turns to autumn, the shadows of crisis are lengthening, looming over the whole country,” Starmer wrote. “There is no sign that either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss have grasped the scale of what is facing us, let alone possesses the answers to it.”
In July, Johnson announced that he had agreed to resign as leader of the Conservative Party, which resulted in his departure as prime minister once the party selected a successor through the leadership election.
“It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister,” Johnson said in a July 7 statement delivered outside his office at no. 10 Downing Street in London.
“I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world,” he added. “But them’s the breaks.”
Vyacheslav Madiyevskyi/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
(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 06, 11:50 AM EDT
IAEA calls for immediate establishment of ‘nuclear safety and security protection zone’ around Zaporizhzhia plant
The nuclear watchdog of the United Nations is calling for the immediate establishment of a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
The recommendation, among several others, was made in a second report released Tuesday by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which deployed an expert mission to the besieged plant last week.
“The IAEA recommends that shelling on site and in its vicinity should be stopped immediately to avoid any further damages to the plant and associated facilities, for the safety of the operating staff and to maintain the physical integrity to support safe and secure operation,” the agency wrote in the report. “This requires agreement by all relevant parties to the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP.”
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Ukraine and all of Europe. Invading Russian forces overran the site and the surrounding town of Enerhodar in early March. The Ukrainian workers have been left in place to keep the plant operating, as it supplies electricity across the war-torn country, but the site is now on the front line between Russian-occupied and Ukrainian-controlled territory. Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame for shelling at or near the plant in recent days and weeks, fueling fears that the conflict could spark a radiation disaster.
The IAEA said it aims to maintain a “continued presence” at the plant to “help further improve and deepen the understanding of the situation.”
“While the ongoing shelling has not yet triggered a nuclear emergency, it continues to represent a constant threat to nuclear safety and security with potential impact on critical safety functions that may lead to radiological consequences with great safety significance,” the agency wrote in the latest report.
Sep 06, 11:45 AM EDT
Russia purchasing weapons from North Korea: US intelligence report
Crippling global sanctions are forcing Russia to turn to North Korea to secure ammunition and other vital supplies for its military, according to a newly declassified American intelligence report.
“The Russian Ministry of Defense is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use on the battlefield in Ukraine,” a U.S. official said in the report. “This purchase indicates that the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions.”
Given that Moscow has few viable trade partners, the official added that this could be a continuing trend.
This development, first reported by The New York Times, comes on the heels of Russia securing initial shipments of Iranian drones for use on the battlefield.
U.S. sources have released little information about the quality of the weapons from North Korea or when Russia expects to receive them, but sources within the administration said it’s a sign of the Kremlin’s desperation.
Sources also told ABC News that there’s no indication so far that China played an indirect hand in the deal, but that they’re continuing to monitor the situation closely.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Crawford
Sep 06, 11:28 AM EDT
US senator responds to new Russian sanctions against 25 Americans
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday imposed new sanctions on 25 Americans, including one of U.S. President Joe Biden’s cabinet secretaries, several U.S. senators and two Hollywood actors, all of whom have been outspoken against Russia’s war in neighboring Ukraine.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Sen. Kevin Kramer of North Dakota, as well as actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn, are banned from entering Russia.
“Through the Armed Services Committee I’ve worked with Republicans, Democrats, and our military leaders to get Ukraine the supplies and weapons needed to beat back this invasion,” Kelly, who is up for re-election, said in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday. “If that earns me a sanction by the Kremlin, then that means we’re doing something right.”
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey
Sep 05, 9:11 AM EDT
Zelenskyy vows to ‘regain territory’ in exclusive David Muir interview
In an exclusive interview with ABC’s “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hinted of more counteroffensives as his country tries to turn the tide of war against Russia.
“It’s a very difficult war,” Zelenskyy told Muir from the presidential office in Kyiv. “We will regain our territory.”
Sep 01, 1:16 PM EDT
Part of IAEA mission leaves Zaporizhzhia power plant: Report
Several experts with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog have left the Zaporizhzhia power plant, according to Russian news agency Interfax.
Four out of the nine vehicles that arrived earlier Thursday as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency convoy left at 2:15 p.m. local time after about four hours at the plant, according to an Interfax reporter on the ground at the Ukrainian facility.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who is leading the mission, was among those to leave, while some experts remained behind and will stay at the plant, according to Interfax.
Ukraine’s nuclear regulator, Energoatom, also confirmed Thursday that the majority of the IAEA mission has left the power plant, including Grossi, and that five experts stayed behind to unload equipment brought to the plant.
The IAEA team is expected to remain at the plant through Sept. 3, Energoatom said in an update posted to Telegram.
In a video statement posted to Twitter, Grossi said he completed a first tour of “key areas” at the plant on Thursday.
“Of course there’s a lot more to do,” he said. “My team is staying on, and more importantly and most importantly, we are establishing a continued presence … from the IAEA here.”
-ABC News’ Natalia Shumskaia and Fidel Pavlenko
Sep 01, 12:44 PM EDT
NYC apartment of Russian oligarch searched by federal agents: Sources
Federal agents searched the New York City apartment of Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg on Thursday, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The oligarch’s Park Avenue apartment was searched by federal agents with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, the main investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the sources said.
An address in East Hampton associated with Vekselberg is also being searched as part of court-authorized activity involving the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture task force, according to sources.
The task force has been seizing assets of Russian businessmen associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin over suspected violations of U.S. sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.
The task force is trying to find yachts, airplanes and other moveable property before the oligarchs can transport them to jurisdictions where it might be more difficult for U.S. authorities to investigate.
In April, Spanish authorities seized Vekselberg’s $90 million yacht in the port of Palma de Mallorca at the request of the Justice Department.
Vekselberg was among the oligarchs previously sanctioned by the U.S. after Russia invaded Crimea in 2018.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
Sep 01, 9:46 AM EDT
New school year begins in Ukraine
Thursday marked the start of a new school year in Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing war.
For many of Ukraine’s four million schoolchildren, their last day of school was the day before Russian forces invaded their country on Feb. 24. Since then, thousands of schools across Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed, with less than 60% of schools deemed safe and eligible to reopen by the Ukrainian government, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
At least 379 children have been killed in Ukraine since the war with Russia began, while the whereabouts of 223 others are unknown and another 7,013 were among Ukrainians forcibly transferred to Russia from Russian-occupied areas, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office. And as of July 31, an estimated 650,000 Ukrainian children living as refugees in 12 host countries were still not enrolled in national education systems, according to UNICEF.
UNICEF is working with the Ukrainian government to help get the country’s schoolchildren back to learning, in classrooms when it is deemed safe, and through online or community-based alternatives if in-person is not possible. Some 760,000 children have received formal or non-formal education since the start of the war. More than 1.7 million children and caregivers have benefited from UNICEF-supported mental health and psychosocial support interventions, the agency said in a press release Thursday.
On the first day of Ukraine’s academic year, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visited a rehabilitated primary school damaged during the early weeks of war. Only 300 students can attend at any one time due to the capacity of the school’s bomb shelter, a mere 14% of the school’s pre-war capacity, according to UNICEF.
“The new school year should be a time of excitement and promise, as children re-enter the classroom and share stories of their summer with friends and teachers,” Russell said in a statement Thursday. “Yet, for four million children in Ukraine, the mood is one of trepidation. Children are returning to schools — many of which have been damaged during the war — with stories of destruction, uncertain if their teachers and friends will be there to welcome them. Many parents are hesitating to send their children to school, not knowing if they will be safe.”
Sep 01, 8:40 AM EDT
IAEA mission arrives at Zaporzhzhia nuclear power plant
A high-stakes mission from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog reached a Russian-controlled power plant in Ukraine on Thursday afternoon amid reports of heavy fighting there.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has long sought access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, since invading Russian troops overran the site and the surrounding town of Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine in early March. The Ukrainian workers have been left in place to keep the plant operating, as it supplies electricity across the war-torn country, but the site is now on the frontline between Russian-occupied and Ukrainian-controlled territory. Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations of shelling at or near the plant in recent days and weeks, fueling fears that the conflict could spark a radiation disaster.
IAEA’s Rafael Grossi, who is leading a team of over a dozen experts sent to inspect the besieged plant, said earlier Thursday that they were “aware” of the high risk posed by the “increased military activity in the area” between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
“There has been increased military activity, including this morning, until very recently, a few minutes ago. I have been briefed by the Ukrainian regional military commander here about that and the inherent risks,” Grossi told reporters as he and his team left their hotel in the city of Zaporizhzhia, north of Enerhodar, across the Dnipro River.
“But, weighing the pros and cons, and having come so far, we are not stopping,” he added. “We are moving now.”
A few hours later, the IAEA announced via Twitter that its “Support and Assistance Mission … has just arrived at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant to conduct indispensable nuclear safety and security and safeguards activities.”
Aug 31, 10:45 AM EDT
IAEA mission arrives in Zaporizhzhia
A long-awaited expert mission from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog arrived in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s team will travel to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant near the town of Enerhodar on Thursday for the first time.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who is leading the mission, told reporters during a press briefing in Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday that the aim is for his team to establish a permanent presence at the Russian-occupied plant and that the initial phase would take “days.”
When asked if it was possible to demilitarize the site, Grossi said it was “a matter of political will” and that his mission is to preserve Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant. He admitted it was “not a risk-free mission” and underlined that his team would be operating in Ukrainian sovereign territory but in cooperation with Russian forces.
Asked if he thought Russian troops would really give his team full access, Grossi told reporters the IAEA was on a “technical mission” and that he was confident his team could work “on both sides.”
Aug 30, 4:31 PM EDT
Blinken heralds arrival of first shipload of Ukrainian grain to drought-stricken Horn of Africa
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday celebrated the first shipment of Ukrainian grain to arrive in the Horn of Africa — a region facing dire hunger — since Russia’s invasion began.
“The United States welcomes the arrival in Djibouti of 23,300 metric tons of Ukrainian grain aboard the ship Brave Commander. This grain will be distributed within Ethiopia and Somalia, countries that are dangerously food insecure after four years of drought,” Blinken said in a statement.
This is the first shipload to reach the region since a United Nations-brokered deal that allowed ships to leave Ukraine’s ports again.
According to Ukrainian officials, dozens of ships have been able to safely navigate the Black Sea in recent weeks. But State Department officials have claimed Russian allies, like Syria, have unfairly benefitted from recent exports, proving detrimental to countries the World Food Programme has determined are facing a greater level of need.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Aug 30, 4:25 PM EDT
EU preemptively donates 5.5 million potassium iodide tablets to protect Ukrainians from potential radiation exposure
The European Commission said it received a request from the Ukrainian government on Friday for potassium iodide tablets as a preventative safety measure to increase the level of protection around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The European Response Coordination Centre quickly mobilized 5.5 million potassium iodide tablets through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for Ukraine, including 5 million from the rescEU emergency reserves and 500,000 from Austria.
“No nuclear power plant should ever be used as a war theatre,” EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said. “It is unacceptable that civilian lives are put in danger. All military action around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant must stop immediately.”
-ABC News’ Max Uzol
Aug 30, 2:15 PM EDT
Sens. Klobuchar, Portman meet with Zelenskyy in Ukraine
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on a visit to the war-torn country.
“The support that the U.S. has given has been strongly bipartisan and we want that to continue,” Klobuchar told ABC News.
Portman noted the psychological advantage of Ukraine now making advances in Kherson, which was the first oblast taken by the Russians six months ago.
It shows that “even when the Russians are dug in, as they are in that region, that Ukrainians can make progress in an offensive,” he said. “And my hope is that we will continue to see that to the point that the Russians will finally come to the bargaining table and stop this illegal, totally unprovoked war on Ukraine.”
-ABC News’ Ibtissem Guenfoud
Aug 30, 11:07 AM EDT
Russian forces shelling corridors leading to nuclear plant, Ukraine says
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russian forces are shelling corridors the International Atomic Energy Agency mission would take to reach the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
Podolyak said Russian forces are probably shelling the path to ensure the IAEA mission pass through Russian-controlled territory to reach the plant.
Aug 29, 4:38 PM EDT
Zelenskyy vows to reclaim all territory lost to Russian forces
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday vowed to reclaim all territory lost to Russian forces.
“Ukraine is returning its own. And it will return the Kharkiv region, Luhansk region, Donetsk region, Zaporizhzhia region, Kherson region, Crimea. Definitely our entire water area of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, from Zmiinyi Island to the Kerch Strait,” he said in his daily address. “This will happen. This is ours. And just as our society understands it, I want the occupiers to understand it, too. There will be no place for them on Ukrainian land.”
Zelenskyy said his message to Russian fighters is that if they want to survive, it’s time for them to flee or surrender.
“The occupiers should know, we will oust them to the border — to our border, the line of which has not changed. The invaders know it well,” he said. “If they want to survive, it is time for the Russian military to flee. Go home. If you are afraid to return to your home in Russia, well, let such occupiers surrender, and we will guarantee them compliance with all norms of the Geneva Conventions.”
Aug 29, 3:00 PM EDT
White House calls for controlled shutdown of Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactors, DMZ around plant
White House spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Russia should agree to a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and that a controlled shutdown of the reactors “would be the safest and least risky option in the near-term.”
Kirby also expressed support for the IAEA mission to the power plant.
“We fully support the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Grossi’s expert mission to the power plant, and we are glad that the team is on its way to ascertain the safety, security and safeguards of the systems there, as well as to evaluate the staff’s working conditions,” he said. “Russia should ensure safe, unfettered access for these independent inspectors.”
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Aug 29, 1:33 PM EDT
Ukrainian forces launch major counteroffensive
Ukrainian forces have launched a major counteroffensive in multiple directions in the southern part of Ukraine, Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Operational Command, said Monday.
Humeniuk said the situation in the south remains “tense,” but controlled.
Ukrainians have been targeting strategic Russian command posts and slowly advancing toward Kherson for weeks. Kherson was first major city in the south to be captured by Russian forces following the invasion.
Russian military issued a statement confirming the offensive and claiming Ukraine sustained heavy losses.
Meanwhile, at least 12 missiles have struck Mykolaiv, which remains under Ukraine’s control in the south. Two people were killed and 24 were wounded, according to the governor of Mykolaiv Oblast.
-ABC News’ Max Uzol and Natalia Shumskaia
Aug 29, 12:47 PM EDT
Ukrainian official accused of treason is shot and killed
Oleksiy Kovalyov, a Ukrainian official who was accused of treason for openly collaborating with Russia, was shot and killed in his home on Sunday in Hola Prystan, Kherson Oblast, according to preliminary information from the Investigative Committee of Russia (SKR). An unidentified woman was also killed, SKR said.
Kovalyov was a Ukrainian lawmaker from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party who was accused of treason; criminal proceedings were initiated by Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigations in June. He is one of the highest-ranking Ukrainian defectors who fled to Kherson after the invasion and openly collaborated with Russia. He was appointed by the Russians as the deputy head of the Kherson Military-Civil Administration.
Aug 29, 12:19 PM EDT
IAEA says mission to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant ‘on its way’
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog announced Monday that the agency’s long-awaited expert mission to the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeastern Ukraine “is now on its way.”
“The day has come,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a post on Twitter.
Grossi, who is leading the IAEA’s “Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia,” has long sought access to the nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe. Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations of shelling at or near the site in recent weeks, fueling fears that the fighting could cause a nuclear disaster.
“We must protect the safety and security of #Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility,” Grossi tweeted, alongside a photo of himself with 13 other experts. “Proud to lead this mission which will be in #ZNPP later this week.”
Shortly after invading neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian troops stormed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant near the town of Enerhodar, on the banks of the Dnipro River in the country’s southeast. The Ukrainian workers have been left in place to keep the plant operating, as it supplies electricity across the war-torn nation.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the IAEA team will travel to the plant via Ukrainian-controlled territory, state-run TASS reported.
The area around the nuclear plant is controlled by Russian forces. Peskov said once the IAEA team enters Russian-controlled territory, all necessary security will be provided.
Aug 29, 2:21 AM EDT
IAEA says mission to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant ‘on its way’
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog announced Monday that the agency’s long-awaited expert mission to the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeastern Ukraine “is now on its way.”
“The day has come,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a post on Twitter.
Grossi, who is leading the IAEA’s “Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia,” has long sought access to the nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe. Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations of shelling at or near the site in recent weeks, fueling fears that the fighting could cause a nuclear disaster.
“We must protect the safety and security of #Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility,” Grossi tweeted, alongside a photo of himself with 13 other experts. “Proud to lead this mission which will be in #ZNPP later this week.”
Shortly after invading neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian troops stormed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant near the town of Enerhodar, on the banks of the Dnipro River in the country’s southeast. The Ukrainian workers have been left in place to keep the plant operating, as it supplies electricity across the war-torn nation.
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — A body discovered in Memphis has been identified as abducted school teacher Eliza Fletcher, authorities said Tuesday.
Fletcher’s remains were found on Sunday afternoon in a South Memphis residential neighborhood several miles from where she was abducted, police said.
The grim news came as 38-year-old Cleotha Abston, the suspect in the kidnapping, was set to make his first court appearance.
The Memphis Police Department said charges of first-degree murder and first-degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping have been filed against Abston.
Abston was charged over the weekend with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence in connection with Fletcher’s disappearance. On Monday, additional charges of identity theft, theft of property valued at $1,000 or less and fraudulent use of a credit card were filed against Abston, according to online jail records.
Abston is being held at the Shelby County Jail in Memphis on $500,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Shelby County Circuit Court in Memphis at 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
Amid the search for Eliza Fletcher, who was kidnapped on Friday, Memphis police announced on Twitter that a body was discovered Sunday afternoon. “The identity of this person and the cause of death is unconfirmed at this time. The investigation is ongoing,” police said in a statement.
Fletcher, a kindergarten teacher and married mother of two, was last seen jogging in the area of Central Avenue and Zach Curlin Street in midtown Memphis, near the University of Memphis campus in southwest Tennessee, on Friday morning at approximately 4:20 a.m. local time, according to the Memphis Police Department. She was approached by a man and forced into a dark-colored GMC Terrain, which then took off, traveling westbound on Central Avenue, police said.
Fletcher’s husband, Richard Fletcher, reported her missing about three hours later, telling investigators that she never returned home from her regular 4 a.m. run, according to an affidavit of the complaint made public Sunday by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the affidavit, police believe Fletcher suffered “serious injury” during the abduction, which was captured on surveillance video.
The video showed a black GMC Terrain initially driving by Fletcher as she jogged, then stopping in a parking lot ahead of her and waiting for her to come by, according to the affidavit.
“A male exited the black GMC Terrain, ran aggressively toward the victim, and then forced the victim Eliza Fletcher into the passenger’s side of the vehicle. During this abduction, there appeared to be a struggle,” the affidavit states.
Citing the video, investigators said the SUV sat in a parking lot with the victim inside for about four minutes before it drove off, according to the affidavit.
The video also captured the same SUV in the area of the kidnapping about 24 minutes prior to the abduction, the affidavit alleges.
Police arrested Abston on Saturday after learning that the registered owner of the GMC Terrain lived at the same residence as Abston, according to the affidavit. As the U.S. Marshals Service moved in to make the arrests, Abston allegedly tried to flee in the SUV but was quickly taken into custody.
During questioning, Abston, who works at a dry cleaners, refused to tell investigators anything about Fletcher’s whereabouts, according to the affidavit.
Abston previously pleaded guilty in 2001 of especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery in Shelby County, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction.
He served 20 years in prison for kidnapping a prominent Memphis attorney at gunpoint, according to a report by The Commercial Appeal, a Memphis newspaper. Abston, who was 16 at the time, forced the attorney into the trunk of a car and made him withdraw cash from an ATM, the newspaper reported.
The attorney managed to escape when he yelled for help and drew the attention of a Memphis Housing Authority guard, according to the newspaper.
Fletcher was the granddaughter of Joseph “Joe” Orgill III, a prominent Tennessee businessman who died in 2018. Her family was offering a $50,000 reward for information that led to her safe return. They pleaded for people to come forward in a video statement released by the Memphis Police Department on Saturday.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — U.S. labor unions enjoy their highest level of approval in almost 60 years, as high-profile worker victories at Amazon and Starbucks have galvanized public support. However, union membership — the lifeblood of the labor movement — has fallen to a historic low.
The decline of labor power stems in part from federal labor law, since employers retain wide latitude to obstruct union campaigns, labor experts told ABC News. Businesses, in turn, often push down wages and weaken labor conditions in pursuit of a competitive advantage, exploiting the lack of worker representation at their firms, the experts said.
But a first-of-its-kind state law that California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Monday — as the U.S. celebrated Labor Day — could circumvent those challenges and transform the future of worker bargaining, the analysts said.
The law allows hundreds of thousands of fast food workers to bargain collectively over the terms of their work at large companies across the sector, rather than be forced to form a union at a single workplace and negotiate with one employer at a time. Using a newly created state-level council, California could raise pay and improve working conditions for the industry.
“It’s really significant because it’s giving fast food workers a seat at the table on a sector-wide basis,” Sharon Block, the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard University Law School, told ABC News.
“Once this is up and running, fast food companies can’t compete against each other based on who can drive down labor costs as much as possible to make themselves more profitable,” she added.
The law made it through the California Senate by a margin of 21 to 12 last Monday, after the state assembly passed a version of the measure in January.
“One of the things that makes California a special place, by definition, is we’re the fifth largest economy in the world,” Newsom said on Monday in a video posted on Twitter by the Office of the Governor of California.
“But that didn’t happen by chance. We’ve long had a formula — a formula of success around growth and inclusion,” he added. “So many states forget the latter part of that formula.”
The law creates a 10-person council made up of industry and worker representatives, as well as two state officials, that could set standards across the sector on issues of health and safety, and impose an industry-wide minimum wage.
Angelica Hernandez, a crew manager at a Los Angeles-based McDonald’s, said she welcomes the potential to influence conditions at the company.
“They make us do the work of two to three people, and yet our salary is barely just enough for one person,” she told ABC News.
When Angelica began working at McDonald’s 17 years ago, she made around $7.50 or $8.50 per hour, she said. Now, she makes $17.75 per hour but still struggles to pay for what she needs, she said.
“Now, we’ll have a say to better represent what workers need across the industry,” she said.
McDonald’s did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The law does have limitations. It puts a ceiling on a potential minimum wage for fast food workers at $22 next year. At that time, the statewide minimum wage will reach $15.50. Cost-of-living adjustments in the industry-wide minimum wage are required by the law but would not go into effect until 2024.
Moreover, decisions made by the sector-wide council will only apply to large companies with 100 or more locations nationwide.
The law marks a dramatic advance for the labor movement in its effort to organize workers, like those in fast food, who’ve struggled to improve conditions in their industries, said Mary Kay Henry, the president of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, one of the nation’s largest unions and a major backer of the law.
“We think this model is a gigantic step forward for workers who’ve been excluded since the beginning of time in our country,” Henry told ABC News.
SEIU supports efforts to spread the model to other states, including worker-friendly state houses in New York and Illinois, she said. Ultimately, she added, the union aims to enshrine the model into federal law.
“Over labor history, law has always followed the militant action of workers who are fearless and determined in making new models happen,” she said.
Some industry representatives have opposed the law. Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, a trade group, warned that it will lead to increased costs for the fast food sector, which will place a significant burden on small businesses.
“It’s rare that a state legislature passes a bill that would hurt small businesses, their employees, and their customers,” Korsmo said in a statement, adding that this law “does just that.”
“This comes at a time when inflation is at record highs and families are struggling every month,” she said.
Some precedent exists for the law — both domestically and abroad. Workers routinely negotiate on a sector-wide basis in some European countries, including, for instance, fast food workers in Denmark.
A similar model raised wages for fast food workers in New York, where a statewide labor board in 2015 set the minimum wage for the industry at $15 per hour. It marked one of the first major victories for the Fight for $15, a labor movement that aimed to raise wages and unionize the fast food sector.
New York’s wage board — a statute that allows a governor to call a commission to investigate and raise pay for a given sector — went into effect during the New Deal era.
“Folks discovered this thing still existed, dusted it off, and tried it,” Shaun Richman, a labor scholar at State University of New York’s Empire College, told ABC News. “It made SEIU true believers of this process.”
Now, California has passed a law that will allow fast food workers to negotiate for pay and better conditions on an ongoing basis.
“It’s replicable,” Richman said. “There’s a tremendous amount of potential to increase union power.”
(NEW YORK) — CVS Health announced on Monday it has reached a deal to acquire home healthcare provider Signify Health for approximately $8 billion.
Per the terms of the agreement, CVS will pay $30.50 per share in cash for Signify.
“Signify Health will play a critical role in advancing our health care services strategy and gives us a platform to accelerate our growth in value-based care,” CVS Health President and CEO Karen S. Lynch said in a statement. “This acquisition will enhance our connection to consumers in the home and enables providers to better address patient needs as we execute our vision to redefine the health care experience. In addition, this combination will strengthen our ability to expand and develop new product offerings in a multi-payor approach.”
The transaction, which was approved by both companies’ board of directors, is expected to close in the first half of 2023. It is still subject to “approval by a majority of Signify Health’s stockholders, receipt of regulatory approval and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions,” CVS said.
Once the deal is finalized, CVS said Signify Health CEO Kyle Armbrester will stay on to lead Signify as part of CVS Health.
“Signify Health’s mission is to build trusted relationships to make people healthier by using actionable intelligence to understand what’s really impacting outcomes and cost today,” Armbrester said in a statement. “As we carefully considered our long-term strategic options, we determined that CVS Health is the ideal partner, given its focus on expanding access to health services and helping consumers navigate to the best sites of care. We are both building an integrated experience that supports a more proactive, preventive and holistic approach to patient care, and I look forward to executing on our shared vision for the future of care delivery.”
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — The suspect in what police described as a violent abduction of a 34-year-old Memphis, Tennessee woman during her early morning jog is scheduled to make his first appearance in court on Tuesday as a massive search for the victim continues.
The suspect, 38-year-old Cleotha Abston, has been charged with especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence in connection with Eliza Fletcher’s disappearance. On Monday, additional charges of identity theft, theft of property valued at $1,000 or less and fraudulent use of a credit card were filed against Abston, according to online jail records.
Abston is being held at the Shelby County Jail in Memphis on $500,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Shelby County Circuit Court in Memphis at 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
Fletcher, a kindergarten teacher and married mother of two, was last seen jogging in the area of Central Avenue and Zach Curlin Street in midtown Memphis, near the University of Memphis campus in southwest Tennessee, on Friday morning at approximately 4:20 a.m. local time, according to the Memphis Police Department. She was approached by a man and forced into a dark-colored GMC Terrain, which then took off, traveling westbound on Central Avenue, police said.
Fletcher’s husband, Richard Fletcher, reported her missing about three hours later, telling investigators that she never returned home from her regular 4 a.m. run, according to an affidavit of the complaint made public Sunday by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the affidavit, police believe Fletcher suffered “serious injury” during the abduction, which was captured on surveillance video.
The video showed a black GMC Terrain initially driving by Fletcher as she jogged, then stopping in a parking lot ahead of her and waiting for her to come by, according to the affidavit.
“A male exited the black GMC Terrain, ran aggressively toward the victim, and then forced the victim Eliza Fletcher into the passenger’s side of the vehicle. During this abduction, there appeared to be a struggle,” the affidavit states.
Citing the video, investigators said the SUV sat in a parking lot with the victim inside for about four minutes before it drove off, according to the affidavit.
The video also captured the same SUV in the area of the kidnapping about 24 minutes prior to the abduction, the affidavit alleges.
Police arrested Abston on Saturday after learning that the registered owner of the GMC Terrain lived at the same residence as Abston, according to the affidavit. As the U.S. Marshals Service moved in to make the arrests, Abston allegedly tried to flee in the SUV but was quickly taken into custody.
During questioning, Abston, who works at a dry cleaners, refused to tell investigators anything about Fletcher’s whereabouts, according to the affidavit.
Abston previously pleaded guilty in 2001 of especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery in Shelby County, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction.
He served 20 years in prison for kidnapping a prominent Memphis attorney at gunpoint, according to a report by The Commercial Appeal, a Memphis newspaper. Abston, who was 16 at the time, forced the attorney into the trunk of a car and made him withdraw cash from an ATM, the newspaper reported.
The attorney managed to escape when he yelled for help and drew the attention of a Memphis Housing Authority guard, according to the newspaper.
Fletcher is the granddaughter of Joseph “Joe” Orgill III, a prominent Tennessee businessman who died in 2018. Her family is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to her safe return. They pleaded for people to come forward in a video statement released by the Memphis Police Department on Saturday.
“More than anything, we want to see Liza returned home safely,” Fletcher’s uncle, Mike Keeney, said in the video. “We believe someone knows what happened and can help.”
Anyone with information on Fletcher’s whereabouts can call the Memphis Police Department at either (901) 528-2274 or (901) 545-2677, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND, or dial 911.
(SASKATCHEWAN, Canada) — A suspect in the Canada stabbing massacre that left 10 people dead and 18 injured has been found dead, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Saskatchewan forensic officials said at a news conference on Monday.
Damien Sanderson’s body was discovered in a heavily grassed area near a house that officials were examining.
Officials haven’t confirmed his cause of death, but his injuries don’t appear to be self-inflicted, Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, the commanding officer of Saskatchewan RCMP, said.
Miles Sanderson, Damien Sanderson’s brother, may be injured and may seek medical attention but is still on the run, according to RCMP officials. He is still considered armed and dangerous.
A massive search for the suspects was underway on Monday, as they remained on the run for a second day. They were accused of carrying out the attack in an Indigenous community in Saskatchewan, authorities said.
On Sunday, RCMP Saskatchewan identified Damien Sanderson and Myles Sanderson as the two suspects in the massacre. They were believed to be driving a black Nissan Rogue with SK license plate 119 MPI, according to police.
“Let me be clear, we are still looking for the two suspects. We are asking residents across Saskatchewan and our neighboring provinces to be vigilant. At this stage in our investigation, we believe some of the victims have been targeted by the suspects and others have been attacked randomly,” Blackmore said in a statement issued late Sunday night.
The Sandersons, whose relationship to each other was not immediately disclosed, are considered armed and dangerous, and Blackmore advised anyone who spots them to call police immediately and refrain from approaching them.
Chief Evan Bray of the Regina Police Service, in Saskatchewan, issued a video statement on Twitter Monday morning, saying that “despite ongoing, relentless efforts through the night,” the suspects remained at large.
“We’ve got a fresh set of investigators and shifts coming in today that will take over this investigation,” Bray said.
He asked that anyone with information on the whereabouts of the suspects contact police immediately.
“We are confident that someone out there knows the whereabouts of these two and has information that would be valuable to the police, and I urge you to get in touch with your local police service to let us know,” Bray said. “There’s a lot of grief, there’s a lot of anxiety in our province and in our communities this morning and all day yesterday, and really I think an important step for families and communities working through this will be to bring these two safely into custody.”
The stabbings occurred between James Smith Cree Nation and in the village of Weldon, located northeast of Saskatoon, police said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Saskatchewan said in a statement Monday that both suspects have been charged in the episode and that arrest warrants have been issued. Myles Sanderson is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count count of breaking and entering into a residence, officials said. Damien Sanderson is charged with one count of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of breaking and entering into a residence.
More charges are expected to be filed against the suspects, the agency said.
The number of injured victims increased from 15 to 18, Blackmore said in a statement Monday.
Blackmore said investigators believe the suspects are still in the Regina area, but did not elaborate.
“To the people of Saskatchewan and beyond — please be assured that we are using every human, investigational and technological resource we have available to locate and arrest the persons responsible for this tragedy and to ensure your safety,” Blackmore said in a statement Monday. “Hundreds of Saskatchewan RCMP staff are dedicated to this investigation — this includes operators taking 911 calls and tips, to frontline officers patrolling our streets to the on-scene specialized forensic and Major Crime Unit teams who continue to follow up on all information and evidence gathered.”
Blackmore said the massacre started around 5:40 a.m. Sunday when the Saskatchewan RCMP Divisional Operational Communications Center received the first call reporting a stabbing on the James Smith Cree Nation. Blackmore said numerous calls began coming into the center from multiple locations.
“At this point in our investigation, we have located 10 deceased individuals and are investigating 13 locations in the communities of the James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon in Saskatchewan,” Blackmore said.
A motive for the attacks remains under investigation.
Meanwhile, the Saskatoon, Canada, police confirmed to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that they’ve been searching for Myles Sanderson since May, when he violated parole by failing to meet with his parole officer. He was classified as “unlawfully at large,” Saskatoon police told CBC.
Myles Sanderson was placed on parole after serving a nearly five-year federal sentence for assault, robbery, mischief and uttering threats, police told CBC.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement Sunday, saying, “I am shocked and devastated by the horrific attacks today in James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Saskatchewan, that claimed the lives of 10 people and injured many more.”
“As Canadians, we mourn with everyone affected by this tragic violence, and with the people of Saskatchewan. We also wish a full and quick recovery to those injured,” he said.
(CAMAS, Wash.) — A woman made a daring escape from a moving car after being abducted by a man with a knife who she stopped to help and give water to in the early hours of the morning, police say.
The incident occurred at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Saturday morning in the 24000 block of NE 28th street in Camas, Washington — about 20 miles east of Portland, Oregon, — when authorities from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an in-progress trespass, according to a statement published by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
“The caller stated that a female was banging on the door saying that she had just jumped from a moving vehicle after being kidnapped,” the statement read. “Deputies arrived on scene and contacted a female in the front yard who appeared in distress.”
The unidentified female told authorities on scene that while she was near Mill Plain Boulevard and Grand Boulevard — about 12 miles west of where she was eventually found by police — a man approached her vehicle and asked her if she had any water, police say.
“She helped the male out by providing him some water and then allowed the male to get into her vehicle,” said Clark County Sheriff’s Office. “Once in the vehicle, the male produced a knife and used the threat of violence to take control of the car and then drove with the female victim to the area of NE 28th Street.”
The female victim told police that when the vehicle began to slow down while traveling along a dirt road near Fern Prairie, Washington, she jumped out of her vehicle and ran toward a residential area where she began knocking on people’s doors and yelling for help.
Officers from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office subsequently launched a search for the woman’s vehicle which they were able to locate a short time later. However, after stopping briefly for authorities once they made contact with the driver, the suspect made an attempt to elude authorities by driving off.
During that brief contact, police were able to observe that the suspect matched the description that was given to them by the female victim and then began to pursue the runaway driver.
“Deputies initiated a pursuit of vehicle,” said Clark County Sheriff’s Office. “The pursuit began at approximately 05:14 am in the area of NE 28th Street/ NE 222nd Avenue and concluded at approximately 05:25 am near NE 2nd Street/ NE 115th Avenue when deputies, with the assistance of officers from the Vancouver Police Department, were able to pin the vehicle when it came to a stop.”
The unidentified driver was eventually arrested and taken into custody. He refused to identify himself when he was apprehended and was booked into the Clark County Jail on first degree charges of robbery and kidnapping, as well as attempt to elude and reckless driving charges.
Police are still working to confirm the identity of the suspect in custody and, due to the nature of this case, Clark County Sheriff’s Office says that the female victim involved in the incident will not be identified at this time.
