(NEW YORK) — About 2.55 million middle and high schoolers in the United States reported using e-cigarettes, an increase of 21.5% from those who reported using those products last year, a new federal study shows.
The study, published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, asked adolescents if they had used e-cigarettes in the last 30 days.
In total, 9.4% of respondents said they were current users, including 14.1% of high school students and 3.3% of middle school students.
“Adolescent e-cigarette use in the United States remains at concerning levels and poses a serious public health risk to our nation’s youth,” said Dr. Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in a statement.
Researchers analyzed data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey, a school-based web survey, administered between Jan. 18, 2022 and May 31, 2022.
The results showed that among students who reported use, 42.3% were frequent users, including 46% of high school students and 20.8% of middle school students.
Additionally, more than one in four of those who reported use — or 27.6% — reported daily use.
When it came to types of devices used, 55.3% said they used disposables followed by 25.2% who used pre-filled or refillable pods or cartridges and 6.7% who used tanks or mod systems.
The overwhelming majority of youth e-cigarette users, 84.9%, used flavored products, meaning other than tobacco.
The most commonly used flavor was fruit followed by candy, desserts, or other sweets; mint; and menthol.
Puff Bar was the most reported brand used by students the past 30 days. Rounding out the top five were Vuse, Juul, SMOK and NJOY.
According to the CDC, e-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among American middle and high schoolers since 2014.
Nicotine exposure from e-cigarettes can hinder brain development in adolescents and young adults, which can continue into the mid-20s, the CDC says, and can also increase risk of addition to other drugs.
The CDC also says e-cigarettes can contain heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals that can damage the lungs.
Politicians and anti-tobacco advocates have accused e-cigarette companies of using flavors and sleek designs to market vaping to U.S. children and teenagers.
“This study shows that our nation’s youth continue to be enticed and hooked by an expanding variety of e-cigarette brands delivering flavored nicotine,” Dr. Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, said in a statement. “Our work is far from over. It’s critical that we work together to prevent youth from starting to use any tobacco product — including e-cigarettes — and help all youth who do use them, to quit.”
(NEW YORK) — More than six months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose forces began an offensive in August, has vowed to take back all Russian-occupied territory. But Putin in September announced a mobilization of reservists, which is expected to call up as many as 300,000 additional troops.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Oct 07, 9:55 AM EDT
Biden says Putin ‘is not joking’ about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons
President Joe Biden made some of his most clear and striking assessments on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats of using a nuclear weapon.
For the “first time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have the direct threat of the use of a nuclear weapon if in fact things continue down the path that they are going. That’s a different deal,” he said at a fundraiser in New York City on Thursday.
“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily [use] a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”
Biden said Putin’s military is “underperforming” in Ukraine and he may feel threatened.
Biden said he knows Putin “fairly well” and has spent “a fair amount of time with him” and warned that Putin is serious.
“He is not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons, or biological, or chemical weapons because his military is, you might say, significantly underperforming,” Biden said.
“There’s a lot at stake,” Biden said. “We are trying to figure out what is Putin’s off ramp? Where does he get off? Where does he find a way out? Where does he find himself in a position that he does not – not only lose face but lose significant power within Russia?”
Oct 06, 2:27 PM EDT
Zaporizhzhia power plant perimeter has mines: IAEA
There are mines along the perimeter of Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said at a press conference in Kyiv Thursday after holding talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The facility is currently under the control of Russian forces.
“There have been indications that in the perimeter of the plant there are some mines, yes,” Grossi said, before denying that there are any mines inside the plant itself.
Grossi is headed to Russia next to push for a security zone to be set up around the Zaporizhzhia plant.
Grossi told reporters that the IAEA considers Zaporizhzhia a Ukrainian facility.
“I think the IAEA, as an international organization, has a mission, has a legal parameter to do it. And what I will be is very consistent as I have been from the very beginning. We are not changing our line. We are continuing saying what needs to be done, which is basically avoid a nuclear accident. At the plant, which is still a very, very clear possibility. Yes,” Grossi said.
Oct 06, 1:45 PM EDT
Ukrainian official confirms advance into Luhansk region
The village of Hrekivka in Ukraine’s Luhansk region has been liberated, its governor, Serhiy Haidai, said Friday, adding that fierce fighting continues for other settlements.
“I’ve seen some soldiers already posted a photo of them standing on the background of the sign ‘Hrekivka,’ so its not a secret anymore — it is already liberated. And we keep moving in that direction,” Haidai said.
“After liberating Lyman [in Donetsk at the end of last month], as expected, the main battles are on the direction of Kreminna. The occupiers are pulling their main forces there. This is where the beginning of de-occupation of Luhansk oblast lies,” Haidai said.
He added, “Luhansk region liberation will be tougher than Kharkiv region. All those Russian military who ran from Kharkiv region and Lyman ran to our direction, so the occupation forces increased in number.”
Oct 06, 4:38 AM EDT
Apartments in Zaporizhzhia struck in early morning
Russian forces struck a residential neighborhood in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia early on Thursday, officials said.
Oct 05, 2:20 PM EDT
Ukrainian officials say they found more evidence of tortures, killings in eastern Kharkiv
Ukrainian officials released images they claim show evidence of tortures and killings in eastern Kharkiv, in areas recently reclaimed from Russia.
Authorities are investigating an alleged Russian torture chamber in the village of Pisky-Radkivski, according to Serhiy Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the national police in the region.
Bolvinov posted an image of a box of what appeared to be precious metal teeth and dentures presumably extracted from those held at the site.
Two bodies were found in a factory in Kupiansk with their hands bound behind their backs, while two others were found in Novoplatonivka, their hands linked by handcuffs.
-ABC News’ Jason Volack
Oct 05, 6:47 AM EDT
Putin formally annexes 15% of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed laws finalizing the illegal annexation of four regions of neighboring Ukraine — more than 15% of the country’s territory — even as his military struggles to maintain control over the newly absorbed areas.
The documents completing the annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions — in defiance of international laws — were published on a Russian government website on Wednesday morning.
Earlier this week, the Russian parliament ratified treaties making the occupied areas part of Russia. The move followed what the Kremlin called referendums in the four Ukrainian regions, which the West rejected as a sham.
The annexed areas are not all under control of Russian forces, which are battling a massive counteoffensive effort by Ukrainian troops.
Oct 04, 1:29 PM EDT
Biden, Harris speak to Zelenskyy, offer new $625 million security assistance package
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, underscoring that the U.S. will never recognize areas annexed by President Vladimir Putin as Russian territory and offering additional security assistance.
Biden announced a $625 million security assistance package that includes additional weapons and equipment, according to a statement from the White House.
Biden also promised to impose “severe costs” on any individual, entity or country that “provides support to Russia’s purported annexation.”
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Oct 04, 11:58 AM EDT
More than 355,000 people have fled Russia amid mobilization
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a national mobilization last month, more than 355,000 people have left the country, according to Russian independent media.
Roughly 200,000 people escaped to Kazakhstan, 80,000 left for Georgia and 65,000 departed for Finland. Some 6,000 people also fled to Mongolia and there are reports of people fleeing to Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tadjikistan.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that more than 200,000 people have been mobilized since Sept. 21.
-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova
Oct 04, 9:29 AM EDT
Ukraine makes major breakthrough in south, advancing well behind Russian lines
Ukraine has made a major breakthrough in the country’s south that now threatens to collapse part of the Russian front line there, similar to Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the northeast last month.
Ukrainian forces have advanced over 18 miles in two days, driving deep behind Russia’s front line in the Kherson region and advancing south along the Dnipro river.
Russian journalists reported that Russian forces on Monday were forced to pull back from the village of Dudchany. Multiple Russian military bloggers, who are often embedded with Russian troops, say that Ukrainian troops now heavily outnumber Russian troops there.
The advance, if it continues, has huge implications for the war. Russia’s position is increasingly in danger of collapsing, which would make it all but impossible to defend the city of Kherson, the capital of the region annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin four days ago.
Oct 04, 5:55 AM EDT
Zelenskyy signs decree ruling out negotiations with Putin
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a presidential decree on Tuesday formally declaring the “impossibility” of holding negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The decree backs a decision put forward by Zelenskyy’s national security council and includes the point: “To declare the impossibility of conducting negotiations with the president of the Russian Federation, V. Putin.”
The decree echoed a statement made by Zelenskyy when Putin annexed Ukrainian territory last Friday, saying it showed it is impossible to negotiate with the current president.
Oct 03, 12:22 PM EDT
Ukraine advances in south, Russia says
Ukrainian forces on Sunday evening broke through part of Russia’s defense of the disputed Kherson region, advancing from the region’s northeast into a territory Russia had claimed to annex as its own on Friday.
Ukrainian troops succeeded in pushing south along the Dnipro river, according to Ukrainian and Russian officials.
Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday partly confirmed the advance, saying Ukrainian forces “managed to drive a wedge deep into our defense.”
It said Russian troops had fallen back to “pre-prepared lines of defense” and were using heavy artillery to halt a further Ukrainian advance. It claimed, without evidence, that Ukraine had suffered heavy losses, but acknowledged that Ukraine had an advantage in tank numbers there.
Russian military bloggers said on Sunday that Ukrainian troops advanced southwards in the direction of the village of Dudchany, several miles behind the rest of Russia’s frontline in the region.
The advance raised questions about whether Russia would be able to hold the city of Kherson, the only regional capital it managed to seize in the invasion. For weeks, military experts have said Russia’s position in the Kherson region has been deteriorating because Ukraine has destroyed the only bridges allowing Russia to re-supply its troops.
Kirill Stremousov, a Russian-installed official in the region, on social media acknowledged Ukrainian troops had advanced along the Dnipro towards Dudchany but claimed they had been halted by Russian fire and that “everything is under control.”
A continued Ukrainian advance along the Dnipro would threaten to undermine the rest of the Russian front north of the river, raising the risk Russian forces there could be cut off.
The White House National Security Council’s spokesman John Kirby noted Ukraine was making gains in the south on Monday, but caveated that they were “incremental” for the time-being.
The battle for Kherson has major military and symbolic significance for both sides. A retreat from the city would seriously undermine Russia’s annexation of one of the four Ukrainian regions declared by Vladimir Putin just days ago — Kherson is supposed to be the capital of the newly annexed region of the same name.
Oct 03, 11:18 AM EDT
Kidnapped head of Zaporizhzhia plant has been released
The head of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhia has been released, after Ukrainian officials accused Russia of kidnapping him, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Ihor Murashov, the head of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, was released and returned safely to his family, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director General of the IAEA, tweeted.
Zaporizhzhia is a Ukrainian facility now occupied by Russian troops.
Oct 03, 7:26 AM EDT
Putin’s nuclear threats ‘irresponsible rhetoric,’ official says
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats that his country could strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons were “irresponsible rhetoric” from a nuclear power, a Pentagon official said.
“They are continuing to be irresponsible rhetoric coming from a nuclear power,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on “Good Morning America” on Monday. “There’s no reason for him to use that kind of bluster, those kinds of threats.”
But the U.S. was still taking the threats seriously, he said. The U.S. was “ready and prepared” to defend every inch of NATO territory, he said.
“We have to take these threats seriously. We must. It’d be easier if we could just blow it off, but we can’t,” Kirby said. “These are serious threats made by a serious nuclear power.”
Oct 03, 5:55 AM EDT
Russia ‘likely struggling’ to train reservists, UK says
Russian officials are “likely struggling” to find officers and provide training for many of the reservists who’ve been called up as part of President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said.
“Local officials are likely unclear on the exact scope and legal rationale of the campaign,” the ministry said in a Monday update. “They have almost certainly drafted some personnel who are outside the definitions claimed by Putin and the Ministry of Defence.”
Some of the reservists are assembling in tented transit camps, the ministry said.
Oct 02, 10:42 AM EDT
Former CIA chief Petraeus says Putin’s losses puts him in ‘irreversible’ situation
Former CIA chief David Petraeus said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has put himself in an “irreversible” situation amid the Kremlin’s annexation of Russian-controlled Ukrainian regions.
“President Volodymyr co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
Petraeus said Putin “is losing” the war, despite “significant but desperate” recent moves. On Friday, Putin said he was annexing four regions of Ukraine — a move denounced by Ukraine, the U.S. and other Western countries as a violation of international law — and, in late September, the Russian leader said he was calling up some 300,000 reservists, triggering protests and a mass exodus from Russia.
In a rare acknowledgment Thursday, Putin admitted “mistakes” in how the country carried out the mobilization.
Oct 01, 9:07 AM EDT
Russia shoots at civilian convoy, kills 22, Ukrainian official says
Russian forces are accused of shelling a convoy of seven civilian cars killing 22 people, including 10 children, according to preliminary data, Olexandr Filchakov, chief prosecutor of the Kharkiv region, told ABC News.
According to preliminary data, the cars were shot by the Russian military on Sept. 25, when civilians were trying to evacuate from Kupyansk, a settlement in the Kupyansk area, Filchakov said.
The column of shot cars was discovered on Friday. Two cars burned completely with children and parents inside, Filchakov said.
Filchakov said the bodies burned completely.
Russian forces fired at the column with a 12.5 mm caliber gun. Those who remained alive were then shot at with rifles, according to Filchakov.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Sep 30, 11:29 AM EDT
Biden slams Russia for ‘fraudulent attempt’ to annex parts of Ukraine
President Joe Biden condemned Russia’s “fraudulent attempt today to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory” in a statement Friday.
“Make no mistake: these actions have no legitimacy. The United States will always honor Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. We will continue to support Ukraine’s efforts to regain control of its territory by strengthening its hand militarily and diplomatically, including through the $1.1 billion in additional security assistance the United States announced this week,” Biden wrote.
Biden also said the U.S. and its partners would be imposing new sanctions on individuals and entities inside and out of Russia “that provide political or economic support to illegal attempts to change the status of Ukrainian territory.”
He added, “We will rally the international community to both denounce these moves and to hold Russia accountable. We will continue to provide Ukraine with the equipment it needs to defend itself, undeterred by Russia’s brazen effort to redraw the borders of its neighbor. And I look forward to signing legislation from Congress that will provide an additional $12 billion to support Ukraine.”
Sep 30, 10:37 AM EDT
Zelenskyy signs application for accelerated accession to NATO
In the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin saying he has annexed occupied territories in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is applying for “accelerated accession” to NATO, saying it is already de-facto allied with the alliance’s members.
“Today, here in Kyiv, in the heart of our country, we are taking a decisive step for the security of the entire community of free nations,” he said in a statement.
Sep 30, 9:28 AM EDT
Putin formally annexes occupied Ukrainian regions
Vladimir Putin has formally annexed four occupied territories in Ukraine, the biggest land grab in Europe since World War II and one of the most egregious violations of international law since then.
It is a key moment in the war with major implications for what happens next.
Russia has annexed 15% of Ukraine’s territory, including several major cities — but right now none of the areas Putin is seizing are under full Russian control and all are facing Ukrainian efforts to retake them.
The annexation will absorb the self-declared People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region, as well as parts of the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions that Russia occupies.
At a ceremony in the Kremlin today Putin signed “treaties of accession” with the Russian-installed leaders of the regions.
Meanwhile, on Red Square outside, preparations have been made for a large concert-rally to celebrate the annexation.
This is another no-going back moment for Putin. By making these territories part of Russia itself he has made negotiations even more difficult. He has locked himself into a long war and linked the survival of his regime to it.
He cannot give up the regions in negotiations — in 2020, when he changed the constitution to let him stay in power beyond his term limits he also introduced a new clause that forbids Russian president’s from giving up any Russian land.
But perhaps even more importantly, he is likely to lose parts of these regions — Ukraine is on the counteroffensive still in northeast Donbas and Kherson.
The Kremlin on Friday said it will treat attacks on the newly annexed regions as direct attacks on Russia itself. The implied threat is that Putin could use nuclear weapons in some form against Ukraine if it does not stop.
Most experts believe that for now Putin is very unlikely to use a nuclear weapon — they see his threats as bluffs. But, they say the risk he might is growing and is now the most serious it has been.
For now, many experts believe Putin would prefer to use mobilized troops to try to stabilize Russia’s front lines in Ukraine and then try to outlast the West through the energy crisis this winter. But should Ukraine continue to advance and Russia’s position in the newly annexed regions starts to collapse, the risk he will use a nuclear weapon could grow.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Sep 30, 4:20 AM EDT
Major attack on civilian convoy near Zaporizhzhia leaves many feared dead and injured
Ukrainian officials say a Russian strike on a humanitarian convoy has killed at least 23 people and wounded 28.
The convoy of about 40 vehicles was heading into Russian-occupied territory to pick up their relatives and then take them to safety when it was struck.
Videos that have emerged from the scene show destroyed vehicles along the road and what appears to me a number of casualties as well.
Sep 29, 6:31 PM EDT
Putin signs decrees for annexation of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia
Russian President Vladimir Putin took the intermediary step on Thursday of signing decrees paving the way for the occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally annexed into Russia.
The Kremlin publicly released the decrees.
Putin is scheduled to hold a signing ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to formally annex the two regions, along with the Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
-ABC News’ Jason Volack
Sep 29, 7:05 AM EDT
Putin to formally annex occupied Ukraine territories on Friday
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a signing ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday to formally annex the areas of Ukraine that Russia has occupied, his spokesman has said.
The ceremony will be to sign “treaties of accession” with the four regions created by Russia’s occupation forces — the two self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Zaporozhzhia and Kherson regions.
Putin will also deliver a major speech to lawmakers gathered there, his spokesman said.
It is a major moment in the war — another no-going-back moment for Putin. In reality, none of the areas being annexed are under full control of Russia right now as all are seeing fighting and facing Ukrainian efforts to re-take them.
If Putin attempts to annex the occupied regions, it will be one of the most egregious violations of international law in Europe since World War II.
Sep 28, 12:21 PM EDT
State department advises US citizens to leave Russia
American citizens are being advised by the U.S. State Department to get out of Russia immediately.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has issued an alert, saying “severe limitations” could prevent it from assisting U.S. citizens still in the country.
“If you wish to depart Russia, you should make independent arrangements as soon as possible,” the alert said.
Noting that Russia has begun a military mobilization against Ukraine, U.S. Embassy officials warned Americans with dual Russian citizenship that they could get drafted by Russia.
“Russia may refuse to acknowledge dual nationals U.S. citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, prevent their departure from Russia, and conscript dual nationals for military service,” the alert said.
The alert also advised U.S. citizens to avoid political or social protests in Russia, saying Americans have been arrested in Russia for participating in demonstrations.
“We remind U.S. citizens that the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are not guaranteed in Russia,” the alert said.
Sep 27, 3:56 PM EDT
66,000 Russians cross European borders since Putin announced draft
Roughly 66,000 Russian citizens have fled across borders into European countries amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week of a military mobilization against Ukraine, the European Border and Coast Guard said Tuesday.
The number of Russian citizens pouring into Europe was up 30% compared to last week, according to the agency which also goes by the name Frontex.
Most of the Russian citizens are entering the European Union through Finnish and Estonian border crossing points, Frontex said on Twitter.
Putin announced on Sept. 21 that he is ordering the mobilization of 300,000 recruits to fight in Ukraine, prompting widespread protests and clashes with police across Russia.
In recent days, photos have emerged of huge traffic jams at border crossings. On Monday, the wait at the border between Russia and Georgia was estimated to be 40 to 50 hours, according to the independent Russian news outlet The Insider.
Sep 27, 1:56 PM EDT
‘Sham referenda’ in Russia-occupied Ukraine going Kremlin’s way
Partial results from what Ukraine and its Western allies have called “sham” referendums in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine show that more than 96% of voters favor becoming part of Russia, according to the state-owned Russian news agency RIA.
Voting has taken place over five days in the four areas — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
The early results showed that 97.93% of voters in the Luhansk People’s Republic favored joining the Russian Federation, according to the data. In Donetsk People’s Republic, early results showed 98.69% favored joining the Russian Federation.
In Zaporizhzhia, 97.81% of voters cast ballots to join Russia and 96.75% of voters in Kherson also favored joining Russia, according to the data.
President Joe Biden and other Group of 7 leaders condemned Russia’s “sham referenda” in occupied Ukrainian territories, calling it a Russian attempt to “create a phony pretext for changing the status of Ukrainian sovereign territory.”
Sep 27, 12:42 PM EDT
Leaks in major gas pipeline between Russia and Europe investigated following blasts
Leaks in a major gas pipeline running from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea have been detected after the Swedish seismic network said it registered blasts near the pipeline.
The leaks in the Nord Stream pipeline were first reported on Monday by Denmark’s maritime authority and photos released by Denmark’s Defense Command showed what appeared to be gas bubbling up to the surface.
The operator of the pipeline said the leaks were detected southeast of the Danish island Bornholm.
The underwater pipeline runs about 764 miles from Russia to Germany.
While the cause of the leaks remains under investigation, unconfirmed report reports from Germany allege authorities suspect sabotage.
Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of causing leaks in a “terrorist attack,” according to the BBC.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak alleged the damage to the pipeline was an “an act of aggression” by Russia toward the European Union.
Sep 27, 12:18 PM EDT
Aid to Ukraine detailed in bill to keep US government running
A continuing resolution to keep the federal government running through Dec. 16 was released by Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday morning and breaks down how $12.3 billion in the package earmarked for Ukraine will be spent.
For the first time, Congressional lawmakers, at the insistence of GOP members, will require U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to provide a report “on the execution of funds for defense articles and services provided Ukraine,” according to a summary of the resolution.
Both houses of Congress must vote on the resolution by Friday to avoid a government shutdown.
The resolution includes $3 billion for “security assistance” for Ukraine and authorizes an additional $3.7 billion in weapons for President Joe Biden to drawdown from U.S. stocks to support Ukraine’s military. It will also authorize $35 million to respond to potential nuclear and radiological incidents in Ukraine in an apparent reply to Russian President Valdimir Putin’s thinly-veiled nuclear threats in a televised speech last week.
In addition, the resolution calls for $2.4 billion to replenish U.S. stocks of weapons already sent to Ukraine and to provide Ukraine.
The new assistance for Ukraine would be on top of the $53 billion Congress has already approved through two previous bills.
-ABC News’ Lauren Minore and Trish Turner
Sep 26, 1:29 PM EDT
40- to 50-hour wait as people attempt to flee Russia into Georgia to avoid military draft: Report
A massive line of traffic continued to grow Monday at the border between Russia and Georgia as huge numbers of Russians seek to flee the country amid fears they will be drafted to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Drone video, posted on Twitter by the independent Russian news outlet The Insider, showed hundreds of cars and trucks backed up for miles at the Verkhny Lars border between the two countries.
The Insider reported that people are waiting 40-50 hours in the line to cross.
Tens of thousands of Russians are trying to flee the country following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week of a military mobilization of 300,000 more troops against Ukraine. Besides the Russia-Georgia border, large crowds of people attempting to leave the country have been packing border crossings into Finland, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and others.
Sep 26, 12:08 PM EDT
New clashes break out in Russia between police and protesters over Kremlin’s mobilization
More clashes broke out Monday in Russia’s Dagestan capital city, as police tried to disperse hundreds of protesters demonstrating against the Kremlin’s military mobilization of men to fight in Ukraine.
Videos circulating on social media showed scuffles between protesters and police in Makhachkala.
On Sunday, there were violent clashes in Dagestan, with police firing warning shots and people angrily shouting chants against the mobilization.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that he is mobilizing 300,000 more troops against Ukraine.
The announcement sparked major protests in Moscow and at least 30 other cities across Russia over the weekend. At least 17 military recruitment offices have been targeted with arson attacks. A man was detained by authorities on Monday after he allegedly opened fire on a recruitment center in Siberia, severely injuring a recruitment officer.
Sep 26, 11:01 AM EDT
US sending Ukraine $457.5 million in civilian security assistance
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Monday that the U.S. will give Ukraine another $457.5 million in civilian security assistance to bolster the efforts of Ukrainian law enforcement and criminal justice agencies “to improve their operational capacity and save lives.”
Blinken said some of the funds will also go toward supporting efforts to “document, investigate, and prosecute atrocities perpetrated by Russia’s forces.” He said that since December, the United States has pledged more than $645 million toward supporting Ukrainian law enforcement.
Blinken’s announcement follows a U.N.-led investigation that found Russian troops had committed war crimes in occupied areas of Ukraine, including the rape, torture and imprisonment of children.
Sep 26, 10:14 AM EDT
Ukrainian first lady ‘worried’ about Russian mobilization
In a new interview, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenka told ABC News that recent developments in the war are upsetting, saying this is not an “easy period” for the people of Ukraine.
“When the whole world wants this war to be over, they continue to recruit soldiers for their army,” said Zelenska, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement last week that he is mobilizing 300,000 more troops against Ukraine. “Of course, we are concerned about this. We are worried and this is a bad sign for the whole world.”
Zelenska, who spoke with ABC News’ Amy Robach through a translator, said Ukrainians will continue to persevere in the face of conflict.
“The main difference between our army and the Russian army is that we really know what we are fighting for,” she said.
Zelenska attended the United Nations General Assembly in-person in New York City, where she spoke to ABC News about the U.N.’s recent finding that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine by Russian troops. An appointed panel of independent legal experts reported that Russian soldiers have “raped, tortured, and unlawfully confined” children in Ukraine, among other crimes.
“On the one hand, it’s horrible news, but it’s the news that we knew about already,” she said. “On the other hand, it’s great news that the whole world can finally see that this is a heinous crime, that this war is against humanity and humankind.”
Sep 26, 5:40 AM EDT
Man opens fire at Russian military enlistment office
A man has opened fire at a military enlistment office in eastern Russia, severely injuring a recruitment officer there.
An apparent video of the shooting was circulating online, showing a man shooting the officer at a podium in the officer in the city of Irkutsk.
Irkutsk’s regional governor confirmed the shooting, naming the officer injured as Alexander V. Yeliseyev and saying he is in intensive care in a critical condition.
The alleged shooter has been detained, according to the governor.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced a high-level shake-up in its military leadership amid reports Russian forces are struggling in the war against Ukraine.
The defense ministry said Saturday that Col. Gen. Mikhail Y. Mizintsev has been promoted to deputy defense minister overseeing logistics, replacing four-star Gen. Dmitri V. Bulgakov, 67, who had held the post since 2008.
Bulgakov was relieved of his position and is expected to be transferred “to another job,” the Defense Ministry statement said.
The New York Times reported that Mizintsev — whom Western officials dubbed the “butcher of Mariupol” after alleged atrocities against civilians surfaced in the Ukrainian city in March, previously served as chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, which oversees military operations and planning.
In this previous role, Mizintsev became one of the public faces of the war in Ukraine, informing the public about what the Kremlin still calls a “special military operation.”
Mizintsev was put on international sanctions lists and accused of atrocities for his role in the brutal siege of the Mariupol.
Sep 25, 11:58 AM EDT
Russian recruits report for military mobilization
Newly recruited Russian soldiers are reporting for duty in response to the Kremlin’s emergency mobilization to bolster forces in Ukraine, according to photographs emerging from Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week a mobilization to draft more than 300,000 Russians with military expertise, sparking anti-war protests across the country and prompting many to try to flee Russia to avoid the draft.
Putin signed a law with amendments to the Russian Criminal Code upping the punishments for the crimes of desertion during periods of mobilization and martial law.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview Sunday with ABC News This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos that Russia’s military draft is more evidence Russia is “struggling” in its invasion of Ukraine. He also said “sham referendums” going on in Russia-backed territories of eastern and southern Ukraine are also acts of desperation by the Kremlin.
“These are definitely not signs of strength or confidence. Quite the opposite: They’re signs that Russia and Putin are struggling badly,” Sullivan said while noting Putin’s autocratic hold on the country made it hard to make definitive assessments from the outside.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Natasha ChevalierLosada
(NEW YORK) — U.S. warships from the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group teamed up with South Korean and Japanese destroyers to practice shooting down missiles in the Sea of Japan Thursday, a show of force following multiple launches by North Korea this week.
“The exercises also demonstrate the deep strength of our trilateral relationship with Japan and the Republic of Korea, which is resolute against those who challenge regional stability,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a press briefing Thursday.
The guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold joined one South Korean vessel and two Japanese destroyers in the Sea of Japan for the exercise, according to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
“Chancellorsville provided air defense to the units as they conducted the ballistic missile exercise, which includes, detecting, tracking, and intercepting simulated targets, as well as coordination, communication, and information-sharing between the three countries,” a statement from the command said.
The simulation did not involve firing live rounds, a U.S. official told ABC News.
The USS Reagan and the ships belonging to its strike group had recently departed the Sea of Japan after an earlier series of drills with South Korean and Japanese naval forces. It was was operating to the east in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday when North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan. In response, the strike group turned around, arriving back in the Sea of Japan on Wednesday.
That same day, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea. Ryder condemned the latest launches.
“As you’re aware, North Korea conducted another ballistic missile launch last night, launching two short range missiles,” he said. “The United States strongly condemns this irresponsible act.”
Before the anti-missile drills at sea, the U.S. responded to North Korea firing over Japan with shows of force in the air and on land alongside its allies. American fighters flew alongside Japanese and South Korean fighters, some striking ground targets on an uninhabited island west of the peninsula.
But a joint ground-to-ground missile exercise Wednesday sent mixed signals when one South Korean projectile failed soon after launch, hitting a building on its own airbase.
The South Korean joint chiefs of staff said one of its Hyunmoo missiles “fell after an abnormal flight” in Gangneung, which is along the northeast coast of the country, adding that there were no casualties reported, and the cause was being assessed.
Meanwhile, officials warn that North Korea could soon conduct its first nuclear test since 2017.
The U.S. still assesses North Korea is making preparations for such a test, but is not sure when, according to Ryder.
“If and when they do conduct a nuclear test, I’m not going to speculate,” Ryder said.
(NEW YORK) — Foreign actors are “likely” to use “information manipulation” to try to influence the 2022 election, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and FBI warn in a new bulletin.
“Foreign actors may intensify efforts to influence outcomes of the 2022 midterm elections by circulating or amplifying reports of real or alleged malicious cyber activity on election infrastructure,” the public service announcement dated Oct. 6 states. “Additionally, these foreign actors may create and knowingly disseminate false claims and narratives regarding voter suppression, voter or ballot fraud, and other false information intended to undermine confidence in the election processes and influence public opinion of the elections’ legitimacy.”
CISA is the cyber arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
The law enforcement agencies cite previous elections where foreign governments, without directly naming any, have attempted to influence the election and “incite violence” as a result of spreading misinformation.
In the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, the U.S. government identified Russia, China and Iran as election disrupters.
“Foreign actors can use a number of methods to knowingly spread and amplify false claims and narratives about malicious cyber activity, voting processes, and results surrounding the midterm election cycle,” the alert says. “These actors use publicly available and dark web media channels, online journals, messaging applications, spoofed websites, emails, text messages, and fake online personas on U.S. and foreign social media platforms to spread and amplify these false claims.”
John Cohen, the former Acting Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security said it is “critical” local, state and federal officials come together to “understand the risks posed by these foreign and domestic threat actors and take steps to protect elections officials, workers and infrastructure from physical and cyberattacks.”
“As we approach the midterm elections, state and local officials face a number of highly dangerous election-related threats ranging from cyberattacks and information operations by hostile foreign powers to threats of violence directed at election officials and infrastructure,” Cohen, an ABC News contributor said. “The security of the nation depends on it.”
In one example, federal officials say foreign actors might try and say hackers have compromised voter registration data — that voter registration data is publicly available from state and local governments.
“These efforts by foreign actors aim to undermine voter confidence and to entice unwitting consumers of information and third-party individuals to like, discuss, share, and amplify the spread of false or misleading narratives,” the alert says.
“The FBI and CISA urge the American public to critically evaluate the sources of the information they consume and to seek out reliable and verified information from trusted sources, such as state and local election officials and reputable news media. The FBI and CISA will continue to quickly respond to potential threats, by seeking to engage with state and local officials and the public when possible,” the alert adds.
Earlier this week, officials from the Department laid out what they see as the biggest threats to the 2022 midterm elections.
Among the “big four” areas of concern Jenn Easterly, the director of CISA, says, are insider threats, threats from state-sponsored actors, physical threats and disinformation.
“Cybersecurity threats from sophisticated state sponsored threat actors, but also from cyber criminals, we still worry about potential ransomware attacks, insider threats from people with institutional knowledge and current or prior Authorized Access to equipment or sensitive information,” she told reporters on Monday, adding they’ve seen examples of these activities but declined to provide any. “We’ve seen some of this increasing physical security concerns which very sadly include unprecedented levels of threats and harassment targeting election officials and, increasing myths and disinformation about elections that that undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.”
Easterly told ABC News that the challenges are “interconnected” and cannot be viewed individually, especially when it comes to foreign threat actors.
(NEW YORK) — Three men were stabbed, one fatally, in separate attacks in the New York City subway system within an eight-hour span Thursday.
A 38-year-old Bronx man was getting off a northbound 4 train as it arrived at the 176th Street station just before 9 p.m. Thursday when he was stabbed multiple times in the back and chest by a suspect who came up behind him in what police said they believe was an unprovoked attack.
The victim collapsed on the platform and was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he later died.
He was the seventh person to be killed in the NYC transit system this year, and the second fatal subway stabbing in less than a week.
The suspect fled westbound on East 176 Street and remains at large.
Earlier Thursday, at 5:15 p.m., a 45-year-old man was slashed in the face by a man who followed him into a Brooklyn subway station in East New York.
Just after 1 p.m., a 59-year-old man was stabbed in the back at a Harlem subway station. The victim was waiting for a train at the 125th Street station at St. Nicholas Avenue when he got into an argument with a man he didn’t know, possibly after a harmless bump on the platform, police said.
The other man pulled a knife and stabbed the victim in the upper back. He was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital in stable condition.
The suspect, a Black man wearing blue jeans, a blue jacket and blue-tinted glasses, ran off. He also remains at large.
(WASHINGTON) — The House Jan. 6 committee on Thursday announced it will hold what might be its final hearing next Thursday, Oct. 13.
It will take place at 1 p.m.
The committee postponed its Sept. 29 session due to Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm that made landfall in Florida the day before the hearing was set to take place.
It’s been more than two months since the panel investigating the U.S. Capitol attack last held a public hearing after airing eight televised sessions from June to July to reveal the findings of their probe.
In those hearings, lawmakers described what they called a “sophisticated, seven-part plan” by former President Donald Trump and his supporters to try to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, including his pressure on the Department of Justice and local election officials. The last session focused exclusively on Trump’s actions while violence unfolded on Jan. 6, 2021, with witnesses telling the panel Trump initially refused pleas from his staff to condemn the mob.
Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., previously said the committee would air “substantial footage” and “significant witness testimony” in this new hearing, but declined to give any more details on what the focus of the session will be.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., previously teased the hearing will be “more sweeping than some of the other hearings” and will “tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election.”
A major development in recent weeks has been the committee’s interview on Sept. 29 with Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, about her efforts to push state officials to reject the 2020 results.
Thomas told the panel she still believes the 2020 election was stolen, Chairman Thompson said after the interview. Thompson also said Thomas answered “some” questions, but didn’t elaborate on what questions she responded to.
In her opening statement to the committee, which was obtained by ABC News, Thomas reiterated that she doesn’t believe her husband’s work is within the scope of the investigation.
“I can guarantee that my husband has never spoken with me about pending cases at the Court,” her opening statement read. “It’s an iron clad rule in our home.”
Next Thursday’s hearing could be the last before the committee releases a comprehensive report on their findings and recommendations, and will take place just 25 days before Election Day.
(NEW YORK) — For the past decade, Kaitlin Preble of Tucson, Arizona, said she has gone to her local pharmacy each month to pick up her daughter’s prescription for methotrexate, a drug that is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, among other things.
Preble’s daughter, Emma Thompson, was diagnosed at age 3 with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, an autoimmune disease that can cause joint pain and inflammation in body parts including the hands, knees and ankles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Now 14, Emma relies on methotrexate and a combination of other medications to be able to do basic functions like walking, brushing her hair and attending school in-person, according to Preble.
Preble told ABC News’ Good Morning America that in the 10 years Emma has been prescribed methotrexate, she had not encountered any difficulties accessing the drug — until last month.
In late September, just days after a near-total ban on abortion went into effect in Arizona, Preble said she was denied the medication by a pharmacist at her local Walgreens.
“I went into Walgreens because I’m like, this is my baby, I need to see why they’re not going to give it to her,” said Preble. “The pharmacist said, ‘I denied it because she’s 14 years old.'”
Methotrexate, while prescribed to treat conditions like Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and cancer, in addition to arthritis, can also be used at higher dosages to medically terminate pregnancies.
Preble said she believes Emma’s prescription for the medication was initially denied because of confusion under Arizona’s abortion restrictions that were put in place after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
On Sept. 24, a 15-week abortion ban that was signed into law in March 2022 by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey went into effect in the state.
Separately, on Sept. 23, a state judge granted Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s request to lift an injunction on a near-total ban on abortion, passed in 1901, only allowing exceptions to save the life of the mother.
Preble said the month prior, she had been questioned when picking up Emma’s prescription for methotrexate about how much she took and why she took it, but was given the medication.
She described being in tears upon learning that this time, the medication was denied, saying, “I was scared for my daughter. It’s the unknown.”
Preble said she interacted with a pharmacy tech at Walgreens, who conferred with the pharmacist on duty and ultimately gave her the medication.
“I did end up leaving with the medication that day, but I don’t know if it’s going to be filled next month,” she said. “I don’t know what the future holds right now, and not only for my daughter, but for every little girl that that needs this medication, whether it’s for arthritis, whether it’s for Crohn’s disease, and not just girls, women in general.”
A Walgreens spokesperson told GMA the company cannot comment on individual patients, but said it is working to help pharmacists “understand the latest requirements” in different states.
“Our focus is meeting the needs of our patients and making sure they have access to the medications they need, in compliance with applicable pharmacy laws and regulations,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “New laws in various states require additional steps for dispensing certain prescriptions and apply to all pharmacies, including Walgreens. In these states, our pharmacists work closely with prescribers as needed, to fill lawful, clinically appropriate prescriptions. We provide ongoing training and information to help our pharmacists understand the latest requirements in their area, and with these supports, the expectation is they are empowered to fill these prescriptions.”
Preble’s story went viral after Emma’s doctor, Deborah Jane Power, a Tucson-based pediatric rheumatologist, shared it on Twitter, writing, in part, “Welcome to AZ. Today a pharmacist denied the MTX refill for my adolescent patient. She’s on 5 mg/wk to prevent AHCA Ab production. MTX denied purely because she’s a female, barely a teenager. Livid!”
Power told GMA that Emma was her first adolescent patient to face a denial of a methotrexate prescription.
She said she shared it on Twitter as a wake-up call to people that non-abortion related health care was being impacted in a state like Arizona with abortion restrictions.
“I wanted folks to think about the ramifications beyond the obvious, banning abortion, how it affected women’s health in a broader aspect,” said Power. “This is health care for women, period. It’s not just reproductive health, but it’s their health in terms of rheumatologic problems and so many other conditions.”
Power said she contacted state and federal legislators and the state pharmacy board about the incident, and plans to keep speaking out.
“We are part of the noise of getting the word out and I think that’s how you start to affect change,” said Power. “None of my male patients have had methotrexate denied. There’s been no issue about getting their refills.”
This week, the Arizona Medical Association and a physician filed a lawsuit, asking a court to provide clarity amid what they say is “significant confusion” over the state’s abortion laws.
In July, the American College of Rheumatology issued a statement addressed to policymakers, calling on them to continue to make methotrexate “accessible.”
“Methotrexate remains the standard of care for a variety of autoimmune diseases. Therefore, methotrexate must remain accessible to people with rheumatic diseases, and legal safeguards must protect rheumatology professionals, pharmacists, and patients from potential legal penalties,” the college said.
Preble said she will continue to speak out and fight for Emma’s access to methotrexate because she has seen what a difference the medication has made in Emma’s life.
Since being diagnosed at age 3, Emma has faced countless hospitalizations and years of being barely able to leave the house due to pain, according to Preble.
This year, Emma’s freshman year of high school, is the first in many years that she’s been able to attend fully in person.
Both Preble and Power said it took several years to get the right dosage of methotrexate with other medications to allow Emma to live her life.
“She’s able to walk to her classes. She’s staying healthy and getting good grades. She’s able to shower on her own, able to stand up and go out to eat if she wants,” said Preble. “She’s feeling good enough to do those things, where before it was just, ‘I want to stay home. I don’t feel very good.'”
“It fills me with so much happiness to see where she is right now, and I couldn’t imagine her not being able to continue where she wants to go in life,” she added.
(LAS VEGAS) — Two people are dead and six others injured in a stabbing spree outside a Las Vegas casino on Thursday, according to police.
Three victims were in critical conditions and the other three survivors were in stable condition Thursday night, Las Vegas police said.
The victims include both locals and tourists, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said during a press briefing Thursday.
The initial stabbing, which took place around 11:40 a.m. local time, occurred on the sidewalk along Las Vegas Boulevard, Deputy Chief James LaRochelle told reporters. It appears to have been unprovoked, he said.
The suspect then proceeded south and stabbed five more victims, and then an additional victim on Sands Avenue, he said. It’s unclear when or where the eighth victim was stabbed.
One victim was pronounced dead at the scene, and a second died after being transported to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, police said.
The two people who died were identified as Brent Allan Hallett, 47, of Las Vegas, and Maris Mareen Digiovanni, 30, of Las Vegas, according to the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner.
The suspect, 32-year-old Yoni Barrios, was taken into custody within a “matter of minutes” by a security guard and police officer after fleeing the scene, police said.
A large kitchen knife used in the incident has been recovered from the scene, police said.
Police believe Barrios acted alone, adding that a motive is unknown.
He was booked on two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, police said.
ABC News’ Lisa Sivertsen contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Since the early days of the monkeypox outbreak in the United States, Hispanic and Latino men may have been disproportionately affected.
While data from the CDC is limited and fewer than 50% of cases include information about race/ethnicity, it indicates that there may be disparities for Hispanic and Latino Americans affected by monkeypox.
Additionally, 47% of first doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine — a two-dose vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to prevent smallpox and monkeypox — have been given to white Americans, despite accounting for less than 30% of weekly cases with reported demographics, according to the CDC. Meanwhile, Hispanic Americans have received just 20%.
Data on a city-level shows similar trends.
In New York City, Hispanic residents make up a plurality — 34% — of infections, as of Oct. 1, according to data from the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In Los Angeles, Hispanic residents account for 45% of cases, as of Oct. 4, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Around 10% of race/ethnicity data was unknown for each city.
Public health experts told ABC News a lack of access to healthcare and insurance, language barriers and the stigma around the disease has led to such large disparities.
“I’ve lived through the HIV epidemic, I’ve lived through the COVID pandemic and now through monkeypox, and it is frightening to see the similarities in the sense that it’s always the same populations that really are at a disadvantage,” Dr. Judith Flores, executive board member of the National Hispanic Medical Association, told ABC News. “Don’t have the equity in access to care, equity in getting the care in the way they needed, and in the manner that’s most appropriate to them, culturally and linguistically. So, I’m not surprised that we’re seeing this.”
Lack of information
Public health experts told ABC News one reason Hispanic and Latino men may have been disproportionately affected by the outbreak is because getting information to the community about the disease was difficult.
David Cuevas, disease intervention specialist and supervisor at the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Oregon, told ABC News there was limited information being released by the CDC in Spanish.
“At the beginning, when there was an emerging communicable disease coming out, there was limited information in other languages,” he said. “At the beginning in our team, we were looking at information from other websites in the U.K. or in Europe that have translations in different languages.”
Dr. Sean Cahill, director of health policy research at the Fenway Institute, a healthcare organization that focuses on sexual and gender minorities, in Boston, also said there weren’t many televised briefings about monkeypox like there were with COVID-19, meaning most people received public health information via internet, as well as booking vaccine appointments.
According to a Pew Research Center poll, only 65% of Hispanic adults said they had a broadband connection at home, as of February 2021, compared to 80% of white adults.
“In the early weeks of the monkeypox outbreak, vaccine was made available in many locations in New York and Washington, D.C. and elsewhere online,” he told ABC News. “And you had to have a computer and an internet connection or data, or Wi-Fi access or a smartphone in order to be basically book an appointment to get a vaccine.”
He continued, “And there are racial/ethnic disparities that affect groups in terms of socioeconomic status and whether or not people have smartphones and computers and internet access. And so, I think that played a role.”
Cahill added getting access to the treatment TPOXX required doctors and patients to fill out a great deal of paperwork from the CDC, which was not available in Spanish until August.
Fear of stigma
Aside from lack of information, stigma associated with the disease may also be affecting vaccine distribution.
The outbreak has primarily been concentrated in men who have sex with men, a group that includes people who identify as gay, bisexual, transgender and nonbinary, although health officials have said anyone — regardless of sexual orientation — is at risk if they have direct contact with an infected patient.
“We started mass distribution, so you’re expecting people to go online to basically out themselves,” Flores said. “If you are especially from Hispanic communities and communities of color, it is not something perhaps you’re most comfortable doing and you don’t want to make it public.’
Cuevas, a gay Hispanic man himself, said because the disease was mischaracterized as a disease only affecting LGBTQ populations, Hispanic Americans may have been fearful of being outed.
“A lot of individuals in the Latinx community may not be feel comfortable with their sexuality, with their identity,” Cuevas said. “Myself included, when I went to get my vaccine, I’ve even thought about that. “I was like, ‘Wow, if I was me, like my younger years when I was more in the closet and wasn’t out with my sexuality, this will be very stressful.'”
Cuevas said when Multnomah County was scheduling vaccine appointments, one way of trying to remove the stigma was to try to make the process as anonymous as possible.
“We would give this list of the people that are eligible [and say], ‘You just have to say yes or no, you don’t have to specify which part of the eligibility you fall into,'” he said. “So, people don’t feel like they’ve been put on the spot.”
How to reduce racial/ethnic disparities
Public health experts say to prevent to reduce the racial/ethnic gap, public health leaders and community leaders need to knock down barriers that prevent access to care among minority populations.
“That means going to where they are, having vaccine clinics at flexible times, on the weekends and late at night, and going to the places where, like those individuals, maybe hanging out,” Cuevas said.
He added, “Specific to our county, we were working hard and putting information on social media, on dating apps, information that somebody that speaks Spanish can actually read and make sense of. You want to have individuals talking to you in your own language, when you call and make the appointment for your vaccine.”
The effort appears to be working. In the latest CDC report, as of Sept. 18, Hispanics made up 19% of weekly monkeypox cases nationally with reported race/ethnicity data. which is down from 31% a month prior.
Cahill added that the bigger systemic issue that will help is expanding Medicaid eligibility.
“In order to qualify for Medicaid, you have to be categorically eligible. You either have to be disabled, or be a parent with dependent children, and you also have to be really, really poor,” he said. “That’s another big systemic reason why we see these ethnic disparities in HIV, in COVID, and now in monkeypox affecting Hispanic and Latino populations, because people don’t have health insurance and they’re not in routine care.”
“So, when a new threat emerges, they don’t have someone they can just call and talk to about it or get an appointment, or you know they’re not familiar with a medical office where they have gone on a regular basis and, therefore, they’re losing out on information,” Cahill continued.
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — On Friday, North Carolina voters will see their candidates for Senate face off for the first and probably only time.
The debate, hosted by Spectrum News 1, will take place in Raleigh and will start at 8 p.m. ET.
Former state chief justice and Democratic candidate Cheri Beasley will meet GOP candidate Rep. Ted Budd on stage in a swing-state race that could help decide the control of Congress.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Budd leads Beasley by less than 1 point.
Beasley has heavily run her campaign on issues such as access to abortion and lowering health care costs. Meanwhile, Budd, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has emphasized combating crime and supporting law enforcement in North Carolina.
Just a few weeks out from Election Day, Beasley and Budd have ramped up attacks on one another. She hit him on his anti-abortion stance and he emphasized having ample support from the local law enforcement community, arguing he would be better at handling the issue of crime.
The Beasley campaign told ABC News that the former chief justice has been looking forward to the debate.
Budd’s campaign did not respond to our request for comment.
Tim Boyum a reporter for Spectrum News 1 in North Carolina, will be moderating the debate. Prior to the debate, Boyum spent a day on the campaign trail with both candidates, where, he said, it became clear what issues are top of mind for voters as the election nears.
“On the Republican side, the issues of inflation, immigration and the border and crime dominated the discussion,” Boyum said. “On the Democratic side, voters were talking extensively about abortion and prescription drugs. I think that follows the path of recent polling that shows that the economy, abortion, health care and immigration are topping voters’ minds.”
The issue of the economy and inflation is likely to be a powerful force pushing people to the polls this year. According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, 74% of voters said the economy is in bad shape. Equally important, 84% called the economy a top issue in their vote for Congress and 76% said the same about inflation.
And although Republican voters are set with Budd and Democratic voters are set with Beasley, it could be the large number of unaffiliated voters who tip the scale of the race. Currently, there are 2.5 million unaffiliated voters in North Carolina, making it the largest voting bloc — surpassing the amount of registered Democrat and Republican voters.
Friday’s debate will allow unaffiliated voters to learn more about the Senate candidates.
“This race has run under the radar nationally, and a lot of voters may not be as familiar with the candidates as the political class,” Boyum, the moderator, said.
Prior to Friday’s face-off, neither candidate took part in any primary debates. Beasley cleared the Democratic field before a debate could even be put together and Budd declined to take part in any events with his Republican challengers.
As of now, this is the only Senate debate scheduled in North Carolina, a contrast with just two years ago, when then-candidates Cal Cunningham and Sen. Thom Tillis faced off three times prior to Election Day.
