(LONDON) — Inspectors from the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency are heading to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine that has been shelled in the ongoing fight between Russian and Ukrainian forces, threatening a nuclear catastrophe in the region.
According to the IAEA, experts plan to “assess the physical damage to the ZNPP’s facilities, determine whether the main and back-up safety and security systems were functional and evaluate the staff’s working conditions, in addition to performing urgent safeguards activities on the site.”
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe.
“We must protect the safety and security of #Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a Twitter post this week.
Grossi, who is leading the mission, has long sought access to the nuclear power plant.
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. The nuclear power plant has been occupied by Russian forces while still being operated by Ukrainian engineers since early May, according to the IAEA.
The nuclear power plant completely lost power on Thursday due to damage from nearby shelling, according to the IAEA. Two of the six reactors at the plant are currently operating from a single remaining power line.
A secure off-site power supply from the electric grid and back-up power supply systems have kept the nuclear power plant running since the shut-off on Aug. 25, the IAEA said.
A lack of power poses a risk to the operation of the plant’s cooling systems, which are needed for the nuclear reactor and spent fuel ponds in the facility, Scott Roecker, nuclear materials security vice president at Nuclear Threat Initiative, told ABC News last week.
“And if there’s not active cooling of both of those facilities, it could lead to a reactor meltdown and a significant release of radiation,” Roecker said.
Amid the threat, officials in the region began distributing iodine tablets, which help block the absorption of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland in a nuclear accident, to nearby residents, the Associated Press reported.
On Aug. 28, Ukrainian officials informed the IAEA of renewed shelling in recent days at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but said all safety systems remained operational and there had been no increase in radiation levels, according to Grossi. Continued shelling raises the risk for a potential nuclear accident, experts say.
Shelling over the weekend hit two so-called “special buildings,” both located about 300 feet from a reactor. According to the IAEA, those buildings house facilities including water treatment plants, equipment repair shops or waste management facilities.
Grossi and his team arrived in the city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday and are expected to visit the nuclear power plant on Thursday for the first time. He told reporters during a press briefing that the IAEA mission aims to establish a permanent presence at the plant and that the initial phase would take days.
When asked if it was possible to demilitarize the site, Grossi told reporters that 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 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.”
The IAEA said it seeks to bring clarity to the crisis with the mission, helping to address contradictory information about the status of the facility, its operation and the damage sustained.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative to the international organizations in Vienna, said on Wednesday that Russia welcomes the idea that IAEA experts could stay at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on a permanent basis.
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. Ukrainian workers have been left in place to keep the plant operating, as it supplies electricity across the war-torn nation.
(NEW YORK) — The main pump at the main water treatment facility in Jackson, Mississippi, shut down due to flooding that worsened longstanding issues, leaving up to 180,000 people without access to running water in their homes.
A state of emergency was declared on Tuesday by Gov. Tate Reeves and it was announced public schools would shift their classes online.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba spoke with “ABC News Prime” about the roots of this water crisis, which have been unfolding over multiple years, how the city plans to recover with a focus on equity and sustainability, and how people tuning in can help.
PRIME: Joining me now is the mayor of Jackson, Chokwe Lumumba. Mayor, first off, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us during such a challenging time for you.
LUMUMBA: Thank you for having me, and thank you for lifting up the challenges that my community is suffering from.
PRIME: Of course. So now that a state of emergency has been declared, what is your first order of business here with these funds to help your community?
LUMUMBA: Well, first, let me reiterate that we were excited and we welcomed this support with open arms. We feel like we’ve been going it alone for the better part of two years, lifting up the fact that these are challenges that first and foremost are beyond partisan. These are human rights challenges.
And so we’ve been saying that it’s not a matter of if our systems would fail, but when our systems fail, and we’ve seen it far too frequently. So we’ve talked with the State Department of Health and MEMA, who have assured us that they’re going to have boots on the ground to help supplement our staffing needs and the critical repairs. They have committed to approximately 50% of the cost of the repairs in a shorter time frame to get to those contracts, due to the fact that it’s under an emergency condition.
PRIME: And so, mayor, spell it out for us. How did we get here? How do we get to this point?
LUMUMBA: Yeah. This is due to decades, decades and decades, of possibly 30 years or more of deferred maintenance, a lack of capital improvements made to the system, a lack of a human capital, a workforce plan that accounted for the challenges that our water treatment facility suffers from. We’ve had hotter summers, colder winters and more precipitation each year. And it’s taking a toll on our infrastructure. And so we need the support to not only create sustainability and equity in our system, but to also weatherize our system.
PRIME: A major overhaul, certainly. And mayor, water has been a crisis in your city for some time now. In fact, in November of last year, our congressional correspondent Rachel Scott went to Jackson and reported on an elementary there that had no water. The kids had to use porta potties. They also had no water at home. You were interviewed at that time, and this is a sentiment that you’ve already reiterated this evening: that it’s not a matter of if these systems will fail, but rather when these systems will fail. And unfortunately, what we’re seeing right now, you were right. But previous to this, how high up have you taken your concerns? And do you feel that anyone was receptive to the gravity of the situation?
LUMUMBA: Well, first and foremost, I believe that the moment in which you’re recounting, I believe that the administrator of the EPA was with me and he was looking at the concerns of our water distribution system, touring the school, and was scheduled for that tour, only right before he came, for the school to have to redirect its students to another location due to the persistent water challenges. This is something that we don’t only suffer from citywide.
But more precisely, inequitably, we suffer in the southern portion of our city most disproportionately. And so it’s something that, we not only need to create sustainability but equity, realizing that some of the most impoverished parts of our city are feeling the brunt of this challenge more consistently and worse off than the rest of our city. And so this is something that, you know, I believe we have to continue to ring the alarm around, something that we have to continue to call on all levels that have responsibility.
PRIME: And make sure those dollars go where they need to go. And you’ve said Jackson in some ways is a poster child for a community that suffers from environmental justice issues. So tell us a little bit more about what you mean by that.
LUMUMBA: Well, you know, just as we review the EPA’s Justice40 initiative, when it talks about income disparities and the diversity of communities that it had in mind, Jackson is the primary example of a community that fits and checks all of the boxes of those initiatives. When we talk about the fact that we’ve had great disparity in the funding of the resources in Jackson compared to other portions of our state over generations, I think that it is time that we represent a new model, that we represent a new day, and we demonstrate from the city level to the state level. And beyond that, we’re all on board trying to make certain that residents, that people, that human beings don’t have to deal with the challenge of not having the basic resource of water.
PRIME: Right. And water really is a statewide issue there. What is your message to other mayors who could be facing similar challenges here?
LUMUMBA: Well, I would say that, you know, as we have dealt with these persistent challenges, we know just how dehumanizing this can be. We know how humiliating it can be. And so, you know, as we push forward for a better Jackson, a better state, a better nation, we need to push for dignity, economy which reflects the sustainable development goals, that give people dignity, that reveals a better quality of life for them each and every day.
PRIME: Sure. And I know right now we don’t have a timeline for when this will be fixed. So how can people around the country that might be watching right now? How can they help?
LUMUMBA: Well, I would encourage them to reach out to the city. They can do so through our website www.jacksonms.gov, through our Constituent Services division, if they look to provide water donations, if they can help just lift up to those in leadership that support.
PRIME: Okay. Certainly a little highlight there. Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, thank you so much for joining us.
(WASHINGTON) — After three weeks of accusations from former President Donald Trump and his allies that the Justice Department and FBI overreached in their unprecedented August 8 search of Mar-a-Lago, the DOJ responded Tuesday with a late-night filing that laid bare the fruitless negotiations that preceded the raid — and provided ample evidence that in their own legal filing, Trump’s attorneys had left out key details and made multiple unfounded or false claims about the circumstances surrounding the DOJ’s efforts to retrieve classified documents.
Tuesday’s DOJ filing was not just a line-by-line rebuttal of the claims made by Trump and his lawyers that they were fully cooperative all along with department’s efforts to retrieve the records, but it put on full display the extent of the evidence collected so far by investigators in their probe of whether concealment of the documents amounts to obstruction of justice.
Included in the filing were paper exhibits showing the full subpoena sent to Trump’s lawyers, the sworn statement by a Trump lawyer earlier this summer stating they’d handed over all relevant documents, and a high-resolution photo of a pile of documents that was subsequently collected from Trump’s personal office with Top Secret markings.
The filing came in response to Trump’s request that a judge appoint a special master to intervene in investigators’ ongoing review of the items seized from Mar-a-Lago — but some legal experts tell ABC News that Trump’s team may have hurt their own cause.
“One of the greatest self-inflicted wounds is the Trump legal team’s decision, presumably with strong input from their client, deciding to lace their motion for a special master with several falsehoods,” said Ryan Goodman, a professor of law at New York University and former special counsel to the Department of Defense. “Their approach gave the Justice Department a strong reason to publicly set the record straight and issue statements about facts that would otherwise have remained secret due to an ongoing criminal investigation.”
“The Justice Department is usually loath to discuss matters that are under investigation,” Goodman added. “It is rare for the public to get this much visibility into the evidence that is being developed in an ongoing investigation.”
Indeed, Attorney General Merrick Garland has repeatedly said his department will only speak on criminal-related matters through its filings and pleadings in court. Prosecutors, in fact, said in a footnote of the filing that on Monday they had received authorization from D.C. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell to disclose evidence from their ongoing grand jury investigation, including the full copy of a May 11 subpoena that demanded Trump’s team hand over all remaining documents with classifications markings to the government.
Experts said that demonstrates the extent to which officials were willing to go in order to present the fullest version of facts to Judge Aileen Cannon, who will hear arguments Thursday from the government and Trump’s attorneys on the request for a special master.
“I don’t think this was like a calculated effort of, ‘Oh, wow, we have an opportunity here to push back hard and try to debunk all of what Trump has said,'” said Mary McCord, a former top official in DOJ’s National Security Division. “I think it was, you know, we have to respond, we have a court order to respond. The court is obviously going to consider this motion. We’re going to have a hearing and the motion we’re responding to set forth a factual background that is inaccurate, at least according to the government.”
Among other things, the DOJ’s filing directly contradicts the Trump legal team’s account of an in-person visit to Mar-a-Lago on June 3 by a group of FBI agents led by Jay Bratt, the chief of DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
While Trump’s attorneys said that Bratt was permitted to inspect a storage room containing boxes of items from Trump’s time in the White House, Bratt said in the filing that Trump’s attorneys “explicitly prohibited government personnel from opening or looking inside any of the boxes” to confirm no documents with classified markings remained.
At the end of that visit, the Justice Department said Trump’s attorney provided a sworn statement in response to the subpoena, confirming that all relevant materials had been handed over. The name of the lawyer who signed the statement is redacted, but it was said to have been signed by Trump attorney Christina Bobb, according to reporting from The New York Times.
Neither of the filings from Trump’s legal team requesting the special master made any mention of that statement.
In addition, the DOJ rebutted arguments that Trump’s advisers have been making publicly, including Trump’s claim that he declassified the documents before leaving the White House. The filing said that during negotiations, Trump and his representatives never made any mention of the documents being declassified or subject to executive privilege. In fact, the filing said the documents the DOJ retrieved in June were stored inside a Redweld envelope that was “double-wrapped in tape” — suggesting that the attorney handing them over believed them to be highly sensitive.
The government says that after its June visit, the FBI uncovered “multiple sources of evidence” showing classified documents remained at Mar-a-Lago, and that such documents would also be found outside of the storage room.
“The government also developed evidence that government records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation,” the filing states. “This included evidence indicating that boxes formerly in the Storage Room were not returned prior to counsel’s review.”
While the latest filing did not spell out specifics about that evidence, it was that pattern of facts, in addition to other evidence of probable cause developed in the investigation, that the DOJ says led it to make the unprecedented decision to move forward in seeking a search warrant of the former president’s residence.
According to the Justice Department, investigators during the August 8 search found more than one hundred documents bearing classification markings ranging from Confidential to Top Secret, as well as “additional sensitive compartments that signify very limited distribution.”
“In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents,” the department said, noting the search “cast serious doubt” on the claims from Trump’s legal team that “there had been ‘a diligent search’ for records responsive to the grand jury subpoena.”
“That the FBI, in a matter of hours, recovered twice as many documents with classification markings as the ‘diligent search’ that the former President’s counsel and other representatives had weeks to perform calls into serious question the representations made in the June 3 certification and casts doubt on the extent of cooperation in this matter,” the filing states.
(WASHINGTON) — “They know that I was working with the coalition forces,” Abdul, a former interpreter for the U.S. Marines said about the Taliban when ABC News spoke with him in June 2021. “If they take over Kabul, they will come, they will behead us, they will kill us. I know that I will be killed by the Taliban,” he told ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz.
Just two months later, the United States-backed Afghan government collapsed, and the Taliban swept through Kabul, taking over the country. Chaos ensued as thousands of Afghans rushed to the Kabul airport to flee, 13 U.S. service members, along with 170 Afghans were killed in a terrorist bombing, and a U.S. transport plane departed with Afghans clinging to its wheels.
“Those days were worst days in all [our] life — in all Afghanistan,” Abdul told ABC News this August. “There was no life, there was no future.”
“We lost almost — our everything, our dreams, our planning, what we wanted to do for our future,” Lima, his wife, added. ABC News is not using their full names to ensure their safety.
Having worked with the U.S., Abdul was immediately in danger. The Taliban came knocking on his door, he said, and he and his wife decided the only way they would see a future with their three young daughters — Susan, Hosai, and Uswa – was to escape.
“That was horrible when we were coming to [the] airport,” Hosai, 10, added as she said she remembered the gunfire and the harrowing journey to safety. “That was very horrible.”
The family made it to the Kabul airport. And with the help of Abdul’s American friends, in addition to ABC News, his family was able to make it out. First to Qatar, then to New Jersey, and finally to Northern Virginia, where his family is rebuilding their lives from scratch.
But Abdul and his family are the lucky ones — they’re the ones who got out, and have resettled successfully. Some 3.5 million Afghans are still displaced within Afghanistan, according to a United Nations Refugee Agency report from December. And while over 100,000 Afghans were airlifted out by the United States that August, many Afghans who have resettled in the United States are struggling.
Many Afghans have found their arrival riddled with red tape – from having difficulty receiving a Social Security number to finding affordable housing to remaining in constant limbo over their immigration status. Many Afghans came to the United States under so-called humanitarian parole, which lasts two years, and they now need to apply for asylum. But a Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University report found that asylum status is denied in 70% of cases.
Abdul and his family are the lucky ones. After attending a job fair, Abdul got hired by the Hilton Hotels chain to become a safety and security manager. He says he loves his job.
“I love the environment of my job especially,” Abdul said. “And I am sure I will get more opportunities because this is a land of opportunities.”
Abdul and his family have slowly been able to make their new home feel like the one they had to escape, decorating their living room floor with a bright red Afghan rug and having piping hot tea always ready to serve any guests.
Abdul’s three daughters have started the new school year — entering 8th grade, 5th grade, and 2nd grade.
“When we came here, it was like — [at] first, I didn’t feel like it was home, but after a month I [felt] like in my — I’m in my home,” Susan, 13, said. “So, it feels so good. I’m comfortable here. We are happy to be here in the United States.”
“Yeah,” Uswa, 6, added. “And I — and I feel safe here because there are no Taliban here.”
Abdul and Lima recognize that they are the lucky ones, especially since women in Afghanistan have lost many freedoms since the Taliban took over. They know escaping is the right decision.
“This is the place that they will have a great future,” Abdul said of his three girls. “And I’m happy. Everybody’s happy here right now. These five people are very happy and enjoying life in America.”
(LANSING, Mich.) — The Michigan Board of Canvassers is deadlocked on a bid to add an abortion question on enshrining abortion rights in the state’s constitution to the November ballot.
Sponsors of the ballot initiative have indicated they would file a lawsuit and ask the courts to order the measure be added to the ballot.
This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
(LOS ANGELES) — Health officials are urging people to stay out of the water at several popular Southern California beaches due to high bacteria levels.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an alert cautioning residents to avoid swimming and surfing in the waters at four beaches: Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica; Mother’s Beach in Marina Del Rey; Inner Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro; and Topanga Canyon Beach in Malibu.
“These warnings have been issued due to bacterial levels exceeding health standards when last tested,” the health department said.
The four impacted beaches remain open, though the health department warns that ocean water bacteria levels that exceed state standards could cause illness.
The advisories come amid an excessive heat warning for parts of Los Angeles County and ahead of Labor Day weekend.
At least one surfer was not deterred by the health department’s warning.
“I’ve been a surfer for nearly 40 years now and the bacteria levels come and go with storms and other things. And unless there’s like a severe sewage spill or something like that, I’m pretty much out there regardless if the waves are good,” Richard Evans told ABC Los Angeles station KABC at Topanga Canyon Beach on Tuesday.
Koji Funakoshi told the station his throat hurt “a little bit worse than normal” after surfing at the beach Tuesday morning.
“I think it’s better not to be in the water. It’s safer not to,” Dr. Russ Kino told KABC, warning that you could experience gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea and stomach cramps.
Most of the region’s beaches are not under advisory.
The waters off the Santa Monica Pier and parts of Mother’s Beach are among the most polluted in California based on levels of bacteria in the ocean, according to the environmental group Heal the Bay. Santa Monica Pier and a portion of Mother’s Beach received Fs in the group’s latest beach “report card,” released in June.
Topanga Canyon Beach received an A, while portions of Cabrillo Beach received an A and D in the latest report card.
(OAKLAND, Calif.) — Red tide on a northern California lake has caused the shore to be lined with dead fish, local experts said.
The recently red-brown, murky shores of Lake Merritt in Oakland have been linked to the largest algae bloom in the region’s recent history, officials said.
According to both the California Department of Public Health and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the dominant algae species forming the bloom is Heterosigma akashiwo.
H. akashiwo, while not usually considered an acute risk to humans, is lesser-studied species of harmful algae that emits toxins, harming fish and wildlife, the SF Baykeeper, an environmental advocacy organization, told ABC News
The SF Baykeeper said while this algae is not new to the area, a bloom of this level has not occurred in the region since 2004.
H. akashiwo has been associated with fish kills and the release of neurotoxins, the SF Baykeeper said. It also may contaminate shellfish.
The algae is not toxic to humans but it can cause skin and eye irritation, according to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.
That said, the SF Baykeeper advises individuals to be cautious when considering going in the water or consuming fish, particularly shellfish, caught in the lake.
Ian Wren, a scientist at the SF Baykeeper, has been working to better understand the algae bloom and how it happened.
“We’re not quite sure what’s causing it,” Wren told ABC News affiliate KGO. “There are some physical factors that might have sparked this bloom such as that it’s been relatively clear out, the winds have died down a little bit, we have warmer waters, however, it’s really hard to associate what causes this kind of bloom.”
Baykeeper executive director Sejal Choksi-Chugh said in a statement that treated sewage discharges from the Bay’s 40 sewage treatment plants and the pollutants from five dirty oil refineries create conditions ideal for algal blooms.
“Baykeeper scientists have been actively working for the past five years through agency technical advisory committees to prevent large blooms of any number of potentially toxic microorganisms from becoming commonplace in the Bay,” Choksi-Chugh said.
Choksi-Chugh said “excessive” sewage and refinery discharges are affecting the algae growth in the lake and called on officials to invest in water recycling to keep wastewater out of the water in the first place.
“These changes must happen fast in order to keep algal blooms like the ones cropping up right now in the Bay from taking over more regularly,” Choksi-Chugh said. “Hopefully this is a wake-up call for the agency to take faster action, because consistent algal blooms in the Bay would be detrimental to wildlife and people recreating in and around the Bay.”
Wren told KGO that a combination of more nutrients flowing into the water and changes in water temperature due to climate change will likely increase the possibility of blooms in the future.
“It’s quite conceivable that in other years a different type of species could take off and with much more harmful consequences,” Wren told KGO. “Things like higher temperatures, more nutrient upwelling from the ocean, changes in title circulation and wind patterns, these are all things that really produce a lot of unknowns but could still spark a lot of these blooms.
While the algae will eventually die off on its own, the SF Baykeeper said, it may leave more harm in its wake, as it may deplete oxygen and harm to fish and wildlife, especially in shallower areas of the Bay.
According to the Lake Merritt Institute, an organization that leads volunteer clean-ups, green algae usually grows in large quantities during the spring and early summer. The algae that dominates the shallows usually dissipates by the end of June, the organization reports.
(WASHINGTON) — As states continue to regulate abortion rights across the country, abortion rights groups and state legislatures in Indiana and South Carolina are at odds amid fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Indiana abortion providers filed a lawsuit in Monroe County Circuit Court on Tuesday seeking to put an end to the state’s abortion ban before it goes into effect on Sept. 15. The South Carolina State House approved a near-total ban on abortion on Wednesday after the state’s Supreme Court temporarily blocked a 6-week ban earlier this month, while the court case moves forward. The House bill now heads to the state Senate for approval.
In a lawsuit, Indiana abortion providers claim the state’s ban, signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb on Aug. 5, violates the “fundamental” rights of abortion providers and patients protected under the Indiana Constitution. Indiana was the first state to pass a ban since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe.
The suit alleges the law infringes on residents’ right to privacy, violating Indiana’s guarantee of equal privileges and immunities and violate the Constitution’s due course of law clause because of its unconstitutionally vague language.
The Indiana lawsuit filed against members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana and county prosecutors, was filed by Planned Parenthood, the Lawyering Project, the ACLU of Indiana and WilmerHale on behalf of abortion providers including Planned Parenthood, Women’s Med Group Professional Corp and All-Options.
“The abortion ban that the legislature rushed through during a special session — nearly immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — is both dangerous and incredibly cruel,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement.
Indiana’s abortion ban, Senate Bill 1, is a near-total ban on abortion, making it a level 5 felony to provide abortion services, only allowing three exceptions, according to the lawsuit. Providers who violate the ban will have their license revoked and could face between one to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Under the law, abortions up to certain stages in pregnancy are permitted if the pregnant woman’s life is in danger, the fetus is diagnosed with a fatal anomaly or if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that the ban will “severely limit access to abortion care, prohibiting nearly all pregnant [residents] from accessing care in Indiana.”
If the law goes into effect, “thousands” of Indiana residents who seek abortion care each year will have to disrupt their lives to travel out of state for care, “significantly delaying their abortions and causing them to incur higher expenses,” the lawsuit alleges.
The ban also eliminates abortion clinics in the state, further restricting access, the lawsuit says.
“By slashing the number of facilities providing abortion, which will be limited to hospitals concentrated in and around Indianapolis, S.B. 1 will materially burden even the few people who may qualify for the ban’s extremely limited exceptions,” the lawsuit alleges.
The cost of an abortion procedure increases as the pregnancy advances, so patients pay more for care when they have to wait, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also warns that patients unable to travel will “resort to self-managing their abortion outside of the medical system” or be forced to continue a pregnancy against their will.
The state’s medical licensing board and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The South Carolina State House on Wednesday, meanwhile, approved a near-total ban on abortion which only provides exceptions for pregnancies that are a result of rape and incest. If the bill is approved by the State Senate, it would head to the governor’s desk for approval.
In a statement to ABC News, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s office said he will “carefully consider any legislation that ultimately reaches his desk, but he believes this is a good starting point for the Senate to begin its deliberations.”
In February 2021, the Republican governor signed a package of bills into law that ban abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected. The ban took effect June 27 — after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The law was temporarily blocked by the South Carolina Supreme Court while justices review a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood in July that alleges the ban is an invasion of privacy and violation of equal protection under the state constitution.
(NEW YORK) — Pennsylvania Senate hopeful John Fetterman recently attended a fundraiser in the Hamptons, a previously unreported appearance as he recovers from a stroke and ramps up to face Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz — whom he often attacks as an elitist celebrity versus his blue-collar style.
Photos posted to a public Instagram on Aug. 19 show Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, at a gathering in Amagansett on Long Island.
“Another fun one with our guy #johnfetterman #winning,” Quinn Blackwell wrote in a caption. Blackwell declined to comment when reached by phone; he also made his account private.
An account tagged in the photos, “jamesalexandernyc,” appears to belong to James Alexander, a director at the Cassia Group, according to a Linkedin page with his photo.
According to its website, Cassia Group is a private company that advances projects in various industries abroad, including energy ventures in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries.
Alexander did not respond to messages from ABC seeking comment, nor did Cassia Group when contacted by phone and email.
Suffolk County records for the address of the Hamptons home show that it was sold by a trust in Alexander’s name to Margaret Street LLC in 2012. Alexander’s name did not appear either in Federal Election Commission campaign finance data or on a list of Fetterman’s individual donors that spanned from June 2021 to June 2022.
A Fetterman campaign spokesperson, Joe Calvello, told ABC in a statement: “The only reason a dude like John would ever go to the Hamptons is because his campaign needs to raise money to fight back against the unprecedented onslaught of attacks and negative ads from Dr. Oz and his rich friends.”
Calvello did not answer specific questions about the fundraiser.
The pictures posted online from the event are standard fare, showing Fetterman — in his traditional hoodie — mingling with a group of people with name tags and posing with others in front of an outdoor pool. And it’s not, of course, unusual for Republicans and Democrats to raise money in the Hamptons during an election year.
Just this summer, according to CNBC, Democratic candidates from across the country attended or were scheduled to attend fundraisers there, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and gubernatorial hopefuls Stacey Abrams, of Georgia, and Wes Moore, of Maryland.
Oz, Fetterman’s opponent, has also spent time in the Hamptons and attended a July 4th weekend “white party” there this summer.
But Fetterman’s stop occurred as he has launched a number of high-profile attacks on Oz, accusing the former TV host of being out-of-touch with everyday voters in Pennsylvania — and more at home in the New York City area and its tony vacation enclaves.
“We just can’t be more different. We have a guy that lives in New Jersey, a guy that has — what is it, nine or 10 houses?” Fetterman told a crowd at a recent event in rural Mercer County, in one of his first in-person campaign appearances after his stroke in May.
Fetterman was in the Hamptons exactly one week after he returned to the trail at an energized rally in Erie as he continues to recover from his stroke. He has had a limited schedule since then, but he appeared at public events on consecutive days over the weekend — the first time he has done so since his health scare.
Some of Fetterman’s supporters downplayed his Hamptons visit.
Geraldine Eckert, who lives in Sharon, Pennsylvania, told ABC News that she wanted to do her own research on the event but said she “wouldn’t hold it against him.”
“If I were putting myself in Fetterman’s shoes, I guess I would go where I thought I could get money for my campaign and I would be honest with my constituents,” she added.
“He’s for the common people. He’s for the middle class. I can identify with him on a much easier scale than I can with any of the Republicans who are out there,” Jack Figaretti, a Democrat, told ABC News outside a campaign event.
Cassia Group, Alexander’s firm, appears to be engaged in business in conflict with some of Fetterman’s campaign issues. Cassia’s website touts work in metal mining and in various aspects of oil production, including “enhanced oil and gas recovery” and drilling. The website also described a 2016 project that involved collaboration with a firm linked to the Kuwaiti national oil company.
Fetterman’s website urges a “transition to clean energy as quickly as possible … in a way that preserves the union way of life for the thousands of workers.”
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:
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.
