(FORT WORTH, Texas) — A woman who survived three heart attacks in three days at age 40 is now leading an effort to make Black women aware of the risks of heart disease.
Tara Robinson, of Fort Worth, Texas, is the founder of the Black Heart Association, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “significantly lower the number of Black deaths caused by heart disease and stroke each year.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Black women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Across all races, heart disease causes one in every five female deaths each year, while only about half of women know that heart disease is their No. 1 cause of death, according to the CDC.
Robinson, now 48, said she had no idea she was at risk for a heart attack, even though she later realized she had symptoms months before, including fatigue, numbness in her arm and pain in her neck.
“I had 99% blockage in my main artery, known as the ‘widow maker,'” Robinson told Good Morning America. “I was completely healthy as far as I knew. No high blood pressure, no cholesterol or diabetes, nothing, but I was highly stressed.”
Robinson said she was even told by doctors that she was too young to be having a heart attack. After she recovered, she said she made it her mission to educate other Black women on the health screenings to get and signs and symptoms to watch.
“The reason God saved me is because I have to do this work,” she said. “I’m the heart healer, mentally and physically.”
Robinson is the brains and heart behind her organization’s mobile heart center, a bus that provides free health screenings across the Fort Worth area.
“Our goal with the mobile bus is to make sure that we are wherever our people are — that’s at the car wash, the barber shop, the beauty shop, the church,” she said. “Wherever you are, that’s where the bus can pull up to.”
According to the CDC, women can reduce their risk of heart disease by getting routine screenings for everything from diabetes and blood pressure to cholesterol and triglycerides.
Black women in particular are more likely to have conditions that increase their risk of heart disease, including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and pregnancy-related complications, according to Dr. Sandy Charles, a cardiologist and medical director of Novant Health Women’s Heart and Vascular Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“These things frequently cause no symptoms and we don’t know we have them unless we get screened,” Charles said of the risk factors, adding that women can also ask for specific tests like stress tests and CAT scans to check their heart health.
When it comes to blood pressure, a systolic blood pressure of less than 120, and a diastolic blood pressure of less than 80 is considered normal by the American Heart Association.
High cholesterol can contribute to plaque, which can lead to clogged arteries. A total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL is considered desirable, including less than 100 mg/dL of LDL and 60 mg/dL or more of HDL, according to the CDC. The recommendations for when to check cholesterol are once every five years after the age of 20, and more frequently if you have a medical condition such as high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity, according to the CDC.
Women can also reduce their risk of heart disease by making lifestyle changes including staying active and eating a clean diet free of foods high in sugar, fat and cholesterol, according to Charles.
When it comes to recognizing a heart attack, women may not experience any chest pains at all, according to Charles. She said symptoms to watch for include shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea and indigestion.
“It’s so important for women to know, and for everyone to know, that nobody knows your body better than you,” said Charles. “So if something doesn’t feel right, do not ignore the symptoms.”
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/POOL
(WASHINGTON) — Civil rights attorney Ben Crump publicly urged President Joe Biden to tap Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court on Wednesday, as the president closes in on a decision for his first nomination to the high court.
“In my view, that of a civil rights lawyer and advocate who is committed to bringing justice, respect, and fairness to this nation, and particularly to my community, that woman is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson,” Crump said in a statement, provided first to ABC News.
The endorsement — the first from a high-profile Black civil rights advocate — is a significant boost for Jackson after African American community leaders have spent weeks largely remaining neutral on the pick.
Over the past decade, Crump has represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Jacob Blake, Daunte Wright — Black Americans whose deaths at the hands of police sparked outrage and calls for justice. Crump joined the Floyd family for a meeting with the president at the White House last April, on the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death.
“My standards for this nominee go beyond integrity, brilliance and fairness,” Crump said in the statement. “I carry the additional purchase that this justice must represent African Americans in a way that has cultural competency, forcefulness and instills deep pride.”
Crump’s embrace of Jackson is a break with South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, an influential Biden ally, who has spent weeks lobbying for U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs, touting her blue-collar background and educational diversity as a graduate of state universities in contrast to the Ivy League pedigree of most other justices.
Jackson, the daughter of school teachers and product of Miami-Dade public schools, is a graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law.
ABC News has confirmed the president has completed interviews with Childs, 55, Jackson, 51, and Kruger, 45, and that a final decision is imminent. A Black woman has never been nominated to Supreme Court.
In his statement, Crump praised Clyburn and his late wife Emily for securing Biden’s commitment during the 2020 campaign to nominate a Black woman, but says Jackson is better prepared for the high court.
“There will be no learning curve for Judge Jackson, she knows the law, has adjudicated it well, and is battle tested. Jackson has the educational credentials and commitment which put her in an elite with which the Court is familiar, having the same credentials as most of the modern justices, if not more than,” Crump said.
“We African Americans eagerly await and demand that model: a talented African American woman who not only acts justly and upholds our Constitution, but is rooted in an experience that so many of us share. That person is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson,” Crump highlighting her experience as a public defender, clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, and advocate for criminal sentencing reform in her role for the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Crump and Jackson have taught twice at a seminar at Harvard’s Trial Advocacy Workshop, serving as teachers and mentors for students calling her “humble” and “gracious.”
“But through it all she’s been an advocate for and proud of our African American community,” he said. Adding, “For the combination of brilliance, integrity, experience, and assurance that African Americans will hold this choice as we do the memory of Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley, I overwhelmingly support the historic choice of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.”
Other Black leaders have been reluctant to endorse a candidate.
A group of 14 Black female lawmakers led by Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. sent a letter to the president outlining their priorities and called on him to select a nominee committed to advancing civil rights but declined to name a candidate.
Bush told reporters, “I just don’t think it’s our place to pit Black women against each other who are trying to get this spot.”
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — A federal jury began deliberating Wednesday morning the fates of three former Minneapolis police officers accused of violating George Floyd’s civil rights by not providing medical aid during his fatal arrest and failing to stop their senior officer’s excessive use of force.
The U.S. District Court jury in St. Paul, Minnesota, received final instructions from Judge Paul Magnuson before the panel started weighing the evidence against Thomas Lane, 38, J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Tou Thao, 35.
Jurors heard closing arguments on Tuesday from prosecutors and defense attorneys, but were sent home before being handed the case due to a snow emergency declared in St. Paul.
In her closing argument, U.S. Assistant Attorney Manda Sertich asked the jury to convict all three defendants, alleging they ignored their duty to intervene as they watched Derek Chauvin “commit a violent crime” by kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed Floyd for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, rendering him unconscious and without a detectable pulse.
“No one did a thing to help,” Sertich told the jury.
Chauvin was convicted in state court last year of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. He later pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges stemming from Floyd’s 2020 death and the physical abuse of a handcuffed 14-year-old boy in 2017.
“A human being, someone’s son, father, friend, significant other, George Perry Floyd Jr. died a slow and torturous death … underneath their knees, handcuffed, unarmed, not resisting in broad daylight on a public street,” Sertich said.
Defendants failed to follow ‘plain, old common sense’
Sertich cited the inactions of all three men, starting with Thao, who testified during the trial that he never touched Floyd and was focused on “crowd control” during the Memorial Day 2020 episode. But Sertich said Thao refused to stop Chauvin’s brutality despite witnesses, including an off-duty firefighter, yelling at him to check on Floyd’s well-being.
She said Kueng and Lane, both rookie cops at the time of Floyd’s death, and Thao failed to follow “plain, old common sense.”
“Chauvin’s use of force was obvious and unreasonable to everyone, including bystanders which included juveniles,” Sertich said.
She added that Thao appeared more concerned with arguing and belittling “people trying to make him do what the law — not to mention human decency and common sense — required him to do.”
Turning her attention to Kueng, Sertich said that even as Floyd begged for his life and repeatedly complained he could not breathe, Kueng pressed the handcuffed man’s wrists into his back and laughed when Chauvin told Floyd that talking uses a lot of oxygen.
While Lane questioned Chauvin about whether they should put Floyd on his side to help ease his breathing and went with Floyd in the ambulance to assist paramedics, Sertich said he “did nothing to give George Floyd the medical aid he knew Mr. Floyd so desperately needed.”
All three defendants testified during the trial and each attempted to shift the blame to Chauvin, who was a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department.
“I would trust a 19-year veteran to figure it out,” Thao testified. Lane told the jury that Chauvin “deflected” all his suggestions to help Floyd and Kueng testified that Chauvin “was my senior officer and I trusted his advice.”
Sertich told the jury that Chauvin barely spoke to Lane, Kueng and Thao during the incident and certainly wasn’t “ordering them around.”
‘A tragedy is not a crime’
Thao’s attorney, Robert Paule, acknowledged in his closing argument that Floyd’s death was a tragedy.
“However, tragedy is not a crime,” Paule said.
Paule argued that the actions of all three officers showed they did not willfully neglect to help Floyd. Paule said Thao was the officer who radioed for an ambulance to step up its dispatch to the scene and suggested using a hobble device to restrain Floyd.
He also said Thao believed that Floyd was suffering from excited delirium, a syndrome in which a subject displays wild agitation and violent behavior, and the best thing to do was hold him down until paramedics arrived.
“They didn’t do that for a bad purpose,” Paule said. “They did that to get medical people there quickly.”
He asked the jury to review videos of the incident presented at the trial, noting, “Three officers are not able to control a person in handcuffs.”
Kueng’s attorney, Thomas Plunkett, said his client’s inadequate training by the Minneapolis Police Department, lack of experience and his “perceived subordinate role to Mr. Chauvin” combined for a perfect storm that cost Floyd his life and disproves the government’s allegations that Kueng willfully deprived Floyd of medical aid and failed to stop Chauvin.
Plunkett said Kueng was “under the influence” of Chauvin, his training officer.
“He respected this person. He looked up to this person. He relied on this person’s experience,” Plunkett said.
He added, “We often hear about the mob mentality. Courts are this country’s protection against the mob and courts depend vitally on you as jurors.”
Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, wrapped up the closing arguments by accusing the government of indicting an “innocent man.”
“In other words, you can do an innocent act and you can end up in a courtroom like this because that’s what happened to Thomas Lane,” Gray told the jury.
Gray left the jury to ponder the question, “Why did the government indict them?”
“We all know why,” Gray said. “Politics, ladies and gentlemen.”
ABC News’ Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — One winter storm has wreaked havoc on Midwest roadways, and another is gearing up to bring a dangerous wave of ice and snow to the Northeast.
The first storm slammed the Midwest Tuesday, dropping 10 to 30 inches of snow in some areas.
The Minnesota State Patrol reported 373 crashes in the last 24 hours, injuring 34 people.
The second storm is forecast to bring major ice accumulation this week from Texas to New York state.
On Wednesday the storm will create horrendous conditions on roads in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. A winter storm warning has been issued for Dallas where ice will be the biggest threat.
The storm then moves north, bringing rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
On Thursday morning an icy mix will bring sleet, snow and freezing rain to the Mid-Atlantic and Washington, D.C., area.
Thursday night, a more significant wave of ice and snow will arrive to the Interstate 95 corridor from D.C. to Philadelphia and into northern New Jersey.
Freezing rain and sleet will fall Thursday night into Friday morning from Philadelphia to New York City to New York’s Hudson Valley.
Friday morning’s rush hour may be very dangerous in New Jersey, New York City and up to Boston.
The storm will start to move out Friday afternoon with lingering snow most of the afternoon in New England.
Heavy snow is expected from central New York into Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Some areas could see up to 1 foot of snow, especially from Albany, New York, to Boston.
Northern Pennsylvania, the lower Hudson Valley, Connecticut and northern New Jersey could get 4 to 8 inches of snow.
Ice, sleet and freezing rain will be the biggest threat for Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey and New York City.
(ATLANTA) — Ahmaud Arbery Day has been officially recognized in Georgia on the second anniversary of his death, just one day after his killers were found guilty on all counts in the federal hate crime case surrounding Arbery’s death.
The Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution on Feb. 2 to permanently declare Feb. 23 as Ahmaud Arbery Day. Several events have been planned throughout the city by friends, family and local leaders to honor his memory.
The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, a mental wellness organization focused on Black men that was founded by Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, will hold a private event at the National Center of Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, at 10:30 a.m. where the organization will announce plans to foster “positivity” in light of the tragic killing.
In the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia, where Arbery was killed, a ceremony is planned near the site of his death at 1 p.m., where religious leaders and family will honor his memory and release doves.
A candlelight march is also planned for later that afternoon at 5 p.m. at the Brunswick Ahmaud Arbery mural.
A prayer vigil will be held in Marietta by the Cobb County’s District Attorney’s office at 2 p.m. on Marietta Square.
The memorials follow celebrations of justice outside of the federal courthouse in Brunswick, after the guilty hate crime verdict was read against Arbery’s three killers.
“We got justice for Ahmaud in the federal and the state,” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, said following the jury’s announcement.
Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan were guilty of being motivated by racial hate, interfering with Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping in Arbery’s death.
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down and shot to death by the three men while he was out for a Sunday jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in Brunswick.. All three men have also been convicted in connection with his murder.
Travis McMichael, who delivered the fatal shot, and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life without possible parole. Bryan, 53, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(ATLANTA) — Ahmaud Arbery Day has been officially recognized in Georgia on the second anniversary of Arbery’s death, just one day after his killers were found guilty on all counts in the federal hate crime case surrounding his death.
The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, a mental wellness organization focused on Black men that was founded by Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, announced that the non-profit will offer six $3,000 scholarships for higher education opportunities to seniors from Arbery’s former high school.
“Nothing will bring my son back, but I know that God wants us to repurpose the pain, my pain into service to make life better for other young men,” Cooper-Jones said at an event at the National Center of Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.
She added, “It is my honor to serve others in this way in recognition of my son’s life.”
The Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution on Feb. 2 to permanently declare Feb. 23 to be Ahmaud Arbery Day.
“The state of Georgia honors one of the most distinguished citizens,” said state representative Sandra G. Scott at the Wednesday event as she read the resolution. “Mr. Arbery was a loving son, brother of Jasmine Arbery, uncle, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend who left an impact on countless Georgians and Americans.”
She continued, “A compassionate and generous man, Mr. Arbery will long be remembered for his love of family and community.”
They encouraged communities to “run with ‘Maud,” by running 2.23 miles annually on this day, as a call for racial justice and equity in honor of Ahmaud who was killed while jogging.
In the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia, where Arbery was killed, a ceremony is planned near the site of his death at 1 p.m., where religious leaders and family will honor his memory and release doves.
A candlelight march is also planned for later that afternoon at 5 p.m. at the Brunswick Ahmaud Arbery mural.
A prayer vigil will be held in Marietta by the Cobb County’s District Attorney’s office at 2 p.m. on Marietta Square.
The memorials follow celebrations outside of the federal courthouse in Brunswick, after the guilty hate crime verdict was read against Arbery’s three killers on Tuesday.
“We got justice for Ahmaud in the federal and the state,” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, said following the jury’s announcement.
Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, were guilty of being motivated by racial hate, interfering with Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping in Arbery’s death.
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down and shot to death by the three men while he was out for a Sunday jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in Brunswick. All three men have also been convicted in connection with his murder.
Travis McMichael, who delivered the fatal shot, and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life without possible parole. Bryan, 53, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(BURLINGTON, N.C.) — A North Carolina couple became first-time parents on “Twosday.”
Aberli and Hank Spear welcomed their first child — a girl they’ve named Judah Grace Spear — on Feb. 22, 2022, at 2:22 a.m. at Cone Health Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington, North Carolina.
“Everyone in the room, all the nurses were cheering and there’s excitement,” Aberli Spear told Good Morning America. “I was like, maybe it’s because she’s finally born. But then I looked at my husband and I asked him, ‘Wait, what time was she born?’ And he was like, ‘2:22.’ It was funny because we were in room two, and then find out her weight is 122 ounces. So we’re like, ‘OK!’”
Jessica Brown, a nursing director at the Women’s & Children’s Center at Alamance Regional, told GMA the numerology of Judah’s birth stood out to the hospital staff too. “We share in the excitement of every birth at the Women’s & Children’s Center at Alamance Regional, but when you come up with all two’s like this, it is very exciting.”
Aberli Spear said she had initially planned to be induced at the hospital on Feb. 20.
“We were asked to come in to be induced — her due date’s originally the 22nd — but just for blood pressure reasons, they wanted me to come in earlier,” she said. “And so they induced me but it took a while. We labored for 26 hours. She ended up coming on her due date, which is awesome.”
Baby Judah’s memorable arrival is especially sweet for Spear and her husband since at one point they were told they may never have children.
Aberli Spear, 27, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer, in 2014.
“My husband and I had been dating for three months before I was diagnosed … we were told if we got married, wanted to start a family or something, it’d be nearly impossible,” she said. “And so we went to the clinic to talk about freezing eggs and stuff, but it’s like, it’s really expensive and insurance doesn’t cover it so we didn’t do that either.”
Spear, who said she’d always wanted kids, decided to undergo chemotherapy and hope for the best. In 2020, six years after her initial diagnosis, she found out she had finally beat her cancer.
Her cancer journey helped inspire her daughter’s name as well.
“She got her name Judah because it means praise in Hebrew. So it’s kind of funny because I love numbers, love math and all that stuff so this is kind of icing on the cake for me,” Spear said.
Spear’s mom, Kristi Engelbrecht, also told GMA that despite all the “pain and suffering” that Aberli and Hank have endured, she’s excited to see what’s in store for their growing family.
The Spears are over the moon about their little one. “This is something that we didn’t think that we could achieve,” Aberli Spear said.
“She’s definitely a miracle baby,” she added.
As for Judah, Aberli Spear said she had a message for her baby girl: “I want her to know that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, there’s always hope. God is always restoring, repairing and fulfilling your heart’s deepest desires, no matter what they are. He also has a sense of humor clearly. But it’s just, don’t give up hope.”
(NEW YORK) — President Joe Biden said the world is witnessing “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine” after weeks of escalating tensions in the region as he announced new economic sanctions on Russia Tuesday.
Biden’s remarks followed a fiery address from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Russian public on Monday evening, when the leader announced he was recognizing the independence of two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region: the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DNR and LNR) — prompting a set of sanctions from Western countries, including Germany halting approval of a major gas pipeline from Russia.
While the U.S. says some 190,000 Russian troops and separatist forces are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders, Russia has denied any wrongdoing and reiterated its demands Tuesday that Ukraine pledge to never join NATO.
Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:
Feb 23, 9:22 am
US sanctions to be met with ‘strong response,’ Russia warns
Russia warned Wednesday that the latest sanctions imposed by the United States “will be met with a strong response.”
“The round of sanctions announced by the United States Administration [already the 101st in a row] affecting the financial sector with the expansion of the list of persons against whom personal restrictions are imposed is in line with Washington’s ongoing attempts to change Russia’s course,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “There should be no doubt that the sanctions will be met with a strong response, not necessarily symmetrical, but well-grounded and sensitive for the American side.”
U.S. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the latest sanctions, which he said would target two Russian banks, Russia’s sovereign debt and, starting Wednesday, the Russian elite and their relatives.
Feb 23, 9:06 am
Russia marks Defender of the Fatherland Day
Russia marked Defender of the Fatherland Day on Wednesday.
In a video message, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated his fellow Russians on the public holiday and noted the importance of ensuring the country’s defense capability.
“Dear comrades, today ensuring the defense capability of our country remains the most important state task, and the armed forces serve as a reliable guarantee of national security, the peaceful and calm life of our citizens, and the stable, progressive development of Russia,” Putin said.
The Russian leader was seen taking part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow.
Feb 23, 6:24 am
Ukrainian military begins calling up 36,000 reservists
Ukraine’s military said Wednesday it has begun calling up some reservists in response to an order from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The military general staff said they will be calling up reservists aged 18 to 60 starting Wednesday.
The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said Wednesday that the number of reservists being called up was 36,000, most of whom he said already have combat experience.
On Tuesday, while signing a decree to call up some of Ukraine’s military reservists, Zelenskyy emphasized that it was not yet a full mobilization but just the “active reserve,” or troops with combat training.
Zelenskyy said the order was necessary because Ukraine’s military now needs to be at “heightened readiness” for any changes in the situation on the ground with Russia.
Feb 23, 6:17 am
Ukraine to declare nationwide state of emergency
The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, announced Wednesday that a nationwide state of emergency will be declared due to the threat of a Russian invasion.
The declaration must be approved by the Ukrainian parliament before the state of emergency can go into effect for an initial 30 days. The move, which differs from the introduction of martial law, would allow local authorities across the country of 41 million people to put restrictions and heightened security measures in place, such as curfews and limits on movement.
Danilov said the state of emergency would be a “preventative” measure “so that the country preserves its calm, so that our economy works and our country works.” Any restrictions imposed under the declaration would likely vary from region to region, according to Danilov.
“Depending on situation on the ground in a particular area, the local bodies can impose various measures including curfews, only if needed,” Danilov said at a press conference Wednesday. “We won’t make people suffer unnecessarily but we must insure people’s safety.”
He then gave examples of what those restrictions could be: “It can the reinforcing of security around public order and critical infrastructure facilities. It can be certain limits imposed of the movement of transport. It can mean additional vigilance. It can be the checking of various documents for people.”
Danilov noted that the state of emergency would be imposed on all of Ukraine’s territory except for the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk because a special emergency status has been in place there since 2014, when pro-Russian separatists took control of some areas.
Feb 23, 5:33 am
Ukrainian right-wing volunteer battalion mobilizes
One of Ukraine’s far-right volunteer battalions announced Wednesday it is mobilizing to prepare to fight, amid fears of an imminent Russian invasion.
During Russia’s first invasion in 2014, the Ukrainian army was in disarray, prompting civilians to form volunteer battalions — many of them with right-wing ideologies. These highly motivated private armies — some funded by oligarchs — helped stem the fall of eastern Ukraine to Russia-backed separatists.
But once large-scale fighting had ended, the Ukrainian government moved the volunteer battalions back from the front line because they were seen as potentially provocative and problematic.
The so-called Right Sector is one of Ukraine’s most famous volunteer battalions. It’s made up of radical nationalists who played a crucial role in the 2014 revolution. In Russia, the group was made into a propaganda boogeyman.
The Right Sector’s return to the front line in eastern Ukraine will be used heavily by Russian propaganda. But it also shows how worried Ukrainians are getting, especially if more volunteer battalions start mobilizing.
In a Facebook post Wednesday, Right Sector said it is mobilizing its “assault brigade” due to the “high probability of the start of a full-scale invasion by the Russian army.”
“Our unit has already defended Ukrainian independence for 8 years from the occupiers,” the group said. “In the case of a full scale invasion we, as always, will be at the front of the fight.”
Feb 23, 4:29 am
Russia claims 100,000 refugees have fled eastern Ukraine
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed Wednesday that 100,000 refugees from two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine have arrived across the border in Russia.
The claim was unverified and highly improbable, as it appeared to be part of Russia’s intensifying efforts to spin an image of a major humanitarian crisis in the region to build a pretext for a possible invasion.
Russia-backed separatists have forced civilians living in the areas to evacuate despite the fact that there is no increased threat from the Ukrainian military. While thousands of people have been bused out of the region to Russia, the alleged figure of 100,000 appeared vastly exaggerated.
Russia’s claims have been accompanied by a barrage of false stories and staged videos of alleged attacks by Ukrainian forces, all of which have been blaring across Russian state media in recent days.
Feb 23, 12:03 am
Russia-backed separatists make ‘terror attacks’ claim as Russia continues to build pretext
Russian-controlled separatists are claiming two large “terrorist attacks” took place in their territory Tuesday night, as the separatists and Russia continue to intensify their efforts to create a pretext for a possible Russian attack.
The separatists claimed explosions went off at a TV tower and near a trolley bus depot, and they released video afterward they claim shows emergency workers looking at damage.
The claims are highly suspect, and they came amid a barrage of fake reports of supposed Ukrainian attacks that are being swiftly debunked.
The claims also came as Ukraine released video showing heavy artillery fire from separatists hitting a village called Chastiya — which means “happiness” — on the Ukrainian side of the frontline. The video appears to show rockets striking a house.
Artillery fire also hit a power station nearby yesterday.
It appears the Russian-controlled separatists have intensified their fire onto Ukrainian positions in the hope of stoking return fire and creating an impression of a general escalation.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Opening arguments will take place Wednesday in the trial for the sole Louisville, Kentucky, police officer charged in connection to the “no-knock” search warrant raid that killed Breonna Taylor.
Brett Hankison is charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment of Taylor’s neighbors. He allegedly fired shots that endangered three people who were inside an apartment directly behind Taylor’s.
Hankison was fired from the Louisville Police Department after the March 2020 shooting.
Hankison is the only officer charged in connection with the incident and no officers have been charged with shooting Taylor.
The deadly shooting took place shortly after midnight on March 13, 2020. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black medical worker, was asleep at home with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.
Officers arrived and executed a “no-knock” search warrant as part of an investigation into a suspected drug operation, allegedly linked to Taylor’s ex-boyfriend.
Walker, who claims he thought the officers were intruders, fired one gunshot, striking an officer in the leg. In response, police opened fire, and Taylor was shot multiple times. No drugs were found in Taylor’s apartment.
Hankison has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
Two other officers involved were also fired from the police department: the officer who fired the shot that killed Taylor per a ballistics analysis and the officer who prepared the search warrant.
(NEW YORK) — Wall Street is jittery as tensions continue to escalate between Russia and Ukraine.
On Tuesday, stocks were down, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 482.57 points lower, a decrease of 1.42%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also took a hit, falling 44.11 points and 166.55 points, respectively.
“People are feeling it in their 401(k)s and in their retirement savings,” says ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis.
But, she notes, consumers are also feeling the impact of the crisis overseas at the pump.
“[P]rices up overnight again, now $3.54 a gallon is the national average — up 20 cents over the last month,” Jarvis says. “And we were already dealing with inflation coming into this — that is why the market has been jittery for some time, and it continues to feel jittery and cautious.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell, stock futures were up across the board.
