(SACRAMENTO) — At least 18 people were injured, six fatally, when a mass shooting erupted early Sunday in downtown Sacramento, California, and police said no suspects were in custody.
The Sacramento Police Department said several streets in downtown Sacramento just blocks from the state Capitol building and the Golden 1 Center where the Kings NBA team plays were closed as officers responded to the gun violence. The conditions of the victims were not immediately known, police said.
The shooting came just several hours after one person was killed and 10 people were injured when gunfire erupted at an outdoor concert in Dallas, Texas.
The Sacramento shooting broke out about 2 a.m. near the corner of 10th and K Street in a popular nightlife area, Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said at a news conference.
Lester said police officers were in the area and heard the gunshot.
“We had a large crowd in the area. We don’t know if it was part of a club or an event,” Lester said.
She said officers immediately responded and began providing medical aid to victims.
In a statement Sunday afternoon, police said six people were fatally shot and another 12 were injured and taken to hospitals.
Lester asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspect or suspects involved in the shooting, saying no one was in custody.
Pamela Harris of Sacramento told ABC News that her son, Sergio Harris, a married father of two daughters, was among those killed. She said she went to the scene of the shooting at about 2:30 a.m. after getting a call from someone who is not in law enforcement, informing her that her 38-year-old son was among those killed.
“My son was a very vivacious young man, fun to be around, liked to party, have fun, smiling all the time, didn’t bother people. For this to happen … it’s crazy,” Harris told reporters at the scene. “I’m just to the point right now I don’t know what to do. I don’t even think this is real. I feel like it’s a dream.”
Community activist Berry Accius of Voice of the Youth said he arrived at the scene at about 2:30 a.m. after a city council member called him about the shooting.
“It was just horrific,” Accius told ABC affiliate station KXTV in Sacramento. “Just as soon as I walked up you saw a chaotic scene, police all over the place, victims with blood all over their bodies, folks screaming, folks crying, people going, ‘Where is my brother?’ Mothers crying and trying to identify who their child was.”
Video posted on Twitter showed people running through the street as the apparent sound of rapid gunfire could be heard in the background.
“Please avoid the area as a large police presence will remain and the scene remains active,” police officials said in a statement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it is assisting the Sacramento Police Department in the investigation.
Sacramento police asked anyone in the area at the time of the shooting to submit to investigators any photos and video, or other evidence linked to the violence.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg condemned the shooting during a news conference Sunday afternoon in downtown Sacramento.
“This is a senseless and unacceptable tragedy. And I emphasize the word unacceptable,” Steinberg said. “Thoughts and prayers are not nearly enough. We must do more as a city as a state and as a nation. This senseless epidemic of gun violence must be addressed. How many unending tragedies does it take before we begin to cure the sickness in this country? Let us be honest, this is a sickness.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer, issued a statement, saying he was monitoring the shooting and that his administration is working closely with law enforcement.
“Sadly, we once again mourn the lives lost and for those injured in yet another horrendous act of gun violence. Jennifer and I send our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and to the wider community impacted by this terrible tragedy,” Newsom’s statement reads. “What we do know at this point is that another mass casualty shooting has occurred, leaving families with lost loved ones, multiple individuals injured and a community in grief. The scourge of gun violence continues to be a crisis in our country, and we must resolve to bring an end to this carnage.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.” Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as other major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 04, 7:41 am
Kremlin reacts to images of dead bodies in Bucha
Russia responded on Monday to accusations that its troops have deliberately killed civilians in Ukraine, after images emerged showing bodies in civilian clothes scattered in areas on the outskirts of the capital that were recently recaptured from Russian forces.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venedyktova said Sunday that 410 civilians were found dead in towns near Kyiv.
During a daily press briefing on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia “categorically dismiss[es] any accusations” of its role in civilian killings and that Moscow does not trust the evidence in Bucha.
“This information should be seriously doubted,” Peskov told reporters. “From what we have seen, the video materials cannot be trusted to a large extent, as our specialists from the Defense Ministry have detected signs of video forgery and other kinds of fakes.”
The Kremlin demands that “international leaders do not jump to conclusions, do not make hasty unsupported accusations but at least seek information from various sources and at least listen to our arguments,” Peskov said.
“The facts, the chronology of events also do not speak in favor of the credibility of these claims,” he added.
Russia will reiterate its calls to discuss the matter at the United Nations Security Council on Monday, according to Peskov.
“We believe that the issue should be discussed at the highest level, so we have proposed that it be discussed at the Security Council. We are aware that the initiative has been blocked,” he said. “Our diplomats will continue active efforts towards putting this item on the Security Council’s agenda. This issue is too serious.”
“The initiative aimed to put the item on the Security Council agenda demonstrates that Russia wants and actually demands its discussion at the international level,” he added.
Apr 04, 7:11 am
Russia seeks UN Security Council meeting on Bucha for Monday
Russia said it will repeat its request for the United Nations Security Council to meet on Monday over what Moscow described as “criminal provocations by Ukrainian soldiers and radicals” in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
The United Kingdom’s mission to the U.N., which assumed the presidency of the 15-member Security Council for April, has said the group will hold a scheduled discussion on Ukraine on Tuesday, rather than meet on Monday as requested by Russia.
“Yesterday, in the worst English tradition, the British presidency of the U.N. Security Council did not give consent to holding a meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Bucha,” Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement via Telegram on Monday. “Russia today will again demand the convening of the U.N. Security Council in connection with the criminal provocations of the Ukrainian military and radicals in this city.”
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venedyktova announced Sunday that 410 civilians were found dead in recently recaptured towns near the capital as part of an investigation into possible war crimes by Russian forces. Images emerged showing bodies in civilian clothes strewn in the streets of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv.
Russia’s deputy representative to the U.N. Security Council, Dmitry Polyansky, said via Twitter on Sunday that Moscow had requested a meeting to be held on Monday “in connection with the monstrous provocation of Ukrainian radicals in Bucha.”
Apr 04, 6:01 am
Russian troops, Wagner mercenaries move into Ukraine’s Donbas region
Russian forces are continuing to consolidate and reorganize as they refocus their offensive into the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update Monday.
“Russian troops, including mercenaries from the Russian state-linked Wagner private military company, are being moved into the area,” the ministry added.
Wagner is the best-known of an array of Russian mercenary groups and has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian company has deployed fighters to countries in the Middle East and Africa. U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson John Kirby told reporters last month that Wagner “has an interest in increasing their footprint in Ukraine.”
Apr 03, 10:37 pm
Zelenskyy speaks at Grammys: ‘Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a brief speech at the on Sunday night.
Zelenskyy, in a video message, said war is the opposite of music, but hopes soon the silence of death will be filled with the sound of music.
“The war doesn’t let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence. Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos,” Zelenskyy told the audience. “They sing to the wounded. In hospitals. Even to those who can’t hear them. But the music will break through anyway.”
Apr 03, 8:14 pm
7 dead, 34 wounded in Kharkiv shelling, 70% of Chernihiv destroyed
At least seven civilians are dead and 34 are wounded following shelling in Kharkiv, the region’s prosecutor’s office announced Sunday.
The shelling occurred Sunday evening in the city’s Slobidskyi district, according to the Kharkiv regional military administration Oleg Sinehubov, who added that children are among the victims.
Meanwhile, in Chernihiv, around 70% of the city has been destroyed, according to Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko, who was speaking on Ukrainian TV.
He added that businesses are not operating. Ukrainian soldiers have been able to liberate several villages in the Chernihiv region in the past couple of days.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Apr 03, 4:20 pm
‘Concentrated evil has come,’ Zelenskyy addresses civilian deaths in Bucha
Following graphic images of casualties coming out of Bucha, Ukraine, after Russian military withdrawal, Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has strong words about he called, “concentrated evil, in his daily address Sunday. Here are excerpts from that address:
“Hundreds of people were killed. Tortured, executed civilians. Corpses on the streets. Mined area. Even the bodies of the dead were mined!”
“Concentrated evil has come to our land. Murderers. Torturers. Rapists. Looters. Who call themselves the army. And who deserve only death after what they did.”
“I want every mother of every Russian soldier to see the bodies of the killed people in Bucha, in Irpin, in Hostomel. What did they do? Why were they killed? What did the man who was riding his bicycle down the street do? Why were ordinary civilians in an ordinary peaceful city tortured to death? Why were women strangled after their earrings were ripped out of their ears? How could women be raped and killed in front of children? How could their corpses be desecrated even after death? Why did they crush the bodies of people with tanks? What did the Ukrainian city of Bucha do to your Russia? How did all this become possible?”
“All partners of Ukraine will be informed in detail about what happened in the temporarily occupied territory of our state. War crimes in Bucha and other cities during the Russian occupation will also be considered by the UN Security Council on Tuesday.”
Zelenslyy also invited former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Ukraine to witness the carnage.
“We do not blame the West. We do not blame anyone but the specific Russian military who did this against our people,” Zelenskyy, who has pleaded with the U.S. and NATO allies to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a measure so far, that President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have refused to do, said.
(NEW YORK) — Processing Russia’s war on Ukraine has been a challenge for all children, especially those who were forced to flee their homes, say goodbye to family members and watch their entire lives change overnight.
To help these children traumatized by living in war zones and bring attention to their plight, artist Brian McCarty is capturing war through their eyes. His project, War Toys, asks children living within violence to draw the destruction they’ve witnessed.
“We want to do everything we can while the fighting is going on, recognizing it’s not until the fighting stops that real recovery happens,” McCarty said in an interview with ABC News Live Friday. “So, for now we’re just getting in any way we can, giving support any way we can.”
McCarty partners with organizations working in the war zone to recreate the children’s drawings in real life, using toys found in the local area, and staging them to represent the artwork drawn by young people.
“It’s the idea to find the local toys that are available to them as a layer of cultural commentary and artifact, and really unify the types of toys you can find anywhere and connect children and adults the same,” said McCarty.
To start these efforts in Ukraine, McCarty partnered with First Aid of the Soul, a newly formed, grassroots effort being built by Ukrainian art therapist Nathalie Robelot. Once it’s safe, the therapists will gather stories from affected children.
War Toys also works with U.N. agencies to amplify the voices of the children under their care, and produce artwork in hopes to inspire change through campaigns and presentations.
Founded in 2019, it’s helped provide art therapy and services to children living in the Middle East. Rubber ducks, dolls and other kids toys have helped bring drawings from Syria and Iraq come to life.
McCarty said it’s meaningful for children to see this pain from another point of view, and that the toys help make them feel safe. The photographs of toys in war zones are also helping children from afar. In the United States, children have come across graphic images and videos of the war in Ukraine, forcing parents and teachers to find ways to address the crisis in an age-appropriate way.
At Holy Innocents Episcopal School in Atlanta, McCarty has displayed the photographs of war toys, giving American children a way to also find comfort in the chaos that’s happening overseas.
“It just worked perfectly to bring him in, to help us really try to teach our children about the difficulties of war,” said the Rev. Bill Murray, the eighth rector of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church. “But especially that it is not just the soldiers that are on the field, that there are families that are hurting, that there are so many that are lost and need help.”
The reverend said the artwork has helped better explain the war to his students, making them feel more connected to what people their age are going through in Ukraine.
“Taking these pictures and showing the world these photos brings that into the realness, encouraging others to want to help these kids who are in these countries and suffering so much with all that they have seen and all that they have gone through,” Gracie Cavallo, a ninth grader at Holy Innocents Episcopal School, told ABC News Live. “It helps bring us together as a community and a world.”
(DALLAS) — At least 12 people were shot, one fatally, when gunfire erupted at a concert in Dallas early Sunday, police said.
Three of the victims are juveniles, according to the Dallas Police Department.
The episode occurred several hours before another mass shooting broke out in downtown Sacramento, California, in which six people were killed and at least 10 others were injured.
Dallas police said investigators are working to identify the suspect or suspects in the concert shooting, but no one had been taken into custody as of Sunday afternoon.
“A preliminary investigation determined that at the event, one individual fired a gun into the air, then another unknown individual fired a gun in the crowd’s direction,” the Dallas Police Department said in a statement.
The person killed was identified by police as 26-year-old Kealon Dejuane Gilmore. Police said Gilmore was found lying near the stage with a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Eleven other people were injured in the shooting and taken to hospitals in private vehicles. One of the victims was in critical condition while the others were in stable condition, police said.
The shooting broke out about 12:13 a.m. at a venue in south Dallas. Police said the shooting occurred at an event billed as a trail ride and concert.
“Upon arrival, officers learned that multiple victims were shot while attending a concert,” police said in a statement.
The shooting occurred at the concert that was supposed to be headlined by Big Boogie, a rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. A notice posted on the entertainer’s Instagram page said the shooting occurred before Big Boogie arrived at the venue, according to ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas.
A flyer for the outdoor show said the gates were to open at noon on Saturday and that horses and ATVs were welcomed. Children aged 10 and under were to be admitted for free, the flier read.
Dallas police officers were expected to be at the concert for security and the event’s promoters noted that they were “not responsible for accidents or theft.”
A witness told WFAA that the event was “jam-packed” with people and that concert-goers started to run in all directions seeking cover and preventing police and emergency vehicle from quickly entering the scene to treat victims.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and that a motive remains unclear.
A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered by Crime Stoppers for information leading to arrests and indictments of the perpetrators, police said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.” Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as other major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 03, 4:20 pm
‘Concentrated evil has come,’ Zelenskyy addresses civilian deaths in Bucha
Following graphic images of casualties coming out of Bucha, Ukraine, after Russian military withdrawal, Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has strong words about he called, “concentrated evil, in his daily address Sunday. Here are excerpts from that address:
“Hundreds of people were killed. Tortured, executed civilians. Corpses on the streets. Mined area. Even the bodies of the dead were mined!”
“Concentrated evil has come to our land. Murderers. Torturers. Rapists. Looters. Who call themselves the army. And who deserve only death after what they did.”
“I want every mother of every Russian soldier to see the bodies of the killed people in Bucha, in Irpin, in Hostomel. What did they do? Why were they killed? What did the man who was riding his bicycle down the street do? Why were ordinary civilians in an ordinary peaceful city tortured to death? Why were women strangled after their earrings were ripped out of their ears? How could women be raped and killed in front of children? How could their corpses be desecrated even after death? Why did they crush the bodies of people with tanks? What did the Ukrainian city of Bucha do to your Russia? How did all this become possible?”
“All partners of Ukraine will be informed in detail about what happened in the temporarily occupied territory of our state. War crimes in Bucha and other cities during the Russian occupation will also be considered by the UN Security Council on Tuesday.”
Zelenslyy also invited former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Ukraine to witness the carnage.
“We do not blame the West. We do not blame anyone but the specific Russian military who did this against our people,” Zelenskyy, who has pleaded with the U.S. and NATO allies to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a measure so far, that President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have refused to do, said.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Apr 03, 3:02 pm
World leaders react to images showing bodies of civilians scattered on streets
Several world leaders on Sunday reacted to images shared by Ukraine’s president’s office, claiming to show the bodies of civilians scattered on the streets after the withdrawal of Russian troops from areas northwest of Kyiv.
In some of the photos, unarmed civilians appear to have been executed with their hands tied behind their backs.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the deaths of civilians in Bucha a “brutality” on CNN’s “State of the Union” show, and said “I strongly welcome” an investigation by International Criminal Court, which has opened an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine.
“You can’t but [see] those images as a punch to the gut … Since the aggression, we’ve come out and said that we believe Russian forces have committed war crimes and we’ve been working to document that, to provide the information that we have to the relevant institutions and organizations that will put all of this together,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told CNN’s State of the Union Sunday.
“Russia’s despicable attacks against innocent civilians in Irpin and Bucha are yet more evidence that Putin and his army are committing war crimes in Ukraine,” U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “No denial or disinformation from the Kremlin can hide what we all know to be the truth — Putin is desperate, his invasion is failing, and Ukraine’s resolve has never been stronger. I will do everything in my power to starve Putin’s war machine. We are stepping up our sanctions and military support, as well as bolstering our humanitarian support package to help those in need on the ground. The UK has been at the forefront of supporting the international Criminal Court’s investigation into atrocities committed in Ukraine. The Justice Secretary has authorized additional financial support and the deployment of specialist investigators – we will not rest until justice is served,” Johnson said.
Other world leaders expressed their feelings on social media.
“Appalled by reports of unspeakable horrors in areas from which Russia is withdrawing. An independent investigation is urgently needed. Perpetrators of war crimes will be held accountable,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on Twitter.
“Mass killings of Ukrainian civilians by #Russia are clear war crimes,” Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Twitter.. “We need courage, moral clarity and more action to stop it. Indifference is the mother of all crimes. Evidence must be gathered, saved for trials, and perpetrators must face justice. We need a 5th round of strong EU sanctions as soon as possible. Finally, our top priority should be increased military aid to #Ukraine. They need it to take back their cities and free people from Russian occupation and repression. #StandWithUkraine”
The prime minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša also weighed in on Twitter: “This are massive crimes against humanity. Russian army behaves as a horde of KGB executioners at Katyn. And at many other places after and before. Never bearing responsibility. After seeing #BuchaMassacre, we are terrified to even imagine what we will see in #Mariupol.”
Belgium’s Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès, also posted om Twitter: “The images from the city of #Bucha confirm the fears we have had since February, which have led us to support several international investigations, including that of the @IntlCrimCourt. Impunity must not be allowed.”
“Terrible images of destruction and reported executions of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, in wake of Russian aggression. Reminiscent of darkest scenes from European history. To fight impunity :flag-se: will support @IntlCrimCourt investigation, incl financially and with seconded personnel,” Sweden’s prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, also posted to Twitter
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Apr 03, 10:23 am
Ukraine asks for investigation into Russian ‘war crimes’
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, called on the International Criminal Court and other international organizations to investigate Russians committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“I urge the International Criminal Court and international organizations to send their missions to Bucha and other liberated towns and villages of the Kyiv region, in cooperation with Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, to collect all evidence of Russian war crimes as carefully as possible,” Kuleba said Sunday on Times UK radio.
“We are still collecting and looking for bodies, but the toll has already gone into the hundreds. Dead bodies lie on the streets. They killed civilians while in and out of these villages and towns,” he said.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd
Apr 03, 4:22 am
Russia strikes Odessa, strategic Black Sea port city
Plumes of dark smoke rose on Sunday over Odessa, Ukraine, after an early morning Russian attack on the strategic and historic port city.
Missiles struck critical infrastructure facilities in the southern city, which sits on the Black Sea, Ukraine’s southern command announced. Casualties have not yet been reported.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd
Apr 02, 6:43 pm
Zelenskyy updates on resistance’s progress, calls on West to send more weapons
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a new address Saturday updating the progress of the country’s defense against Russian forces.
Ukrainian forces are regaining control of the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, according to the president.
“There are more and more Ukrainian national flags in the areas that have been temporarily occupied,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy, however, said his country hasn’t received any new weapon systems from the West and chastised Western allies.
“Every Russian missile that hit our cities and every bomb dropped on our people, on our children, only adds black paint to the history that will describe everyone on whom the decision depended; [the] decision whether to help Ukraine with modern weapons,” he said.
-ABC News’ Jason Volack
Apr 02, 2:53 pm
Ukrainian photographer found dead in Kyiv area
Acclaimed Ukrainian photographer Maksim Levin was found dead by police in the Kyiv region, , a Ukrainian online publication, confirmed.
Levin went missing on March 13 while covering fighting in the village of Moshchun, Ukraine, with Oleksiy Chernyshov, who has not yet been found. Intense fighting broke out in the area where they were.
Levin worked as a photojournalist, documentary photographer and cameraman for many Ukrainian and international publications, according to .
He worked in the editorial office of for more than 10 years, and has also worked with Reuters, BBC, TRT World, Associated Press and Hromadske.
Apr 02, 1:54 pm
Ukrainian flag raised over Chernobyl
The Ukrainian national flag was raised above the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Saturday at 11:00 a.m. local time, as workers sung the national anthem and celebrated the departure of Russian troops who had occupied the site for weeks.
“The flag-raising ceremony was attended by the station’s operational personnel, who have been ensuring and continue to ensure the nuclear and radiation safety of the facilities during the difficult conditions of the occupation,” Energoatom, Ukraine’s state enterprise which operates its nuclear power stations, posted on its Telegram channel.
Apr 02, 1:51 pm
Russia to halt cooperation over International Space Station unless sanctions lifted: Roscosmos CEO
Roscosmos, the Russian state space corporation, said it will present the Russian government with proposals for discontinuing international cooperation on the International Space Station.
“Specific proposals from Roscosmos on the timeframe for ending cooperation on the ISS with the space agencies of the United States, Canada, the European Union and Japan will be submitted to our country’s administration in the near future,” Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin said on his Telegram channel.
Resumption of normal cooperation with ISS partners is only possible if the sanctions are fully lifted, Rogozin said.
“I believe that restoration of normal relations between the partners on the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only if the illegal sanctions are lifted fully and unconditionally,” he wrote.
Apr 02, 9:06 am
Red Cross traveling to Mariupol once more to evacuate civilians
Red Cross renewed its attempts to send a team to Mariupol on Saturday to evacuate civilians, after a team was unable to reach the city on Friday.
“Our team is on the move this morning from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol. I’m not able to give further information at this stage,” a Red Cross spokesperson said to Reuters.
An estimated 160,000 people are trapped in Mariupol.
A team on Friday had to abandon its plan to send 54 buses and many cars to Mariupol after it was unable to get security guarantees for the convoy.
Apr 02, 8:49 am
Pope says he is considering trip to Kyiv
Pope Francis told reporters Saturday that he is considering making a trip to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Asked by a reporter on the papal plane taking Francis from Rome to Malta if he was considering an invitation made by Ukrainian political and religious authorities, Francis answered: “Yes, it is on the table.” He gave no further details.
The pope didn’t mention Russian President Vladimir Putin by name during his remarks, but said “some potentate” had unleashed the threat of nuclear war on the world in an “infantile and destructive aggression” under the guise of “anachronist claims of nationalistic interests.”
“We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past,” Francis added.
Apr 02, 8:40 am
Zelenskyy says Russian forces are leaving behind ‘a catastrophic situation’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zeleneksyy claimed Russian forces are leaving behind “a catastrophic situation” and that they are mining the entire territory.
“Occupiers are retreating in the north of our country, slowly but noticeably. Somewhere they are pushed away with fighting, somewhere they are leaving their positions themselves. After their withdrawal, the situation is catastrophic, and there is so much danger,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy then claimed, “First of all, airstrikes might continue. Secondly, they are mining the entire territory, houses, hardware, even the bodies of those killed. There are so many tripwires and other dangers.”
He warned that people returning to these territories should be careful as “it’s still not possible to return to normal life as it used to be, even at the territories that we are taking back after the fighting. We need wait till our land is de-mined, wait till we are able to assure you that there won’t be new shelling.”
Zelenskyy claimed Ukrainians have been able to evacuate 6,266 people, including 3,071 residents of Mariupol. He also said they are discussing the evacuation of the injured and killed military personnel and civilians, with Turkey acting as an intermediary.
Zelenskyy said Russian troops are preparing for new “powerful strikes” in the east and warned that Russia is trying to conscript people in Crimea.
Zelenskyy, speaking in Russian, addressed the Russian people, asking them to, “Warn every conscript and their parents that we don’t need more killed people here. Take care of your children so that they don’t turn into evil. Don’t let them go to the army. Do whatever you can to let them live at home, at their home.”
Apr 01, 6:11 pm
US cancels ballistic missile test to avoid escalation with Russia
A U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile test that was initially postponed in early March to avoid “misinterpretation” by Russia was recently canceled, the Department of the Air Force said Friday.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin originally delayed the routine test flight of an LGM-30G Minuteman III missile after Russia put its nuclear deterrent forces on a state of heightened alert.
“The launch had been previously delayed due to an overabundance of caution to avoid misinterpretation or miscommunication during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and was cancelled for the same reason,” the Air Force said in a statement. “Our next planned test flight is later this year. The Department is confident in the readiness of the strategic forces of the United States.”
Apr 01, 4:23 pm
Kyiv suburb Bucha liberated from Russian forces, mayor says
Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, has been liberated from Russian forces, its mayor declared.
“March 31 will go down in the history of our settlement and the entire territorial community as a day of liberation from the Russian occupiers by our armed forces,” Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk said in a video posted to Facebook Friday. “Today I state that this day is joyful and it is a great victory of our armed forces in Kyiv region.”
Last week, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces battling toward Kyiv were able to partially take several northwestern suburbs, including Bucha.
Apr 01, 3:56 pm
Over 6,200 evacuated from southeastern Ukraine Friday
Over 6,200 people were evacuated from regions in southeastern Ukraine Friday by buses and private cars, according to Ukrainian officials.
In the Donetsk region, 3,071 people were evacuated from the besieged port city of Mariupol, officials said.
Earlier Friday, Mariupol officials said an estimated 100,000 civilians remained trapped in the city despite repeated efforts by Ukrainian officials to evacuate them.
Additionally, over 1,700 people were evacuated from the Luhansk region, and over 1,400 from the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian officials said.
Apr 01, 1:20 pm
Ukraine, Russia hold talks on proposed security guarantee treaty
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators continued peace talks virtually on Friday, Mykhailo Podolyak, a chief negotiator for the Ukrainians, told ABC News.
“On the table is the key document proposed by the Ukrainian delegation – the Treaty on Security Guarantees,” Podolyak said. This proposed agreement provides for the possibility of exit from the war and the prevention of future conflicts.
Ukraine proposed a new system of security guarantees similar to NATO’s collective defense clause which would legally require “guarantor countries” to provide arms and impose a “no-fly” zone over Ukraine, in the event of an attack.
Both sides are working on the legal wording of the basic provisions of the contract, Podolyak said.
“The discussion is extremely difficult, since the negotiating positions of the parties are strongly influenced by the daily change in the military situation on all lines of contact,” Podolyak said.
Apr 01, 12:53 pm
Red Cross unable to reach Mariupol, will attempt again Saturday
An International Committee of the Red Cross team that was on its way to Mariupol to facilitate the safe passage of civilians on Friday had to return to Zaporizhzhia. The ICRC said arrangements and conditions made it impossible to proceed.
The ICRC team, which consists of three vehicles and nine personnel, said it will try again on Saturday.
The ICRC said it is critical that parties respect the agreements and provide the necessary conditions and security guarantees, and that it plans to accompany the convoy out of Mariupol to another Ukrainian city.
Apr 01, 9:44 am
Radiation around Chernobyl plant is normal: IAEA director general
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said on Friday that radiation around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is normal.
“General radiation around the plant is quite normal,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said at a press conference.
There have been instances of relatively higher levels of localized radiation, which may have been caused by heavy vehicles moving in the area, the IAEA said.
The IAEA said it does not have any evidence that people were possibly contaminated.
Russia has not discussed its withdrawal from Chernobyl with the IAEA, the organization said.
“On the issue of radiation we are in consultation with the Ukrainian side,” Grossi said.
Grossi repeatedly stressed the unpredictability of working in a war zone, saying things may not have gone strictly according to plan.
“In case there was an emergency taking place, we are setting up a mechanism whereby we can send a team to assist almost immediately,” Grossi said.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Apr 01, 9:22 am
ICRC says a large humanitarian convoy is trying to get to Mariupol
The International Committee of the Red Cross is leading a large convoy on Friday to help civilians escape the hellscape that has become of Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol, according to Crystal Wells, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based humanitarian organization.
“This effort has been and remains extremely complex,” Wells told ABC News in a statement. “There are a lot of moving parts and not all the details are yet in place to ensure that this happens in a safe manner today. We remain hopeful, we are in action moving toward Mariupol, but it’s not yet clear that this will happen today.”
According to Wells, the three ICRC vehicles, carrying nine ICRC staff, are leading vehicles from other organizations — “potentially 54 buses.” Images circulating on social media show other civilian vehicles joining the convoy.
“Our presence puts a humanitarian marker on this movement of people, giving the convoy additional protection and reminding all sides of the civilian, non-military, humanitarian nature of the operation,” Wells said. “If and when it does happen, the ICRC’s role as a neutral intermediary will be to lead the convoy out from Mariupol to another city in Ukraine. We’re unable to confirm which city at the moment as this is something the parties must agree to.”
The situation in Mariupol “is horrendous and deteriorating, and it’s now a humanitarian imperative that people be allowed to leave, and aid supplies be allowed in,” according to Wells.
“We’re running out of adjectives to describe the horrors that residents in Mariupol have suffered,” she added. “The people of Mariupol have suffered weeks of heavy fighting, with dwindling water, food and medical supplies.”
The ICRC has had “open communication channels” with both Ukraine and Russia, Wells said, “but ensuring that all the details are agreed upon and well understood by all sides, and then communicated down the chain of command, and to the residents of Mariupol, is a challenge, and one that continues to take time to sort out.”
“The details that we insist are cemented in place include the exact safe passage route, its exact start time, and its duration,” she noted. “We have to be certain that a cease-fire holds. We have to be certain that this humanitarian convoy can safely move through military checkpoints.”
-ABC News’ Brian Hartman
Apr 01, 8:58 am
Ukrainian forces retake 2 villages south of Chernihiv, says UK
Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka to the south of Chernihiv, located along one of the main supply routes between the northern city and Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Friday in an intelligence update.
“Ukraine has also continued to make successful but limited counter attack to the east and north east of Kyiv,” the ministry added. “Both Chernihiv and Kyiv have been subjected to continued air and missile strikes despite Russian claims of reducing activity in these areas.”
Apr 01, 7:19 am
Ukraine declines to comment on Russia’s accusation of attacking oil depot
Ukraine has declined to comment on Russia’s accusation that it carried out airstrikes on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod early Friday.
“We do not comment on Russian fakes,” Volodymy Fityo, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ground Forces, told ABC News. “And we do not comment on the words of Russian officials who speak under the influence of substances.”
Earlier Friday, Belgorod Oblast Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement via Telegram that two low-flying Ukrainian helicopters had entered Russian airspace and fired on an oil depot in Belgorod city, setting the building ablaze.
The depot run by Russian energy giant Roseneft is located about 21 miles north of the border with Ukraine. Two employees were injured but are expected to survive, while all other staff have been safely evacuated from the building, according to Gladkov.
Verified videos circulating online show an attack on an oil depot in Belgorod and the aftermath.
-ABC News’ James Longman
Apr 01, 6:43 am
Over 4.1 million refugees have fled Ukraine: UNHCR
More than 4.1 million people have been forced to flee Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency.
The tally from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) amounts to just over 9.2% of Ukraine’s population — which the World Bank counted at 44 million at the end of 2020 — on the move across borders in 36 days.
More than half of the refugees crossed into neighboring Poland, UNHCR figures show.
-ABC News’ Zoe Magee
Apr 01, 5:48 am
Russia accuses Ukraine of striking oil depot in Russian city of Belgorod
Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out airstrikes on the Russian city of Belgorod early Friday.
Belgorod Oblast Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement via Telegram that two low-flying Ukrainian helicopters entered Russian airspace and fired on an oil depot in Belgorod city, setting the building ablaze. Ukraine has yet to comment on the claim.
The depot run by Russian energy giant Roseneft is located about 21 miles north of the border with Ukraine. Two employees were injured but are expected to survive, while all other staff have been safely evacuated from the building, according to Gladkov.
Security camera footage circulating online and verified by ABC News shows an attack on an oil depot in Belgorod. In the video, two airstrikes can be seen in the distance, with a helicopter flying nearby.
Another verified video circulating online shows oil tanks on fire and a massive cloud of smoke billowing from the depot.
Russian news agency Interfax reported that at least two businesses in the village of Severny, just north of Belgorod, were also damaged by an early morning airstrike.
It remains unclear who is responsible for the attacks.
Belgorod, a city of more than 300,000, is about 50 miles north of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which Russian forces have shelled heavily in recent weeks.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Apr 01, 4:32 am
100,000 remain trapped in Mariupol despite evacuation efforts, official says
An estimated 100,000 civilians remain trapped in Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol despite repeated efforts by Ukrainian officials to evacuate them, according to Petro Andryushenko, adviser to Mariupol’s mayor.
Andryushenko told ABC News on Friday morning that Russia has not confirmed any humanitarian corridors leading out of Mariupol since announcing a localized cease-fire on Thursday to allow civilians to be evacuated.
A convoy of 45 evacuation buses that were sent to Mariupol have yet to reach the southeastern port city because it remains under Russian lockdown, according to Andryushenko, who noted that some people managed to escape by foot or in their own cars.
-ABC News’ Oleksii Pshemysky
Mar 31, 7:15 pm
Some Russian troops possibly heading to Belarus to regroup: Pentagon
Russian troops that have begun to withdraw from the ground effort against Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv seem to be heading north to Belarus to regroup before rejoining the fight, the Pentagon said Thursday.
“The best assessment we have – and it’s an assessment at this early stage – is that they’re going to be repositioned probably into Belarus to be refit and resupplied, and used elsewhere in Ukraine,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters.
It’s not clear where they might go, but the Donbas region is one candidate, Kirby said.
Roughly 20% of the Russian forces that were designated to move on Kyiv are now repositioning, several U.S. officials said.
Kirby said Russian forces that are apparently leaving the Chernobyl nuclear power plant also seem to be heading toward Belarus, though noted that “indications are not completely clear at this time.”
The Pentagon assesses these troops are leaving to “refit and resupply,” and not due to a health hazard or other crisis at Chernobyl, Kirby said.
(WASHINGTON) — Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of Republican leadership, said he will not vote to support President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, for her historic confirmation to the nation’s highest court, citing disagreements with her judicial philosophy.
“Initially, my sense is that the president certainly had every good intention and every right in the campaign to talk about putting the first Black woman on the court,” Blunt told “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos exclusively on Sunday. “I think it’s time for that to happen. I was hoping that I could be part of that.”
The retiring senator continued, “I think she’s certainly going to be confirmed. I think it’ll be a high point for the country to see her go on the court. But I don’t think she’s the kind of judge that will really do the kind of work that I think needs to be done by the court. And I won’t be supporting her, but I’ll be joining others and understanding the importance of this moment.”
Blunt was considered one of the few Republicans who may cross the aisle to support Jackson’s nomination. While only three GOP senators supported Jackson’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last year, Blunt was absent for that vote, and said he had a “good discussion” with Jackson when they met on March 16.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Jackson’s nomination Monday, but the full Senate has yet to schedule the final vote. She is expected to be confirmed with at least one Republican vote, as Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced Wednesday that she would vote to confirm Jackson.
Stephanopoulos pressed Blunt on his decision to vote against her nomination, asking, “If it’s a high point for the country, why not support her?”
“Well, I think the lifetime appointments have different criteria than other appointments,” Blunt responded, later adding that “she just doesn’t meet the criteria” to secure his vote.
Stephanopoulos then turned to another issue facing the Supreme Court — the controversy currently surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife’s reported involvement in urging former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to attempt to overthrow the 2020 election results.
“How about these calls for Justice Thomas to recuse himself from the Jan. 6 investigation cases given the active involvement of his wife Ginni Thomas and the push for an ethics code for Supreme Court justices?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“The idea that you can’t disagree with your wife on a public issue and still be able to function as a judge or as a government figure of any kind, I think is an idea that’s long outlived any idea that it might be reasonable,” Blunt answered.
“You know that he disagrees with her?” Stephanopoulos pressed.
“Judge Thomas has to decide that,” Blunt said. “He’s going to look at the law. He’s going to look at what the law says and what the Constitution says and rule in that regard.”
He added that he is “totally supportive” of the Justice Department’s investigation and prosecution of participants in “any illegal activity” during the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Lawmakers on the House Jan. 6 Select Committee are pushing Attorney General Merrick Garland to ramp up the Department of Justice’s investigation of the insurrection. The pressure on the DOJ follows debate over whether former President Donald Trump could face criminal charges after a ruling from a federal judge in California last week who said it was “more likely than not” that Trump committed several federal crimes in an effort to overturn the 2020 election.
When asked whether Trump should be subject to any federal prosecution, Blunt reiterated his support for the department’s investigation, saying, “I think the Justice Department has a job to do. They should do it. And people who were involved in planning or execution of illegal activities on Jan. 6 should be prosecuted.”
Earlier on “This Week,” Stephanopoulos interviewed White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who defended the Biden administration’s record as inflation and gas prices soar across the country.
But, Blunt said, “the biggest political issue in the country today is clearly inflation.”
“All you have to do is go to the gas station or the grocery store or pay your winter heating bill to know that something unacceptable has happened,” he added.
While Biden has taken steps in an effort to bring down high gas prices, such as ordering the release of 1 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve per day over the next six months, the Missouri Republican argued that oil prices were already at “unacceptable levels long before [Vladimir] Putin did anything regarding Ukraine.”
As Russian forces pull out of the capital city of Kyiv, Stephanopoulos asked Blunt what more the United States can do to support Ukraine.
“Well, I think we should be doing everything we can. We should give them what they need as quickly as they needed,” Blunt said, adding, “What the president has done has generally been the right thing, but about two or three weeks slower than it should have been.”
As a member who sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Blunt emphasized the role of U.S. intelligence in assessing Russian military operations and debunking a possible false flag operation, which he called “incredibly helpful.”
He also echoed the widespread praise for the leadership of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, adding, “I hope he continues to be safe and brave and his country is rallying behind that willingness to be there and be in the fight.”
(WASHINGTON) — White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain is warning that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “far from over,” despite the claim by Moscow that they are retreating from Kyiv and surrounding areas.
“I think there’s a lot of evidence that Putin is simply taking his troops out of the northern part of the country to redeploy them to the eastern part of the country to relaunch a battle there,” Klain said during an exclusive interview with ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Klain said it’s “for Ukraine to decide” what a post-war country looks like when asked about the possibility that Russia overtakes eastern regions of Ukraine, while Ukraine maintains control of the rest.
“I will tell you, as President Zelenskyy has said, that’s not acceptable to him, and we are going to support him with military aid, with economic aid, with humanitarian aid,” Klain said. “The political future of Ukraine is up for Ukraine to decide.”
“Is Russia losing this war?” Stephanopoulos asked Klain.
“The Ukrainians are winning the war around Kyiv and in the northern part of the country. And that’s tremendous credit to the fighting they’ve done and to the support that the United States that our NATO allies have provided them. We send weapons into Ukraine almost every single day,” Klain responded, dodging the question. “And the Ukrainian military, the Ukrainian volunteers that are fighting this war have shown their bravery, their tenacity, again, backed up by the generosity of the U.S. and our allies.”
While the administration is focused on the crisis overseas, Klain also discussed domestic issues that were at the forefront this week, including inflation, combating rising gas prices and the CDC decision to lift the Title 42 policy at the southern border.
Effects of the war at home
President Joe Biden has blamed Russia for the rise in gas prices at the pump, labeling it the “Putin price hike,” though gas prices were skyrocketing before the holidays last year. However, it’s not just gas prices on the rise; food prices are also up because of inflation, and it’s reflected in Biden’s poll numbers.
“Gas prices are a problem, absolutely, George,” Klain acknowledged. “That’s why the president took the actions he took this week to release a million barrels a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to tell the oil companies they either need to pump oil on the 9,000 permits they have or give them back for others to do that, to increase production here. Those things we think are going to bring down the price of gasoline, relieve some of the pain at the pump. And we also have an agenda to cut taxes for people to bring down the cost of everyday things.”
A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that just 36% approve of the president overall, and only one in three Americans approve of how he’s handling the economy. Republicans are criticizing his economic policies with the midterm election just months away and are poised to exploit it as November gets closer. Stephanopoulos pressed Klain on how Democrats should respond.
“The Republicans have an agenda too. Sen. [Rick] Scott says their agenda is to raise taxes on millions of Americans, to get rid of social security and to do other things that are going to devastate middle class people,” Klain said. “So I think when people compare our agenda to the Republican agenda, that’s gonna be a clear choice for folks.”
When Stephanopoulos inquired about how anxious Klain is about the elections this fall, Klain said the administration has done “a great job,” but there is “work to do.”
“We have done a lot of work to bring the economy back from dead in the water when we got here. Virtually no jobs being created, businesses closed, schools closed,” Klain said, adding that there’s been a “tremendous amount of progress on getting the economy going again in 14 months but a lot of work left to be done.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that 431,000 jobs were added to the economy in March, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.6%.
Austan Goolsbee, Klain’s former colleague in the Obama administration, said the country may be moving toward the idea that the COVID-19 era of the U.S. economy is over with — a sentiment Klain said he “cautiously” agrees with.
“Right now, as we stand here today, our schools are open, our businesses are open, people are coming back to work, people are coming back into the labor force, we had a big jump in labor force participation in March,” he said. “So there’s a lot of encouraging signs, in terms of this economy, coming back to being a robust jobs and business creating economy.”
Immigration issues
Immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border is also looming as a big issue for the midterms, and on Friday, the CDC announced it will end the controversial Title 42 policy, which allowed the government to expel migrants at the border during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision is receiving a lot of pushback from Democrats and Republicans. Sen. Joe Manchin called it “frightening,” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema said it poses a threat to Arizona, and Sen. Mitt Romney said it’s going to elect Republicans in November.
“How worried are you about a possible surge at the border?” Stephanopoulos asked Klain. “Is there anything the president can do about it?”
“Title 42 isn’t an immigration law, it’s a public health law,” Klain said. “It says you could exclude people who pose a public health risk. The Centers for Disease Control decide how to apply that, and they’ve decided that sometime in late May, the pandemic will be a place where we can no longer exclude people on a public health rationale.”
This week, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that up to 18,000 migrants could be apprehended at the border each day if Title 42 were to be lifted, though the administration will keep the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols, colloquially known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which bars asylum seekers from entering the U.S. while immigration courts review their claims.
“Look, we need to do more work at the border. The president sent an immigration plan to Congress on his first day in office. We’ve asked consistently for more resources. We put in place a new rule that will take effect next month to enable us to process asylum claims more clearly,” Klain said. “We also have to be honest about what’s happening at the border. We have people showing up with asylum claims from places like Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil, people fleeing regimes where they are feeling persecution.”
Crime in the US
Biden has also repeatedly been attacked by GOP lawmakers for being “soft on crime.” After at least six people were killed in a mass shooting in Sacramento, California, overnight, Stephanopoulos pressed Klain on how Democrats got “on the wrong side of the crime issue.”
Klain responded that he didn’t think Democrats are “on the wrong side.”
“The president has sent to Congress plans for robust funding of police. Congress passed one of them just last week — two weeks ago, in the omnibus bill and raised our funding for police. We want to make sure we have strong law enforcement to respond to crime,” he said. “We also want to make sure we have in place police reform and community violence intervention that help reduce crime. … We’re working very hard to be at the forefront of efforts to both control crime and have balanced and sensible policing. We think we can do both.”
Federal prosecutions
The New York Times reported that as recently as late last year, Biden “confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted,” citing two people familiar with the president’s comments. The Times reported that “while the president has never communicated his frustrations directly to Mr. Garland, he has said privately that he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action over the events of Jan. 6.”
But Klain told Stephanolopous, “I’ve never heard the president say that we advocate the prosecution of any person,” and he reiterated Biden’s pledge to let the Department of Justice be independent and free of political influence.
“One reason why Joe Biden got elected was he promised that we take the decision over who got prosecuted and what away from the White House and put in the Justice Department,” he said. “Only Richard Nixon and Donald Trump in the modern era believe that prosecution decisions should be made in the Oval Office, not at the Justice Department.”
A federal investigation into Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, over payments he received while serving on the board of directors of Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company, and other questions over how Hunter Biden paid off tax obligations in recent years has intensified, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News last week.
Klain said “neither the president or any of us at the White House” have been in contact with the DOJ regarding its investigation and told Stephanopoulos, “Of course the president is confident his son didn’t break the law.”
“That’s a matter that’s going to be decided by the Justice Department, by the legal process,” he said. “It’s something that no one at the White House has involvement in.”
The Washington Post also reported this week on deals that Hunter Biden had with a Chinese energy company, which paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter Biden and the president’s brother.
“Is the president confident his family didn’t cross any ethical lines?” Stephanopoulos asked Klain.
“The president is confident that his family did the right thing. But again, I want to just be really clear. These are actions by Hunter and his brother. They’re private matters. They don’t involve the president, and they certainly are something that no one at the White House is involved in.”
The Supreme Court
In the wake of text messages that revealed Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, asked former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to try and overturn the presidential election results, Democrats are now calling for an ethics code for Supreme Court justices.
Klain would not say if Biden would sign such a bill into law if it reached his desk and refrained from weighing in on whether Justice Thomas should recuse himself from 2020 election-related cases.
“I don’t think that’s for me to say, but, but I know a lot of people have said that. Again, I don’t think this is a place for us in the White House to be involved with the rulings at the Supreme Court. I think that’s for others to decide.”
The Senate is expected to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court this week.
Missouri GOP Sen. Roy Blunt announced this morning on “This Week” that he would vote against her nomination, leaving Maine Sen. Susan Collins as the only Republican so far to voice her support for Judge Jackson. Klain said she “deserves more Republican votes.”
“What I know is she will get enough votes to get confirmed. In the end I suppose that’s the only thing that matters, but I wish more Republicans would look at the case here, look at the record, and vote to confirm Judge Jackson.”
(SACRAMENTO) — At least 18 people were injured, six fatally, when a mass shooting erupted early Sunday in downtown Sacramento, California, and police said no suspects were in custody.
The Sacramento Police Department said several streets in downtown Sacramento just blocks from the state Capitol building and the Golden 1 Center where the Kings NBA team plays were closed as officers responded to the gun violence. The conditions of the victims were not immediately known, police said.
The shooting came just several hours after one person was killed and 10 people were injured when gunfire erupted at an outdoor concert in Dallas, Texas.
The Sacramento shooting broke out about 2 a.m. near the corner of 10th and K Street in a popular nightlife area, Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said at a news conference.
Lester said police officers were in the area and heard the gunshot.
“We had a large crowd in the area. We don’t know if it was part of a club or an event,” Lester said.
She said officers immediately responded and began providing medical aid to victims.
In a statement Sunday afternoon, police said six people were fatally shot and another 12 were injured and taken to hospitals.
Lester asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspect or suspects involved in the shooting, saying no one was in custody.
Pamela Harris of Sacramento told ABC News that her son, Sergio Harris, a married father of two daughters, was among those killed. She said she went to the scene of the shooting at about 2:30 a.m. after getting a call from someone who is not in law enforcement, informing her that her 38-year-old son was among those killed.
“My son was a very vivacious young man, fun to be around, liked to party, have fun, smiling all the time, didn’t bother people. For this to happen … it’s crazy,” Harris told reporters at the scene. “I’m just to the point right now I don’t know what to do. I don’t even think this is real. I feel like it’s a dream.”
Community activist Berry Accius of Voice of the Youth said he arrived at the scene at about 2:30 a.m. after a city council member called him about the shooting.
“It was just horrific,” Accius told ABC affiliate station KXTV in Sacramento. “Just as soon as I walked up you saw a chaotic scene, police all over the place, victims with blood all over their bodies, folks screaming, folks crying, people going, ‘Where is my brother?’ Mothers crying and trying to identify who their child was.”
Video posted on Twitter showed people running through the street as the apparent sound of rapid gunfire could be heard in the background.
“Please avoid the area as a large police presence will remain and the scene remains active,” police officials said in a statement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it is assisting the Sacramento Police Department in the investigation.
Sacramento police asked anyone in the area at the time of the shooting to submit to investigators any photos and video, or other evidence linked to the violence.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg condemned the shooting during a news conference Sunday afternoon in downtown Sacramento.
“This is a senseless and unacceptable tragedy. And I emphasize the word unacceptable,” Steinberg said. “Thoughts and prayers are not nearly enough. We must do more as a city as a state and as a nation. This senseless epidemic of gun violence must be addressed. How many unending tragedies does it take before we begin to cure the sickness in this country? Let us be honest, this is a sickness.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer, issued a statement, saying he was monitoring the shooting and that his administration is working closely with law enforcement.
“Sadly, we once again mourn the lives lost and for those injured in yet another horrendous act of gun violence. Jennifer and I send our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and to the wider community impacted by this terrible tragedy,” Newsom’s statement reads. “What we do know at this point is that another mass casualty shooting has occurred, leaving families with lost loved ones, multiple individuals injured and a community in grief. The scourge of gun violence continues to be a crisis in our country, and we must resolve to bring an end to this carnage.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(HOUSTON) — Three people have been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of an off-duty Texas deputy, authorities said.
The incident occurred Thursday night around 8:30 p.m. outside a grocery store in North Harris County.
Harris County Deputy Darren Almendarez, 51, and his wife were walking to their car from the store when he saw two men under his truck allegedly attempting to steal the vehicle’s catalytic converter, authorities said.
Almendarez told his wife to run. As he approached his truck the suspects began firing at him, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Almendarez returned gunfire, striking two of the suspects, before they fled the parking lot in a car, the sheriff said.
The deputy was transported to a local hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead from his gunshot wounds, authorities said. Almendarez’s wife was not injured.
The two suspects wounded in the exchange showed up at the same hospital in the suspect’s vehicle later that night in stable condition, authorities said.
The suspects — Joshua Stewart, 23, and Fredarius Clark, 19 — have been charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Almendarez, authorities said Friday.
A third suspect sought in the incident, 17-year-old Fredrick Tardy, was arrested and charged with capital murder, authorities said Friday night.
Stewart was denied bail on Saturday, court records show. During a hearing on Saturday, probable cause was found in Clark’s case, court records show.
Stewart and Clark are scheduled to appear in court on Monday. Attorney information was not immediately available for the three suspects.
Almendarez was a 23-year veteran of the agency and had served in the automobile theft unit for the past year, Gonzalez said.
“Heartbreaking,” the sheriff said after the deputy was identified.
Almendarez “loved being a deputy” and was an “outstanding member” of the agency, Gonzalez said.
“A remarkable man and public servant. Humble beginnings, grew up in Second Ward and played sports at Settegast Park,” Gonzalez said on social media. “From his first job as a teen at Whataburger on Harrisburg to fulfilling his goal of being a cop.”
The sheriff’s office shared a video spotlighting Almendarez released earlier this year.
“I work a lot on my days off and my time off, but I don’t mind,” Almendarez said in the video. “I’m going to help out as much as I can because it just, it feels right to do something like that.”
“You go home with a sense of not only relief but also a feeling of satisfaction, like, I did my job, I did what I could and I helped somebody out.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for the death penalty in the killing of the deputy.
“Deputy Darren Almendarez lost his life while answering the call to serve and protect his fellow Texans, and this tragedy is a heartbreaking reminder of the sacrifices our law enforcement officers make both on and off duty,” Abbott said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — With the national average for a gallon of gasoline stuck above $4, some Americans may be ready to go electric.
Searches for “green vehicles” on Edmunds.com jumped 39% over the last month as fuel prices skyrocketed. Battery electric vehicles totaled 2.6% of new vehicle purchases in 2021, according to Edmunds, and that number could rise to 4% this year.
“People are very frustrated with gas prices right now and are searching for alternatives,” Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ executive director of insights, told ABC News. “In 2008 — the last time we saw significant consumer reaction to gas prices — people moved into smaller vehicles. The dialogue now is about EVs, not downsizing.”
EVs, however, come with a hefty price tag. The average transaction price for a new EV was $60,054 in February versus $45,596 for the industry average, according to Edmunds.
“It’s a big commitment to get into an EV. These are luxury-priced products,” Cox Automotive senior economist Charlie Chesbrough told ABC News.
Even so, “a lot of vehicle shoppers will consider electric vehicles and whether they meet their family needs. Nothing makes Americans more unhappy than seeing high gas prices,” he said.
So if you’re new to EV ownership and intrigued by these silent, battery-powered machines, here’s what you need to know before pulling the plug on internal combustion engines.
Maintenance
Mark Wakefield, a managing director at AlixPartners, said owning an EV is a “bigger shift” for a consumer than downsizing an engine or vehicle. But ICE vehicles have more parts and require more assembly, which translates to higher maintenance costs.
Chad Kirchner, editor-in-chief of website EV Pulse, noted that EV drivers who are skilled at one-pedal driving (releasing on and off the accelerator) rarely use the brake pedal.
Replacing the brakes “is a maintenance cost you don’t have to worry about as an EV owner,” Kirchner told ABC News. Plus, “when you let off the accelerator and let the car coast, you’re recharging the battery,” he said.
And EV batteries can last at least a decade, John Voelcker, a contributing editor at Car and Driver, pointed out.
“Batteries are designed to last the lifetime of a car — with some range loss,” he told ABC News. “Leaving the car plugged in for a week won’t impact the battery. Don’t expect to replace the battery in the first 10 years.”
Voelcker said a vehicle’s range — the number of miles an EV can travel on a full charge — drops as the battery ages. But carmakers are getting better at reducing range degradation.
“In the worst circumstance, maybe 30% of a vehicle’s range will take a hit” over 10 to 15 years, he said.
EV motorists who live in colder climates can also expect less range as the mercury drops.
“Heat in cold weather is a range killer. You can lose up to a third of your rated range if you have the heat blasting,” Voelcker said. “Heat and to a lesser degree air conditioning affects your range more than it does a gasoline-powered vehicle.”
Repairs for an EV (no more oil changes and air-filter replacements!) can cost $330 less than a gas-powered car, a savings of $949 annually, according to a 2020 AAA study.
Tax credit
Tesla and General Motors have sold more than 200,000 EVs in the U.S. since 2010, meaning new buyers of Teslas or GM’s Bolt or Hummer EV pickup no longer qualify for tax credit savings, which phase out after an automaker reaches the 200,000 federal sales cap limit.
Consumers still have an array of EVs (including plug-in hybrids) to choose from to receive a tax credit up to $7,500; nearly every automaker now produces a qualifying electric vehicle. It’s important to note, however, that any tax credit only applies to new purchases of an EV; leases are not eligible.
EV owners who claim the $7,500 reduction may not get the full credit; the owner’s tax liability has to total at least $7,500 for the year the vehicle was purchased.
The driving experience
Love hearing the crackles, pops and growls of a powerful engine? Then an EV may not be the right choice. EVs are completely silent unless they’re traveling below speeds of 18.6 mph to warn pedestrians and cyclists. Automakers have also largely refused to pump in “artificial” ICE sounds into the cabin.
But not hearing the constant engine noise allows for a calmer and more peaceful ride, Voelcker said.
Another benefit of EVs is the instant acceleration. “There is no transmission shifting, just a single, smooth surge of power. You get maximum torque from zero rpm,” he said.
One-pedal driving may require a little bit of practice and patience, though. Some EVs come with a vehicle creep feature that allows the vehicle to automatically move from a standstill when the brake pedal is released, replicating the feeling of an ICE.
“It’s OK to climb in the car and not like one-pedal driving … it can be weird getting used to,” Kirchner said.
Added Voelcker: “You learn to modulate the accelerator and literally drive with one foot. Electric cars can drive exactly like regular cars with automatic transmissions.”
Matt Stover, Ford’s director of charging, energy services and business development, agreed that one-pedal drive can be startling at first. Now, when he drives the Mustang Mach-E SUV, Ford’s first EV, he only touches on the brake pedal in an emergency situation. He also noted that 70% of Mustang Mach-E customers are new to Ford, with the majority new to EVs overall. Ford sold 63,683 Mach-Es globally in 2021.
“The SUV is bringing new customers to the brand,” he told ABC News.
Charging
More than 80% of EV battery charging occurs at home, according to government data. Owners can plug in their vehicles at night and expect a full charge in the morning. Apartment dwellers will have to seek out public charging stations scattered along highways and shopping centers. Rural communities are also at a disadvantage; automakers and operators of EV networks are actively building stations to meet demand in these areas.
Owners can opt for a 110-volt cord or have an electrician install a hard-wired 240-volt outlet into a garage for even faster charging (as little as 20 minutes depending on the model and type of battery).
“People have misapprehensions about charging. Because we don’t have gas pumps at home, we don’t think about refueling a car at home overnight,” said Voelcker. “Installing a charging station is the same circuit as a clothes dryer but a little more powerful. You’re not installing a nuclear reactor.”
For customers who purchase or lease a 2022 Bolt EUV or Bolt EV, Chevrolet will cover standard home installation of a powerful Level 2 charging outlet.
Stover, of Ford, said EV owners first have to take into account the size of the vehicle’s battery — a larger battery offers greater range but takes longer to charge — and what type of experience they want. Every Mach-E comes with a mobile charging cord that can deliver power at 120 volts.
“It’s not a great day-to-day experience,” Stover acknowledged. Many Mach-E owners though are taking that mobile cord as they travel, he said, and finding EV charging stations via the Ford Pass app.
Ford also provides all Mach-E customers with 250 kW worth of free public fast charging via Electrify America (about five full charges) and customers also have access to the company’s BlueOval Charge Network — a public charging network with more than 70,000 chargers.
Kirchner said the FordPass app, along with the My Porsche app and Volvo On Call app, are incredibly helpful for EV owners who need to charge away from home and keep tabs on a vehicle’s charging status. But it’s Tesla that has the best in-trip planning functionality, he argued.
“You put in a destination and the car will tell you where you need to stop for charging and and how long it will take,” he said. “It’s really powerful at reducing range anxiety.”
Bottom line
For those who are strongly debating whether to buy an EV, “the silver lining is that vehicle prices have gone up so much, making the cost of EVs seem relatively less expensive,” said Chesbrough.
The ongoing chip shortage and supply constraints have disrupted production of all vehicles, so finding an EV for sale may be challenging. New models are coming, with at least 20 new vehicles expected to arrive at dealerships this year, Chesbrough noted.
And for consumers still ambivalent about range, Kirchner said a vehicle will at least 250 miles is plenty for running errands or commuting to the office.
“The reality is most people charge at home and you don’t need 300 to 400 miles of range,” he said. “It’s a good time to be excited about EVs.”
