(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Mike Pence announced Thursday a multi-pronged policy agenda for the Republican Party, the latest in a series of indicators he’s planning to mount a run for the presidency in 2024.
Pence sees his “Freedom Agenda” as “focused on the future” and said it “offers a clear and compelling choice to the American people,” according to a statement on his political advocacy group’s website.
While he didn’t say it outright, the timing suggests the choice he’s referring to is between far-right conservative grievances over the 2020 election championed by former President Donald Trump and Pence’s nod toward the future.
In a speech earlier this year, Pence forcibly broke from Trump, saying it was “wrong” for the former president to have pushed him to reject Electoral College votes for President Joe Biden. The pair have publicly grown apart since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol at which Trump supporters called for Pence’s head, forcing him to hide in a secure location.
During a call with a handful of news outlets prior to the plan’s release, Pence subtly highlighted the contrast with Trump.
“Elections are about the future, and frankly the opposition would love nothing more for conservatives to talk about the past or to talk of the mess they’ve made of the president,” Pence told reporters, according to Politico. “And I think by relentlessly focusing on the future we can stop the radical left, we can turn this country around, we can win the Congress and statehouses back in 2022, and we can win back America in 2024 and beyond.”
Pence’s plan is organized into three pillars — American opportunity, American leadership and American culture — that strike largely at conservative cultural issues that helped rising stars like Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin flip blue states red. Some of those agenda items include promoting “patriotic” education, a clear reference to critical-race-theory rhetoric in the classroom, which many Republicans oppose; protecting individuals from being “censored”; “protecting female athletic competition” by barring transgender women from playing in certain sporting events; honoring “God-given worth” by ending taxpayer funded abortion and abolishing Planned Parenthood.
Pence’s plan calls for a version of election reform but doesn’t mention the fallacy pushed by Trump and his allies that the 2020 election was “stolen.” Nevertheless, Pence’s agenda pushes for a voting system in which identification is required, in-person voting is preferred and encouraged and mail-in voting is “rare.”
The Pence agenda also includes anti-Russian sentiments as the invasion of Ukraine barrels on, saying Putin “undermines freedom and democracy at home and abroad” while calling for the creation of private-sector led energy production centered around the export of American-produced natural gas that would cut Europe’s dependency on Russian oil.
According to Pence’s political group’s website, the former vice president collaborated with several dozen prominent conservatives to create his plan, including former administration officials Kellyanne Conway, Betsy DeVos, and David Bernhardt. One notable contributor is outgoing Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a frequent target of Trump’s harsh criticism, who drew ire from the former president for distancing himself from the Arizona audit of the 2020 election — another indicator of the daylight between Trump and Pence.
Pence is now one of two high-profile Republicans who have released formalized policy proposals for the GOP as the party attempts to secure the advantage in the upcoming midterm elections. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, announced his controversial 11-point plan in February. Other rumored GOP 2024 candidates, including Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ariz., have made public their priorities for the midterms and beyond.
Pence’s advocacy organization, Advancing American Freedom, rolled out his plan with a video narrated by Pence, which closely resembles a campaign tease, Thursday morning.
“Our best days are yet to come,” said Pence, “for renewing American culture, American opportunity, and American leadership, for a more perfect union for the people.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has charged nine anti-abortion protesters with conspiring to obstruct access to a women’s reproductive health facility in Washington, D.C., in October 2020, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecutors say Lauren Handy, Jonathan Darnel, Jay Smith, Paula Harlow, Jean Marshall, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, William Goodman and Joan Bell all invaded the unnamed health facility on Oct. 22, 2020, and created a blockade to prevent patients from receiving abortions and other reproductive health services.
All have been charged with two counts of engaging in a conspiracy against individuals’ civil rights and clinic access obstruction. If convicted, they could each face a maximum of 11 years in prison. Attorneys for each defendant were not listed on their court docket as of Thursday afternoon.
On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police Department raided a home — where Handy, a prominent anti-abortion activist who has previously faced state charges for carrying out a similar clinic protest in Michigan, lives, she told WUSA. The charges in Michigan were dropped after a lack of evidence.
Police said they were acting on a tip that biohazardous material was at the house.
The department said officers found five fetuses at the home. “Upon further investigation, MPD located five fetuses inside a residence at the location,” MPD said in a statement. “The fetuses were collected by the DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.”
Handy told WUSA she expected the raid to “happen sooner or later.”
According to the indictment, all the individuals traveled to D.C. to participate in the blockade under direction from Handy. The group calls itself Red Rose Rescue; during their demonstrations at clinics, they commonly hand out red roses to women in clinic waiting rooms.
Handy allegedly called the clinic days before their protest, telling them she was a woman named Hazel Jenkins who needed care and made an appointment for the morning of Oct. 22, according to the indictment.
While in the D.C. clinic, prosecutors say the demonstrators blocked two doors using their bodies, furniture, chains and rope while broadcasting their actions live on Facebook.
Darnel began the livestream by saying, “We have people intervening physically with their bodies to prevent women from entering the clinic to murder their children,” the indictment states.
(BOISE, Idaho) — Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Wednesday that seeks to reverse Idaho’s new abortion law.
The law bans abortions once cardiac activity in a fetus is detected, which happens at approximately six weeks of pregnancy. Many women are unaware at six weeks that they are pregnant.
The suit was filed in Idaho’s Supreme Court on behalf of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky and Dr. Caitlin Gustafson, a health care provider who performs abortions at Planned Parenthood clinics, according to court documents.
The bill, set to go into effect on April 22, was signed by the governor last week, making Idaho the first state to model legislation after Texas’ abortion ban.
“It should be clear to everyone that the Idaho state legislature intentionally abandoned the ordinary rule of law when they passed this six-week abortion ban. Then the governor joined their effort to deny his constituents their constitutional rights when he signed the abortion ban into law — despite his own acknowledgement that it was wrong,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a press release.
The law would also allow the father, grandparents, siblings, uncles or aunts of the fetus to sue a medical provider that performs the procedure and collect a reward of at least $20,000 for a successful claim filed within four years of an abortion, according to Planned Parenthood.
The law’s “enforcement mechanism and substance are blatantly unconstitutional, so much so that Idaho’s Attorney General’s Office released an opinion to this effect, and the Governor emphasized similar concerns upon signing,” the lawsuit states.
In a letter to Janice McGeachin, the lieutenant governor and president of the state’s senate, Idaho Gov. Brad Little criticized the bill, saying, “I stand in solidarity with all Idahoans who seek to protect the lives of preborn babies.”
He then added, “While I support the pro-life policy in this legislation, I fear the novel civil enforcement mechanism will in short order be proven both unconstitutional and unwise.”
Planned Parenthood is asking the court to rule that the bill is “unlawful and unenforceable” and forbid Idaho courts from implementing civil cases as the bill allows.
Without intervention from the court, the law would go into effect, “wreaking havoc on this State’s constitutional norms and the lives of its citizens,” according to the lawsuit.
“The abortion ban blatantly undermines patients’ right to privacy. It also improperly and illegally delegates law enforcement to private citizens, violating the separation of powers and allowing plaintiffs without injury to sue, in violation of the Idaho Constitution,” Planned Parenthood said.
Added Rebecca Gibron, the interim CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky: “This law is a cruel overreach by politicians so intent on controlling the lives of their constituents that they’re willing to compromise our constitutional rights and compromise our health and safety, all in order to ban abortion.”
The lawsuit requests emergency relief by April 21 to prevent the implementation of the abortion ban before it becomes law.
“Unless this abortion ban is stopped, Idahoans will watch in real time as their government strips them of the very rights they were sworn to protect. Everyone deserves to make their own decisions about their bodies, families, and lives — and we’re going to keep fighting to make sure that is a reality,” McGill Johnson said.
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, FILE
(WASHINGTON) — Arizona and Kentucky are moving forward on 15-week abortion bans before a Supreme Court decision in June could decide the fate of the procedure in the United States.
In Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill into law Wednesday after it passed the Arizona legislature last week without a single Democrat vote.
The Arizona legislation only includes exemptions for medical emergencies when continuing with the pregnancy would “create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” for the mother.
It does not include any exemptions for rape or incest.
“In Arizona, we know there is immeasurable value in every life — including preborn life,” Ducey, a Republican, wrote in a letter announcing the signing of the bill. “I believe it is each state’s responsibility to protect them.”
Ducey has been very vocal about his opposition to abortion and he has signed every piece of anti-abortion legislation that has crossed his desk since he took office in 2015.
“This bill stigmatizes and shames our patients who are making choices about their bodies and their lives,” Brittany Fonteno, president of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, told ABC News. “We know this is just a political move to strip people of their rights. It’s not based on any medical evidence and politicians should not play doctors.”
Under the legislation, women cannot be prosecuted for having an abortion, but doctors who perform abortions after 15 weeks would face felony charges and could see their medical licenses suspended or revoked.
Meanwhile, the Kentucky state legislature passed a similar ban Tuesday as well as other abortion restrictions.
Under what is known as HB3, any drugs used for a medication abortion — a nonsurgical procedure typically used up to 10 weeks in pregnancy — must be provided by a physician licensed to practice medicine and in good standing with Kentucky.
An in-person examination needs to be had at least 24 hours prior, during which women are informed about any risks. The drugs cannot be sent through the mail.
Abortion advocates say this will prevent many women, particularly low-income, from accessing abortion if they have to go to a clinic to receive it.
“Those with the means will always be able to access abortions; they can afford the planes, the hotel rooms,” Tamarra Wieder, state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates – Kentucky, told ABC News. “But those who are poor, live in rural communities, so far away from care, already are going to be further disenfranchised. It’s a massive burden for those who have time off work or school, find child care and make sure they can afford gas.”
Additionally, the bill requires the names of physicians who provide medication abortions to be published and a state-run “complaint portal” will be set up so people can anonymously report abortion providers who are violating the program.
Meg Stern, director of the abortion support fund for Kentucky Health Justice Network, an advocacy group, said this could lead to complaints filed by people who have personal vendettas against abortion providers.
She added that she has experienced harassment herself as a volunteer clinic escort at EMW Women’s Surgical Center, one of only two abortion providers in Kentucky.
“I’ve been physically assaulted, I’ve been followed, I’ve had my picture published on social media, I’ve had my address published — and I’m just a volunteer escort and an abortion funder,” Stern said. “I’m not giving people medicine, I’m not doing abortions, but I’m accessible, so what do we think will happen to the providers? It’s creating a headhunter type of situation.”
Wieder agreed, calling it “a hit list” that could put abortion providers in harm’s way.
Several other states, including Texas and Idaho, have passed abortion bans.
Currently, it is unconstitutional to pass abortion bans before a fetus is viable – anywhere from 22 to 26 weeks. The states are hoping the Supreme Court will change this.
In June, the court will review a 15-week ban in Mississippi and whether or not it is constitutional. If the court determines the bill is constitutional, this could mean Roe v. Wade is either overturned or fundamentally weakened.
“My personal opinion is that Kentucky lawmakers are confident SCOTUS will gut, if not destroy, Roe v. Wade,” Stern said. “And they’re counting on, even if doesn’t happen, Texas has showed a way to ban abortions despite Roe.”
(NEW YORK) — Lizzo is known for making fans feel “Good as Hell” with her music, and now she is doing the same with an upcoming shapewear line called Yitty.
“This is a dream 5 years in the making” the Grammy Award-winning superstar wrote on Instagram about her newest venture, which is slated to launch on April 12.
In partnership with Fabletics, the “no-shame, smile-inducing shapewear” is designed for all body types and will include undergarments ranging in size from XS to 6X.
“I was tired of seeing this sad, restrictive shapewear that literally no one wanted to wear,” Lizzo said in a statement. “I had an epiphany like, ‘Who can actually do something about this?’ I decided to take on the challenge of allowing women to feel unapologetically good about themselves again.”
Regarding her own journey as a body-positive advocate, Lizzo said she felt she was always told, through social constructs, that her body wasn’t good enough.
“And, in order to be considered ‘acceptable’ I had to inflict some sort of pain upon it to fit into an archetype of beauty,” she said. “Because of this, I’ve been wearing shapewear for a long time, maybe since I was in fifth or sixth grade.”
The collection will include three different drops, including Nearly Naked, which is a lightweight seamless collection designed to comfortably shape and firm your natural curves; Mesh Me, which will include smoothing mesh styles that can be worn as underwear or outerwear; and Major Label, which will be an assortment of everyday lifestyle pieces that are super soft.
Additionally, everything included in the lineup has a musical spin with vibrant names such as Tempo Lavender and Headliner.
Yitty, which is named after Lizzo’s childhood nickname, comes on the heels of another dream fulfilled for Lizzo. The star says she was “crying in an ice bath” on the day her body-positive dance reality show “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” premiered.
“Instead of thinking about size in this linear way, we’re thinking about it on a spectrum where everyone is included,” Lizzo said. “Everyone’s size is just their size. It’s not high, it’s not low. It’s not big, it’s not small. It’s just your size.”
Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — A lawsuit has been filed against the State of Florida over the newly signed Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law by critics, just three days after it was signed.
“Through H.B. 1557, Florida would deny to an entire generation that LGBTQ people exist and have equal dignity,” the complaint reads. “This effort to control young minds through state censorship — and to demean LGBTQ lives by denying their reality — is a grave abuse of power.”
The complaint was filed in a Tallahassee court Thursday by LGBTQ rights organizations Equality Florida, Family Equality and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, as well as several Florida families.
The complaint alleges that the law violates the constitutionally protected rights of free speech, equal protection and due process of students and families.
“We made a promise to defend the rights of all students to have a healthy environment to learn and thrive and for all parents to know their families are included,” Equality Florida said in a statement.
The law will ban classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade or instruction on those topics “in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,” according to the legislation, HB 1557.
Under this law, parents can also decline any mental, emotional and physical health services available to their children at school.
Schools will be required to notify parents of their child’s use of school health services unless there is reason to believe “that disclosure would subject the student to abuse, abandonment or neglect.”
Parents could sue their school district if they believe there is a violation of any of these requirements or restrictions.
“This lawsuit is a political Hail-Mary to undermine parental rights in Florida,” a spokesperson from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office told ABC News. “This calculated, politically motivated, virtue-signaling lawsuit is meritless, and we will defend the legality of parents to protect their young children from sexual content in Florida public schools.”
His office slammed the lawsuit, stating that the complaint claims are “erroneous.”
“This law does not chill speech — instead it returns speech on these topics to the parents,” the office said. “The law does not prohibit teachers from having opinions, lifestyles or advocacy in their personal right on their own time, and this law does not prohibit teachers from responding to student questions.”
The Sarasota School District and school board declined to comment. The other defendants in the case did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Several families with LGBTQ students are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“My school has been a safe environment where I have been able to express my identity,” said Zander Moricz, an 18-year-old high school senior and plaintiff. “I would not have been able to learn and thrive without that support. My teachers have already told me that they will no longer be able to have some of the classroom discussions that helped me feel accepted in school.”
One parent expressed concern for her transgender daughter.
“I am frightened that this new law will prevent my daughter’s teachers from protecting her from bullying at school,” said Lindsay McClelland, mother of plaintiff Jane Doe, a transgender fifth-grader at a Florida public school. “All I want is for my daughter to be able to learn in a safe environment like any other student.”
Supporters of the bill argue that schools are indoctrinating students with ideas about sexual orientation and gender identity. They say parents deserve more input in the services children receive and the conversations children are having about those topics.
“I think the last couple years have really revealed to parents that they are being ignored increasingly across our country when it comes to their kids education,” DeSantis claimed at the signing.
He added, “We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination.”
(WASHINGTON) — Attempting to combat what’s he’s labeled “Putin’s price hike,” President Joe Biden announced a plan on Thursday to release roughly 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve over the next six months to reduce energy and gas prices.
Biden told Americans “there is no firm answer” as to when gas prices will go down, but predicted they will go down “fairly significantly.”
“Today I want to talk about one aspect of Putin’s war that affects and has real effects on the American people: Putin’s price hike that Americans and our allies are feeling at the pump. I know how much it hurts,” Biden began. “As you’ve heard me say I grew up in a family, like many of you, where the price of gasoline was discussed at the kitchen table. None of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war.”
Biden blamed “two roots” for the high energy costs: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the lingering economic effects of COVID-19.
“When COVID struck, demand for oil plummeted, so production slowed down worldwide. Because of the strength and the speed of our recovery, demand for oil shot back up much faster than the supply. That’s why the cost of gas began to rise last year. The second root is Vladimir Putin,” he said.
Biden predicted Americans could pay “anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon” less at the pump, setting up the national average would fall below $4 a gallon. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for Gas Buddy, pointed ABC News to a tweet in which he raised some skepticism.
“I do believe the national average could eventually fall under $4/gal in the weeks ahead, but I don’t necessarily think this SPR release is the event that will be the primary catalyst for it,” he said in a tweet Thursday. “If anything it could help get us there quicker, but again, likely at the expense of long term stability.”
Biden announced the major step during a scheduled event to discuss actions his administration is taking to rein in soaring energy prices that have spiked even further following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The action I’m calling for will make a real difference over time, but the truth is, it takes months, not days, for companies to increase production. That’s why the next part of my plan is so important,” he said. “Today I’m authorizing the release of 1 million barrels per day over the next six months.”
He said the release was coordinated with allies and partners around the world.
Speaking directly to oil company executives, Biden told them “enough of lavishing excessive profits” and passing on the cost of oil to consumers, adding that they have “everything they need” and “nothing is standing in their way” to boost production.
“They don’t want to increase supply because Putin’s price hike means higher profits,” Biden said.
He went on to propose a “use it or lose it” policy, calling on Congress to create legislation to tax companies if they’re sitting on idle wells and lands that aren’t producing for Americans.
“No company should take advantage of a pandemic or Vladimir Putin at the expense of American families,” Biden said. “Production and innovation, that’s what they should do.”
“Invest in your customers,” he added, noting that it’s not only “the patriotic thing” but “it’s good for your business as well.”
Senior administration officials also acknowledged relief at the pump may be delayed.
“We’re not focused right now on sort of the immediate short-term price movements,” an official said on a call with reporters earlier Thursday, adding that the focus is on addressing the gap in supply as Russian oil comes off the market.
The first barrels from the announcement are set to come to the market in May for delivery that month. Officials said all the funds from the sale of the oil will go to restocking the reserves.
“We expect that to occur once the oil price has come down, we are no longer in an emergency,” an official told reporters.
About 3 million barrels a day of Russian oil will come off the market in April due to Western sanctions, according to the International Energy Agency, and this plan could help alleviate pain at the pump by helping to replace that loss.
This would be the third time Biden has had to tap into the strategic petroleum reserve. In November, he authorized the release of 50 million barrels as gas prices surged ahead of the holidays, and along with 30 other countries, the U.S. released 30 million barrels following the start of the war in Ukraine, though that did little to ease skyrocketing prices.
As of Friday, there were more than 568 million barrels of oil in the reserve, according to the Department of Energy.
Given the complexity and volatility of the oil market, many geopolitical and economic factors feed into oil prices and there is no guarantee this release will keep prices down for an extended period of time.
Overnight, crude oil prices were down roughly 5% in reaction to Biden’s expected announcement, which means the price at the gas pump could also dip in the coming days.
The current national average for a gallon of gas is $4.23, according to AAA, $1.35 higher than this time last year.
(NEW YORK) — As experts continue to warn of a growing youth mental health crisis, new data is shedding light on how severely high school students have struggled during the coronavirus pandemic.
Over one-third of high school students in the United States reported experiencing poor mental health during the pandemic, while nearly half of students, 44%, reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless in the past year, according to data released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Female high school students and those who identify as lesbian, gay and bisexual reported greater levels of poor mental health, emotional abuse by a parent or caregiver and having attempted suicide than their counterparts, according to the CDC.
The data found the pandemic’s impact on parents’ jobs and mental health was also felt by students, with 55% reporting experiencing emotional abuse by a parent or other adult in the home and more than a quarter of students reporting that a parent lost a job during the pandemic.
“These data echo a cry for help,” Dr. Debra Houry, CDC acting principal deputy director, said in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic has created traumatic stressors that have the potential to further erode students’ mental wellbeing.”
The CDC’s new data, based on a survey of high school students done over six months last year, is the first nationwide survey of its kind. It builds on previous statistics showing a growing mental health crisis among young people.
“The nation’s youth we’re experiencing a growing mental health crisis for COVID-19, and it’s worsened during the pandemic,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said Thursday. “All children have been affected by the COVID 19 pandemic in some way but not all equally, and because of that, some of the youth experienced more serious effects [and] those effects can last for a long time.”
In the last months of 2021, the U.S. surgeon general described the pandemic’s impact on youth mental health as “devastating,” and organizations representing child psychiatrists, pediatricians and children’s hospitals declared a national emergency for youth mental health.
Previous CDC data also found an uptick in mental health-related emergency department visits for children early in the pandemic when compared to 2019, as well as a 50.6% increase in suspected suicide attempt emergency department visits among girls ages 12 to 17.
In response to the growing crisis, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has been on a listening tour with youth across the country this year.
“The pandemic’s been more challenging for some children,” Murthy told ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton in an interview for the ABC News primetime special “24 Months That Changed the World.” “If we want to address this, we’ve got to listen to kids.”
The latest data from the CDC did have a silver lining, finding that schools can be a great mental health resource for students in providing a sense of belonging and support, called “school connectedness.”
Students who felt connected to adults and peers at school were significantly less likely to report feelings of sadness or hopelessness and less likely to seriously consider or attempt suicide, according to the CDC.
The data though also found that less than half of students, 47%, reported feeling close to people at school during the pandemic. In the first weeks and months of the pandemic, many schools in the U.S. switched from in-person to remote learning, relying on tools like Zoom to stay connected with students.
“School connectedness is a key to addressing youth adversities at all times – especially during times of severe disruptions,” Dr. Kathleen A. Ethier, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, said in a statement. “Students need our support now more than ever, whether by making sure that their schools are inclusive and safe or by providing opportunities to engage in their communities and be mentored by supportive adults.”
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden addressed the youth mental health crisis in his State of the Union address. At the same time, his administration announced a “national mental health strategy” that includes a proposal to expand early childhood and in-school mental health services.
In October, the U.S. Department of Education released resources to help schools support students’ mental health, social and emotional needs through the $122 billion in pandemic relief funding made available to state and local education leaders.
In August, the Biden administration also pledged $85 million in funding at the start of the 2021-22 school year for mental health awareness, treatment and training in schools.
Dr. Gabrielle A. Carlson, a psychiatrist and president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, told ABC News in November that she sees schools as being on “the front lines” of the mental health emergency among kids.
“We need better integrated care, and by integrated we mean you put mental health where the kids are,” she said. “And having access to mental health resources in schools is so important because there’s fewer of the access barriers in school.”
Last month, Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, announced a $15 million donation to the JED Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on mental health in schools.
The money, the largest single donation in JED’s history, will allow the foundation to scale its work to reach over 12 million students, the foundation’s CEO, John MacPhee, told ABC News.
The goal of the foundation’s efforts, according to MacPhee, is to make mental health awareness and support part of the culture of schools.
“Everyone in the school, everyone in the community, has a role to play to support the mental health and well-being of young people,” he said. “It’s a culture of caring where there is really no wrong door, so it is everyone’s responsibility to notice and support someone who might be struggling.”
ABC News’ senior national policy reporter Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
(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:
Mar 31, 12:34 pm
Ukraine resumes control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Russian troops are giving back control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Ukraine, according to a letter from Russia’s nuclear power company, Rosatom.
The site had been under the control of Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24.
The letter is dated March 31 and was signed by Ukraine’s nuclear regulator, Energoatom.
-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko
Mar 31, 12:15 pm
Ukraine resumes control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Russian troops are giving back control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Ukraine, according to a letter from Russia’s nuclear power company, Rosatom.
The site had been under the control of Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24.
The letter is dated March 31 and was signed by Ukraine’s nuclear regulator, Energoatom.
-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko
Mar 31, 11:18 am
Putin says gas exports will be stopped unless payment made in rubles
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree requiring payment in rubles for gas exports.
As of Friday, Putin said all buyers from “unfriendly” countries — including Germany, France and Poland — must open ruble accounts in Russian banks, and contracts with parties who refuse will be deemed null and void.
President Joe Biden will be releasing one million barrels of oil per day from the strategic petroleum reserve for the next six months, according to the White House.
“Because of Putin’s war of choice, less oil is getting to market, and the reduction in supply is raising prices at the pump for Americans. President Biden is committed to doing everything in his power to help American families who are paying more out of pocket,” the White House said in a statement Thursday.
Mar 31, 10:15 am
Red Cross says its warehouse in Mariupol was damaged
A warehouse belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was shelled in Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol.
A satellite image shows the damage to the building, which bears a large white sign with a red cross on the roof.
“We can confirm that an image being circulated online shows damage to the ICRC warehouse in Mariupol,” the ICRC said in a statement Wednesday. “We do not have a team on the ground there, so have no other information on potential casualties or the extent of the damage.”
The Geneva-based humanitarian organization said it had distributed all supplies from the Mariupol warehouse earlier in March, including medical supplies to hospitals and relief supplies to people living in shelters. No ICRC staff have been at the warehouse since March 15 and it was unclear how the building has been used since, according to the organization.
The ICRC noted the “massive humanitarian needs” in Mariupol, but said it has been “unable to bring in more supplies due to the intensity of the fighting and the absence of a functional agreement between the parties to allow for the safe passage of humanitarian assistance.”
“Under international humanitarian law, objects used for humanitarian relief operations must be respected and protected at all times,” the ICRC said. “We are concerned that even a building with a red cross on it can be seriously damaged. Civilian infrastructure, hospitals and medical personnel cannot be targeted.”
“But what we are most outraged by is the overall humanitarian situation in Mariupol and the relentless suffering inflicted on civilians living there,” the organization added. “People are trapped with no safe way out of the city, and they are running out of the very basics needed for their survival. This must change.”
Mar 31, 9:32 am
Russia ‘lied’ about withdrawing troops, NATO says
Russian troops “are not withdrawing” from parts of Ukraine as claimed, but rather are “repositioning,” according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who cited NATO “intelligence.”
“Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference Thursday. “Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region [in eastern Ukraine].”
Meanwhile, pressure is being maintained on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and other major cities, according to Stoltenberg.
“We can expect additional offensive actions bringing even more suffering,” he added.
Mar 31, 9:23 am
Videos show intense fighting in Mariupol
Videos circulating online show intense fighting taking place in Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol.
The footage, verified by ABC News, was taken by a Russian state media journalist who is embedded with the Russian military. The videos were posted online Thursday, though the exact date of filming was unknown. Based on the location of the fighting, ABC News assesses it is highly likely the videos were shot in the past couple of days.
One video shows a Russian tank firing multiple times on the streets of Mariupol. Another video shows the Russian journalist filming himself in Mariupol as tanks open fire and gunshots erupt all around him.
The strategic port city in southeastern Ukraine has been under heavy Russian bombardment for weeks and tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped there.
Mar 31, 8:15 am
‘Significant Russian shelling’ persists in Chernihiv, says UK
Despite Russia’s claims of curbing its military activity around Chernihiv, “significant Russian shelling and missile strikes have continued” in the besieged northern Ukrainian city, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday in an intelligence update.
Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, “despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units,” according to the ministry.
“Heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of the city in the coming days,” the ministry added.
Heavy fighting also continues in Ukraine’s southern port city of Mariupol, “a key objective of Russian forces,” according to the ministry.
“However Ukrainian forces remain in control of the center of the city,” the ministry said.
Mar 31, 7:46 am
Kremlin reacts to US saying Putin ‘felt misled’
The Russian government is “concerned” by recent statements from U.S. officials claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin “felt misled” by his advisers and the Russian military on the war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference Thursday.
“We do not just regret this. This is a source of our concern,” Peskov told reporters, “because such an utter lack of understanding is the reason why erroneous, rash decisions are made with very bad consequences.”
“It looks like neither the [U.S.] Department of State nor the Pentagon know what is really happening in the Kremlin,” he added. “They simply do not understand what is going on in the Kremlin. They do not understand President Putin. They do not understand the decision-making mechanism. They do not understand our work style.”
Mar 31, 7:25 am
Russia announces cease-fire in besieged Mariupol
Russia has announced a localized cease-fire in Ukraine’s besieged southern port city of Mariupol on Thursday to allow civilians to be evacuated.
A humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-controlled port of Berdiansk, would be opened from 10 a.m. local time, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“For this humanitarian operation to succeed, we propose to carry it out with the direct participation of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement Wednesday night.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a later statement via Telegram that the Red Cross confirmed Russia had agreed to open a humanitarian corridor to Mauripol, where tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped with no electricity and dwindling supplies after weeks of Russian bombardment. A convoy of 45 evacuation buses was headed to the city to collect civilians, according to Vereshchuk.
A number of previous attempts to establish humanitarian corridors out of Mariupol have failed, with Russia and Ukraine trading accusations of breaking cease-fires and sabotaging evacuation efforts.
Mar 31, 6:21 am
At least 1,189 civilians killed, 1,901 injured in Ukraine: OHCHR
At least 1,189 civilians have been killed and 1,901 others have been injured in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
At least 108 children were among the dead and 142 among the injured, according to the OHCHR, which noted that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine had reported at least 145 children were killed and 222 injured as of Wednesday.
“We know the actual figures are likely far higher,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement Wednesday. “In many places of intensive hostilities, such as Mariupol and Volnovakha, it is very challenging to obtain a comprehensive picture.”
According to a press release from the OHCHR, most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missile and airstrikes.
The agency has also received “credible allegations that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times,” according to Bachelet, who noted that her office is “also investigating allegations that Ukrainian armed forces have used such weapons.”
“The persistent use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas is of immense concern,” she said. “Homes and administrative buildings, hospitals and schools, water stations and electricity systems have not been spared.”
According to Bachelet, at least one Ukrainian facility for bedridden patients and others with disabilities, mostly elderly people, came under fire while its residents were inside, with dozens of alleged casualties.
“My colleagues in Ukraine are working to establish the fate and whereabouts of survivors,” she added.
The OHCHR noted in its press release that “the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.” Those areas include Mariupol and Volnovakha in the Donetsk Oblast, Izium in the Kharkiv Oblast, Popasna in the Luhansk Oblast, and Trostianets in the Sumy Oblast, where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties. Casualty numbers from those locations are being further corroborated and thus are not included in the latest statistics, according to the agency.
Mar 31, 4:32 am
Putin ‘massively misjudged’ invasion of Ukraine, UK spy chief says
Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently “massively misjudged” his invasion of Ukraine, a U.K. intelligence chief said Thursday.
“It’s clear he misjudged the resistance of the Ukrainian people. He underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanize. He underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions regime, and he overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory,” Jeremy Fleming, head of the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), said during a speech in Australia’s capital, Canberra.
“We’ve seen Russian soldiers, short of weapons and morale, refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft,” he added.
While Fleming agreed with a recent assessment by U.S. intelligence that Putin’s advisers were believed to be too afraid to tell the truth, he said the “extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime.” He warned that Russia is searching for cyber targets and bringing in mercenaries to reinforce its stalled military campaign in Ukraine.
(WASHINGTON) — He still hasn’t found what he’s looking for: emergency COVID-19 relief funding to distribute more vaccines to underserved countries.
U2’s frontrunner Paul “Bono” Hewson visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday as he continued to lobby lawmakers to adopt a global plan to vaccinate 70% of the world’s population globally by September as additional COVID funding remains stalled. The ONE Campaign, an international anti-poverty organization co-founded by Bono, is behind the effort.
There are still 2.8 billion people around the world waiting to get their first COVID vaccine shot, according to a United Nations analysis.
While on the Hill, Bono also took time to thank Capitol Police officers for defending democracy on Jan. 6, 2021, telling them that they’re respected around the world for their bravery.
“I haven’t been back since Jan. 6, and you guys saved America as far as I’m concerned from so much awfulness on that day,” Bono told them in a video the Capitol Police posted on Twitter. “And I just want to say, people around the world really respect you.”
Bono was in Washington for a Thursday evening ceremony where he’ll be awarded the Fulbright Prize for International Understanding for his “commitment to seek justice by fighting to end extreme poverty, tackle global health crises, and spur economic development in the poorest parts of the planet.” Past recipients include former President Jimmy Carter and former South African President Nelson Mandela.
His visit also comes two weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi read a poem he wrote aloud at a St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon — which names Ukraine’s Volodymyr President Zelenskyy as a saint — amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.
“I got this message this morning from Bono,” Pelosi said of the Ireland-born singer. “And they struggle for us to be free, from the psycho in this human family. Ireland’s sorrow and pain, is now the Ukraine, and Saint Patrick’s name now Zelenskyy,” she read, quoting Bono.
Bono was spotted by reporters leaving Pelosi’s office on Wednesday. He was on the Hill to meet with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and Senate about the need for supplemental COVID funding for the international vaccine response, according to the ONE campaign.
The global superstar is no stranger to the Capitol Rotunda.
He also made stops there while on tour in the nation’s capital in 2017 and 2018 to thank lawmakers on behalf of the ONE Campaign for various funding.
