(PHILADELPHIA) — Philadelphia has become the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate, following an increase in COVID-19 infections, in recent weeks.
Beginning April 18, masks will be required in all indoor public spaces, including schools, child care settings, businesses, restaurants and government buildings.
“I sincerely wish we didn’t have to do this again. I wish this pandemic was over just as much as any of you, but I am very worried about our vulnerable neighbors and loved ones. My hope that our actions today will slow the spread of COVID and help us avoid seeing our ERs, once again, gets so crowded, that people can’t get timely care when they need it,” Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said during a press conference on Monday.
The city will implement a one-week “education period” to ensure that all residents are made aware of the change in protocols. For now, however, there is no vaccine or testing requirement for establishments that serve food or beverages.
Over the last week, new cases per capita have increased by more than 50%, and daily case rates have risen past 100, according to city data. However, overall, COVID-19 related hospitalizations remain low.
“We hope that by having folks masks up whenever they’re in public indoor spaces, we can get ahead of the wave and keep it from reaching a peak like we saw in January with the omicron variant. If we could do that we can literally save the lives of vulnerable Philadelphians,” Bettigole said.
Bettigole said that at this time, there is no reason to “panic or to avoid activities.” She stressed that the city remains open, but wearing masks will allow those activities to continue, while keeping all residents safe.
“If we start to see a different pattern than that of previous waves of the virus, we’ll review our metrics to see if there are opportunities to be less restrictive,” Bettigole added.
Several colleges and universities have also moved to reinstate masking requirements, given the increasing number of students and staff testing positive on-campus.
On Sunday, Columbia University in New York City announced it would require masks again in classrooms — a policy that is expected to last through the end of the semester.
“Continued caution in certain situations remains extremely important, particularly in indoor social settings when the vaccination status of attendees is unknown or uncertain,” Donna Lynne, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said in a statement.
Between Apr. 4 and Apr. 10, 133 students have tested positive — the highest weekly total since mid-January, according to university data.
Last week, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., temporarily reinstated an indoor mask requirement for its main and medical campuses, after seeing a “significant increase” in COVID-19 cases on-campus.
“This increase is partly due to the impact of the BA.2 Omicron subvariant. BA.2 is now the dominant strain in the United States, including in DC and on our campuses,” school officials wrote in a statement last week. “These circumstances present a challenge, but we have learned to adjust our mitigation measures to respond to changing conditions throughout the pandemic. Another adjustment is needed now to curb transmission on campus.”
In recent weeks, a flurry of positive COVID-19 infections has disrupted life in Washington, D.C., as many top officials and politicians have tested positive for the virus.
American University, Johns Hopkins University, Rice University, have all also issued similar masking requirements.
However, school officials reported that there have been no known cases of serious illness.
(NEW YORK) — During the past two years of the coronavirus pandemic, during which federal student loan payments were put on pause, Marquita Prinzing, of Renton, Washington, said she went through a divorce and bought a home on her own.
Those are two things Prinzing, a mom of two who works full-time, said would have been difficult or impossible to do had she had to pay hundreds of dollars of student loan payments each month to pay down her approximately $100,000 remaining debt.
Now, as Prinzing looks to her future, she said she feels like her life is on hold as she waits to learn whether her loan will be forgiven or whether she’ll have to continue to repay her loans starting in the fall, when the current pause is scheduled to end.
“It means I can’t really think of a different or bigger future,” Prinzing, 38, a first-generation college graduate, told Good Morning America. “It means I am where I’m at, stable right now, because I have to deal with the loan payments and all of what’s going to come back.”
Ameshia Cross, 34, of Washington, D.C., said she, too, is living in flux during the payment pause as her family’s primary provider.
A first-generation college student who adopted her siblings after their mother died, Cross said she has the thought of payments resuming on her six-figure student debt looming over her as she tries to make decisions like whether to move her grandmother to a better care facility or how to care for her brother, who has a developmental disability.
“That this process has been kind of a stopgap measure and not knowing when it might end completely is a very scary place to be,” Cross, assistant director of communications for The Education Trust, a nonprofit focused on student equity, told GMA. “Because you don’t control the family issues or the family situation or the economic situation you’re born into, you do the best with what you have.”
The Education Trust released a report earlier this month, “How Black Women Experience Debt”, that found Black women receive little help when it comes to repaying their student loans. According to the report, 12 years after starting college, Black women owe 13% more than they borrowed, while white men, on average, have paid off 44% of their debt.
Brittani Williams, a senior policy analyst in higher education at The Education Trust and a co-author of the report, is a mother of three who said she currently owes tens of thousands of dollars in student debt, a number that will continue to grow as she is pursuing her doctorate degree.
“There is great anxiety around how will we repay these student loans back, majorly because I am a parenting student,” Williams, 32, of Washington, D.C., told GMA. “While maybe a non-parenting student may have ‘discretionary income,’ I don’t necessarily see that … so sometimes it comes down to what bills are going to be paid.”
On April 6th, President Joe Biden announced another extension in the pause in federal student loan payments — until Aug. 31 — marking the sixth extension to the program in the two years of the pandemic. It comes less than a month before payments were scheduled to restart on May 1, potentially affecting millions of borrowers who have not been making payments.
Bank surprises single mom by paying off $150K in student loans
“If loan payments were to resume on schedule in May, analysis of recent data from the Federal Reserve suggests that millions of student loan borrowers would face significant economic hardship, and delinquencies and defaults could threaten Americans’ financial stability,” said Biden, who faced pressure from top congressional Democrats to extend the pause or cancel student loan debt altogether, a position that has divided the party.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, progressive icons Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and many others in their party have been calling on Biden to use executive authority to cancel $50,000 in student debt for all borrowers, though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the president lacks the authority to cancel this debt. Biden pledged to approve $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for every federal borrower during his campaign, but he has yet to do so, expanding parts of existing loan forgiveness programs instead.
Why Black women are so impacted by student debt
As the political debate over student loans continues and the pause remains extended, it is Black women like Prinzing, Williams and Cross who remain disproportionately impacted, data shows.
In the United States, women hold nearly two-thirds of all outstanding loans, according to an analysis by the American Association of University Women.
And Black women are the most likely of any gender group to have student loans, with around one in four Black women having student debt, according to the Census Bureau.
According to the Association of University Women’s analysis, Black women have the highest average total of student debt, at $41,466 for undergraduate and $75,085 for graduate school one year after graduating.
Why Black women are so impacted by student debt is attributable to several factors, including the change decades ago when financing for college began to fall more on individual families, according to Laura Hamilton, professor of sociology at University of California, Merced, and co-author of a report on student debt cancellation.
“When you think about shifting the burden of financing higher education to families, black families in the U.S. have historically had less access to wealth and income, so they haven’t been as able to finance their students’ education because of structural racism and historical discrimination,” Hamilton told “GMA.” “And now Black women are really leading the way in attending college, but they’re doing it without having as much family support because of those structural barriers.”
Many Black women are also first-general college students, which means they may have less knowledge of applying for financial aid and less knowledge of the ins and outs of repayment, experts said. That is what happened to Prinzing, who said she accumulated the majority of loans while getting her master’s degree in education.
“I’m a first-generation college graduate, so I had no idea about college. I had no idea about applying for anything,” Prinzing said. “I had no idea after graduating what consolidation was. I had no idea about loan forgiveness. I had no idea how to navigate the system to work in my favor.”
Once Black women graduate college, they face both a gender and racial wage gap that sees them typically being paid 63 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men, according to the National Women’s Law Center, a policy-focused organization that fights for gender justice.
As a result of the wage gap, Black women, on average, lose $2,009 each month, $24,110 annually, and $964,400 over the course of a 40-year career, according to the law center.
“Black women are borrowing more because they lack family wealth and they are paid less to do the same jobs at the same educational level as white men and other people other genders and races,” said Victoria Jackson, co-author of the report with Williams and assistant director of higher education policy at The Education Trust. “Those things are coming together to create this crisis for Black women.”
Williams and Jackson said they applaud the Biden administration for extending the payment pause, and would like to see him continue to extend it through the end of the year. Ideally they said they would like to see student loans forgiven, which would give an advantage to Black women, who are so disproportionately impacted.
“If federal policymakers don’t figure out a way to end this, this student debt crisis, I’m afraid we’re going to end up right back in the same situation that we were in right before we received the pause,” Williams said.
According to Hamilton’s research, released by the Roosevelt Institute, a left-leaning think tank, forgiving student loans could, “play a critical role in addressing the racial wealth gap and building the Black middle class.”
“The people who would really benefit are upwardly mobile, Black and Latinx people who are in the 50th to 98th income percentiles,” Hamilton said. “These are folks that are seriously striving, facing lots of barriers, attempting to be secure, but are being really held back by these enormous debts.”
Jamie Walker-Sallis, of Davenport, Iowa, made her final student loan payment this year, at age 50. She said the burden of student loans loomed over her entire adult life, impacting decisions she had to make, like not pursuing a doctorate degree for a fear of more loans to not having a choice to stay home while her two children were young.
Walker-Sallis said her nearly $100,000 remaining debt was forgiven after the Biden administration expanded eligibility guidance during the pandemic for a student loan forgiveness program for public service workers. She said student loan debt was not even “really a conversation” when she started college over three decades ago.
“It’s first and foremost now because it’s such a hindrance and it can change your trajectory,” Walker-Sallis said. “I hear kids saying now they don’t want to go to college because they don’t want student loan debt.”
“No one wants this burden,” she continued. “It is a true burden.”
ABC News’ Trish Turner, Molly Nagle and Rebecca Gelpi contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A major spring storm hits the western U.S. Monday with snow, high winds and blizzard conditions.
The storm will move into the central U.S. on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing a multi-day severe weather outbreak to millions.
Another storm system in the mid-South will bring the first round of severe weather Monday night, before the more widespread severe weather moves in.
Residents located in areas from Texas to southern Illinois, including major cities like Dallas, Little Rock and Memphis, can expect to see damaging winds, scattered hail and a few tornadoes Monday. Little Rock has the highest chance for very large hail and a strong tornado or two.
By Tuesday night major cities such as Dallas, Kansas City and Des Moines can expect to see strong tornadoes and huge hail.
The highest threat for tornadoes on Tuesday will likely be areas north of Kansas City and across much of Iowa.
On Wednesday, a severe threat will move east, heading into the Great Lakes, Ohio, Tennessee Valleys and the Gulf Coast.
Major cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Nashville, Little Rock and Jackson will be in the bull’s-eye for strong tornadoes, huge hail and damaging winds.
Severe weather will extend all the way to the Gulf Coast, including New Orleans, through Wednesday night.
After a weekend of heat waves in the West, a new storm is expected to bring in heavy snow and strong winds. Some areas throughout the West could see more than 2 feet of snow and wind gusts up to 80 mph. In addition, blizzard warnings extend from Montana to the Dakotas this week.
(NEW YORK) — As COVID-19 cases continue to tick up in the United States, the Northeast appears to be fueling the increase.
Four of the five states with the highest seven-day case rates per 100,000 are in the Northeast. In the 10 states with the highest seven-day rates, seven are Northeastern, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Rhode Island currently has the highest seven-day case rate at 172.4 cases per 100,000 people. This is nearly three times higher than the national rate of 59.4 cases per 100,000 people.
As of Friday, the Ocean State has also seen its average daily number of cases increase 53% over a two-week period from 170 per day to 260 per day, CDC data shows.
Other Northeastern states seeing increases include Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Maine and Connecticut.
In particular, New York and New Jersey have seen their average daily cases increase by 64%, the CDC data shows.
Experts said one of the reasons for the rise in cases is the spread of BA.2, a subvariant of the original omicron variant that is more transmissible.
In the Northeast, BA.2 accounts for more than 84% of COVID-19 cases that have undergone genomic sequencing, more than any other region in the country, according to the CDC.
Dr. Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist with the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told ABC News that early evidence suggests people who were infected with the original omicron variant during the previous wave may now have some immunity against BA.2.
He suggested states that were able to have better control of cases earlier may currently be more vulnerable to infections.
“States that did a good job controlling infections with mandates, most in the Northeast and West, are more susceptible now with BA.2,” he said.
Mokdad compared Maine and Florida using data from the institute, which projects COVID-19 cases around the country.
“We estimate that 54% of people in Maine have been infected at least once as of April 4,” he said. “So, we estimate that 60% are immune. We estimate that 87% of people in Florida have been infected at least once as of April 4. We estimate that 80% are immune.”
Another reason Northeastern states may be seeing case increases is due to the lifting of mask and vaccine requirements, the experts said.
“Not only is BA.2 extraordinarily transmissible, but now, consistent with CDC guidelines, many people are going to crowded indoor events and outdoor events without wearing a mask and not social distancing,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, told ABC News. “In anticipation of summer … people are eager to see family and friends and engage in near-normal activities again.”
However, the experts warned the true number of cases could be even higher as some states shift their COVID-19 testing strategy.
In late February, the Rhode Island Department of Health announced that — starting March 7 — state-run testing sites would not accept asymptomatic patients unless they had been in close contact with a person who tested positive for the virus.
“Focusing testing efforts at Rhode Island’s state-run testing sites on people who are symptomatic and people who are close contacts will ensure that people who are positive and eligible for treatment can be quickly connected to treatment,” the department said in a news release.
Schaffner said he expects that the rise of cases in the Northeast will be followed in the next few weeks by increases in the Midwest, the South and the West.
“This is reminiscent of the very beginning of COVID here in the United States,” he said. “The Northeast led the rest of the country; they had the most infections for quite a period of time before the COVID virus spread to the rest of the county. So perhaps this is a little bit of history repeating itself.”
However, the doctors reiterated that unvaccinated people are at the highest risk of severe illness and death from BA.2 and stressed the importance of getting vaccinated and boosted.
(NEW YORK) — Many parents across the country are scrambling to find baby formula amid a nationwide shortage.
Nearly 30% of popular formula brands may be sold out at stores across the U.S., according to a firm that tracks what’s stocked on the shelves, and that has led some stores to limit the amount of formula products customers can buy.
The shortage is the result of multiple factors, including inflation, supply chain issues and a formula recall.
As for when parents can begin to see stocked shelves again, ABC News’ Eva Pilgrim says some companies have ramped up production “but it’s going to take a few weeks before we really see that shortage ease.”
Ukrainian forces fire GRAD rockets toward Russian positions in Donbas, Ukraine on April 10, 2022 – Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian troops invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Russian forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
In recent days, Russian forces have retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv, the United States and European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 11, 10:03 am
Ukraine agrees to 9 humanitarian corridors from the east
Nine humanitarian corridors are expected to open in eastern Ukraine on Monday to allow civilians escape heavy fighting, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
She said in a statement via social media Monday that evacuation routes were agreed upon for those traveling by private cars from besieged Mariupol in the Donetsk Oblast, as well as from Berdyansk, Tokmak and Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast — all of which lead to the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. Buses from Zaporizhzhia city were also waiting to pass a checkpoint in Vasylivka, according to Vereshchuk.
In the Luhansk Oblast, Vereshchuk said routes were established from the cities of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Popasna, Hirske and Rubizhne, leading to the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk Oblast.
Apr 11, 8:48 am
Russia may use phosphorus munitions in Mariupol, UK warns
The United Kingdom is warning of Russia’s possible use of phosphorus munitions in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
Russian forces have already been accused of using phosphorus bombs in Ukraine since launching an invasion on Feb. 24. When deployed as a weapon, phosphorus can inflict excruciating burns and lead to infection, shock and organ failure.
After withdrawing troops from the north, the Russian military is said to be refocusing its offensive on the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, where Russia-backed separatist forces have been battling Ukrainian soldiers since 2014. Mariupol, in the Donetsk Oblast, and its residents have been under heavy Russian bombardment for over a month, but Moscow has so far failed to win full control of the strategic port.
“Russian forces prior use of phosphorous munitions in the Donetsk Oblast raises the possibility of their future employment in Mariupol as fighting for the city intensifies,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Monday in an intelligence update.
Meanwhile, Russian shelling has persisted in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, according to the ministry, “with Ukrainian forces repulsing several assaults resulting in the destruction of Russian tanks, vehicles, and artillery equipment.”
“Russia’s continued reliance on unguided bombs decreases their ability to discriminate when targeting and conducting strikes while greatly increasing the risk of further civilian casualties,” the ministry added.
Apr 10, 11:11 pm
Forces preparing to respond to Russian attack on eastern Ukraine, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian forces are preparing to respond to a planned Russian attack on the eastern side of the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in his address on Sunday.
Russian troops are expected to move to an even larger operation in the east of Ukraine, which will enable them to carry out even more bombardments, Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukrainian forces are ready for the attack.
“We are preparing for their actions,” Zelenskyy said. “We will respond. We will be even more active in providing Ukraine with weapons. We will be more active in the international arena. We will be even more active in the information field.”
Zelenskyy added that he and other government officials are doing everything they can to ensure that Ukraine gets the world’s attention, especially as Russia continues to attempt to influence the narrative and justify the invasion.
This coming week will be just as important as previous weeks, Zelenskyy said.
“It will be just as tense and even more responsible,” he added.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Apr 10, 5:00 pm
Thousands of refugees return to Ukraine
Nearly 23,000 Ukrainian refugees returned to Ukraine on Saturday after fleeing the country following the Russian invasion in February, according to Ukrainian and United Nations officials.
The repatriated Ukrainians are among the more than 4.5 million who left the country between Feb. 24 and April 9, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
More than half of the Ukrainian refugees fled to neighboring Poland, officials said.
The Polish border guard service is reporting that despite the war still raging in Ukraine, the number of refugees voluntarily returning to Ukraine reached the highest figure for a single day on Saturday since the war began, according to Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information.
The UNHCR estimated that as of April 8, more than 7.1 million people in Ukraine have been displaced due to the war.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Apr 10, 3:58 pm
Death toll from Kramatorsk train station attack rises to 57
The death toll climbed to 57 on Sunday from an alleged Russian rocket attack Friday on a crowded train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, Ukrainian officials said.
Among those killed in the attack were five children, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk Oblast in the Donbas region. Another 109 people were wounded when two Russian rockets struck the train station.
“There are many people in a serious condition, without arms or legs,” said Kramatorsk Mayor Oleksandr Goncharenko according to the Associated Press.
The number of dead victims in the attack grew from 50 on Friday, officials said.
Ukraine’s state-owned railway company issued a statement on Facebook calling the attack “a purposeful strike on the passenger infrastructure of the railway and the residents of the city of Kramatorsk.”
Graphic images provided by Ukrainian officials showed the aftermath of the attack — bodies lying on the ground next to scattered luggage and debris, with charred vehicles parked nearby.
The remnants of a large rocket with the Russian words painted on its side reading “for our children” was also seen on the ground next to the main building of the train station.
Russia has denied involvement in the attack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed involvement of Russian forces was already ruled out by the Russian Ministry of Defense, based on the type of missile that was used — a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile.
“Our armed forces do not use missiles of this type,” Peskov told reporters during a press briefing Friday. “No combat tasks were set or planned for today in Kramatorsk.”
(LONDON) — Britain’s Queen Elizabeth spoke for the first time publicly about her own battle with COVID-19, saying the virus leaves “one feeling very tired and exhausted.”
The queen, 95, tested positive for COVID-19 in February, just days after it was confirmed that her son, Prince Charles, and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, had also tested positive for COVID-19.
Buckingham Palace said at the time that Queen Elizabeth had “mild cold-like symptoms” as a result of the virus.
Last week, the queen virtually attended the official opening of the Queen Elizabeth Critical Care Unit at Royal London Hospital, of which she is patron. The 155-bed unit was built in five weeks to help care for the surge of patients during the pandemic.
Queen Elizabeth spoke on a video call with health care workers who treated patients during the pandemic as well as a man named Asef, who recovered from COVID-19 in the unit.
Buckingham Palace released video of the call on Sunday.
“I’m glad that you’re getting better,” the queen told Asef. “It does leave one feeling very tired and exhausted doesn’t it, this horrible pandemic.”
Queen Elizabeth has attended most events virtually over the past several months, due to her battle with COVID-19 and other health conditions. In October, she was hospitalized overnight for what Buckingham Palace described as “preliminary investigations.”
The queen’s first in-person appearance since battling COVID-19 was last month, when she attended the Thanksgiving service for her husband, Prince Philip, who died last April at age 99.
Buckingham Palace has announced the queen will not attend the Maundy Service on Thursday, an annual tradition in which she distributes special Maundy money to pensioners ahead of Easter Sunday.
Queen Elizabeth appeared upbeat on the Royal London Hospital call, during which she thanked health care workers for their service during the pandemic.
“It’s been very nice to be able to join you and also to hear what happened and how well it has been achieved,” said the queen. “Thank you very much indeed, all of you.”
Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that an attack from Russian forces in the east is looming. But he said Ukrainian troops are ready.
“Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state. They can use even more missiles against us, even more air bombs,” Zelenskyy said in a televised address late Sunday. “But we are preparing for their actions. We will respond. We will be even more active in providing Ukraine with weapons. We will be more active in the international arena. We will be even more active in the information field.”
After Russian forces invaded Ukraine from the north, east and south on Feb. 24, they quickly reached the outskirts of Kyiv, but ultimately failed to seize the Ukrainian capital and other major cities in the north. Russian forces were met with strong resistance from Ukrainian troops, despite weeks of relentless bombardment that decimated entire neighborhoods and claimed civilian lives.
The Russian military announced on March 29 it would scale down activities in the north around Kyiv and Chernihiv and instead focus its efforts on the “liberation” of the contested Donbas region in the east, which is home to a mostly Russian-speaking population. Russia-backed separatist forces have controlled two breakaway republics of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhanks oblasts in Donbas since 2014, following Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
The Russian troops that have retreated from northern and northeastern Ukraine in recent days are now resting and resupplying in neighboring Belarus and Russia, according to observers, who noted it could take weeks before those troops are redployed for a fresh attack in the east.
“At least some of these forces will be transferred to East Ukraine to fight in the Donbas,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update on April 8. “Many of these forces will require significant replenishment before being ready to deploy further east with any mass redeployment from the north likely to take at least a week minimum.”
Nevertheless, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that “this is a crucial phase of the war.”
“In the coming weeks, we expect a further Russian push in eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbas and to create a land bridge to occupied Crimea,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference on April 5.
Satellite images collected on April 8 by Maxar Technologies show a large military convoy of hundreds of vehicles, including tanks, that extends for at least 8 miles, moving south through the eastern Ukrainian town of Velykyi Burluk, about 55 miles east of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and some 65 miles from the border with Russia. Ukrainian authorities have warned citizens in the east that this is their last chance to flee, as Russian forces are expected to push south from Kharkiv and north from Donetsk in an attempt to encircle the battle-hardened Ukrainain troops in Donbas.
In his address on Sunday night, Zelenskyy said this coming “week will be no less important than” the previous ones.
“It will be just as tense and even more responsible. Russia will be even more afraid. Afraid to lose,” he said. “I will continue to address the parliaments and nations of the world. We will meet our partners, leaders of other states in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. We will attract even more funds and resources to help Ukraine.
(PARIS) — French President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, a far-right presidential candidate, took the top two spots in the first round of the presidential elections on Sunday, according to preliminary results.
The two, who led a crowded field of twelve candidates, will advance to a second and final round of voting on April 24.
Macron, who is seeking reelection, placed first with about 28% of votes cast on Sunday, according to preliminary results. Le Pen carried about 23%.
Experts say the latest trends showed a strong and rapid rise in the number of voters in favor of Le Pen, while those of Macron were falling.
“We’ve seen a positive dynamic in favor of Marine Le Pen,” Henri Wallard, deputy CEO at Ipsos polling, told ABC News. “She has progressed clearly in the last two or three weeks before this first phase.”
The far-right candidate’s message has reached French people concerned about the cost of living.
“The most important concern expressed by the French voters is the purchasing power and and the social issues in general,” Wallard said. “And the fact is Marine Le Pen was early on in the campaign well-positioned on this topic … and the fact is that we have seen as a consequence of the current international crisis a surge in the price of oil and gas and the impact on inflation.”
The war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted this atypical presidential campaign and added uncertainty for voters.
France risks breaking the 2002 record of non-voters, which reached 28% in the whole of France, according to Jean Chiche, emeritus researcher at the SciencesPo Center for Political Research. Abstention hovers over the elections, as the majority of French people don’t feel represented by political office-holders, he said.
“There is a rejection of the political class,” Chiche told ABC News. “It is the young people of the working classes who live in isolated cities, or in peri-urban areas; they are the most abstaining.”
Macron achieved high scores in the first 15 days of the war in Ukraine, according to Chiche, a major boost for the president seeking reelection.
“Faced with the war in Ukraine, he fully assumed his responsibilities as head of state, everyone in France understands that,” Maud Bregeon, spokesperson for Macron’s La République En Marche party told ABC News.
Critics have pointed to Macron’s absence on the campaign trail since the beginning of the war as one cause for his dropping popularity.
Macron is also facing possible trouble at the polls since his government came under fire in February for hiring and paying large amounts to a U.S. consulting firm, as first revealed by two journalists from French newspaper L’Obs. The French government paid up 1.5 billion euros in 2020 to several private consulting firms for services such as counting health masks at the beginning of the pandemic or drafting a military strategy, the newspaper reported.
A senatorial commission of inquiry into the government’s frequent and expensive payments to those firms later unveiled that one of them, McKinsey & Company, did not pay taxes in France between 2011 and 2020, despite the large sums received. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office opened a preliminary investigation on April 6 for aggravated money laundering of tax evasion.
McKinsey responded the same day, saying in a statement that “the tax approach applied by McKinsey is similar in the countries where it is present and has been consistent for years.”
“As it stands, if Macron doesn’t campaign more, if Marine Le Pen makes it to the second round and at the same time she doesn’t collapse like she had did in 2017, then the probability of her being elected is non-zero; it is between 15 to 30%,” Chiche before Sunday’s vote.
The rise of Le Pen’s party also led to the emergence of new candidates on the far-right, such as polemist Eric Zemmour.
Zemmour, who was found guilty in January of hate speech by a Paris court, has stood out with a campaign focused on what he calls the fight against Islamism, calling on French Muslims to “renounce the practice of Islam, which imposes a legal and political code.”
Proposals from conservative and far-right camps targeting Muslim populations — such as requiring French nationals to have certain first names — have come under strong criticism.
“It’s a reaction of disgust,” Abdallah Zekri, president of the National Observatory for the Fight against Islamophobia, told ABC News. “When he says we have to change our first names? Why change our first names? Zemmour is completely out of bounds.”
Other proposals targeting migrants, such as the conservative candidate Valérie Pécresse’s bid to systematically remove illegal immigrants accompanied by a “zero visa” policy for countries that refuse to take them back have also hit a nerve with migrant communities.
Zekri says speeches like that of Zemmour, conservative party candidate Valérie Pécresse and Le Pen tend to lead to an increase in Islamophobic acts.
“I have been following anti-Muslim acts for over 11 years,” Zekri said. “Whenever an election approaches, Islamophobic acts automatically increase; and it’s getting worse.”
