(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for his violent invasion Ukraine, including attacks on civilians.
The president initially told a reporter “no,” when asked if he was ready to label Putin a war criminal, but moments later Biden circled back, asking her to repeat the question which he appeared to have initially misunderstood.
A short time later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden was speaking “from the heart” at an afternoon press briefing after he made the comment, while carefully noting there is still a State Department review of whether it considers Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian civilians a war crime.
Despite the evidence, the White House until now had gone out of its way not to label Putin a war criminal, repeatedly noting there was an official review underway before they could formally accuse Putin of war crimes.
Earlier this month, Biden said it was “clear” Russian forces were targeting civilian areas but said that it was too early to call them war crimes.
“Do you believe Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine?” Biden was asked on March 2.
“We are following it very closely. It’s early to say that,” he said.
The shift in characterization follows a wave of U.S. sanctions on Russia including personal sanctions on Putin and following a powerful appeal from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to Congress, in which he called on Biden to do more to aid Ukraine.
One year ago to the day that Russia forces began invading Ukraine, Biden told ABC News Anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview that be believed Putin was a “killer.”
(WASHINGTON) — A major effort to combat climate change — reducing methane emissions — is now underway as $1.15 billion flows to states to help close unused oil and gas wells that release pollution and greenhouse gases.
The funds stem from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which in total allocated $4.7 billion over nine years for a new federal program to address orphan wells. This is the first funding phase.
There are over 130,000 orphaned wells across the country, according to a preliminary analysis from the Department of the Interior.
“This is something I have heard about from the day I became a senator. And it’s got the support of counties all across the state because they see the need to clean up these leaking wells in their backyards,” said Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., in an interview with ABC News. Colorado is now receiving $39,006,000 to clean up the wells.
Although the terms “orphaned” and “abandoned” are often used interchangeably, a significant component distinguishes orphaned wells and makes them more difficult to find.
“There’s no known owner like it’s truly — it’s just out there in the wild, nobody can be attached to it,” said Josh Axelrod, a senior advocate for the National Resources Defense Council.
In these instances, the lack of a known owner means the burden for cleanup ends up falling on state governments and, in turn, taxpayers. It also makes the wells more challenging to track.
While state governments and environmental groups have worked on their own to fill wells, the process can take years, with residents struggling to get wells filled in their own backyards.
The new funding focuses specifically on orphaned wells, a subset of the estimated 2 to 3 million abandoned wells in the United States that, combined, release greenhouse gases equal to 1.5 to 4 million cars annually, according to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
They are the nation’s tenth-largest methane emitters, according to a study conducted at McGill University, and the gas warms the planet at 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide.
Various groups are working with states to find unidentified orphaned wells through multiple processes, including using drones. The funding from the infrastructure bill only addresses already-identified wells.
There are currently 9 million Americans who live within one mile of an orphaned well, according to a study conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund and McGill University.
Tyson Price, an elementary school principal in West Virginia, worries the well in his backyard is polluting the local river and harming deer that frequently use it as a drinking source. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for closing wells and maintains a list that ranks cleanup projects in order of urgency.
“Two years ago, I was 43 on the list in West Virginia. And a couple of weeks ago, I reached back out to the DEP… I’m in the 60s now; I think it was 65. So in that two-year span, I’ve actually moved down the list,” said Price, who has spent six years trying to get the well closed.
On top of gaseous pollutants, orphaned wells can leak leftover oil and carry a risk of combusting. But the cost, technical challenges and environmental concerns prevent residents from dealing with the wells on their own. The cleanup process requires filling the wells with cement and restoring the surfaces.
“There’s just no way that I could afford to plug this thing myself and do it, you know, in an environmentally safe way,” Price said.
Although Tyson and his family have felt no ill effects from the well, reports have emerged of health issues brought on by proximity to unplugged wells. West Virginia is now receiving $55,293,000 from the first round of funding to help clean up the state’s 6,309 orphaned wells.
The push to close the wells comes as global methane emissions have ballooned in recent years, according to new data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. At last year’s COP26 climate summit, President Joe Biden and other world leaders announced a Global Methane Pledge to cut emissions 30% by 2030.
“It’s a fundamental part of our energy transition in this country to make sure that we don’t leave these orphan wells behind…I would expect there to be real momentum to do whatever is necessary to clean up the rest,” Bennet said.
(WASHINGTON) — Speaking just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on him to be a “leader for peace,” President Joe Biden on Wednesday is expected to detail how much military aid the U.S. is already providing — or will provide — to Ukraine.
But it was unclear how much he would directly address Zelenskyy’s emotional and direct appeal to lawmakers on Wednesday and the measures he asked the U.S. to back, including a no-fly zone the administration has repeatedly rejected.
Biden will announce an additional $800 million in military assistance as part of the $13.6 billion aid package for Ukraine contained in the government spending bill Biden signed into law Tuesday, a source familiar told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega, and includes weapons the Ukrainians have been requesting, such as anti-armor and anti-air systems.
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated Tuesday that the administration doesn’t support Zelenskyy’s no-fly zone request because the U.S. has to consider its own national security, and as Biden has repeatedly put it, does not want to enter “World War III.”
“We have the responsibility to do here is to assess what the impact is on the United States and our own national security,” she said.
While the U.S. has imposed a slate of economic and trade sanctions to isolate Putin, the Biden administration has also flatly rejected U.S. troops fighting Russian forces in Ukraine and any help delivering MiG-29 fighter jets that Poland wants to get to the Ukrainians.
Psaki also said Biden would watch Zelenskyy’s speech “to the degree” that his schedule allowed.
Earlier Wednesday, to a packed auditorium of lawmakers and standing ovations, Zelenskyy seized the spotlight to push Biden to contribute more lethal aid, lawmakers to sanction more companies with ties to Russia, and said if the U.S. cannot agree to support a no-fly zone, then to give Ukraine S-300 systems and other similar weapons to defend their skies.
While the White House event allows Biden to detail what the U.S. is doing in place of a no-fly zone, he will be forced to respond to Zelenskyy’s emotional appeal, in which he told Americans to remember Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks when witnessing the terror in Ukraine and closed by calling out Biden by name, in English, to do more.
“It’s not enough to be the leader of the nation. Today it takes to be the leader of the world,” Zelensky said. “Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Peace in your country doesn’t depend anymore only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you and those who are strong.”
In remarks on the Senate floor following Zelenskyy’s address, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized the Biden administration for what he’s characterized as a sluggish response to the crisis in Ukraine and outlined three steps the administration should take to pick up the pace.
McConnell called on Biden to expand the scope of U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine to include more effective long-range air defense capabilities, to deploy more U.S. forces to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and use new authorities to harden the defenses of frontline allies, and finally, for Biden to go “beyond Brussels” on his trip next week and to visit Eastern flank, NATO allies like Poland, Romania and Lithuania.
“As the threat to Ukraine gathered whenever an opportunity to act has presented itself, the Biden administration has hesitated until the political pressure became overwhelming, or balked outright,” McConnell said.
Although he made no direct mention of a no-fly zone, McConnell hit hard on the need to help Ukraine shore up its air defense, arguing the administration should quickly get Ukraine air defense systems “that we should have helped Ukraine get weeks ago.”
MORE: Biden to head to Brussels next week for show of unity with NATO leaders
Biden will travel to Brussels next Thursday to meet with NATO leaders in his first European visit since Russian President Vladimir Putin started invading Ukraine, the White House announced Tuesday, to meet “face-to-face” with his European counterparts to assess Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Speaking just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on him to be a “leader for peace,” President Joe Biden on Wednesday thanked Zelenskyy for his “passionate message” and detailed how much military aid the U.S. is already providing — or will provide — to Ukraine.
Biden called Zelenskyy’s speech “convincing and significant” and said he listened to him from the White House private residence.
“He speaks for people who have shown remarkable courage and strength in the face of brutal aggression — courage and strength that’s inspired not only Ukrainians but the entire world,” Biden said. “Putin is inflicting appalling, appalling devastation and harm on Ukraine — bombing apartment buildings, maternity wards, hospitals. I mean, it’s — it’s God awful.”
He did not directly address Zelenskyy’s emotional and direct appeal to lawmakers on Wednesday for the U.S. to back a no-fly zone the administration has repeatedly rejected — but announced an additional $800 million in military assistance as part of the $13.6 billion aid package for Ukraine contained in the government spending bill Biden signed into law Tuesday, which includes weapons the Ukrainians have been requesting, such as anti-armor and anti-air systems.
Ahead of signing an action to approve the $800 million in additional security support, Biden said the U.S. is “fully committed” to getting more weapons to Ukraine.
“What’s at stake here are the principles that the United States and the United Nations and across the world stand for. It’s about freedom. It’s about the right of people to determine their own future. It’s about making sure Ukraine never, will never be a victory for Putin no matter what advances he makes on the battlefield,” he said.
“The American people are answering President Zelenskyy’s call for more help, more weapons for Ukraine to defend itself, more tools to fight Russian aggression. And that’s what we’re doing,” Biden said.
While not addressing Zelenskyy’s request for a humanitarian no-fly zone, Biden said the new package will supply Ukraine with 9,000 anti-armor systems, 7,000 small arms, 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 20 million rounds of ammunition, and 100 drones, “so they can continue to defend their space.”
“At the request of President Zelenskyy, we have identified and are helping Ukraine acquire additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems and ammunitions for those systems,” he said. “And this will include drones which demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense.”
“Now, I want to be honest with you. This could be a long and difficult battle, but the American people will be steadfast in our support of the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin’s immoral, unethical attacks on civilian populations,” he added. “We are united in our abhorrence of Putin’s depraved onslaught, and we are going to continue to have their backs as they fight for freedom, their democracy, their very survival — and we are going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead.”
Over the past week, the U.S. has contributed $1 billion in new assistance to Ukraine.
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki also reiterated Tuesday that the administration doesn’t support Zelenskyy’s no-fly zone request because the U.S. has to consider its own national security, and as Biden has repeatedly put it, does not want to enter “World War III.”
“We have the responsibility to do here is to assess what the impact is on the United States and our own national security,” she said.
While the U.S. has imposed a slate of economic and trade sanctions to isolate Putin, the Biden administration has also flatly rejected U.S. troops fighting Russian forces in Ukraine and any help delivering MiG-29 fighter jets that Poland wants to get to the Ukrainians.
Earlier Wednesday, to a packed auditorium of lawmakers and standing ovations, Zelenskyy seized the spotlight to push Biden to contribute more lethal aid, lawmakers to sanction more companies with ties to Russia, and said if the U.S. cannot agree to support a no-fly zone, then to give Ukraine S-300 systems and other similar weapons to defend its skies.
While the White House event allowed Biden to detail what the U.S. is doing in place of a no-fly zone, he was forced to respond to Zelenskyy’s emotional appeal, in which he told Americans to remember Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks when witnessing the terror in Ukraine and closed by calling out Biden by name, in English, to do more.
“It’s not enough to be the leader of the nation. Today it takes to be the leader of the world,” Zelensky said. “Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Peace in your country doesn’t depend anymore only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you and those who are strong.”
In remarks on the Senate floor following Zelenskyy’s address, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized the Biden administration for what he’s characterized as a sluggish response to the crisis in Ukraine and outlined three steps the administration should take to pick up the pace.
McConnell called on Biden to expand the scope of U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine to include more effective long-range air defense capabilities, to deploy more U.S. forces to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and use new authorities to harden the defenses of frontline allies, and finally, for Biden to go “beyond Brussels” on his trip next week and to visit Eastern flank, NATO allies like Poland, Romania and Lithuania.
“As the threat to Ukraine gathered whenever an opportunity to act has presented itself, the Biden administration has hesitated until the political pressure became overwhelming, or balked outright,” McConnell said.
Although he made no direct mention of a no-fly zone, McConnell hit hard on the need to help Ukraine shore up its air defense, arguing the administration should quickly get Ukraine air defense systems “that we should have helped Ukraine get weeks ago.”
Biden will travel to Brussels next Thursday to meet with NATO leaders in his first European visit since Russian President Vladimir Putin started invading Ukraine, the White House announced Tuesday, to meet “face-to-face” with his European counterparts to assess Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
ABC News’ Allison Pecorin, Molly Nagle, Conor Finnegan, Luis Martinez and Justin Gomez contributed to this report.
(MIDLAND, Texas) — The head coach and six members of the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf teams were among nine people killed in a head-on vehicle crash in Texas, authorities said.
The crash occurred Tuesday night near Midland, Texas, and only two people aboard the college team’s van survived, according to a statement from the University of the Southwest in Hobbs, New Mexico.
The college confirmed that Tyler James, the head coach of both the men’s and women’s golf teams, was among those killed. The coach and his teams were returning home from a tournament in Midland when the crash occurred, according to the school’s statement.
“The USW campus community is shocked and saddened today as we mourn the loss of members of our university family,” school officials said in the statement to ABC affiliate station KMID in Midland.
The names of the students killed were not immediately released.
Two passengers in the team van who survived the wreck were in critical condition Wednesday at a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, the school’s statement said.
“We would ask for prayers for their recovery and for comfort and strength for all of families and friends and students of those whose lives have been lost,” school officials said in the statement.
Sgt. Steven Blanco of the Texas Department of Public Safety said the crash happened around 8:17 p.m. Tuesday on a two-lane road about nine miles east of Andrews, Texas, when the 17-seat passenger van carrying the golf teams collided with a pickup truck.
Two people in the pickup truck were killed, authorities said.
A preliminary investigation indicates that the driver of the southbound pickup truck for unknown reasons veered into the northbound lanes, colliding with the van, the Department of Public Safety said Wednesday. The agency said both vehicles caught fire following the crash.
Blanco said the cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Texas Highway Patrol’s West Texas Region.
“It’s a very tragic scene. Very very tragic,” said Blanco, describing the crash when officers first arrived.
University officials confirmed that James was driving the vehicle when the collision happened.
James was in his first year as head coach of both the women’s and men’s golf teams, school officials said.
School officials said they were working Wednesday to notify the families of all those involved in the crash and to provide counseling and religious services to all students, faculty and staff on campus.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement Wednesday asking Texans to join in praying for the families of those whose lives were lost and for the recovery of two critically injured students.
“We grieve with the loved ones of the individuals whose lives were horrifically taken too soon in this fatal vehicle crash near Andrews last night,” Abbott said.
(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.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance. Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Kyiv, as well as major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol. Russia also bombed western cities for the first time this week, targeting Lviv and a military base near the Poland border.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 16, 12:38 pm
UN’s top court orders Russia to halt invasion
By a vote of 13-2, the United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice, made a preliminary ruling that Russia “shall immediately suspend military operations.”
The two votes against were from Russia and China.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted on Twitter, writing that “Russia must comply immediately.” But the ruling is mostly symbolic as the ICJ has no direct means to enforce it.
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
Mar 16, 11:09 am
House and Senate leadership to receive classified briefings
House and Senate leadership, along with ranking members of relevant committees, will receive a classified briefing on the war in Ukraine following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s personal and emotional plea to Congress for more help.
The House briefing will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday and the Senate will follow at 3:30 p.m.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Mariam Khan
Mar 16, 10:49 am
Jake Sullivan warns of consequences if Russia uses chemical or biological weapons
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Russian counterpart, Nikolay Patrushev, on Wednesday “to reiterate the United States’ firm and clear opposition to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement.
She said Sullivan told Patrushev that Russia should stop attacking Ukraine if it’s serious about diplomacy and warned “about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.”
Horne said Sullivan “clearly laid out” that the U.S. will continue “imposing costs on Russia” as well as support Ukraine and defend NATO’s eastern flank.
This conversation marked the first high-level engagement between the U.S. and Russia since the Kremlin launched its war against Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez and Conor Finnegan
Mar 16, 10:43 am
Putin justifies invasion, says troops ‘doing everything possible’ to avoid harming civilians
In a speech Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin falsely claimed that Russia’s military tactics have been “completely justified” and that Russian troops are “doing everything possible” to avoid harming Ukrainian civilians.
Putin sought to justify Russia’s invasion, claiming that all “diplomatic possibilities were exhausted” and Russia had “no choice” but to launch its operation. He claimed that the “appearance of Russian troops near Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities” is not connected “with a goal of occupying that country” and that it is about defusing a supposed threat to Russia.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 16, 9:38 am
Zelenskyy asks Congress to back no-fly zone over Ukraine
In a virtual address to members of Congress Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the U.S. to back a no-fly zone over the war-torn country.
If a no-fly zone is not possible, Zelenskyy asked for aircraft “to help Ukraine.”
“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands” — a “terror” Europe hasn’t seen in 80 years, Zelenskyy said.
In an emotional appeal, Zelenskyy asked members of Congress to put themselves in the shoes of Ukrainians by remembering Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 attacks.
Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for U.S. involvement, but called on Congress to do more.
“New packages of sanctions are needed constantly … we propose that the United States sanction all politicians in the Russian Federation who remain in their offices and do not cut ties with those who are responsible for the aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
“Members of Congress, please take the lead. If you have companies in your districts who finance the Russian military machine… you should put pressure,” he said.
“The destiny of our country is being decided,” he said. “Russia has attacked not just us… it went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values.”
Zelenskyy received a standing ovation before and after his remarks.
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that a no-fly zone “is escalatory and could prompt a war with Russia.”
“Providing the planes, our military did an assessment that’s based not just on the risk but whether it would have a huge benefit to them,” Psaki said. “They assessed it would not because they have their own squadron of planes and because the type of military assistance that is working to fight this war effectively is the type of assistance we’re already providing.”
Mar 16, 9:10 am
Fox News correspondent injured in Ukraine is safe, out of the country
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was reporting in Ukraine when he was injured by incoming fire that killed two colleagues, is now safe and out of the country, according to the network.
Hall “is alert and said to be in good spirits,” Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer reported Wednesday.
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, was newsgathering with Hall on Monday in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, when their vehicle was hit by incoming fire, the network said. Zakrzewski was killed while Hall was injured and hospitalized in unknown condition.
Ukrainian producer and fixer, 24-year-old Oleksandra Kuvshynova, who was working for Fox News during the war, was also killed in the shelling, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Mar 16, 6:44 am
Russia claims Ukraine willing to give up NATO hopes
Russia’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Ukraine said on Wednesday Ukraine had proposed adopting a “neutral status,” along the lines of Austria or Sweden, that is a country that is not part of NATO but has its own military and close ties to the West, including European Union membership.
There has been no official confirmation from Ukraine, though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said in recent days that Ukraine understands it will not be allowed to join NATO.
“The preservation and development of the neutral status of Ukraine, its demilitarization Ukraine — a whole complex of questions connected with the size of the Ukrainian army,” Russia’s negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, was quoted as saying by Russian media. “Ukraine proposes the Austrian, Swedish option of a neutral demilitarised state, but within that a state possessing its own army and navy. All these questions are being discussed at the level of the leaderships of the ministry of defense of Russia and Ukraine.”
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, claimed on Wednesday that the negotiators in the fourth round of talks were discussing “concrete formulations” that are “close to agreement.”
An agreement that Ukraine wouldn’t seek to join NATO raises questions. Ukraine’s constitution includes a pledge to join the alliance that would likely need to be changed, which would be highly controversial.
If the Sweden-style status is acceptable to Russia that would also mean the Kremlin has significantly lowered its war aims. Ukraine was not close to joining NATO before the conflict and a commitment not to would be little more than affirming the status quo before Russia’s invasion.
“The goal pursued by Russia at these negotiations is exactly the same as the goal set by Russia at the very beginning of the special military operation,” Medinsky said. “We need a peaceful, free and independent Ukraine, a neutral one, not a member of some military blocs or a member of NATO, but a country that would be our friend and neighbor, so that we could jointly develop relations and build our future and that would not serve as a bridgehead for a military and economic attack on our country. So, our goal is unchanged.”
This is why “practically every digit or letter in the agreements” is being thoroughly discussed with the Ukrainian side, Medinsky said.
“We want this agreement to last for generations, so that our children live in peace, the foundation of which is laid by this negotiating process,” he said.
Russia is also pursuing other demands in the talks, including the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and the Russian-controlled separatist regions as independent. They also want changes in laws giving more guarantees for Russian-speakers in Ukraine.
Mar 16, 6:34 am
Russian forces ‘struggling’ with terrain: UK military
Russia’s military forces are “struggling to overcome” Ukraine’s terrain as they attempt to push further into the country, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.
“Russian forces have remained largely tied to Ukraine’s road network and have demonstrated a reluctance to conduct off-road manoeuvre,” the Ministry said in an update. “The destruction of bridges by Ukrainian forces has also played a key role in stalling Russia’s advance.”
Ukraine’s military has “adeptly exploited” Russia’s difficulty moving through the country, “frustrating the Russian advance and inflicting heavy losses on the invading forces,” the update said.
(NEW YORK) — Teachers in Florida and around the country are speaking out as the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill heads to the governor’s desk.
The controversial bill bans discussion “on sexual orientation or gender identity” in Florida’s K-3 classrooms. Officially known as the “Parental Rights in Education” bill (HB 1557), it is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, if Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has indicated his support for the bill, signs it into state law.
One of the stipulations in HB 1557 states that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
House Rep. Joe Harding, who sponsored the bill in the Florida House, spoke to ABC News after the bill passed.
“What we’re preventing is a school district deciding they’re going to create a curriculum to insert themselves,” he said in an interview with ABC News’ “Start Here” podcast. “The school district doesn’t need to insert themselves at that point when children are still learning how to read and do basic math.”
High school students, especially LGBTQ youth have been protesting the bill, saying the pending legislation will be harmful to students who are already at higher risk for abuse and mental health conditions.
Some teachers and their unions are also calling out the bill, saying it’s politicizing the classroom and warning that the legislation could lead to bullying.
Karla Hernández-Mats, the president of United Teachers of Dade, a local union that represents 30,000 employees of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, told GMA she has heard from both teachers and parents about the “Parental Rights in Education” bill.
“Teachers find it ludicrous that we’re being used as scapegoats because, first of all, teachers don’t teach children to be gay. That’s absurd,” Hernández-Mats said, pointing out that sexual education is not a part of the existing K-3 curriculum in the state.
She went on, “We know that the curriculum for every school in Florida is set by the Florida Department of Education. So we understand that this is an attack on teachers, an attack on students, an attack on their freedom. Despite these attacks, we’re gonna keep on pushing forward.”
Hernández-Mats said parents are being misled about what is actually being taught in K-3 classrooms. She also argued that teachers should have the ability to guide students when new ideas and concepts are brought up by students themselves.
“The reality is that if there is a child that has something that they want to say that maybe they only feel safe in our school district, then we should be able as educators not only to embrace them and listen to what it is that they’re saying but provide them the resources also so that they can get the help that they need,” said Hernández-Mats, who has also worked as a middle school special education science teacher.
Some educators are also voicing their support for LGBTQ students and speaking out on social media and using the hashtags #dontsaygay and #dontsaygaybill on platforms like TikTok and Twitter.
Meghan Mayer, a public school teacher in North Port, Florida, shared a TikTok video with her perspective, saying in part, “Public education in America is under attack … we’re now going after our most vulnerable student population, or LGBTQ+ students. These students already face a higher rate of bullying and are at higher risk of suicide as compared to their straight cisgender peers.”
“As a Florida educator and honestly as a parent in Florida, I’m feeling pretty helpless,” Mayer said, before telling viewers to vote with their wallets and boycott corporations that have donated to lawmakers behind the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The middle school reading teacher, who is considering switching to the elementary level, told “GMA” she is concerned about its real-world impact on students, some of whom have come to her asking for more information about the bill.
“It’s something that definitely concerns me, making that transition from middle to elementary because I want all of my students to feel loved and to feel seen and heard and valued and it’s gonna be really difficult to tell a student, ‘No, you can’t talk about your family. No, we’re not allowed to do that,'” she said. “I mean, how do you say that to a kindergartener or a first grader?”
Mayer said she read the text of the bill and found its language “so vague.”
“I just feel like it is really going to open the door for just a lot of discrimination. I think it’s going to do a lot of harm to a lot of our students,” she said.
Mayer also said it’s not just students who might be affected but her fellow teachers as well.
“When teachers have been through so much already, just like a lot of other essential workers have, a bill like this just continues to invalidate us as educators, like we don’t know what’s best,” she said. “I think that’s the thing that bothers me the most is that, ‘Do you think so little of us that you really think that we don’t know what’s appropriate and what’s not appropriate to talk about with students in our classroom?’ Once again, we’re just not respected as educators.”
“This bill worries me for educators too, who are LGBTQ,” Mayer continued. “Because does that mean that they can’t have a picture of them and their spouse on their desk for fear that somebody might ask about it and then that’s going to lead to some sort of conversation? I feel like it specifically targets LGBTQ students and teachers.”
President Biden has called the bill “hateful” and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said his department opposes the state bill.
“Leaders in Florida are prioritizing hateful bills that hurt some of the students most in need,” he said in a statement. “The Department of Education has made clear that all schools receiving federal funding must follow federal civil rights law, including Title IX’s protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We stand with our LGBTQ+ students in Florida and across the country, and urge Florida leaders to make sure all their students are protected and supported.”
(NEW YORK) — A strong earthquake struck off the coast of Japan late Wednesday, triggering a tsunami threat and leaving more than 2 million households without electricity, officials said.
Preliminary reports put it at a 7.3 magnitude. The earthquake occurred just off the coast from Fukushima.
A tsunami threat was issued for the east coast of Honshu, Japan, by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center based on preliminary earthquake parameters. The center warned of possible hazardous tsunami waves for coastal communities within 186 miles of the epicenter.
A tsunami is not expected in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia or Alaska, according to the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center.
Japan’s NHK World news service reported that the Tokyo area is under large power outages with more than 2 million households currently without power.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake struck around 11:36 p.m. local time and its epicenter was pinpointed about 20.5 miles below the sea.
In 2011, a strong earthquake struck in the same general area causing a tsunami and causing a nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Japan’s nuclear regulator reported Wednesday that preliminary information indicates no abnormalities at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(SEATTLE) — Starbucks says green isn’t just a bold color for its logo or signage, but an aspiration and reminder to be a resource positive company that helps the planet in proactive ways.
Ahead of the company’s annual shareholder meeting Wednesday and the announced retirement of CEO Kevin Johnson, Starbucks is sharing some of its efforts to help the company reduce waste by 50% by 2030.
The efforts will include reusable cup programs and a new app to help employees better sort where waste and recycling should go at a specific location, the company said in a press release Tuesday.
Over the last few years the Seattle-based coffee company has tested and prepared to scale various sustainability initiatives including a pilot program for reusable cups.
“We have a bold long-term sustainability vision and ambitious goals for 2030,” Johnson said in a statement. “Starbucks partners around the world are passionate about protecting our planet and are at the very center of driving the innovation that enables us to give more than we take from the planet.”
To help reach its goal, Starbucks says it will shift away from single-use plastics and pilot more of the reusable cup programs in six markets around the world.
By the end of 2023, customers will be able to use their own personal reusable cups at U.S. and Canada locations for both in-store and drive-thru or mobile orders, the company says.
“Our goal, by 2025, is to create a cultural movement towards reusables by giving customers easy access to a personal or Starbucks provided reusable to-go cup for every visit, making it convenient and delightful to reuse wherever customers are enjoying their Starbucks Experience,” the company said.
The company announced Wednesday that Johnson will be step down and remain a special consultant to the board through September. Howard Schultz will serve as interim CEO and help with the search process and onboarding of the company’s next leader.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is set to announce that historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) will be eligible for new grant funding following a series of bomb threats made against them.
The Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) program under the Department of Education is intended to enhance campus security and provide mental health resources by providing short-term, immediate funding for institutions that have experienced a “violent or traumatic incident.”
Harris “will make clear that every American should be able to learn, work, worship, and gather without fear,” a White House official told ABC News. The announcement will be made at the White House on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
HBCUs targeted by the threats could receive grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 per campus and will be determined based on specific needs. No bombs were found.
The campuses of at least 36 HBCUs and other colleges have been targeted by threats and at least 18 of these colleges and universities were targeted on Feb. 1 alone — the first day of Black History Month.
Institutions went into lockdown or evacuated the campus while local law enforcement agencies investigated the threats.
“Threats to the education and well-being of Black Americans and HBCUs are an unfortunate part of American history,” the press release read. “The bomb threats that we witnessed in January, each week in February – Black History Month, and this month are reminiscent of the attempts during the Civil Rights Era to intimidate and provoke fear in Black Americans.”
These threats came as hate crimes against Black Americans are on the rise, increasing by nearly 50% between 2019 and 2020, according to the FBI.
Several federal agencies are taking on this issue. The Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have met with HBCU leaders on tools they can use to strengthen campus security.
A Congressional hearing is also being held on Thursday to hear what the federal government can do to support HBCUs.
