(WASHINGTON) — Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of former President Donald Trump, is in active conversations with the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 about meeting for a voluntary interview, ABC News has confirmed, marking the first time a member of the Trump family has engaged in voluntary negotiations outside of a subpoena.
“Ivanka Trump is in discussions with the committee to voluntarily appear for an interview,” a spokeswoman for Trump confirmed in a statement Wednesday.
Ivanka Trump was one of a small handful of aides with the president inside the West Wing as the Capitol was under attack the president after his speech on the morning of Jan. 6.
Ivanka’s possible cooperation comes as ABC News has previously reported the committee is in active negotiations with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani about also appearing for an interview with the committee.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Thiago Prudencio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Drugmakers Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline announced Wednesday they are planning to ask regulators to authorize their new COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The companies said data shows the shot works either as a primary vaccine, with 100% effectiveness against severe disease and hospitalization, or as a booster shot to raise antibody levels.
Although they are submitting a request for authorization more than a year after Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson were approved in the U.S., Sanofi and GSK are hoping to differentiate their vaccine because it is based on a more conventional protein-based vaccine technology.
Known as a recombinant protein vaccine, it uses the spike protein — which COVID uses to enter and infect cells — to help the body recognize the virus so it can fight it off if a person becomes infected.
This is different from messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology, which is used by Pfizer and Moderna and teaches the body’s cells how to make proteins that trigger immune responses.
It’s also different from Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which is a viral vector vaccine and combines COVID genetic material with genes from the common cold-causing adenovirus to trigger an immune response.
“The evolving epidemiology of COVID-19 demonstrates the need for a variety of vaccines,” Roger Connor, president of GSK Vaccines, said in a statement. “Our … protein-based vaccine candidate uses a well-established approach that has been applied widely to prevent infection with other viruses including pandemic flu. We are confident that this vaccine can play an important role as we continue to address this pandemic and prepare for the post-pandemic period.”
The companies said their data from Phase 3 clinical trials showed two doses of their candidate, called VAT08, was 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalization from COVID-19, according to a company statement.
The vaccine was also 75% effective against moderate-to-severe disease and about 58% effective against symptomatic disease.
Early data also indicated the vaccine was 77% effective against symptoms linked to the delta variant.
When used as a booster shot for an already-approved vaccine, the Sanofi-GSK vaccine increased antibody levels 18- to 30-fold, according to the company.
Additionally, when trial participants were given two doses of the vaccine candidate and then a booster shot, antibody levels rose 84- to 153-fold.
“We’re very pleased with these data, which confirm our strong science and the benefits of our COVID-19 vaccine,” Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of Sanofi Vaccines, said in a statement. “The Sanofi-GSK vaccine demonstrates a universal ability to boost all platforms and across all ages.”
The study also showed no severe reactions or safety concerns from the vaccine in any age group.
The drugmakers are currently in discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European regulators and plan to submit their data soon.2
It comes just one month after another pharmaceutical company, Novavax, asked the FDA to authorize its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which also uses protein-based technology.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — To address the crisis at its border after publicly downplaying warnings, Ukraine on Wednesday took steps to brace for a possible Russian invasion, declaring a nationwide state of emergency and calling up 36,000 military reservists.
U.S. President Joe Biden said a day earlier that the world is witnessing “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine” as he announced new economic sanctions on Russia, after weeks of escalating tensions in the region.
Biden’s remarks followed a fiery address from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Russian public on Monday evening, when the leader announced he was recognizing the independence of two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region — the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk — which prompted a set of sanctions from Western countries, including Germany halting approval of a major gas pipeline from Russia.
While the United States says some 190,000 Russian troops and pro-Russian separatist forces are estimated to be massed near Ukraine’s borders, Russia has denied any wrongdoing and reiterated its demands that Ukraine pledges to never join NATO.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 23, 1:46 pm
Russian forces ‘as ready as they can be’ to invade: US defense official
About 80% of Russian forces amassed around Ukraine are in what the Pentagon calls “forward positions” and are “ready to go” if given the order to invade, a senior defense official said Wednesday.
The official said the U.S. has not seen Russian troops breaking out from the two separatist republics in eastern Ukraine but added that the U.S. is operating under the assumption that Russia has, indeed, sent more troops into the separatist-controlled area of Donbas.
“We have we have been saying any day now, and it is certainly possible that today is that day,” the official said. “They could go at any hour now.”
While the official said it still appears Russia is preparing for a large-scale invasion, they added, “If ever we want to be wrong, we want to be wrong about this.”
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler and Luis Martinez
Feb 23, 12:45 pm
White House threatens other sanctions in US toolkit
Asked by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega on what the U.S. could do if sanctions imposed Tuesday don’t work, White House press secretary Jen Psaki laid out additional sanctions that the U.S. could still impose.
“Sanctions can take a number of formats, right?” Psaki said at Tuesday’s press briefing. “Export controls is certainly one of them. There’s many more sanctions that we have at our disposal. Swift, the SWIFT system is obviously significant, not in the first tranche, but there’s a range of options that remain on the table for sanctions.”
While the U.S. said Tuesday that cutting Russia off from the international SWIFT financial system was still an option, it’s conceivable the Russians could find a way around SWIFT and move to other less-regulated payments systems.
Psaki also said sanctions are not intended to have “the harshest impact on the first day” but are “designed to have a squeezing impact over the course of time and we have many more escalatory steps that we could take.”
The top White House official crafting U.S. sanctions on Russia, Daleep Singh, also told reporters that the U.S. wasn’t seeking to “max out on sanctions” but that “they’re meant to prevent and deter a large-scale invasion of Ukraine that could involve the seizure of major cities, including Kyiv.”
Psaki echoed Biden in saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech to the Russian people on Monday “was rife with historical inaccuracy” and that Putin “made clear that he does not view Ukraine, not just the areas he recognized yesterday, but that the totality of Ukraine as an independent country.”
Notably, Biden did not mention personally targeting Putin on Tuesday, which he had previously said he was considering.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittelson, Zunaira Zaki and Elizabeth Schultze
Feb 23, 12:44 pm
Lawmakers warn Biden to seek authorization before sending troops to Ukraine
While President Joe Biden has made clear he is not considering sending U.S. troops into Ukraine, having said it would lead to war, a group of lawmakers sent him a letter late Tuesday to remind him that he must get authorization from Congress before he decides to engage the military in Ukraine.
The bipartisan oddball group of lawmakers who signed the letter includes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., among about three dozen others.
“If the ongoing situation compels you to introduce the brave men and women of our military into Ukraine, their lives would inherently be put at risk of Russia chooses to invade,” read the letter, which Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., shared on Twitter. “Therefore, we ask that your decisions comport with the Constitution and our nation’s laws by consulting with Congress to receive authorization before any such development.”
Lawmakers wrote that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 has been abused by previous presidents, and they noted that the act restricted Biden from not only engaging troops in battle but also from launching a “pre-emptive strike.”
“Congress stands ready to deliberate over the potentially monumental implications of such scenarios,” they said.
-ABC News’ Mariam Khan
Feb 23, 12:15 pm
EU imposes more sanctions on Russia
The European Union imposed Wednesday another slew of tough sanctions on Russia over its recognition of two pro-Russian separatist areas in eastern Ukraine.
The move is an attempt to deter Moscow from proceeding further withs its invasion of Ukraine and follows Tuesday’s decision by Germany to halt the certification of a key natural gas pipeline to Russia.
The package of measures adopted by the Council of the EU were published online Wednesday and include a ban on the Russian state and its central bank from accessing the EU’s capital and finance markets; sanctions against three Russian state banks; blacklisting all 351 members of the Russian parliament that voted earlier this week to ratify the decision to recgonize the separatist regions as independent; sanctions against 27 “high profile individuals and entities, including the Russian defense minister, top Kremlin officials and propagandists; and an import ban and restrictions on trade and investment, as well as a partial export ban on the two separatist areas.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Feb 23, 11:46 am
Ukraine FM calls on UN to act or face ‘the darkest times of the 20th Century’
The United Nations General Assembly — which includes all U.N. recognized governments — is meeting Wednesday in its main hall to address the crisis created by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, fresh from his meetings Tuesday with President Joe Biden and other top U.S. officials, addressed the hall as the first country, speaking after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In a firm speech, Kuleba blasted Russia’s recognition of its separatist areas as “independent” and deployment of troops there as an “attack on the United Nations” itself — a “grim scenario which will throw us back to the darkest times of the 20th century.”
“I warn every nation in this distinguished chamber: No one will be able to sit out this crisis,” he said. “Your governments and your people will face painful consequences together with our government and our people,” Kuleba told the chamber.
“The beginning of a large-scale war in Ukraine will be the end of the world order as we know it. If Russia does not get a severe, swift, and decisive response now, this will mean a total bankruptcy of the international security system and international institutions which are tasked with maintaining the global security order,” he added.
He warned other actors will be “inspired” by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions and follow his lead — turning the United Nations into the League of Nations, the early 20th-century international organization that was seen as feckless in stopping the Axis Powers in the lead up to World War II — a history Kuleba directly referenced.
“We all read history books. We all watch movies about the mistakes politicians made in the run-up to 1914 and 1939, about the feats of our grandparents and the catastrophic price at which a revanchist ruler in Europe was defeated. There is no more important task today than to not repeat the mistakes of the past,” he said.
To prevent that, Kuleba called for “decisive, immediate, and proportional action” by the international community — not just condemnations and statements, but actions.
“These days, we have probably the last window of opportunity to do what Russia does not expect the United Nations and its member states to do — demonstrate unprecedented ability and readiness to act in order to stop aggression,” he said — finishing by calling on members, regardless of their relations with one another individually, to do “your ultimate duty, to defend the charter of the United Nations.”
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Feb 23, 10:56 am
Another cyberattack hits Ukraine government websites
Ukraine’s government said Wednesday a new cyberattack has hit several of its government ministries, knocking their websites offline, amid warnings of attacks from Russia both on the ground and on the web.
Mikhail Fedorov, minister for digital transformation in Ukraine, announced that a “massive DDoS” attack hit around 4 p.m. local time. He said the websites of Ukraine’s cabinet, parliament and foreign ministry were down and that a number of banks were also having problems.
“It is connected with traffic switching on other provider for minimization of damage from the attack,” he said.
RIA Novosti, a Russian state-owned news agency, also reported the cyberattack.
It comes one week after a similar cyberattack in Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Feb 23, 10:10 am
Russian attack may come in next 2 days: Ukraine’s military to lawmakers
Ukraine’s military has briefed key members of parliament that it now believes the situation in eastern Ukraine with Russia may sharply deteriorate in the next two days, according to four sources with knowledge of what was said during the briefing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was present at the Wednesday night briefing, sources said, where the military said they now believe Russia may launch a major attack that would go beyond Eastern Ukraine, targeting at least two major cities. Sources said they told the members of parliament that Kyiv might also be a target — in line with U.S. officials warning that Russia is preparing a full-scale invasion that will go beyond eastern Ukraine and target Kyiv.
According to two sources, the military believes Russia may target Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city that is located around 20 miles from the border with Russia in the east, and also Kherson, a city in the south close to Crimea.
In a shift of tone Thursday, Ukraine has been taking new steps to brace for a possible attack, declaring a nationwide state of emergency and calling up 36,000 reservists. But publicly Zelenskyy’s administration has continued to say it is not certain whether Russia will attack. It has said, for now, a full-scale mobilization is not necessary, and it has not declared martial law.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd and Patrick Reevell
Feb 23, 9:22 am
US sanctions to be met with ‘strong response,’ Russia warns
Russia warned Wednesday that the latest sanctions imposed by the United States “will be met with a strong response.”
“The round of sanctions announced by the United States Administration [already the 101st in a row] affecting the financial sector with the expansion of the list of persons against whom personal restrictions are imposed is in line with Washington’s ongoing attempts to change Russia’s course,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “There should be no doubt that the sanctions will be met with a strong response, not necessarily symmetrical, but well-grounded and sensitive for the American side.”
U.S. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the latest sanctions, which he said would target two Russian banks, Russia’s sovereign debt and, starting Wednesday, the Russian elite and their relatives.
Feb 23, 9:06 am
Russia marks Defender of the Fatherland Day
Russia marked Defender of the Fatherland Day on Wednesday.
In a video message, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated his fellow Russians on the public holiday and noted the importance of ensuring the country’s defense capability.
“Dear comrades, today ensuring the defense capability of our country remains the most important state task, and the armed forces serve as a reliable guarantee of national security, the peaceful and calm life of our citizens, and the stable, progressive development of Russia,” Putin said.
The Russian leader was seen taking part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow.
Feb 23, 6:24 am
Ukrainian military begins calling up 36,000 reservists
Ukraine’s military said Wednesday it has begun calling up some reservists in response to an order from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The military general staff said they will be calling up reservists aged 18 to 60 starting Wednesday.
The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said Wednesday that the number of reservists being called up was 36,000, most of whom he said already have combat experience.
On Tuesday, while signing a decree to call up some of Ukraine’s military reservists, Zelenskyy emphasized that it was not yet a full mobilization but just the “active reserve,” or troops with combat training.
Zelenskyy said the order was necessary because Ukraine’s military now needs to be at “heightened readiness” for any changes in the situation on the ground with Russia.
Feb 23, 6:17 am
Ukraine to declare nationwide state of emergency
The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, announced Wednesday that a nationwide state of emergency will be declared due to the threat of a Russian invasion.
The declaration must be approved by the Ukrainian parliament before the state of emergency can go into effect for an initial 30 days. The move, which differs from the introduction of martial law, would allow local authorities across the country of 41 million people to put restrictions and heightened security measures in place, such as curfews and limits on movement.
Danilov said the state of emergency would be a “preventative” measure “so that the country preserves its calm, so that our economy works and our country works.” Any restrictions imposed under the declaration would likely vary from region to region, according to Danilov.
“Depending on situation on the ground in a particular area, the local bodies can impose various measures including curfews, only if needed,” Danilov said at a press conference Wednesday. “We won’t make people suffer unnecessarily but we must insure people’s safety.”
He then gave examples of what those restrictions could be: “It can the reinforcing of security around public order and critical infrastructure facilities. It can be certain limits imposed of the movement of transport. It can mean additional vigilance. It can be the checking of various documents for people.”
Danilov noted that the state of emergency would be imposed on all of Ukraine’s territory except for the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk because a special emergency status has been in place there since 2014, when pro-Russian separatists took control of some areas.
Feb 23, 5:33 am
Ukrainian right-wing volunteer battalion mobilizes
One of Ukraine’s far-right volunteer battalions announced Wednesday it is mobilizing to prepare to fight, amid fears of an imminent Russian invasion.
During Russia’s first invasion in 2014, the Ukrainian army was in disarray, prompting civilians to form volunteer battalions — many of them with right-wing ideologies. These highly motivated private armies — some funded by oligarchs — helped stem the fall of eastern Ukraine to Russia-backed separatists.
But once large-scale fighting had ended, the Ukrainian government moved the volunteer battalions back from the front line because they were seen as potentially provocative and problematic.
The so-called Right Sector is one of Ukraine’s most famous volunteer battalions. It’s made up of radical nationalists who played a crucial role in the 2014 revolution. In Russia, the group was made into a propaganda boogeyman.
The Right Sector’s return to the front line in eastern Ukraine will be used heavily by Russian propaganda. But it also shows how worried Ukrainians are getting, especially if more volunteer battalions start mobilizing.
In a Facebook post Wednesday, Right Sector said it is mobilizing its “assault brigade” due to the “high probability of the start of a full-scale invasion by the Russian army.”
“Our unit has already defended Ukrainian independence for 8 years from the occupiers,” the group said. “In the case of a full scale invasion we, as always, will be at the front of the fight.”
Feb 23, 4:29 am
Russia claims 100,000 refugees have fled eastern Ukraine
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed Wednesday that 100,000 refugees from two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine have arrived across the border in Russia.
The claim was unverified and highly improbable, as it appeared to be part of Russia’s intensifying efforts to spin an image of a major humanitarian crisis in the region to build a pretext for a possible invasion.
Russia-backed separatists have forced civilians living in the areas to evacuate despite the fact that there is no increased threat from the Ukrainian military. While thousands of people have been bused out of the region to Russia, the alleged figure of 100,000 appeared vastly exaggerated.
Russia’s claims have been accompanied by a barrage of false stories and staged videos of alleged attacks by Ukrainian forces, all of which have been blaring across Russian state media in recent days.
Feb 23, 12:03 am
Russia-backed separatists make ‘terror attacks’ claim as Russia continues to build pretext
Russian-controlled separatists are claiming two large “terrorist attacks” took place in their territory Tuesday night, as the separatists and Russia continue to intensify their efforts to create a pretext for a possible Russian attack.
The separatists claimed explosions went off at a TV tower and near a trolley bus depot, and they released video afterward they claim shows emergency workers looking at damage.
The claims are highly suspect, and they came amid a barrage of fake reports of supposed Ukrainian attacks that are being swiftly debunked.
The claims also came as Ukraine released video showing heavy artillery fire from separatists hitting a village called Chastiya — which means “happiness” — on the Ukrainian side of the frontline. The video appears to show rockets striking a house.
Artillery fire also hit a power station nearby yesterday.
It appears the Russian-controlled separatists have intensified their fire onto Ukrainian positions in the hope of stoking return fire and creating an impression of a general escalation.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Wednesday marked the start of the trial for the sole Louisville, Kentucky, police officer charged in connection to the “no-knock” search warrant raid that killed Breonna Taylor.
Brett Hankison is charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment of Taylor’s neighbors. He allegedly fired shots that endangered three people who were inside an apartment directly behind Taylor’s. He will testify at the trial.
Hankison was fired from the Louisville Police Department after the March 2020 shooting and is the only officer charged in connection with the incident. No officers have been charged with shooting Taylor.
The deadly shooting took place shortly after midnight on March 13, 2020. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black medical worker, was asleep at home with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.
Officers arrived and executed a “no-knock” search warrant as part of an investigation into a suspected drug operation, allegedly linked to Taylor’s ex-boyfriend.
Walker, who claims he thought the officers were intruders, fired one shot from his handgun, striking an officer in the leg. In response, police opened fire, and Taylor was shot multiple times. No drugs were found in Taylor’s apartment.
In opening statements Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley explained that this case isn’t about the Louisville Metro Police Department the search warrant, but about Taylor’s neighbors: Cody Etherton, his wife Chelsey Napper and their 5-year-old son. Whaley said that Hankison fired five bullets into Taylor’s apartment, three of which reached Etherton’s apartment.
Whaley said when officers breached Taylor’s apartment, the officer who fatally shot Taylor moved up to cover the officer with the battering ram, putting himself in the line of fire. Hankison was supposed to be in this role but was telling a person who was leaving a neighboring apartment to go back inside, Whaley said.
Whaley said Hankison had been engaging with that person when shots rang out. She said Hankison fired perpendicular to where the shot came from inside of Taylor’s apartment.
The prosecutor said Etherton jumped up when he heard the ram at Taylor’s apartment and walked toward his front door to see what was going on.
“A bullet whizzed close to his head that he heard, and then saw debris, drywall dust, where that bullet had come through,” Whaley said.
He crawled back to his bedroom and then went back to the front bedroom to retrieve his 5-year-old son, she said.
Whaley also said that Hankison gave a statement to investigators claiming he saw a shooter with an AR-15-style rifle in a combat position. No AR-15-style rifle was recovered from Taylor’s apartment, Whaley said.
Hankison’s defense attorney, Stew Matthews, said in his opening statement that he didn’t plan to dispute the evidence presented by the prosecution, but the “issue is what was the reasoning behind his [Hankison] firing the shots.”
Matthews focused on the chaos of the situation and said that Hankison will testify.
Matthews said the prosecution doesn’t know whether or not Hankison could see what was going on into the doorway and that it was “not accurate” to say that he couldn’t see into the hallway when the door was breached.
Matthews said that Hankison saw the muzzle flash from the gun that was fired at officers and that “his perception of it was that it was an AR-15 rifle.”
Matthews said that when Hankison fired his gun, he was “attempting to defend and save the lives of his brother officers.” He said that under the operating procedures of the police department, officers are obligated to defend other officers and citizens, and “that’s exactly what Brett Hankison was doing in this situation.”
“His actions were reasonable and justified given the chaotic situation he was in,” Matthews said.
Hankison has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
Two other officers involved were also fired from the police department: the officer who fired the shot that killed Taylor per a ballistics analysis and the officer who prepared the search warrant.
ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca contributed to this report.
(FORT WORTH, Texas) — A woman who survived three heart attacks in three days at age 40 is now leading an effort to make Black women aware of the risks of heart disease.
Tara Robinson, of Fort Worth, Texas, is the founder of the Black Heart Association, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “significantly lower the number of Black deaths caused by heart disease and stroke each year.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Black women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Across all races, heart disease causes one in every five female deaths each year, while only about half of women know that heart disease is their No. 1 cause of death, according to the CDC.
Robinson, now 48, said she had no idea she was at risk for a heart attack, even though she later realized she had symptoms months before, including fatigue, numbness in her arm and pain in her neck.
“I had 99% blockage in my main artery, known as the ‘widow maker,'” Robinson told Good Morning America. “I was completely healthy as far as I knew. No high blood pressure, no cholesterol or diabetes, nothing, but I was highly stressed.”
Robinson said she was even told by doctors that she was too young to be having a heart attack. After she recovered, she said she made it her mission to educate other Black women on the health screenings to get and signs and symptoms to watch.
“The reason God saved me is because I have to do this work,” she said. “I’m the heart healer, mentally and physically.”
Robinson is the brains and heart behind her organization’s mobile heart center, a bus that provides free health screenings across the Fort Worth area.
“Our goal with the mobile bus is to make sure that we are wherever our people are — that’s at the car wash, the barber shop, the beauty shop, the church,” she said. “Wherever you are, that’s where the bus can pull up to.”
According to the CDC, women can reduce their risk of heart disease by getting routine screenings for everything from diabetes and blood pressure to cholesterol and triglycerides.
Black women in particular are more likely to have conditions that increase their risk of heart disease, including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and pregnancy-related complications, according to Dr. Sandy Charles, a cardiologist and medical director of Novant Health Women’s Heart and Vascular Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“These things frequently cause no symptoms and we don’t know we have them unless we get screened,” Charles said of the risk factors, adding that women can also ask for specific tests like stress tests and CAT scans to check their heart health.
When it comes to blood pressure, a systolic blood pressure of less than 120, and a diastolic blood pressure of less than 80 is considered normal by the American Heart Association.
High cholesterol can contribute to plaque, which can lead to clogged arteries. A total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL is considered desirable, including less than 100 mg/dL of LDL and 60 mg/dL or more of HDL, according to the CDC. The recommendations for when to check cholesterol are once every five years after the age of 20, and more frequently if you have a medical condition such as high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity, according to the CDC.
Women can also reduce their risk of heart disease by making lifestyle changes including staying active and eating a clean diet free of foods high in sugar, fat and cholesterol, according to Charles.
When it comes to recognizing a heart attack, women may not experience any chest pains at all, according to Charles. She said symptoms to watch for include shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea and indigestion.
“It’s so important for women to know, and for everyone to know, that nobody knows your body better than you,” said Charles. “So if something doesn’t feel right, do not ignore the symptoms.”
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/POOL
(WASHINGTON) — Civil rights attorney Ben Crump publicly urged President Joe Biden to tap Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court on Wednesday, as the president closes in on a decision for his first nomination to the high court.
“In my view, that of a civil rights lawyer and advocate who is committed to bringing justice, respect, and fairness to this nation, and particularly to my community, that woman is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson,” Crump said in a statement, provided first to ABC News.
The endorsement — the first from a high-profile Black civil rights advocate — is a significant boost for Jackson after African American community leaders have spent weeks largely remaining neutral on the pick.
Over the past decade, Crump has represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Jacob Blake, Daunte Wright — Black Americans whose deaths at the hands of police sparked outrage and calls for justice. Crump joined the Floyd family for a meeting with the president at the White House last April, on the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death.
“My standards for this nominee go beyond integrity, brilliance and fairness,” Crump said in the statement. “I carry the additional purchase that this justice must represent African Americans in a way that has cultural competency, forcefulness and instills deep pride.”
Crump’s embrace of Jackson is a break with South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, an influential Biden ally, who has spent weeks lobbying for U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs, touting her blue-collar background and educational diversity as a graduate of state universities in contrast to the Ivy League pedigree of most other justices.
Jackson, the daughter of school teachers and product of Miami-Dade public schools, is a graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law.
ABC News has confirmed the president has completed interviews with Childs, 55, Jackson, 51, and Kruger, 45, and that a final decision is imminent. A Black woman has never been nominated to Supreme Court.
In his statement, Crump praised Clyburn and his late wife Emily for securing Biden’s commitment during the 2020 campaign to nominate a Black woman, but says Jackson is better prepared for the high court.
“There will be no learning curve for Judge Jackson, she knows the law, has adjudicated it well, and is battle tested. Jackson has the educational credentials and commitment which put her in an elite with which the Court is familiar, having the same credentials as most of the modern justices, if not more than,” Crump said.
“We African Americans eagerly await and demand that model: a talented African American woman who not only acts justly and upholds our Constitution, but is rooted in an experience that so many of us share. That person is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson,” Crump highlighting her experience as a public defender, clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, and advocate for criminal sentencing reform in her role for the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Crump and Jackson have taught twice at a seminar at Harvard’s Trial Advocacy Workshop, serving as teachers and mentors for students calling her “humble” and “gracious.”
“But through it all she’s been an advocate for and proud of our African American community,” he said. Adding, “For the combination of brilliance, integrity, experience, and assurance that African Americans will hold this choice as we do the memory of Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley, I overwhelmingly support the historic choice of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.”
Other Black leaders have been reluctant to endorse a candidate.
A group of 14 Black female lawmakers led by Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. sent a letter to the president outlining their priorities and called on him to select a nominee committed to advancing civil rights but declined to name a candidate.
Bush told reporters, “I just don’t think it’s our place to pit Black women against each other who are trying to get this spot.”
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — A federal jury began deliberating Wednesday morning the fates of three former Minneapolis police officers accused of violating George Floyd’s civil rights by not providing medical aid during his fatal arrest and failing to stop their senior officer’s excessive use of force.
The U.S. District Court jury in St. Paul, Minnesota, received final instructions from Judge Paul Magnuson before the panel started weighing the evidence against Thomas Lane, 38, J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Tou Thao, 35.
Jurors heard closing arguments on Tuesday from prosecutors and defense attorneys, but were sent home before being handed the case due to a snow emergency declared in St. Paul.
In her closing argument, U.S. Assistant Attorney Manda Sertich asked the jury to convict all three defendants, alleging they ignored their duty to intervene as they watched Derek Chauvin “commit a violent crime” by kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed Floyd for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, rendering him unconscious and without a detectable pulse.
“No one did a thing to help,” Sertich told the jury.
Chauvin was convicted in state court last year of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. He later pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges stemming from Floyd’s 2020 death and the physical abuse of a handcuffed 14-year-old boy in 2017.
“A human being, someone’s son, father, friend, significant other, George Perry Floyd Jr. died a slow and torturous death … underneath their knees, handcuffed, unarmed, not resisting in broad daylight on a public street,” Sertich said.
Defendants failed to follow ‘plain, old common sense’
Sertich cited the inactions of all three men, starting with Thao, who testified during the trial that he never touched Floyd and was focused on “crowd control” during the Memorial Day 2020 episode. But Sertich said Thao refused to stop Chauvin’s brutality despite witnesses, including an off-duty firefighter, yelling at him to check on Floyd’s well-being.
She said Kueng and Lane, both rookie cops at the time of Floyd’s death, and Thao failed to follow “plain, old common sense.”
“Chauvin’s use of force was obvious and unreasonable to everyone, including bystanders which included juveniles,” Sertich said.
She added that Thao appeared more concerned with arguing and belittling “people trying to make him do what the law — not to mention human decency and common sense — required him to do.”
Turning her attention to Kueng, Sertich said that even as Floyd begged for his life and repeatedly complained he could not breathe, Kueng pressed the handcuffed man’s wrists into his back and laughed when Chauvin told Floyd that talking uses a lot of oxygen.
While Lane questioned Chauvin about whether they should put Floyd on his side to help ease his breathing and went with Floyd in the ambulance to assist paramedics, Sertich said he “did nothing to give George Floyd the medical aid he knew Mr. Floyd so desperately needed.”
All three defendants testified during the trial and each attempted to shift the blame to Chauvin, who was a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department.
“I would trust a 19-year veteran to figure it out,” Thao testified. Lane told the jury that Chauvin “deflected” all his suggestions to help Floyd and Kueng testified that Chauvin “was my senior officer and I trusted his advice.”
Sertich told the jury that Chauvin barely spoke to Lane, Kueng and Thao during the incident and certainly wasn’t “ordering them around.”
‘A tragedy is not a crime’
Thao’s attorney, Robert Paule, acknowledged in his closing argument that Floyd’s death was a tragedy.
“However, tragedy is not a crime,” Paule said.
Paule argued that the actions of all three officers showed they did not willfully neglect to help Floyd. Paule said Thao was the officer who radioed for an ambulance to step up its dispatch to the scene and suggested using a hobble device to restrain Floyd.
He also said Thao believed that Floyd was suffering from excited delirium, a syndrome in which a subject displays wild agitation and violent behavior, and the best thing to do was hold him down until paramedics arrived.
“They didn’t do that for a bad purpose,” Paule said. “They did that to get medical people there quickly.”
He asked the jury to review videos of the incident presented at the trial, noting, “Three officers are not able to control a person in handcuffs.”
Kueng’s attorney, Thomas Plunkett, said his client’s inadequate training by the Minneapolis Police Department, lack of experience and his “perceived subordinate role to Mr. Chauvin” combined for a perfect storm that cost Floyd his life and disproves the government’s allegations that Kueng willfully deprived Floyd of medical aid and failed to stop Chauvin.
Plunkett said Kueng was “under the influence” of Chauvin, his training officer.
“He respected this person. He looked up to this person. He relied on this person’s experience,” Plunkett said.
He added, “We often hear about the mob mentality. Courts are this country’s protection against the mob and courts depend vitally on you as jurors.”
Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, wrapped up the closing arguments by accusing the government of indicting an “innocent man.”
“In other words, you can do an innocent act and you can end up in a courtroom like this because that’s what happened to Thomas Lane,” Gray told the jury.
Gray left the jury to ponder the question, “Why did the government indict them?”
“We all know why,” Gray said. “Politics, ladies and gentlemen.”
ABC News’ Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — One winter storm has wreaked havoc on Midwest roadways, and another is gearing up to bring a dangerous wave of ice and snow to the Northeast.
The first storm slammed the Midwest Tuesday, dropping 10 to 30 inches of snow in some areas.
The Minnesota State Patrol reported 373 crashes in the last 24 hours, injuring 34 people.
The second storm is forecast to bring major ice accumulation this week from Texas to New York state.
On Wednesday the storm will create horrendous conditions on roads in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. A winter storm warning has been issued for Dallas where ice will be the biggest threat.
The storm then moves north, bringing rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
On Thursday morning an icy mix will bring sleet, snow and freezing rain to the Mid-Atlantic and Washington, D.C., area.
Thursday night, a more significant wave of ice and snow will arrive to the Interstate 95 corridor from D.C. to Philadelphia and into northern New Jersey.
Freezing rain and sleet will fall Thursday night into Friday morning from Philadelphia to New York City to New York’s Hudson Valley.
Friday morning’s rush hour may be very dangerous in New Jersey, New York City and up to Boston.
The storm will start to move out Friday afternoon with lingering snow most of the afternoon in New England.
Heavy snow is expected from central New York into Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Some areas could see up to 1 foot of snow, especially from Albany, New York, to Boston.
Northern Pennsylvania, the lower Hudson Valley, Connecticut and northern New Jersey could get 4 to 8 inches of snow.
Ice, sleet and freezing rain will be the biggest threat for Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey and New York City.
(ATLANTA) — Ahmaud Arbery Day has been officially recognized in Georgia on the second anniversary of his death, just one day after his killers were found guilty on all counts in the federal hate crime case surrounding Arbery’s death.
The Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution on Feb. 2 to permanently declare Feb. 23 as Ahmaud Arbery Day. Several events have been planned throughout the city by friends, family and local leaders to honor his memory.
The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, a mental wellness organization focused on Black men that was founded by Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, will hold a private event at the National Center of Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, at 10:30 a.m. where the organization will announce plans to foster “positivity” in light of the tragic killing.
In the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia, where Arbery was killed, a ceremony is planned near the site of his death at 1 p.m., where religious leaders and family will honor his memory and release doves.
A candlelight march is also planned for later that afternoon at 5 p.m. at the Brunswick Ahmaud Arbery mural.
A prayer vigil will be held in Marietta by the Cobb County’s District Attorney’s office at 2 p.m. on Marietta Square.
The memorials follow celebrations of justice outside of the federal courthouse in Brunswick, after the guilty hate crime verdict was read against Arbery’s three killers.
“We got justice for Ahmaud in the federal and the state,” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, said following the jury’s announcement.
Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan were guilty of being motivated by racial hate, interfering with Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping in Arbery’s death.
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down and shot to death by the three men while he was out for a Sunday jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in Brunswick.. All three men have also been convicted in connection with his murder.
Travis McMichael, who delivered the fatal shot, and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life without possible parole. Bryan, 53, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
(ATLANTA) — Ahmaud Arbery Day has been officially recognized in Georgia on the second anniversary of Arbery’s death, just one day after his killers were found guilty on all counts in the federal hate crime case surrounding his death.
The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, a mental wellness organization focused on Black men that was founded by Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, announced that the non-profit will offer six $3,000 scholarships for higher education opportunities to seniors from Arbery’s former high school.
“Nothing will bring my son back, but I know that God wants us to repurpose the pain, my pain into service to make life better for other young men,” Cooper-Jones said at an event at the National Center of Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.
She added, “It is my honor to serve others in this way in recognition of my son’s life.”
The Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution on Feb. 2 to permanently declare Feb. 23 to be Ahmaud Arbery Day.
“The state of Georgia honors one of the most distinguished citizens,” said state representative Sandra G. Scott at the Wednesday event as she read the resolution. “Mr. Arbery was a loving son, brother of Jasmine Arbery, uncle, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend who left an impact on countless Georgians and Americans.”
She continued, “A compassionate and generous man, Mr. Arbery will long be remembered for his love of family and community.”
They encouraged communities to “run with ‘Maud,” by running 2.23 miles annually on this day, as a call for racial justice and equity in honor of Ahmaud who was killed while jogging.
In the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia, where Arbery was killed, a ceremony is planned near the site of his death at 1 p.m., where religious leaders and family will honor his memory and release doves.
A candlelight march is also planned for later that afternoon at 5 p.m. at the Brunswick Ahmaud Arbery mural.
A prayer vigil will be held in Marietta by the Cobb County’s District Attorney’s office at 2 p.m. on Marietta Square.
The memorials follow celebrations outside of the federal courthouse in Brunswick, after the guilty hate crime verdict was read against Arbery’s three killers on Tuesday.
“We got justice for Ahmaud in the federal and the state,” Arbery’s father, Marcus Arbery, said following the jury’s announcement.
Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis McMichael, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, were guilty of being motivated by racial hate, interfering with Arbery’s civil rights and attempted kidnapping in Arbery’s death.
Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down and shot to death by the three men while he was out for a Sunday jog on Feb. 23, 2020, in Brunswick. All three men have also been convicted in connection with his murder.
Travis McMichael, who delivered the fatal shot, and Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life without possible parole. Bryan, 53, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
