In this image released by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, a timber rattlesnake is shown. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
(GRUETLI-LAAGER, Tenn.) — A man has died after he was bitten by a venomous snake at a Tennessee state park, according to park officials.
The victim, who was not identified, was hiking at the Savage Gulf State Park — about 60 miles northwest of Chattanooga — when he was bitten on Aug. 8, Grundy County Emergency Management Agency Director Matthew Griffith said in a statement to ABC News.
The hiker was about half a mile down a trailhead at 55th Avenue in Gruetli-Laager when first responders arrived to the scene shortly after being dispatched, around 12:30 p.m., Griffith said. Paramedics administered CPR before the man was transported to the hospital, where he later died.
A witness told first responders that the hiker picked up the snake, which is believed to be a Timber rattlesnake, and was bitten on the hand, Griffith noted.
The Timber rattlesnake is the largest and most dangerous of the four venomous snakes found in Tennessee, according to the state’s Wildlife Resource Agency. The species can measure between 3 feet and 5 feet long and prefers mature, heavily-wooded forests with rocky hillsides.
Timber rattlesnakes tend to be “more docile” than other rattler species and is likely to stay coiled or stretched out and motionless when encountered in the wild, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo.
The hiker may have had an allergic reaction to the snake bite, but full details of the actual cause of death have not yet been released, Griffith added.
“The family of the individual will be in our thoughts and prayers,” he said.
An estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About five of those people die as a result of the bite, but more would die if they did not seek medical care, according to the CDC.
While victims of snake bites should always seek medical attention, the CDC recommends treating the bite yourself while waiting for first responders to arrive.
This includes removing rings, bracelets and watches in case of swelling, as well as washing the bite with soap and water.
The CDC then recommends covering the bite with a clean, dry dressing before marking the leading edge of the swelling on the skin and writing the time on it.
Do not try to suck the venom out, attempt to make a tourniquet, apply ice or put the bite in water, the CDC advises.
“If you encounter a snake simply remain calm and do not attempt to handle it,” Griffith said. “If bitten seek immediate medical attention.”
Griffith also recommended that hikers take first aid supplies when recreating outdoors and to be mindful of the dangers that wildlife could pose.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
(ATLANTA) — After a gunman opened fire on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) campus in Atlanta last week — forcing hundreds into lockdown, hitting six buildings and killing a police officer — authorities found he’d been harboring years-long grievances with the COVID-19 vaccine.
Patrick White’s neighbors told ABC News that the 30-year-old believed he suffered negative health effects after he got the vaccine, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) found written documents at his home indicating that he wanted to make his discontent known. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during last Friday’s incident.
For many CDC employees, the shooting was the culmination of long-held fears that years of simmering anger and division that grew from those who disagreed with COVID-19 pandemic policies might turn to violence against the CDC, putting public health workers in physical danger.
“I think the environment has been set up for something like this to happen,” Jessica Rogers-Brown, a CDC epidemiologist who has worked in multiple centers across the agency over the past seven years, told ABC News. “But this is far worse than I feared.”
Rogers-Brown, who works at one of the buildings that was struck by gunfire, emphasized that she was speaking in her personal capacity, not in her professional role or on behalf of CDC.
For Rogers-Brown and some of her colleagues, that fear has turned to frustration with government leaders — including President Donald Trump — over the last week.
They feel the shooting has slipped into the background without even a public statement from the president about the attack on federal property or a sufficient denouncement from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the CDC and has peddled vaccine skepticism throughout his career.
Earlier in this week, when Rogers-Brown went to pick up equipment that would allow her to continue to work from home while shattered windows and broken doors are replaced on CDC’s campus, she walked past bullet holes.
She said she won’t feel safe returning until she feels federal leadership has publicly stood up for the CDC and Kennedy has condemned any violence aimed at public health workers as loudly as he derided CDC for its COVID response.
Before becoming health secretary, Kennedy falsely called the COVID-19 vaccine the “deadliest vaccine ever made” and, during his recent presidential run, he wrote in a post on X that he would “clean up the cesspool of corruption at CDC.”
“We really are at a turning point of what can happen,” Rogers-Brown said. “We can start to right the ship, or we can keep going down this road and wonder if, next time, I’m going to be triaging the gunshot wound of a colleague. And what will make the difference will be the voices of our leaders that have the microphone.”
She called for Kennedy to make it clear that “public servants are not the enemy” and “CDC workers are humans.”
Over the weekend, Kennedy sent an email to staff, offering prayers and saying he realized that the shooting was “unsettling” for staffers.
Kennedy visited the CDC on Monday, surveying the damage, meeting with senior leadership and visiting the widow of DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, who was killed Friday in the shooting. That day, he referred to the shooting as “heartbreaking” in an X post.
In an TV interview with Scripps News later that day, Kennedy said CDC workers “should not be the targets of this kind of violence from anybody” and that political violence is “always wrong.”
Asked if he would take action to quell misinformation around vaccines, Kennedy said there wasn’t enough information about the shooter’s motive and went on to criticize public health agencies.
“We have to ask, why are people not believing the public health agencies? And the answer, I think, is pretty elementary: That the public health agencies have not been honest,” Kennedy said.
Some staffers were frustrated by what they perceived to be a lack of strong response from Kennedy, who didn’t directly address staff during his visit on Monday.
“He never even sent an email to us until this past Saturday and never visited our campus until this week,” a CDC scientist who has worked at the agency for 10 years in a variety of positions told ABC News. “I don’t even know how to feel with the lack of words from the White House and RFK victim-shaming us.”
The scientist asked not to be publicly identified over fears of retaliation at work and safety concerns.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told ABC News in a statement that Kennedy “has unequivocally condemned the horrific attack and remains fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of CDC employees.”
Nixon said Kennedy’s response was swift and decisive, citing his trip to Atlanta, and said any suggestion of a delay “is simply not supported by the facts.”
“The Secretary’s presence and outreach underscore his commitment to the CDC community and public health workforce. This is a time to stand in solidarity with our public health workforce, not a moment for the media to exploit a tragedy for political gain,” Nixon said.
While Trump hasn’t publicly spoken about the shooting, White House spokesperson Kush Desai also emphasized that the safety and security of government employees, “whether in Washington, D.C. or Atlanta, Georgia — is the topmost priority of the Administration.”
“Violence has no place in any civil society, and the White House extends our heartfelt condolences to the family of Officer David Rose and the entire CDC team,” Desai said in a statement sent to ABC News.
CDC director Dr. Susan Monarez spoke directly to CDC employees on Tuesday, giving brief remarks in a 10-minute all-staff call that was cut short by technical issues.
“You are resourceful, resilient and strong, and we will make sure you have the resources, the protection, the support you need to keep doing the work you do,” she said.
She followed up later the same day with a more direct denouncement of misinformation to the agency’s more than 10,000 employees with a note that read, in part, “the dangers of misinformation and its promulgation has now led to deadly consequences.”
“I will work to restore trust in public health to those who have lost it — through science, evidence, and clarity of purpose,” Monarez wrote.
Another CDC staff member told ABC News that the last six months of the Trump administration had already been tumultuous for the agency. She cited Kennedy’s reorganization efforts that led to the mass-firings of around 10,000 HHS employees and many entire CDC programs being cut, which Kennedy defended as “reducing bureaucratic sprawl.”
“It was an overwhelming grief to watch what was unfolding with public health and how it was going to affect people’s lives,” the CDC worker, who also asked not to be publicly identified over fears of retaliation at work and concerns over her own safety, said. “But it is very personal now.”
With nearly 20 years of experience working in communications at CDC on multiple different public health issues, including immunization and COVID-19, she said she’d never seen as much fear among her colleagues as she had this year.
“The vilification of federal workers is astounding, and people are forgetting … that we’re human beings,” she said. “We’re parents and friends and mothers and daughters. You know, we’re just like everyone else.”
She pointed to Kennedy’s history of vaccine skepticism before joining the Trump administration and actions to dissuade vaccine uptake since taking office.
“This didn’t happen overnight,” she said.
In May 2021, Kennedy filed a citizen petition asking for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revoke its authorization of all COVID-19 vaccines, which he falsely criticized during a Louisiana House of Representatives meeting about school vaccine requirements as the “deadliest vaccine ever made.”
“After reviewing the science and consulting top experts at NIH and FDA, HHS has determined that mRNA technology poses more risk than benefits for these respiratory viruses,” Kennedy said in a video posted on X when the cut to mRNA funding was announced.
Scientists and doctors contend that mRNA vaccines have been studied for decades. Robust evidence from clinical trials and real-world data shows that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are safe and effective, despite Kennedy’s claims, and that serious health events after COVID-19 vaccination are rare, as CDC states on its website.
ABC News’ Eric Strauss and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
Erin is the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Erin has become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, with several areas already on alert for heavy rain and strong waves and rip currents possible along the East Coast of the United States as early as next week.
Hurricane Erin is a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds up to 75 mph.
Tropical storm watches are in place for the Northern Leeward Islands of St. Martin, St. Barts, Anguilla and Barbuda, with breezy and rainy conditions possible in these areas for the next 48 hours. Erin is expected to pass near or north of the Leeward Islands on Saturday.
This weekend, Erin will move north of Puerto Rico and could potentially become a major hurricane, Category 3 or higher, by Sunday morning. The outer bands of this storm could bring 2 to 4 inches of rain to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Saturday and Sunday, which could lead to isolated flash flooding, potential mudslides and gusty winds of 40 to 50 mph.
Moving to next week, Erin will continue to move northwest, staying east of the Bahamas.
The majority of meteorological modeling continues to keep Erin well off the East Coast of the U.S. by hundreds of miles, but large waves and life-threatening rip currents are still expected to reach the coast on Aug. 20 to Aug. 27.
This would not only be dangerous for anyone entering the waters, but also for property along the coast, as erosion — especially along North Carolina’s Outer Banks — could be a serious threat. The Outer Banks and other parts of North Carolina could see waves of 8 to 12 feet, with other areas of South Carolina and Virginia possibly seeing waves reaching 6 feet next week.
Despite the threat of strong waves along the East Coast, a cold front pushing off of America’s coast is expected to keep Erin out to sea and will also bring below-average temperatures to the Northeast next week.
The National Hurricane Center predicted an above-normal hurricane season for the Atlantic.
August, September and October are the most active months of the Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on Nov. 30.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Consumer sentiment worsened in August, snapping two consecutive months of improved attitudes among shoppers as President Donald Trump imposed sweeping new tariffs on nearly 70 countries. The fresh reading fell short of economists’ expectations.
The dampening of shopper attitudes returns the measure to a months-long downturn that took hold after Trump took office, University of Michigan Survey data on Friday showed. At its low point, consumer sentiment fell close to its worst level since a bout of inflation three years ago. The measure remains below where it stood in December, before Trump took office.
Year-ahead inflation expectations rose from 4.5% last month to 4.9% this month, the data showed. The outcome anticipated by respondents would put inflation well above its current level of 2.7%. The heightened inflation expectation occurred across people of all political affiliations, the survey said.
The report arrived days after an inflation reading came in lower than economists had expected, offering a respite for consumers wary of significant tariff-induced price hikes.
Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is a key bellwether for the outlook of the nation’s economy.
Some recent indicators have suggested the onset of an economic slowdown. A report on gross domestic product late last month indicated average annualized growth of 1.2% over the first half of 2025, well below 2.8% growth last year.
A jobs report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Aug. 1 revealed a sharp cooldown of the labor market. Hours later, Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her without evidence of “faked” statistics.
McEntarfer, a Biden appointee who was confirmed by the Senate in 2024, had served in the federal government for two decades prior to her firing.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy,” McEntarfer said in a social media post after her dismissal. “It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.”
William Beach, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by Trump, condemned the firing of McEntarfer.
“The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau,” Beach posted on X.
Still, some facets of the economy have proven resilient. The U.S. has largely averted the type of widespread job losses that often accompany a recession. Consumer spending ticked higher over three months ending in June. Corporate earnings have remained robust.
The Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at a meeting in July as the central bank voiced concern about a possible rekindling of inflation as Trump’s tariffs take hold.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month, Powell said tariffs would likely “push up prices and weigh on economic activity” over the course of this year. But, he added, the effects would depend on the “ultimate level” of tariffs, which have frequently fluctuated.
Immigration Court building entrance at 26 Federal Plaza in New York. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Envelopes containing a white powder that were found at a government building in New York City housing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office did not contain any dangerous substances, officials said Friday.
The incident occurred Thursday afternoon at 26 Federal Plaza, in Manhattan’s Foley Square, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
The five letters were found at about 4 p.m. in the mailroom of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Office on the ninth floor, according to the FBI.
“In the majority of my experience, most of these incidents turn out to be nothing. However, this matter is not going to be taken lightly,” said Christoper Raia, the FBI assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, who noted that “sending threatening letters of this nature, whether real or a hoax, is a crime.”
Initial testing of the powder indicates it was boric acid, which is commonly used in pesticides and other chemicals and is harmful if eaten, officials told WABC.
Personnel in the ICE ERO office found the envelopes, according to Raia, who said two people were initially exposed. Those two individuals are expected to OK, officials told New York ABC station WABC.
On Friday, Adams told radio station 1010 WINS that “no dangerous substances” were involved in the incident, but said it is “still a serious crime.”
“We are going to make sure the person responsible will be brought to justice,” Adams told 1010 WINS.
Hazmat teams were on the ground on Thursday “to ensure the safety of everyone inside and outside of the building” while awaiting the test results, the mayor said.
The building was evacuated “per standard protocol,” Raia said.
The 41-floor office building is home to ICE’s New York City field office, as well as the FBI’s New York field office and an immigration court. It has made headlines and been the site of frequent protests over ICE operations in the city amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
A so-called “holding facility” for detained migrants is located on the 10th floor of the building. Following allegations of unsanitary conditions there, a federal judge this week ordered the Trump administration to ensure the facility is not overcrowded and that detainees are provided with hygiene products and confidential access to lawyers. The Department of Homeland Security denied the conditions in the facility were subprime.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested in June while observing proceedings at the building’s immigration court. He was accused of assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer but has not been charged.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on August 8, 2025 in Washington/ (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s highly anticipated one-on-one summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin marks his latest effort at securing a peace deal over Ukraine, a priority in his second term.
The meeting comes after a string of deals and agreements the White House said Trump has helped broker globally that should earn him something the president has long desired — a Nobel Peace Prize.
“President Trump has brokered on average about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing last month. “It’s well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Trump himself has voiced grievance over not having a Nobel Peace Prize; while taking questions in the Oval Office in February alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, weeks after the U.S. helped broker an ultimately short-lived ceasefire agreement over Gaza, the president said, “They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. I deserve it.”
The president has also said he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for U.S.-brokered deals in other conflicts, including the June peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda and the May ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
“No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!” Trump said on social media in June.
Observers say Trump’s desire for the Nobel Peace Prize looms large over the summit with Putin, as the president looks to fulfill a campaign promise to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. It’s something he said he would do in the first 24 hours of his second term, though months into his term, as the war raged on, said he had meant the 24-hour pledge “figuratively.”
Ahead of the planned meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday, some foreign policy experts have voiced concern over how Trump and his supporters’ fixation on the prize could impact diplomatic relations.
Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argued in a Washington Post column that “Trump’s unhealthy obsession with winning the Nobel Peace Prize has driven him to make a series of rash decisions in pursuit of ending the war in Ukraine.”
“The latest example is the scheduling of a premature summit with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Alaska — an object lesson in how not to do diplomacy,” he wrote.
Ian Bremmer — the president and founder of Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm — said in a post on X ahead of the talks that he fully expects Putin to “exploit Trump’s ambitions for admiration (a la Nobel Peace Prize) in an effort to get what he wants.”
Several world leaders and officials have expressed their support for Trump getting a Nobel Peace Prize in recent months.
Among them, the government of Pakistan said in June it has formally recommended that Trump receive the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize “in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership during the recent India-Pakistan crisis.”
A month later, Netanyahu told Trump that he nominated the president for the award after Trump pushed for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
After signing a U.S.-brokered agreement at the White House aimed at ending decades of conflict between their countries, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia said this month that Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and they would advocate for it.
Ahead of Friday’s summit, John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, told ABC News “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl that nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize is “the way to his heart.”
“I think what Trump has done is make it clear that he wants a Nobel Peace Prize more than anything else,” he said. “And the way to his heart, as Pakistani Chief of Staff [Asim] Munir found, Bibi Netanyahu found — offer to nominate him.”
Bolton, who has been critical of Trump’s foreign policy decisions, left his post during Trump’s first term amid reports of conflict among the president’s foreign policy advisers. Trump said he fired Bolton, while Bolton said he resigned. At the start of Trump’s second term, Bolton said Trump terminated his Secret Service protection.
White House officials have touted Trump as a “deal maker” intent on reaching peace. Heading into the summit, Vice President JD Vance called the expected meeting with Putin “a major breakthrough for American diplomacy,” saying in an interview with Fox News that a peace deal wouldn’t happen without Trump.
“We’re gonna try to find some kind of negotiated settlement that the Ukrainians and Russians can live with, where they can live in relative peace, where the killing stops,” Vance said.
“Both the Russians and the Ukrainians probably at the end of the day are gonna be unhappy with it. But I don’t think you can actually sit down and have this negotiation absent the leadership of Donald J. Trump,” Vance continued.
Though he often brings it up, Trump has contended that he is “not politicking” for the Nobel Peace Prize, which was last given to a U.S. leader in 2009, when former President Obama received it less than a year into his first term.
“It would be a great honor, certainly. But I would never politic. I’m not doing it for that,” he said during this month’s Azerbaijan-Armenia peace summit. “I’m doing it because of really, number one, I want to save lives. That’s why I’m involved so much with Ukraine and Russia — saving lives of Russians and Ukrainians.”
A day before the planned summit, Trump said he believed he’d have a “good” conversation with Putin but said that the more significant development in the peace effort would be a second meeting between the U.S., Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I’m there for one reason,” he said. “I want to see if I can stop the killing.”
An EasyJet Airbus A320 comes in to land as another EasyJet Airbus A320 waits on the taxiway at London Southend Airport on July 28, 2025 in Southend, England. (Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Two easyJet planes clipped wings on the runway at Manchester International Airport in the United Kingdom on Friday morning, officials said.
A spokespeson for Manchester Airport confirmed to ABC News that “two easyJet planes clipped wings as they taxied on the airfield” and a temporary ground stop was ordered immediately after the planes made contact with each other.
“We suspended operations briefly while they were assessed to see if they could taxi back to a stand, which they could so operations resumed after a few minutes,” the airport spokesperson said.
There have been no reports of any injuries following the incident and authorities at the airport are currently investigating.
“EasyJet is handling arrangements for passengers affected,” officials said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Kayla Panagrosso contributed to this report.
US President Donald Trump (R) meets Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) on the first day of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on June 28, 2019. (Photo by Kremlin Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — In his first term, President Donald Trump met with Russia’s Vladimir Putin six times but one moment stood out.
It happened in Helsinki, Finland, in 2018 when Trump, standing next to him, suggested he believed Putin’s denial that Russia interfered in the 2016 election over the findings of U.S. intelligence.
At the time, Trump said U.S.-Russia relations had “never been worse” than before they met but that had “changed.”
Now, Trump is set to hold his first one-on-one meeting with Putin of his second term at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
The backdrop for Friday’s highly-anticipated summit is a darker one, amid Russia’s relentless onslaught on Ukraine and Putin presenting a frustrating obstacle to Trump’s professed desire to end the war.
The meeting will spotlight their relationship — one that Trump said during the 2024 campaign was so strong he could end the conflict on his first day in office or even before.
“It seems that Donald Trump used to think that he understands Putin well and has a good rapport with him, but over the last few months we’ve seen him alter his position in that regard and actually become more frustrated with Putin. I think he’s becoming more moderated in his expectations about what the meeting can bring,” said Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Trump called Putin a “strong leader” in his first term and a “genius” shortly after his forces first invaded Ukraine.
Early in his second term, Trump said that Putin would be “generous” in peace talks and Ukraine more difficult.
Trump made several public demands of Ukraine, including that it would have to give up its goal of joining NATO and possibly cede some territory, while notably not setting any such red lines for Russia.
The president even sympathized with Putin’s status as a global pariah, saying in February that he would “love” for Russia to rejoin the Group of Seven nations and that it was a mistake for Moscow to have been expelled from the company of world leaders following Putin’s annexation of Crimea.
“Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together, OK?” Trump said back in the spring.
Over the last few months, however, Trump’s tone toward Putin has shifted.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump wrote on his social media platform in late May.
Trump expressed repeatedly that he’s “disappointed” in the Russian president as strikes intensified between Russia and Ukraine this summer.
In July, Trump said he was fed up with the “bull—- thrown at us by Putin.” “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” he said.
“We’re not happy with Putin. I’m not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now, because he’s killing a lot of people,” Trump added.
Trump has kept American-made weapons supplied to Ukraine through a deal with European partners and recently slapped steep secondary tariffs on India, one of the largest purchasers of Russian oil, in indirect pressure on Moscow.
Still, Trump held back on his threats to impose harsher sanctions on Aug. 8 if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire. Instead, on that date, Trump announced he would host the Russian leader on U.S. soil for a one-on-one meeting.
“He has more that he could do in order to push Putin to come to the table,” said William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine currently serving as a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
So far, Trump has tempered expectations about Friday’s summit. He’s called it a “feel-out meeting” and the White House described it as a “listening exercise.”
At the same time, he warned again this week of “severe consequences” if Russia didn’t end the conflict.
“I think that Trump believes that strongmen of Putin’s kind are to be negotiated with eye to eye, and he wants to feel the ground to see what he gets from the meeting with Putin. The problem with that is Putin is also a shrewd manipulator and he has the KGB background, he is known to be very convincing and make people like him in person,” said Snegovaya.
John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, said Putin’s goal for this summit is to get back into Trump’s good graces.
“What Putin wants to get back, he’s not so worried about the sanctions, he wants the relationship back with Trump. We’ll see if he gets it,” Bolton said on ABC’s “This Week.”
(NEW YORK) — A fresh report on consumer sentiment on Friday will show how shoppers digested a cascade of economic developments this month, including President Donald Trump’s firing of a top labor statistics official hours after the release of weak jobs data.
The report, which details shopper attitudes in August, is set to arrive days after an inflation reading came in lower than economists had expected, offering a respite for consumers wary of significant tariff-induced price hikes.
The period covered by the report also coincides with the onset of sweeping new tariffs, which significantly expanded the reach of Trump’s confrontational trade policy.
Economists expect consumer sentiment to have improved slightly in August, which would extend two previous months of brightening shopper attitudes.
Before the swell of optimism, consumer sentiment had fallen close to its lowest level since a bout of inflation three years ago.
Even after the anticipated increase, the measure of consumer sentiment would remain below where it stood in December, before Trump took office.
Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is a key bellwether for the outlook of the nation’s economy.
Some recent indicators have suggested the onset of an economic slowdown. A report on gross domestic product late last month indicated average annualized growth of 1.2% over the first half of 2025, well below 2.8% growth last year.
A jobs report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Aug. 1 revealed a sharp cooldown of the labor market. Hours later, Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her without evidence of “faked” statistics.
McEntarfer, a Biden appointee who was confirmed by the Senate in 2024, had served in the federal government for two decades prior to her firing.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy,” McEntarfer said in a social media post after her dismissal. “It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.”
William Beach, a former commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by Trump, condemned the firing of McEntarfer.
“The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau,” Beach posted on X.
Still, some facets of the economy have proven resilient. The U.S. has largely averted the type of widespread job losses that often accompany a recession. Consumer spending ticked higher over three months ending in June. Corporate earnings have remained robust.
The Federal Reserve opted to hold interest rates steady at a meeting in July as the central bank voiced concern about a possible rekindling of inflation as Trump’s tariffs take hold.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last month, Powell said tariffs would likely “push up prices and weigh on economic activity” over the course of this year. But, he added, the effects would depend on the “ultimate level” of tariffs, which have frequently fluctuated.
Kellogg’s cereal products are offered for sale at a grocery store on July 10, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — WK Kellogg Co. has announced that they will stop using artificial dyes in its breakfast cereals by the end of 2027, according to a statement from the company.
The maker of Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies, just to name a few, said that they are evolving their portfolio of cereals “to provide consumers with more of what they want and need — such as whole grains and fiber and less of what they don’t.”
“Today, the vast majority — 85 percent — of our cereal sales contain no FD&C colors and none of our products have contained Red No. 3 for years,” Kellogg said in their statement making the announcement. “We are committed to continue working with HHS and FDA to identify effective solutions to remove FD&C colors from foods.”
Kellogg pledged that they will be reformulating their cereals served in schools to not include FD&C colors by the 2026-27 school year, that they will not be launching any new products with FD&C colors beginning in January 2026 and that they plan on removing all FD&C colors from their products by the end of 2027, according to their announcement.
“We are proud that our cereals provide consumers with important nutrients such as Iron, Vitamin D and Folate,” Kellogg said. “Kellogg’s cereals have played an important role in U.S. consumers’ lives for more than a century, and we look forward to continuing that tradition.”
The change comes amid a push from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to crack down on synthetic food additives as part of his initiative to “Make America Healthy Again.” Among those efforts are proposals to phase out artificial food dyes in favor of natural alternatives.
In June, Kraft Heinz and General Mills announced plans to remove artificial food dyes from some products within the next two years. Several other large food manufacturers — including PepsiCo, ConAgra, The Hershey Company, McCormick & Co., J.M. Smucker, Nestlé USA and more — have announced similar plans in recent months.
As of May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved three additional color additives from natural sources that are in line with the Department of Health and Human Services’ goals, which can be used in a wide range of products from gum to breakfast cereal.
Just last month, Mars Wrigley North America announced that products across four categories of its popular treats — gum, fruity confections and chocolate candy — will be made “without Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors” starting in 2026.
The first of their brands to be available without without FD&C colors will include M&M’s Chocolate, Skittles Original, Extra Gum Spearmint and Starburst Original fruit chews, the company said.
ABC News’ Kelly McCarthy contributed to this report.
