(WASHINGTON) — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s three planned book tour events scheduled for this week have abruptly been postponed as of Monday morning.
Schumer, promoting his new book “Antisemitism in America: A Warning,” has been facing backlash over voting for the House-approved government funding bill that averted a shutdown on Friday. Many Democrats, including progressives, had wanted him to vote against the bill and to more strongly protest against President Donald Trump’s and congressional Republicans’ agendas.
Schumer had events planned in Baltimore, New York City and Washington, D.C., this week. Protests were planned outside of all three events.
A spokesperson for Schumer’s book tour told ABC News, “Due to security concerns, Senator Schumer’s book events are being rescheduled.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Harvard Yard/ Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
(CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) — Harvard University on Monday announced that tuition will be free for students from families with annual incomes of $200,000 or less starting in the 2025-26 academic year.
“Putting Harvard within financial reach for more individuals widens the array of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that all of our students encounter, fostering their intellectual and personal growth,” Harvard University President Alan M. Garber said in statement.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — In the moments before a tornado destroyed her family’s Arkansas home, Misty Drope noticed the silence.
“There’s a silence that happens before a strong storm hits you,” Drope told “Good Morning America” in an interview on Monday. “And I said, out loud, ‘Oh no, this is not good.'”
She and her family — Bruce and Keely — were standing outside what was left of their home in Paragould. The tornado that tore through the town over the weekend was the second to touch their neighborhood in less than a year.
“You’re so thankful you’re alive,” Bruce said.
At least 40 other people were killed amid more than 970 severe storm reports across more than two dozen states over the weekend. A 3-day tornado outbreak tore through at least nine states. Twelve people were killed in tornados in Missouri.
An EF-2 tornado that tore through Tylertown, Mississippi, with wind speeds up to 111 miles per hour killed at least three people, officials said.
Many of the cabins at that town’s Paradise Ranch RV Resort were reduced to rubble as the tornado tore through the camp, leaving behind a mangled mess of tree branches and building materials.
But the manager told “GMA” that there were no deaths reported there, in part because most of the cabins were empty.
Next week, about 250 campers were expected to show up, the manager said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — In the moments before a tornado destroyed her family’s Arkansas home, Misty Drope noticed the silence.
“There’s a silence that happens before a strong storm hits you,” Drope told “Good Morning America” in an interview on Monday. “And I said, out loud, ‘Oh no, this is not good.'”
She and her family — Bruce and Keely — were standing outside what was left of their home in Paragould. The tornado that tore through the town over the weekend was the second to touch their neighborhood in less than a year.
“You’re so thankful you’re alive,” Bruce said.
At least 40 other people were killed amid more than 970 severe storm reports across more than two dozen states over the weekend. A 3-day tornado outbreak tore through at least nine states. Twelve people were killed in tornadoes in Missouri.
An EF-2 tornado that tore through Tylertown, Mississippi, with wind speeds up to 111 miles per hour killed at least three people, officials said.
Many of the cabins at that town’s Paradise Ranch RV Resort were reduced to rubble as the tornado tore through the camp, leaving behind a mangled mess of tree branches and building materials.
But the manager told “GMA” that there were no deaths reported there, in part because most of the cabins were empty.
Next week, about 250 campers were expected to show up, the manager said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump claimed that former President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardons of members of the Jan. 6 Select Committee and others were “void, vacant, and of no future force of effect.”
Trump in a post to his Truth Social network went on to say that members of that House committee are “subject to investigation at the highest level” and baselessly accused them of being responsible for their own pardons, without Biden’s knowledge.
Making his claim about the pardons, Trump cited alleged use of an autopen during Biden’s administration.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — Russian President Vladimir Putin “stole” another week of war in Ukraine with his vague response to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Washington and Kyiv last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
Both Ukraine and Russia are seeking to avoid blame for prolonging Moscow’s 3-year-old war and undermining nascent U.S.-led ceasefire and peace talks. American negotiators have now met with representatives from both Kyiv and Moscow in their bid to formulate a deal.
Following the U.S.-Ukraine meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last week, the two sides proposed a full 30-day ceasefire as a springboard for a wider peace agreement. Putin said he was “for” the would-be freeze in fighting, though set out additional conditions for its implementation and suggested a pause would benefit Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has since released several statements framing Putin as intentionally hindering ceasefire talks.
“After the talks in Jeddah and the American proposal for a ceasefire on the frontline, Russia stole almost another week — a week of war that only Russia wants,” the Ukrainian president wrote on social media on Sunday.
“We will do everything to further intensify diplomacy,” he added. “We will do everything to make diplomacy effective.”
Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office, wrote on Telegram, “Russia continues to attack, Ukraine is responding to the attacks and will respond until Putin stops the war.”
Zelenskyy and his top officials are striving to present Ukraine as ready for peace, seemingly hoping to neutralize repeated — and at times misleading — criticism from President Donald Trump’s administration that Kyiv, rather than Moscow, is the main obstacle to a deal.
Trump said Sunday he expects to speak with Putin by phone on Tuesday.
“A lot of work” on a potential deal was done over the weekend, Trump said. “We’ll see if we have something to announce. Maybe by Tuesday.” He said that his administration wants “to see if we can bring that war to an end.”
“Maybe we can. Maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance,” the president said, speaking onboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington, D.C., on Sunday night.
Fighting continues at key points along the front as the parties maneuver for advantage in further ceasefire talks.
Particular attention has been paid to the western Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces seized territory in a surprise August 2024 offensive. Russian officials have said there can be no peace talks while the area remains partially occupied.
Recent weeks have seen Ukrainian positions there collapse under intense Russian attacks, with Putin visiting the region last week and saying that Kyiv’s troops there could choose to “surrender or die.”
Both sides have also continued their long-range cross-border strikes. On Monday, Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 90 of 174 Russian drones launched into the country overnight, with another 70 drones lost in flight without causing damage. Seven regions were impacted by the attack, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said Monday its forces shot down 72 Ukrainian drones since Sunday evening.
Some drones attacked the Astrakhan region of southern Russia, around 500 miles from the closest Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Igor Babushkin, the regional governor, said Ukraine “attempted a massive drone attack on facilities located in the region, including the fuel and energy complex.”
Babushkin said falling drone debris sparked a fire at one facility, though did not specify where. “The situation is under control,” the governor wrote on Telegram. “One person was injured during the attack. The victim has now been taken to the hospital.”
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram that “unknown drones struck a fuel and energy complex” in Astrakhan. “The intensity of the work of unknown drones is increasing,” he added.
ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr and Kevin Shalvey contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Russian President Vladimir Putin “stole” another week of war in Ukraine with his vague response to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Washington and Kyiv last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
Both Ukraine and Russia are seeking to avoid blame for prolonging Moscow’s 3-year-old war and undermining nascent U.S.-led ceasefire and peace talks. American negotiators have now met with representatives from both Kyiv and Moscow in their bid to formulate a deal.
Following the U.S.-Ukraine meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last week, the two sides proposed a full 30-day ceasefire as a springboard for a wider peace agreement. Putin said he was “for” the would-be freeze in fighting, though set out additional conditions for its implementation and suggested a pause would benefit Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has since released several statements framing Putin as intentionally hindering ceasefire talks.
“After the talks in Jeddah and the American proposal for a ceasefire on the frontline, Russia stole almost another week — a week of war that only Russia wants,” the Ukrainian president wrote on social media on Sunday.
“We will do everything to further intensify diplomacy,” he added. “We will do everything to make diplomacy effective.”
Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office, wrote on Telegram, “Russia continues to attack, Ukraine is responding to the attacks and will respond until Putin stops the war.”
Zelenskyy and his top officials are striving to present Ukraine as ready for peace, seemingly hoping to neutralize repeated — and at times misleading — criticism from President Donald Trump’s administration that Kyiv, rather than Moscow, is the main obstacle to a deal.
Trump said Sunday he expects to speak with Putin by phone on Tuesday.
“A lot of work” on a potential deal was done over the weekend, Trump said. “We’ll see if we have something to announce. Maybe by Tuesday.” He said that his administration wants “to see if we can bring that war to an end.”
“Maybe we can. Maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance,” the president said, speaking onboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington, D.C., on Sunday night.
Fighting continues at key points along the front as the parties maneuver for advantage in further ceasefire talks.
Particular attention has been paid to the western Russian region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces seized territory in a surprise August 2024 offensive. Russian officials have said there can be no peace talks while the area remains partially occupied.
Recent weeks have seen Ukrainian positions there collapse under intense Russian attacks, with Putin visiting the region last week and saying that Kyiv’s troops there could choose to “surrender or die.”
Both sides have also continued their long-range cross-border strikes. On Monday, Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 90 of 174 Russian drones launched into the country overnight, with another 70 drones lost in flight without causing damage. Seven regions were impacted by the attack, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said Monday its forces shot down 72 Ukrainian drones since Sunday evening.
Some drones attacked the Astrakhan region of southern Russia, around 500 miles from the closest Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Igor Babushkin, the regional governor, said Ukraine “attempted a massive drone attack on facilities located in the region, including the fuel and energy complex.”
Babushkin said falling drone debris sparked a fire at one facility, though did not specify where. “The situation is under control,” the governor wrote on Telegram. “One person was injured during the attack. The victim has now been taken to the hospital.”
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram that “unknown drones struck a fuel and energy complex” in Astrakhan. “The intensity of the work of unknown drones is increasing,” he added.
ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr and Kevin Shalvey contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The Houthis’ retaliatory missile and drone attack on U.S. Navy ships in the Red Sea did not come close to hitting any American vessels, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News, after President Donald Trump’s administration launched a new series of airstrikes targeting the Yemeni group.
The Houthis claimed on Sunday to have fired 18 ballistic missiles and a drone at the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier group in two separate attacks over the previous 24 hours. The strike, the group said, “succeeded in thwarting a hostile attack the enemy was preparing to launch against our country.”
A U.S. official told ABC News that the Houthis fired 11 drones and one ballistic missile, none of which came close to hitting any U.S. vessels.
All drones were downed by fighters — 10 shot down by Air Force planes and one by Navy planes — while the ballistic missile was not intercepted as it fell far short of the vessels, the official said.
The Houthi retaliation came after a wave of U.S. airstrikes in Yemen beginning on Saturday, which Trump described as “decisive and powerful military action” against the Iranian-backed group. The Houthis have been targeting Western-linked shipping and launching munitions into Israel since the fall of 2022, in protest of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft and drones,” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on March 15. “We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective.”
A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News on Sunday that U.S. air and naval assets hit dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen, including missiles, radars and drone and air defense systems. The official characterized the attacks as an opening salvo against the Houthis that sends a strong message to Iran.
The Yemeni Health Ministry said the strikes killed 53 people and injured 98 more.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he was not concerned about retaliatory strikes related to the latest American strikes.
National security adviser Mike Waltz told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that the strikes represented “an overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out. And the difference here is, one, going after the Houthi leadership, and two, holding Iran responsible.”
Detailing their latest attack on U.S. Navy vessels, the Houthis said in a Sunday statement that they will “continue to ban the passage of Israeli ships through the zone of operations until the blockade on the Gaza Strip is lifted.”
ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — North Korea on Monday vowed to “steadily update and strengthen” its nuclear capabilities, a firm rejection of the G7’s call for Pyongyang to “abandon” its nuclear ambitions.
The country’s Foreign Ministry said that its “nuclear armed forces will exist forever as a powerful means of justice which defends the sovereignty of the state, territorial integrity and fundamental interests,” according to the Korean Central News Agency, a state-run media outlet.
North Korea’s nuclear development program “prevents a war in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia and guarantees a strategic stability of the world,” a ministry spokesperson said on Monday.
North Korea’s statement followed last week’s meeting of the G7 foreign ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Quebec, Canada.
Those ministers on Friday called on the secretive state to “abandon all its nuclear weapons and any other weapons of mass destruction as well as ballistic missile programs in accordance with all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
North Korean diplomats in their statement said the nuclear program was “fixed permanently” by the country’s laws, adding that those laws “will not change according to the recognition of anyone.”
North Korea is building a nuclear-power submarine, state media said earlier this month.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said he plans to speak on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the U.S. president’s efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Trump added that “a lot of work” was done over the weekend and that “we’ll see if we have something to announce. Maybe by Tuesday.” He said that his administration wants “to see if we can bring that war to an end.”
“Maybe we can. Maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance,” he said, speaking onboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington, D.C., on Sunday night.
The Trump administration has in recent weeks been pushing Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage on ending the 3-year-old war, high-stakes diplomatic maneuvering that included negotiating a potential 30-day ceasefire with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.
The Kremlin has yet to agree, with Putin saying he was “for it” but also that he sought further security guarantees. Zelenskyy over the weekend accused Putin of “prolonging” the war.
Zelenskyy on Sunday reiterated that sentiment, saying in his nightly address that “Russia stole almost another week — a week of war that only Russia wants.” He said Ukraine would do anything to further diplomacy that would end the war, but that “defense and resilience are paramount”
“We must remember — as long as the occupier is on our land, and as long as air raid sirens sound, we must defend Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said, according to a translated transcript provided by his office.
Zelenskyy has long held that a Ukrainian victory against the Russian invasion would include the country taking back the territory captured by Russia during the war. The Kremlin also annexed the Crimean Peninsula after Russia’s 2014 invasion.
Putin last week echoed Zelenskyy’s words, saying he would seek a total victory in Kursk, the Russian border region captured by Ukraine in a surprise incursion late last summer, by regaining every inch of it.
Asked what sort of concessions the U.S. would be seeking from Moscow and Kyiv to strike a ceasefire agreement, Trump indicated discussions around land and power plants were on the table, as well as “dividing up” assets between the two countries.
“Well, I think we’ll be talking about land. It’s a lot of land,” he said on Sunday. “It’s a lot different than it was before the wars, you know. And we’ll be talking about land, we’ll be talking about power plants. That’s a big question, but I think we have a lot of it already discussed, very much by both sides.”
ABC News’ Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.
