State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Anadolu via Getty Images
(LONDON) — At least seven people were killed and 27 were injured across Ukraine overnight into Tuesday as Russia continued long-range attacks on multiple cities, local officials said.
Ukraine’s air force said it recorded 112 Russian drones launched into the country overnight, 75 of which were either shot down or neutralized in flight. The air force reported impacts in 11 locations across the country.
Most of the reported deaths were clustered in two northeastern regions of Ukraine, close to the front lines.
Three people were killed and 20 were injured by a Russian cluster rocket attack on the city of Sumy, local authorities said. At least five rockets landed in open areas of the city center, the Sumy Regional Administration said, including along a busy road filled with cars and morning commuters.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to social media that the “savage strike” was a “fully deliberate attack on civilians.”
Another three people were killed and six were injured in the Kharkiv region as a result of Russian shelling, the regional military administration said.
One person was killed and 13 were injured by Russian fire in the southern Kherson region, said Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the local military administration.
Five people were also injured by strikes in the northern city of Chernihiv and five others in the southern Black Sea coast city of Odesa, according to officials there.
In his Tuesday morning message, Zelenskyy said the ongoing Russian attacks indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no genuine interest in peace, despite the Kremlin’s participation in ongoing U.S.-brokered talks to end its 3-year-old invasion.
Ukrainian and Russian representatives met in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday for a second round of direct negotiations, the two sides having previously gathered in the city for the first round in May. That meeting allowed the first face-to-face peace talks between the two sides since the spring of 2022.
“It is obvious: without global pressure — without decisive actions from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who has the power — Putin will not agree even to a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy wrote on Tuesday.
“Not a single day goes by without Russia striking Ukrainian cities and villages,” the president continued.
“Every day, we lose our people to Russian terror. Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defense. I am grateful to everyone around the world who is promoting exactly this agenda: sanctions for aggression and the killing of people, and assistance in defending the lives of Ukrainians.”
Ukraine continued its own long-range strike campaign into Russia overnight. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said its forces downed eight Ukrainian drones on Monday night into Tuesday morning.
Monday’s Istanbul talks were held despite Ukraine’s audacious covert operation targeting Russian strategic bombers on Sunday, in which drones concealed in the back of trucks attacked at least five airfields deep inside Russian territory.
Zelenskyy told ABC News’ Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz that the attack was a “strategic operation” that “is definitely reducing Russia’s potential, and demonstrates that Ukraine is working on certain steps.”
“Unless they will stop, we will continue,” he said.
Asked whether he was satisfied with President Donald Trump’s administration’s involvement, Zelenskyy told Raddatz, “We are looking for very strong steps on the part of President Trump to support the sanctions and to force President Putin to stop this war, or at least proceed with the first stage of putting an end to this war — that is the ceasefire.”
ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Oleksiy Pshemyskiy contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The latest summer season outlook by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows hotter-than-average temperatures are predicted across much of the country this summer, with the greatest likelihood of extreme heat hitting swaths of the East Coast, southern Plains and West.
The outlook from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts whether the seasonal average temperature for a particular area will end up above, below or near average during the three-month period of the meteorological summer.
However, the outlook focuses on a seasonal average temperature and does not detail temperature variations that occur over the course of days, weeks or even one out of the three months included in the forecast.
June in a particular region could feature rather typical summer conditions, however, July and August could end up well above average, tipping the 3-month average to above for the entire season.
What this means for a local area depends greatly on the typical climate of a certain location.
For example, average high temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona, this summer range from 104 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. This is already hot, as it is typically expected to be.
Contrast this with Caribou, Maine, where average high temperatures during the summer months range from 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Some people may consider this warm, but not hot.
Both locations are shaded red on NOAA’s forecast map, indicating that temperatures are expected to average above the typical summer range. However, “above average” could mean just one degree higher — or several.
And for places like Caribou, above average doesn’t necessarily mean hot. These forecasts also consider overnight lows, so in some areas, warmer-than-average temperatures might come from milder nights rather than scorching afternoons.
While the seasonal outlook highlights where above-average warmth is likely, it doesn’t tell us how hot or long-lasting any extreme heat might be.
When do summer’s hottest temperatures typically occur?
The hottest temperatures of the summer typically occur much later in the season, with different regions of the country experiencing their warmest average temperatures at varying times.
For the contiguous United States, on average, July is the hottest month of the year.
However, some regions of the country typically don’t experience their warmest average temperatures until August or even September.
A majority of the country, including much of the Northeast, Midwest and West, experiences the hottest temperatures of the year on average, during the second half of July and first half of August.
Much of the South typically experiences its peak average temperatures during the second half of August. However, along much of the West Coast, the warmest temperatures of the year usually don’t occur until September.
What previous summers have taught us For the past two summers in a row, the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere ranked as the warmest on record with extreme heat bringing persistent, dangerously hot conditions across several continents, according to a 2024 report by Copernicus, the European Union’s Climate Change Service.
Summer 2024 (June through August) was the warmest summer on record for the Northern Hemisphere, beating the previous record set in 2023 by .66 degrees Celsius, or 1.19 degrees Fahrenheit, the report found. The Northern Hemisphere’s top 10 warmest summers on record have all occurred within the past 10 years, according to Copernicus.
“The temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense, with more devastating consequences for people and the planet unless we take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said in a statement at the time.
The last time Earth recorded a cooler-than-average year was in 1976, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While it is unlikely that summer 2025 will surpass last year’s record, this forecast shows that scorching temperatures could be on the way for much of the U.S. this season.
(WASHINGTON) — Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff in a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles sent Monday, repeated his calls for the White House to issue a full disclosure of financial transactions from senior officials.
The new ask comes after the California senator — along with 25 other Democratic members of Congress — sent a separate letter to Wiles in April that outlined his concern surrounding potential ethics violations, asking for a commitment from all senior White House and executive branch employees to “expeditiously” transmit all reports related to their securities transactions since the start of Trump’s term to the Office of Government Ethics, and that the reports be made public.
That April letter was sent in the wake of President Donald Trump’s sudden pause that month of his sweeping set of tariffs, which triggered widespread concern from Schiff and other Democrats that those close to the president might have engaged in insider trading as markets rose following the pause.
In his Monday letter, addressed to Wiles like the first but also including White House Counsel David Warrington, Schiff notes that senior executive White House officials are “now beyond the maximum allowable filing period for individuals who began their service at the outset of the Administration” under federal ethics laws, which mandate that they file public annual financial disclosure documents, including a new entrant report, within 30 days of assuming their duties.
“The White House has yet to disclose any financial disclosure or transaction reports, even after widespread concern of potential insider trading following President Trump’s sudden pause of sweeping tariffs in early April,” Schiff writes in the letter, first shared first with ABC News.
“According to OGE’s disclosure database to date, no new entrant reports for any senior White House officials have been made available for public disclosure, despite legal requirements under the Ethics in Government Act and the clear public interest in the financial disclosures of senior executive branch leaders, raising questions as to whether the required public reports have yet to be submitted to OGE for certification,” he added.
Asked by ABC News for comment on the letter, White House spokesman Kush Desai said on Monday, “The American people remain highly concerned about Nancy Pelosi’s long, documented history of insider trading and eagerly await Adam Schiff refocusing his political stunt on serious issues, like Pelosi’s portfolio.”
Pelosi has faced allegations of trading on inside information during her time in Congress but has denied any impropriety.
Copied on Schiff’s letter is also Jamieson Greer, the acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, and Scott Gast, the ethics attorney in the White House counsel’s office.
In their April letter, the Democrats requested a response from Wiles no later than May 9, 2025, and for a “detailed plan” for how the administration plans to address any officials and employees who might have failed to file required disclosures from the start of the administration.
A spokesperson for Schiff said that they received from the White House an acknowledgement that they had received the letter, but provided no answers to their demands.
In the newest letter, Schiff asked for Wiles and Warrington to send, no later than on June 10, a list of all White House officials required to file new entrant reports; an explanation for the failure to transmit any new entrant reports to OGE for second-level review and certification; the current status and anticipated timeline for the submission and public posting of all overdue disclosures; a list of any filing extensions requested and granted by designated White House ethics officials and the duration of those extensions; and whether any late filing fees have been imposed for delinquent filings, as required by law.
“Transparency and compliance with ethics laws are essential. The American public deserves to know that those serving at the highest levels of government are free from financial conflicts of interest and have complied with the laws designed to safeguard the integrity of public service. I look forward to reviewing your responses,” the senator concluded.
Trump’s tariffs have faced a number of court challenges. An appeals court reinstated Trump’s tariffs this week after a Wednesday court order blocked them. The appeals court decision stands for the time being.
The block on the tariffs came after the Court of International Trade decided that the administration’s evocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the president the right to set “unlimited” tariffs. The Trump administration argued that the court order may harm their progress in negotiations.
Schiff has been a critic and target of Trump since his days in the House. Former President Joe Biden, during his last hours in office, issued a preemptive pardon for Schiff in connection with his work on the House’s Jan. 6 select committee. Schiff has called that pardon “unnecessary” and “unwise.”
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal by a group of gun-rights advocates seeking to overturn Maryland‘s ban on assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines under the Second Amendment.
The decision, a major win for gun-safety advocates, leaves in place a ruling by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals which ruled that the state may constitutionally prohibit sale and possession of the weapons.
The state legislation, enacted in 2013 after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, specifically targets the AR-15 — the most popular rifle in America with 20-30 million in circulation. They are legal in 41 of the 50 states.
Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision, saying they would have taken up the case to decide the issue nationwide. Legal challenges to other state bans remain pending in lower courts.
“I would not wait to decide whether the government can ban the most popular rifle in America,” Justice Thomas wrote. “The question is of critical importance to tens of millions of law-abiding AR-15 owners throughout the country.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the court’s decision to let the Maryland law stand, for now, but wrote separately to call the appeals court ruling “questionable.” Kavanaugh said that he expects the high court to weigh in formally on the legality of the AR-15 in the “next term or two.”
Maryland has seen a decline in gun violence since the enactment of a series of laws aimed at curbing access to dangerous weapons.
Officials particularly credit a series of federal, state and local restrictions imposed on gun kits in 2022 and 2023 with slowing online sales of untraceable firearms, requiring background and age checks of buyers and banning some kit sales in Maryland altogether.
While the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has issued rulings expanding the rights of gun owners, recent decisions have underscored support for some longstanding restrictions. In June 2024, the high court upheld a ban on firearm purchases and possession by Americans under domestic violence restraining orders. Earlier this year the Court also upheld federal regulations targeting ghost guns.
“Yesterday’s horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America,” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform.
“Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law. This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!” the president added.
Eight people were injured on Sunday in what the FBI is calling an “act of terror.” Boulder police said the motive for the attack still has not been established.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was allegedly heard yelling “Free Palestine” while throwing a “makeshift flamethrower” at a demonstration to raise awareness about the remaining hostages in Gaza, according to authorities.
Soliman has been charged with a federal hate crime, according to court documents. He allegedly told police “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.”
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday said Soliman is in the U.S. illegally. He entered the country on a B2 visa, which is typically a tourism visa, in August 2022 and in September 2022 applied for asylum. The B2 visa expired in February 2023.
Soliman was granted a work permit after his B2 visa expired, a senior official told ABC News. That work permit expired on March 28, so he has been in the country illegally since then, the official said.
Trump sought to cast blame over Soliman’s immigration status on former President Joe Biden, criticizing his predecessor’s policies and saying “he must go out under ‘TRUMP’ Policy.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made a similar argument on Monday as she took some questions from reporters outside the White House.
Leavitt said the suspect was “foolishly given a tourism visa” by the previous administration.
“These individuals are going to be deported, and we’re not going to tolerate such violence in our country,” Leavitt said.
While Trump seized on the fact that the alleged attacker was in the country illegally, the president did not mention antisemitism in his statement.
Though a White House senior official said Trump was briefed on Sunday, his first public comments came nearly 24 hours after the attack.
Leavitt, in her gaggle with reporters, was asked for the administration message to the Jewish community.
“We have seen two horrific cases of anti-semitic violence in our country in the last two weeks, and it is unacceptable to this president and this White House,” she said. “And rest assured to all Jewish Americans across our great country, this president has your back and he’s not going to allow anyone to take part in violent terrorism, acts of terrorism, in our country.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi also released a statement Monday in which she condemned “vile anti-Semitic violence.”
“The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world,” Bondi said.
(WASHINGTON) — Warning that a series of court decisions blocking President Donald Trump’s tariffs “disrupt sensitive, ongoing negotiations with virtually every trading partner,” the Trump administration on Monday asked a federal appeals court to block an order last week that found the sweeping tariffs were “unlawful.”
In a lawsuit brought by two children’s toy companies, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., last week ruled that Trump does not have power to unilaterally impose tariffs “to reorder the global economy.”
Issued less than 24 hours after a panel of judges on the Court of International Trade issued its own decision blocking Trump’s tariffs, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras reached the same conclusion about the unlawfulness of the tariffs, but issued a less sweeping order, only blocking enforcement of the tariffs against the two companies that filed the lawsuit.
A federal appeals court subsequently temporarily delayed the Court of International Trade’s decision.
Trump in April announced far-reaching tariffs on dozens of countries in a Rose Garden ceremony that he dubbed “Liberation Day.”
In a filing Monday, the Trump administration argued that Judge Contreras’ ruling was flawed and that it undercuts the president while ” negotiations currently stand at a delicate juncture.”
“By holding the tariffs invalid, the district court’s ruling usurps the President’s authority and threatens to disrupt sensitive, ongoing negotiations with virtually every trading partner by undercutting the premise of those negotiations — that the tariffs are a credible threat,” the filing said.
Lawyers with the Department of Justice also argued that Judge Contreras lacks the jurisdiction to issue the decision because legal disputes over trade policy belong in the Court of International Trade.
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs viaGetty Images
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the surprise drone operation over the weekend against Russia was a success that will “continue” if Moscow doesn’t halt its offensive.
Zelenskyy addressed reporters following the next round of U.S.-brokered peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul on Monday, intended to end Russia’s 3-year-old invasion of its neighbor. The talks came just one day after Ukraine launched an audacious drone attack on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet.
Asked by ABC News’ Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz on whether the attacks changed the dynamics of the war or at the negotiating table — and whether they might enrage Russia — Zelenskyy responded, “Russia’s being enraged or not enraged — this is something we’re not interested in,” citing Russia’s attack on Ukraine a day before “at night with over 480 drones.”
“This is happening on [a] daily basis,” the president said.
Zelenskyy called Ukraine’s drone attack a “strategic operation” that “is definitely reducing Russia’s potential, and demonstrates that Ukraine is working on certain steps.”
“Unless they will stop, we will continue,” he said.
Asked whether he was satisfied with President Donald Trump’s administration’s involvement, Zelenskyy told Raddatz, “We are looking for very strong steps on the part of President Trump to support the sanctions and to force President Putin to stop this war, or at least proceed with the first stage of putting an end to this war — that is the ceasefire.”
Monday’s revived talks so far have failed to reach a peace deal, or even achieve a sustained ceasefire, despite pressure on both sides by Trump’s administration. The last meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul in mid-May was the first direct contact between the two sides since spring 2022.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirmed to ABC News on Monday morning that talks resumed at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace, ending just over an hour later. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the two sides agreed to swap all severely wounded and ill prisoners of war and to exchange the bodies of thousands of fallen soldiers.
They also discussed a meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Umerov.
Ukraine is calling for a full 30-day ceasefire during which time peace negotiations can take place. Russia has refused the request, with Putin and his top officials retaining maximalist war goals dating back to the opening days of the Russian invasion.
Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin aide and long-time member of Russia’s negotiating team, said Russia has proposed a ceasefire lasting two to three days, on separate sections of the front, to retrieve the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Among the Kremlin’s demands are the annexation of four Ukrainian regions — plus the retention of Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014 — Ukrainian demilitarization and a permanent block on the country’s accession to NATO.
Zelenskyy said in a Sunday social media post that Kyiv’s delegation would be led by Umerov.
The president set out Ukraine’s goals for the meeting. “First — a full and unconditional ceasefire,” he wrote. “Second — the release of prisoners. Third — the return of abducted children. And in order to establish a reliable and lasting peace and ensure security, preparation of the meeting at the highest level.”
Zelenskyy and his government have repeatedly accused Putin of intentionally sabotaging peace talks since Trump returned to office in January, having promised on the campaign trail to end the war within 24 hours. Trump’s threat of further sanctions on Russia does not appear to have softened the Kremlin’s war goals.
Zelenskyy and his European backers have pushed Trump to increase pressure on Putin by introducing new sanctions on Russia and providing Ukraine with more military support. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine-Russia envoy, hinted at the president’s growing frustration with Moscow, telling ABC News last week that the president has “seen a level of unreasonableness that really frustrates him.”
In a phone conversation with Trump in May, Putin said Russia would provide a “peace memorandum” outlining a possible settlement. Moscow provided the document on Monday, according to Umerov. Medinsky said Sunday that the Russian team had received Ukraine’s version of the peace memorandum.
Umerov said Monday they will take a week to study the documents before deciding on next steps.
Since the last round of talks in Istanbul, Trump has hit out at Putin — calling him “absolutely crazy” — and again criticized Zelenskyy, saying of the Ukrainian leader, “Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.”
Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament representing Zelenskyy’s party and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee, told ABC News, “Russia’s primary goal is to avoid sanctions by pretending that it negotiates.”
“Putin is not interested in negotiations and ceasefire, because he hopes to start an offensive during summer,” Merezhko added.
“On the one hand, he imitates negotiations to avoid Trump’s sanctions and simultaneously to demonstrate that Russia is not politically isolated. Yet, on the other hand, Putin hopes that if Trump will decide to withdraw from the negotiations, he will leave Ukraine without military support, one-on-one with Russia.”
The talks come a day after Ukraine launched one of the most stunning attacks of the war. In what a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told ABC News was an operation one and a half years in the making, operatives used attack drones concealed in containers carried by trucks to attack strategic bomber bases deep inside Russian territory.
Moscow has used long-range bombers and their cruise missile armaments to attack Ukrainian cities throughout the full-scale invasion. The SBU claimed to have hit more than 40 military aircraft in the attacks, which targeted multiple air bases thousands of miles from Ukrainian-controlled territory. Zelenskyy said that 34% of Russia’s cruise missile-carrying aircraft were hit.
Speaking at a summit of the Bucharest Nine and Nordic countries in Lithuania on Monday, Zelenskyy said of Sunday’s drone attack, “Russia must realize what it means to suffer losses. That is what will push it toward diplomacy.”
“This is a special moment,” Zelenskyy added. “On the one hand, Russia has started its summer offensive. But on the other, it is forced to participate in diplomacy. And this is at once a challenge and also a real opportunity for all of us. It is a chance to end this war.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry framed the operation as “a terrorist attack,” claiming that the strikes were “repelled” in three regions, but noting that several aircraft caught fire at airfields during the attacks in Irkutsk and Murmansk — videos of which the SBU published.
Also on Sunday, Russian authorities reported the collapse of two railway bridges and derailment of two trains in regions bordering Ukraine, which they blamed on “explosions.” At least seven people were killed, authorities said.
In an address on Sunday, Zelenskyy called the Ukrainian drone attack a “brilliant operation” and said Russia “suffered truly significant losses.” The president framed the attack as a defensive measure.
“We will defend ourselves by all means available to us,” Zelenskyy said. “Not for a single second did we want this war. We offered the Russians a ceasefire. Since March 11, the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire has been on the table. It was the Russians who chose to continue the war.”
“Pressure is truly needed — pressure on Russia that should bring it back to reality,” Zelenskyy added. “Pressure through sanctions. Pressure from our forces. Pressure through diplomacy. All of it must work together.”
Ivan Stupak, a former officer in the SBU, told ABC News that Ukrainians expect a significant Russian response — “probably mass drone attacks on civilians or using Oreshnik ballistic missiles.”
“I think there will be zero impact on peace negotiations,” Stupak added, citing the ongoing Russian ground offensives grinding forward and capturing — even if at great cost — more territory in eastern Ukraine, which the Kremlin will hope to leverage.
Meanwhile, long-range drone and missile attacks continued overnight into Monday morning.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 80 drones and four missiles into the country overnight, of which 52 were shot down or neutralized. The air force reported impacts in 12 locations.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 162 Ukrainian drones over nine Russian regions overnight.
ABC News’ Christopher Boccia, Ellie Kaufman and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
(BOULDER, Colo.) — President Donald Trump on Monday responded for the first time to the attack against a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, seizing on the that the suspect was in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Yesterday’s horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America,” Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform.
“Acts of Terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law. This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!” the president added.
Eight people were injured on Sunday in what the FBI is calling an “act of terror.” Boulder police said the motive for the attack still has not been established.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was allegedly heard yelling “Free Palestine” while throwing a “makeshift flamethrower” at a demonstration to raise awareness about the remaining hostages in Gaza, according to authorities.
Soliman has been charged with a federal hate crime, according to court documents. He allegedly told police “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.”
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday said Soliman is in the U.S. illegally. He entered the country on a B2 visa, which is typically a tourism visa, in August 2022 and in September 2022 applied for asylum. The B2 visa expired in February 2023.
Soliman was granted a work permit after his B2 visa expired, a senior official told ABC News. That work permit expired on March 28, so he has been in the country illegally since then, the official said.
Trump sought to cast blame over Soliman’s immigration status on former President Joe Biden, criticizing his predecessor’s policies and saying “he must go out under ‘TRUMP’ Policy.”
While Trump seized on the fact that the alleged attacker was in the country illegally, the president did not mention antisemitism in his statement.
Though a White House senior official said Trump was briefed on Sunday, his first public comments came nearly 24 hours after the attack.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also released a statement Monday in which she condemned “vile anti-Semitic violence.”
“The Department of Justice has swiftly charged the illegal alien perpetrator of this heinous attack with a federal hate crime and will hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our prayers are with the victims and our Jewish community across the world,” Bondi said.
(BOULDER, Colo.) — The man suspected of carrying out an “act of terrorism” during a pro-Israel demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, leaving eight people in the hospital, has been charged with a federal hate crime, according to court documents.
The suspect, 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman, told investigators “he researched on YouTube how to make Molotov Cocktails, purchased the ingredients to do so, and constructed them,” the court documents said.
Soliman allegedly told police “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” the document said. “SOLIMAN stated he would do it (conduct an attack) again.”
He allegedly used a “makeshift flamethrower” and threw an incendiary device into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators at a pedestrian mall on Sunday afternoon, according to the FBI. He allegedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack, the FBI said.
The demonstration was a Run for Their Lives walk, which aims to raise awareness about the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and calls for their immediate release.
Eight victims, ranging in age from 52 to 88, were hospitalized with burns, police said.
Six of the eight have since been released from hospitals, a security source briefed on the situation told ABC News on Monday. Two victims remain in critical condition but are expected to survive.
Soliman was taken into custody and is being held on $10,000,000 bond, according to the Boulder County Jail, which listed a range of felony charges against him, including use of an incendiary device. The posted list of felony charges also appeared to include first-degree murder, although it was not immediately clear whether the charge was attempted murder. According to police, there have been no fatalities.
Soliman is due in court Monday afternoon.
Soliman is in the United States illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. entered the U.S. in August 2022 on a B2 visa and he filed for asylum in September 2022, according to Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.
His B2 visa — which is typically a tourism visa — expired in February 2023, McLaughlin said.
Soliman was granted a work permit after his B2 visa expired, a senior official told ABC News. That work permit expired on March 28, so he has been in the country illegally since then, the official said.
President Donald Trump responded to the attack for the first time on Monday, writing on Truth Social that the crimes will be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law.”
“This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland. My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!” the president added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WENATCHEE, Wash.) — Officials in Washington state are searching for three young sisters — ages 9, 8 and 5 — who were last seen leaving home for a scheduled visitation with their father, according to the Wenatchee Police Department.
The girls — 9-year-old Paityn Decker, 8-year-old Evelyn Decker and 5-year-old Olivia Decker — were last seen at approximately 5 p.m. on Friday when they left to be with their father, Travis Decker, on a “planned visitation,” police said.
Decker, 32, is homeless and has been living in his vehicle or at various motels or campgrounds in the area, officials said.
Police said visitation has been a part of the family’s parenting plan, but Decker has “since gone outside the parameters of it which is not normal and cause for the alarm.”
As of Monday, the girls have not returned home and contact cannot be made with Decker, officials confirmed to ABC News.
Police said the current investigation has “not met AMBER Alert criteria,” but they have issued an Endangered Missing Person Alert through the Washington State Patrol.
Decker, who is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes, was last seen wearing a light shirt and dark shorts and driving a 2017 GMC Sierra with a Washington license plate number of DC0165C, according to the missing persons’ poster.
Paityn Decker, the oldest of the siblings, was last seen wearing a blue shirt, purple shorts and pink Nikes, and Olivia Decker, the youngest, was last seen wearing a coral and pink shirt. Evelyn Decker, the third sibling, has blond hair and brown eyes, officials said.
Authorities said anyone who recognizes Decker or his children should call 911.
