(NEW YORK) — The U.S. State Department confirmed on Tuesday that a U.S. citizen was killed in Syria after disturbing videos surfaced showing him among a group of men apparently being executed by Syrian government forces.
“We offer condolences to the family on their loss and are providing consular assistance to them,” the State Department said in a statement. “We are greatly concerned when any U.S. citizen is harmed overseas, wherever they are. The United States calls for accountability in all cases where U.S. citizens are harmed abroad.”
Family and friends confirmed to ABC News that one of the men executed was Hosam Saraya, an American citizen.
The confirmation came after videos shared on social media last week showed eight men kneeling next to each other in civilian clothes, with a group of soldiers filming. In one video, the soldiers are seen talking to each other. Then, without warning, they open fire, shooting the unarmed, kneeling men dozens of times at close range.
The videos were filmed in Tishreen Square, in southern Syria, on the afternoon of July 16 amid ongoing fighting there.
ABC News has spoken to friends and family of Hosam Saraya, a American-Syrian citizen, and confirmed that he and other relatives were among those seen in the video being gunned down.
Besides Saraya, the family said his brother, Karim, their father, Ghassan, and their uncles and cousins were also shot to death in the incident.
The family showed ABC News Saraya’s American passport, confirming his U.S. citizenship.
The State Department is “looking into accounts of the death of an individual reported to have been a U.S. citizen in Syria,” a spokesperson said.
The Saraya family are Druze, the largest ethnic group in the city but a minority in Syria. Sectarian clashes broke last week between government forces and Druze, Sunni Bedouins and other Sunni factions.
A close friend of the Sarayas who worked with Hosam told ABC News that he spoke with Hosam and his relatives last Tuesday night and that they told him bombs had been falling around their home. On Wednesday, the friend, who only wants to be identified as Omar, heard from other family members that Hosam and the others had been taken from their home by government forces.
Saraya’s mother was left in their ransacked home, Omar said.
(WASHINGTON) –Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sometime in the “coming days.”
“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche said in the statement posted by Bondi on X.
Blanche also said that the joint statement from the Justice Department and FBI on July 6 — which stated they would not release any additional files on Epstein and that they determined there was no Epstein “client list” — “remains as accurate today as it was when it was written.”
“Namely, that in the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” Blanche said.
He added that up “until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government.”
The statement comes as a growing chorus of lawmakers have called for Maxwell to testify about her relationship with Epstein, and while the department is actively opposing Maxwell’s efforts to appeal her conviction for conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls.
David Oscar Markus, the appellate counsel for Maxwell, confirmed to ABC News that they are in talks with the government.
“I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government, and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully,” Markus said. “We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
Last week, President Donald Trump ordered the DOJ to “release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval,” he said on social media.
The DOJ requested in its filing, which was signed by Bondi and Blanche, for the court to “conclude that the Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell cases qualify as a matter of public interest, release the associated grand jury transcripts, and lift preexisting protective orders.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Another week, another stalemate in the House of Representatives over releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The GOP-led Rules Committee — which was working on advancing a slate of unrelated bills — came to a halt Monday evening because Democrats announced their plan to force a committee vote on bipartisan legislation that would call for the release of the Epstein files.
Republicans on the panel decided to recess the meeting with lawmakers saying there were no plans to reconvene at all. South Carolina GOP Rep. Ralph Norman said Monday he and the other Republicans on the committee did not want to vote on Democrats’ Epstein amendments, calling the effort “grandstanding.”
Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters it was “unlikely” the committee would meet this week at all.
This means that House Republicans will not hold votes this week on several key measures, including an immigration bill and legislation to establish new ZIP codes, because Democrats on the panel continue to force tough votes over releasing the Epstein files.
The House plans to depart for a long August recess on Thursday without holding votes on the planned measures. The lower chamber can still vote on measures under suspension, which requires a two-thirds majority.
With no action by the Rules Committee, the House will vote on two minor bills both under suspension on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Republicans also plan to meet behind closed doors Tuesday morning for their weekly conference meeting, which is followed by a news conference from Speaker Mike Johnson.
(LONDON) — Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have recorded the deaths of 15 people, including four children, due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours, Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health said Tuesday.
That brings the total number of deaths from famine and malnutrition since the war began to 101, which includes 80 children, according to the health ministry.
(LONDON) — The World Health Organization’s staff residence in Deir al Balah, Gaza, was attacked three times by the Israel Defense Forces, WHO officials said in a statement.
The Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward Al-Mawasi, according to the Tuesday statement. The WHO said male staffers and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot and screened at gunpoint.
“WHO condemns in the strongest terms the attacks on a building housing WHO staff in Deir al Balah in Gaza, the mistreatment of those sheltering there, and the destruction of its main warehouse,” WHO said.
The IDF released a statement on Tuesday on social media about its military action in Deir al Balah.
The statement, which was released after the WHO statement, didn’t mention the WHO by name, but said the Israeli military had been “in contact” with international organizations prior to the start of its action in Deir Al Balah.
“We emphasize that the IDF maintains continuous and consistent contact with the international organizations, and throughout the war, the IDF has facilitated the safe evacuations of their personnel from evacuated areas, in coordination with the troops and in accordance with operational requirements,” the IDF said in its statement.
Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Image
(BOISE, Idaho) — Bryan Kohberger, the admitted killer in the University of Idaho quadruple murders, will be face-to-face with the victims’ families on Wednesday at his high-profile sentencing hearing, with President Donald Trump even weighing in on how it should unfold.
Here’s what to expect:
The case Roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, were stabbed to death at the girls’ off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022, sending shockwaves through the small college town of Moscow and capturing the nation’s attention.
Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University at the time, was arrested at his parents’ Pennsylvania home nearly seven weeks later.
After proclaiming his innocence for more than two years, Kohberger pleaded guilty to all counts at a July 2 change of plea hearing. The deal took the death penalty off the table; Kohberger will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the four first-degree murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count. The sentencing hearing begins on Wednesday and could last through Thursday.
Families and survivors Sentencing is the first time the victims’ families — including the Goncalves, who have expressed anger with prosecutors over the plea deal — can speak directly to their children’s killer. They’ll get the chance to read victim impact statements in open court, though the parents of victim Ethan Chapin have said they’re not planning to attend.
“I would almost describe this as like a legal funeral, in the sense of, it’s your ability to give your last goodbyes in a situation where you’re talking about your pain, your anxiety, how you feel about the loss of a loved one,” ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire said. “Everyone grieves differently. Some people grieve by going to the funeral and speaking, some people grieve by going to the funeral and saying nothing, some people grieve by not going at all. And I think all are healthy, all are correct.”
The victims’ roommates, who have avoided the spotlight, might also speak at sentencing. The night of the murders, two roommates inside the house survived, including one woman who told authorities she saw a man in a mask walking past her in the middle of the night, according to court documents.
It’ll be up to the women whether they speak in court themselves, have an attorney or relative read a statement on their behalf, or decline altogether, Buckmire said.
Moscow police and the victims’ friends are also expected to be in the Boise, Idaho, courtroom. Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger said last week about sentencing, “Our hope is that not only the families, but the friends, even the Moscow community and all the communities that were affected by this, can start to heal and bring some sort of closure to this horrendous act.”
Will Kohberger speak? After the victim impact statements, Kohberger will have the opportunity to address the court, but he’s not required to do so, Buckmire said.
With a set sentence of life in prison, “there’s no incentive for him to speak,” Buckmire explained. “The [criminal justice] system just doesn’t operate that way — it’s not a rehabilitative process.”
“I think there’s a less than 50% chance he does speak, and a zero percent chance that he says anything that makes anyone walk away from this sentencing feeling any better,” Buckmire predicted.
Kohberger’s change of plea hearing on July 2 marked the first time his voice was heard in years. Judge Steven Hippler asked him a series of questions and Kohberger gave brief responses, showing no emotion. Defense attorneys have attributed Kohberger’s “flat affect” to autism spectrum disorder.
Kohberger’s attorneys said they will not speak until sentencing is finished.
Motive still a mystery Despite Kohberger’s admission of guilt, a motive for the killings has not been revealed, and Kohberger is under no legal obligation to disclose one.
Asked if police were able to find a clear motive, Dahlinger told ABC News last week that he could not answer.
Trump weighed in on social media Monday, saying he thinks Kohberger should be required to give a motive, “I hope the Judge makes Kohberger, at a minimum, explain why he did these horrible murders. There are no explanations, there is no NOTHING. People were shocked that he was able to plea bargain, but the Judge should make him explain what happened.”
Buckmire said a motive is not likely to ever surface.
“This isn’t a 30-minute true crime show where everything gets wrapped up in a nice bow at the end,” he said.
Police are, however, planning on releasing a large amount of information from the case later on, according to the department. Buckmire said those documents will likely relate to evidence and witness statements.
Once the hearing concludes and the judge formally sentences Kohberger, the convicted killer will be placed into the custody of the Idaho Department of Correction. He’ll then be evaluated to determine where he’ll be sent to prison.
Viacheslav Onyshchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams will again meet in Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed, for the first such meeting since President Donald Trump set a 50-day deadline for a ceasefire to be reached.
In his nightly video address on Monday, Zelenskyy said he spoke with Rustem Umerov — the former defense minister who is now heading Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council — on Monday, to discuss upcoming prisoner swaps and the next round of talks with Moscow.
“Umerov reported that the meeting is planned for Wednesday,” the president said. “More details will follow tomorrow.”
Russia’s state TASS news agency, meanwhile, quoted a source in Turkey who also said the talks would be held on Wednesday. The state-owned RIA news agency — also quoting a source — said the negotiations would stretch over Thursday and Friday.
This week’s meeting will be the third recent round of talks between the two combatants, previous meetings having been held in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2. Before that, the two sides had not met directly since the opening weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.
The May and June talks led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers, but any breakthrough on a ceasefire or eventual peace deal has proved elusive — despite continued pressure from the Trump administration.
The White House is pushing for an immediate ceasefire, a stance backed by Ukraine. But Russia has so far dodged committing to the proposal, with President Vladimir Putin saying various issues need to be addressed before the fighting can be paused.
Trump has appeared in recent months increasingly frustrated by Russia’s intransigence, plus by its nightly drone and missile strikes across Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Trump set a 50-day deadline for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, threatening fresh sanctions and tariffs if it failed to do so. Trump also announced new military support for Kyiv, with a particular focus on strengthening Ukraine’s anti-drone and anti-missile defenses.
On Monday, Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s goals from the coming talks would be “the return of prisoners, the return of children who were abducted by Russia and the preparation of the leaders’ meeting,” the last referring to his repeated offers of an in-person meeting with Putin.
In a Tuesday social media post, Zelenskyy said Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. Representatives from Ukrainian intelligence, its Foreign Ministry and the president’s office will also attend, he said.
“Our position is fully transparent,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine never wanted this war and it is Russia that must end the war that it started.”
On Sunday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed Trump’s ultimatum — issued earlier this month — for Russia to agree to a ceasefire within 50 days or face more sanctions.
“Everyone is already used to his rather tough and straightforward rhetoric,” Peskov told journalists. “At the same time, he confirms his intentions to do everything possible to contribute to peaceful settlement.”
“In fact, President Putin has repeatedly spoken about his desire to transfer Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful route as soon as possible,” Peskov added. “This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy. And, most likely, more and more people in Washington understand this.”
As to a possible meeting between Trump and Putin, Peskov replied, “It is possible, and over time it will definitely happen. It is necessary.”
“Perhaps it will be necessary for the fixation of some major agreements, which will be achieved over time, after a huge amount of work has been done,” he continued. “But this time has not yet come. This work is yet to be done.”
“Russia is ready to move fast,” Peskov said. “The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear, obvious, they do not change. But the process depends not only on us.”
Expectations for this week’s talks are not high in Ukraine, according to Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee.
“I don’t expect anything serious from these negotiations,” Merezhko told ABC News.
“In my opinion, Russia will be using these negotiations to prolong offensive operations during summer,” he added. “Putin has not given up his goal to subjugate the whole of Ukraine and is not interested in serious negotiations.”
“Putin will use these 50 days to the maximum,” Merezhko added.
(WASHINGTON) — A coalition of school districts — including Alaska’s largest school district — and advocacy groups has sued President Donald Trump’s administration over the $6 billion funding freeze to congressionally appropriated education programs.
The news comes just days after nine Republican senators and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski conducted a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump’s education policies, urging the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought to reverse the decision to withhold aid for key programs, such as English language acquisition, teacher development and student support.
OMB told ABC News in a statement that many of the programs “grossly misused” government funds to promote a “radical leftwing agenda.” However, the GOP senators’ letter said the decision to pause this funding was “contrary to President Trump’s goal of returning K-12 education to the states,” and they didn’t believe any leftwing agenda programs were being administered in their states.
Within 48 hours, the Trump administration had unfrozen more than a billion dollars for critical after-school and summer education programming nationwide, a senior administration official told ABC News.
Murkowski celebrated the initial funding release but noted it doesn’t go far enough.
“The pause of these funds caused great concern for families across the nation, and I am relieved to know that our young people will have enriching opportunities to stay engaged outside of the classroom,” Murkowski wrote in a statement to ABC News. “While this news is welcome, it is frustrating that many additional funds Alaska school districts are relying on from the Department of Education remain in limbo,” she said.
ABC News has reached out to the Trump administration for additional comment.
A pause on the total $6 billion funding happened on July 1, when federal aid for schools is typically allocated each year. However, states were notified on June 30 that an ongoing programmatic review of education funding would occur, according to a Department of Education memo sent to Congress, obtained by ABC News. School districts and programs have been concerned that programs and staff could be eliminated if funding isn’t restored.
The case, Anchorage School District et al. v. Department of Education et al., is led by multiple Alaska school districts and affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers. In it, the plaintiffs argue that the administration’s recent actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Impoundment Control Act, and the constitutional separation of powers.
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 says Congress must consider and review executive branch withholdings of budget authority, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The GAO website says the Administrative Procedure Act prescribes the minimum procedural steps an agency must follow in its administrative proceedings.
The school districts’ suit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island. It comes in the wake of two dozen state attorneys general and Democratic governors suing the administration for withholding education funding using the same claims.
“It’s against the Constitution,” North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, one of the AGs involved in the suit, told ABC News. “It’s against the Impoundment Act. From a legal standpoint, this is not a hard case,” he added.
AFT President Randi Weingarten called the freeze an attempt to “lawlessly” defund education through rampant government overreach.
“It’s not only morally repugnant: the administration lacks the legal right to sacrifice kids’ futures at the altar of ideology,” Weingarten wrote in a statement to ABC News.
“The Department of Education is holding hostage billions of dollars from American communities,” according to Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward — a public education advocacy nonprofit representing the plaintiffs.
“This is an unconstitutional and unlawful power grab that puts extreme agendas over the well-being of students and denies communities the educational resources that Congress intended them to have,” Perryman added in a statement to ABC News.
Earlier this month, the Anchorage School District announced in a letter to the community that the district had already begun laying off some staff members after $46 million was impacted by the pause. The district receives about a third of the state’s federal education funds, according to Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt.
Several state education leaders who’ve spoken to ABC News say that they’re scrambling to prevent immediate harm to students as the school year approaches. OMB has not given a timeline for when the programmatic review for the other education programs will be completed.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island Department of Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green applauded the Republican efforts to reverse the funding pause, stressing this is not a political issue.
“We are one United States of America,” Infante-Green told ABC News. “These dollars are important to every single student in every single state. This is what we need,” she said.
“We need people to speak up. We need people to be brave, to have the conversation and advocate for our kids, to put politics aside and make this one of their number one issues.”
(NEW YORK) — A 4-year-old child was attacked by a mountain lion at a national park in Washington state, officials said.
The incident occurred Sunday afternoon in Olympic National Park, near the Victoria Overlook area on Hurricane Ridge, according to the National Park Service.
The child was bitten by the mountain lion while walking with their family on a “popular trail,” park officials said.
Paramedics and park staff responded and transferred the victim via an air ambulance to a Seattle hospital, where the child is undergoing treatment, park officials said Monday. No additional details on the child have been released to protect their privacy, park officials said.
Following the attack, park rangers immediately began searching for the collared cougar, which was located and dispatched Monday morning, park officials said.
“There are no current threats to the public,” the National Park Service said in a press release on Monday.
The incident remains under investigation. Witnesses to the attack are urged to contact the parks service at 888-653-0009 or email nps_isb@nps.gov.
According to the National Park Service, cougars are typically elusive and attacks on humans are rare.
Photo by Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
(SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.) — Nearly two dozen whales have died in the San Francisco Bay Area in recent months, according to animal rescue groups.
A total of 19 gray whales, two unidentified baleen whales and one minke whale have died in the Bay Area region so far this year, according to the California Academy of Sciences.
At least seven of the gray whale deaths have been determined to be suspect or probable vessel strikes, according to the organization.
In addition, there has been an “unusually high” number of whale sightings in the Bay Area this year, with more than 30 individual gray whales confirmed in the region via photo identification, the Academy said, noting that the whales’ physical conditions have ranged from normal to emaciated.
About a third of the whales have stayed in the region for at least 20 days and researchers expect more sightings for another couple of weeks before the whales migrate north to Arctic feeding grounds. The whales breed off the coast of Mexico but should be farther north at this time of year, Kathi George, director of cetacean conservation biology at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., told ABC News.
In 2024, just six gray whales were sighted in the region. Researchers are investigating the potential reasons behind the “massive” spike in sightings this year.
Animal rescue groups in the region have not responded to this many dead gray whale deaths since the unusual mortality event in 2019 that saw more than 70 gray whale deaths on the West Coast, and another event in 2021 in which 15 whales died in the Bay Area, according to the California Academy of Sciences.
An estimated 45% of the North Pacific gray whale population was lost between 2019 and 2023, the California Academy of Sciences said.
In previous unusual mortality events, the gray whale population has typically rebounded but after 2019, the populations have experienced continued declines, George said. The population was estimated to be at nearly 27,000 in 2016 but fell to as low as 13,230 animals in the winter of 2022-2023 as a result of the mass mortality event, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Marine researchers in the U.S., Mexico and Canada are monitoring the health of the gray whale population in hopes of gaining further insights into the unusual mortality event, the organization said.
Earlier this year, scientists in Southern California have reported a record-low gray whale calf count, “which is a cause for concern,” according to the Academy.
Only about 85 gray whale calves migrated past Central California on their way to feeding grounds in the Arctic earlier this year, according to NOAA.
“It shows signs of concern for this population as it moves forward into the future,” George said. “What we’re trying to learn is we know that climate change is changing ocean conditions and changing prey available availability for these whales in the Arctic.”
The Bay Area serves as a “puzzle piece” to the gray whales’ lengthy annual migration, George said.
Dead whales have been reported in the San Francisco Bay Area since March 30, when a female gray whale was found dead at Black Sands Beach, located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The animal died from a probable vessel strike, according to The Marine Mammal Center.
The latest death occurred on July 7 at the Richmond Long Wharf, located about 20 miles north of San Francisco, according to The Marine Mammal Center. A dead female adult gray whale washed up adjacent to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge after suffering from blunt force trauma by a suspected vessel strike, the organization said.
A necropsy revealed hemorrhaging on the animal’s left side, between the head and pectoral fin, likely as a result of the strike, according to the Center.
“This latest gray whale caught everyone a bit by surprise given how late in the season it is and the fact that we had not sighted the species in the bay in nearly two weeks,” George said in a statement.
Gray whales typically have a “very low profile” in the water that can make them difficult to see, unlike other coastal whales, such as humpback whales, according to the Academy.
“It’s vital that all boaters – from large commercial vessels to sailboats – be ‘whale aware’ and continue to slow down,” the California Academy of Sciences said.
Further south, thousands of marine animals have been sickened by an unprecedented toxic algae bloom that has overrun the Southern California coasts.
Species such as seabirds, sea lions and dolphins have been impacted by elevated levels of the neurotoxic domoic acid produced by the algae blooms in the region. However, the harmful algae blooms aren’t related to the recent whale deaths in the Bay Area because gray whales transiting north don’t stop in Southern California to feed, George said.
“That is something we test for, though, when we are doing he necropsies – to see what they may have been exposed to recently,” she said.
