(NEW YORK)– The death toll has climbed to seven in the wake of heavy rains and devastating flash flooding in West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said on Tuesday, as he warned the threat isn’t over.
“Flood watches continue throughout West Virginia,” Morrisey said on social media. “With the ground already saturated, there is the possibility of further flash flooding. Please continue to heed local warnings and do not attempt to drive through high waters.”
Two people remain missing as of Tuesday, the governor’s office said.
A state of emergency is in effect and the West Virginia National Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are on the ground in Marion County, the governor said.
Flash flooding struck Ohio County in the northern part of the state on Saturday night, dumping about 3 to 4 inches of rain over a short time period, according to the governor’s office.
The flash flooding continued on Sunday in Marion County, dropping 3 inches of rain in the city of Fairmont over a short time period, state officials said.
On Sunday, a residential building in Fairmont partially collapsed.
Footage from the scene showed water rushing out of the severely damaged structure as emergency crews responded to the scene.
Displaced residents are being housed at Fairmont State University, officials said.
ABC News’ Darren Reynolds and Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Almost 60 people are dead after two incidents near locations where people were trying to get food aid in Gaza Tuesday, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.
Fifty-one people were killed in an incident near a food aid truck that got stuck near Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged the shooting.
“A gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Younis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area,” the IDF said in response to an inquiry from ABC News.
“The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd’s approach. The details of the incident are under review,” the IDF added.
The shooting comes as many in Gaza are in the grip of hunger, according to international aid agencies. The United Nations last week said a “very limited” amount of food was being brought into the Strip.
And it comes a day after COGAT, the Israeli organization tasked with bringing aid into Gaza, said that four aid distribution centers in Gaza were being operated simultaneously for the first time.
Humanitarian aid sites and routes in Gaza have becomeflashpoints in recent weeks, according to the Hamas-run ministry.
Some of the injured and dead in Tuesday’s incident were brought to Nasser Hospital Complex in Khan Younis after the incident. In a video published by Reuters, a man can be seen bleeding from a wound in his back while being wheeled into the entrance.
“We went to wait like other people to get food for our children,” the man told Reuters “They told us there is flour in a certain area, so we went and waited. Then we found rockets falling on us.”
In a separate incident, eight people were killed near an aid distribution site in southern Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday. ABC News has asked IDF for comment on this incident.
Pedro Navio, North America president at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement that the company removed artificial colors, preservatives and flavors from its Kraft macaroni and cheese in 2016 and that its Heinz tomato ketchup has never had artificial dyes.
“As a food company with a 150+ year heritage, we are continuously evolving our recipes, products, and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers,” Navio’s statement read, in part. “The vast majority of our products use natural or no colors, and we’ve been on a journey to reduce our use of FD&C colors across the remainder of our portfolio. … Above all, we are focused on providing nutritious, affordable, and great-tasting food for Americans and this is a privilege we don’t take lightly.”
It comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled a plan in April to start phasing out eight synthetic food dyes in the American food supply.
At a news conference announcing the plan, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said health agencies were looking to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings and to work with the food industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes used in a variety of food products.
Kennedy said the agencies had reached an “understanding” with major food companies to voluntarily remove artificial food dyes from their products. It’s unclear what action Kennedy could take if the companies don’t comply.
Shortly after Kennedy’s announcement, PepsiCo’s CEO said on an earnings call that the company had already begun phasing out artificial colors. In-N-Out also announced in May it was removing artificial food dyes from menu items.
Other companies, like Kellogg’s, have previously stated their products are safe for consumption, and they are following federal standards set by the FDA.
Some studies have linked dyes to behavioral changes in children as well as to cancer in animals, suggesting this could extend to humans.
Some nutritionists and dietitians say that it’s best to avoid artificial food dyes, while others say more research needs to be done and the potential negative effects are still unclear.
(NEW YORK)– The death toll has climbed to seven in the wake of heavy rains and devastating flash flooding in West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said on Tuesday.
Two people were unaccounted for as of Monday, according to the governor.
“West Virginia has been hit very, very hard,” Morrisey said.
A state of emergency is in effect and the West Virginia National Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are on the ground in Marion County, he said.
Flash flooding hit the city of Wheeling and the towns of Triadelphia and Valley Grove. Roughly 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in the area in a short period of time, prompting significant flash flooding along US 40 (National Road), Middle Wheeling Creek, Little Wheeling Creek and various runs and streams through Ohio County.
On Sunday, a residential building in the city of Fairmont, in Marion County, partially collapsed, prompting the emergency declaration, according to the governor.
Footage from the scene showed water rushing out of the severely damaged structure as emergency crews responded to the scene.
Displaced residents are now being housed at Fairmont State University, officials said.
The cause of the collapse has not been determined, the governor said Monday.
Officials said they are monitoring the situation as more rain is in the forecast over the next few days.
ABC News’ Darren Reynolds and Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said overnight that calling Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after a political assassination sent shockwaves through the state would be a “waste of time.”
Trump was asked if he’d reach out to Walz, who was the vice presidential running mate for the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee Kamala Harris, as he returned to Washington after leaving the G7 summit early.
“I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out. I’m not calling him,” Trump said. “Why would I call him? I could call and say, ‘Hi, how you doing?’ Uh, the guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s a mess. I could be nice and call, but why waste time?”
Trump told ABC News on Sunday that he “may” call Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after a political assassination sent shockwaves through the state.
The president, who condemned the violence, called the Democratic governor a “terrible governor” and “grossly incompetent” in an interview with ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott. “Well, it’s a terrible thing. I think he’s a terrible governor. I think he’s a grossly incompetent person. But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too,” the president told Scott.
As of Monday afternoon, Walz had not heard from the president, according to a source.
Minnesota is reeling from two back-to-back shootings. Authorities say a masked gunman disguised as a police officer shot and killed Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a former speaker of the state House, and her husband Mark, and wounded a state senator and his wife early Saturday.
The accused gunman, 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, was captured late Sunday night.
Walz called the shootings an “act of targeted political violence.”
The president condemned the violence shortly after the attack.
“Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place,” he said.
A source close the Walz told ABC News that Walz and Vice President JD Vance spoke regarding the shootings.
“The Governor expressed appreciation for the ongoing coordination between federal law enforcement and Minnesota public safety officials,” the person said.
A source told ABC News on Sunday that former President Joe Biden called Walz “right away.”
A source familiar with the call described the conversation on Monday as “compassionate.” The pair spoke about grief, Biden offered his condolences and “discussed Hortman’s legacy,” the source said, Biden had met Hortman and told Walz he “was a fan,” the source said.
The White House said in a statement that the FBI and the attorney general’s office will investigate the shootings and “will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law.”
Police say the suspected gunman allegedly had dozens of Minnesota Democrats on a target list, which was retrieved from the his vehicle.
The assassination comes amid growing concerns about political violence in the U.S. following the recent killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, the arson attack at the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and the attempted assassination of Trump last summer.
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump denied early on Tuesday having had contact with leaders in Iran, saying he hadn’t reached out about a potential ceasefire and that he was “not too much in the mood” to negotiate with Iran.
“I’ve been negotiating. I told them to do the deal,” Trump said. “They should have done the deal. The cities have been blown to pieces, lost a lot of people. They should have done the deal. I told them do the deal, so I don’t know. I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”
The comments came as Trump returned early Tuesday to the White House, where he’d asked his top national security staff to assemble in the Situation Room, after he departed the Group of Seven leadership summit in Canada early.
He also seemed to dismiss a recent assessment from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who had said Iran wasn’t working on a nuclear weapon. Trump said on Tuesday he thought Iran was “very close” to having such a weapon.
Trump in a post on his Truth Social network also said that he hadn’t reached out to Iran “in any way, shape or form,” calling reports that he had done so “fabricated.”
“If they want to talk, they know how to reach me,” Trump said in a post early on Tuesday. “They should have taken the deal that was on the table — Would have save a lot of lives!!!”
Israel on Friday began an attack on Iran, launching a series of aerial strikes that Israeli officials described as a preemptive strike. Israeli leaders and Trump have separately called for Tehran to put an end to efforts to create nuclear weapons.
Diplomats from the United States and Iran held a series of talks in Muscat, Oman, beginning in April, with the sixth round due to begin last Sunday. Those talks were cancelled as the conflict between Israel and Iran began.
Trump was asked on Tuesday about Gabbard’s testimony in March in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, where she said Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.
When pressed about Gabbard’s comments, Trump dismissed them.
“I don’t care what she said, I think they were very close to having one,” Trump said.
Trump has not ruled out American participation in the conflict, although the U.S. has remained on the sidelines so far. Trump has issued, however, a stern warning to Iran on Tuesday over U.S. troops and assets in the region, instructing Tehran “not to touch our troops.”
“We’ll come down so hard if they do anything to our people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Kyic Oleksandr Gusev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(KYIV, Ukraine) — A massive overnight Russian strike on Kyiv killed 14 people and wounded more than 100 others, local officials in the Ukrainian capital said early Tuesday, as Moscow launched hundreds of drones and missiles at targets across the country.
It was not immediately clear whether others may be trapped beneath the rubble, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in an update on the Telegram messaging app. Emergency personnel were working at several sites, including a residential building in the Solomianskyi district, where “an entire entrance collapsed,” Klitschko said.
The mayor posted a video to Telegram showing what he said were Russian cluster munitions found at one of the impact sites in the capital. Klitschko later declared Wednesday a day of mourning for the victims of the attack.
Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram that the attack consisted of 440 drones and 32 missiles — of which 402 drones and 26 missiles were shot down or otherwise neutralized. The air force reported impacts in 10 locations and downed debris in 34 locations. The attack is believed to have been one of the largest on the capital in several months.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the nationwide attack killed at least 15 people were killed. Kyiv bore the brunt of the strikes, Zelenskyy wrote, with impacts also reported in Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv.
At least one person was killed in Odesa and 17 others injured, according to a Telegram post by local Governor Oleg Kiper.
“Such attacks are pure terrorism,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “And the whole world, the U.S. and Europe must finally react the way a civilized society reacts to terrorists.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said, “is doing this solely because he can afford to continue the war. He wants the war to continue. It is bad when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to this. We are contacting all partners at all possible levels so that there is an appropriate response. It is the terrorists who should feel the pain, not normal, peaceful people.”
The attacks came as G7 leaders gathered in Canada, where Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine is one of several key topics of discussion. President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that Russia — previously a member of the group when it was known as the G8 — should not have been expelled form the bloc in 2014 after its invasion and annexation of Crimea.
Putin “sends a signal of total disrespect to the United States and other partners who have called for an end to the killing,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X. “Putin’s goal is very simple: make the G7 leaders appear weak. Only strong steps and real pressure on Moscow can prove him wrong.”
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — The legal battle over the Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard in California heads to a federal appeals court on Tuesday.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will preside over a remote hearing regarding California’s challenge to President Donald Trump’s federalization of the state’s National Guard troops amid protests over immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area.
Last week, a federal judge in California issued a temporary restraining order that would have blocked Trump’s deployment of the troops and returned control of the California National Guard to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who did not consent to the Guard’s activation.
However, following an appeal by the Trump administration, a panel of three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay of the lower court’s order, dealing the Trump administration a temporary reprieve to what would have been a major reversal of its policy on the protests in Los Angeles.
The three-judge panel — made up of two judges nominated by Trump and one nominated by former President Joe Biden — scheduled the hearing on the matter for Tuesday afternoon.
The district judge’s order called Trump’s actions “illegal.”
“At this early stage of the proceedings, the Court must determine whether the President followed the congressionally mandated procedure for his actions. He did not,” U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said in his June 12 order granting the temporary restraining order sought by Newsom. “His actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”
The order did not limit Trump’s use of the Marines, which had also been deployed to LA.
In a press conference after the district court’s order, Newsom said he was “gratified” by the ruling, saying he would return the National Guard “to what they were doing before Donald Trump commandeered them.”
In its appeal to the Ninth Circuit, administration lawyers called the district judge’s order “unprecedented” and an “extraordinary intrusion on the President’s constitutional authority as Commander in Chief.”
Some 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines were ordered to the Los Angeles area following protests over immigration raids. California leaders claim Trump inflamed the protests by sending in the military when it was not necessary.
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Monday that directives from the Trump administration that led to the cancellations of several research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were “void” and “illegal.”
U.S. District Judge William Young said the cancellation of the grants — related to studies involving LGBTQ+ issues, gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — violated federal law, saying it was a case of racial discrimination and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, according to the plaintiffs in the case.
Two lawsuits had been filed against the administration: One led by the American Public Health Association and the other filed by a group of 16 states. Some estimates have suggested that up to $1.8 billion in research funding had been cut. Young, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, said he was ordering the NIH to restore the grants that were terminated.
In a statement, Andrew Nixon, the director of communications for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the agency stands by its decision to end funding for research “that prioritized ideological agendas over scientific rigor and meaningful outcomes for the American people. Under the leadership of Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration, HHS is committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars support programs rooted in evidence-based practices and gold standard science – not driven by divisive DEI mandates or gender ideology.” Nixon said HHS is “exploring all legal options, including filing an appeal and moving to stay the order.”
Among the plaintiffs is Dr. Brittany Charlton, an associate professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who had all her grants terminated by the NIH.
One of the terminated grants focused on documenting obstetrical outcomes for lesbian, gay and bisexual women and another focused on how discriminatory laws impact mental health among LGBTQ+ teens.
“As a plaintiff, I felt truly seen — it was a rare moment when the deep harm caused to researchers and the communities we serve was acknowledged out loud, in front of the world,” Charlton told ABC News in a statement.
“Sitting there, I felt a wave of relief and hope as the judge condemned the government’s actions and ordered the grants to be reinstated,” the statement continued. “After so much uncertainty and disruption, it finally felt like justice and the value of our research — and the communities at its heart — were being affirmed.”
The terminations came after President Donald Trump passed a flurry of executive orders including vowing to “defend women from gender ideology extremism” and aiming to dismantle DEI initiatives.
According to termination letters sent to researchers at various universities that were reviewed by ABC News, the administration said the canceled projects do not serve the “priorities” of the current administration.
“Research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific, have little identifiable return on investment, and do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans. Many such studies ignore, rather than seriously examine, biological realities. It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize these research programs,” some of the termination letters read.
“The premise…is incompatible with agency priorities, and no modification of the project could align the project with agency priorities,” the letters continued.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — More than 30 people in Gaza were killed on Monday by alleged Israeli gunfire while trying to reach food aid distribution centers, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
One person was killed near the Netzarim corridor at a distribution site in central Gaza and 33 people were killed near an aid distribution center in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to the ministry.
An additional four people were killed at the site near the Netzarim corridor on Sunday but were not found until Monday, the MOH told ABC News.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not immediately return ABC News’ request for comment on the incident.
The Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore, the executive chairman of GHF, did not address the alleged incidents in a post on X on Monday afternoon, where he said aid distribution at four sites “proceeded without incident.” He said three American contract staff sustained “minor injuries” during Iranian attacks on Israel on Sunday, but received medical attention and were diagnosed with concussions.
So far on Monday, 68 people have been killed in Gaza and at least 180 people have been injured, according to the ministry.
The aid sites, run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), have been steeped in controversy since they opened about three weeks ago.
The new distribution system was imposed by Israel after the government partly lifted a two-and-a-half-month blockade on all humanitarian aid, which caused widespread malnutrition and famine-like conditions, according to food security experts.
International aid organizations refused to participate in the new system, with deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq saying the plan is not impartial, neutral or independent.
The IDF has previously released statements about the reports, saying that video footage allegedly showing the shootings is “under review.” The IDF also said it has fired “warning shots” towards people who were allegedly “advancing while posing a threat to the troops.”
The GHF previously denied reports of chaos at the distribution sites but has closed them at times due to “maintenance” and “repair work.”
Gazans have said neither the amount of aid distributed, nor the calories within the aid packages from GHF, is enough to meet the needs of the civilian population.
Dr. Abdulwhhab Abu Alamrain, a physician at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, said having distribution sites — as opposed to meeting people where they are — does not allow for equitable aid access.
“Vulnerable families with elderly, widows with kids and sole survivor kids can never get aid [because] they would never be able to walk miles or [carry] the package or fight to get a turn in [an] unorganized aid distribution center,” he told ABC News.
Previously, aid was distributed by organizations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which ran hundreds of sites across the strip.
However, Israel has accused of the U.N. of being “anti-Israel and anti-Semitic” and UNRWA as being “infiltrated” by terrorism. Israel has also accused Hamas militants of stealing aid meant for civilians. Hamas denies the accusations and claims that Israel is weaponizing aid through GHF.
Dr. Ayesha Khan, a U.S. emergency medicine physician and humanitarian aid worker who did a month-long medical mission at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in late 2024, said it is frustrating to see the new distribution plan because the U.N.’s method for distributing aid in Gaza has been successful for decades.
“We have a way to distribute aid,” Khan told ABC News. “In my opinion, this GHF, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, was created in order to weaponize humanitarian aid.”
Khan said she spoke to a friend in Gaza who said he didn’t consider the GHF plan to be “humanitarian aid” but rather “humiliation aid.”
“You’ve eliminated everybody being able to get aid because getting aid is contingent upon you coming to the distribution point,” she said. “And sure enough, as soon as the people were told that there was food, after 11, 12, weeks of starvation, they swarmed the area, desperate to get food, of which there was not enough, and the soldiers opened fire.”
“The U.N. has global rules around humanitarian principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, independence. Those are those rules are not being followed by GHF,” Khan added.
The most recent deaths at distribution sites come as U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk described Israel’s warfare in Gaza as inflicting “horrifying, unconscionable suffering” on civilians.
“Israel’s means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza,” Turk said during a meeting of the Humans Rights Council on Monday. “Israel has weaponized food and blocked lifesaving aid. I urge immediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks on desperate civilians trying to reach food distribution centers. Disturbing, dehumanizing rhetoric from senior Israeli government officials is reminiscent of the gravest of crimes.”
Turk also said Israel’s refusal to allow international journalists to report from Gaza has helped Hamas “avoid transparency and accountability.”
Since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack in Israel, more than 55,400 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 128,900 have been injured, according to the MOH.
During Hamas’s surprise attack, the militant group murdered nearly 1,200 Israelis and took captive 251 others, according to Israeli officials. Hamas is still holding 53 hostages, living and dead. Among them are the bodies of two Americans.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
