(LONDON) — Astronomers have detected fast-repeating radio bursts from a distant “dead” galaxy that should not contain the energy to produce these types of signals, according to new research.
The source of the fast radio bursts (FRBs) — sudden flashes of radio waves that last just milliseconds — has previously been linked to young, magnetized neutron stars that expend a lot of energy when they are forming. But the dormant galaxy from which these radio bursts are originating should not contain this type of young star, according to a paper published Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Researchers expect FRBs to originate inside of a galaxy and, because these FRBs are so energetic, within a region of a galaxy in which new stars are actively forming, Vishwangi Shah, a PhD student in the Department of Physics at McGill University in Montreal, told ABC News. These FRBs, named FRB 20240209A, are located outside of the massive ancient elliptical galaxy it is associated with that only contains old and dead stars, Shah said.
“This discovery was really surprising and exciting,” she said.
Shah and her team used the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment — also known as the CHIME telescope — to detect the multiple bursts from the same location, Shah said. But because the CHIME telescope could not pinpoint the exact location of the radio waves, they used the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii to precisely pinpoint where the bursts were coming from, theorizing that there was a faint galaxy they were not yet aware of.
“There’s no other galaxy there,” Shah said.
The ancient elliptical galaxy where astronomers discovered the radio waves is about 2 billion light-years from Earth and is about 11.3 billion years old, according to the paper.
Thousands of radio bursts have been recorded since 2007, when they were first discovered by astronomers, Shah said, adding that they only know the origins of about 100 of them — all near actively forming stars.
“This particular FRB is really an outlier, and it challenges our theories about what is producing FRBs,” Shah said.
Astronomers hypothesize that the FRBs could be originating from two supernoir remnants, called neutron stars, that are merging or collapsing onto themselves, Shah said.
Continuing to study these FRBs will allow researchers to further understand the space between its origination and the Milky Way as well as what is happening in distant regions of space, Shah said.
“That is why it is a really useful probe of our universe,” she said.
Food and water has been left out for pets roaming Los Angeles County without their owners or homes after wildfires blazed through the area in January 2025. Via ABC News
(Los Angeles) — Whimpers and whines can be heard long before the sad feline and canine faces are visible within one Los Angeles-area animal shelter that has been overflowing since the fires.
Nearly 1,000 displaced and stray animals have come through the Pasadena Humane Society, just half a mile from a stadium housing people displaced by the fire.
Hundreds of animals are unidentified and waiting to be found by their owners; others are being housed at the shelter while their families find a place to live.
Several of the four-legged guests are receiving urgent medical care for burn injuries.
Among those rescued is a mama dog that was nursing her tiny puppies against the back wall of her kennel when ABC News visited on Thursday.
A kitten named Angel had all four paws wrapped in casts, yet slept soundly in her kennel with a cone around her neck.
The unfortunate reality is that there are still many pets that have yet to be safely recovered and hundreds of pet owners have not located their beloved family members after losing their homes.
Lost-and-found pet posters stapled to telephone poles are no longer an option, especially in fire-ravaged neighborhoods in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, where over 10,000 structures have burned to the ground.
A handful of “lost and found” pet pages emerged on social media after the fires, aiming to reunite lost pets with their families.
Desperate owners have been posting photos of their pets, hoping someone has seen their beloved family member.
Pasadena Humane Society has taken to putting out food and water in their now-uninhabitable neighborhoods, hoping to lure pets back — or, at least, stay nourished until they are found and reunited with their owners.
Unclaimed animals — listed as strays — will be held at the Pasadena Humane Society for 30 days and then placed for adoption.
Animal volunteers are urging the parents of lost pets to check local shelters each day in the hope of being reunited with missing animals.
Meanwhile, other pet owners who evacuated and lost their homes are taking refuge at hotels across Los Angeles.
The famous Beverly Hilton, which is known for hosting both the Golden Globes and Daytime Emmy Awards, is currently housing hundreds of displaced residents and their four-legged friends.
A “glamorous zoo” is how Hilton spokesperson Cody LaGrow described the scene, with hotel staff doing everything possible to accommodate the animals from a hospitality perspective.
The hotel is providing “wee wee” pads, helping with pet food and buying pet beds for guests.
The “pooch invasion,” as LaGrow described it, is a story of hope — with the hotel becoming a site of coping, resilience and emotional support, for both people and their cherished pets.
ABC News’ Brandon Chase contributed to this report.
People walk about in the heavy rain on January 24, 2025 in Scotland, United Kingdom. The Met Office has issued rare red Warnings for wind for Northern Ireland as well as central and southwestern areas of Scotland. These are accompanied by wider Amber and Yellow Warnings for wind, as well as Yellow Warnings for rain and snow across the UK. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — A massive storm is battering parts of the U.K. and Ireland today, bringing devastating winds, heavy rain and snow, according to the Met Office, the United Kingdom’s national weather and climate service.
“This is probably going to be the most consequential wind storm for most people across the island of Ireland and across the U.K. in their lived experience,” Peter Thorne, a climate change professor at Maynooth University in Ireland, told ABC News.
Red warnings for high winds have been issued for Northern Ireland along with central and southwestern areas of Scotland. The storm, named Éowyn, will also impact Northern England, Southern England and Wales, according to officials.
“We reserve the issuing of Red Warnings for the most severe weather which represents a likely danger to life and severe disruption,” according to Met Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gunderson.
“Storm Éowyn is a multi-hazard event, with snow likely for some, rain for many and strong winds for much of the U.K.,” Gunderson added. “As a result, a number of weather warnings have been issued, with all parts of the U.K. covered by one warning at some point on Friday.”
Wind gusts in excess of 90 mph were recorded in Northern Ireland and parts of Wales early Friday as the storm approached, with record peak gusts of 114 mph recorded in Mace Head, on the west-central Irish coast, according to the Met Office.
The initial forecast was for heavy rain and wind starting early Friday morning in southwestern parts of the U.K., according to the Met Office, traveling northeast across the rest of the country. Along with destructive winds, the storm will bring snow to Northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, but will quickly transition back to rain, the Met Service said.
In Ireland and Scotland, wind gusts were expected to reach up to 80-90 mph, and potentially up to 100 mph for exposed coastal areas, according to Gunderson.
In the U.S., winds of that velocity would be found in a Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane.
“I’ve never seen a red warning cover the entirety of the island,” Thorne told ABC News.
Thorne said that the cold weather system from the U.S. is what’s making Éowyn a major storm.
“At the same time [as the cold weather], you have a North Atlantic that is near a time-of-year record warmth,” Thorne said. “That huge temperature gradient is kicking off a very active jet stream. This particular storm is hitching a ride on the jet stream that supercharges it.”
Thorne told ABC News he expects half a million to a million properties or businesses will be without power after this storm.
“It’s important to note that even those away from the immediate Red Warning areas will still likely see disruptive weather, with travel plans likely to be severely impacted, as well as the possibility of power cuts for some,” according to Gunderson.
The Met Service also notes that although the snow is unlikely to last long, it will change to rain which in turn could cause surface-water flooding in some places. The weather event will likely cause significant challenges and disruption to travel, according to the Met Office, which advises motorists to visit the U.K.’s National Highways website for hazardous weather travel safety tips.
After Éowyn barrels through on Friday and early Saturday, a series of additional storms are expected to arrive in northwest Europe, bringing more wet and windy weather on Sunday and continuing into the beginning of next week, according to the Met Office.
(NEW YORK) — The Gulf Coast is digging out from a once-in-a-lifetime snowstorm that struck from Texas to Florida, closing airports, crippling roadways and leaving freezing temperatures in its wake.
At least 11 deaths have been attributed to the storm and accompanying cold blast.
In Dale County, Alabama, one person was killed in a house fire after leaving their stove on to keep them warm and a second person was killed in a car accident, according to the local coroner.
One person died from hypothermia in Georgia and two people died in the cold in Austin, Texas, officials said.
Southwest of San Antonio, five people died when a tractor-trailer collided with other vehicles on an icy road, the Texas Department of Safety said.
In Moncks Corner, South Carolina, a 71-year-old man died while shoveling snow, according to the Berkeley County Coroner’s Office.
This storm brought more snow to some cities than any other storm in at least the last 130 years.
Florida saw its most snow on record, with 9.8 inches of snow recorded in Milton, northeast of Pensacola.
Pensacola also saw an all-time record for the city with 8.9 inches.
Texas experienced its first-ever blizzard warning. Beaumont, Texas, recorded 5.2 inches of snow — an all-time record.
Mobile, Alabama, saw an all-time record high of 7.5 inches.
In Louisiana, Baton Rouge saw 7.6 inches.
New Orleans recorded 8 inches, marking the most snow in the city since 1895.
And the danger isn’t over. An extreme cold warning is in effect Thursday morning from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle, with temperatures dropping as low as 12 degrees in parts of the Gulf Coast.
For Louisiana, this is the coldest it’s been in over 100 years, state climatologist Jay Grymes said.
While snow has melted in many areas, the freeze remains a serious threat. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Joe Donahue is urging “everyone to avoid unnecessary travel.”
Many of the areas hit hard by the storm will thaw soon; temperatures are expected to climb to the 50s and 60s by Sunday.
(WASHINGTON) — In a new letter, Democratic lawmakers are asking federal regulators to look into legal and ethical questions around the meme cryptocurrency coins launched by President Donald Trump and the first lady.
The letter formally raises concerns about the risk of foreign countries trying to curry influence by buying the coins — and the ethics of Trump making “extraordinary profits off his presidency.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee and an advocate for crypto regulation, co-wrote the letter with Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Warren and Auchincloss point to the foreign emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states “[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
“Anyone, including the leaders of hostile nations, can covertly buy these coins, raising the specter of uninhibited and untraceable foreign influence over the President of the United States, all while President Trump’s supporters are left to shoulder the risk of investing in $TRUMP and $MELANIA,” Warren and Auchincloss wrote to the Office of Government Ethics, the Treasury Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The meme coins also pose a conflict of interest, they write, because Trump’s family members are expected to directly profit off an industry he is charged with regulating. The president nominates the Chairs of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Securities and Exchange Commission, the Directors of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Secretary of the Treasury.
“This creates an unavoidable conflict of interest, as he will be in a position to both benefit directly from the sale of the tokens while also setting the policy on how these markets are regulated. He will be in a position to seek commitments from agency heads, to not only decide how the market is valued, but to implement lax policies to crack down on crypto scams like pump-and-dump schemes that are regularly conducted through meme coins,” the letter says.
ABC News reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump launched the $TRUMP coin Friday night, just days before he took office. Its estimated value is now $7 billion, according to CoinGecko. The $MELANIA coin is worth around $400 million. A big share of the profits from these coins go toward Trump and his businesses, according to financial disclosures. (If Trump divests of his interests in these companies like he did with most of his assets during his first term, his family could still profit off them.)
Meme coins are a highly volatile type of cryptocurrency that allow people to bet on a popular personality or trend.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order seeking to support the expansion of cryptocurrencies.
(NEW YORK) — While some companies are steering away from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, others are sticking with their previous commitments.
Leaders at Goldman Sachs, Costco and JPMorgan Chase & Co have recently spoken out in support of their diversity programs, as anti-DEI activist shareholders continue to push proposals that would roll back company policies.
Costco’s Board of Directors unanimously voted Thursday against a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research that had called for Costco to evaluate and publish a report on any risks that may be associated with the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts, according to a Jan. 23 shareholders meeting statement.
“Our efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion follow our code of ethics,” the board statement on the proposal stated. “For our employees, these efforts are built around inclusion – having all of our employees feel valued and respected. Our efforts at diversity, equity and inclusion remind and reinforce with everyone at our Company the importance of creating opportunities for all. We believe that these efforts enhance our capacity to attract and retain employees who will help our business succeed.”
The board argued that its diversity programs comply with the law, and defended its commitments to diversifying its supplier base — including special attention to small businesses. The board statement ultimately argued the proposal reflected a “policy bias.”
Costco representatives have not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
Amid ongoing pressure over its DEI initiatives, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson told ABC News in a statement: “We strongly believe that organizations benefit from diverse perspectives, and Goldman Sachs is committed to operating our programs and policies in compliance with the law.”
Goldman Sachs representatives directed ABC News to a Jan. 22 interview with CNBC from CEO David Solomon, in which Solomon said that the financial services company is looking at these issues “through the eyes of our clients.”
He added, “They think about decarbonization, they think about climate transition,” he said. They think about their businesses, how they find talent, the diversity of the talent they find all over the world. You know we operate a big global business and we serve global clients everywhere. We think about these issues through the lens of, how do we help our clients navigate these things? And we continue to stay focused on talking to our clients and doing the things we’ve always done.”
The company has come under scrutiny for its stated commitments to racial equity, gender equality and increasing diversity. Strategies listed on its website include expanded recruitment efforts, pay gap data collection, aspirational hiring goals and career development programs.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, in an interview with CNBC, said he’s “very proud of what we’ve done.”
“We will continue to reach out to the Black community, the Hispanic community, the veterans community, LGBTQ, we have teams with second chance initiatives — where I go, with blue states, red states, governors, they like what we do,” said Dimon.
JPMorgan Chase did not respond to request for comment.
DEI initiatives, according to ABC News interviews with DEI experts, are intended to address and correct discriminatory policies or practices that may be found within an organization. Experts told ABC News that some examples of DEI initiatives include: implementing accessibility measures for people with disabilities, addressing gender pay inequity, mitigating bias in hiring and recruitment practices, and holding anti-discrimination trainings and more.
Several other companies across industries — including Amazon, Meta and McDonalds — have stepped back and ended their diversity and inclusion initiatives that were largely pledged after the police killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests against racial inequality.
The reversal comes amid ongoing anti-DEI action from conservative politicians, who have implemented policies restricting diversity and equity programs in government, colleges, universities, and more. After taking office this week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order dismantling DEI programs in the federal government.
In an interview with ABC News, Ethan Peck, deputy director for the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Free Enterprise Project, said that diversity programs pose risks to shareholder value, as they may invite lawsuits from those claiming to have been discriminated against based on recent arguments made against affirmative action.
Some legal experts disagree, arguing that repealing DEI policies could leave companies vulnerable to potential lawsuits from marginalized groups alleging discrimination.
Peck, whose group mounts campaigns to pressure companies to disband DEI programs, argued that diversity programs sacrifice “excellence and innovation,” but said he did not provide examples of employment discrimination at these companies.
“Eventually you will drop DEI, and it’s better for your shareholders if you do it sooner rather than later,” said Peck, who noted that Boeing and John Deere were faced with similar proposals and later dropped their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
“I believe that this is a fad,” he said.
Anti-DEI activists also argue that “aspirational” goals for increasing diversity and representation are a guise for quotas, which are largely considered illegal, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“You can be fair in hiring and promotions with candidates of all backgrounds and perspectives without resorting to quota systems and considerations based on immutable characteristics,” said Paul Chesser, the director of the Corporate Integrity Project at the National Legal and Policy Center, in an emailed statement.
Christie Smith, former vice president of inclusion and diversity at Apple and C-Suite adviser, argued that DEI commitments instead increase shareholder value.
DEI has prompted “increased innovation, increased growth in these organizations, increased opportunities in startup organizations, which mostly women and people of color are at, starting these kinds of companies and growing our economy in that way,” she told ABC News.
(NEW YORK) — Trump administration border czar Tom Homan recently promised to carry out “big raids” in sanctuary cities across the U.S. — and scenes of immigration authorities detaining migrants Thursday have rattled some residents in cities like Newark, Boston and New York City.
However, sources told ABC News the enforcement operations this week since President Donald Trump’s second inauguration are the type of routine immigration raids that have been customary of ICE for years.
In a post on X, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency had made a total of 538 arrests Thursday.
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said in a statement on Thursday that ICE “raided” a business in the city and detained “undocumented residents, as well as citizens, without producing a warrant.”
In a press release, the mayor said one of the detainees was a veteran “who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned.”
“This egregious act is in plain violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees ‘the right of the people be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” the mayor said. “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized. I will be holding a press conference in alliance with partners ready and willing to defend and protect civil and human rights. Details to come.”
WABC also reported ICE made arrests in New York, including of an alleged MS-13 member on Wednesday.
In Massachusetts, WCVB reported ICE made arrests in Chelsea and East Boston on Wednesday.
Gov. Maura Healey said she supported the arrests of criminals regardless of their immigration status.
“I wouldn’t describe them as raids,” Healey told WCVB regarding the arrests.”What it seems to be, and what we expected and what I support, which is the apprehension of criminals in our communities.”
(WASHINGTON) — An internal Border Patrol memo obtained by ABC News indicates that the Department of Homeland Security could request up to 10,000 U.S. military troops to help with efforts along the United States-Mexico border.
Defense officials, however, said this week that they have not heard of this figure, but did say they expected that there could be additional requests for troops.
“This is just the start. This is an initial step, and we are anticipating many further missions,” a senior Defense official told reporters.
The White House yesterday announced that 1,500 troops would be sent to help with operations at the southern border. Those roles, according to sources, would be to help with processing and surveillance.
The Customs and Border Protection planning memo also says the agency could request military infrastructure and technology.
CBP “may” utilize military bases as holding facilities for those who are arrested by Customs and Border Protection. Defense officials said that DOD had not received any requests for that kind of assistance but would evaluate such requests.
The Navy may also help with enforcing and carrying out coastal border operations, according to the document.
Two U.S. officials told ABC News on Thursday afternoon that the first of 500 Marines bound for the border would be shipping out in the coming hours and Army units would be in transit later in the day. A good number of the Army troops will be military police, but they will not be carrying out law enforcement duties, according to other officials.
In addition, four military cargo planes are being positioned for use in deportation flights — a C-17 and C-130 in San Diego and another C-17 and C-130 at Fort Bliss, Texas. So far only the C-17 to Ft. Deportation flights cannot begin until the State Department arranges details, which could take some time.
The U.S. Northern Command said in a news release Thursday that it is “aggressively” bolstering security at the border. About 1,500 soldiers and Marines are “immediately” deploying to the region to augment the approximately nearly 2,500 service members already there supporting CBP’s mission at the border.
“In a matter of days, we will have nearly doubled the number of forces along the border, effectively implementing the President’s intent while planning and posturing for expanded efforts to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States,” said Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of the Northern Command.
The exact number of personnel will fluctuate as units rotate personnel and as additional forces are tasked to deploy once planning efforts are finalized, Northern Command said. These forces will support enhanced detection and monitoring efforts and repair and emplace physical barriers, the release said.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Seven sitting governors are throwing their support behind Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler’s run for Democratic National Committee chair. Four of them are eligible to vote in the party’s officer elections.
In endorsements first shared with ABC News, Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tina Kotek of Oregon, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Laura Kelly of Kansas, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, and Janet Mills of Maine lauded Wikler as an experienced organizer and unifier. Kelly, Beshear, Lujan Grisham and Whitmer are among the 448 DNC members who can vote for chairperson next week on Feb. 1.
The governors urged their state’s delegations to join them in their support, which would tighten the gap between Wikler and the other leading candidates in this race, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.
Kelly said Wikler is a “commonsense leader” the party needs and urged “all Kansas voting members to join” her in voting for him.
“As Democratic governors continue to show we can win in battleground and deep red states, we need a DNC Chair who understands the importance of ensuring Democratic governors are some of the strongest voices in our party and who will prioritize investing in our critical 38 races for governor in the next two years. We also need someone who knows that if we’re going to win back essential voters, we need to get back to talking about core issues … in a way that will actually resonate,” Kelly said.
Michigan’s Whitmer said she believes Wikler can generate victories for Democrats at all levels of government.
Whitmer, a two-term Democrat who has repeatedly succeeded in a state twice won by President Donald Trump, has been mentioned as a possible 2028 presidential contender and was discussed as a replacement for President Joe Biden in 2024.
“As Governor of Michigan, I’ve seen Ben fight and win for working people in our neighboring state. Our next Chair needs to be a leader who can do exactly that: get our party unified, organized, and talking to voters to deliver wins up and down the ballot,” Whitmer said. “Ben has my vote, and I encourage my fellow Michiganders to join me in supporting him next week.”
Another name floated as a possible party leader is Beshear, who was on former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate short list. Beshear said he believes Wikler can unify the rebuilding Democratic Party and raise the resources needed to win.
“There are other good leaders in this race but I will be voting for Ben for DNC Chair and will be encouraging the entire Kentucky delegation to join me — because we need a leader who gets what’s needed to compete not just in blue states but in deep-red and battleground areas too,” Beshear said. “As Chair of WisDems, Ben Wikler has shown that when you unite our party, raise the historic resources needed to invest in governor’s races and every other level of the ballot, and talk to voters about the challenges they’re facing every day, Democrats can win everywhere.”
Lujan Grisham echoed the sentiment that Wikler will value and invest in governors.
“I will be voting for Ben Wikler for DNC Chair because he has shown that he knows how to raise historic funds for candidates up and down the ballot — all while standing up for working families and the year-round organizing we need to fight and win across the country,” Lujan Grisham said.
Kotek offered similar praise, saying Wikler is the “changemaker the Democratic Party needs.”
“The next leader of the DNC needs to be someone with the experience to get our party back and deliver for working people. I urge DNC members from Oregon and across the country to join me in supporting Ben for DNC chair,” Kotek said.
Earlier in the race, Gov. Tony Evers of Wikler’s home state of Wisconsin also endorsed Wikler’s run.
Two governorships will be up for grabs this year, and Democrats are looking to play competitively in both — namely by keeping control of New Jersey and flipping Virginia. These races will be the first large-scale electoral tests for the party since its sweeping losses last November.
The support from the slate of governors also points to a late-stage surge for Wikler after both Martin’s and O’Malley’s teams indicated that the Wisconsin party chairman was lagging behind them in support. Earlier this month, O’Malley’s team asserted, “This is a three-way race and we are not in third place.”
These endorsements also come just days after Martin said he has garnered support from 200 voting members, by far the highest private whip count announced in the race thus far, rapidly approaching the 225 votes needed to win. (Martin currently has the majority of public endorsements.)
But Wikler and O’Malley disputed the assertion, calling Martin’s count inflated and accusing him of muddying the process. Wikler received the backing of four powerful public sector unions and the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer.
Wikler also came forward with his team’s internal whip count for the first time during the race earlier this week, claiming to have 131 members supporting him. O’Malley’s campaign says he has 100 supporters.
Wikler had previously said he would not release details about his internal whip count. But in a series of social media posts on Wednesday night, Wikler said he was changing course, taking a veiled swipe at Martin and citing a statement from O’Malley’s campaign.
“Until tonight, I’d held back from releasing my whip count,” Wikler said. “But another candidate released a count so inflated that, as another campaign rightly said, it was ‘disrespectful to the 448 voting members of the DNC — many of whom are still making up their minds.'”
He continued, “In a moment of national crisis, DNC members deserve the chance to choose the next Chair based on vision and record, not based on whisper campaigns and attempts to manufacture an illusion of inevitability.”
Nevertheless, no campaign has provided a full list of exactly who is backing their bids, and there are a number of other long-shot candidates who have qualified to run and could peel off a handful of members along the way. It’s unclear, too, if any candidate will clinch a majority of votes to win on the first ballot, opening up the race and allowing members to reconsider their choice in subsequent ballots.
Wikler said he is “honored” to have the backing of these governors, who he said are “some of the most important Democratic voices in the country.”
“Democratic governors present the model for how Democrats can compete and win in the toughest states in the country,” Wikler said, “and we need to invest in their leadership in a way that reflects their invaluable power as messengers and leaders. I’m ready to expand the map and win, together.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to declassify files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King.
“That’s a big one,” Trump said as put his signature to the order in the Oval Office. He asked an aide standing nearby to give the marker to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who he’s nominated to be secretary of Health and Human Services.
Trump has long vowed to make the information public. He released a trove of documents in 2017 related to the 1963 killing of John F. Kennedy but left some of it redacted based on recommendations from the CIA and FBI.
A 1992 law passed by Congress required the release of the JFK files by 2017 unless the president authorized that they be withheld longer.
According to the White House text of the order, Trump has “now determined that the continued redaction and withholding of information” on JFK “is not consistent with the public interest and the release of these records is long overdue.”
“And although no Act of Congress directs the release of information pertaining to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I have determined that the release of all records in the Federal Government’s possession pertaining to each of those assassinations is also in the public interest,” the order states.
The records, however, will not immediately be made available.
The order gives the director of national intelligence and attorney general 15 days to present a plan to Trump for the “full and complete” release of records for JFK and 45 days for a plan for the RFK and MLK documents.
The Biden administration also released documents related to JFK’s assassination — more than 13,000 of them.
At the time, the National Archives said more than 97% of records in the collection, which contain more than 5 million pages, were publicly available. The CIA also said that 95% of its collection had been released, and that no documents remained entirely redacted.
In 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called on then-President Joe Biden to release all the files related to his uncle’s assassination.
Last year, as he ran for president first as a Democrat then as an independent before endorsing Trump, RFK Jr. pushed a conspiracy theory that the CIA was directly involved in the assassination of JFK.
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stood on stage with Trump in August after making his endorsement, Trump announced he would establish a “a new independent presidential commission on assassination attempts” tasked with releasing “all remaining documents pertaining to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and other events in question.”
JFK was shot and killed in November 1963 during a visit to Dallas at the hands of Lee Harvey Oswald.
RFK and MLK were killed in 1968. RFK was shot on the night he won the 1968 California Democratic presidential primary by Sirhan Sirhan. King was killed in Memphis, where he was supporting a sanitation workers strike, by James Earl Ray.
“Lot of people are waiting for this for a long — for years and decades,” Trump said as he signed the order on Thursday.
