(SEOUL) — Thousands of South Korean citizens were gathering on Sunday near impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s residence a day before an arrest warrant for him expires.
Protesters from both sides — one calling the warrant invalid or illegal and the other shouting for arrest — have occupied the wide four-lane road in a normally quiet neighborhood, blocking all traffic, in freezing temperatures and snow.
The effort to detain Yoon came after a South Korean court issued an arrest and search warrant on Dec. 31 over his short-lived imposition of martial law, ABC News confirmed. Yoon has been suspended from his position since Dec. 14.
The warrant is valid until Jan. 6, Yonhap reported, meaning investigators hoping to serve it would have to attempt to detain the president again by Monday.
Yoon declared martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3. The president said the measure was necessary due to the actions of the country’s liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, which he accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government.
Animosity has been sky-high between the two sides, after over 100 investigators from the CIO anti-corruption agency and the police retreated from the residence after a tense standoff with the presidential security service.
Yoon’s die-hard supporters have been camping on the street vowing to protect him from “pro-North Korean forces about to steal away the presidency.” Anti-Yoon protesters who are backing of the opposition party claim that Yoon must be jailed for insurrection.
Arrest warrant questioned
Many law experts question the validity of the warrant, which specified that certain key provisions of South Korea’s Criminal Procedure Act should be excluded, which meant the police could search the military and government-classified presidential residence.
This court order is widely seen as a first-ever and as being highly irregular, along with being criticized by some as being outside the limits of the judiciary’s authority, violating the principles of separation of powers.
Typical search warrants include clear parameters of space, time and items to retrieve but excluding the application of legal provisions entirely is unprecedented, experts say.
Yoon’s declaration of martial law had sparked protests, and hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted to demand that the president lift the martial law order. A majority of parliament — all 190 members who were present, out of the 300-person body — voted to lift the decree — requiring that it then be lifted, under the South Korean constitution.
Following the National Assembly’s vote, Yoon said he withdrew the troops that had been deployed to carry out martial law and “will lift martial law as soon as we have a quorum in the cabinet.” The State Council then convened to vote to officially lift it.
The country’s Democratic Party called on Yoon to resign following what it called the “fundamentally invalid” declaration of martial law. Without Yoon resigning, the opposition party worked to enact impeachment proceedings against the president.
Yoon has been suspended from his position since Dec. 14, when the National Assembly voted for his impeachment in a 204-85 vote.
Presidential security service facing charges
While politicians and lawyers argue heatedly over the validity of the warrant in higher courts, the Presidential Security Service has found itself in the limelight.
The CIO has been leading a joint investigation with police and prosecutors, but say detaining Mr. Yoon would be “virtually impossible” as long as he is protected by the security team.
CIO and the opposition party are seeking charges against the head of the president’s security team for obstruction of justice after the police were blocked from entering the residence on Friday.
The security team formed a barricade comprising about 10 buses and vehicles, at one point forming a human chain of about 200 officers to block access, according to CIO.
The opposition has criticized the president’s security team as being over-excessive and summoned the chiefs and deputy chiefs. The Presidential Security Service defied the order, citing that this is not the time to leave their positions.
“Some media and political circles are saying that the Presidential Security Service is a private soldier (to President Yoon),” Park Chong-Jun, Head of Presidential Security Service, said in a video press release. “I can’t help but feel terrible and sad as the presidential security officer”.
He added that fake news reports of him ordering to fire with live ammunition are “absurd claims,” there was no violence on Saturday, and that they should not be forced to be associated with political ideology.
ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Rebel forces in Syria are building a transitional government after toppling the regime of President Bashar Assad in a lightning-quick advance across the country.
The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip around several Palestinian hospitals.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
77 killed in Gaza in past 24 hours: Health ministry
Approximately 77 people were killed and 145 injured over the past 24 hours in Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said Friday.
Israeli air forces struck “approximately 40 Hamas terrorist gathering points” throughout the Gaza Strip over the past day, the Israel Defense Forces said in a release Friday.
“Prior to the strike, numerous measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the release stated.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota and Sami Zyara
Amnesty ‘extremely alarmed’ by Gaza doctor’s detention
Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said on Thursday that the organization is “extremely alarmed” by the detention of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya — the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
“He should now be considered as victim of enforced disappeared and as such at great risk of torture and ill-treatment,” Callamard wrote in a post to X. Israeli authorities “must urgently disclose” his location, she added.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed to ABC News on Thursday that Abu Safiya was in the custody of Israeli authorities and is currently being interrogated “for suspected involvement in terrorist activities and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization.”
The IDF has alleged that Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were hiding inside the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia. Abu Safiya was initially detained on Dec. 27 during an IDF raid on the medical facility, which has been besieged multiple times by Israeli forces.
-ABC News’ Anna Burd, Bruna Nota, Dana Savir and Joe Simonetti
New round of Gaza ceasefire talks to begin in Qatar
A senior Hamas official announced the renewal of cease-fire talks in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, following a visit to Cairo by a Hamas delegation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later confirmed that an Israeli delegation will travel to Doha. Among those attending will be representatives from Mossad, Shin Bet and the Israel Defense Forces, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Bruno Note and Joe Simonetti
Israel intercepts missile and drone from Yemen
The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it intercepted one missile and one drone launched from Yemen, as Iran-aligned Houthi rebels there continue long-range attacks.
The incoming missile set off warning sirens, the IDF said, and was intercepted over Israeli territory. The IDF reported that shrapnel from the interception fell in the area of Modi’in in central Israel.
Some hours later, a drone was intercepted before reaching Israeli territory and thus did not set off any air alerts, the IDF said.
The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks on Israel and on shipping in nearby waters until the IDF withdraws from Gaza.
Israel has launched several rounds of airstrikes on targets in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks.
In the most recent, Israel attacked Yemen’s main airport — and destroyed its control tower — in the capital Sanaa. The bombs fell while the United Nations’ coordinator for Yemen and the head of the World Health Organization were on site waiting to depart the airport.
The U.S. and U.K. — supported by other allies — began bombing Houthi targets in Yemen in January in response to attacks on regional commercial and military shipping.
Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Israeli custody: IDF
Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, is in the custody of Israeli authorities, according to a statement to ABC News from the Israeli Defense Forces.
Abu Safiya was “apprehended for suspected involvement in terrorist activities and for holding a rank in the Hamas terror organization,” the Israeli military said in the statement. The doctor is “currently being investigated by Israeli security forces,” the statement said.
The IDF has said Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were hiding inside Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Abu Safiya was allegedly arrested by IDF forces on Dec. 27 when Israeli forces conducted a raid on the hospital, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard said in a post on X Tuesday.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Anna Burd and Dana Savir
At least 85 killed in strikes across Gaza Strip
On the second day of the New Year, at least 85 people were killed in various attacks across the Gaza Strip, Gaza medical sources told ABC News.
Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike in “the humanitarian area in Khan Yunis,” and killed “the head of Hamas Internal Security Forces in the southern Gaza Strip,” Hassam Shahwan in the strike, the IDF said in a release Thursday.
The IDF also conducted an airstrike “on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a control and command center,” in the humanitarian area in Khan Yunis, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Sami Zyara and Diaa Ostaz
Israel intercepts missile from Yemen, threatens Houthi leaders
A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by Israeli air forces, the Israel Defense Forces said in a Monday night statement, amid continued Israeli and Houthi long-range attacks.
Sirens sounded “due to the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception,” the IDF said.
The latest missile launch came shortly after Danny Danon — Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations — said Israelis “have had enough” of attacks from the Houthis in Yemen, ongoing since October 2023 in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.
“Israel will not stand by waiting for the world to act,” Danon said.
Addressing the Houthi leadership, he added, “Let me remind you what happened to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to [former Syrian President Bashar] Assad and to all those who thought to destroy us.”
“This is not a threat, it is a promise,” Danon said. “You will share the same miserable fate.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Dana Savir and Ellie Kaufman
Ukraine foreign minister meets Syrian leader in Damascus
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa — also known by nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
Sybiha became the latest foreign representative to meet with Sharaa in Damascus, where the latter’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces and their allies are establishing a transitional government having toppled former President Bashar Assad.
Sybiha wrote on X that he “personally conveyed the message” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We are with you and ready to assist in restoring normal life, stability and food security,” Sybiha said.
“We rely on the new Syria respecting international law, including Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added. “This will pave the way to fully restoring our diplomatic ties, political dialogue and diplomatic presence. We are ready to develop cooperation in a number of areas.”
The visit came days after Zelenskyy announced Kyiv’s dispatch of 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria as part of the “Grain from Ukraine” humanitarian program in cooperation with the World Food Program.
Gaza hospitals become ‘battlegrounds,’ WHO chief says
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said early Monday that Gaza’s beleaguered hospitals “have once again become battlegrounds and the health system is under severe threat.”
Ghebreyesus said the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahia “is out of service,” following an Israeli raid which itself came after several weeks of encirclement and bombardment.
Israeli forces raided the compound on Friday, forcibly evacuating all remaining patients and staff. The Israel Defense Forces said it detained 240 alleged militants, among them hospital director Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya. The IDF said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations” in the surrounding area.
Ghebreyesus said Safiya’s “whereabouts are unknown. We call for his immediate release.”
Kamal Adwan patients were transferred to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, both of which have also reported repeated Israeli attacks. The latter “is itself out of function,” Ghebreyesus said.
“Seven patients along with 15 caregivers and health workers remain at the severely damaged Indonesian Hospital, which has no ability to provide care,” he added.
Four patients were detained by the IDF during their transfer out of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the WHO chief said.
Two other facilities — the Al-Ahli Hospital and Al-Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza City — were also attacked and sustained damage on Monday, Ghebreyesus said.
“We repeat: stop attacks on hospitals,” he wrote. “People in Gaza need access to health care. Humanitarians need access to provide health aid. Ceasefire!”
Family of Gaza hospital director asks international community to help find him
The family of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, is pleading with the international community to help learn his whereabouts, alleging he was detained by Israeli forces during a recent raid on the medical facility.
The family posted a message on Abu Safiya’s official Instagram page, on which the doctor had been posting updates about the hospital’s functioning, pleading, “We do not know the fate of our father.”
“We appeal to every compassionate individual and all international organizations and institutions to take action,” said the family, asking the international community to apply media pressure and make appeals to “help us push for his swift release from captivity.”
The message said Abu Safiya is still recovering from injuries he suffered a month ago while working at the hospital.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement released on Saturday that Abu Safiya is suspected of being a Hamas terrorist and is being held in Gaza.
Abu Safiya had not been arrested in previous IDF raids of the hospital.
-ABC News’ Camilla Alcini and Nadine Shubailat
IDF issues statement on Kamal Adwan Hospital raid
The IDF released a statement outlining their operations in and around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the last few days.
The Israel Defense Forces said the hospital was a “command center” for Hamas “military operations in Jabaliya,” although the statement and attached media do not provide corroborating evidence of this.
The statement says the IDF faced heavy fighting in areas near the hospital, and says the IDF detained 240 terrorists, including the director of the hospital, Dr Hossam Abu Safiya, whom it says is is “suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative.”
Abu Safiya was one of the only male staff members at the hospital not detained during the IDF’s raid of the hospital in October, and he would have helped coordinate numerous resupply and patient evacuations with Israel over the last several months.
Kamal Adwan is the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza and is operating at a limited capacity due to a lack of medical supplies and the repeated attacks on the hospital.
(LONDON) — A child who had been missing for five days was found alive this week in a vast game park inhabited by big cats and other wild animals in northern Zimbabwe, officials said.
The young boy was reported missing from his home in a rural village on Dec. 27, according to a statement from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), which did not identify the child by name but said he was 7 years old. A joint search operation involving park rangers, police officers and members of the local community was immediately launched, but heavy rainfall hindered the effort, ZimParks said.
Human footprints were discovered in an area of the Matusadona National Park on Dec. 30 and the boy was successfully located during the early morning hours of Dec. 31, according to ZimParks.
“Remarkably, it is estimated that he walked through the harsh terrain of the lion infested Matusadona National Park for 49 kilometers (30 miles) from his village to the point where he was found,” ZimParks said. “During this period, he survived on wild fruits and would dig a small hole along the dry river bank to access underground water to drink, a technique that is well known in drought prone areas.”
The boy has since been reunited with his family. He was taken to a local clinic for preliminary examinations and later transferred to an area hospital for further medical evaluations, according to ZimParks.
Mutsa Murombedzi, a member of the Zimbabwean Parliament for Mashonaland West province, which encompasses the Matusadona National Park, wrote in a post on X that the boy, whom she said was 8 years old, “was very frail when he was rescued” and “had to be put on [an IV] drip.”
“What saved him is the technique learnt from a young age in dry [and] drought prone areas of drawing water from a dry river bank — digging a mufuku,” Murombedzi added.
The lawmaker thanked everyone who helped find the child, including the “brave park rangers” and the “tireless” members of the local community who “beat night drums each day” hoping the boy would hear the sounds and head back in the direction of his home.
“This is a testament to the power of unity, hope, prayer and never giving up,” she wrote.
The Matusadona National Park, which covers an area of about 1,470 square kilometers (570 square miles), once “supported the highest density of lion in Africa, and was an incredible stronghold for elephant and black rhino,” according to the nonprofit African Parks.
“Yet, despite the challenges in the past,” African Parks writes on its website, “a healthy variety of mammal species still occurs within Matusadona, including lion, leopard, buffalo, zebra, elephant, hippo and an impressive variety of antelope species.”
Members from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) participate in a protest against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on January 03, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
(SEOUL, South Korea) — Investigators abandoned an hours-long effort to detain South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence in Seoul on Friday, citing thousands of the president’s supporters who rallied outside.
Police vehicles and crowds of the impeached president’s backers were seen outside his home in the South Korean capital. Photos showed protesters lying down in front of police in an attempt to block authorities from the residence.
ABC News confirmed that anti-corruption authorities entered the gate on Yoon’s property, after which a standoff ensued between his security team and police investigators. There were a total of 3,000 police officers on the scene.
Investigators abandoned their effort some five hours after arriving.
“We determined that executing the detention warrant would be practically impossible due to the continued confrontation and suspended the execution out of concern for the safety of on-site personnel caused by the resistance,” the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials said in a statement quoted by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
“We plan to decide on the next steps following a review,” the CIO added. “We express serious regret over the behavior of the suspect who refused to comply with legally set procedures,” it added.
Yoon’s side described the detention attempt as “an invalid and illegal warrant and strongly regrettable.”
Kwon Young-Se, the interim leader of Yoon’s ruling conservative People Power Party, accused the CIO of unfair, under-the-table dealing with the judge that issued the warrant.
“This is an unfair transaction” secured “through judge shopping,” Kwon told reporters Friday, referring to the fact that the CIO applied for the warrant not at the respective judicial department but rather at a non-related court and to a left-leaning judge, who noted in the warrant that the police could essentially raid a national security facility.
“I can’t help but feel terrible about the disappearance of the rule of law in the Republic of Korea,” Kwon added.
Over 1,000 Yoon supporters remained at the scene waving Korean and American flags after CIO investigators left. Many were holding “Stop the Steal” cardboard signs.
His supporters believe Yoon’s assertion that that the opposition is attempting to steal the presidency, that the opposition leader — who has already been charged in multiple criminal cases — should be arrested first, that the previous election was rigged — which Yoon also insisted when attempting to implement martial law — and that North Korea-backed left-leaning forces in South Korean society are trying to topple the government.
Supporters of the opposition also remained in the area after CIO personnel departed, shouting: “Arrest, arrest, arrest!”
The move to detain Yoon came after a South Korean court issued an arrest and search warrant on Dec. 30 over his short-lived imposition of martial law, ABC News confirmed.
The warrant is valid until Jan. 6, Yonhap reported, meaning investigators hoping to serve it would have to attempt to detain the president again by Monday.
Under South Korea’s constitution, if a sitting president is accused of insurrection, the police have the authority to arrest him while he is still in office.
A joint investigation team sought the warrant on insurrection and abuse of power charges after they said Yoon ignored three summonses to appear for questioning.
The court’s decision to grant the warrant marks the first for a president in the country’s history.
Immediately after the request, Yoon’s attorneys asked the court to dismiss it, claiming that the headquarters “does not have the authority to investigate an insurrection” and that declaring martial law was constitutional.
Yoon declared martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3. The president said the measure was necessary due to the actions of the country’s liberal opposition, the Democratic Party, which he accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government.
The move sparked protests, and hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted to demand that the president lift the martial law order. A majority of parliament — all 190 members who were present, out of the 300-person body — voted to lift the decree — requiring that it then be lifted, under the South Korean constitution.
Following the National Assembly’s vote, Yoon said he withdrew the troops that had been deployed to carry out martial law and “will lift martial law as soon as we have a quorum in the cabinet.” The State Council then convened to vote to officially lift it.
The country’s Democratic Party called on Yoon to resign following what it called the “fundamentally invalid” declaration of martial law. Without Yoon resigning, the opposition party worked to enact impeachment proceedings against the president.
Yoon has been suspended from his position since Dec. 14, when the National Assembly voted for his impeachment in a 204-85 vote.
ABC News’ Kate Lee and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it’s happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heat waves are reshaping our way of life.
The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.
That’s why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the people and places you care about safe. We are dedicated to providing clarity amid the chaos, giving you the facts and insights necessary to navigate the climate realities of today — and tomorrow.
Could the UK be a model for clean electricity production?
When it comes to curbing climate change, scientists have been clear. The world needs to stop burning fossil fuels. However, much of the world still depends on significant amounts of oil, gas and coal for its energy needs.
England kicked off the coal power revolution in 1882 and, for the next 142 years, burned the greenhouse gas-emitting energy source. But last year, the U.K. became the first G7 country to phase out coal power plants. When the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant in Nottinghamshire closed in September, it marked the end of an era for the most-polluting fossil fuel in that region.
A new analysis by Carbon Brief, a U.K.-based climate publication, found that by eliminating coal and adopting more clean energy sources, the U.K. has significantly cleaned up its electricity generation, meaning it’s generating the least amount of greenhouse gas emissions in its history.
According to the analysis, in 2024, renewable energy sources reached a record-high 45% in the country, while fossil fuels made up 29%. Nuclear energy accounted for another 13%. Over the last decade, renewable energy sources have more than doubled. As a result, carbon emissions have plunged by two-thirds over that time.
While gas-fired power plants are still the U.K.’s single-largest source of electricity, wind power has almost caught up. However, the analysis found that when new wind projects come online in the coming months, the U.K. will likely generate more power from wind than gas in 2025.
While the incoming Trump administration calls for more drilling and fossil fuel use, including coal, in the United States, the U.K. just had its cleanest year ever for electricity generation. The combination of sunsetting coal power plants and increasing the amount of renewable energy is moving the country in the direction scientists say is crucial for stopping the worst impacts of human-amplified climate change.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser
New York will make polluters pay for climate change damage
New York State is establishing a “Climate Superfund” that will make companies that release large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions financially responsible for some of the damage that climate change caused to the state’s infrastructure, communities and ecosystems.
On Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul, signed a bill into law requiring large fossil fuel companies to “pay for critical projects that protect New Yorkers.” Citing the hundreds of billions of dollars the state will have to spend on climate adaptation through 2050, the law requires that the companies responsible for most carbon emissions, more than a billion metric tons, between 2000-2018 pay nearly $3 billion annually for the next 25 years.
“With nearly every record rainfall, heatwave, and coastal storm, New Yorkers are increasingly burdened with billions of dollars in health, safety, and environmental consequences due to polluters that have historically harmed our environment,” Hochul said in a press statement.
The new law calls climate change “an immediate, grave threat to the state’s communities, environment, and economy.” According to NASA, 97% of climate scientists believe human activity, specifically burning fossil fuels, is the primary driver of climate change and global warming. And those changes to the climate have resulted in more intense and more frequent extreme weather events.
The New York legislature said the “Climate Superfund” was now possible because scientific research enables them “to determine with great accuracy the share of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by specific fossil fuel companies over the last 70 years or more, making it possible to assign liability to and require compensation from companies commensurate with their emissions during a given time period.”
“The governor’s approval of the Climate Change Superfund Act is a welcome holiday gift for New York taxpayers,” said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, in a statement. “Until her approval, New York taxpayers were 100% on the financial hook for climate costs. Now Big Oil will pay for much of the damages that they helped cause.”
The state anticipates collecting up to $75 billion over 25 years, and the law requires that at least 35% of the funds go to disadvantaged communities.
New York State Senator Liz Krueger said the new legislation was modeled after the federal Superfund law that requires polluters to pay for toxic waste cleanups.
But not everyone is cheering the new legislation. In a letter to Gov. Hochul, urging her to veto the bill, the Business Council of New York State, which represents more than 3,000 companies, chambers of commerce and associations, wrote, “The bill discriminates by targeting only the largest fossil fuel extraction and processing firms, including petroleum, natural gas, and coal.”
The Council added, “This legislation ignores the near universal use and benefits associated with fossil fuel.” They argued that the new law would do nothing to address what they said is the primary cause of carbon emissions: “consumption.”
There are still a lot of specifics that have yet to be determined, and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for figuring out the program’s details over the next few years. With legal challenges all but certain, it will be some time before the companies actually have to pay up.
-ABC News Climate Unit’s Matthew Glasser
Could climate change bring more earthquakes?
Earthquakes are usually triggered by seismic activity deep beneath the Earth’s surface and far beyond the influence of atmospheric conditions. However, according to new research, there may be instances where climate change can impact seismic activity.
A recent Colorado State University study suggests that melting glaciers could impact earthquake activity in some areas. Researchers analyzed southern Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains during the last ice age. They found the active fault responsible for triggering earthquakes was held in place by the weight of glaciers sitting on top of it.
Thousands of years ago, as the last ice age ended and the planet began to naturally warm, glaciers in this region began to melt. The study found that as the ice melted, there was less pressure on the quake-prone fault, which triggered an increase in earthquake activity. Basically, the glacier was holding the fault in place — less ice, less weight.
There is limited scientific evidence linking changes in Earth’s climate to earthquake activity. Still, this study demonstrates that, in some cases, climate-related events, like melting glaciers, could influence seismic events.
Sean Gallen, Geosciences associate professor and senior author of the study, highlights that this research helps us better understand the factors that can drive earthquakes.
Even though the study focused on investigating links between Earth’s natural climate variability (an ice age) and seismic activity, this research shows how other glacier-adjacent faults worldwide could respond as greenhouse gas emissions accelerate global warming.
As human-amplified climate change continues to drive global glacier melt, earthquake activity along these faults could increase as glaciers recede.
“We see this in the rapid mountain glacial retreats in Alaska, the Himalayas and the Alps,” said Cece Hurtado, an author of the study. “In many of these regions, there are also active tectonics, and this work demonstrates that as climate change alters ice and water loads, tectonically active areas might see more frequent fault movements and earthquakes due to rapidly changing stress conditions.”
(LONDON) — Ukraine stopped the flow of Russian natural gas through its territory to Europe at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, as a long-held deal expired, Kyiv officials said.
“We stopped the transit of Russian gas, this is a historic event,” Herman Galushchenko, Ukraine’s energy minister, said in a statement. “Russia is losing markets, it will suffer financial losses.”
The move had been expected, as Galushchenko and other officials signaled they were preparing to stop the transnational pipelines and discussing the move with neighboring nations.
“We have undergone a series of stress tests of our gas system in order to be sure that after the transit is closed, we will be able to function stably, ensuring gas supply to consumers,” Galushchenko said on Ukrainian TV last week, according to his office.
Natural gas exported by Russia through Ukraine has long been used by European countries, including Slovakia, which had pushed for Ukraine and Russia to reach a deal to continue the transit.
Russia’s gas giant Gazprom confirmed the stoppage, telling state-affiliated TASS news agency that Kyiv had refused to extend the transit deal.
“The supply of Russian gas for its transportation through Ukraine stopped at 8:00 a.m. Moscow time,” Gazprom said in a statement, according to TASS.
The deal had provided for about 40 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to transit through Ukrainian territory each year, according to TASS.
Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — One person was killed and least six others, including a pregnant woman, were injured in Kyiv as Russia launched more than 100 drones in an overnight strike into New Year’s Day, Ukrainian military and civilian officials said.
“In war, there are no holidays, and for Russia, nothing is sacred or inviolable,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “It spares no one, killing people even amidst New Year celebrations, starting a deadly countdown from the very first day. The world must not allow tyranny and dictatorship to go unpunished or endorsed in the new year.”
Ukraine’s air force said at least 111 attack drones were launched toward 10 regions throughout Ukraine, including the capital. Ukraine shot down 63 of the drones and another 46 failed to strike a target, the military said.
“As the world marks the first day of the New Year, Russia launched 111 drones at the people of Ukraine,” U.S. Ambassador Ambassador Bridget A. Brink said on social media. “We are thankful for the air defenders and first responders whose tireless heroism protects us all.”
Ukraine began the new year under “another massive air attack,” said Ruslan Stefanchuk, the chair of Ukraine’s parliament.
“These inhumans decided to give us a hot start to the year and, like real weaklings and cowards, continued to hit civilians,” Stefanchuk said on social media. “I wish the victims a speedy recovery.”
Air raid sirens began blaring before sunrise in Kyiv, urging people to make their way to shelters, the Kyiv City State Administration said.
Most of the injured were in the city’s central Pecherskyi neighborhood, where the strike started a fire in an apartment building, Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, said in a post in Ukrainian on the Telegram messaging app.
“Two of them were hospitalized. Two were treated on the spot by doctors,” Klitschko said. A pregnant woman was among the injured, the city administration said in a statement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said one person had been killed in that strike on a residential building.
Falling debris also broke windows, started a fire in a garage and damaged trams in the western Sviatoshynskyi neighborhood, Klitschko added.
“The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units, mobile fire groups of the Air Force and the Defense Forces of Ukraine,” the air force said.
The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was the first country to ring in 2025, with its 133,500 citizens celebrating the new year at 5 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The Micronesian nation was soon followed into 2025 by the Chatham Islands in New Zealand at 5:15 a.m. ET.
Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand’s capital Wellington and its largest city of Auckland — both located on the country’s North Island — welcomed 2025 at 6 a.m. ET. Fireworks lit up the Auckland skyline as massed crowds watched.
Sydney
Residents of the western Australian city of Sydney enjoyed a fireworks display three hours ahead of midnight local time, which is 8 a.m. ET.
The famed Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House provided a familiar backdrop for New Year’s revelers in the country’s largest city.
Tokyo
The words “Happy New Year” lit up a building in Tokyo as Japan ushered in 2025.
Seoul
In South Korea, people gathered at midnight to honor the victims of this weekend’s plane crash at South Korea’s Muan International Airport that killed 179 of the 181 people on board.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong said goodbye to 2024 with an epic fireworks display at 11 a.m. ET.
(DURANGO, Mexico) — Four family members, including three Americans, were shot in an attack in Durango, Mexico, that left three of the four relatives dead, officials said.
The three adults were all killed: two brothers who are U.S. citizens, Vicente Peña Rodríguez and Antonio Fernández Rodríguez, and their relative, who is a local resident, Jorge Eduardo Vargas Aguirre, the Durango Attorney General’s Office said.
Vicente Peña Rodríguez’s son, a minor, survived, and is in critical condition, the attorney general’s office said.
The attack unfolded on Friday night as the family was traveling in a GMC Yukon with an Illinois license plate, officials said. The SUV was found on the side of the Francisco Zarco highway.
Authorities are investigating whether robbery was a motive, according to the attorney general’s office.
(LONDON) — Azerbaijani authorities investigating last week’s Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan are probing the “disturbing” possibility that Russian air traffic controllers may have directed the damaged plane out over the Caspian Sea, a source with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News.
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia have all opened investigations into the cause of the Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 crash.
The source — who did not wish to be identified given the sensitivity of the ongoing Azerbaijani investigation — said Azerbaijani authorities have “very little doubt” that flight J2-8243 was damaged by a Russian Pantsir anti-aircraft system over Chechnya on Dec. 25.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev suggested on Sunday that the plane was shot down by Russia unintentionally, that it “was damaged from the outside on Russian territory” and was “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.” He cited fire from the ground for serious damage to the tail section of the aircraft and apparent shrapnel holes in its fuselage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the plane crashing, but stopped short of saying Russia was behind a strike.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday said, “The investigation into the air accident is ongoing. And we do not think we have a right to give any assessments and will not do so until conclusions are drawn based on the results of the investigation. We have our own aviation authorities that can do it, and this information may come only from them.”
The source with knowledge of the investigation said the subsequent conduct of air control officials after what they suspect to be a Russian strike on the plane was a focus of the ongoing investigation into the incident, in which 38 of the 67 people on board were killed.
The aircraft was heading northwest from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to Grozny in Russia — the capital city of Russia’s Chechen Republic — when the incident occurred. At the same time, Ukrainian drones were attacking targets in Chechnya, prompting a response from Russian anti-aircraft units.
Early explanations for the crash included a collision with birds and heavy fog in the area. Some Russian media organizations also suggested Ukrainian drones collided with the plane during their attack on targets in Chechnya.
Russian authorities did not immediately close Chechen airspace, the source said, adding that this decision may have been negligent but does not appear to prove any intent by Russia to shoot down the incoming Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft.
The doomed plane flew east across the Caspian Sea to the Kazakh city of Aktau some 280 miles away — rather than landing in Chechnya or another closer airport, which was “puzzling” for investigators, according to the source.
The area was blanketed in heavy fog at the time of the incident, survivors said, forcing the aircraft to make two landing attempts at Grozny airport before it was rocked by apparent explosions on its third approach.
Russia’s Rosaviatsia air transport agency said Friday that the captain was offered other airports at which to land on account of the fog and drone alerts, but chose Aktau. It was not immediately clear which airports had been offered or why the plane didn’t land at one of them.
The investigators’ “most obvious” and “most unfortunate” theory is that Russian air traffic control officials may have directed the plane over the Caspian Sea, the source said.
That explanation, if it turns out to be true, is “disturbing” but possible, the source added.
The aircraft ultimately crashed around 2 miles from Aktau International Airport on the Caspian Sea’s eastern coast.
Putin on Saturday spoke with Aliyev and “apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” a Kremlin readout said.
“At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks,” it added.
On Sunday, Aliyev said Moscow should admit responsibility for the incident and offer compensation.
“The facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian plane was damaged from outside on Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and practically lost control,” Aliyev told state television.
Aliyev said he did not believe the damage was intentional, though expressed disappointment over alternate theories for the crash offered by Russian authorities in the immediate aftermath.
“This openly showed that the Russian side wants to hush up the issue and this, of course, does no one credit,” he said.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except crazy versions,” Aliyev said.
Russia and Azerbaijan — which until 1991 was a constituent state of the Soviet Union — are both members of the Moscow-centric Commonwealth of Independent States bloc. The neighboring nations retain close political, economic and security ties.
Bilateral relations have become more important to the Kremlin since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine prompted a collective Western effort to isolate Moscow on the international stage.
Azerbaijan, meanwhile, has pursued non-alignment and a balance in its relations with Russia and the West. The country has notably become an important source of natural gas for Europe, while also serving as a key conduit for Russian oil exports.
ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic, Ines de la Cuetara and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
