(NEW YORK) — This weekend’s attempted rebellion by the Wagner Group, a Putin-packed private military company, appeared to show some serious distrust among the Russian government and its military allies.
Andrei Kozyrev, a former Russian foreign minister and author of the book “The Firebird: The Elusive Fate of Russian Democracy,” spoke with ABC News Live’s Linsey Davis Monday evening about his analysis of the situation and the relationship between Wagner’s leader, financier Yevgeny Prigozhin, and President Vladimir Putin.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Let’s start with your reaction to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks today. Putin said Russian patriotism is what stopped the rebellion and, “It would have been suppressed anyway.” It appears that Putin is trying to project some strength or at least calm. But how weak or vulnerable would you say his position is right now?
ANDREI KOZYREV: Well, it’s actually very difficult to say. The interview was a laughing stock, so to say. But that’s for informed observer[s] or for foreign observers who have a lot of information about the reality of what happened. But remember that he addressed [the] Russian public and [the] Russian public is absolutely deprived — Russian people are deprived of truthful or even near-to-truth information. They’re totally disinformed. And when he speaks of patriotism and then once he speaks of their resolve to stay against the West, against neo-Nazi Ukrainians, I mean, all that is a phantom, right?
ABC NEWS LIVE: Putin also said fratricide — the killing of one’s own forces in war — is exactly what Ukrainian leaders and Western allies want. President Biden has insisted that the West had nothing to do with this. Do you believe that divisions within Russia will ultimately lead to the end of this war and potentially the end of Putin’s rule?
KOZYREV: See, these divisions are between the warlords and Prigozhin is Putin’s Frankenstein. He created him and all of them want the same [thing]. They are just fighting for the room on the top, for money, for power, but they are on the same wavelength politically. They want to continue the war in Ukraine.
They all are like, washed in blood after this war, so they know that there is no room for them in a civilized society. So it’s all the same, and it should not be overestimated. It’s a fight inside a wolf pack, so to say, between the wolves.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Do you expect President Putin to lash out on the battlefield in Ukraine at this point because of this threat to his power?
KOZYREV: Definitely. … They will definitely do everything to have a success of their invasion in Ukraine. And that’s the main point, I think, for the West to understand that first of all, there is no red line for either of them. You see how Putin immediately or very quickly [is] threatened by force, by his own lackey, but he steps back. So there is no red line for which he wants to die. He wants to stay alive, and his only interest is to save his own skin, so to say, … to survive himself.
The same for Prigozhin. So these guys are not those kind of warriors [that] should be countered with. … So the West should understand that the best way to deal with them and to prevent any kind of a reckless move is to ignore the red lines, but to give Ukraine the most powerful weapons to win and soon.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court decision on Tuesday rejecting a theory that would grant state legislatures broad authority to unilaterally craft and enforce election laws has little impact on the actual issue that sparked the case — North Carolina’s House map.
The state Legislature, controlled by Republicans and able to set congressional district lines without the Democratic governor’s signoff, initially drew a map favoring their party after the 2020 census. But those lines were swiftly the center of a lawsuit, and the state Supreme Court ordered new ones to be created.
Republicans appealed, ultimately bringing their case to the U.S. Supreme Court where they argued that they had broad, ultimately power to define the terms of federal elections, including congressional maps.
That “independent state legislature” theory was shut down in Tuesday’s 6-3 ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts.
“State courts retain the authority to apply state constitutional restraints when legislatures act under the power conferred upon them by the Elections Clause,” the majority found (with three conservative justices dissenting). “In interpreting state law in this area, state courts may not so exceed the bounds of ordinary judicial review as to unconstitutionally intrude upon the role specifically reserved to state legislatures by Article I, Section 4, of the Federal Constitution.”
Yet the dispute over the map itself is now moot — and the court did not rule on whether the lines had to be redrawn.
That’s because the North Carolina Supreme Court, which was controlled by a 4-3 Democratic majority last year, flipped to a 5-2 Republican majority after the 2022 midterms. And in April, the new majority overturned its prior ruling on partisan gerrymandering, allowing Republican lawmakers in the state to again move forward with crafting a favorable map.
“There is no judicially manageable standard by which to adjudicate partisan gerrymandering claims. Courts are not intended to meddle in policy matters,” the state’s chief justice, Paul Newby, wrote for the court’s majority.
Republicans hailed the move, saying they plan on drawing new maps later this year.
“Today the United States Supreme Court has determined that state courts may rule on questions of state law even if it has an impact on federal elections law. Ultimately, the question of the role of state courts in congressional redistricting needed to be settled and this decision has done just that. I am proud of the work we did to pursue this case to the nation’s highest court,” state House Speaker Tim Moore, R, said.
“Fortunately the current Supreme Court of North Carolina has rectified bad precedent from the previous majority, reaffirming the state constitutional authority of the NC General Assembly. We will continue to move forward with the redistricting process later this year.”
North Carolina’s 14-seat House delegation is currently split evenly, though conservatives in Raleigh could conceivably draw a map that wins them 11 seats, a prospect that Democrats on the state Supreme Court noted in their April dissent.
“Today, the majority strips the people of this right; it tells North Carolinians that the state constitution and the courts cannot protect their basic human right to self-governance and self-determination,” wrote Justice Anita Earls. “Efforts to downplay the practice do not erase its consequences and the public will not be gaslighted.”
The potential four-seat gain by Republicans looms large ahead of the 2024 elections, where the GOP will seek to defend a narrow five-seat majority in the House and recently faced setbacks in redistricting elsewhere in the country.
Democrats could see one-seat gains in Alabama and Louisiana, respectively, after the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for each of those states to add a second majority-Black district to be more representative of Black voters’ power relative to their share of population.
There are similar legal battles over redistricting playing out in Georgia and South Carolina.
New York Democrats, who control the state government there, are also optimistic that they will be able to redraw their own maps before the 2024 cycle.
(NEW YORK) — The attempted rebellion over the weekend against President Vladimir Putin by the Russia-backed private military company the Wagner Group, run by former Putin confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin, shocked world observers and leaders.
Bill Taylor, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, spoke with ABC News’ Linsey Davis Monday evening about the situation and its effects on the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Let’s start with the dueling statements today, Prigozhin radio statement. And then later, President Putin made an address. What’s your takeaway listening to both of them?
BILL TAYLOR: It’s two thugs. There are two Mafia heads going after each other. President Putin is trying to say that he’s got things under control. He clearly didn’t have things under control over the weekend. And Mr. Prigozhin says that he wasn’t really trying for a coup. He wasn’t attempting to take down the Russian government. It was just really a protest. Neither of these stories [are] very credible.
ABC NEWS LIVE: And when you say, yeah, he said that that this was a protest, Prigozhin also went on to say we had no goal of overthrowing the regime. Just to give a very simple understanding here. Why would Prigozhin do this? Was this a power grab? What was the ultimate point? And obviously this is somebody who’s a strategist. He had to see some endgame here. I’m curious from your perspective what that might have been.
TAYLOR: It might have been Linsey…that Prigozhin could have thought that he was going to get more support than that actually materialized. That is, he may have hoped or even had some reason to believe that some of the other military commanders or other Russian military commanders who were just as upset as he is and was about the terrible decision that President Putin had made to both invade the neighbor and then send all of these Russian boys, young soldiers, to die.
And clearly, Prigozhin was angry about that. And he thought there would be other military leaders who were similarly angry. As he approached Moscow, it must have become clear to him that these other military leaders were keeping their heads down.
ABC NEWS LIVE: And today, Putin gave commanders and soldiers in the Wagner group a few options to join the Russian military, drop their weapons and go home or go to Belarus. We’re talking about members of a formidable fighting force. What do you see them doing and can they be trusted at this point?
TAYLOR: Probably not. I would imagine if there are any of the Wagner soldiers who decide, who elect to take the contract with the Ministry of Defense, that they will not be trusted. I imagine there won’t be very many anyway. Wagner pays pretty well. Prigozhin pays his people in Wagner pretty well, pretty top dollar to get them to volunteer. They are all volunteers. For them now to sign up with the Ministry of Defense, they will not be paid the same. They’ll be mistrusted. So I suspect not many will do that.
Then there are some that may go home. Some of these Wagner soldiers are criminals, as we know, and they may have been promised amnesty. There’s not much discussion of what happens when they go home.
Then the third category, Linsey, as you say, some may decide to go to Belarus, but even Belarus is a questionable place. I mean, Belarus is part of the union state with Russia. So it’s very close to Russia. We know that President Lukashenko is very close to and dependent on Putin. So Belarus is not going to be a very hospitable place for Prigozhin or the Wagner troops. So I imagine that Wagner troops and Prigozhin will try to get out of Belarus as fast as they can.
ABC NEWS LIVE: Big picture for us, ambassador. How do you see this ultimately playing out, both for Putin, for Russia and ultimately the war in Ukraine?
TAYLOR: I think the big picture is the weakness of Russia, both at the top and even on the lines and the strength of the Ukrainians, as well as the preparation of the Ukrainians for this counter-offensive, which has been building for months. [It] comes at a great time for the Ukrainians. So I think the big picture is watch the Ukrainians over the next couple of weeks.
Trina and her camp say she is not pregnant and they’d like the rumors to stop.
After the Miami rapper took the stage at the 2023 BET Awards, talks about her physical appearance quickly circulated the internet.
As part of the show’s celebration of hip-hop’s 50 years, Trina joined TrickDaddy to highlight the South’s contribution to the culture. Afterward, fans took part in a debate on whether the 44-year-old artist is pregnant.
According to TMZ, Trina’s team says she is not pregnant and that she wishes people would stop spreading the rumor.
“She is not pregnant despite fans’ speculation following her performance at the BET Awards. Just like any other woman, her weight fluctuates,” her team told TMZ. “She is asking for fans to just move on from this.”
It’s not the first time Trina has had to debunk pregnancy claims. Earlier this year she opened up to CityGirls‘ YungMiami on her REVOLT talk show, Caresha Please, about her struggle with infertility after suffering three miscarriages.
While some fans contributed to the gossip, others expressed disdain for the debate.
“Asking if Trina is pregnant after she has publicly talked about her struggles with infertility will never not be disgusting,” one user wrote on Twitter.
Marco Piraccini/Archivio Marco Piraccini/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — The remains of Julian Sands have been found after the British actor was reported missing in the mountains of Southern California earlier this year, authorities said.
The 65-year-old Los Angeles resident disappeared while hiking Mount Baldy, the highest peak among the San Gabriel Mountains, located outside of Los Angeles. He was reported missing in the Baldy Bowl area on the evening of Jan. 13, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Unidentified human remains discovered by hikers on Saturday near where Sands went missing were positively identified as his, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday.
“The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
Ground and air search efforts occurred in the weeks following his disappearance before the search was temporarily suspended due to weather conditions.
Search efforts resumed on June 17, employing volunteers, deputies, helicopters and drone crews, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
“Despite the recent warmer weather, portions of the mountain remain inaccessible due to extreme alpine conditions,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement at the time. “Multiple areas include steep terrain and ravines, which still have 10-plus feet of ice and snow.”
Sands’ family released a statement on Jan. 23 amid search efforts, expressing “heartfelt thanks to the compassionate members of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department who are coordinating the search for our beloved Julian” and several other “heroic search teams … who are braving difficult conditions on the ground and in the air to bring Julian home.”
“We are deeply touched by the outpouring of love and support,” the family added.
Sands made dozens of appearances in both television and movies since the 1980s, including as George Emerson — opposite Helena Bonham-Carter’s Lucy — in the 1985 Academy Award-winning film “A Room with a View.” Sands also starred in “Warlock,” “Leaving Las Vegas” and a 1998 adaptation of “The Phantom of the Opera” as the title character.
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled former oligarch and one of Vladimir Putin’s best-known critics, has campaigned for years to end the Russian leader’s rule.
Over the weekend, as Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellious fighters advanced towards Moscow, Khodorkovsky stood out among Russia’s liberal pro-democracy opposition in calling for people to support the mercenary revolt and to seize upon it as a chance to finally bring down Putin’s autocratic regime.
Despite it fizzling hours later, Khodorkovsky told ABC News that Prigozhin’s uprising had exposed Putin’s regime as extraordinarily weak and showed Russia’s democratic opposition should prepare now to take advantage of similar opportunities.
“A change in regime has become far more possible,” Khodorkovsky told ABC News by Zoom on Sunday. “We are far closer than two days ago. It has completely clearly demonstrated to everyone and to the democratic opposition, that the regime is weak, that it’s possible to use that weakness, that the regime in practically on the floor.”
“Now there will definitely be more such opportunities. But the next time, we just need to be more ready,” he said, adding that the democratic opposition should arm itself to be able to take advantage of them.
The weekend’s “situation showed that minimal armed formations are enough for the question of the transfer of power to be opened,” said Khodorkovsky.
He added, “The whole question is who will seize hold of that transfer of power. And the democratic opposition have every opportunity to seize hold of it, if only it will stop viewing the necessity to act with weapons as some kind of taboo.”
Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon once believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia, was arrested in 2003 on fraud and tax evasion charges and spent a decade in prison camps. His arrest was seen as a watershed moment for Putin’s regime, with the charges widely considered by his supporters and independent observers as retaliation for his efforts to enter politics and challenge Putin.
He was freed in 2013 after Putin pardoned him, and since then has helped bankroll efforts from abroad to support democratic efforts in Russia and undermine Putin’s rule.
Khodorkovsky said he had no doubt Prigozhin’s actions were a real coup attempt, saying “conspiracy theories” that it had been coordinated with Putin’s consent were being put out by the Kremlin as “damage control.”
Prigozhin declared a rebellion against Russia’s senior military leadership last Friday night, leading thousands of Wagner fighters into Russia from eastern Ukraine and by Saturday morning seizing the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. Columns of his troops then marched north towards Moscow, brushing aside attacks from Russian military aircraft and helicopters.
But on Saturday evening, 120 miles from the capital, Prigozhin abruptly halted his march and announced his forces were returning to camp, after a deal was reportedly brokered with the Kremlin through Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Khodorkovsky said he believed Prigozhin had turned back because he understood his lacked the forces to seize Moscow, after other Russian military and security services units didn’t join him. The deal with the Kremlin was possible because Putin’s government was also looking for an exit from the crisis, understanding how destabilizing it was, he said, even if it was clear Prigozhin ultimately couldn’t win.
But he said Prigozhin’s almost unimpeded advance had destroyed the belief that Putin has mass support from the Russian public or that Russians were willing to sacrifice themselves for him.
“All along the route of the Wagner columns no one tried to hinder him, even the security services didn’t try to hinder him,” said Khodorkovsky. “That showed in fact that inside the country Putin has absolute void.”
Khodorkovsky faced criticism from other figures in the opposition for his calls to assist Prigozhin, an accused war criminal who has called for Russia to become more like North Korea.
He said he was calling only for democratic forces to use Prigozhin as a tool for bringing down Putin’s regime, saying Prigozhin is a “bandit and a war criminal.”
“Not to support Yevgeny Prigozhin. But to use the situation that he created,” he said, saying some democratic opposition had “slept through” the opportunity.
“If an uprising had started in Moscow to meet Prigozhin, say, then the situation could quite well have developed differently,” he said. “It was clear he would never have received any power personally, but it was possible to use this situation.”
Asked whether it meant he himself was now trying to form armed units, Khodorkovsky turned the question aside.
“Let’s not ascribe things to me I haven’t said,” he said. “Every person has their function. I’m a person who has quite minimal relation to the formation of armed structures. Nonetheless, I understand very well what has to be done. But no one is going to who or how it will be done no one will say publicly.”
He added, “The only problem for the democracy movement is that it has to take weapons in its hands. It doesn’t necessarily have to use them, as the mutiny showed, but it must take them up.”
Need help planning the perfect family-friendly trip this summer? Fret not, Gaylord Opryland’s got you covered.
The resort has officially kicked off the summer season with numerous activities for you and your family. This includes enjoying some water fun at Soundwaves (Nashville’s only resort indoor-outdoor water park), embarking on the Adventure Kids Hidden Treasure Hide & Sea-k Scavenger Hunt and cruising down the Delta River. Of course, enjoying a piña colada while the kids play in the pool is an option, too.
What are you waiting for? Head over to Gaylord Opryland’s website to plan your visit soon.
For a preview of what’s in store, check out the resort’s latest Instagram Reel.
ODESZA has announced a new EP called Flaws in Our Design.
The six-track collection, due out July 21, was recorded in collaboration with Yellow House, the stage name of South Africa-based musician Emile van Dango. You can listen to the first single off the EP, “Heavier,” now via digital outlets.
“‘Heavier’ was a collaboration that started 5 years ago,” ODESZA says. “We discovered Emile/Yellow House on SoundCloud and were immediately drawn to his voice and delivery. After finding success working on a few demos we flew him over from South Africa to work with us in our Seattle studio.”
“From the jump, the music had that unmistakable energy of having discovered something special,” the duo continues. “We found ourselves drawn to a unique blend of electronic production and Emile’s incredible ability to create nostalgic melodies and storytelling lyrics. From there we went about creating a number of tracks and exploring various different combinations of the two worlds.”
Flaws in Our Design follows ODESZA’s 2022 album, The Last Goodbye, which features the single “Better Now.”
Showtime has released the trailer to the seventh and final season of its heralded drama Billions.
The snippet was introduced by stars Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis, the latter of whom left the show after its fifth season.
In his place, co-star Corey Stoll‘s oily Mike Prince ascended to take the place of Lewis’ cutthroat hedge fund billionaire Bobby “Axe” Axelrod as the head of his company, Axe Capital.
But the trailer, released June 27, teases his return: While Prince is shown starting a run for the White House, the Axe is coming back into his own. “I’m back now, and I’m wide awake,” he sneers in the coming attraction.
Showtime teases, “In season seven, alliances are turned on their heads. Old wounds are weaponized. Loyalties are tested. Betrayal takes on epic proportions. Enemies become wary friends.”
Subscribers to the Paramount+ with Showtime package can watch the season debut on Friday, August 11. The season’s 12 episodes will stream weekly there, or you can watch the first episode on August 13 and subsequent episodes on Showtime’s linear network.
(NEWTON, Mass.) — It was supposed to be a day of celebration with the renewal of the wedding vows they took 50 years ago, but when Bruno and Gilda “Jill” D’Amore failed to show up for the ceremony at their church on Sunday, a friend went to their Newton, Massachusetts, home and discovered the couple and Jill D’Amore’s 97-year-old mother stabbed and bludgeoned to death, authorities said.
Now, questions are swirling around why a 41-year-old man arrested Monday and charged in the triple homicide allegedly targeted the three elderly victims, described by their parish priest as “salt of the earth people.”
The suspect, Christopher Ferguson, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Newton District Court on one count of murder and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury. Ferguson’s attorney, Dmitry Lev, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
The single murder count is based on an autopsy by the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which ruled 73-year-old Jill D’Amore’s death to be a homicide, Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Nicole Allain said in court. The autopsies for Jill D’Amore’s husband, 74-year-old Bruno D’Amore, and her mother, Lucia Arpino, are scheduled to be completed later Tuesday, and prosecutors said they anticipate filing two more murder counts against Ferguson.
Ferguson attended the hearing via Zoom. Lev did not object to the prosecution’s request to hold Ferguson without bail. Ferguson’s next court date is scheduled for July 25.
The brutal crime has shaken to the core residents in the Boston-area city ranked in a 2022 SafeWise report as the second safest city for families in America.
“At this time, we know of no established connections between the family members and Mr. Ferguson,” Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a Monday night news conference announcing Ferguson’s arrest.
Police have described the crime as a possible “random” act of violence.
Ryan disclosed that an autopsy performed on Jill D’Amore determined she suffered more than 30 stab and blunt force trauma injuries, primarily to the upper part of her body and head. The prosecutor also said investigators found obvious signs of an intense struggle in one of the bedrooms of the D’Amore home, including broken furniture and a crystal paperweight covered in blood.
Ryan said video surveillance footage from a home near the D’Amore residence captured Ferguson in the neighborhood at 5:20 a.m. on Sunday shirtless, barefooted and walking with a staggering gait.
The prosecutor said several Newton police officers recognized Ferguson from prior contact with him. She said Ferguson is believed to live at a residence four-tenths of a mile from the D’Amore’s home.
A neighbor of the suspect told ABC Boston affiliate station WCVB that Ferguson “struggles with mental health issues.
“He needed more help than he was getting and people who love him dearly were trying to make that happen,” the neighbor said.
Ryan said Ferguson was hospitalized for an undisclosed reason following his arrest, but she declined to comment when asked about his possible mental health problems.
A friend found the bodies just after 10 a.m. on Sunday, Allain said in court. She said the friend entered the home through an unlocked side door and found all three family members dead in one bedroom and called 911.
Allain said police investigators found signs of a break-in in the basement of the D’Amore’s home.
“There was a window that was opened and screens were pulled out,” Allain said. “There was also a door on the garage which was open and there was a window screen that was dislodged there.”
Allain said forensics investigators used the chemical agent leucocrystal violet which enhances the visability of non-visible blood and found bare footprints on the tile floor in a hallway between the bedroom where the bodies were found and the kitchen door with blood droplets next to them. She said state police investigators determined that at least one of the footprints found in the hallway matched Ferguson’s footprint, which was obtained through a court-ordered warrant.
Allain said at least that footprints matching Ferguson were found inside the D’Amore home. She said fingerprints were taken from several of the windows and doorknobs of the home, which are still being analyzed.
The last time anyone had communication with the D’Amores was about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Allain said.
As investigators attempt to determine a motive in the slayings, those who knew Bruno and Jill D’Amore and Arpino are mourning their deaths.
“Three beloved parishioners — salt of the earth people, just great, great people — and it’s a terrible tragedy,” Rev. Dan Riley of Our Lady Help of Christians told WCVB.
Riley said the D’Amores were scheduled to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary and renew their vows at a ceremony scheduled Our Lady Help of Christians following Mass on Sunday morning.
“When they didn’t show up — I can’t go into the details about who discovered them — but we became notified, and myself and a number of the staff spent the day there” at the D’Amore home, Riley said.
In a statement released Monday by Our Lady Help of Christians Church called the slayings a “senseless act of violence.”
The D’Amores were the parents of three grown children and were dedicated to serving their church, according to the statement. Prior to the COVID pandemic, Arpino never missed a 10 a.m. mass in her more than 60 years as a parishioner, the statement said. Arpino and her late husband, Alberto Arpino, who died in 2014 at the age of 87, attended services together, always sitting in the north end section of the church, according to the statement.
Lucia Arpino participated in the church’s Mt. Carmel Festival weekend every summer, walking in the festival’s procession through the streets of her neighborhood in the Nonantum section of Newton well into her 90s, the statement reads.
Jill D’Amore took on the task of beautifying the church, spending countless hours caring for the flowers and decorations for the liturgical sessions, according to the statement. Bruno D’Amore was known for his big voice and “exuberant personality,” the statement says. He was also described as the church’s “head chef,” flipping burgers at church picnics, according to the statement.
The couple is also survived by five grandchildren, according to the statement.
Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said in a statement that the slayings of the three family members have impacted residents of the community far beyond their church.
“I have heard from so many neighbors and friends about how much these three people meant to their tight-knit neighborhood. I speak for the people of Newton when I say our hearts and prayers are with you,” Fuller said of the family of the D’Amores and Arpino.
