(DENVER) — Governors in two states passed major gun control legislation this week and a third is poised to do the same soon.
On Friday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the legislative package that included a longer waiting period for firearm sales, and an increase in the minimum age to purchase a gun.
Colorado’s move came three days after Washington state became the 10th state in the nation to ban assault rifles and handguns after Gov. Jay Inslee signed a gun reform package.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters this week that he will sign a gun control package that includes prohibitions for civilian gun owners to bring their guns to schools and other sensitive locations.
While gun control advocates have praised the states for their moves, contending it will curb gun violence, some gun rights groups are already threatening court action against the Democratic leaders.
Washington
On Tuesday, Washington state banned the purchase of new assault weapons for residents as part of a three-bill gun control-related package.
The ban covers 61 automatic rifles and pistols, including the AR-15.
“Inaction against gun violence is unacceptable,” Inslee told reporters after signing the legislative package Tuesday.
Residents who already own the prohibited weapons are allowed to retain the weapons, according to the law.
Another law in the package mandated training for gun purchasers that included instructions on “proper storage, handling, use and transportation practice.”
The third bill “clarifies legal liabilities for gun dealers and manufacturers for knowingly creating, maintaining or contributing to a public nuisance by designing, selling or marketing,” to children or people who are prohibited from buying firearms.
Although the White House praised Inslee and the Democratic-led legislature for banning the weapons, gun rights groups criticized the legislation contending it was infringing on second amendment rights.
The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Washington challenging the ban.
“Instead of arresting, prosecuting and punishing criminals, Gov. Inslee is focusing on restricting the rights of law-abiding Americans who use these rifles for a variety of lawful purposes,” Aoibheann Cline, Washington state director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement.
Colorado
Polis signed four gun control bills Friday that were passed by the Colorado legislature during this session.
“Coloradans deserve to be safe in our communities, in our schools, and our grocery stores, nightclubs. Everywhere in between, Coloradans shouldn’t have to fear the threat of robbery or gun violence,” the governor said at a news conference before signing the package.
The most major of the bills raised the age for legally purchasing firearms from 18 to 21. There are exceptions for law enforcement, military members and those with valid hunting licenses, according to the law’s language.
Another law now requires a three-day minimum waiting period for purchasing a firearm to allow for background checks.
A third bill strengthened the state’s red flag laws and allows teachers, medical care providers and mental health providers to petition the court to confiscate someone’s weapons if they pose a danger to themselves or others.
The fourth bill rolled back legal protections for gun manufacturers and made them more liable for civil suits related to gun violence.
Republican state leaders pushed back against the bills with filibusters, contending that they were too restrictive, but the Democratic-led house and state pushed them forward.
Minutes after those four bills were signed into law, the nonprofit gun rights advocacy group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners said they were going to challenge the bills related to the legal age.
“This is simply bigoted politicians doing what bigoted politicians do: discriminating against an age,” Taylor Rhodes, the executive director of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, told the Associated Press.
Maryland
The Maryland state legislature passed several bills that were created following last year’s Supreme Court ruling over state concealed carry prohibitions.
The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen ruling ended a Maryland requirement for people to demonstrate a particular need to get a license to carry a concealed gun in public.
One of the bills, SB1 passed by the legislature removes the “good and substantial reason” from the law, which Democratic lawmakers said would make the prohibition of concealed carry legal under the new Supreme Court decision.
The bill would prohibit a person from wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun in an “area for children or vulnerable individuals,” such as schools, or in a “special purpose area,” such as a restaurant or other place that serves alcohol.
It also prohibits a civilian from bringing a firearm onto someone’s property without the permission of the property’s owner.
“We’re going through and checking on the constitutionality now, but, yes, I plan on signing them soon,” Gov. Moore told reporters Thursday.
Gun rights groups questioned the constitutionality of the bill and have threatened legal action.
Mark Pennak, president of Maryland Shall Issue, told the Associated Press his group plans on suing if the bill is signed.
“The court could not have been clearer, and what they have respectively done with the enactment of SB1 is truncate that right far beyond what the Supreme Court had permitted in Bruen,” he told the AP.
The Maryland legislature also passed a bill that raised the minimum age for purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21.
(NEW YORK) — More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops have liberated nearly 30,000 square miles of their territory from Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, but Putin appeared to be preparing for a long and bloody war.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 30, 2:00 PM EDT
Leader of Russian mercenary group threatens mutiny
The Russian oligarch behind the Wagner private paramilitary group fighting for the Kremlin in Ukraine is threatening a mutiny if his forces are not resupplied with ammunition soon.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner and curator of the Wagner group, penned a letter to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigue, demanding ammunition be provided to his forces on the battlefield.
In the letter, Prigozhin wrote that if supply problems are not fixed fast, he will complain to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his mercenaries would abandon their positions in Bakhmut, Ukraine, where heavy fighting has been going on for weeks, The Moscow Times reported.
“I appeal to Shoigu with a request to immediately issue ammunition. In case of refusal, I consider it necessary to convey to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief information about the existing problem in order to make a decision and about the advisability of further presence of Wagner PMC in Bakhmut in the conditions of a shortage of ammunition,” Prigozhin wrote.
He added, “If the deficit is not replenished … we will be forced to withdraw part of the units from this territory, and then everything else will crumble. Therefore, the bell is already ringing — it is called an alarm.”
Emphasizing the urgency, Prigozhin noted that Ukraine is planning to launch a counteroffensive soon.
There was no immediate public response from Shoigu or the Kremlin.
“We need to stop deceiving the population and telling that everything is fine with us,” Prigozhin wrote. “I must honestly say: Russia is on the brink of disaster. If these screws are not adjusted today, the ‘aircraft’ will crumble in the air.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday wished Ukrainian military forces success in what he described as the “main battles” that are “coming soon.”
Zelenskyy’s statement came a day after he said at a news conference in Kyiv that Ukrainian forces will soon launch a counteroffensive, likely before F-16 fighter jets promised by Western allies arrive.
“Dear warriors, the main battles are coming soon. We must free our land and our people from Russian slavery,” Zelenskyy said at an event where he bestowed medals to members of the county’s Border Guard forces.
Apr 30, 5:52 AM EDT
Counteroffensive expected ahead of Western jet deliveries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian counteroffensive will start before Ukraine receives F-16 fighter jets promised by Western countries.
“Frankly speaking, it would help us a lot. But we also understand that we can’t drag it [the counteroffensive] out, which is why we’ll start before we receive F-16 [aircrafts] or other models,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference for Scandinavian media held in Kyiv on Saturday, according to a script provided by Reuters.
He added, “But to calm Russia down with the fact that we’d still need a couple of months to train on the aircrafts and only then we’d start; No, this won’t happen. We’ll start and go forward, while at the same time, simultaneously, I think this is very important [to receive western fighter aircrafts.]”
He said Ukraine is “capable of putting an end to this war.”
Also on Saturday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine received a signal from some countries about the readiness to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
According to Kuleba, the F-16 fighter jet is the ideal aircraft due to its technical characteristics, although Kyiv does not overlook other aircraft, either. The minister added that the decisive word on issuing F-16s will be with the United States, because these are American fighters.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres and Max Uzol
Apr 29, 1:49 PM EDT
23 dead in Russian attack on high-rise building, 17 saved from rubble
A Russian attack on a high-rise building in Uman has left 23 people dead. Among the dead were six children between the ages of one and 17 years old, according to the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Volodymyrovych Klymenko.
Rescuers, policemen and volunteers managed to save 17 people from the rubble. Heavy machinery and special equipment were involved, according to officials.
Two more women are considered missing, officials said. But the search and rescue operation has concluded, officials said.
“My sincere condolences to the relatives of the deceased. We will punish this evil. We will not allow it to grow. We will definitely stand up and win,” Klymenko said.
-ABC News’ Tatyana Rymarenko
Apr 28, 12:18 PM EDT
Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities kill 24, including children
Russian airstrikes targeted several cities across Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 24 people, Ukrainian officials said.
The city of Uman in central Ukraine’s Cherkasy Oblast was the worst affected. Several buildings were damaged or destroyed. One of the strikes hit an apartment building, killing at least 22 people, including three children, and injuring another 18 people, according to Cherkasy Oblast Gov. Ihor Taburets. The attack happened at around 4:30 a.m. local time, when most people would have been asleep. An entire section of the nine-story building collapsed, with 27 apartments completely destroyed. There were 109 people who lived in that part of the building, according to Ukrainian police. Rescue teams were expected to spend all day and night searching for survivors in the rubble.
Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city and a major industrial hub located in southeastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, was hit by “high-precision” strikes in the early morning hours, leaving a woman and a 3-year-old child dead, according to Dnipro Mayor Boris Filatov.
Russian strikes also targeted Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital and largest city, but there were no reports of any casualties or damages. It was the first such attack on the capital in 51 days, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration. Preliminary data shows 11 cruise missiles and two drones were destroyed in Kyiv’s airspace, the city military administration said.
Apr 28, 11:54 AM EDT
Ukraine says it’s ‘ready’ for counteroffensive
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Friday the military is “ready” to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces.
“It’s up to the general staff and the command,” Reznikov said during a press briefing in Kyiv. “We will do it as soon as there is God’s will, the weather and the commanders’ decision.”
Ukraine has received Patriot missile defense systems from the United States as well as Germany and the Netherlands. The Ukrainian military has been trained on how to use the systems and “mastered” them within weeks, according to Reznikov.
“The exact number of batteries, I’m sorry, I won’t say,” he added. “Let the enemy guess.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the world not to consider or call the anticipated counteroffensive “a decisive battle.” Speaking at a press conference in Odesa on Friday, Kuleba said the decisive battle is the one that will lead to the liberation of all occupied Ukrainian territories.
One person was killed and 23 people, including a child, were wounded in a Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv early Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The missile struck a block that had apartments, houses and a historic building, according to Zelenskyy.
“The terrorists will not get away with this yet another crime against humanity,” the president said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Apr 26, 12:50 PM EDT
Zelenskyy has 1st call with China’s Xi Jinping since war began
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in what was the two leaders’ first official contact since January 2022, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Xi announced that he will send a special envoy to visit Ukraine and “other countries” to work on a political solution.
“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on Twitter.
The Chinese government’s official position still refuses to call the war an “invasion.”
The call between the two leaders is said to have lasted an hour, according to Zelenskyy’s office.
“Before the full-scale Russian invasion, China was Ukraine’s number one trading partner. I believe that our conversation today will give a powerful impetus to the return, preservation and development of this dynamic at all levels,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Karson Yiu, Cindy Smith and Will Gretsky
Apr 25, 1:03 PM EDT
At least 2 dead, 10 injured in strike that hit Ukrainian museum
At least two people were killed and 10 injured after a Russian missile hit a Ukrainian museum Tuesday, officials said.
The local history museum is located in the city center of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region.
“The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy us completely. Our history, our culture, our people,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media while sharing a video that showed the damaged building. “Killing Ukrainians with absolutely barbaric methods.”
Apr 24, 5:48 AM EDT
Russian passports pushed on occupied Ukraine
Russian officials have warned Ukrainians in occupied Kherson that they may be “deported” if they don’t accept Russian passports, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Monday.
“Russia is using passports as a tool in the ‘Russification’ of the occupied areas, as it did in Donetsk and Luhansk before the February 2022 invasion,” the ministry on Twitter.
Residents of Kherson have been warned of penalties for those who don’t accept Russian passports by June 1. Some may be removed from the territory or may have their property seized, according to the U.K.
Apr 23, 11:42 PM EDT
Russia says US has denied journalist visas, vows it ‘will not forgive’
Russia said Sunday that the U.S. has denied visas to Russian journalists who wanted to cover Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip to New York.
Lavrov promised that the decision will not be forgotten by their side.
“The country that calls itself the strongest, smartest, most free, fairest has chickened out, has done a silly thing and shown what its sworn assurances on protecting freedom of speech, access to information and so on are worth,” he told reporters at the airport before his flight to New York.
“Most importantly, you can be sure: we will not forget, we will not forgive this,” the minister told the pool of journalists who have not been granted U.S. visas.
The journalists had planned to cover Lavrov’s appearance at the United Nations to mark Russia’s chairmanship of the Security Council.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called the U.S.’s decision “outrageous” on Sunday, Interfax, a Russian news agency, reported.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva, Edward Szekeres, Natalia Shumskaia
Apr 21, 3:35 PM EDT Over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in the EU so far
Over 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers trained in the European Union, Josep Borrell, an EU representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said Friday.
The EU has delivered over $600 million of ammunition and missiles to Ukraine, according to Borrell.
-ABC News’ Oleksiy Pshemyskiy
Apr 20, 7:08 PM EDT
Russian warplane accidentally fires weapon into Russian city of Belgorod: Defense ministry
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that ammunition from a Russian Su-34 military aircraft fell in Belgorod, a city in the southern region of Russia.
“On the evening of April 20, during the flight of the Su-34 aircraft over the city of Belgorod, an abnormal descent of an aviation munition occurred,” the agency said.
The ministry claimed buildings were damaged but there were no immediate reports of victims. An investigation is underway, according to the agency.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Apr 20, 5:18 PM EDT
Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in NATO: Secretary-General
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg held a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, to highlight the more than €150 billion of support to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion.
“Allies are now delivering more jets, tanks, and armored vehicles, and NATO’s Ukraine fund is providing urgent support,” he said in a statement. “All of this is making a real difference on the battlefield today.”
While in Ukraine, the secretary-general visited Bucha and paid his respects to the victims of Russian atrocities.
He also laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine, paying tribute to all those who have lost lives or suffered wounds in defense of their homeland.
“Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. And over time, our support will help to make this possible,” Stoltenberg said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Apr 20, 4:13 PM EDT
Russian athletes will not be accepted in 2024 Olympics if war goes on: Paris mayor
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, which is hosting the 2024 summer Olympics, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russian athletes “cannot be accepted in Paris,” if the war with Ukraine is still ongoing when the games begin.
“Paris is the capital of human rights,” Hidalgo said in a statement. “We are trying to convince athletes, international federations and countries. We stand with you.”
Hidalgo and Vasco Cordeiro, the president of the European Committee of the Regions, met with Zelenskyy as part of the International Summit of Cities and Regions Thursday.
Zelenskyy thanked Hidalgo for her support and presented her with Ukraine’s “Rescuer City” honorary award.
-ABC News’ Max Uzol and Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band kicked off their European tour in Barcelona, Spain Friday with The Boss bringing out two very special guests to help him out.
After being spotted the night before dining with Former President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama and director Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw, it appears The Boss felt the need to put some of them to work. Video on social media shows Michelle and Kate joining Springsteen to play tambourine and sing back up on “Glory Days.”
As for the rest of the night, Springsteen didn’t stray too far from the set he’s been playing at his U.S. shows, but, according to setlist.fm, he did play “Human Touch” for the first time on the tour and the first time since 2016.
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band play a second night in Barcelona on Sunday, April 30. A complete list of dates can be found at brucespringsteen.net.
(TULARE COUNTY, Calif.) — A man and child were rescued from a California river Friday night, while another adult remains missing, authorities said.
Rescue crews responded to the Kaweah River in Tulare County, where the man and 7-year-old child were stranded on a rock in the middle of the river, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies and teams from Tulare County Fire and Naval Air Station Lemoore base were able to recover the two, according to the sheriff’s office, which shared images from the scene of rescuers using a raft to reach the stranded people.
Both were being treated at a local hospital following the rescue.
Crews were still searching for a missing adult who did not surface from the water, the sheriff’s office said.
The rescue occurred at the Slick Rock Recreation Area, in the town of Three Rivers, near Sequoia National Park.
The Kaweah River is fed by runoff from the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which experienced a historic winter snowpack that has sparked flooding concerns as it melts.
(KHARTOUM, Sudan) — As countries wind down mass evacuations of their nationals from war-torn Sudan and the White House warns time is running out, the United States is undertaking its first effort to move hundreds of private Americans citizens out of Khartoum.
A U.S. government-organized convoy carrying U.S citizens, locally employed staff and nationals from allied and partner countries arrived at Port Sudan on Saturday, according to the State Department.
“The U.S. government has taken extensive efforts to contact U.S. citizens in Sudan and enable the departure of those who wished to leave. We messaged every U.S. citizen in Sudan who communicated with us during the crisis and provided specific instructions about joining this convoy to those who were interested in departing via the land route,” the State Department’s statement said. “We encourage U.S. citizens who want to leave Sudan but chose not to participate in this convoy to contact the Department of State using the crisis intake form on our website.”
The evacuation was enabled by “intensive negotiations by the United States with the support of our regional and international partners,” according to the State Department, which reiterated its warning to Americans not to travel to Sudan.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre advised that Americans in Sudan who wished to leave should “take advantage of the options that are available to them in the next 24 to 48 hours.”
Although countries like Saudi Arabia and Spain started evacuating their citizens and other foreign nationals from Sudan in the early days of the week and the U.S. airlifted diplomats from Khartoum over the weekend, the administration maintained that carrying out a largescale operation to rescue some of the thousands of American citizens residing in Sudan was not feasible.
The United Kingdom, Germany, and France have all also evacuated thousands.
But not all operations have gone smoothly. On Friday, Turkey reported that one of its aircraft had come under fire as it landed in Khartoum—underscoring the threat ongoing fighting poses to air rescues.
Before news of the U.S.-led convoy broke, State Department Principal Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel defend the administration’s posture, and said it had played a hand in the mass evacuations orchestrated by other countries.
“Our allies and partners that are conducting operations that are able to also take American citizens out–we of course, are incredibly thankful and gracious for their ability to do so. But this is a collective and collaborative effort,” he said. “We are offering logistical support for some of these operations to be conducted. Whether they be overland, whether they be through the air.”
Patel also said that the State Department was in contact with fewer that 5,000 U.S. citizens about the crisis in Sudan, and that “only a fraction” of that number had actively sought assistance to depart the country.
Other officials familiar with the situation have said it’s unclear how much demand there is from American nationals for an exit route, emphasizing that individual’s desire to leave can change on a day-by-day basis.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the State Department was working to establish “a sustained process” through which Americans could depart Sudan.
“We believe that the best way to have an enduring capability to help people leave Sudan–if that’s what they so choose–is overland. And we’re working to establish a process that would enable people to move overland to a place where they can more easily exit the country,” Blinken said.
At least two American citizens are among the over 500 killed in in the violence that erupted two weeks ago, which has injured thousands more.
Although the U.S. had assisted in brokering a number of ceasefires in Sudan, their implementation has been uneven. Although both sides agreed to another 72-hour truce on Friday, there’s little hope it will hold.
“It’s obvious to everybody that the ceasefires are not perfectly working,” a U.S. official said. “But we are hearing from multiple contacts on the ground, as well as our international partners, that the series of efforts to push forward ceasefires are creating meaningful periods of reduction of violence and that these periods are allowing people to move out of Khartoum.”
But as more foreign nationals leave, there’s looming concern in Sudan that the battle for control over the country will catapult to new intensity.
“There’s going to be fewer eyes on what’s happening,” said Jon Temin, Vice President for Policy and Programs at the Truman Center for National Policy.
(CLEVELAND, Texas) — Five people are dead after being shot in a Texas home by a suspect armed with an AR-15 style rifle in a horrific series of “execution style” shootings, police said.
A manhunt is currently underway for the suspect, identified by police as 39-year-old Francisco Oropeza, according to ABC station KTRK in Houston.
A judge has issued an arrest warrant for Oropeza and assigned a $5 million bond. Authorities believe Oropeza left by walking or on a bicycle and is currently within a two mile radius of the scene, KTRK reported.
Police said the incident occurred at 11:31 p.m. local time on Friday when officials from the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office received a call about harassment in the town of Cleveland, about 55 miles north of Houston.
When authorities arrived at the location, they found several victims shot at the property, police said. Three of the deceased were females and two were males, including the youngest, an 8-year-old boy.
Two female victims were discovered in the bedroom lying on top of two surviving children, authorities told ABC News.
Three minors were located uninjured, but covered in blood. They were transported to a local hospital.
Police said they believe the massacre occurred after neighbors asked the suspect to stop shooting his gun in the front yard because there was a baby trying to sleep.
“My understanding is that the victims, they came over to the fence and said ‘Hey could [you not do your] shooting out in the yard? We have a young baby that’s trying to go to sleep,” and he had been drinking and he says ‘I’ll do what I want to in my front yard,'” San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told KTRK.
Capers told KTRK the case went from harassment to a shooting very quickly. He said that authorities believed some of the victims were trying to shield their children — with bodies found on top of children who were unharmed.
“In my opinion, they were actually trying to take care of the babies and keep them babies alive,” Capers told KTRK.
Authorities said Oropeza is armed with an AR-15 style rifle and was believed to be intoxicated. Deputies describe Oropeza as a Hispanic man who is 5-foot-8. He was last seen wearing jeans, a black shirt and work boots. Investigators said he has a goatee and short black hair, according to KTRK.
Police said the suspect “has been known to shoot his .223 out in his front yard, which is evident by the shell casings that are laying in the front yard.”
Capers said the shooter used a .223 rifle in the shooting. Capers could not confirm how many times his deputies had been called to the shooter’s property previously.
At least 10 people were in the home when police arrived on scene and all of the victims were between the ages of eight and 40.
Capers believes the 10 people in the home lived together, with four to five of them just moving into the home from Houston within the last three or four days.
Residents are being told to “stay inside [and] stay clear” of the crime scene until the investigation has concluded, but do not believe the suspect, a Mexican national, is in the area.
“We are getting closer to him every minute of every hour but we know who he is,” Capers told KTRK.
Police did not disclose the identity of the victims but said the shootings all took place in one home, the victims were all from Honduras and that four of the victims were declared dead at the scene. The fifth victim — an 8-year-old boy — was taken to a hospital and he has since been pronounced dead.
Capers told KTRK all of the victims were shot from the neck up “almost execution style.”
Capers said footage from a Ring doorbell at the victims’ house shows the shooter entering the home where the shooting took place with a weapon.
Police found two other weapons in the house in a search following the shooting. Capers also confirmed they are interviewing the shooter’s wife.
Nearby resident, Veronica Pineda, spoke with KTRK and said she has grown accustomed to neighbors shooting firearms in the area.
“There’s always shootings, there’s always shooting,” she said to KTRK. “There’s always people calling the cops and there’s nothing being done.”
She said that neighbors would frequently shoot firearms on weekends and holidays and that the sound of gunshots overnight was normal.
“We were in bed and my kids — I have two babies — they got scared, and we’re like, ‘it’s normal they’re always shooting.'”
She said she did not know the alleged shooter well but she would wave to him when he would pass by with his horses.
ABC News’ Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Turmoil in the financial system returned this week as shares of First Republic Bank, the nation’s 14th-largest lender, plummeted more than 75%.
The selloff took hold after the bank revealed that depositors had fled en masse last month after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.
The ongoing distress at First Republic rekindled questions about whether the banking industry has regained solid footing or teeters on the brink of wider failure.
While the financial system remains under stress, experts said, the current unrest is unlikely to pose a systemic risk, since the damage is contained within a relatively narrow group of banks vulnerable to high interest rates and depositor panic.
Still, the ultimate outcome is difficult to predict, in part because the extent of the fallout depends on how depositors respond to the possible failure of additional banks, such as First Republic, some experts said.
Here’s what’s happening in the banking industry right now, and whether the crisis has passed, according to experts:
What is happening in the banking system right now?
Many of the forces behind the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, experts said, continue to put pressure on the banking system: high interest rates, concern among uninsured depositors and the potential for social media chatter that escalates panic.
As the Fed aggressively raised interest rates over the past year, the spike dropped the value of Silicon Valley Bank’s Treasury bonds and mortgage bonds, punching a hole in its balance sheet.
Because Silicon Valley Bank served a relatively concentrated group of tech startups and venture firms, many of whom held uninsured deposits, a disclosure last month of the bank’s financial losses sparked a panic that quickly escalated into an old-fashioned bank run.
First Republic, which specialized in long-term mortgage loans to affluent homebuyers, faced the same exposure to high interest rates and fear among depositors with uninsured deposits, experts said.
“First Republic is basically the same story,” Steven Kelly, a researcher at the Yale Program on Financial Stability, told ABC News.
However, an additional source of pressure arose in the aftermath of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank: a shift of deposits out of small banks and into large ones, experts said.
Over the week following Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, small banks lost $108 billion in deposits, Federal Reserve data showed.
Meanwhile, deposits to the nation’s 25 biggest banks increased by $120 billion over that week, the data said.
“The deposit flight away from the small- and medium-sized banks means that the funding model for a lot of these banks is going to be under huge pressure,” Huw Roberts, the head of analytics at Quant Insight, told ABC News.
Is the financial system under systemic threat?
The ongoing turmoil is unlikely to threaten the wider banking system because the risk of collapse remains limited to a specific set of banks that failed to adequately protect their balance sheets, experts said.
“SVB was an extreme example. First Republic is an extreme case,” William Chittenden, a professor of finance at Texas State University, told ABC News. “These are banks that played the extremes.”
The fall of Silicon Valley Bank also brought immense stress upon the 29th-largest U.S. bank, Signature Bank, which ultimately collapsed.
“While big, these banks are not representative of where most people bank,” Kelly said. “It’s not a problem that plagues the whole system.”
“This is a crisis of some banks,” Kelly added. “It’s not a crisis of banking.”
Roberts, of Quant Insight, echoed the point: “The immediate systemic risk is gone as far as whole banking system being threatened.”
Still, the possible failure of First Republic and other vulnerable banks could set off a panic with implications that are nearly impossible to predict, some experts said.
At the end of last year, U.S. banks were sitting on $620 billion in unrealized losses, or holdings that have fallen in price but have yet to be sold, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation found.
“Standing alone, First Republic isn’t presenting a systemic risk,” Joe Lynyak, a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney and an expert on bank failures, told ABC News. “But if it creates a chain reaction of other banks with the public reacting the same way, you could end up with that.”
“We’re just going to have to wait and see,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — Weeks of shoulder pain landed a reluctant Whitney Nichols in urgent care. As a previously healthy 24-year-old Black woman, she pleaded for additional testing to uncover the cause of her pain. As a last resort, the doctor ordered a CT scan of her chest. The result, blood clots in both of her lungs.
Even after this seemingly scary diagnosis and after being transferred to a hospital, Nichols said she felt dismissed when a doctor told her she would be fine.
Nichols, now 29 and a graduating medical student, reflected that these interactions with dismissive doctors made her feel “so alone in that space” and unsafe.
But Nichols said that night, everything changed when a Black physician, Dr. Erika Walker, walked into the room. Walker explained the blood clots were serious but treatable. Walker advised Nichols to stop taking her estrogen-based birth control, which can increase the risk of blood clots, and prescribed medication that would break up the clots.
She said it was great ” … just seeing somebody that I felt like I could be comfortable with.”
Black people make up 13% of the U.S. population, but Black doctors are not equally represented. For example, only 7% of primary care physicians are Black, according to a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Amid a growing recognition that Black Americans experience disparities in health and medical care, new research suggests that Black patients are more likely to live longer and healthier lives when their primary care doctors are also Black.
Michael Dill, director of Workforce Studies at the Association of American Medical Colleges team, analyzed the relationship of Black primary care physicians and the health outcome of the people who lived in those same areas, evaluating 1,600 U.S. counties. Dill and his colleagues found that a 10% increase in Black primary care doctor representation was associated with an extra month of life expectancy for Black patients.
The higher the representation of black physicians in the workforce per county was associated less death of any cause for county residents, Black and White patients. Thus, even people not actively being treated by Black physicians benefitted from their presence like the results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in April of 2023.
“We found that diversifying the physician workforce … is important for improving public health,” Dill told ABC News.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, past chair of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees, said the data was “shocking” but “in a motivational way.” Mukkamala said this data can be used to advocate for equitable hiring practices at hospitals and health care systems so that doctors and staff look like the communities they serve.
Researchers said when doctors have similar cultures and lived experiences to the patients, they may be more likely to take their concerns seriously, which results in better life expectancy.
For over 150 years ago, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were established to provide Black students the opportunities to advance their education when they were unwelcome at existing public and private institutions of higher education. Traditionally HBCUs are a large producer of Black physicians.
Dr. Erica Sutton, associate dean at Morehouse School of Medicine said, “feeling heard, perhaps listening as well, and then translating that into patient centered care patient driven treatment plans,” is the essence of why Black physicians can impact their patients’ health.
Dill said there is no shortcut to increasing workforce diversity. “This is not a problem we can fix in a couple of years,” Dill said. “This is the work of generations.”
Mukkamala, Sutton, and Whitney are involved in programs that aim to increase and inspire young children of diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in science, education, technology and math, including The American Medical Association’s Back to School Program, Morehouse’s health careers programs and Student National Medical Association.
“This isn’t something that you can tell somebody in college to convince them to [pursue medicine],” Mukkamala told ABC News. “Those seeds get planted early on in grade school.”
Sutton is hopeful for the future.
“I think that one of the things that we’ve seen recently in this country is a renewed interest in inclusivity belongingness … we definitely try to teach at HBCUs is that these [less diverse] communities do include you,” Sutton told ABC News. “It’s not us and them…that community is enriched by your presence.”
Danielle Craigg, MD is a senior General Preventive Medicine & Public Health Resident at Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
Sotonye Douglas, MS is a graduating medical student from Quinnipiac University, Frank H Netter Medical School, beginning General Surgery Residency in June 2023, and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
(NEW YORK) — Kia and Hyundai owners whose cars were damaged or stolen in the wake of a social media video teaching people how to easily steal the cars are now waiting months for repairs after a shortage of parts.
Many of the cars are recovered within a few days after the thieves are done with their joyrides. Often the back window is smashed and the steering column is damaged or destroyed, making those parts the hardest to find.
Stefan Mantyk’s 2018 Kia Rio was stolen in Michigan on Feb. 10. Police recovered the damaged car a week later but he says the vehicle is now sitting at the dealership.
“They had everything else fixed but then they found out that the steering column lock was broken. It turned out that the entire steering column top needed to be replaced,” Mantyk told ABC News.
Gregg Van Slyke, a 76-year-old retiree from Portland, is in a similar situation. His 2012 Hyundai Sonata was stolen early in the morning on Super Bowl Sunday. Police recovered the car later that day but it’s since been parked at the dealership waiting on parts.
States say Kia and Hyundai need to “step up”
Both Mantyk and Van Slyke are victims of the so-called “Kia Challenge” — a viral social media challenge that sparked a surge in thefts of Kia and Hyundai cars across the United States. Thieves targeted certain Kia and Hyundai models manufactured between 2011 and 2022 that lack anti-theft controls. Would-be thieves use screwdrivers and USB cables to steal the vehicles.
Twenty-three states have called on automakers to “take swift and comprehensive action” to curb the rise in thefts. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said there were 6,970 Kia and Hyundai vehicles reported stolen in Milwaukee in 2021, up from a total of 895 in 2020 — a nearly 800% increase. Thefts of the cars declined slightly in 2022.
In Minneapolis, thefts of Kia and Hyundais increased by 836% in 2022 over the previous year. And in St Louis County, thefts surged 1,090% from 2021 to 2022.
Eighteen attorneys general have also called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall some Kia and Hyundai vehicles. “Thefts of these Hyundai and Kia vehicles have led to at least eight deaths, numerous injuries and property damage, and they have diverted significant police and emergency services resources from other priorities,” the agency said.
In response to the thefts, Kia and Hyundai have rolled out a free software upgrades for their vehicles not equipped with immobilizers. The automakers have also been distributing steering wheel locks for local law enforcement to give to drivers.
Victims say there’s no timeline for getting their vehicles fixed
Mantyk said he was able to get a rental car from his insurer after his was stolen. But after 30 days he needed to find another way to get around.
“I’m an independent contractor, so I go from job to job and not having my own vehicle for a while made it very difficult to get to jobs. I had to pass on work,” Mantyk said. “I ended up buying a car for like a thousand bucks just so I could get from point A to point B. I don’t know how reliable it is.”
Van Slyke said he needs to drive to and from doctors’ appointments three times a week. His insurance gave him a rental for just 10 days.
“My insurance rental ran out, so I had to give up that car and then I used Lyft for a while and then I was able to harass my dealership into finally getting the loaner car,” Van Slyke said. “I’m very grateful for that because I have medical appointments that I need to go to and it was getting pretty difficult to get around.”
He added, “The service representative that I’ve been talking to doesn’t know when or if they’ll get a part to replace it, because there’s been so much demand due to the high theft of Hyundais nationwide. So we’re kind of stuck there.”
Both Mantyk and Van Slyke said they have no idea when they’ll get their cars back.
The dealership doesn’t know “when the parts are going to be coming in because Kia corporate doesn’t give them any information as to when they’re getting parts in,” Mantyk said.
Van Slyke said he has since joined a class-action lawsuit against the automakers.
When asked about the parts shortages, Kia told ABC News some of these parts have been out of production for years and supply chain issues have been exacerbating the problem. The company, however, is “doing all we can to assist and working with our dealers to make sure any and all available parts are being redistributed to where needed most.”
Hyundai told ABC News it was “aware of minimal reported instances of some parts on back-order” and it “constantly monitors and proactively manages its parts supply chain to ensure a stable supply of parts delivered to our customers.”
“I don’t know what the future holds for my vehicle”
Mantyk and Van Slyke said they don’t know if they’ll continue to drive their cars once they get them back.
“Once I have my car, what am I supposed to do with it? Because I can’t drive it anywhere less it gets stolen,” Mantyk said.
Mantyk said he’s made three car payments since his Kia was initially stolen.
“My biggest frustration is probably the whole fact that I’m paying on a car that I can’t keep. I can’t sell it because it’ll just get stolen from somebody else,” he said.
Van Slyke said he hopes Hyundai will recall his vehicle and replace the ignition system, saying he’s worried it would get stolen again in the future.
“I believe that if I get the car back again, I will attempt to sell that car and buy a car that’s not so high on the theft list,” Van Slyke said.
The Interrupters have released a live cover of the Bad Religion song “Sorrow.”
The performance was recorded during the Punk Rock Holiday festival in Slovenia and is included on the new, deluxe version of The Interrupters’ 2022 album, In the Wild.
You can listen to the cover now via digital outlets and watch its accompanying live video streaming now on YouTube.
The deluxe In the Wild also includes an acoustic version of the single “Raised by Wolves” and a cover of the Joe Strummer song “Get Down Moses.”
The Interrupters are currently on a U.S. tour in continued support of In the Wild, which also includes the single “In the Mirror.”
