The Police were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers reuniting for their first performance in 18 years.
They performed “Roxanne,” and “Message in a Bottle,” as well as their classic “Every Breath You Take,” joined by Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani and John Mayer.
Also getting inducted into the Hall of Fame on this day were The Clash, Elvis Costello& The Attractions, AC/DC and The Righteous Brothers.
Four years after the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame reunion, in February 2007, The Police reunited once again to open the 49th annual Grammy Awards, which was followed by a 30th anniversary reunion tour.
Austin Butler put everything into his performance as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Elvis, and now he’s up for Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards. This is his first awards season, and he tells ABC Audio about what he’s enjoyed the most.
“It’s meant a lot to me that I’ve been getting to spend time around actors and different artists that I’ve admired for a long time,” Butler says.
In particular, he says fellow Best Actor nominee Colin Farrell has been “really kind.”
“We’ve been sending each other emails back and forth. And it’s nice to just have people who’ve been, you know, around, chugging away at this business for a long time, that can sort of give you little tips and ideas and things,” Butler says.
Another person Butler says he’d like to sit down and chat with is Best Actress nominee Cate Blanchett; he’d ask her, among other things, “just about life.”
“How she manages to balance the investment that she puts into every role that she takes on with her family life, and how do you balance your personal life with that amount of investment,” Butler continues. “Her preparation process, you know.”
The road to get to the Oscars wasn’t easy. Butler’s had struggles along the way, but he says there’s one thing he’s had to overcome that stands out from them all.
“When my mother passed away,” Butler says. She died in 2014, when Butler was 23 – the same age Elvis Presley was when his mother died.
“It shifted my perspective on a lot of things, and I thought about stopping being an actor for that time,” Butler said. “It felt like a really seismic shift in myself.”
(HAMBURG, Germany) — Seven people were killed, including an unborn child, in a mass shooting at a building used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Hamburg, Germany, on Thursday evening, police said.
Eight people were also injured in the shooting, said police, including the pregnant mother of the unborn child. The 33-year-old woman, who was 28 weeks pregnant, suffered serious injuries, according to police.
Three of those injured suffered life-threatening injuries, while four others — including the mother — suffered serious injuries. One man suffered minor injuries, police said.
A suspected shooter was found dead in a community center, according to police, who initially conducted searches to “rule out the involvement of other perpetrators.” Authorities now believe he acted alone.
The 35-year-old man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on an upper floor of the building where the shooting took place, police said Friday. He had no known connection to terrorism.
Police said the six adults who died were between the ages of 33 and 60.
The incident occurred around 9 p.m., according to an alert from the city of Hamburg.
The streets around the building were cordoned off and residents were advised to avoid the area and shelter in place “for the time being,” the alert said. Police later began lifting shelter-in-place orders in the city.
Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher called reports of the deadly shooting “shocking” and offered his “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims.
“The emergency services are working flat out to track down the perpetrators and clarify the background,” he said in a statement earlier Thursday.
Queen continues their look at classic opening numbers with episode eight of their year-long YouTube series Queen The Greatest Live.
Wrapping up the deep dive into the opening of a show, this week’s episode focuses on their 1986 Magic Stadium Tour, which had them kicking off shows with the A Kind of Magic track “One Vision.”
The clip features footage of the opening of their Wembley Stadium shows, the first time the band had played the venue since 1985’s Live Aid. It features frontman Freddie Mercury wearing his iconic military-style yellow jacket designed by Diana Moseley.
Released in November, 1985, “One Vision” was written by all four members of Queen, with Roger Taylor handling the lyric duties. The tune became the opener for the entire run of their 1986 U.K. and European tour, which included the band’s very last show ever with Mercury, on August 9 in Knebworth Park, U.K.
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday announced a recall of 1.9 million YETI cooler products.
The recall impacts four of YETI’s products: the Hopper M20 backpack cooler, the Hopper M30 1.0 and 2.0 soft coolers, and the SideKick Dry gear case.
According to the CPSC, the magnet-lined closures on the products “can fail and result in detached magnets, posing a risk of serious injury or death if ingested.”
“When two or more high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract to each other, or to another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system,” the agency said in a recall statement. “This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death.”
The Austin, Texas-based cooler company issued the voluntary recall in cooperation with the CPSC.
“We are voluntarily recalling the Hopper M20, Hopper M30 1.0 and 2.0, and SideKick Dry products sold between March 2018 and January 2023,” YETI said in a statement on its website. “We ask all customers currently in possession of the Hopper M20, Hopper M30 and SideKick Dry to immediately stop use of these products.”
According to Thursday’s CPSC announcement, there have so far been “1,399 reports of the magnet-lined closures degrading or failing, including reports of missing or detached magnets.”
“No magnet ingestions or injuries have been reported,” the CPSC added.
Both YETI and the CPSC have urged consumers in possession of any of the affected products to immediately stop using them and contact YETI for a “full refund in the form of a YETI gift card with an additional $25 value.”
YETI customers can also visit the brand’s site directly for more information on “returning the product free of charge for the choice of a suggested replacement product of equal or greater value,” according to the company.
The four products in the recall were sold nationwide at Dick’s Sporting Goods, ACE Hardware, Academy Sports + Outdoors, YETI and other retailers, as well as online and on Amazon from March 2018 to January 2023.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Pfizer’s newest drug on the migraine market, Zavzpret (zavegepant) — the first and only migraine treatment of its kind to be offered in nasal spray.
The drug has shown in clinical trial data to provide rapid pain relief in as fast as 15 minutes for migraine sufferers, with relief lasting up to 48 hours, Pfizer said.
Migraines are one of the most common debilitating medical conditions, said Dr. Leah Croll, a board-certified neurologist at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. Nearly 40 million Americans suffer from migraines, according to the National Headache Foundation.
“They often interfere with daily functioning, keeping patients away from their work and unable to enjoy time with their loved ones. The faster we can bring relief to people suffering with a migraine attack, the sooner we can give them back that lost time,” Croll told ABC News.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, migraines are a type of headache caused by activation of nerve fibers in the wall of brain blood vessels that cause recurrent attacks of moderate to severe throbbing and pulsating pain. CGRP, short for calcitonin gene-related peptide, is a chemical messenger in the brain that plays a role in pain modulation and inflammation.
Zavzpret works by blocking CGRP’s signals, according to Pfizer.
At least 60% of migraine sufferers also experience nausea, making pills difficult to swallow. By the time you take a pill, it’s often too late to quash a migraine because the digestive system shuts down, said Dr. Kate Mullin, a board-certified neurologist at the New England Institute for Neurology and Headache who helped conduct the trial for Zavzpret.
“You can’t absorb oral medications when you’ve got what’s called gastroparesis of migraine. Your gut pretty much falls asleep and is not in a place to absorb medications effectively for many migraine sufferers. A nasal spray helps bypass the gut altogether to optimize absorption,” Mullins told ABC News.
Currently, the other non-pill rapid migraine relief medications on the market are in injection form and a nasal spray, but those are a class of medication known as triptans.
“If you have the option of a nasal spray or an injection to stop your headache and you’re already miserable, doing an injection is the last thing you want to do. The nasal spray is far more appealing,” Mullins said.
Unlike triptans, there is no current evidence that CGRP-related medications can’t be used in people who have problems with their blood vessels, including people with coronary artery disease, according to Mullins.
Data from the trial doesn’t show evidence of rebound headaches or medication overuse headaches — headaches ironically caused by using migraine medication too often — another added benefit of this formulation, Mullins said.
The most common side effect experienced by participants in the trial was a temporarily altered sense of taste known as dysgeusia, experienced in about 20% of the nasal spray users, she said.
If you are experiencing frequent or abnormally painful headaches, experts say to talk with your doctor.
According to Dr. Croll, “Anytime someone is experiencing headaches that are interfering with their ability to function normally, in their regular life, they should talk to a neurologist about what the treatment options are.”
Mallory Rowley is a fourth-year medical student and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
(LONDON) — Kenya’s Ministry of Health has announced this week a “significant step” in the fight against Malaria as the East African nation expands its use of the world’s first-ever malaria vaccine.
The malaria vaccine — known as Mosquirix or RTS,s/AS01 — has seen a phased introduction in the country since a 2019 pilot program was launched. Since then, over a million doses of the vaccine have been administered to children across eight of Kenya’s counties, 400,000 of which have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Starting March 7, 2023, Kenya’s Health Ministry has announced it is scaling up use of the ground-breaking vaccine, extending to an additional 25 sub-counties in lake-endemic regions. The vaccine will be expanded — free-of-charge — to an additional 133,000 infants in lake-endemic counties and will be available at all immunizing health facilities.
“The expansion of Kenya’s malaria vaccination program is a significant step in the fight against malaria,” Kenya’s Ministry of Health said. “It complements the existing methods and efforts in malaria prevention and control, and with more children benefitting from the vaccination the country can hope to see a further reduction in malaria-related deaths and illnesses.”
The expansion follows the recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Kenya National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (KENITAG) for wider use of the vaccine for children in sub-Saharan Africa and regions with moderate to high malaria transmission.
“The fight against malaria has always been a two-steps-forward, one-step-back struggle, and this vaccine is definitely a step forward but it is definitely no silver bullet,” Dr. Chris Plowe, adjunct professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, tells ABC News.
“The main reason that after more than 100 years of research to develop a malaria vaccine we still have just one somewhat effective vaccine is that malaria is a big, nasty, complex parasite,” said Plowe. “It is much, much bigger and more complicated than the virus that causes COVID for example. It transforms itself again and again, first in mosquitoes, then in people. It mutates and changes and it is very good at hiding from the immune system and from vaccines.”
The malaria vaccine is currently in use in three African countries thus far — Kenya, Ghana and Malawi — and the vaccine has a total of four doses administered to the individual at 6 months, 7 months, 9 months and 24 months.
“The RTS,S malaria vaccine is the first vaccine that has demonstrated it can significantly reduce malaria,” says Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, CS Susan Wafula.
According to UNICEF, one child under the age of 5-years-old dies of malaria nearly every minute in Africa and the disease is a leading cause of illness and death among children, particularly within sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya alone, there an estimated 3.5 million new clinical cases of malaria each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Growing up in western Kenya I and so many of my peers got very serious malaria growing up,” Stella Wokabi told ABC News. “If you’ve ever got malaria you know just how terrible this sickness is and so it’s such a relief to me that my baby girl can now reduce her risk of being seriously affected, like I was, thanks to this vaccine.”
The prevalence of malaria is highest among residents in Kenya’s lake-endemic counties such as Kisumu, Kakamega, Siaya and Homabay, due to the climate providing the perfect habitat and breeding ground for mosquitoes.
But, according to the 2020 Malaria Indicator Survey for Kenya, malaria prevalence in lake-endemic regions has dropped from 27%i n 2015 to 19% in 2020.
“In the coming years, our objective is to continue to expand malaria vaccination to other parts of the country, as more supplies of the vaccine become available,” said Dr. Lucy Mecca, head of the National Vaccines and Immunisation Program (NVIP).
Phased introduction in additional counties in Kenya is set to begin at the end of 2023 and the vaccination program aims to expand across Africa with at least 28 countries planning to introduce it starting this year.
Sunday evening is Hollywood’s biggest night, the 95th Annual Academy Awards.
But before Jimmy Kimmel takes the stage as host for the third time, the financial wonks at WalletHub crunched some numbers about this year’s Big Dance.
For example, the total cost of the Oscars ceremony was calculated to be $56.6 million. While that’s nothing to sneeze at, the site notes it costs as much as $10 million to dress an A-list actress for the ceremony — what with their looks, and of course the loaner bling they often showcase on the red carpet.
On that note, Lady Gaga still holds the record for the most expensive look, with the $30 million, 128-carat yellow diamond from Tiffany around her neck back in 2019.
On that topic, the “red carpet” isn’t red this year, for the first time since 1961. Instead, the famous shag was revealed earlier this week as a “champagne” color. That said, the red — er, champagne — carpet costs $24,700, according to WalletHub, and that’s for some 50,000 square feet. It takes 600 hours to install the 30 rolls of carpet, to boot.
Companies looking to advertise during the event will have to shell out nearly $2 million for a 30-second spot: No bargain, but 72% less than it would cost during the always highly-rated Super Bowl.
Further, WalletHub notes, Hollywood studios spend $100 million lobbying to get their movies nominated. After it, a pair of tickets for that famous Vanity Fair after-party costs 80 grand.
The 95th Annual Academy Awards airs live Sunday night at 8 p.m. Eastern time on ABC.
(NEW YORK) — A series of rail cars that Norfolk Southern recently put into service have been discovered to have defective, loose wheels.
These defective wheel sets were involved in one of the several recent derailments Norfolk Southern has had, including the most recent one in Springfield, Ohio.
Norfolk Southern first identified the defective wheels during the cleanup at Springfield — the day after the derailment — on March 5.
Norfolk Southern determined that this “specific model and series of railcars had loose wheels, which could cause a derailment,” the company confirmed in a statement to ABC. “The investigative team identified these wheels as coming from a series of recently acquired cars from a specific manufacturer.”
The catch comes as the company already faces intense scrutiny for its string of high-profile derailments and other incidents.
The company said they “immediately notified” the NTSB and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) once they found the issue “and began inspecting other cars from this series on our network” which led them to discover additional cases of “unusual wheel movement.”
Norfolk Southern issued orders to take the cars with these wheels out of service until the wheelsets could be replaced, and are removing the model and series from service for inspection. The company also says they notified the manufacturer and “worked urgently” to inform the rest of the railroad industry since these wheelsets are not proprietary to Norfolk Southern.
“Norfolk Southern will continue to investigate this matter and take appropriate action,” the company said in their statement.
The Association of American Railroads has now issued guidance to pull relevant cars off the tracks and inspect them — and to immediately replace suspect wheelsets with new ones.
“A member railroad has experienced three loose wheels” in cars that are of “new builds,” their advisory, reviewed by ABC, said.
An AAR spokesperson confirms to ABC that the “member railroad” they refer to is indeed Norfolk Southern.
The spokesperson called this an “uncommon defect” as well as one that “demanded urgent action.”
“This is a voluntary, proactive step aimed at ensuring equipment health and integrity,” the spokesperson said.
AAR’s advisory says to “inspect and remove from service” the wheelsets mounted by National Steel Car between August 2022 and March 2023.
“These wheelsets are at an increased risk of an out of gage derailment,” AAR’s advisory reads. “All cars included in this advisory must be inspected for the wheelsets in question and reported as outlined below. Any cars, loaded or empty, found so equipped must have the NSC-T mounted wheel sets removed immediately as directed below. If available, replace suspect wheel sets with new wheel sets.”
“Yesterday, Norfolk Southern identified loose wheels on a series of cars that presents an increased risk of an out of gage derailment. Today, AAR through its committee structure took expeditious action and has issued an advisory to stop cars with these wheels from use and interchange until those wheel sets can be replaced,” the spokesperson said.
ABC News has reached out to National Steel Car for comment.
(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:
Mar 10, 9:46 AM EST
Zelenskyy says Ukraine had nothing to do with Nord Stream explosions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied that Ukraine had anything to do with the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions last year.
“As for the Nord Stream, we have nothing to do with it,” Zelenskyy said Friday.
The New York Times published a report that U.S. intelligence suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the pipeline.
Zelenskyy also suggested that the information being spread about the involvement of pro-Ukrainian groups in the attack could be done to slow down aid to his country.
-ABC News’ Natalia Shumskaia
Mar 09, 2:45 PM EST
Power returns to Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after attacks
Electricity supply has been fully restored in Kyiv after Russia’s overnight barrage of missile attacks on Ukraine, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said in a Telegram post Thursday.
Also, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is now “receiving electricity for its own needs from the Ukrainian grid after power supply was cut,” Russian news agency Interfax reported.
-ABC News’ Tatiana Rymarenko and Natalia Shumskaia
Mar 09, 7:25 AM EST
Russia ‘brutalizing’ Ukrainian people, White House says
Russia’s overnight barrage of missiles aimed at civilian infrastructure may have knocked heat out to as much as 40% of Ukrainians, the White House said on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to “brutalize” the people of Ukraine, John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America on Thursday.
“It also appears, George, that they were definitely targeting civilian infrastructure,” Kirby said. “I would agree with the Ukrainians. He’s just trying to brutalize the Ukrainian people”
Russian forces early on Thursday launched 81 missiles from land and sea, Ukrainian officials said. Eight uncrewed drones were also launched in what officials described as a “massive” attack.
Eleven regions and cities were targeted in an attack that lasted at least seven hours, officials said.
Kirby said on Thursday that the White House expects to see more fighting on the ground in Ukraine for at least the “next four to six months.”
“We know that the Russians are attempting to conduct more offensive operations here when the weather gets better,” he said.
Mar 09, 3:59 AM EST
Zelenskyy decries Russia’s ‘miserable tactics’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said Russian officials had returned “to their miserable tactics” as they launched at least 81 missiles at Ukrainian sites overnight.
“The occupiers can only terrorize civilians. That’s all they can do. But it won’t help them,” he said on Telegram. “They won’t avoid responsibility for everything they have done.”
He added, “We thank the guardians of our skies and everyone who helps to overcome the consequences of the occupiers’ sneaking attacks!”
Mar 09, 3:34 AM EST
81 missiles launched in ‘massive’ Russian attack, Ukraine says
Waves of missiles and a handful of drones were launched overnight by Russia, targeting energy infrastructure and cities across Ukraine, officials said.
The attack on “critical infrastructure” and civilian targets lasted throughout the night, Verkovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, said on Twitter. Energy was being gradually restored on Thursday morning, the body said.
Ukraine’s parliament and military said at least 81 missiles were fired from several bases. Eight Iranian-made drones were also launched, the military said.
Ukraine destroyed 34 cruise missiles and four drones, military officials said on Facebook.
“Russia’s threats only encourage partners to provide long-term assistance to Ukraine,” said Yehor Chernev, deputy chairman of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.
Russia “will be sentenced as a terrorist state” for its attacks, Ruslan Stefanchuk, Rada’s chairperson, said on Twitter.
Mar 09, 12:35 AM EST
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant now running on diesel generators, energy minister says
The last line that fed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been damaged following missile strikes, and the plant is now working on diesel generators, according to the Ukrainian energy minister, Herman Galushchenko.
Mar 09, 12:16 AM EST
Emergency power outages nationwide due to missile attacks, provider says
DTEK, the largest private grid operator in Ukraine, said emergency power outages are in effect due to the missile attacks in the Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Dnipro regions.
Mar 09, 12:27 AM EST
Multiple missile strikes reported across Ukraine
Multiple explosions have been reported in city centers all over the country, including Dnipro, Odesa, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi and Kharkiv.
Residents in multiple areas are being asked to shelter in place, and communication and electricity has been impacted.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said multiple explosions were reported in the Holosiiv district.
The governor of Kharkiv, Oleh Syniehubov, said Russia struck the city at least 15 times overnight.
The head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration said there had been no casualties and that the power supply is being restricted.
Mar 08, 2:05 PM EST
Ukraine says it was not involved in Nord Stream Pipeline bombings
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov denied Ukraine was involved in the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline, which carries natural gas from Russia to Germany. While the pipeline was not active at the time of the bombing last September, it was filled with fuel.
The denial comes after The New York Times reported that intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the Nord Stream bombings last year.
After the story broke, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned against “jumping to conclusions” about who carried out the explosion, suggesting it could have been a “false flag” operation to blame Ukraine.
German authorities were reportedly able to identify the boat used for the sabotage operation, saying a group of five men and one woman using forged passports rented a yacht from a Poland-based company owned by Ukrainian citizens. The nationalities of the perpetrators are unclear, according to a separate report by Germany’s ARD broadcaster and Zeit newspaper.
“We have to make a clear distinction whether it was a Ukrainian group, whether it may have happened at Ukrainian orders, or a pro-Ukrainian group [acting] without knowledge of the government. But I am warning against jumping to conclusions,” Pistorius said on the sidelines of a summit in Stockholm.
A Russian diplomat said Russia has no faith in the U.S.‘s “impartiality” in the conclusions made from intelligence.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Mar 07, 4:23 PM EST
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war
Russia and Ukraine exchanged over 200 prisoners of war on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Interfax, a Russian news agency.
During his daily evening address, Zelenskyy said 130 Ukrainians were “brought home from Russian captivity,” including privates and sergeants from the army, navy and national guard.
“Just as we remember every corner of our country that is under occupation, we remember every single person in Russian captivity,” he said.
Ninety Russians were released from the Ukrainian side back to Russia, though Russia said Ukraine originally agreed to release 160 Russians, Interfax reported.
“During the exchange of prisoners of war on Tuesday, the Ukrainian side agreed to return only 90 Russians, despite an earlier agreement on the exchange of ‘160 for 160,'” Tatyana Moskalkova, human rights ombudsman for the Russian Federation said, according to Interfax.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Mar 07, 12:09 PM EST
Up to 30,000 Russian casualties in Bakhmut: Western officials
Up to 30,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured in Bakhmut over the last several months amid intense fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city, Western officials said in a briefing Tuesday.
The ratio of dead to injured was “unclear,” said the officials, who described Ukraine’s refusal to withdraw from the city — even though its forces are surrounded on three sides — as “a sound tactic” given that “lots of Russians are being killed.”
“What we’re seeing is a horrific level of Russian casualties for minimal gains,” they said, noting that an estimated 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded overall since the war began.
In the past 24 hours, 244 Russian troops were killed and 315 wounded in Bakhmut, Serhiy Chevrevaty, a spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern group of forces, said during a national telethon on Tuesday.
The officials refused to say how many Ukrainians have been killed or injured in and around Bakhmut but claimed it was “significantly lower.”
They also were unable to put a clear time frame on when a Ukrainian withdrawal might come, though noted the possibility of a Ukrainian counteroffensive should not be ruled out.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge
Mar 05, 5:20 PM EST
13 found dead after strike hits Zhaporizhzhia
Thirteen people have been found dead since a rocket struck an apartment building in Zhaporizhzhia, Ukraine, authorities said.
The governor there has called for a national day of mourning on Monday.
The State Emergency Situation of Ukraine in Zaporizhzhia initially posted on their Telegram account Friday that seven people were dead.
So far, 11 people have been saved, and 20 people were able to evacuate the building.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Mar 03, 2:21 PM EST
Merrick Garland makes unannounced visit to Ukraine
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Friday at the invitation of the Ukrainian prosecutor general to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other international partners at the United for Justice Conference.
Garland attended several meetings while he was there.
-ABC News’ Alexander Mallin
Mar 03, 2:09 PM EST
US announces $400 million more in military aid for Ukraine
The U.S. Department of Defense announced $400 million in new military aid for Ukraine, including eight folding armored bridges for the first time.
This is the Biden administration’s 33rd drawdown of equipment from Department of Defense inventories for Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Mar 03, 2:08 PM EST
5,000 remain in Bakhmut as Russian shelling intensifies
Around 5,000 people still remain in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, including 37 children, according to Donetsk Oblast Regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
The losses in Bakhmut stand at the rate of one Ukrainian solider to seven Russian soldiers, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksii Danilo said on TV.
Russian forces fighting for control of Bakhmut intensified shelling at access roads to the west, making it harder for Ukrainian forces to move in and out, Reuters reported Friday.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd
Mar 03, 12:20 PM EST
Blinken, Ukrainian foreign minister discuss Lavrov meeting
The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba about the brief conversation that took place at the G-20 summit between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“The Secretary underscored to Foreign Minister Kuleba the United States’ enduring support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s brutal attacks, including the ongoing targeting of civilian infrastructure and resulting civilian casualties,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Mar 02, 3:48 PM EST
US to announce more weapons for Ukraine on Friday
The U.S. will announce another assistance package for Ukraine on Friday, White House spokesperson John Kirby announced Thursday afternoon, but did not detail the exact size of this next round of support.
“You’ll see us tomorrow, just unilaterally, the U.S. will have another round of assistance for Ukraine coming tomorrow. And it will include mostly ammunitions and munitions that the Ukrainians will need for the systems that they already have, like the HIMARS and the artillery.”
The new aid comes as President Joe Biden meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House Friday to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine as Russia’s invasion continues.
Kirby said the leaders would discuss the “kinds of capabilities that Ukraine continues to need in the weeks and months ahead.”
He also said this will be a “true working visit” between Biden and Scholz and they are expected to discuss “recent engagements with Ukrainian officials, including the President’s trip to Kyiv and meeting with President Zelenskyy, as well as Chancellor Schultz’s meeting with President Zelensky in Paris last month.”
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Mar 02, 3:12 PM EST
Lavrov ‘diverted’ Blinken’s calls to reconsider Russia leaving START treaty
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “diverted” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s calls to reconsider the decision to suspend Russia’s participation in the New START treaty, Russia’s foreign ministry told Interfax, Russian news agency.
“If they want to return to diplomacy, let them return. If they are engaged in self-promotion and such inexpensive PR, well, this is possible. True, the result will be appropriate,” Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the ministry, told Russian TV channel Rossiya-1.
-ABC News’ Natalia Shumskaia
Mar 02, 12:36 PM EST
Blinken, Lavrov hold ‘on the go’ talk at G-20 meeting
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had an “on the go” talk during the G-20 Meeting of Foreign Ministers in India, but there were no negotiations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS, a Russian news agency, Thursday.
“Blinken asked for a contact with Lavrov. Sergey Viktorovich [Lavrov] had communication on the go during the second session. But there were no negotiations, no meeting or so on,” the diplomat said.
Blinken had said earlier in the day during a press conference he had “spoke briefly” with Lavrov and discussed ending the war, as well as Russia rejoining the New START Treaty on nuclear arms.
“I told the foreign minister what I and so many others said last week at the United Nations and what so many G-20 foreign ministers said today: End this war of aggression, engage in meaningful diplomacy that could produce a just and durable peace,” he said. “The United States stands ready to support Ukraine through diplomacy to end the war on this basis.”
A senior State Department official downplayed any hopes that the conversation moved the needle on any of the topics.
-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova and Shannon Crawford
Mar 01, 5:12 PM EST
Ukraine says it’s shot down 80% of Russian missiles
Ukraine has shot down 80% of Russian missiles, according to Commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Air Force Serhiy Nayev.
Nayev made the assessment in a Facebook post on Wednesday about the effectiveness of the air defense system.
