(WASHINGTON) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Sunday that he is considering a run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
“I’m definitely thinking about it and having those conversations,” Sununu told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
The governor, who was just overwhelmingly reelected to a fourth term, said “the message is new leadership” and touted his own track record running what he called the “most efficient” state government in the U.S.
“But at the end of the day, you’re going to have a lot of Republicans that get in that race,” he said. “They’re all really good people. They’re really good candidates. … And you got to have that discussion about where we’re going to go, both as a party and make sure we’re going there as a country.”
The field of 2024 GOP contenders already includes former President Donald Trump while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to announce her own bid later this month, sources have told ABC News.
Sununu, a vocal Trump critic, is skeptical of his general election chances. “He could get the nomination, but he can’t get it done,” Sununu said.
He pointed to the 2022 midterm elections, where several major Trump-backed candidates fell short, as a sign of Trump’s electability concerns. Sununu, a self-described “free-market principled Republican,” said the party should focus on finding a conservative candidate who isn’t too divisive.
“What I’ve tried to espouse to with Republicans is, ‘Look, we want to vote for the most conservative candidate that can win in November and get stuff done in ’25,'” he said.
Sununu said that his personal vision was this: “I believe government has to get out of your way. And we’ve done it really, really well here in New Hampshire. We’re sharing that model across the country.”
Good leadership is what is lacking out of President Joe Biden’s White House, Sununu argued, faulting Biden both for his response to a Chinese reconnaissance balloon flying over the country last week and what Sununu said was a disingenuous picture of the economy.
“Go into a grocery store and just talk to people in the cereal aisle. What are they feeling? You know, do they feel confident about this leadership that the president? No,” Sununu said. He cited a new ABC News/Washington Post survey that four in 10 Americans feel financially worse off under Biden.
“The best leadership is one that looks inside, says, ‘What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong, right?’ If we don’t acknowledge the problem, we can’t fix it,” Sununu said, adding, “You need to see more of that out of Washington.”
The Biden administration’s approach to the Chinese balloon, revealing its presence days after it entered the U.S. and then shooting it down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, was “too little, too late,” Sununu said.
U.S. officials have said they delayed any military response to prevent hurting civilians and took steps to limit any intelligence risk.
“Again, you have to have leadership. You have to be transparent. You have to be fast-acting,” Sununu said.
When asked about Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, Sununu contended that the commander-in-chief will wrongly take credit for current economic progress as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought widespread job loss.
Sununu said he expects Biden to tout the unemployment rate, at a decades-low, but “after a pandemic, that wasn’t very hard.”
Boasting about declining inflation, which is now at a year-over-year rate of 6.5%, would be similarly self-serving, Sununu said. “Inflation was at a record high — of course it’s coming down,” he said. “It couldn’t have gotten any higher.”
“The prices are not going to go back to where they were. I know the Biden administration likes to pretend that,” Sununu said, predicting that the economy would be headed for years of so-called “stagflation,” in which rising costs limit growth.
Despite his sharp criticisms of Biden, Sununu said he still doesn’t think Trump can win against him in a 2024 rematch.
“Trump is going to be seen as a very extreme candidate,” Sununu said. “The country is going to push back against it.”
(WASHINGTON) — With President Joe Biden preparing to deliver his second State of the Union address on Tuesday, a new ABC News/Washington Post shows many people feel their finances are worsening — but Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Sunday said the president can “make the case” that the economy is back on track.
“You make that case by pointing to the reality and recognizing that the story won’t tell itself,” Buttigieg told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. He touted the latest employment numbers, including 517,000 jobs added in January, and an unemployment rate of 3.4% that is the lowest since 1969.
“What we’re seeing is extraordinary. Record job creation, as the president has pointed out, more created in two years on his watch than four years on any other president’s watch, and usually, when you have unemployment go down like this, you have inflation go up. But right now, inflation is going down as well,” the secretary said.
Buttigieg also touted Biden’s “economic track record” in creating manufacturing jobs, lowering the cost of insulin for seniors and projects that will soon be starting due to the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.
The ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 41 percent of Americans say they’re not as well off financially as they were when Biden took office — the most in almost 40 years of ABC News/Washington Post polling.
Pressed by Karl on the survey showing only 16% say that they feel better off today than they were two years ago when Biden took office, Buttigieg said the country has “been through a lot” recently.
“The president and the entire administration recognize that there continue to be headwinds, challenges, problems facing this economy,” he said, invoking the COVID-19 pandemic. “After all, the president took office under some of the most challenging circumstances facing any president in modern times.”
Buttigieg highlighted rising wages and more Americans participating in the labor force as a signal of economic strength and said that “we can expect continued improvement” if the administration continues “successful policies.”
“Part of what I think you’re going to see on Tuesday when the president’s addressing the nation and the Congress in the State of the Union is a reminder that this successful approach stands in stark contrast to a strategy that would focus on things like preserving tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires,” Buttigieg argued.
The House’s new Republican majority, however, contends that Biden and congressional Democrats have been reckless and wasteful in their government spending, citing the national debt and historic inflation that only began to cool in recent months.
With the country approaching the deadline to increase the nation’s debt limit by June or risk defaulting on its obligations, Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said there will be no default — but that the White House must negotiate on spending in exchange for a debt ceiling increase.
The White House said raising the limit, which is currently about $31.4 trillion, has long been done without preconditions under both presidents. The ceiling allows the government to borrow money to pay for debts it has already incurred rather than for new spending. Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump reportedly grew the national debt by approximately $7.8 trillion, which included an enormous government response to COVID-19.
Buttigieg on Sunday wouldn’t comment on talks between the White House and GOP but made clear that raising the debt limit was not up for debate — insisting that the administration viewed negotiating spending levels as a separate discussion with Republicans.
“The president’s been very clear that the full faith and credit of the United States is not negotiable. Remember, this is not a decision or a negotiation about how much to spend or even how much to borrow, this is about whether the United States pays its bills, and we always do,” he said.
He told Karl that there are “always negotiations going on” when it comes to spending, which House Republicans are hoping to curb now that they have control of the chamber.
But because Republicans haven’t “put pen to paper on what they want,” Buttigieg said, it makes it “hard to understand” where they want to make cuts.
Karl asked if it was then possible that there could be parallel legislation to raise the debt limit without conditions — while a second bill reflected a compromise on spending.
“Yeah, because one is not appropriate for negotiation; the other one is,” Buttigieg said.
As President Biden prepares for a likely 2024 reelection campaign, the ABC News/Washington Post poll also showed that less than a third of Democratic voters want to see him re-nominated.
Buttigieg gave no indication on when Biden could make his announcement but said he has been an “absolutely historically successful president and I want to see that continue.”
When Karl followed up to ask if Buttigieg wanted Biden to run in 2024, he said, “When I’m appearing in this capacity, I can’t talk campaigns and elections. But let me say this: I’m incredibly proud to be part of this team that he has built and to be part of the results that he is delivering.”
(WASHINGTON) — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that despite China’s claims otherwise, they sent a balloon into the U.S. to send a message about the country’s sway across the globe.
“The key part here is they knew exactly what they were doing and there was a message behind it,” Rubio told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
“They understood that it [the balloon] was going to be spotted, they knew the U.S. government would have to reveal it, that people were gonna see it over the sky. And the message they were trying to send is what they believe internally, and that is that the United States is a once-great superpower that’s hollowed out, it’s in decline,” Rubio said.
The balloon’s presence over Montana caused the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a ground stop for the Billings airport on Wednesday. But U.S. officials only announced the vessel was over the country late Thursday, after it had already flown down from Alaska. The military chose to wait to strike the balloon until the risk to civilians was minimized, defense officials have said.
China saw value in that delay, Rubio said on “This Week.”
“The message they’re trying to send the world is, ‘Look, these guys can’t even do anything about a balloon flying over U.S. airspace. How can you possibly count on them if something were to happen in the Indo-Pacific region? … How are they going to come to the aid of Taiwan or stand with the Philippines or Japan or India when the Chinese move on their territory?'” he said.
Rubio’s comments come after bipartisan outrage over what the Biden administration described as a Chinese surveillance balloon that was first detected on Jan. 28 crossing Alaska, Canada and then the continental U.S., including flying over sensitive military sites that house intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The balloon was ultimately shot out of the sky on Saturday over the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina.
As vice chairman of the Senate’s intelligence panel, Rubio will be one of eight lawmakers who will be briefed sometime this week behind closed doors on the circumstances around the balloon.
Rubio said on “This Week” that “first and foremost,” he wanted to know what information the balloon was able to collect. He pointed to China’s repeated use of such craft.
“Obviously, look, countries spy on countries. … What was the value of this platform? Because it’s one we’ve seen them use now for a handful of years here. But what’s the value of it?” he said, adding, “What are we going to do about it in the future?”
Rubio dismissed China’s public statements that the balloon was a civilian weather vessel that had accidentally flown to the U.S. He also said he wanted specific answers as to why the military chose to act when it did.
“When was it spotted? Why was it not brought down sooner over other areas? I’m open-minded to listening to the arguments they make about why it wasn’t dealt with sooner,” Rubio said.
The administration has said President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered the balloon to be taken down once it was feasible, with the threat of harm to civilians ultimately delaying military action.
Whether the Pentagon would now glean useful intelligence from the balloon “depends [on] what they’re able to retrieve,” Rubio said. “When you shoot something out of the sky and it goes into the ocean, you don’t always get it back in a neat package,” he added.
Mike Mullen, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, concurred with Rubio in a separate interview on “This Week.”
“I think I know enough about the system that you actually can navigate this system,” Mullen said. “It has propellers on it, if you will. So, this was not an accident. This was deliberate. It was intelligence.”
Both Rubio and Mullen said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the right move in delaying a planned trip to China, in light of this incident, but the senator also criticized Biden for not addressing Americans directly on what was unfolding.
“I don’t know why they waited so long to tell people about this,” he said.
Mullen approximated that China’s balloon program is 10 years old and echoed some of the administration’s rationale.
“It’s very clear to me that the intelligence value of this, from the standpoint of what it was getting, was not worth the risk of killing an Americans on the ground,” Mullen said. “And it’s a substantial package in terms of its size, and even in the least dense areas of the country, there was that possibility, and I know that’s why we waited to this point to take it down.”
Mullen said this was the first time that he knew of a Chinese vessel “[coming] over the country like this,” and he suggested it was possible that elements in the Chinese military had acted on their own to disrupt Blinken’s diplomatic trip.
“There’s no way that he could have a meaningful visit, and we have a host of issues that we need to address. … Strategically, this really damages a relationship between us and China, which was deteriorating,” Mullen said. “And I think that’s really the big part of this.”
(NEW YORK) — Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.
Putin’s forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 05, 2:20 PM EST
Delays on aircraft will result in more Ukrainian deaths: Defense minister
Ukraine’s minister of defense warned his western partners Sunday that if they “procrastinate” over the supply of aircraft to Ukraine, more Ukrainians will die.
“If we will have a procrastination or reluctance with aircraft platforms, it will cost us more lives, more blood of Ukrainians,” Oleksiy Reznikov told reporters in Kyiv.
Reznikov appeared to concede that the most readily available and Ukraine’s preferred western aircraft, American F-16s, were no longer an option on the table with western partners.
He said Sweden’s Gripen fighter jets are still an option. Ukrainian officials have previously mentioned the Gripen as a possibility in conversations with ABC News about weapons supplies.
“I’m sure we will have (western) aircraft,” Reznikov said.
Reznikov also spoke of the fierce fighting being wage in the city of Bakhmut in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Reznikov described the city as a “stronghold” which Russia has been trying to occupy for months.
Reznikov said 500 Russian soldiers a day are being injured or killed in the fight for Bukhmut and that Ukrainian casualties are significantly lower.
Any strategic decision on whether or not to withdraw, Reznikov said, would be made by Ukrainian generals and is “not a political decision.”
-ABC News Tom Soufi Burridge
Feb 05, 1:01 PM EST
Netanyahu considers sending Ukraine ‘Iron Dome’ defense system
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview Saturday that he is considering sending to Ukraine an Iron Dome defense system.
Netanyahu told French broadcasters TF1 and LCI that he is “looking into” sending Ukraine the mobile all-weather air defense system that has helped protect his country from Palestinian rockets launched from the Gaza Strip.
“I said I’m looking into it and I’m doing just that,” Netanyahu said during a visit to France.
In October, the Ukrainian government sent Israel an official request for the Iron Dome system to fend off Iranian ballistic missiles and attack drones used by Russia in Ukraine.
Netanyahu did not disclose a timeframe for when the defense system might be sent to Ukraine, saying, he is reviewing the request from Ukraine and the overall policy for supplying the system.
Feb 05, 12:19 PM EST
Fierce fighting continues in Kharkiv, Bakhmut
At least five people were injured Sunday when Russian missiles hit a residential building and a university in central Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, Ukrainian officials said.
Kharkiv Regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said four people were hurt when a Russian missile landed near an apartment building in central Kharkiv, according to The Associated Press.
Syniehubov said one other person was injured in a missile strike on a building at the National Academy for Urban Economy, a university near Kharkiv’s central square.
The missile strikes prompted the evacuation of local residents, Syniehubov said.
“In short, there was a strong blast, and it was just one short moment and everything happened,” one of the evacuees, Lyudmyula Krylova, told Reuters.
Krylova said she was in the residential building near where the missile landed.
“We were saved by the furniture that fell on us, and because of this we are now alive,” said Krylova, adding that a friend was injured in the attack and taken to a hospital.
Meanwhile, fighting intensified Sunday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, said in a statement posted on Telegram.
Prigozhin denied reports that Ukrainian forces were retreating from the area. He said the Ukrainian troops were fighting for “every street, every house, every stairwell.”
Feb 03, 4:58 PM EST
American volunteer medic killed in Ukraine
An American volunteer medic was killed in Ukraine on Thursday while helping civilians evacuate, according to his family and Global Outreach Doctors, the humanitarian organization he was volunteering with.
Pete Reed, 33, died after his evacuation vehicle was hit with a reported missile in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, according to Global Outreach Doctors.
“Pete was a beacon of humanitarian work — an incredible visionary, leader, compassionate care provider, and an inspiration to us all,” Global Outreach Doctors founder and president Andrew Lustig said in a statement on social media Friday. “He selflessly dedicated his life in service to others, especially those affected by disaster and war. Pete accomplished more in his 33 years than most of us in our entire lives. He leaves behind an incredible legacy.”
His family said that Reed was responding to wounded civilians when his ambulance was shelled.
“He died doing what he was great at, what gave him life, and what he loved, and apparently by saving a team member with his own body,” his family said in a statement shared to social media on Friday. “As you can imagine we are all in shock and have much to do to get him home so we ask for privacy presently.”
Reed was a former U.S. Marine who joined Global Outreach Doctors in January to serve as its Ukraine country director, Lustig said.
The State Department did not name Reed directly, in accordance with its standard privacy practices, though a spokesperson confirmed the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine and said that officials from the department “are in touch with the family and providing all possible consular assistance.”
Feb 03, 2:49 PM EST
US announces 1st transfer of seized assets to war effort
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced during a meeting with Ukraine’s top prosecutor on Friday that he has authorized the first transfer of forfeited Russian assets to go toward the Ukrainian war and recovery effort.
The $5.4 million was formally ordered confiscated Thursday from sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev. Garland’s order will direct the money to the State Department for use in Ukraine under a new law signed by President Joe Biden late last year.
“The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable Russian oligarchs and others whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unprovoked and unjust war in Ukraine,” Garland said in his meeting with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin. “And we will continue to work closely with our international partners to support investigation and prosecution of the atrocities that have occurred during this war.”
Kostin thanked Garland for authorizing the transfer, which he said showed “the responsible party pays for the devastation that it caused.”
“The reparation of tremendous human and material damage to Ukraine and Ukrainian people is an important aspect in our quest for justice,” Kostin said.
-ABC News’ Alex Mallin
Feb 03, 1:41 PM EST
US announces $2.2 billion in aid to Ukraine
The U.S. announced another $2.2 billion in security assistance for Ukraine on Friday.
The package includes “critical air defense capabilities to help Ukraine defend its people, as well as armored infantry vehicles and more equipment that Ukraine is using so effectively, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, artillery ammunition, and conventional and long-range rockets for U.S.-provided [High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems],” the Department of Defense said in a statement.
The weapons package includes precision-guided rockets, or Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs, which have a longer range than the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System missiles Ukraine currently has, though not as long as the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACM) missiles that Ukraine has requested.
The package includes the authorization of presidential drawdown from existing U.S. stocks valued at up to $425 million and $1.75 billion in Ukraine Assistance Security Initiative funds for new weapons purchases, the Department of Defense said.
–ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Feb 03, 11:55 AM EST
Zelenskyy: ‘Nobody will give away Bakhmut’
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine will “fight for as long as we can” to hold on to the eastern city of Bakhmut in remarks on Friday.
“Nobody will give away Bakhmut,” Zelenskyy said during a news conference with European Union officials after a summit in Kyiv, Reuters reported. “We consider Bakhmut our fortress.”
“Ukraine would be able to hold Bakhmut and liberate occupied Donbas if it received long-range weapons,” he added.
The remarks come as Ukrainian and Russian forces remain locked in a brutal battle in and around Bakhmut.
Feb 01, 6:32 PM EST
2 civilians killed in ballistic missile strike in Kramatorsk: Zelenskyy
At least two people were killed and more injured in Kramatorsk after a Russian ballistic missile hit a residential building, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“Some people are still under the rubble. No goal other than terror,” Zelenskyy said. “The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it. By tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles.”
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
Feb 01, 1:51 PM EST
US issues additional sanctions against Russian military-industrial complex
The U.S. Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions against 22 individuals and entities across various countries it alleges have aided Russia’s military-industrial complex evade other sanctions already in place. The U.S. is specifically targeting a father and son arms-dealing duo and their vast international network.
The department said these steps are part of “the U.S. strategy to methodically and intensively target sanctions evasion efforts around the globe, close down key backfilling channels, expose facilitators and enablers, and limit Russia’s access to revenue needed to wage its brutal war in Ukraine.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jan 31, 7:31 AM EST
Human Rights Watch calls on Ukraine to investigate use of landmines in Izium
Human Rights Watch is calling on Ukraine to investigate its military’s “apparent use of thousands of rocket-fired antipersonnel landmines in and around the eastern city of Izium where Russian forces occupied the area.”
The international non-governmental organization issued a press release on Monday saying it has “documented numerous cases in which rockets carrying PFM antipersonnel mines, also called ‘butterfly mines’ or ‘petal mines,’ were fired into Russian-occupied areas near Russian military facilities.” Ukraine is a state party to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibits any use of antipersonnel mines.
Human Rights Watch said it has previously documented Russian forces’ use of antipersonnel landmines in Ukraine in 2022.
“Ukrainian forces appear to have extensively scattered landmines around the Izium area, causing civilian casualties and posing an ongoing risk,” Steve Goose, arms division director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “Russian forces have repeatedly used antipersonnel mines and committed atrocities across the country, but this doesn’t justify Ukrainian use of these prohibited weapons.”
Jan 29, 7:34 PM EST
Reports of 3 dead, 6 wounded in Kherson from Russian shelling: Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the Russian shelling of Kherson in his evening address Sunday, saying there are “reports of six wounded and three dead” from the recent shelling.
“Today, the Russian army has been shelling Kherson atrociously all day. Residential buildings, various social and transport facilities, including a hospital, post office and bus station, have been damaged,” Zelenskyy said. “Two women, nurses, were wounded in the hospital. As of now, there are reports of six wounded and three dead.”
Zelenskyy spoke with the president-elect of the Czech Republic Sunday and invited him to come to Ukraine, he said.
Zelenskyy also noted the progress that was made last week in getting NATO members and allied countries to commit to sending more weapons to Ukraine, but added, “We have to make the next week no less powerful for our defense.”
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Jan 26, 1:11 PM EST
11 dead, 11 injured in missile strikes on Ukraine
Eleven people died and 11 others were injured in Russian missile strikes throughout 11 regions of Ukraine on Thursday, according to Ukrainian emergency services.
Two fires broke out and 35 buildings were damaged in the strike.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jan 26, 11:17 AM EST
US designates Russia’s Wagner Group as ‘transnational criminal organization’
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against a number of individuals and entities associated with the Wager Group in Russia and across the world in an effort to “degrade the Russian Federation’s capacity to wage war against Ukraine,” the department said in a statement.
The U.S. designated Russia’s Wagner Group a “transnational criminal organization,” not just for the alleged atrocities it has committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also for its alleged human rights abuses in African countries like the Central African Republic.
The U.S. believes the Wagner Group has 50,000 people fighting in Ukraine, including 40,000 convicts, according to the White House. The group’s leader is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ally Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who was already facing several U.S. sanctions.
Last week, the White House first announced the U.S. would take this step.
Jan 26, 5:21 AM EST
One dead in Kyiv in Russian missile strike
At least 15 missiles fired at Kyiv on Thursday were shot down, officials said.
One person was killed and two were wounded after part of a missile fell in the Holosiivskyi District of Kyiv, Mayor Vitaliy Klychko said. The missile hit a residential building, he said.
Air raid sirens began sounding just before sunrise in the capital. Some residents fled to shelters, including Kyiv’s metro stations.
A missile also struck Vinnytsia, the local governor said. No casualties were immediately reported there.
Jan 26, 2:00 AM EST
Air raid sirens sound in Kyiv
Air raid sirens went off across Ukraine as Russia launched multiple missiles from the east and south. Some were shot down, according to Andriy Yermak, head of the president’s office.
Airborne forces last night shot down all 24 unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Russia. At least 15 of those were shot down in or around Kyiv, according to the local authorities. No casualties or impacts were reported.
Jan 25, 6:31 AM EST
Germany to deliver tanks to Ukraine, in major step for allies’ support
German officials said on Wednesday they plan to deliver 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
“This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement. “We are acting in a closely coordinated manner internationally.”
Officials said the decision was the result of intensive consultations that took place with Germany’s closest European and international partners. Other European allies also plan to send tanks, German officials said.
Ukrainian troops will be trained on the tanks in Germany, officials said in a statement. Germany also planned to send ammunition and provide system maintenance.
Jan 24, 2:53 PM EST
US considering sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine: Officials
The Biden administration is leaning toward sending M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, U.S. officials have confirmed to ABC News.
The U.S. could commit to sending between 30 to 50 tanks to Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
It could take more than a year for the new tanks to be fielded, officials said.
While President Joe Biden has not made a final decision, the transfer of Abrams would presumably enable Germany to authorize the transfer of German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. This could then allow the 12 NATO countries that have Leopard 2 tanks to transfer them to Ukraine.
The decision could be announced as early as this week, officials said.
Jan 23, 5:11 PM EST
Zelenskyy issues new rule barring officials from personal travel out of country
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a new policy that forbids Ukrainian officials from leaving the country for non-governmental purposes.
“Officials will no longer be able to travel abroad for vacation or for any other non-governmental purpose,” Zelesnkyy said in his evening address Monday. “Within five days, the Cabinet of Ministers is to develop a border-crossing procedure for officials so that only a real working trip can be the reason for border crossing.”
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Jan 19, 7:06 PM EST
CIA director held secret meeting with Zelenskyy in Kyiv: US Official
CIA Director William J. Burns traveled to Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian intelligence officials last week, a U.S. official told ABC News.
The director “reinforced our continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression,” according to the official.
The Washington Post first reported the meeting earlier Thursday.
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
Jan 19, 6:13 PM EST
Pentagon announces $2.5B more aid for Ukraine
The Pentagon announced Thursday evening that it will provide Ukraine with $2.5 billion in additional aid for its efforts fighting Russian forces.
This is the 13th drawdown of equipment from the Department of Defense’s inventories for Ukraine since August 2021, the agency said.
The package includes several weapons and equipment such as 59 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers, the DoD said.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jan 19, 4:34 PM EST
UN nuclear watchdog chief ‘worried’ about a disaster in Ukraine
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog group said Thursday that he is worried the world is becoming complacent about the “very precarious” situation posed by the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine.
Russian forces seized the plant, Europe’s largest, in March 2022 and it has repeatedly come under fire in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear disaster. Rafael Grossi, director general of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is working to set up a safe zone around the facility.
“I think the situation is very precarious,” Grossi told reporters in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. “I worry that this is becoming routine, that people may believe that nothing has happened so far, so is the director general of the IAEA crying wolf?”
Grossi said two major explosions occurred near the plant on Thursday, adding to the alarming situation.
“We know every day that a nuclear accident or an accident having serious radiological consequences may take place,” said Grossi before travelling to Moscow for talks with Russian officials.
Jan 19, 1:53 PM EST
Zelenskyy calls for new sanctions against Russia’s nuclear industry
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday pleaded with leaders of the European Union to pursue new sanctions against Russia’s nuclear industry and energy carriers.
During a joint news conference in Kyiv with European Council President Charles Michel, Zelenskyy said he believes a tenth package of sanctions “could be even more effective” than the previous ones.
“The time has come, in particular, for sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry, against all its branches, organizations and all entities that work for the Russian missile program,” Zelenskyy said.
He also expressed his frustration over Germany’s hesitation to send Leopard tanks Ukraine.
“The issue of tanks remains relevant and very sensitive,” Zelenskyy said. “It depends on many reasons and, unfortunately, does not depend on the will of Ukraine. We create pressure as hard as we can politically, but the essential thing is that our pressure is well-reasoned.”
Zelenskyy added, “Against thousands of tanks of the Russian Federation, as I told our colleagues, only the courage of our military and the motivation of the Ukrainian people are not enough.”
Since the United Kingdom announced last week it will send Challenger 2 tanks to Russia, the German government has faced mounting pressure to follow suit, or at least allow NATO allies such as Poland to supply Ukraine with German-made Leopard tanks.
“The delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine is still a matter of dispute in the Bundestag (national parliament),” according to a statement released Thursday by the German government, which added that the issue is still the subject of “heated debate.”
Jan 18, 6:10 PM EST
Close to 100 Stryker armored vehicles part of next aid package: US official
A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that the upcoming aid package to Ukraine will include close to 100 Stryker Armored Vehicles and additional Bradley fighting vehicles.
The Stryker is a wheeled armored vehicles that can carry as many as 11 soldiers inside and is equipped with a 30mm gun and or machine gun that are remotely fired from inside the vehicle. It’s fast moving and can be used on roads or off roads, though the off road option is better handled by the tracked Bradley fighting vehicles.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jan 18, 5:49 PM EST
Zelenskyy provides update on helicopter crash
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy provided an update on the helicopter crash near Kyiv near a kindergarten.
Zelenskyy said 14 people were killed in total including Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrski and one child.
Twenty-five people were injured, including 11 kids, the president added.
“Hundreds of people were involved in extinguishing the fire, searching and rescuing the injured, carrying out the initial investigative actions,” Zelenskyy said.
The president praised the efforts of kindergarten teachers who rushed in to help.
“Thank you for your bold actions, for taking the children out,” he said.
Zelenskyy said the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be temporarily led by the head of the National Police of Ukraine.
“The tasks for which the Minister was responsible in the context of our defense operation and ensuring the security of the state have also been distributed,” he said.
The cause of the helicopter crash is still under investigation.
-ABC News’ Wil Gretsky
Jan 18, 12:38 PM EST
Putin prepared for long war, Nato says
Russia is preparing for an extended war so NATO must get ready “for the long haul” and support Ukraine for as long as it takes, the alliance’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana told top European military chiefs Wednesday.
NATO nations must invest more in defense, ramp up military industrial manufacturing and harness new technologies to prepare for future wars, Geoana said, speaking at the opening of the military chiefs’ meeting in Brussels.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jan 18, 9:40 AM EST
Sixteen people dead in helicopter crash, including three children
Sixteen people, including Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, died in a helicopter crash near Kyiv, according to national police, the deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office and Ukraine’s security service.
Monastyrsky is considered the most senior government official to die since the war started 11 months ago.
Jan 18, 3:57 AM EST
Helicopter crash near Kyiv kills interior minister
Ukrainian officials were killed on Wednesday morning in a helicopter crash near Kyiv.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, deputy Evgeniy Yenin and the state secretary of the interior ministry, Yuriy Lunkovych, died when a helicopter crashed in Brovary, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, chief of the national police Igor Klymenko said on Facebook.
The emergency services helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in a residential area, according to officials.
According to the interior ministry, at least 18 people died, including three children. Another 22 people, including 10 children, were wounded, officials said.
The cause of the crash is unclear for now.
Jan 17, 5:06 PM EST
Zelenskyy confirms Netherlands sending Patriot Missile System
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the Netherlands will provide Ukrainian forces a Patriot Missile System.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces will now have three guaranteed Patriot batteries.
-ABC News Will Gretsky
Jan 17, 3:34 PM EST
White House condemns Dnipro attack
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre talked about the latest developments in Ukraine and slammed Russia over its missile strike on the apartment building in Dnipro.
“This weekend’s strikes are another example, as you’ve heard us say, of the brutal and barbaric war that Russia is waging against the Ukrainian people,” she told reporters during a White House press briefing.
“And we have seen this over and over again,” she added.
Jean-Pierre also praised the UK’s announcement Monday that it plans to send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
The press secretary didn’t say whether the U.S. would provide tanks to Ukraine or if Biden would pressure other countries to do so.
She noted that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was going to host another multinational meeting on Friday of the “Ukraine Contact Group” — a gathering of defense ministers to discuss security assistance to Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Jan 17, 12:39 PM EST
Death toll from Dnipro missile attack rises to 45: Mayor
The death toll from Saturday’s missile attack on an apartment building in Dnipro has risen to 45, including six children, according to Borys Filatov, the city’s mayor.
The search and rescue operations have ended, according to the emergency services.
In addition to the fatalities, there were 79 people wounded, including 16 children, according to emergency services.
Thirty-nine people were rescued from the rubble, including six children, emergency services said.
-ABC News’ William Gretsky
Jan 16, 4:56 PM EST
Ukrainian soldiers arrive in US for Patriot missile training
Ukrainian soldiers arrived in the United States on Sunday to begin training on the Patriot air defense missile system at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, a U.S. military official said.
The training at Fort Sill is expected to last several months, and then switch briefly to Europe, officials said.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Jan 16, 4:33 PM EST
39 people, including 6 children, rescued from rubble in Dnipro
Emergency crews have rescued 39 people, including six children, who were buried under the rubble caused by a missile strike on a high-rise apartment complex in Dnipro over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his Monday evening address.
The death toll remains at 40, including three children, he said.
The Kremlin denied being responsible for the attack, saying Russia doesn’t strike residential areas and claiming the destruction was a result of Ukrainian air defense.
“The debris of the house destroyed by the Russian missile is still being dismantled in Dnipro,” Zelenskyy said. “I thank everyone who is carrying out this rescue operation. Every employee of the State Emergency Service and police, every doctor, every volunteer. Everyone who is involved.”
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Jan 16, 4:09 PM EST
Civilian survivors speak out after missile strike in Dnipro
Emergency workers were still looking for survivors Monday following a strike on a high-rise apartment building on Saturday in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
The death toll rose to 40 dead, including three children, making it the deadliest strike on a residential area in Ukraine in the last three months.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “Russian terror,” saying Ukraine was “fighting for every person, every life” under in rubble in Dnipro and would “find everyone involved in this terror.”
The attack on an apartment building destroyed 72 units and wounded 75 residents.
Rescuers have been using cranes to remove chunk after chunk of rubble, looking for survivors.
One of the survivors, Yevgeni, told ABC News that he was in his bed when the missile struck his apartment.
“I can’t understand. I didn’t hear any bang, any voice, any sound of the missile,” said Yevgeni, adding that he suffered a head injury and that his broken window frame fell on him.
He described seeing smoke and “a lot of dust” at the scene. He said “the most scary thing (was hearing) the voices of people screaming.”
Local resident Natali Nodykova told ABC News that a friend called her to tell her there was a bombing in her neighborhood.
“My son was alone at home and of course I was afraid,” Nodykova said.
Emergency workers rescued 39 people, Ukrainian officials said. Twelve people remained unaccounted for Monday.
The attack was caused by a Soviet-made Kh-22, a long-range missile used to take down aircraft carriers, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
The massive 13,000-pound missile causes huge amounts of casualties when used in civilian areas.
The Kremlin denied the attack, saying Russia doesn’t strike residential areas and claiming the destruction was a result of Ukrainian air defense.
The same type of weapon had been used in a previous attack on a shopping mall in the town of Kremenchuk back in July that killed 22 people, according to Ukrainian authorities.
-ABC News’ Ibtissem Guenfoud, Bruno Roeber, Oleksii Pshemyskiy, Matt Gutman and Max Uzol
Jan 16, 10:24 AM EST
Three children among 40 killed in Dnipro missile strike
The death toll climbed to 40 on Monday from a weekend missile strike on a high-rise apartment complex in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, according to Ukrainian officials.
At least three children were among those killed, officials said. Another 70 people were injured.
The death toll is expected to rise as 30 people remain unaccounted for, officials said.
On Saturday, a missile slammed into a block of high-rise apartment buildings in the central Dnipro. While Ukrainian officials blamed Russia for the strike, one of the deadliest attacks since the war began, the Kremlin denied Russia was involved.
“The Russian armed forces do not strike residential buildings or social infrastructure, they strike military targets,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday.
Jan 15, 3:40 PM EST
Survivor pulled from rubble in Dnipro as death toll rises
The death toll from a Russian missile strike on a block of high-rise apartment buildings in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro rose to 29 on Sunday.
Amidst the devastation, rescuers pulled one woman alive from the rubble on Sunday and officials said she was saved by a cocoon of concrete that surrounded her.
The survivor was rescued from a block of apartment buildings hit by a Russian missile on Saturday in the city about 500 miles southeast of the capital of Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a child was among those killed in the Dnipro missile attack.
Despite Sunday’s rescue, emergency workers said the hope of finding more survivors is fading.
The rocket attack reduced part of a high-rise apartment building to a pile of rubble that was still smoldering on Sunday. Noxious fumes from burning couches, curtains and TVs emanated from the pile as firefighters sprayed water hoses on it and rescue workers dug through the debris with their bare hands, an ABC News crew in Dnipro reported.
In addition to the now 29 killed in the attack, more than 70 people were injured, Ukrainian officials said. The strike left hundreds of apartments uninhabitable, officials said.
Emergency crews brought in cranes Sunday to help move large pieces of debris.
As the rescue operation went on Sunday, periodic moments of silence were called for so rescuers could listen for cries for help from people feared missing in the rubble.
-ABC News’ Matt Gutman
Jan 14, 11:07 AM EST
5 killed, dozens hurt in attack in Dnipro
Five people were killed and at least 27 were wounded in a Russian attack in Dnipro in central Ukraine, according to the governor.
An apartment block was struck and at least two children are among the injured, according to the deputy head of the president’s office.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd
Jan 14, 9:27 AM EST
Kyiv under Russian missile attack Saturday morning
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said explosions occurred in different districts on both banks in the city on Saturday morning and, in one of the districts, fire broke out in a non-residential area.
There were no casualties as a result of the attack that happened at approximately 6 a.m. but 18 residential houses were damaged in the region, according to the governor Oleksiy Kuleba.
The spokesman for the Ukrainian Airborne Forces, Yuri Ignat, told ABC News that Ukrainian authorities think it could have possibly been a ballistic attack by Russia but could not confirm this.
“Most likely, these are missiles that flew along a ballistic trajectory from the north. Ballistics are not available for us to detect and shoot down,” Ignat said on Ukrainian television.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd
Jan 13, 4:02 PM EST
Russian forces claim to have taken Soledar
Russian military leaders claim their forces took over the salt-mining town of Soledar.
Video showed Russian soldiers evacuating civilians from Soledar and nearby villages to the city of Shakhtarsk as fighting took place on the outskirts on Friday.
Serhiy Cherevaty, the Ukrainian commander of the Eastern Group of Forces, however, confirmed that fighting was going on in the region but contested Russia’s claims about the status of the city in a statement to ABC News.
“We have a clear understanding of who controls which streets in the city, but I cannot reveal those details,” he told ABC News.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Patrick Reevell
Jan 12, 1:51 PM EST
Pressure mounts on NATO countries to send tanks to Ukraine
Pressure is mounting for key NATO allies to send tanks to Ukraine.
After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country plans to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine but only as part of an “international coalition.”
“They will be provided within the coalition, because you know that it is necessary to obtain certain official consents. But first we need to build an international coalition and we have decided to form this international coalition,” Duda said.
Duda “expressed hope” other NATO countries would provide Ukraine with tanks as well.
The United Kingdom has not made a final decision on whether to send tanks to Ukraine, according to the spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The United Kingdom is considering supplying Ukraine with the British Army’s Challenger 2 main battle tank, according to British media reports.
Germany is also facing pressure from Ukraine and other NATO allies to send tanks to Ukraine. So far, they have not committed to sending any tanks to the country and neither has the United States.
Germany and the United States have both agreed to supply Ukraine with armored carriers and the Patriot air defense system.
Jan 12, 12:52 PM EST
Russians, Ukrainians give conflicting views in the battle for Soledar
Russian and Ukrainian officials offered conflicting views Thursday on the battle being waged over the eastern Ukraine city of Soledar.
Both sides described their forces as making progress in the fight for the salt mining town in the Donbas region.
“Our defenders continue to hold their positions on the most difficult frontlines and in the battle for (the) Donbas,” said Hanna Maliar, the Ukrainian deputy of defense. “Today, fierce and heavy battles continue in the direction of Bakhmut, in the area of Soledar city.”
Despite the “difficult situation,” Ukrainian soldiers are desperately battling for control of Soledar, Maliar said.
“The enemy is suffering heavy losses, unsuccessfully trying to break through our defenses and capture Soledar,” Maliar said. “Today, the city’s approaches are literally littered with the bodies of Putin’s destroyed troops. Nevertheless, they move over the bodies of their fallen fighters. Our defenders show maximum resilience and heroism.”
But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Russian forces and mercenaries from the Wagner private military company are doing a “truly colossal job” in Soledar.
“These are absolutely selfless, heroic deeds,” Peskov told journalists on Thursday.
Peskov said the hostilities in the region will continue.
“There is still a lot of work to be done. No time to stop, no time to rub our hands and so on. The main work is yet to come,” Peskov said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that Russia’s airborne units had blocked Soledar from the north and the south and assault teams were fighting within the town limits.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address on Wednesday that Ukrainian troops are holding onto Soledar.
“The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend” to have achieved some successes in Soledar, Zelenskyy said. “But the fighting continues.”
Jan 11, 4:51 PM EST
Russian shake-up as military chief in Ukraine replaced
Russia has replaced the military chief in charge in Ukraine, according to the Kremlin.
Army Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, will replace Sergei Surovikin, who has been commander of Russia’s forces in Ukraine for the past three months. Surovikin will become one of Gerasimov’s deputies, according to Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s minister of defense, who made the new appointments.
The changes come as the progress of the Russian forces in Ukraine continues to stall.
“The increase in the level of leadership of the special operation is linked to the expansion of the scale of the tasks at hand and the need to organize closer interaction between troops,” Shoigu said.
Jan 11, 12:17 PM EST
Ukrainians deny reports the city of Soledar on verge of falling to Russia
Ukrainian officials on Wednesday denied reports that the eastern Ukrainian city of Soledar is on the verge of being captured by Russian forces and claimed the battle for the city is ongoing.
The report contradicts British intelligence officials who on Tuesday said it appeared that Russian troops were close to capturing a salt mining town in an apparent attempt to cut off the enemy’s supply routes. The British officials said Russian forces, along with mercenaries from the Wagner private military company, were likely in control of the city of Soledar, which is about six miles north of Bakhmut in the Donbas region, where heavy fighting has been reported in recent days.
The head of the Wagner group also released a statement on Telegram Tuesday, saying his mercenaries were in control of Soledar.
But Ukrainian officials said Wednesday the city has not fallen into the hands of Russian forces and the Russian mercenary group.
“Russians say that it is under their control; it is not true,” said Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian eastern military command.
The Russian attack on Soledar is an apparent attempt to bypass Bakhmut from the north and disrupt Ukrainian supply routes, the British intelligence officials said. Part of the fighting is being waged near the entrances to the 124 miles of abandoned salt mine tunnels that run under the area.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the fighting in Soledar as “very difficult.”
Jan 10, 4:09 PM EST
Russia not ready to launch new offensive from Belarus: Ukrainian officials
Senior Ukrainian officials said Tuesday that they believe any prospect of Russia launching a new offensive toward Kyiv from Belarus is “not likely at this moment.”
The latest statement from Ukrainian officials contrasted with a series of interviews they gave last month in which they suggested Russia could mount an offensive early this year and even try to take Kyiv.
“Our assessment is that the Russians aren’t in a position to make an advance on Kyiv from Belarus. And if that were their intention, it wouldn’t happen for some time,” a senior Ukrainian official said Tuesday.
The Ukrainian officials added that the mere threat of an assault from Belarus means that Ukrainian forces are “fixed” along the Ukraine-Belarus border.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge
Jan 10, 2:15 PM EST
Ukrainians set to begin Patriot air defense training in Oklahoma
As many as 100 Ukrainians troops will soon begin training on the Patriot air defense system at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, two U.S. officials told ABC News Tuesday.
Fort Sill is the main artillery school for the U.S. Army and where months-long training on Patriot systems already takes place.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said the Ukrainians could begin training on the Patriot system as soon as next week.
“The training will prepare approximately 90 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers to operate, maintain and sustain the defensive system over a training course expected to last several months,” Ryder said.
Once deployed, the Patriot batteries will fortify Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and provide an additional way for the “Ukrainian people to defend themselves against Russia’s ongoing aerial assaults,” Ryder said.
Ryder would not give a precise time frame, but said that once the training is completed, the system will be sent to Ukraine to be put to use.
President Joe Biden announced last month that the United States will provide Ukraine with a Patriot missile defense system. The German government also agreed this month to supply Ukraine with a second Patriot missile battery.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Jan 10, 1:30 PM EST
Russians on verge of overtaking eastern Ukrainian city
Russian troops were on the verge Tuesday of capturing a salt mining town in eastern Ukraine in an apparent attempt to cut off the enemy’s supply routes, according to British intelligence officials.
The Russian forces, along with mercenaries from the Wagner private military company, were likely in control of the city of Soledar, which is about six miles north of Bakhmut in the Donbas region, where heavy fighting has been reported in recent days, the British officials said.
The attack on Soledar is an apparent attempt to bypass Bakhmut from the north and disrupt Ukrainian supply routes, the British intelligence officials said. Part of the fighting is being waged near the entrances to the 124 miles of abandoned salt mine tunnels that run under the area.
Despite the increased pressure on Bakhmut, Russia is unlikely to be able to encircle the city in the near future because Ukrainian forces have created a stable line of defense and control supply routes in the area, the British officials said.
The Ukrainian Army said Russian troops carried out 86 artillery strikes on Soledar in a 24-hour period, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the fighting there as “very difficult.”
(NEW YORK) — Government officials closely tracked a massive surveillance balloon believed to be from China as it traveled across the U.S. for several days.
The white balloon, which China’s foreign ministry has claimed to be used for meteorological purposes, traveled at an altitude of around 60,000 feet with a vessel described as the size of three buses, officials said.
According to U.S. officials, the balloon traveled west of Alaska, south over the Aleutian Islands, over water into southwest Canada and then over Montana.
Social media sightings popped up as the balloon moved southeastwardly across the continental U.S. — before it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean Saturday afternoon.
One of the earliest sightings confirmed by ABC News was around 4:21 p.m. ET Wednesday in Reed Point, Montana.
More than two hours later, around 6:46 p.m. ET, it was filmed east of Reed Point, in Billings, Montana. Other footage captured it over Billings over the next hour, as civilians wondered what the object was.
From Montana, the balloon traveled southeast through South Dakota and Nebraska, according to U.S. officials.
ABC News has not confirmed any other sightings of the balloon until around 9:41 a.m. ET on Friday, when it was filmed over Sabetha, Kansas.
Over an hour later, it appeared farther east over Saint Joseph, Missouri, where it was filmed around 11 a.m. ET.
Video footage captured the balloon farther east, over Cameron, Missouri, between 11:56 a.m. and 12:28 p.m. ET.
About 30 minutes later, it was shot farther south within the Kansas City metro area, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
The balloon appeared to be heading toward North Carolina, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the situation. ABC News confirmed several sightings of the balloon over the state by Saturday morning.
Around 8:40 a.m. ET, the balloon was filmed over Biltmore Park in Asheville.
The balloon continued to move southeastwardly, with sightings over the Hendersonville and Saluda areas, before being captured over the Eagle Lake neighborhood in Charlotte around 10:22 a.m. ET.
By about 11:15 a.m. ET, the balloon was captured over South Carolina, in Lancaster, as it continued to move southeastwardly toward the coast.
Around 1:30 p.m. ET, the balloon was seen over the coastal city of Myrtle, along with U.S. fighter aircraft close by.
Its voyage soon came to an end. Footage captured the balloon being shot down shortly after 2:40 p.m. ET. off the coast of South Carolina.
The balloon was ultimately downed in U.S. airspace over U.S. territorial waters by fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command, according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
(PHILADELPHIA) — The Democratic National Committee near unanimously approved a reconfigured presidential primary calendar rubber-stamped by the White House at the group’s winter gathering on Saturday.
A few nay votes were drowned out by a sea of “ayes,” followed by cheering from inside the Sheraton Hotel ballroom in Philadelphia.
Under the new calendar, the 2024 Democratic presidential primary begins in South Carolina — the state that revived President Joe Biden’s campaign in the 2020 contest — on Feb. 3.
That primary would be followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on Feb. 6, Georgia on Feb. 13 and Michigan on Feb. 27.
Modernization and representation were two key guiding pillars for the DNC as they strategized changing their early nominating window. The committee debated for months over what sort of voter coalition could win Democrats votes.
“This calendar reflects who we are as a nation,” party chair Jamie Harrison said at Saturday morning’s meeting.
During Saturday’s session, members of the New Hampshire and Iowa caucuses protested the changes to the primary calendar.
“We are creating a situation of continued uncertainty that will drag on until 2023,” said Iowa DNC member Scott Brennan. “We will leave here with absolutely nothing settled.”
Rita Hart, Iowa party chair, argued this calendar “feeds the narratives” that Democrats have “turned their backs” on the rural Midwest.
“Democrats cannot forget about entire groups of voters in the heart of the Midwest without doing significant damage to the party,” Hart said.
Joanne Dowdell, a DNC member from New Hampshire, says the DNC is punishing them because they cannot change their law.
“And we are frustrated because as many times as we say it, no one seems to listen when we tell you that this will only hurt President Biden in our purple, battleground state,” said Dowdell.
Dowdell added: “If President Biden doesn’t file for the New Hampshire primary, it will provide an opening to an insurgent candidate to rise in the state and potentially win the first presidential primary of 2024- something that no one in this room wants to see.”
Former 2020 candidate author Marianne Williamson is teasing a Democrat challenge to Biden and will be visiting New Hampshire in the coming weeks.
“No one state should have a lock on going first,” responded Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, met with a round of applause.
Leah Daughtry also argued that other states are going to have to “shift” to make space for Black and Latino voters, saying that they are all not urban voters, asking the body to dispel with the idea non-White voters are somehow not rural and suburban.
Georgia election official Jordan Fuchs told ABC News back in December that there’s little appetite to move their primary up unless both parties can do so, without either receiving penalties from their respective national parties – another unlikely parameter.
“Our legal team has continuously stated that both party primaries are going to be on the same day and we will not cost anyone any delegates,” said Fuchs.
Both states will lose their early-state waiver if they are unable to meet compliance – and if they run their primary anyway, they risk losing convention delegates.
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — The Department of Justice will help conduct a review of the Memphis Police Department following the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, city officials said.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland announced Friday that the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, along with the International Association of Police Chiefs, will conduct an “independent, external review” that will include assessing the department’s special units and use-of-force policies “to honor Tyre and help make sure this type of tragedy does not happen again.”
“While we no doubt have a long way to go on the road to healing, hopefully through our actions, citizens will see we are working to be better and that we are heading down the right path,” Strickland said in a bulletin.
Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, three days after he was beaten by police after he ran from a traffic stop in Memphis. Graphic footage of the violent confrontation released by the city showed officers appearing to kick, punch and pepper spray Nichols.
Five officers at the scene of the beating were fired and charged with second-degree murder in connection with Nichols’ death. The special task force they all had been assigned to was subsequently disbanded.
A sixth officer who responded to the initial traffic stop has been fired for violating “multiple department policies,” Memphis Police said on Friday. The violations included personal conduct, truthfulness and a violation for not using a Taser in compliance with regulations, the department said.
Another unidentified officer involved in the traffic stop has been placed on administrative leave.
“Multiple” officers are also under investigation for policy violations related to Nichols’ arrest and death, the department said Friday.
It is unclear how long the independent review of the Memphis Police Department will take. ABC News has reached out to the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Memphis mayor’s office for more information on the timeline.
The International Association of Police Chiefs, a professional association for police leaders, called Nichols’ death “appalling and indefensible” in a statement last week.
“As police leaders we remain committed to emphasizing dignity and respect for all and instilling within our agencies a fundamental commitment to the preservation of human life. But we must, and will, do more,” the association said. “We must remain committed to working together in partnership with community members, advocacy organizations, elected officials, and others to build a future that ensures dignity, security, and justice for all.”
(NEW YORK) — Government officials are closely tracking a massive surveillance balloon believed to be from China as it travels across the U.S.
The white balloon, which China’s foreign ministry has claimed to be used for meteorological purposes, is at an altitude of around 60,000 feet with a vessel described as the size of three buses, officials said.
According to U.S. officials, the balloon traveled west of Alaska, south over the Aleutian Islands, over water into southwest Canada and then over Montana.
Social media sightings have been popping up as the balloon moves southeastwardly across the continental U.S.
One of the earliest sightings confirmed by ABC News was around 4:21 p.m. ET Wednesday in Reed Point, Montana.
More than two hours later, around 6:46 p.m. ET, it was filmed east of Reed Point, in Billings, Montana. Other footage captured it over Billings over the next hour, as civilians wondered what the object was.
From Montana, the balloon traveled southwest through South Dakota and Nebraska, according to U.S. officials.
ABC News has not confirmed any other sightings of the balloon until around 9:41 a.m. ET on Friday, when it was filmed over Sabetha, Kansas.
Over an hour later, it appeared farther east over Saint Joseph, Missouri, where it was filmed around 11 a.m. ET.
Video footage captured the balloon farther east, over Cameron, Missouri, between 11:56 a.m. and 12:28 p.m. ET.
About 30 minutes later, it was shot farther south within the Kansas City metro area, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
The balloon appeared to be heading toward North Carolina, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the situation. ABC News confirmed several sightings of the balloon over the state by Saturday morning.
Around 8:40 a.m. ET, the balloon was filmed over Biltmore Park in Asheville.
The balloon continued to move southeastwardly, with sightings over the Hendersonville and Saluda areas, before being captured over the Eagle Lake neighborhood in Charlotte around 10:22 a.m. ET.
The U.S. will likely wait until the balloon is over the Atlantic Ocean to then try to shoot it down and retrieve it, according to the senior U.S. official.
(UVALDE, Texas) — Jerry Mata, whose 10-year-old daughter Tess was killed in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting last year, still returns to the campus of Robb Elementary to honor his child.
“I’ve been coming at nighttime, every once in a while,” Mata told ABC News. “This was her last place, where she took her last breath. I have to come until it’s demolished.”
Mata and other victims’ families are waiting for the buildings to be torn down, while the community grapples with mixed emotions over plans to demolish the school and replace it with a new one elsewhere in Uvalde.
Robb Elementary is the site of the second-deadliest elementary school shooting in American history, where 19 children and two teachers were killed on May 24, 2022.
Ten days after the massacre, the local school district announced plans to demolish the school.
It was not a straightforward decision, given both the events of May 24 and the cultural and historical significance Robb Elementary holds in the small community located 60 miles from the Mexican border.
Irene Stone, the director of development at Uvalde’s El Progreso Library, and whose family helped construct the school back in 1955, said the school’s past should not be erased.
“I’d love to see all this history that we have researched put in that memorial,” Stone told ABC News, “so that we can honor the men like my grandfather and my great uncle and my dad who built the school.”
Robb Elementary played a key role in the fight for equal rights by Chicano and Mexican-American students, who at one point were barred from speaking Spanish within the school’s walls, according to Stone, in a community where the population has long held steady at 80% Hispanic or Latino.
In the spring of 1970, 650 students staged a walkout after the firing of one of the school’s only Latino and bilingual instructors. The protest led to a lawsuit that found the district was in violation of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling 16 years prior and resulted in an order to the district to desegregate in 1976.
That decree was later challenged by the school district in 2007, but an agreement was reached with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a civil rights nonprofit which took up the case, in 2017.
District leadership has spent the months since the Robb massacre seemingly at odds with many of the victims’ families, with some parents organizing a two-week sit-in protest at the district office, culminating in the controversial resignation of longtime Schools Superintendent Hal Harrell.
Gary Patterson, a career administrator named interim superintendent in Harrell’s place, said he supports the decision to demolish the school, but acknowledged questions about how to honor Robb’s legacy are complicated.
“I don’t think that the history of Robb Elementary or the significance… have to go away. Because to take the building down, I mean, it’s more than just the building,” Patterson told ABC News. “It’s the history and the culture. So, what we need to do is find a way as a community to memorialize the history of that area as well as the students who lost their lives.”
When asked about a proposed memorial on school grounds, Patterson said nothing’s been decided yet.
“We’re not at that point where those decisions are–the school district’s not going to rule that out at all. If the district feels and the community feels that’s the appropriate place, then I think yes,” he said.
“I don’t think Uvalde will ever outlive the tragedy, and I’m not sure they should,” Patterson said. “I think it’s become a part of our fabric, and we need to see how we can move together while we don’t diminish anything that happened there.”
Mercedes Salas, a teacher at Robb Elementary who survived the massacre and whose own children attended the school, said the school evokes complicated emotions for her and her family.
“Prior to that day I had a lot of great memories with my coworkers, with my students, you know?” Salas told ABC News. “My personal children attended… and they have nothing but great memories. So, I just have mixed emotions because my last day was a horrible day, you know, a day full of fear.”
Others, like Mata, whose family has attended the school for generations, are ready to see the building go.
“Robb Elementary should be a thing of the past,” Mata said.
There is currently no scheduled date or budget for the demolition of the school, but the district and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin have assured residents that plans are forthcoming.
Construction is set to begin on a new school adjacent to one of the community’s existing elementary schools in August for students to attend as early as 2025. The district has set a fundraising goal of $50 million, which will be the sole source of funding for the school.
Uvalde:365 is a continuing ABC News series reported from Uvalde and focused on the Texas community and how it forges on in the shadow of tragedy.
(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — Local officials in East Palestine, Ohio, have ordered roughly 2,000 residents, about half the town’s population, to evacuate their homes after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and caught fire.
A Norfolk Southern train traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania derailed around 9 p.m. Friday, ignited, and prompted a response from over 50 fire departments across three states, according to East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway.
In an interview with ABC News early Saturday morning, Conaway said residents living in a one-mile radius of the fire have been asked to evacuate or shelter in place voluntarily. At a Saturday morning press conference, Conaway said the evacuation is mandatory, though the town “can’t physically make people leave their homes.”
Janet Meek, a 55-year-old resident in the evacuation zone, said she decided not to evacuate due to concerns about her pets, though she reported feeling the impacts of the blaze when she went outside.
“It’s like burning our eyes, and it was burning our throats,” she said. “We don’t … didn’t feel real good.”
Fire chief Keith Drabick said at the press conference Saturday morning that the train was carrying hazardous substances but could not confirm if the fire impacted the train cars carrying the hazardous goods. Drabick said the odor permeating East Palestine is not harmful at current levels, but representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency are monitoring the situation.
East Palestine is a small village on the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio with roughly 4,700 residents.
A spokesperson from Norfolk Southern said they are “coordinating closely with local first responders while mobilizing our own teams.”
“If you have to come to East Palestine, don’t,” Drabick said. “Stay out of the area until we can get this mitigated.”
Efforts to contain the fire stalled Saturday night when firefighters withdrew from the blaze due to concerns about air quality and explosions.
Conaway said firefighters withdrew from the fire Friday night due to concerns about air quality, with a plan to reengage once they get a “better grasp of what exactly is what chemical is burning.” At Saturday’s press conference, Drabick added that there had been multiple explosions overnight, which posed a risk to firefighters.
Early Saturday morning, Conway described the fire as “contained” but “ongoing.” Drabick said daybreak would show the extent of the damage and long-term potential for the blaze.
The call to evaluate comes as East Palestine is hit with some of the coldest weather this year, dropping to 6 F on Friday night.
Living a block from the railroad tracks, Meek said she heard a “loud boom” around 9 p.m. after coming home from a local basketball game.
After her husband reported seeing a “billowing ball of fire” while walking their dogs, she went outside to witness the fire, only to return inside after feeling some of the effects of the fumes. Meek said she has seen over 100 fire trucks respond to the fire, which she said appeared uncontained.
“There was no actually stopping it…,” she said. “It just looked like mushroom clouds, and everything was exploding, like you could just hear these explosions.”
