Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has rejected an African American history course that is set to be a part of the College Board’s slate of Advanced Placement courses in high schools.
In a letter obtained by ABC News, the Florida Department of Education rejected the course calling it “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”
“If the course comes into compliance and incorporates historically accurate content, the department will reopen the discussion,” a Florida DOE official told ABC News.
The course is currently being piloted in a small number of high schools across the country with plans to roll out the course for any high school that wants it in the 2024-2025 school year.
“The interdisciplinary course reaches into a variety of fields — literature, the arts and humanities, political science, geography and science — to explore the vital contributions and experiences of African Americans,” read a College Board description of the course.
Some educators and students across the state have told ABC News that they fear DeSantis’ effort to rid schools of so-called “trendy ideologies” will target and erase important curriculum on the racial history of the U.S. from schools.
This is just the latest effort in DeSantis’ war on “woke”-ness, or marginalized identities, in education. He has made this a centerpiece of his gubernatorial campaign, and has been speculated to be a potential 2024 presidential candidate for conservatives.
“We seek normalcy, not philosophical lunacy, we will not allow reality, facts and truth to become optional. We will never surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die,” DeSantis said during his Jan. 3 inauguration.
DeSantis is behind the “Stop WOKE” Act, which restricts race-related content in workplaces, schools and colleges. However, the law has been temporarily blocked and is being battled in the courts.
He also signed into law the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, officially known as the Parental Rights in Education law, which restricts content on sexual orientation and gender identity from some classrooms.
Critics say these legislative efforts are censorship.
“Far from indoctrinating students into a so-called ‘woke agenda,’ educators often struggle to teach about the history and origins of racism … [Stop WOKE] would deepen this learning gap as educators, understandably fearful of public threats to police them, seek to avoid the penalties embedded in the law for teaching about prohibited topics such as the factual disparities in wealth, education and housing for Black people in this country,” the Southern Poverty Law Center said in response to the law.
DeSantis has also begun investigating data on higher education courses related to “diversity, equity and inclusion,” as well as “critical race theory.”
(MEXICO CITY and LONDON) — The family of an American tourist found dead in Mexico said Tuesday that they believe he “was the victim of a brutal crime.”
California resident and Orange County public defender Elliot Blair died on Jan. 14 at Las Rocas Resort and Spa, located on the shores of Rosarito Beach, just south of Tijuana, along the western coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. While investigators initially believed that Blair died from a fall, there is a specific injury on his forehead “that would not have been caused by a fall,” a local law enforcement official told ABC News on Monday.
The State Attorney General’s Office of Baja California later released a statement saying an autopsy established that Blair’s death “was the result of an unfortunate accident due to the fall of the deceased from a third floor.” The office said the investigation is ongoing and that it is in contact with American authorities through the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, “who are collaborating and have the information about the investigation to provide it to the relatives who require it.”
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the FBI Los Angeles field office told ABC News on Tuesday that the agency, to their knowledge, has “no involvement.”
Meanwhile, in a press release obtained by ABC News on Tuesday, an attorney for Blair’s family said that Mexican authorities “still have not reached out to the family with this information.”
“The family is devastated that since this incident, no one from the Rosarito Beach Police Department, their district attorney’s office, or any other Mexican officials have reached out and spoken to them directly,” the attorney said. “The only communication that the family has received has been through a liaison to the coroner’s office.”
The coroner’s office liaison told Blair’s family on Monday that “the cause of death was severe head trauma and that the case had been forwarded to the district attorney’s office to conduct a possible homicide investigation,” according to the attorney.
“The family informed the liaison that they would be conducting their own independent investigation, specifically hiring a private investigation firm, retaining an independent forensic pathologist to conduct a medical examination, including their own toxicology analysis,” the attorney added.
The attorney said Blair was visiting Mexico with his “loving wife,” Kim Williams, to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. The couple was staying in a third-floor room at Las Rocas Resort and Spa, where they had stayed “on multiple occasions” over the past five years, according to the attorney.
The “incident” that led to Blair’s death “occurred in an open-air walkway located outside the front door of their room,” the attorney said. Blair was found in the T-shirt he wore to sleep, underwear and socks. Williams was woken up by hotel staff asking if that was her boyfriend, according to the family’s attorney.
Blair “was very familiar” with the hotel’s layout, spoke Spanish fluently and “was not intoxicated at the time” of the incident, according to the attorney.
However, police said on Tuesday there was a “considerable” amount of alcohol in Blair’s body after doing a toxicology report.
Police also said there was no sign of a dispute or a struggle in the hotel room, which they searched again for evidence on Monday.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State told ABC News on Tuesday that they are aware of reports of the death of an American citizen in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. The State Department stands ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance, according to the spokesperson, who declined to comment further, citing respect to the family during this difficult time.
A spokesperson for the State Attorney General’s Office of Baja California told ABC News on Tuesday investigators have conducted a second inspection of the hotel and sent the evidence to a laboratory, where the results are pending.
The attorney for Blair’s family said Mexican authorities have continually suggested that the body be cremated.
“Yesterday, during a conversation with the funeral home liaison, it was again suggested he be cremated and the family insisted his body not be cremated in order to conduct a thorough, complete, independent investigation,” the attorney added.
Moreover, the attorney said that Blair’s wife, also an Orange County public defender, “has been given multiple versions of what happened to Elliot,” whom was described in the press release as “a brilliant attorney with a bright future” as well as “a loving husband, son and brother.”
“The family, which has extensive legal training in criminal law, wholeheartedly believes based on their initial investigation, that Elliot was the victim of a brutal crime,” the attorney said. “Elliot’s tragic, untimely, and suspicious death has left his family and community with a huge hole in their hearts that will never be repaired.”
Case Barnett, a lawyer representing Blair’s family, told ABC News on Thursday that Blair’s body was embalmed before they could have their own toxicology report performed. They do not have the body yet and are hoping it will be returned home on Thursday, he said.
ABC News’ Jennifer Leong contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — More than 10 months 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 in November pulled out of key positions, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the 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:
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.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden said Thursday he has “no regrets” as the investigation continues into the classified documents found at his home and office.
Biden broke his silence on the issue during a trip to California to survey storm damage. He had not answered questions on the matter since last week, and has addressed the issue only three times since the news broke earlier this month. He had not done so since a special counsel was named.
“You know what, quite frankly, bugs me is that we have serious problems here we’re talking about,” he said to reporters who shouted questions. “We’re talking about what’s going on and the American people don’t quite understand why you don’t ask me questions about that, but having said that, what’s your question?” Biden said.
The president was then asked why he did not reveal the existence of the documents back when they were first found in early November, a few days before the midterm elections.
“We found a handful of documents … were filed in the wrong place, we immediately turned them over to the archives and the Justice Department,” he said. ‘We’re fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.”
“I think you’re going to find, there’s nothing there,” he continued. “I have no regrets. I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do. It’s exactly what we’re doing. There’s no ‘there’ there. Thank you.”
The White House has faced scrutiny for avoiding reporters’ questions on the document drama, instead referring them to the Department of Justice.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Metallica has premiered a new song called “Screaming Suicide,” a track off the band’s upcoming album, 72 Seasons.
“‘Screaming Suicide’ addresses the taboo word of suicide,” says frontman James Hetfield. “The intention is to communicate about the darkness we feel inside.”
“It’s ridiculous to think we should deny that we have these thoughts,” the singer continues. “At one point or another, I believe most people have thought about it. To face it is to speak the unspoken. If it’s a human experience, we should be able to talk about it. You are not alone.”
You can listen to “Screaming Suicide” now via digital outlets, and watch its accompanying video streaming on YouTube.
72 Seasons, the follow-up to 2016’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, will be released April 14. It also includes the previously released single “Lux Æterna,” which has sat at #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart for the last six weeks.
Metallica will support 72 Seasons with a giant world tour, which kicks off in April in Europe and then comes to the U.S. in August.
If you are in crisis or know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
The first general on-sale date for tickets to Madonna‘s The Celebration Tour isn’t until Friday, but the tour has already added a bunch of shows for the usual reason: “overwhelming demand.”
The global tour, which will feature Madonna playing four decades’ worth of hits, now boasts 13 new dates, including second shows in Seattle, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, plus a third show in New York.
Tickets for those new dates will go on sale Friday, January 20, at 10 a.m. local time, alongside the shows that have already been announced in those cities. As previously reported, tickets go on sale for the remaining cities on January 27 at 10 a.m. local time. Visit Madonna.com for all the details.
The Celebration Tour kicks off Saturday, July 15, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s set to wrap up Friday, December 1, in Amsterdam.
This will be Madonna’s first tour since her Madame X trek, which saw her doing multiple dates in theaters in select cities. It ended in early March 2020, after being cut short by the pandemic. The Celebration Tour will see the Queen of Pop performing in arenas.
Kevin Kane/Getty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Def Leppard makes a cameo in the new Netflix film Bank of Dave, and they are giving fans a look at what went into the making of their scene. The band shared some behind-the-scenes footage of them shooting the cameo, which was filmed March 5, 2022, in Wakefield, England.
In the video, Joe Elliott calls the film a “feel good” movie, which he seemed happy to be a part of. “I get to do some acting. I’m hoping I get my Equity card, so I’m just trying to get into character,” he says. “It should be a bit of fun.”
Bank of Dave tells the real-life story of a working-class, self-made millionaire named Dave Fishwick, who istrying to set up a community bank to help his town’s local businesses survive. It stars actor Rory Kinnear, whose been in Penny Dreadful, Black Mirror and James Bond films, including Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. The cameo has the band performing at a charity fundraiser for the bank.
“What a special day,” drummer Rick Allen shares in the behind-the-scenes video. “I’m really excited about how this turns out and I think it’s just really an honor to be involved with something like this, with such a fantastic story.”
Bank of Dave is currently streaming on Netflix in the United Kingdom.
(WASHINGTON) — Another spending fight looms between the White House and Congress, reviving similar stalemates in 2011 and 2013 under President Barack Obama.
Then, as now, Congress was divided — a Republican House and a Democratic Senate — and the White House had a Democratic president.
Then, as now, ascendant House Republicans sought to use must-pass spending and debt legislation to negotiate priorities they said their voters wanted, such as major spending cuts and, in 2013, an effort to stop the Affordable Care Act.
The U.S. does not take in enough money in taxes or other revenue to pay for its expenses, so it must borrow to cover the rest — and on Thursday, the U.S. hit its current debt limit of approximately $31.4 trillion. The Treasury Department has begun what Secretary Janet Yellen called “extraordinary measures” to keep the federal government funded and give Congress more time to act.
Last week, Yellen wrote to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that she didn’t expect the department’s “cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted before early June.”
That timeline sets the stage for a fierce political fight, with Republicans portraying Democrats as out-of-control spenders — racking up debts upon debts upon debts — and Democrats responding that the GOP, which holds the House, is unable to responsibly govern by paying the country’s bills for the military, Social Security and much more.
All the while, the Treasury says, the country is pushed closer to the brink of major economic consequences if it runs out of “extraordinary measures” and can’t borrow money.
“This has become a political football because it’s so easy to pass back and forth and get points for hitting the other side,” said one House Democratic aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “There’s less incentive to actually solve problems when there’s a chance to have a news cycle hitting the other side on it.”
A “football” is what the White House says they don’t want, citing how Congress has usually addressed the debt limit in a bipartisan fashion, under presidents of both parties and even when Republicans controlled the House and Senate.
“Congress is going to need to raise the debt limit without — without — conditions and it’s just that simple,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier this month.
And while Jean-Pierre has since said there are ongoing conversations between the White House and members of both parties, “Attempts to exploit the debt ceiling as leverage will not work,” she told reporters this month. “There will be no hostage taking.”
McCarthy, R-Calif., has insisted that he would not support any debt limit increase without reducing spending back to fiscal year 2022 levels. He has pointed to the most recent election results.
“Republicans were elected with a mandate from the American people in the midterm elections. We campaigned on the fact that we were going to be serious about spending cuts. The Senate has to recognize we’re not going to budge until we see meaningful reform with respect to spending,” he said on Fox News over the weekend, referencing negotiations with the Senate.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., echoed that in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
“The Republicans were largely elected to get control of reckless funding. That’s the mission that their voters have given them. So, when President [Joe] Biden says he’s going to refuse to negotiate with Republicans on any concessions, I don’t think that’s right,” Bacon said.
“I want our side to negotiate with the Democrats in good faith,” he said, “but President Biden has to also negotiate.”
Lawmakers and congressional aides who spoke with ABC News say they bristle over the pall over the prospect of negotiations but admit that they see political advantages for each party.
“I think members, especially the Republican side, are very pressured right now to be able to rationalize not just to themselves but to their constituents what $31.4 trillion means to the country in debt. And if they just blindly go forward with the same old, same old, they’re not doing their job,” former Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Mich., told ABC News. “That’s exactly what their constituents will tell them. So, for every opportunity you have to address the issue of spending, you really, as a member, gotta take advantage of it.”
Former Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., who has since left the party, predicted that “House Republicans will play hardball.” Jolly added that concessions by McCarthy would be an “early broken promise” to the more conservative members whom he persuaded to vote him in as speaker.
President Biden, too, could see political upside in holding his line, some in his party say.
“Biden won’t need to negotiate as long as the public continues to understand that MAGA Republicans in the House are to blame for the looming crisis. They have done a good job so far. It will help him in the reelect to run in 2024 against a Republican House that’s out of control,” said one Senate Democratic aide.
Looking back at past spending, debt ceiling fights
The modern era of spending and debt limit fights traces back to the 2010 midterms, when Republicans retook the House in what was the largest gain for a party in the chamber since 1938. Conservatives demanded the Obama administration tackle deficit reduction in order to raise the borrowing limit.
In the summer of 2011, after months of fractious wrangling, Obama told reporters that “crisis” had been averted — the U.S. government’s debt limit would be raised, ensuring it could continue to borrow money to pay its bills, in exchange for major spending cuts sought by Republicans.
“It ensures also that we will not face this same kind of crisis again in six months or eight months or 12 months,” Obama said then. “And it will begin to lift the cloud of debt and the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over our economy.”
Even so, the fiscal fight had tiptoed close to the cliff of the Treasury exhausting its resources, leading Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the credit rating of the United States government for the first time ever.
Two years later, Obama was again celebrating a breakthrough with Congress over the government’s spending and debt limit.
This time — in the wake of Obama’s 2012 reelection and Democrats picking up seats in the House and Senate — a standoff with the House GOP majority ended in the conservative lawmakers conceding on almost all of their demands, with both parties in the Senate hammering out a deal.
“We’ve got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis,” Obama said at the time.
A 2013 ABC News poll showed that 54% of Americans agreed with Obama’s handling of the issue and only 40% agreed with Republicans’ handling.
However, that disapproval didn’t appear to bring with it any broader voter reaction, with the GOP seeing gains in the 2014 midterms.
Since then, the debt limit has either been paused or increased eight times, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, with Congress largely choosing to simply extend the debt limit rather than hold a vote on raising it.
“It should be done in a bipartisan way. It always has been,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on CNN last week, seeking to play down the possibility of another bruising battle.
“I think Republicans learned their lesson,” he said then. “They suffered, we won the election after that [in 2012], and they will hopefully come and work with us.”
With the debt ceiling looming again as a priority and a problem, some other lawmakers are getting frustrated.
“I’ve blamed both sides for a long time,” one House Republican said. “It’s an inherent problem that we must get serious about.”
The House Democratic aide took this view: “I think both sides will run aggressive messaging on this and, in the end, both will get blamed. Voters tend to channel anger at who is ‘in charge.’ In this instance, that includes a bipartisan group of leaders because of the current divide.”
Graham Nash has shared a heartfelt tribute to his Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bandmate David Crosby, who passed away Thursday at the age of 81.
“It is with a deep and profound sadness that I learned that my friend David Crosby has passed,” he writes on Instagram. “I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years.”
He adds, “David was fearless in life and in music. He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world. He spoke his mind, his heart, and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy. These are the things that matter most.”
Finally he offers, “My heart is truly with his wife, Jan, his son, Django, and all of the people he has touched in this world.”
Crosby, Stills & Nash, which also featured Stephen Stills, formed in 1968. They released their self-titled debut in 1969. Neil Young later joined them, and they released Déjà Vu, their first album as a foursome, in 1970; it went to number one. In addition, Crosby & Nash released four albums together.
(NEW YORK) — When Grace Featherston, a senior theatre education major at the University of Texas at Austin, received an email Tuesday notifying her that TikTok was being restricted at the university, she went on TikTok to share her reaction to the news.
She captioned her nine-second video post, “UT Austin just banned Tiktok on their WI-FI.”
“This whole thing with the Wi-Fi, that was kind of like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?'” the 22-year-old told “Good Morning America.”
This week, UT Austin said it was blocking access to TikTok starting Tuesday on the school’s wired and Wi-Fi networks, joining several schools in the Lone Star State in doing so. The university said it was taking the action to comply with Gov. Greg Abbott’s December directive “to all state agencies to eliminate the cybersecurity risks posed by TikTok.”
In the last month, numerous public colleges and universities in multiple states have announced bans on TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, from their schools’ campus Wi-Fi networks and devices, with many responding to directives from their state governments.
More than half of states have set a partial or full TikTok ban on government devices as both state and federal officials have voiced fears that American data and information could be shared with the Chinese government.
The federal government and TikTok developed a preliminary agreement last year to respond to national security concerns, but further review is required, The New York Times reported last September.
TikTok has said the data it collects from U.S. users is stored in the U.S. and in Singapore. The company said it has not taken down any user posts at the request of the Chinese government.
TikTok has previously rejected cybersecurity concerns state and federal agencies have raised, telling ABC News in December, “We believe the concerns driving these decisions are largely fueled by misinformation about our company. We are happy to continue having constructive meetings with state policymakers to discuss our privacy and security practices. We are disappointed that many state agencies, offices, and universities will no longer be able to use TikTok to build communities and connect with constituents.”
Featherston said she uses TikTok daily and has been on the app for the last four years — a period, she said, when people started using the app more during quarantine or while staying home during the pandemic.
Featherston said the new campus TikTok ban won’t affect her too much since she’s on the UT Austin campus one day a week and can switch to her personal phone data to use the app if she wants to, but she said the restriction has led her to consider other sides and question the restriction in the first place.
“UT is following the law but on the other hand, I can see it as a constitutional issue because we have students who live on campus who, that is their Wi-Fi, they pay to be there, they pay to use that Wi-Fi, and TikTok being restricted could honestly be a constitutional issue for freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Because, I mean, it’s censorship,” Featherston continued.
“I think we’re at that point where we’re gonna have to review it, let it go through the system, and if people aren’t happy with the result, I mean, I just think that’s all better incentive to say, ‘Hey, there’s a way to fix it. Time to go vote.'”
In Alabama, Auburn University first announced back in December that it would block TikTok access in accordance with Gov. Kay Ivey’s executive order banning TikTok from state devices and networks. On Jan. 9, the school announced it would restrict its use on school networks.
Braden Haynes, a senior visual media and marketing major at Auburn, said when she and her peers heard of the upcoming TikTok ban, they didn’t think it would actually happen.
“Everybody was like, ‘Yeah, right,’ kind of like, ‘I don’t see why they would do that,'” the 22-year-old told “GMA,” adding that she knew of schools, such as the University of Georgia, that had not implemented TikTok restrictions even though they were located in states that did have a TikTok ban on state devices and networks.
But by the time Haynes, a station manager for Auburn’s student-run TV station, Eagle Eye TV, returned to campus from winter break, the TikTok usage limit was in place.
“There’s no message. You just get on it and it just doesn’t load. Like it’ll play the first video [if] it’s already loaded up in there, but if you try to scroll or refresh the page, it just doesn’t do anything.” Haynes explained.
Daniel Schmidt, a journalism major at Auburn, said the TikTok ban on campus also would affect certain classes that had incorporated the app in coursework.
“Last semester in our multimedia journalism class, it was mandatory that we create a TikTok account and go on campus and create a social media video,” the 27-year-old told “GMA.” “From what it sounds like, we can’t use that as an option at all, which, there are other social media platforms, it’s not a huge deal, but again, there’s some limitations to the learning process here.”
“When it comes to students that aren’t employed by the state, not being able to use it on the university internet, I can kind of see the rationale, but I also don’t think that that’s cool, in my personal opinion,” Schmidt added. “That’s just a limitation of students’ expression for security reasons.”
From her perspective, Katherine Carroll, another Auburn senior, said her peers didn’t seem too worried about the campus TikTok ban and said others would likely find a workaround or pivot to other social platforms.
“I think, for most people, when you’re on campus, you’re at least trying to think about school. You might use TikTok to unwind but there’s so many other social media apps like Instagram Reels. It’s just a very small part of a bigger social media bubble that like, if they banned all social media, then I think people might wither up and die but it’s just one app. So I think it does have some impact, but we just haven’t seen it yet,” the 21-year-old journalism major said.
When it comes to the ban, Haynes said she felt TikTok was being singled out even as there have been concerns about other social media apps as well.
“Personally, I don’t see the point. I mean, I get where they’re coming from with privacy and things like that,” Haynes said. “…They can ban TikTok because it’s new and I think because it’s not a U.S.-based company … but the other apps probably have [issues]. So I don’t know that banning one app is going to make that much of a difference.”
