Avatar: The Way of Water continues to rule the box office. James Cameron‘s Avatar sequel notched a fifth straight week at #1, banking an estimated $33.1 million between Friday and Sunday. That number is expected to reach $38.5 million for the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Its total domestic gross now stands at $570 million and $1.89 billion worldwide.
Avatar 2 is poised to dethrone 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which stands at #6 on the list of all-time top-grossing movies worldwide, with $1.91 billion.
The sci-fi horror flick M3GAN held onto second place in week two, adding an estimated $17.9 million over the three-day and $21.2 million through Monday. That brings its North American tally to $59 million and its worldwide take to $90 million.
The animated Puss in Boots: The Last Wish also held steady in third place, adding an estimated $13.4 million for the traditional weekend and $17.3 million over the four-day.
Tom Hanks and A Man Called Otto took fourth in its first week of wide release, delivering an estimated $12.6 million between Friday and Sunday. It should make it to $15 million through Monday.
Rounding out the top five is the debut of Gerard Butler‘s action thriller Plane, opening with an estimated $10 million for the three-day and $11.6 million over the long weekend.
Elsewhere, House Party, a reboot of the 1990 comedy, fizzled in its opening weekend, coming in sixth with an estimated $3.9 million from Friday through Sunday and $4.5 million through Monday.
After a little over a month in limited release, The Whale surpassed $10 million in ticket sales domestically.
(NEW YORK) — Actor Tyler James Williams is fresh off his first Golden Globe win for his role as Gregory Eddie on Abbott Elementary. While the actor celebrates a high point in his career, he said he is also celebrating his low points, revealing his journey living with Crohn’s disease.
“Imagining the worst thing that could possibly happen is one of my best qualities,” Williams recently told Men’s Health.
The actor opened up to the magazine about living with Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease that affects the lining of the digestive tract. He said he first discovered he had the disease in his early 20s while he was trying to put on muscle weight to land a TV role.
“I was really pushing my body to the limit. By the time December hit, it just crashed. Everything shut down,” Williams told Men’s Health.
Williams reportedly underwent emergency surgery to remove 6 inches of his lower intestine, but his intestines were unable to heal back together and sent him into septic shock, a life-threatening condition caused by an infection.
“The last thought I had was, ‘This could be it. If this is it, I’m not happy. I worked a lot. I did a lot of things. I didn’t enjoy any of this. This can’t be it,'” said Williams, who began his career as a child sitcom star in Everybody Hates Chris.
Williams said his brother Tyrel is also living with the disease. The actor said he turned to focus on a healthy lifestyle that included giving up alcohol, coffee and processed meat — all of which trigger Crohn’s disease flare-ups.
“I had to learn how to stop making a dramatic change happen really quickly and learn how to have a better relationship with my body,” Williams said. “The important thing for me, and those like me, to remember is that longevity is a big part of the game. If you can’t [stay strong] and be healthy, there really is no point.”
What is Crohn’s disease?
More than half a million Americans are living with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition that can lead to persistent diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss and malnutrition. If left untreated, the disease can potentially lead to life-threatening complications, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
There is currently no cure for the disease, but it can be treated into remission with medicines, bowel rest and surgery to decrease inflammation and prevent flare-ups of symptoms, according to the NIDDK.
Crohn’s disease can develop at any age, but is more likely to develop in people between the ages of 20 and 29, who may have a family member with the disease and those with other risk factors like smoking, the NIDDK said.
To diagnose the disease, doctors typically use a combination of tests, including a physical exam and lab tests.
(KATHMANDU, Nepal) — Search crews on Monday recovered the black boxes from Yeti Airlines NYT 691, the short-haul flight that crashed in Nepal on Sunday with 72 people on board.
Both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were recovered as more than 300 people combed the site of the crash, near Pokhara International Airport, officials said.
One additional body was recovered, bringing the death toll to 69. Three people were still counted as missing on Monday, although officials said they didn’t expect to locate survivors.
The search-and-recovery mission has been made more difficult because much of the wreckage from the downed plane was in a narrow 300-meter-deep gorge.
Crews have had to use oxygen as they search the site, an official said.
Of the 68 passengers on board the twin-engine plane, 15 were Nepali, according to a flight manifest shared by Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority on Sunday. Officials said the remaining passengers were from India, Russia, South Korea, Ireland, Australia, Argentina and France. The plane also had four crew members on board.
The bodies of all 15 foreign nationals were expected to arrive at Kathmandu Airport on Monday, officials said.
The aircraft departed Kathmandu on time at 10:32 a.m. local time, with an estimated time of arrival at 10:59 a.m., according to Flightradar24, a flight tracker. The crew last made contact with Pokhara Tower at 10:50 a.m., as they flew over the Seti River gorge, which is east of the city, officials said.
The aircraft, which was 15 years old, was registered as 9N-ANC with a serial number of 754, aviation officials and Flightradar24 said.
Officials said on Sunday that 68 people were confirmed dead, up from an earlier estimate of at least 30. Three children and three infants were on the flight, according to the manifest.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal declared Monday a day of national mourning.
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Authorities are investigating the recent death of a man following a confrontation with police officers during a traffic stop in Memphis.
Tyre Nichols, 29, of Memphis, was arrested on the evening of Jan. 7 after officers attempted to make a traffic stop for reckless driving near the area of Raines Road and Ross Road, according to separate press releases from the Memphis Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. A confrontation unfolded as the officers approached Nichols, who ran away. Another confrontation occurred when the officers pursued Nichols and ultimately apprehended him, police said.
After the incident, Nichols “complained of having a shortness of breath” and was transported by ambulance to Memphis’ St. Francis Hospital in critical condition, according to police.
Due to Nichols’ condition, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office was contacted and TBI special agents were subsequently requested to conduct a use-of-force investigation, according to the TBI.
The Memphis Police Department said at the time that the “officers involved will be routinely relieved of duty pending the outcome of” the TBI’s investigation.
Nichols “succumbed to his injuries” on Jan. 10, the TBI said. The death of Nichols, who is Black, has sparked protests outside the Memphis police station on Ridgeway Road, with calls to release footage from the officer-worn body cameras.
Five days later, the Memphis Police Department announced that it had “immediately” launched “its own administrative investigation concerning policy violations” amid the TBI’s ongoing probe.
“After reviewing various of information involving this incident, I have found that it is necessary to take immediate an appropriate action,” Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said in a statement on Sunday. “Today, the department is serving notice to the officers involved of the impending administrative actions.”
The police department’s internal investigation is expected to be completed later this week.
“Make no doubt, we take departmental violations very seriously and, while we must complete the investigation process, it is our top priority to ensure that swift justice is served,” Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said in a statement on Sunday. “We want citizens to know that we are prepared to take immediate and appropriate actions based on what the findings determine.”
Speaking to Memphis television station WREG-TV during a protest on Saturday, Nichols’ stepfather Rodney Wells said his stepson suffered a cardiac arrest and kidney failure because of a beating by officers. He held up a photograph of Nichols in the hospital.
“When we got to the hospital, it was devastating,” Wells told WREG-TV. “All of that still should not occur because of a traffic stop. You shouldn’t be on a dialysis machine looking like this because of a traffic stop. That’s inhumane.”
Screen grab of an Officer video that shows the paramedics loading Earl Moore into an ambulance on Dec. 18, 2022, in Springfield, Ill., shared by Sangamon County Government. – Sangamon County Government
(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — Two EMS workers in Illinois are facing first-degree murder charges after a patient died in their care last month, according to the Springfield Police Department.
Dan Wright, the Sangamon County State’s Attorney, charged Peggy Finley and Peter Cadigan for the death of an Illinois man on Dec. 18, 2022, according to criminal complaints.
The EMS workers were responding to a call for assistance with a patient “suffering from hallucinations due to alcohol withdrawal,” the Springfield Police Department said in a statement.
Finley can be heard yelling at the man, who identified himself as Earl Moore, to sit up and to “quit acting stupid” in the newly released bodycam video.
Video also shows Finley telling Moore, 35, “We ain’t carrying you” and “I am seriously not in the mood for this dumb [stuff],” using an expletive in his remark, before eventually strapping the patient to a stretcher “in a prone position,” the police department said.
According to a press release from the Springfield police, officers attempted to provide Moore care after the EMS workers “acted indifferently to the patient’s condition.”
A representative for LifeStar Ambulance Service, Inc., which employs Finley and Cadigan, told ABC News “no comment,” regarding the ongoing investigation.
Bodycam footage additionally shows police officers attempting to help Moore out of the house and onto the stretcher.
“The officers took steps to assist the patient, to get him the care he needed, even waiting on the scene to ensure the medical personnel loaded the patient into the ambulance,” Springfield police said in a press release. “The officers, who are not emergency medical professionals, are not trained nor equipped to provide the necessary medical treatment or to transport patients in this type of situation.”
According to the Springfield Police Department, Moore died after he arrived at the hospital.
Teresa Haley, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, said at a press conference Tuesday held by Wright, that watching the video made her think about George Floyd, the Black Minneapolis man who was murdered by former police officer Derek Chauvin during a May 2020 arrest.
“They literally threw his hands behind and strapped him down. He couldn’t move if he wanted to and he’s face down,” Haley said. “They did not show any compassion whatsoever to this individual. He should be alive today.”
According to court documents, Finely and Cadigan are being held in the Sangamon County Jail on $1 million bonds.
Finley and Cadigan did not have attorneys listed that ABC News could contact.
(NEW YORK) — Raven Sutton is making history as the first deaf contestant on Netflix’s The Circle.
She hopes her stint on the hit reality show can not only empower the Deaf community, but also change the perspective of viewers who may never have seen a deaf person on their TV screens before.
“There are a lot of hearing people who have this misperception of us, about what the Deaf community is or what the disabled community is,” Sutton said in an interview with Good Morning America. “So they put us in this box, in this isolated view, that we can’t enjoy life. And that’s just simply not true.”
In The Circle, which Netflix calls a social experiment, contestants communicate solely through a “voice activated social media platform” in an effort to become the most popular among the group and win $100,000.
Sutton said she joined the show because, as a fan, she had seen how accessible the show could be for a deaf contestant.
Sutton used American Sign Language on the show, and her interpreter and best friend Paris translated aloud for the audience and for the voice activated system.
Using ASL, her native language, was not only important because it’s what she’s most comfortable with — she also wanted deaf viewers to feel seen.
“I wanted to use my language for my community … Paris was there to interpret for you all, for hearing people who don’t know sign language,” she said. “The accommodation is for you.”
Sutton continued, “[Deaf people] want to see someone like themselves use their language on TV. We’re always used to reading captions on TV, and all the shows. But when you have a chance to see someone who looks like yourself, who uses the same language as you, we’ve got many people that were so excited to see themselves on screen.”
Twenty-six percent of Americans have a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and yet media advocacy group GLAAD found that only 3.5% of characters on broadcast scripted series have disabilities.
Being on The Circle allowed Sutton to give viewers a nuanced portrait of the Deaf community, she told GMA. Sutton is a dancer who loves to party, laugh and flirt – and makes sure people know she’s proud of her Deaf culture.
She reigned over The Circle kingdom a couple of times on the show as an influencer, becoming one of the most popular players among the competition.
“This is why I say you’ve got to normalize deaf people on TV. You’ve got to, and it cannot be related to their deafness,” Sutton said. “It’s not about me as a deaf person. I’m just playing the game, and I just happen to be deaf.”
Audiences see Sutton living in the apartment, messaging and laughing with her friends, and “doing all the normal things that other people do” in The Circle.
“I’m living my life,” she said. “That’s important for me to show, like, ‘Wow oh, she’s deaf. Yes, she has a disability, but so what?'”
Sutton has received a lot of questions online about why she didn’t use a keyboard to participate in the competition, or why she didn’t speak aloud herself.
In a tweet on Jan. 3, she responded to those questions.
“Yall do know that since I am the first Deaf contestant on #TheCircleNetflix that there is going to be a huge number of Deaf people watching right? Why would I play the game with just a keyboard?” she wrote. “I’m using ASL for my community. And Paris is helping YOU understand. Simple.”
Those types of inquiries are nothing new for Sutton. Throughout her life, she said, she’s battled questions about being a dancer, as well as whether she was lying about being deaf, among other things.
“Because of the things that I can do, they said, ‘Well, deaf people can’t dance, they can’t speak. It’s impossible for them to listen to music,’ and they denied me of my identity,” she said. “But obviously, I’m in the Deaf community … and I see not only myself, but other deaf people doing the same things I’m doing, if not more.”
Now, her role on the show appears to have sparked conversation about deafness. Sutton said the feedback demonstrates the importance of media representation — so people without disabilities can learn about and fight the stigma against deaf and disabled people.
As Sutton awaits the reaction from viewers as the season finale nears, she hopes fans take away that “just because I’m deaf, [it] doesn’t mean I don’t have a lot of similarities [with] everyone else.”
“It doesn’t mean that I don’t flirt, that I can’t be thirsty over a guy,” she said, laughing. “It doesn’t mean that I don’t dance, that I don’t twerk or shake my ass. It doesn’t mean that I can’t be strategic, that I can’t play a game for money. It doesn’t mean that I can’t be authentically myself.”
(BLOOMINGTON, Ind.) — A 56-year-old white woman was arrested after she allegedly confessed to repeatedly stabbing an Asian Indiana University student in the head in a what police said appeared to be an unprovoked, racially-motivated attack that unfolded in front of passengers on a public bus in Bloomington, Indiana.
The suspect, Billy R. Davis, 56, of Bloomington, was taken into custody after a passenger who witnessed the assault followed her on foot when she fled the Bloomington Transit bus and reported her location to police, authorities said.
Davis, according to a criminal complaint obtained by ABC affiliate station WRTV in Indianapolis, allegedly confessed to stabbing the 18-year-old victim with a folding knife, purportedly telling detectives because it would mean “one less person to blow up our country.”
Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton condemned the attack, saying in a statement, “We stand with the Asian community and all who feel threatened by this event.”
“Following the brutal attack of a member of our community, I want to state categorically that here in the city of Bloomington we deplore any form of racism and discrimination, especially hate based violence. This behavior is not acceptable and will be dealt with accordingly,” Hamilton said. “Bloomington is a relatively safe place, but we are not immune to issues with which our entire nation is dealing. This senseless incident is a reminder that we should all look out for each other, be aware of our surroundings and seek to combat racism and prejudice in all its forms wherever and whenever we encounter it.”
The attack unfolded aboard the bus around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, the Bloomington Police Department said in a statement.
The victim, whose name was not released, told investigators she was attacked without warning when she stood up to exit the bus on Fourth Street in downtown Bloomington, several blocks from the Indiana University campus.
“She said that as she was standing and waiting for the bus doors to open, another passenger on the bus began to strike her repeatedly in the head, which resulted in immediate pain,” police said in a statement.
Police officers called to the scene found the victim bleeding from her head and immediately called an ambulance, which took the victim to an area hospital for treatment.
“Once the victim’s wounds had been cleaned at the hospital, it was determined that the victim had multiple stab wounds to her head,” according to the police statement.
The knife attack was captured on the bus’ onboard surveillance camera, police said.
“The footage showed that the suspect and victim had no interactions prior to the suspect stabbing the victim multiple times in the head as the victim waited for the bus doors to open,” the police statement said.
Davis was initially booked at the Monroe County Jail and on a felony battery charge. The charge was later amended to attempted murder after Davis allegedly confessed to investigators, police said.
“This week, Bloomington was sadly reminded that anti-Asian hate is real and can have painful impacts on individuals and our community,” James Wimbush, vice president of diversity, equity and multicultural affairs at Indiana University, said in a statement. “No one should face harassment or violence due to their background, ethnicity or heritage. Instead, the Bloomington and IU communities are stronger because of the vast diversity of identities and perspectives that make up our campus and community culture.”
The Indiana University Asian Culture Center also released a statement, urging students to speak up “and share your feelings of fear and rage.”
“We are outraged and heartbroken by this unprovoked act of violence, but we also worry for the well-being of our community,” the culture center said in its statement. “We should not be fearing for our lives on public transportation. Taking the bus should not feel dangerous.”
Anti-Asian hate crimes have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to a report from the group Stop AAPI Hate. The report showed that 11,467 hate incidents targeting Asians and Pacific Islanders were reported to the organization between March 2020 when the pandemic began and March 2022.
(NEW YORK) — Flood watches are in effect for more than 26 million people in California, which has already been ravaged by a series of catastrophic storms.
Two Pacific storm systems are forecast to bring precipitation to most of the state through the weekend. The widespread deluge is leading to flooding concerns in many spots that have already been inundated recently.
The systems are expected to bring “heavy lower elevation rain, significant mountain snow, and strong winds,” the National Weather Service said in a bulletin Saturday.
Among the impacts so far, the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services issued an evacuation warning Saturday afternoon for several areas amid a flood threat. Placer County authorities also reported roads closed Saturday due to falling boulders and erosion from the runoff the area has received.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services tweeted Sunday that its Swift Water & Flood Team rescued about 800 San Joaquin County residents affected by flood waters.
The first system is expected to bring heavy rain across California as it moves inland Saturday evening. Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches is possible along the coast, which could lead to “localized instances of urban and small stream flooding as well as mudslides,” the National Weather Service warned.
Lighter rainfall is possible on Sunday “with another ramp-up late Sunday into early Monday ahead of a second system,” the agency said.
Wind advisories are also in effect along portions of the coast and Central Valley for sustained winds upwards of 20-30 mph and gusts of 50 mph.
Snow will also continue to fall in the Sierra Nevada Mountains throughout the weekend, with 3 to 6 feet forecast through Monday.
The UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab reported more than 21 inches of snow in the last 24 hours as of midday Saturday, with the snowpack approximately 10 feet deep. Another 2 to 3 feet of snow is expected to fall by Monday morning, it said.
California has been walloped by a near-constant onslaught of rain and snow. At least 17 people died during a severe storm system earlier this week, state officials said.
The National Weather Service had warned of a “relentless parade of atmospheric rivers” on the West Coast over the coming week.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged residents to “be vigilant” as more dangerous conditions were forecast for this weekend.
“I know how fatigued you all are,” he said during a press briefing on Friday. “I hope you just maintain a little more vigilance over the course of the next weekend and we’ll get through this.”
The storms are expected to impact the state until Jan. 18, according to the governor.
ABC News’ Daniel Amarante 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 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.”
(BOSTON) — Nearly 60 years after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed thousands on the Boston Common, city officials unveiled a sculpture commemorating the civil rights leader and his wife, Coretta Scott King.
The bronze sculpture, which is 20 feet tall and 26 feet wide, is the largest monument in the U.S. dedicated to racial equity and is located in the town where the couple first met. King was studying as a doctoral student in theology at Boston University when he met Coretta, who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music.
“Boston became the place where they forged a partnership that would change America and make a powerful contribution to the Black freedom struggle. That’s what I see in this beautiful monument,” said Martin Luther King III, son of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the unveiling.
This $10 million sculpture, which took five years to create, celebrates their life together and compliments the 30-foot King memorial at The National Mall.
The Boston piece depicts the arms, shoulders and hands of the two hugging after King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 — a moment special to Black conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas, creator of “The Embrace.”
“That was really the culmination of over a decade of incredibly hard work that not only Dr. King did, but also Mrs. King,” Thomas said in an interview with Good Morning America.
“In that embrace, I see so much. I see teamwork, I see joy,” Thomas said, adding, “I see both of their strengths, but especially hers. I see the way that she is really holding him up in this picture and actually recognizing that that is a symbol for a lot of what she did for him, for the family, but also for the country.”
Thomas is experienced when it comes to public art and has practiced the expression for nearly 20 years, finding passion in not just sculpting but in photography, video and printmaking based on elements of history.
“This is a work that’s going to be in Boston Common, which has been around for 400 years. So possibly it’s going to be in Boston Common for another 400 years,” Thomas said. “Rather than it being a monument to a hero of a war or victims of a war — It’s actually a monument to two heroes of nonviolence and so I’m really excited to see a new gesture and a new way of celebrating people.”
The sculpture was unveiled by Embrace Boston, a nonprofit with a mission to dismantle structural racism through the intersection of culture and community. The event featured statements from Martin Luther King III, his wife, Andrea Waters King, and their daughter, Yolanda Renee King, the only granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.
“There is a sense in which we are all children and grandchildren of Martin and Coretta Scott King,” Yolanda, 14, said during the celebration.
“We are all challenged to carry for their unfinished work. This is the spirit we must keep as we commemorate the 37th Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.”
The sculpture has been place near where King led 20,000 people in the civil rights era protest of the segregation of schools. It’s attracted many since its unveiling.
“The work of the Kings was so monumental in the United States because it signified a shift in the way that we as a society could address social challenges and so while there were millions of people who were part of this effort,” Thomas said.
He added, “For everyone, that was something that shifted everything. That’s the reason you and I are here. The reason that any of us are here and have the opportunities we have today, no matter what our ethnicity is, is really a result of that work.”
ABC News’ Abby Cruz and Nicholas Massenburg-Abraham contributed to this report.
