Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, has advocated for the elimination of cash bail in his state, calling it a “step toward dismantling systemic racism.” – ABC News
(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — On Jan. 1, Illinois is set to become the first state to completely eliminate cash bail, a closely-watched bid to advance racial justice that has also raised concerns about public safety.
State lawmakers last year passed a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system – the SAFE-T Act – that includes dramatic changes to pretrial detainment protocols statewide.
The legislation makes presumption of release the default, ending any financial considerations in the decision of who should remain behind bars.
“The use of money as a determining factor in whether somebody is going to be in or out of jail before trial is really just an abhorrent practice,” said Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell.
Judges will have primary responsibility to decide who should be detained before a trial, but can require detention only if the state can prove that a defendant “poses a specific, real and present threat to a person, or has a high likelihood of flight,” or in the case of forcible felonies, like murder, battery, burglary or carjacking.
“In each individual case, we will now have an opportunity to make a better decision as a system,” Mitchell said, “along with returning those dollars to communities that are desperate to retain other things to keep them safe and healthy.”
More than 60% of defendants in U.S. jails – an estimated half a million Americans on any given day – are eligible for release but kept in custody before trial because they can’t afford to pay bail, according to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Since 1970, the numbers have soared 433%, the commission found in a report released earlier this year. Most are held on low-level offenses and are disproportionately people of color.
“I lost my business. I lost housing. I lost transportation, my vehicles. I lost everything just in the 571 days that I was incarcerated [awaiting trial],” said Lavette Mayes, a 52-year-old mother of two from Chicago’s South Side.
In 2015, Mayes was held in Cook County Jail awaiting trial after an altercation with her mother-in-law during a messy divorce landed both of them in the hospital. After more than 14 months, she negotiated a more affordable bail and – with help from her family and a charity organization – was released on home monitoring.
“They hit the gavel and said that my bond was assessed at $250,000, $25,000 to walk,” Mayes said. “It was shocking because I had no criminal record, and I didn’t understand it.”
The new approach in Illinois is expected to mean fewer defendants behind bars after arrest and awaiting trial. Several communities that have reduced the use of cash bail report minimal impact on public safety, but some top Illinois lawmakers remain unconvinced.
“We have a responsibility under the Constitution as lawmakers to keep people safe,” said Illinois state Rep. Jim Durkin, the House GOP leader. “There are some people who are a threat to society who should be detained at trial. Move slowly. Don’t take this national progressive approach.”
Durkin and other lawmakers have scrambled to amend parts of the law before they take effect. Gov. JB Pritzker signed a set of revisions passed earlier this month. Provisions eliminating cash bail remain in place.
“It’s okay until it touches you and your family — you, personally,” said Natalia Dagenhart, a freelance writer and Ukrainian immigrant who lives in Naperville, Illinois, outside of Chicago. She worries about a surge in crime.
When asked by ABC News if she feels that she will be less safe personally, she emphatically answered, “yes. Absolutely.” “More than that, I [already] don’t come to Chicago anymore,” she said.
The city, which has been gripped by rising crime and gun violence in recent years, has recently reported progress. Shootings are down 20% in Chicago through the end of summer and homicides have fallen 16%. That means 101 fewer people were shot this year than last, according to data reviewed by ABC News.
But critics warn the added responsibility for state judges could overwhelm the legal infrastructure to process detainees and result in dangerous people being allowed back on the street after arrest.
“Plus, it’s going to slow down the court system because when guys don’t show up, the case doesn’t go to trial,” said retired Illinois state judge and a former state attorney Wayne Meyer.
For decades, state courts have collected bail from defendants in exchange for their release as collateral – incentivizing them to show up on their court date and successfully completing legal proceedings, when the funds would be returned.
Criminal justice reform advocates and a number of nonpartisan research organizations say the practice has become inhumane and unfair. Statistics show cash bail keeps low-income community members and people of color disproportionately in jail.
“They should only be detained if something about the offense they are accused of suggests that they pose a real threat to others,” Illinois state Sen. Robert Peters, a Democrat, said during a general assembly session for the SAFE-T Act earlier this year.
Pritzker has called the end of cash bail a “step toward dismantling systemic racism.”
Cook County, which includes Chicago, instituted local bail reform five years ago to mixed results so far. “Some of it really good; some of it not good,” said Tom Dart, who has served 16 years as Cook County sheriff.
“I had about 11,000 people in custody when I started as sheriff — people who were just flat out poor,” Dart said. “The crime was insignificant, but they didn’t have $100. So, they sat there. I was like, We got to stop that.”
The changes implemented by the county made the system more sustainable, he said, but it remains far from perfect. The county has seen a higher degree of people committing new offenses while on home monitoring, for example.
Illinois has “to get it right.,” Dart said of the elimination of cash bail starting next year, “because [if] you get it wrong, there’ll be a reaction to it, and people say, ‘see what happened there? We can’t do this because look what happened there.'”
Several states — including New York and New Jersey — have largely ended the use of cash bail but still allow the practice in certain limited cases. A number of other states and local jurisdictions are exploring bail reform. All are watching Illinois closely.
“There’s a reason that I had to go through this,” said Mayes, who took a plea deal in 2016 and is now working as an advocate for people behind bars. The end of cash bail “will save other people. Unfortunately, it didn’t help me, but that’s okay.”
(NEW YORK) — More than nine 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:
Dec 19, 5:44 AM EST
Viktor Bout visits occupied Ukrainian city following release
A little over a week since he was freed in the prisoner swap for Brittney Griner, the Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout has visited the city of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, one of the regional capitals of the Donbas that is occupied by Russia.
Bout took part in a ceremony opening the local branch of the far right pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), of which he has become a member since his release.
Video of the event showed Bout with a senior MP from the party at the ceremony in a hall. Bout compared Lugansk’s annexation and return to Russia with his own return.
“I closely followed what was happening in Donbas all these 8 years,” Bout said. “And you know, your example for me did a lot for me, it helped me, because you are all heroes … And so big thanks to all of you. And you were also for me an inspiration which allowed me to also return to the motherland, like all of Donbas, to return to Russia. Thank you.”
Bout has expressed his “full” support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and in his first interview after his release said he would have gone to fight if he could.
Lugansk has been under Russian control since 2014, when Moscow used proxy fighters to help set up two breakaway statelets in Donbas. The Lugansk region was one of the four Ukrainian regions Putin annexed in September.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Dec 19, 3:29 AM EST
Russian drones strike Ukrainian capital
Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down 30 of the 35 Russian drones fired at Ukrainian targets overnight.
Ukrainian authorities said Russia’s earlier drone attack on Kyiv damaged critical infrastructure and injured two people.
At least two explosions were heard Monday morning in the capital.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
Dec 18, 2:34 PM EST
Zelenskyy’s World Cup address ‘banned’ by FIFA: Ukrainian ambassador
A pre-recorded address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was set to be played at the World Cup final Sunday was purportedly cut by the soccer tournament’s governing body, FIFA, according to Ukrainian officials.
The office of the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States told ABC News on Sunday that Zelenskyy’s speech did not air to the audience at the championship match between Argentina and France because “at the very last moment it was banned by FIFA.”
FIFA has not confirmed whether it forbid the airing of Zelenskyy’s speech at the match in Qatar that was won by Argentina.
In the one-minute and 43-second speech sent to ABC News by the ambassador’s office, Zelenskyy praised the World Cup tournament as a “common victory, the celebration of the human spirit.”
“The World Cup proved time and again that different countries and nationalities can decide who is the strongest in fairplay…,” Zelensky said.
He added, “This is the dream of so many people when players compete, making everybody enjoy peace,” he said. “Every father would like to take his son to the football match all over the world. Every mother would like her son to be back from the war.”
Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine has proposed a “peace formula” for ending the war with Russia that he said is “absolutely fair.”
“We offered it because there are no champions in war, there can be no draw,” he said.
He ended the speech by inviting all countries to participate in a global peace summit that he has proposed for this winter.
Dec 16, 3:58 PM EST
3 dead in missile strike on residential building
Three people have been killed and 13 are injured from a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, according to the mayor.
Among those killed is a mom whose child is missing.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 16, 10:33 AM EST
First round of energy aid from US arrives in Ukraine
Following an overnight barrage of strikes from Russia into Ukraine, the White House announced that the first round of $53 million worth of energy-related equipment and technical support has arrived in Ukraine.
“It includes the kinds of equipment that they need to make emergency repairs such as relays and busbars and surge arrestors, disconnectors, circuit breakers,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Friday.
Kirby said more aid will be delivered “in coming weeks” to fulfill the full pledge.
“The United States remains committed to helping Ukraine put the put the lights back on and put the heat back on, and try to alleviate some of the suffering of the Ukrainian people that they’re already experiencing in the winter months,” he said.
Dec 16, 3:38 AM EST
Russia launches new wave of missile strikes on Ukraine
Russia has launched another wave of missile strikes on energy infrastructure sites across Ukraine, resulting in severe power outages in large parts of the country.
There have been least three explosions in Kyiv by early Friday morning while other cities, including Kryvi Rih, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Zaporizhe, have also been targeted this morning, ABC News has learned.
According to officials in Kryvi Rih, a residential building has been hit. Details on possible casualties are still emerging.
Officials in Kharkiv say there have been at least three explosions there and reports suggest Ukraine’s second city is completely without power.
There are shortages of running water in Kyiv right now and a large part of the city is without power.
Initial information suggests Russia has fired dozens of missiles and Ukraine’s air defenses have been operating. It’s likely many missiles have been shot down but some have clearly found their targets.
It’s currently unclear if Russia used drones in the waves of strikes this morning.
Dec 15, 1:40 PM EST
Russia responds to possible US Patriot missile supply to Ukraine
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson offered an angry response to reports that the United States is preparing to send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine.
During a news conference Thursday, Maria Zakharova said that if media leaks are true, the move by the White House “would be another provocative step.”
“Given the increasing amounts of direct U.S. military assistance, including the presence of U.S. servicemen on the ground, the delivery of equipment of such complexity, the operation of which requires months of training, will signify a broader involvement of U.S. career servicemen in the hostilities with all the ensuing consequences,” Zakharova said.
Two U.S. officials have confirmed to ABC News that the United States has prepared plans to send Patriot air defense missile systems to Ukraine that could be approved by President Joe Biden by the end of this week.
If approved by Biden, the transfer of the advanced air defense systems would meet a long-standing request from Ukraine.
“We strongly recommend that the decision-makers in Washington finally listen […] and draw the right conclusions from our repeated warnings that any weapon systems delivered to Ukraine, including Patriot, and the respective personnel, have been and remain legitimate priority targets of the Russian Armed Forces,” Zakharova said.
Dec 15, 12:48 PM EST
Putin purportedly planning major new year offensive: Report
Ukraine’s defense minister is claiming in a news interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning a major new offensive to launch in the new year.
Oleksii Reznikov told the British newspaper The Guardian that emerging evidence indicates the Kremlin is preparing a broad new offensive possibly in February.
Reznikov said the new offensive is part of a second wave of a mobilization of 300,000 reservists Putin announced in September.
“The second part of the mobilization, 150,000 approximately, started their training courses in different camps,” Reznikov said. “The [draftees] do a minimum of three months to prepare. It means they are trying to start the next wave of the offensive probably in February, like last year. That’s their plan.”
News of the possible offensive comes after a series of setbacks the Russians have had on the battlefield, including a botched attempt in March to the take Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
Dec 14, 10:20 AM EST
US Air Force vet released from Russian captivity
A U.S. Air Force veteran from Minnesota was freed Wednesday from Russian-controlled territory and told ABC News he survived being beaten and electrocuted by his captors.
Suedi Murekezi, 35, was freed in a war gray zone just outside Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine. A prearranged two-hour cease-fire was called to allow an exchange of prisoners of war.
Murekezi and other prisoners of war were brought out of Russian-controlled territory as part of the exchange. Following his release, Murekezi was seen clutching a Ukrainian flag given to him by a Ukrainian military intelligence officer.
Murekezi was arrested in June when he was falsely accused by the Russians of being a member of the CIA, he said. He said he was later released; however, he was stuck in Donetsk, a city in Russian-controlled territory, because he was without his U.S. passport.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Murekezi said he felt “trapped” in Donetsk and lived under intense uncertainty about his future.
He said he was relieved and happy to be back in Ukrainian-controlled territory, a free man in the country where he has lived for years, working in cryptocurrency.
What he is looking forward to most when he gets back to Minnesota? “A peanut butter sandwich,” Murekezi said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Dada Jovanovic, Natalia Kushniir and Kuba Kaminski
Dec 14, 10:28 AM EST
Drone attacks launched on Kyiv
Two waves of drone attacks were launched before dawn on Wednesday in Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that every drone was shot down and urged residents of Ukraine’s capital city not to ignore air raid warning sirens.
“This morning has started with 13 Shahed drones attacking. All 13 were downed by our air defense. Good job. Thank the air defense and please don’t ignore the air raid sirens,” Zelenskyy said in a statement following the drone attacks.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitchko also confirmed the attack and urged residents to take shelter underground.
The latest attack comes as the U.S. is preparing to approve sending Patriot missile defense systems to Ukraine and that these plans could be approved by President Joe Biden as early as this week.
United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also has to sign off on the transfer before it goes to the White House but, if approved by Biden, the transfer of the advanced air defense systems would meet a long-standing request from Ukraine.
A senior Ukrainian Defense official told ABC News on Tuesday that the Patriots “will be a game changer.”
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge
Dec 13, 3:36 PM EST
US preparing to send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine
Two U.S. officials confirm that the U.S. has prepared plans to send Patriot air defense missile systems to Ukraine that could be approved by President Joe Biden as early as this week.
If approved by Biden, the transfer of the advanced air defense systems would meet a long-standing request from Ukraine.
The U.S. has stressed the importance of Ukraine getting additional air defense systems in the coming months but has worked with other countries on alternative systems other than the Patriot.
The Patriot missile systems to be given to Ukraine will come from
U.S. inventories under the presidential drawdown authority, according to officials.
Another one of those announcements is expected to be announced on Thursday, though it is unclear if the Patriots will be included as part of that package.
If Biden approves the Patriot systems, then the training of Ukrainian troops will begin in Germany a few weeks later, officials said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin must sign off on the transfer before it goes to the White House.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Dec 13, 3:17 PM EST
Ukraine to get 30 upgraded Soviet-era tanks from Czech Republic next year
Soviet-era tanks are getting new optics, armor, and more at a Czech facility in Šternberk, thanks partly to the efforts of Ukrainian refugees working there.
Around 150 people have been hired by Excalibur Army in an effort to modernize old military equipment from around the world, which will then be shipped to Ukraine after months of work on upgrades.
According to the company’s commercial director, Richard Kuběna, it is concentrating on a large order to modernize up to 120 T-72 tanks, which the U.S. and the Netherlands governments ordered and paid 2.2 billion crowns for.
The tanks were ordered initially from Šternberk by an African country. However, after negotiating with the U.S., E.U., and Czech Ministry of Defense, they decided to give the tanks to Ukraine, Kuběna said.
“Next week, the first five units of tanks for Ukraine will be received, we would like to deliver 18 units by the end of the year,” noted Kuběna.
Kuběna said he would like to
Dec 13, 6:47 AM EST
Russian withdrawal ‘out of the question’
A Kremlin official said on Tuesday that Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine was “out of the question.”
A reporter asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for comment on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal that Russia start to pull out forces from Ukraine before Christmas. Peskov was also asked whether Moscow was ready to do so before the end of this year.
“This is out of the question,” Peskov said.
Dec 11, 7:56 PM EST
Biden speaks with Zelenskyy about recent security assistance packages: White House
President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday to discuss continued support for Ukraine’s defense amid Russian attacks on critical infrastructure, according to a White House readout of their call.
“President Biden highlighted how the U.S. is prioritizing efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense through our security assistance, including the December 9 announcement of $275 million in additional ammunition and equipment that included systems to counter the Russian use of unmanned aerial vehicles,” the White House said.
“President Biden also highlighted the November 29 announcement of $53 million to support energy infrastructure to strengthen the stability of Ukraine’s energy grid in the wake of Russia’s targeted attacks,” it added.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Dec 09, 12:05 PM EST
Treasury sanctions 4 Russians for carrying out human rights abuses
The U.S. Department of Treasury issued sanctions against four Russians accused of forcibly seizing personal data and conducting interrogations and searches against Ukrainian citizens to determine if they have any connections to the Ukrainian government or military.
There are also allegations that deportations, disappearances and torture have also been carried out.
Two of those sanctioned “oversaw the filtration of city government officials and other civilians from Mariupol, Ukraine, including through the filtration center in Manhush, Ukraine. Witnesses have reported insufficient food supplies, overcrowded cells, and beatings at the Manhush filtration center. One witness overheard Russia’s soldiers discussing shooting people who underwent filtration at Manhush,” according to a press release from the Treasury.
The Treasury is also sanctioning members of Russia’s Central Election Commission for overseeing the sham referenda held in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine in September, during which Ukrainians were forced to vote for annexation.
Dec 07, 6:01 PM EST
10 civilians killed in Russian air strike, Zelenskyy says
A Russian airstrike that struck Kurakhov, a city in Donetsk Oblast in southeastern Ukraine, has killed 10 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Wednesday.
Civilian areas such as a market, gas station, bus station and a residential building were among the targets that were struck, Zelenskyy said.
Dec 07, 1:19 PM EST
Putin says Russia will not be the first to use nuclear weapons in war with Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday the threat of nuclear war is increasing but Russia will not be the first to use nuclear weapons.
Putin, speaking at Russia’s Human Rights Council, said nuclear weapons should act as a deterrent in conflicts, not provoke them.
“We consider weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, it is all built around the so-called retaliatory strike. When we are struck, we strike back,” Putin said.
“I have already said: we don’t have our own nuclear weapons, including tactical ones, on the territory of other countries, but the Americans do. Both in Turkey and in a number of other European states … we haven’t done anything yet,” Putin said.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 07, 8:56 AM EST
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Time’s 2022 ‘Person of the Year’
Time named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Spirit of Ukraine as the 2022 “Person of the Year.”
More than a dozen Ukrainians who embodied the spirit of Ukraine were also named: Dr. Iryna Kondratova, who helped mothers give birth during shelling in the hospital basement; Oleg Kutkov, an engineer who laid the groundwork for the essential connectivity; Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent; and Levgen Klopotenko, a Kyiv chef who converted his restaurant into a relief canteen.
“This year’s choice was the most clear-cut in memory. Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, the world marched to Volodymyr Zelensky’s beat in 2022,” Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said in a statement.
Dec 06, 4:22 PM EST
Ukrainian special forces were deep in Russia to guide drone, senior Ukrainian official says
Ukrainian special forces were deep inside Russian territory and helped guide drones to at least one of the bases hit in Monday’s attacks, a senior official from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inner-circle confirmed to ABC News.
-ABC News’ Marcus Moore
Dec 06, 2:28 PM EST
White House does not have assessment on drone attacks inside Russia
The U.S. does not have an assessment on recent drone attacks deep inside Russia, which a person close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ABC News Ukraine is responsible for, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday.
“I don’t want to speculate about whether Ukraine is responsible for these attacks,” Jean-Pierre said.
Jean-Pierre also told reporters Russia is to blame for this conflict.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Dec 06, 11:30 AM EST
Russia now out of Iranian-made drones, Western officials say
According to Western officials, Russia has run out of Iranian-made drones. Russia had been using the lethal drones, along with missiles, in a wave of aerial bombardments on Ukrainian infrastructure over a period of several weeks.
But, the drones have been absent in recent Russian attacks. A western official said the Russians “anticipate a resupply.”
In light of Ukraine’s apparent drone attacks on military airbases deep inside Russia, Western officials said Russia will now be undergoing “a significant amount of soul-searching” over their ability to defend significant military assets deep inside Russia’s borders.
The official, who characterized the attacks as “an egregious failure of security” said the Russian military’s potential had been consistently overestimated by the west.
“I no longer think the Russians are ten-feet tall,” the official said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge
Dec 06, 10:17 AM EST
Ukrainian drone crashes into military airfield in Russia
A Ukrainian drone crashed into a military airfield in Russia, setting an oil tanker on fire, according to the governor of Russia’s Kursk region.
There were no casualties at the Kursk base. This comes a day after drone attacks on two Russian airbases where jets used to bomb Ukraine are housed. No one immediately claimed responsibility.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
Dec 05, 10:36 AM EST
Missiles rain on Ukraine after purported drone strikes in Russia
A new barrage of missiles strikes was launched against Ukraine on Monday, hitting targets across the country, including the capital city of Kyiv, officials said.
Casualties and damage from the attacks were being assessed, Ukrainian officials said.
The majority of the missiles were shot down by air defense forces, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the Russians launched missiles from the Volgodonsk, Caspian and Black seas.
The strikes damaged two infrastructure objects in the Odesa region, leaving the area without electricity and running water, officials said. One person was hospitalized, according to Ukrainian officials.
Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov said a missile hit a substation that supplies the city of Belvaevska’s pumping station with electricity.
According to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, missile strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region killed two people and injured three others, including a toddler, in the village of Novosofiyivka.
Explosion were also heard in Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Kherson and Cherkasy, officials said.
The missile strikes followed reports from Russian media outlets that drones were used to bomb two military air bases in Russia, hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian officials have not claimed responsibility for the drone attacks, but Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukraine’s president, posted a cryptic tweet, saying “if you launch something very often into the airspace of other countries, sooner or later the unknown flying objects will return to the place of departure.”
Dec 02, 2:18 PM EST
No peace talks till Russian soldiers leave, Ukraine says
Ukraine said it would not consider peace talks before the last Russian soldier leaves Ukrainian territory. This comes after President Joe Biden indicating he would be willing to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin if he has legitimate interest in peace negotiations.
Ukraine also said that there must not be any peace negotiations without Ukraine, reiterating that Biden has been clear that there won’t be any talks happening without the participation of U.S. allies and Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 02, 2:17 PM EST
IAEA expresses optimism over creation of protection zone around Zaporizhzhia
The International Atomic Energy Agency expressed optimism over possibly creating a safe zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant before the end of the year.
“I know that President Putin is following the process, and I do not rule out another meeting with him soon, as well as with Ukrainian President Zelensky,” IAEA Director General Rafael Rossi said in an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
“There is a concrete proposal on securing Zaporizhzhia and important progress has been made. …The two sides now agree on some basic principles. The first is that of protection: it means accepting that you don’t shoot ‘on’ the plant and ‘from’ the plant. The second is the recognition that the IAEA is the only possible way forward: that was the heart of my meeting with President Putin in St. Petersburg on October 11,” Rossi added.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 02, 12:27 PM EST
Bloody packages with animal eyes sent to Ukrainian embassies
Packages believed to be blood-soaked and containing the eyes of animals, were sent to Ukrainian embassies worldwide, including in Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Croatia and Italy, the Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs said Friday.
The entrance to the ambassador’s residence in the Vatican was also vandalized, according to the Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs.
The Ukrainian embassy in the U.S. received a letter with a photocopy of a critical article about Ukraine. Like most other envelopes, the letter arrived along with others from the territory of an unnamed European country.
“We have reason to believe that a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation of Ukrainian embassies and consulates is taking place. Not being able to stop Ukraine on the diplomatic front, they are trying to intimidate us. However, I can immediately say that these attempts are useless. We will continue to work effectively for the victory of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement.
The Ukrainian embassy in Spain received a letter-bomb on Wednesday which was opened and ignited, resulting in one slight injury.
A similar envelope was sent to the U.S. embassy in Madrid, but it was detected before going off, according to Spanish officials.
All Ukrainian embassies and consulates have been placed under heightened security. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on foreign governments to guarantee maximum protection of Ukraine’s diplomatic institutions.
Dec 01, 3:28 PM EST
Biden ‘prepared to speak with Putin’ if he wants to end war
Speaking at a joint press conference with France’s Emmanuel Macron, President Joe Biden said he would be open to speaking with Vladimir Putin if the Russian leader has legitimate interest in peace negotiations. Biden, however, said he has “no immediate plans to contact Mr. Putin.”
Biden also noted that Putin has “miscalculated every single thing” when it comes to this war.
“So the question is what is his — how does he get himself out of the circumstance he’s in? I’m prepared if he’s willing to talk to find out what he’s willing to do, but I’ll only do it in consultation with my NATO. I’m not going to do it on my own,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, President Macron, who has continued speaking with Putin, said it’s up to Ukraine to come to the negotiating table.
“So it’s only legitimate that President Zelenskyy sets some conditions to talk. We need to work on what could lead to a peace agreement. But it’s for him to tell us when the time comes and what the choices of the Ukrainians are,” Macron said.
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Dec 01, 1:46 PM EST
Shelling in Kherson damages power lines as energy company works to finish repairs
Electricity was back for 60% of customers in the Ukrainian city of Kherson, but shelling overnight damaged power lines, according to the head of Ukraine’s regional energy company.
Workers are hoping to finish the repairs by the end of Thursday.
In Kyiv, 652,000 residents were subject to power outages throughout Thursday, according to the director of YASNO energy company, Serhiy Kovalenko. Kyiv’s main power grid is operating at less than 70% capacity and 20% of residents are still without power or heat.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Dec 01, 12:20 PM EST
Russia accuses US, NATO of direct involvement in war
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of being directly involved in the war in Ukraine by supplying the country with weapons and training its soldiers.
“You are training their military on your territory, on the territories of Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries,” Lavrov said at a press conference Thursday.
Lavrov also claimed that Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities and other key infrastructure were intended to weaken Ukraine’s military potential and derail the shipments of weapons from the West.
Lavrov also said Moscow is open to peace talks to end the conflict.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Nov 29, 11:47 AM EST
US to send $53M in energy aid to help Ukraine through winter
The U.S. will provide Ukraine with more than $53 million to acquire critical electric grid equipment to help its citizens get through the winter, the State Department announced Tuesday.
The announcement comes amid Russia’s continued attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“This new assistance is in addition to $55 million in emergency energy sector support for generators and other equipment to help restore emergency power and heat to local municipalities impacted by Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s power system,” the State Department said in a release.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Nov 28, 4:36 PM EST
UN lays out ‘dire’ situation in southern Ukraine
Denise Brown, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, traveled to the Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv over the weekend to get an update on the humanitarian issues affecting the southern part of the country, according to the U.N.
Although repairs to the area’s water system are finally able to commence, there is still a lot of work to be done to help the people in those cities, the U.N said.
“We continue to be concerned about the plight of civilians in Ukraine especially as winter sets in,” a U.N. spokesperson said in a statement.
Some heating points have already been established in Mykolaiv to help people who cannot heat their homes, according to the U.N.
“Aid workers are providing supplies and generators to make these places functional,” the U.N. said in a statement.
The agency added that donations and funding for humanitarian efforts are critical as the cold weather sets in.
Nov 25, 1:13 PM EST
Power restored in all regions, Ukraine grid operator says
All of Ukraine’s regions are now connected to the European Union’s energy system and all three nuclear power plants located in the Kyiv-controlled area are working, CEO of Ukrenergo grid operator Volodymyr Kudrytskyi announced.
“In one to two days, they will reach their normal planned capacity, and we expect to introduce planned rolling blackouts instead of emergency outages,” Kudrytskyi said.
Power is slowly returning to all Ukrainian cities, but blackouts and emergency shutdowns continue. Power issues are the worst in Kyiv, Kirivigrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava and Lviv, according to Kudrytskyi.
Kyiv’s critical infrastructure receives electricity, the water supply is fully restored and heating is being restored, but 50% of residential houses remain without power. Only one-third of houses currently have heating, according to the mayor.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Orlando 95, Boston 92
New York 109, Indiana 106
Brooklyn 124, Detroit 121
Golden State 126, Toronto 110
Minnesota 150, Chicago 126
Denver 119, Charlotte 115
LA Lakers 119, Washington 117
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Minnesota 4, Ottawa 2
Carolina 3, Pittsburgh 2
NY Rangers 7, Chicago 1
Seattle 3, Winnipeg 2
Calgary 5, San Jose 2
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Detroit 20, NY Jets 17
Jacksonville 40, Dallas 34 (OT)
Kansas City 30, Houston 24 (OT)
New Orleans 21, Atlanta 18
Philadelphia 25, Chicago 20
Pittsburgh 24, Carolina 16
Denver 24, Arizona 15
Las Vegas 30, New England 24
Cincinnati 34, Tampa Bay 23
LA. Chargers 17, Tennessee 14
NY Giants 20, Washington 12
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Texas 72, Stanford 62
Baylor 65, Washington St. 59
Southern Cal 74, Auburn 71
TCU 88, MVSU 43
Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong said goodbye to the show after 11 seasons in a Weekend Update appearance where she reprised her popular character Cathy Anne one last time.
“I’m a little emo tonight, because I’m here to say goodbye,” she said, explaining that she was going to prison.
“After seven years, you had enough of me,” she joked, adding that prison would give her “some much needed stability” and she already had “friends on the inside” who “seemed to be doing okay.” A graphic behind her showed fellow former SNL stars Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant, who left the show after last season.
“Everybody has to go to jail at some point, right? It’s my time now,” she added. Breaking character slightly she noted, “I had a lot of fun here. And I feel really lucky that I have had so many of the best moments of my life in this place, and with these people that I love so much.”
The show’s final sketch featured longtime cast member Kenan Thompson honoring her for “eight incredible years working at Radio Shack”
“Well, I’ve been here 11,” she said.
“I know, and eight of them were incredible,” he replied.
Afterwards, Saturday night’s guest host Austin Butler, who stars in the movie Elvis, serenaded her with a rendition of Elvis Presley‘s “Blue Christmas,” joined by the entire cast.
SNL also announced Strong’s departure on its Instagram, sharing, “Tonight we send off one of the best to ever do it. We’ll miss you, Cecily!”
The “Good As Hell” singer served as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, and treated the audience to a cover of Stevie Wonder‘s 1967 holiday tune “Someday at Christmas.” Her rendition was also released as an Amazon Music Original in November.
For the performance, Lizzo stunned in a festive half gold, half-silver ensemble in front of a beautiful set lined with lit Christmas trees.
“I chose to cover ‘Someday at Christmas’ not just because it’s a classic, but because it’s a reminder to us that almost 60 years later, we are still fighting for peace, compassion, and equality,” she said in a past statement, per Billboard. “A friendly reminder to spread love and kindness this holiday season.”
Lizzo also performed her hit “Break Up Twice” on Saturday’s show, which was hosted by Elvis star Austin Butler.
Pentatonix‘s latest holiday hit is the Meghan Trainor duet “Kid on Christmas,” and PTX member Scott Hoying says it came about because he was working on Meghan’s latest album, Takin’ It Back.
“I was working with her…just doing some arrangements, and our [bandmates] Matt and Kevin brought us ‘Kid on Christmas’ and we were like, ‘This song is amazing, I love this so much,'” he tells ABC Audio. “And so I played it for Meghan and she was like, ‘This song is huge. I would love to be on it.’ And we were like, ‘Oh my God, we would be honored!'”
The song’s a part of Pentatonix’s current Christmas tour, which also features a segment where they spin the “Wheel of Christmas,” and sing whatever songs come up.
“We have so many Christmas arrangements at this point,” explains Scott. “We have over 100, literally. And so I felt like it would give each city their special own version of the show if it was like a roulette wheel that decided what song we sing.”
While they struggled to remember the arrangements for those random songs when the tour first started, eventually, says group member Mitch Grassi, “Muscle memory kicks in…it’s amazing how that works!”
Besides the tour and a new album, Holidays Around the World, Pentatonix also has a Disney+ Christmas special, which actually required them to act.
“I think we all find it to be a bit of a challenge,” says Mitch, adding, “The great part is that we’re all in it together, so we’re all kind of struggling, and then succeeding eventually.”
Scott isn’t so sure about the “succeeding” part, though.
He laughs, “I’ll run my lines with my fiancé, and I’ll be like, ‘I deserve an Oscar!'” — only to freeze up “the second the cameras are on and they say ‘action’…it’s hard!”
‘Tis the season for epic themed holiday parties, and nobody does a festive get-together like the stars of country music.
Recent empty-nesters Tim McGraw and Faith Hill welcomed their three daughters home for the holidays with a The Godfather theme night, complete with suspenders, hats and even a fake mustache or two. Check out his social media post of all the fun, which Tim completed with a black-and-white edit and dramatic zoom-out.
“Love my family and all the craziness that comes with it!” Tim wrote in his post.
Meanwhile, Ashley McBryde and her crew celebrated the holiday season with a murder mystery party. She shared a snapshot of the fun theme night, which features attendees in various degrees of costuming: A Grinch and a couple of Santas make an appearance, and in the background of the photo is a decked-out Christmas tree.
“Our Christmas Murder Mystery was the best holiday party yet!” Ashley writes, adding, “I love this family. Happy Holidays.”
But some stars preferred to keep it simple and cozy as they got in the Christmas spirit: Brittney Spencer shared her snap of a cookie decorating party full of A-listers, for example.
“Cookie decoration szn is cute,” she wrote, alongside a photo of herself with Maren Morris, Cassadee Pope and Mickey Guyton. Behind them is a lit-up Christmas tree and a decorated mantelpiece, and they’ve got a holiday movie on in the background.
It looks like the all-star girl gang was supposed to be even bigger: “I’M SO SAD I MISSED THIS,” Lindsay Ell said in the comments section.
Nicky Youre was one of the breakout artists of 2022, thanks to “Sunroof,” the viral TikTok hit that became a radio smash — and completely changed his life.
“I mean, it’s changed my life in every way possible,” Nicky says of “Sunroof.” “I’ve been able to quit my job and I can just make music all day, every day, which is something that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. So I think that’s the biggest win.”
Another big win? Nicky’s now much better at performing live, since in just a few months, he went from very small shows to holiday concerts that put him in front of huge audiences.
“I think I’ve grown a ton,” he says of his ability to rock a crowd. “My first show was 300 people in March and we just played 20,000 seat arenas. So that was insane, and to be able to do that was a really cool feeling.”
“I think people don’t understand like how weird it is to perform in front of people,” he explains. “Especially, like, the pauses in between songs where you’ve got to talk — that is what was the hardest part for me. Trying to figure out what I can say, how long I talk for…those things were the challenge. But I feel way better now that I’ve…practiced a lot.”
The California native will no doubt have a merry Christmas, but are there any holiday traditions he’s looking forward to?
“Not really. I mean, we always get together on Christmas…and go to my grandmother’s house…that’s really the only tradition,” he says. “I just make breakfast for everyone. Like eggs, sausage, hash…all that. And then we kind of hang out, and that’s about it!”
After a giant 2022, Måneskin won’t be slowing down in 2023. The Italian rockers will kick off the new year with their new album, Rush!, which drops January 20.
Speaking with ABC Audio, bassist Victoria De Angelis describes the upcoming record as experimental and having “no boundaries.”
“We really experimented a lot,” De Angelis shares. “I think … it shows all the work and the growth we’ve had through this year.”
With Rush!, Måneskin hopes to showcase all four band members: De Angelis, frontman Damiano David, guitarist Thomas Raggi and drummer Ethan Torchio.
“We tried to really dig into each [member’s] different personalities and tastes,” De Angelis says. “We’re very happy about it.”
Rush! features the previously released songs “Supermodel,” “The Loneliest” and “MAMMAMIA,” as well as the just-premiered “La Fine.” It’ll also include a collaboration with Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello, set to drop January 13.
In Mary McCartney’s new Abbey Road documentary, If These Walls Could Sing, her dad, Beatle Paul McCartney, quotes the title of the film in one of his interviews, making it appear as though he came up with the name. But it turns out, that’s not how it happened at all.
Mary tells E! News she had already told her dad the title when he did the interview, noting, “He loves words and he liked the title, so when I was interviewing him as we wrapped up, he just threw it in there for me. … I think he was doing me a favor.”
She adds, “I’m really happy with the interview with my dad because he’s great.”
And Sir Paul’s history with the famed studio was a big help for Mary as she approached the project. “I was very lucky,” she says. “I had a reference point historically where he could give me little nuggets of information about Abbey Road when I was researching it.”
If These Walls Could Sing is now streaming on Disney+.
