(HONG KONG) — Chinese President Xi Jinping is facing the greatest challenge to his signature zero-COVID strategy as unprecedented anti-lockdown protests have spread across the country over the weekend, popping up in major cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and even the capital Beijing.
Anger stemming from a deadly apartment fire Thursday night in the far western city of Urumqi in China’s Xinjiang region that killed 10, including a 3-year-old child, have brought Chinese citizens out to the streets calling for an end to lockdowns. Some are even crying for the Communist Party and Xi himself to step down.
According to local officials, the deadly fire was caused by a faulty power strip that caught fire on the 15th floor of a high-rise apartment, but it took the fire department over three hours to put out the flames.
Videos of the blaze went viral on Chinese social media, showing firetrucks unable to get close to the flames. Many across the city questioned whether COVID restrictions had gotten in the way of first responders and left people trapped inside unable to flee.
The authorities denied this, but anger was already brewing as much of Xinjiang, including its regional capital Urumqi, had been under lockdown for over 100 days, since August.
On Friday night, videos emerged of hundreds Urumqi citizens pushing through the lockdowns around their residential compounds and marching towards the local government, demanding them to lift the lockdown. Social media videos showed crowds, wrapping themselves in patriotism as protection, marching through the frigid night alternatively singing the Chinese national anthem, “March of the Volunteers,” and the socialist hymn “The Internationale.”
Hours after the crowds confronted the city officials, the Urumqi city government suddenly announced they would finally lift lockdowns in “low-risk” neighborhoods and restart public transportation Monday.
While Urumqi residents may have gotten some of their demands met, the deadly fire set something off across China, becoming a focal point of public anger towards the harsh COVID restrictions.
The late-Chinese leader Mao Zedong famously said, “a single spark can start a prairie fire.” The “spark” of the Urumqi fire spread beyond the Chinese internet faster than censors could catch up, and by Saturday night, spontaneous protests and vigils popped up across the countries in college campuses and major cities.
This was prominent in Shanghai, where many residents still harbor fresh memories of their messy two-month lockdown earlier this year.
Hundreds of angry Shanghai residents gathered on consecutive nights over the weekend symbolically on Middle Urumqi Road in the tony former French Concession neighborhood, lighting candles and cursing zero-tolerance COVID measures with some openly daring to chant, “Communist Party step down” and “Step down, Xi Jinping, step down.”
Police officers mostly let the crowd disperse Saturday night but made arrests in early morning hours of some of the remaining protesters.
On Sunday, the protests spread to more cities including Beijing, which was entering a de-facto lockdown dealing with a fresh outbreak.
Hundreds of students gathered outside the main dining hall of Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, which happens to be Xi’s alma mater, raising blank sheets of paper to decry the growing censorship and calling for “freedom of speech.” It was scene unseen on college campuses in China since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.
The blank-sheet protests were seen again near the Liangmaqiao diplomatic district, close to the U.S. and South Korean embassies in Beijing Sunday night, accompanied with cries of “no PCR tests, only freedom.”
The scenes were repeated across the country from the first COVID epicenter of Wuhan to the tech center of Hangzhou to the far-flung and usually laidback backpacker hub of Dali in southwestern China.
Adding to the national frustration, many across the country have been glued to the Qatar World Cup games on China’s state broadcaster, complete with cutaways of the raucous maskless crowds, leading to sarcastic discussions online whether China was “not the same planet” as Qatar.
By Sunday’s game between Japan and Costa Rica, CCTV Sports stayed on close-up shots of the players, referees and coaches when the ball was not in play instead of showing the maskless fans in the stands.
On Nov. 11, Beijing had issued new guidelines to improve COVID measures, promising to lessen the impact of their restrictions. It was initially taken to be a signal that Beijing was laying the groundwork to open up.
Record outbreaks across the country, however, have snapped many cities shut again. Most local jurisdictions are in charge of their own COVID enforcement and the officials’ jobs are on the line if they mismanage an outbreak, leading them to err on the side of harsher measures no matter the effect on residents.
For nearly three full years, China’s “dynamic zero-COVID” strategy meant one infection is too much.
By Sunday night, some city governments were tweaking their restrictions in real time. As the protesters gathered in Liangmaqiao, Beijing officials said they lifted lockdowns on 75 neighborhoods and announced new guidelines for enforcement that included no snap-lockdown lasting more than 24 hours.
While China’s record daily case numbers are not high by international standards, running 39,906 cases Sunday with no new deaths, the Japanese investment bank Nomura estimates that more than 21.1% of China’s total GDP is under lockdown, on par with the economic impact of Shanghai’s lockdown in the spring.
China, in a way, is a victim of its own success. The zero-COVID policy undoubtedly saved lives during the pandemic, with only 5,232 official COVID deaths over nearly three years, but has also isolated much of the Chinese population from any type of natural immunity.
For Xi Jinping and the Chinese government, it remains a question of which would cause more instability: loosening up and letting a COVID “exit wave” quickly cause up to hundreds of thousands of deaths and overwhelm the national health system in the very best-case scenario presented by some health officials, or tolerate the whack-a-mole of still-sporadic and unorganized protests across the country.
For a country that spends more on public domestic security than on their military, the answer is still on the side of zero-COVID. But as the anger spreads, many believe time may not be on zero-COVID’s side.
(WASHINGTON) — A spokesman for President Joe Biden is sharply criticizing former President Donald Trump for having dinner with white nationalist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago club last week.
“Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America – including at Mar-A-Lago. Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.
Trump met with Fuentes while hosting rapper and designer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at his resort last Tuesday, ABC News previously reported.
Fuentes has a history of racist, sexist and antisemitic comments, including apparent skepticism about the Holocaust, and has been banned on all major social media platforms.
Tuesday’s dinner lasted about two hours and was attended by Fuentes, Ye — who recently lost major business deals over his own antisemitic remarks — and Florida Republican political operative Karen Giorno.
The White House’s denunciation of the Mar-a-Lago dinner adds to a growing chorus of critics, including some Republicans.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, an erstwhile Trump ally, told The New York Times it was “another example of an awful lack of judgment from Donald Trump, which, combined with his past poor judgments, make him an untenable general election candidate for the Republican Party in 2024.”
Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seemingly distanced himself from figures like Fuentes when he tweeted on Saturday that “anti-Semitism is a cancer. … We stand with the Jewish people in the fight against the world’s oldest bigotry.” (He didn’t reference Trump by name.)
And in a statement to The Washington Post, the Republican Jewish Coalition called on “all political leaders to reject their messages of hate and refuse to meet with” Ye and Fuentes.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, spoke even more bluntly.
“For Donald Trump to dine with notorious white supremacists and unrepentant bigots, I think at a minimum it’s clarifying. He is trying to make America hate again and running arguably the most unapologetic white nationalist presidential campaign we’ve ever seen,” Greenblatt said on CNN.
In a series of statements, Trump played down Fuentes’ involvement, insisting he didn’t know who Fuentes was before they met and that he was unaware Fuentes would be joining the meal.
“This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about,” Trump said in one statement on Friday.
In a subsequent statement, he said that Ye had asked for the meeting for “very much needed ‘advice'” and brought “3 people, two of which I didn’t know.”
Trump recently announced he is running for president in 2024. Ye, who launched a longshot third-party bid of his own in the 2020 race, has also claimed he is running in 2024.
A source at the dinner previously told ABC News that during the meeting, Ye asked Trump to be his vice president. The rapper has often voiced support for Trump and met with him in the Oval Office while Trump was president.
In a video released on Twitter, Ye said their dinner became heated when he and Trump discussed politics. He contended that Trump was “really impressed with Nick Fuentes.”
In his social media statements, Trump said he and Ye “got along great” and that Ye “expressed no anti-Semitism.”
Biden has refrained from commenting on the dinner but suggested he had strong feelings. He was asked about it while out shopping in Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon.
“You don’t want to hear what I think,” he replied.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway, Olivia Rubin and Will Steakin contributed to this report.
(ATLANTA) — One person is dead and five others are injured after a shooting that took place near Atlantic Station on Saturday evening in Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Department said.
One male was pronounced deceased on the scene and five other victims were shot and later transported to nearby hospitals, Atlanta Police Lt. Germain Dearlove said in a press conference Saturday night. The extent of their conditions was not specified.
A group of people were escorted off of Atlantic Station property by off-duty Atlanta police officers and station personnel at about 8 p.m., police said. They were juveniles, said Dearlove, and were removed for “unruly behavior” along with curfew violations. Police believe that the victims were between the ages of 15 and 21.
Once the group was escorted off the property, a dispute occurred near Atlantic Station, which led to the shooting, said Dearlove. The reason for the dispute is currently under investigation.
Atlantic Station is a major retail and recreation area in midtown Atlanta and includes a sprawling mixed-use development. The neighborhood has seen periodic incidents of gun violence.
Police are looking to identify the parties involved, as preliminary information suggests this dispute was between two groups, with two possible shooters, said Dearlove.
Authorities are not sure how many shots were fired at this time.
(WASHINGTON) — Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Mike Turner, R-Ohio, on Sunday insisted that the incoming House Republican majority would continue to support funding and arming Ukraine in its war against Russia, downplaying critics inside the GOP’s conference who have vowed to oppose future aid packages.
McCaul and Turner, the likely next chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees, respectively, said on ABC’s “This Week” that Ukraine could win if it gets adequate support from the West.
They also backed House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s past statement that Congress shouldn’t provide a “blank check” and said Republicans planned to push for greater oversight and “accountability” over how American support is being used overseas.
“This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz cited objections to Ukraine aid from some conservatives — like Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — and asked, “Are you really certain that Republicans will bring this to the floor?”
“I think the majorities on both sides of the aisle support this effort,” McCaul said. “I think everybody has a voice in Congress. And the fact is, we are going to provide more oversight, transparency and accountability. We’re not going to write a blank check.”
“Does that diminish our will to help the Ukraine people fight? No. But we’re going to do it in a responsible way,” McCaul said. Otherwise, he said, authoritarian countries like China and Iran could become emboldened by Russia’s success.
“The issue, obviously, is we don’t need to pass $40 billion, large Democrat bills that have been passed to send $8 billion to Ukraine,” Turner told Raddatz, who recently returned from a reporting trip in Ukraine.
Raddatz pushed back on Turner, noting that beyond the immediate funds for procurement, that whole aid package was focused on Ukraine including with long-term financial support for rebuilding. Both McCaul and Turner also voted for the $40 billion package in May.
The lawmakers’ comments come ahead of what is expected to be a brutal winter in Ukraine, with Russia, some nine months after its invasion, targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure — limiting power and heat to major cities.
McCaul and Turner said that providing Ukraine with adequate air defense systems is a top priority, and McCaul contended the federal government had “slow-walked” some of its lethal support.
When Raddatz pressed McCaul on whether providing certain munitions could “incite Russia” after McCaul raised the possibility of extending Ukraine’s range into Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, McCaul said: “Crimea is not part of Russia under international law. So if they can hit into Crimea, I think that’s fair game.”
But, Turner said, simply handing over U.S. equipment might not be the answer given its sophistication and how long it could take to train and ultimately use.
“Our air defense systems are so complex, we need to make certain that we work with partners and pull together an air defense system that they can put together to defend Kyiv, to defend their infrastructure,” he said.
More broadly, McCaul and Turner said that starting in January, their committees will launch investigations into the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Republicans could also scrutinize Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ handling of the southern border and the controversial contents of a laptop that Republicans say was owned by Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son.
“One thing that’s going to be very, very positive about this Congress is we’re going to get back to the committees working again,” Turner said.
McCaul also expressed confidence that McCarthy will have the votes to become speaker in the next Congress despite public criticism from several hard-right lawmakers.
McCarthy will need 218 votes on the House floor on Jan. 3 to be speaker. At least four Republicans in the likely 222-seat majority have vowed to oppose him — complicating his path to winning the gavel in the first round of voting.
The entire House will continue voting for a speaker until a candidate wins a majority. Lawmakers could nominate another compromise candidate if McCarthy fails to secure enough support.
“Do you think he has the votes?” Raddatz asked.
“Kevin has worked harder than any other candidate for speaker I’ve seen. I think he’s got the majority of our conference,” McCaul said. “And the fact is, what’s the alternative here?”
(WASHINGTON) — With the Biden administration urging people to get both a COVID-19 booster and a flu shot as soon as possible, the White House’s Dr. Ashish Jha said Sunday that updated vaccinations will help people “move on” from the pandemic.
“It’s been, obviously, a long two and a half years for Americans, and we understand that people want to move on,” Jha, the White House COVID-19 coordinator, told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz of the virus that has killed more than 1 million people in the U.S. “The good news is people can move on if they keep their immunity up to date.”
COVID-19 deaths are still averaging more than 2,000 per week and only about 11% of the country has gotten the latest booster compared to 80% of people who completed the primary course of vaccination that was rolled out in 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“We’ve talked about this so many times: People aren’t listening,” Raddatz said of the federal government’s push for vaccinations while low booster rates remain the norm.
“What do you do?” she asked Jha. He reiterated that the vaccines give crucial protection and he said he believes uptake will increase in the coming weeks: “Historically, people tend to get their flu shot in November and December and to January.”
“We think it’s incredibly important as we head into the holidays for people to update their immunity, get the new COVID vaccine, get the flu shot. It’s a great way to stay safe and healthy this holiday season.” he said
About 26% of adults are estimated to have received a flu vaccine as of October, according to the CDC, while an estimated 35% of children received the shots as of early November. Those figures are similar to years past, though the flu vaccine coverage for kids was slightly higher in November 2020.
The results of a study released in June by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, showed that adult flu vaccination rates have declined in states where COVID-19 vaccination rates are also low. Raddatz pointed to that study and asked Jha, “Are you concerned that the controversy and hesitancy over COVID vaccines is carrying over to flu vaccines?”
Jha responded by citing the overall effectiveness of both the COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, making the additional point that many people choose to protect themselves in this way “when they hear it from trusted voices.”
“Our strategy is get out into the community, talk to religious leaders, talk to civil society leaders, community-based organizations, have them get out to the community and talk to people, Jha said.
He also emphasized that the updated COVID-19 booster provides protection from a new subvariant of omicron, which has been rapidly spreading across Massachusetts and, according to experts, accounts for nearly 40% of the current cases there.
Raddatz turned to the so-called “tripledemic” this season, with COVID-19 and the flu circulating and now with high numbers of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children across the country. Health experts have said RSV is emerging earlier and affecting more kids than typical because of the COVID-19 pandemic, ABC News previously reported.
“We’re seeing hospitals getting close to capacity. What should parents do in particular?” Raddatz asked.
Jha recommended that every family member, no matter their age, get vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu as a first step. “That takes those two and takes them off the table in terms of causing serious illness,” he said.
“RSV, for most people, [is] not a big deal. It’s very mild. For the elderly, and for the youngest kids, it can be a problem,” he said, recommending “basic respiratory hygiene” such as “avoiding sick contacts … washing your hands, cleaning surfaces.”
But “one bit of good news just in the last week, we’ve seen RSV peaked and maybe turn down,” he continued. “I’m obviously hopeful that that trend is going to continue.” Compared to government data collected in the previous year, however, cases are up significantly.
“And what about this shortage of amoxicillin and even ibuprofen in some places?” Raddatz asked of a months-long national shortage facing parents who are scouring drugstore shelves for children’s medicine. “What do they do about that?”
“We have broader supply chain issues with our medications that we’ve had for decades,” Jha said, describing the problems as commonplace. “I often, when I walk into the hospital, find some normal medicine that I’m used to using not available,” he said.
Raddatz also touched on recent protests in China amid its “zero COVID” policy, which includes strict lockdown measures and other rules.
Of the country’s approach to controlling infections and deaths, which differs sharply from the U.S., Raddatz asked Jha: “When you look at what they’re doing, is that effective?”
“We don’t think that’s realistic, certainly not realistic for the American people,” Jha responded.
“I think it’s going to be very, very difficult for China to be able to contain this through their ‘zero COVID’ strategy,” he said. “I would recommend that they pursue the strategy of making sure everybody gets vaccinated, particularly their elderly.”
(NEW YORK) — After years of controversy around its location, the 2022 World Cup is underway in Qatar.
There have been allegations of payoffs to FIFA members to earn the bid, criticism of Qatar’s laws against women and LGBTQ individuals, the deaths of migrants used to build the sparkling new stadiums and even last-second controversy over beer sales. The tournament was also moved from its usual summer timeframe to the holiday season to avoid Qatar’s intensely hot weather.
But on the field, the best players in the world — such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar — are ready to go. And the U.S. is back with a hungry, young team after failing to qualify for the last World Cup.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Nov 27, 1:06 PM EST
Croatia beats Canada 4-1
Croatia handily beat Canada four goals to one. Croatia’s goals were scored by Marko Livaja, Lovro Majer and Andrej Kramaric, who scored twice.
Canada’s Alphonso Davies scored their sole point, the country’s first in a men’s FIFA World Cup, within the first three minutes of the match.
Croatia is now the top team in Group F, while Canada will not advance.
Nov 27, 11:23 AM EST
Morocco beats Belgium 2-0
Morocco beat Belgium Sunday with two goals over zero.
The first goal was scored by Abdelhamid Sabiri 73 minutes in on a free kick near the corner. The second goal came in extra minutes, scored by Zakaria Aboukhlal chipping off a smart assist by Hakim Ziyech.
This win puts Morocco at the top of Group F.
Nov 27, 8:12 AM EST
Costa Rica beats Japan 1-0 with late goal
Costa Rica beat the favored Japan 1-0 with a late goal on Sunday.
Keysher Fuller scored the match’s sole goal at the 81-minute mark, shooting from inside the 18-yard box and slipping the ball past the fingertips of Japan’s goaltender, Shuichi Gonda.
The goal was Costa Rica’s first of the tournament after losing 7-0 against Spain in its opening game.
Nov 26, 4:15 PM EST
Argentina tops Mexico 2-0 in vital win
After a stunning loss to Saudi Arabia, Argentina defeated Mexico 2-0.
Argentina and Saudi Arabia now have three points each. The team that wins their third match in this round will likely head to the knockouts.
Nov 26, 1:30 PM EST
France defeats Denmark 2-1 in heated match
France defeated Denmark 2-1 with a last minute goal from Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé, in what was a tight game between the two Group D teams.
Mbappé also scored France’s first goal of the match. The win solidifies France’s spot in the knockout round.
To qualify for the next round, Denmark will have to defeat Australia on Wednesday.
Nov 26, 12:17 PM EST
Poland defeats Saudi Arabia 2-0
Poland defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0, putting the Polish team in Group C’s top spot.
Saudi Arabia has the second highest number of points in the group thanks to its surprise 2-1 win over Argentina. Mexico and Argentina will face off later today, where Mexico could knock Argentina out of the tournament with a win.
Nov 26, 8:04 AM EST
Saudi Arabia can qualify for elimination round with win over Poland
Poland and Saudi Arabia have kicked off at Education City Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
Saudi Arabia shocked the football world this week with a 2-1 over Argentina, one of the favorites to win the World Cup. Poland played Mexico and earned a scoreless draw against the squad to take one point away from the match.
The second Group C match of the day will take place later on where Mexico can eliminate Argentina from the competition with a win.
Nov 26, 7:07 AM EST
Australia defeats Tunisia for their first World Cup win since 2010
Australia and Tunisia played a tight game throughout with each squad having their chances to score but it was Australia who ultimately prevailed 1-0 over the North African side.
Tunisia is now on the backfoot when it comes to qualifying for the knockout rounds but they have not formally been eliminated in the loss to Australia. Australia have garnered three points in their two matches thus far. Tunisia has earned one point in their matches. Denmark takes on France later today in the other Group D match.
Nov 25, 4:09 PM EST
US and England tie 0-0
The U.S. and England tied in their match on Friday, ending the game without scoring any goals.
To advance to the next round, the U.S. will need to win its match against Iran on Tuesday.
England won its match against Iran on Monday 6-2.
Nov 25, 12:47 PM EST
Neymar injures right ankle during Brazil’s 1st match
Soccer star Neymar injured his right ankle during Brazil’s match against Serbia Thursday.
The team’s doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said Neymar sprained his ankle and said he is confident Neymar will continue playing at the World Cup, according to the Associated Press.
Nov 25, 12:47 PM EST
China gifts Qatar two pandas tasked with predicting game winners
Thuraya and Suhail are two pandas gifted to Qatar from China to celebrate their hosting the World Cup. Every day, they are tasked with predicting which countries will win that day’s matchups.
Fans of the U.S. men’s soccer team may hope this less-than-stellar rate holds as the pandas predicted this morning that England wins in the team’s group stage match.
Nov 25, 12:37 PM EST
Senegal beats Qatar 3-1
Senegal beat World Cup host Qatar 3-1, in what was the host’s first appearance in the tournament ever.
The two other Group A members, the Netherlands and Ecuador, are set to face off on Friday.
Nov 25, 7:30 AM EST
Wales suffers defeat at the hands of Iran
With two goals allowed in added time, Wales lost a tight match to Iran 2-0.
In the defeat, Wales has one point in Group B and Iran now has three. The United States will play England later today to wrap up the second games for each team in the group at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Nov 25, 6:00 AM EST
Wales and Iran battle to 0-0 at halftime in each squad’s second match
In a closely fought match between the two teams, Wales and Iran have played a tight match so far at halftime at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Ar-Rayyan.
Wales has had possession 54% of the time to Iran’s 30% with the ball contested 16% of the time.
England is leading Group B with three points and they will play the United States who garnered point against Wales in their first match. Wales is tied with the U.S. with one point and Iran yet to put points on the table.
Nov 24, 10:39 PM EST
Brazil wins against Serbia as Neymar suffers ankle injury
Brazil defeated Serbia 2-0 in the opening for Group G at Lusail Stadium courtesy of Brazilian forward Richarlison’s double goals.
Brazil’s Neymar, one of the sport’s most popular players, sprained his ankle, according to Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar.
Now at the top of the Group G standings, Brazil will play Switzerland on Monday, while Serbia will face Cameroon.
Nov 24, 8:43 PM EST
Portugal beats Ghana 3-2 as Ronaldo breaks record
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo made history today, becoming the first male player to score in five different World Cups after scoring a penalty kick in Portugal’s opening match.
Portugal now leads Group H after defeating Ghana 3-2.
Ronaldo left Manchester United earlier this week after an explosive TV interview in which he criticized the club and manager Erik ten Hag.
Nov 24, 2:04 PM EST
Portugal beats Ghana 3-2 as Ronaldo breaks record
Soccer star Christiano Ronaldo made history today, becoming the first male player to score in five different World Cups after scoring a penalty kick in Portugal’s opening match.
Portugal now leads Group H after defeating Ghana 3-2.
Ronaldo left Manchester United earlier this week after an explosive TV interview in which he criticized the club and manager Erik ten Hag.
Nov 24, 11:39 AM EST
Uruguay and South Korea draw 0-0
Uruguay and South Korea did not score any goals in their first appearance in the 2022 World Cup, ending the game with a 0-0 draw.
The two other teams in the group, Portugal and Ghana, are also facing off today.
Nov 24, 8:10 AM EST
Uruguay takes on South Korea
The match between Uruguay and South Korea has kicked off in Al Rayyan, Qatar.
This match is the first one featuring teams from Group H, the last group not to have played yet in Qatar 2022. The other two teams, Ghana and Portugal, will play later today.
Nov 24, 7:07 AM EST
Switzerland defeats Cameroon 1-0
Cameroon-born Swiss star Breel Embolo scored the only goal of the match in the 48th minute shortly after the half as Switzerland defeated Cameroon in the first game of the World Cup for each squad in Group G.
Embolo, who plays for Ligue 1 club Monaco in France, refused to celebrate in what would be the only goal of the match and held up his hands after scoring before he was mobbed by his teammates in celebration.
Switzerland will next play Brazil on Monday while Cameroon will take on Serbia the same day.
Nov 23, 1:02 PM EST
Spain looks like Cup contender with rout of Costa Rica
Spain, one of the oddsmakers’ favorites to hoist the World Cup trophy next month, did nothing to dissuade those picking the 2010 champs to win another title.
Spain defeated Costa Rica 7-0 in the most lopsided game of the tournament so far. Costa Rica had zero shots on goal in the match.
Ferran Torres had two goals, while Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, Gavi, Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata each had one.
It was the most goals scored by Spain in a World Cup game, topping the six they scored against Bulgaria in 1998. Spain next plays Germany on Sunday, with the German side facing elimination with a loss.
Nov 23, 10:16 AM EST
Japan shocks Germany with 2 goals in final 15 minutes
Germany controlled possession throughout the first half and appeared ready to cruise to a opening game victory. Then Japan turned it on in a shocking final 15 minutes to steal the win.
German Ilkay Gundogan scored on a penalty kick in the 33rd minute, and thought they had added a second late in the first half before a review took it off the board.
In the second, Ritsu Doan tied the game at 1-1 in the 75th minute after coming on the pitch just four minutes earlier. Eight minutes later, Takuma Asano gave Japan the 2-1 lead and held on for the win.
Nov 23, 10:14 AM EST
German players cover mouths in protest
The starting 11 for Germany posed for photos covering their mouths before the match with Japan in a sign of protest.
Several European team captains had planned to wear “OneLove” armbands during the tournament as a protest against Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ laws. However, FIFA cracked down on the teams’ decision and promised to immediately hand out yellow cards to any player violating the rules on uniform.
Also, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was pictured wearing the armband while watching in the stands, alongside embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino. She had previously said she might not even attend the World Cup due to concerns over human rights.
Nov 23, 7:04 AM EST
Croatia and Morocco draw 0-0
Croatia and Morocco failed to score in their match, which ended up being the third 0-0 draw in the 2022 World Cup so far.
The other two teams in the group, Canada and Belgium, will face off later today at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium — popularly known as the Al-Rayyan Stadium — in Al Rayyan, Qatar. It will be Canada’s first World Cup match in 36 years and only their second ever appearance at the tournament.
Nov 23, 6:57 AM EST
Morocco and Croatia battle to 0-0 draw at halftime
Croatia controlled possession of the ball 51% of the time to Morocco’s 36% in the first half of the Group F match at Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar.
Croatia had two corner kick opportunities but were unable to capitalize on those opportunities to score while Morocco had one less foul in the first half than the European side.
Nov 23, 5:08 AM EST
Match between 2018 World Cup runners-up and Morocco kicks off
Croatia, runners-up to France in the 2018 World Cup, has taken the field against the second-best team in Africa, Morocco, in Group F’s first match of the tournament.
Morocco has not won a World Cup match since 1998 and has only ever emerged from the qualifying rounds in the tournament once, 36 years ago in 1986.
Nov 22, 4:23 PM EST
Soccer powers take the stage on Wednesday
Germany, Spain and Belgium take to the field on Wednesday as they each look to open the tournament with a win — and deliver a message that they are in World Cup-winning form. Germany and Spain won the World Cup in 2014 and 2010, respectively, while Belgium is No. 2 in the FIFA world rankings.
Our neighbors to the north, Canada, also get their World Cup underway. This is just the second time Canada has appeared in the World Cup and certainly want to do better than that appearance in 1986 when they went 0-3 in the group stage.
Here’s the schedule for Wednesday:
Morocco vs. Croatia, 5 a.m., FS1
Germany vs. Japan, 8 a.m., FS1
Spain vs. Costa Rica, 11 a.m., Fox
Belgium vs. Canada, 2 p.m., Fox
Nov 22, 4:07 PM EST
Defending champion France routs Australia
Just nine minutes into France’s opening round match with Australia they trailed 1-0 behind a goal from Craig Goodwin.
But any thoughts of the defending World Cup champions stumbling to a loss in their opener — like Argentina earlier in the day — were erased by Adrien Rabiot in the 28th minute. Five minutes later, Olivier Giroud banged one home to take the lead.
The rout was on in the second half when 23-year-old French star Kylian Mbappe headed one home in the 68th minute. Giroud scored a brace with his second goal in the 71st minute. The goal tied him with legend Thierry Henry for the most international goals in French history.
France finished with 23 shots to Australia’s four. The Aussies had just one shot on goal.
Nov 22, 1:11 PM EST
Mexico, Poland go scoreless after Lewandowski misses penalty
Mexico and Poland, both teams hoping to advance to the knockout stage, finished 0-0 in their opening match after Polish star Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty kick in the second half.
Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa came up with a big stop in the 58th minute Tuesday. Mexico, meanwhile, dominated possession — 61% to 39% — and had 11 shots but couldn’t break through.
Lewandowski, one of his generation’s great forwards, has not scored a World Cup goal in four matches.
Nov 22, 11:12 AM EST
Fans show off team pride with crazy costumes
Win or lose, you can always count on fans to show up — often in the most outlandish outfits.
-ABC News’ Moe Zoyari
Nov 22, 10:04 AM EST
Denmark, Tunisia settle for scoreless draw
Denmark, one of the sleeper picks to win the tournament, settled for a 0-0 draw with Tunisia in their first game in Group D. It was the first scoreless draw of the tournament and only the second draw — after the U.S.-Wales on Monday.
The Danes are ranked 10th in the world, while Tunisia is ranked 30th.
Denmark held its collective breath in the 93rd minute when the referee was called over to look at VAR for a hand ball, but the ruling came back with no penalty.
Nov 22, 9:35 AM EST
World Cup’s New High-Tech Ball Will Change Soccer Forever: FiveThirtyEight
When the 2022 World Cup made its debut on Sunday, it kicked off one of the most significant in-game uses of technology in sports history.
All tournament long, match balls will contain a sensor that collects spatial positioning data in real time — the first World Cup to employ such a ball-tracking mechanism. This, combined with existing optical tracking tools, will make VAR (video assistant referees) and programs like offside reviews more accurate and streamlined than they’ve ever been.
Combining these two forms of tracking has long been a holy grail of sorts in technology circles, and FIFA’s use of the ball sensor in particular will serve as a highly public test case over the next four weeks.
Nov 22, 9:16 AM EST
Budweiser plans celebration with unused beer
With millions of dollars in unused beer sitting in Qatar, the company AB InBev says it will be bringing the beer to the winning country for an “ultimate” celebration.
“Where there is a celebration, there is always a Budweiser. In that spirit, Budweiser wants to bring this celebration from the FIFA World Cup stadiums to the winning country’s fans,” the company said in a statement. “We will host the ultimate championship celebration for the winning country. Because, for the winning fans, they’ve taken the world. More details will be shared when we get closer to the finals.”
Nov 22, 9:03 AM EST
Saudi Arabia stuns Argentina
Lionel Messi and Argentina were stunned by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as the Saudis rallied to beat one of the tournament’s favorites, 2-1.
Messi, one of the sport’s all-time greats, scored in the 10th minute on a penalty kick. But Saudi Arabia came out strong in the second half with goals in the 48th minute by Saleh Al-Shehri and in the 53rd minute by Salem Al-Dawsari.
(UPPER MARLBORO, Md.) — The Jackson Family Rodeo Crew is an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, family of seven epitomizing the rodeo lifestyle and legacy of Black cowboys in the United States.Parents Corey and Robyn Jackson have dedicated themselves to supporting their five kids, four of whom compete, in living that lifestyle to the fullest.
Corey Jackson told “Good Morning America” that from the time he was a young child in his hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he had always wanted to be a cowboy.
“It’s really nostalgic, you know, to think back on that time because it was my grandfather and I. He is who got me started watching Westerns [on] Saturday mornings,” he said. “So just from that little, young age, you know, seeing just the mystique of the cowboy you know, riding the Western Range, what have you, I just fell in love with it.”
In some ways, Corey Jackson’s childhood dreams were Robyn Jackson’s norm.
“It’s funny, Corey wanted to be a cowboy — I thought it was normal,” Robyn Jackson said of her generations-long family history in the field that made growing up around horses a reality.
“On my dad’s side, back to the Reconstruction Era, [in] my family, the men were sharecroppers. And so to be a sharecropper, you needed help, and the help came by way of an animal — horse, mule — and they became very skilled in training those horses for work purposes,” she said. “Not until my dad did that skill kind of change into a pleasure activity.”
The pair would eventually meet and hit it off rather fittingly at the famous Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo — which “celebrates and honor Black Cowboys and Cowgirls and their contributions to building the west,” according to its official website — going on to raise their fifth generation wrangler children Dylan, 9, Nic, 14, twins Reagan and Ryan, 12, and Robert,15, on the land that Robyn Jackson’s father Robert Harper purchased and developed, and training in their home arena that he built decades ago.
“It almost brings tears to my eyes because I don’t think we ever, you know, we just never imagined. You don’t know what your future holds,” Robyn Jackson said. “I don’t know that I had ever planned to have little cowboys and cowgirls but that is what has happened. And I’m so thankful because all the decisions that my dad made early on, we had no idea how that was going to impact our lives today.”
As for the kids, when they’re not at a competition or in daily practice with their dad, a former Division I college football player and football coach, or in school with their educator mom, Dylan, Reagan, Ryan and Nic also like to hunt, fish, play various instruments, travel and bake. Though Robert, who has cerebral palsy, does not compete, horses have been and continue to be a big part of his life, as he rides, bonds with the family’s animals, and eagerly attends his sibling’s competitions, including the Bullride Mania Finals Amateur Championship where Nic took the win earlier this month.
Nic was only 7 years old when he got on his first bull. At 13, he was named the 2020 Junior World Bull Riding Champion, making him the first ever in the Northeast to win. With goals of going pro, that was just the beginning for the now-14-year-old, who hopes to take home the title again at this year’s Junior World Finals in December.
“It’s a passion, you know, it’s a lifestyle. It’s just not something that we do. It goes … so far deep, deeper than just the competition,” Corey Jackson told “GMA,” adding that loving and taking care of the land and animals they cultivate is an integral part of their routine. “So when we’re not rodeoing, we’re talking about rodeo, we’re watching rodeo … we’re watching videos of the kids’ performances.”
“Now I can separate from it a little more,” Robyn Jackson added. “But I think the gist of it is we can do just about anything as a family. Whatever the activity is, we’re able to do it as one unit, and I really am thankful for that.”
Raphael Louis Hipos and Ebony Peeples contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — No FIFA World Cup would be complete without “psychic” animals predicting the winners, and Qatar 2022 has been no exception.
From “clairvoyant” camels to “mystic” elephants and “cryptic” rats, a range of animals — big and small — have tried their paws, hooves and tentacles at predicting the score line.
It all started with Paul, the “psychic” octopus. The eight-tentacled icon put TV pundits to shame with an incredible string of correct World Cup winner predictions from his glass tank at the Aquarium Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany. The tentacled tipster had an incredible success rate: he correctly predicted eight world cup matches at South Africa’s tournament in 2010, including Spain beating the Netherlands in the World Cup final.
All did not end well for Paul’s successor, Rubio the octopus, who became an icon in Japan for his 100% success rate in predicting group stage matches, including Japan’s win against Columbia in the 2018 World Cup held in Russia. Rubio did not get the chance to make his prediction for the Round-of-16 after he was chopped up and turned into seafood, according to one local news outlet.
Taiyo the otter had good news for Japanese fans at this year’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar, correctly predicting Japan’s group stage win over Germany on Wednesday. From his home at the Maxell Aqua Park Shinagawa in Japan, the Taiyo was given three buckets to choose from — Japan (blue), draw (yellow) and Germany (Red) — and did not hesitate in picking up his tiny football and placing his bets on Japan. He was widely praised online for his exploits.
And let’s not forget another iconic star — Marcus, the “mystic” pig. In the 2018 World Cup, “Mystic Marcus” predicted a World Cup victory for England in the after selecting apples with the England flag on British morning television. However, Mystic Marcus’ fortune-telling record was shattered when England were knocked out in the semi-finals.
Nelly the elephant from Serengeti Park in Hodengagen, Germany, also meant business when she had a streak of 30 out of 33 matches correct for her predictions in the 2006 World Cup, the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Euros, according to The Atlantic.
Camilla the “mystic” camel from Melton Mowbray in England did have good news for England, however. She correctly predicted the Three Lion’s group-stage win over Iran at the Qatar World Cup. Her owners told the Sun newspaper in the U.K. that their clairvoyant camel is “never wrong.”
(SALT LAKE CITY) — A Utah man is facing charges after allegedly bringing a straight edge razor blade on a flight and holding it near a passenger’s throat.
The incident comes just weeks after a man brought two box cutters through security and onto a Frontier Airlines flight en route to Tampa.
Merrill Darrell Fackrell, 41, allegedly boarded a JetBlue flight Monday at JFK Airport in New York en route to Salt Lake City. During the flight, Fackrell was in the window seat next to a woman, when he allegedly placed his hand in front of her screen and told her to pause her movie, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Utah. The woman then realized Fackrell was holding what appeared to her as a knife, “inches from her skin at her throat/neck area,” the release said.
The woman’s husband then went to the front of the plane to get assistance from a flight attendant. The woman lunged for the aisle to escape and Fackrell reached and tried to stop her by grabbing her shoulder, according to the release.
The object was secured and later identified as a wood-handled straight edge razor with a one-to-two-inch blade.
In a statement to ABC News, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it “take[s] our responsibility to secure the skies for the traveling public very seriously.” The agency said it’s introducing new X-ray technology at more airports to improve the capability to detect items such as the one used in this incident.
Fackrell was later charged with Carrying a Weapon on an Aircraft and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in the Special Aircraft Jurisdiction of the United States.
“Crewmembers responded by working to de-escalate the situation and notified law enforcement who met the flight in Salt Lake City,” JetBlue said in a statement Friday. “The safety of our customers and crewmembers is JetBlue’s first priority, and we will support law enforcement during their investigation.”
(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) — Police are investigating an apparent triple homicide after three people were found dead in a Southern California residence by firefighters responding to a fire in the home.
Officers with the Riverside Police Department were in the process of responding to the home, located on the 1000 block of Price Court, to conduct a welfare check Friday morning, following the report of a “disturbance” between a man and woman near a car, police said.
“Shortly after that, before [officers] arrived, the fire department responded for what appeared to be a fire” at the same location, Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback told reporters during a press briefing Friday night. “When they went inside to extinguish that fire, that’s when they discovered the three bodies.”
A man and two women were found deceased inside the home, though police believe they were already dead before the fire broke out.
“They were victims of homicide, although we’re not going to disclose the means of that at this point,” Railsback said.
The coroner’s office was still in the process of identifying the victims Friday night and did not have their ages.
The woman involved in the earlier disturbance was found in San Bernardino County and was “safe” with law enforcement, Railsback said. The whereabouts of the man involved in the dispute were not disclosed.
The investigation is ongoing and there were no updates Saturday.
“This case is complicated and detectives are still unraveling it,” Railsback told ABC News. “We are hopeful to provide some update in the upcoming days.”
Riverside is located about 55 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
Neighbors watched the incident unfold.
“Firemen were trying to extinguish it, they got there really early. Next thing you know they’re pulling out some bodies,” a neighbor, Myron Dinga, told ABC Los Angeles station KABC. “It didn’t appear that they were succumbed by fire.”
“It was just smoke everywhere. You couldn’t breathe,” another neighbor, Brandi Kornegay, told the station.
Rick Beavers told KABC he saw the flames in the garage.
“The flames were six-foot high inside the garage,” he told the station. “The day after Thanksgiving, it is kind of sad.”
