(HOUSTON) — Uvalde:365 is a continuing ABC News series reported from Uvalde and focused on the Texas community and how it forges on in the shadow of tragedy.
One of the survivors of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was honored at Tuesday’s MLB game between the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins.
Mayah Zamora got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Minute Maid Park, an opportunity set up by the Correa Family Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, formerly of the Astros. Both the Astros and the Twins teamed up to give Mayah, a softball player herself, an unforgettable experience ahead of their first matchup in a three-game series that concludes Thursday night.
Mayah donned a bright orange Astros jersey and a navy blue and orange Astros cap for the occasion and posed for photos with players from both teams, including Correa, and the Astros’ mascot, Orbit, a green alien. Mayah’s family, her parents Christina and Ruben Zamora, as well as her two brothers and some extended family members were also by her side at the special event.
It’s not the first time the Astros have honored Uvalde families following the Robb Elementary school shooting, which cut short the lives of 19 children and two teachers. In July, the team traveled to Uvalde, nearly 280 miles west of Houston, to hold events and support the local community.
They also hosted families of the shooting victims earlier this month at Minute Maid Park.
Mayah was released from University Hospital in San Antonio on July 29. According to a press release from the Correa Family Foundation, the 10-year-old had to undergo over 20 surgeries during her 66-day stay.
While she was at the hospital, Mayah’s softball team launched a lemonade stand to raise at least $4,000 to help fund their teammate’s medical costs.
The Correa Family Foundation also announced Tuesday that it had raised funds to provide Mayah and her family a new home. The foundation’s president, Dr. Ricardo “Ricky” Flores, confirmed to “GMA” that after the school shooting, Mayah had learned she and her family lived just blocks away from the shooter and she felt uneasy returning home.
The Zamora family is in the process of finding a new place to relocate and the foundation plans on making sure their next home is fully furnished and comfortable for Mayah.
“We are thrilled to have so many friends and collaborators who are willing to come together and help us provide this gift to Mayah and her family,” Correa said in a statement. “I could never begin to imagine everything she has gone through, and we feel that this is one thing we could do to try to alleviate some of her pain. I’m thankful to both teams for being a part of this effort.”
(WASHINGTON) — Five more states are set to severely restrict abortion this week, adding to the growing number of laws that have taken effect since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Three states — Idaho, Tennessee and Texas — had trigger laws go into effect Thursday after being required to wait 30 days following the reversal of Roe before the bans could be enacted.
Additionally, North Dakota has a trigger law in place to make abortion illegal that may go into effect Friday and Oklahoma has a law with higher penalties for providers going into effect at the end of the week.
The states with trigger laws had effectively banned abortion since the Supreme Court reversed Roe but the new laws go a step further.
Previously, Tennessee had banned abortions after fetal cardiac activity could be detected, which is about six weeks’ gestation. But the new law makes performing abortions a felony punishable by three to 15 years in prison.
There are only exceptions if the mother’s life is in danger or if the pregnancy would result in serious bodily injury. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
Meanwhile, in Texas, abortions were prohibited in nearly all circumstances, including rape and incest, following the Supreme Court’s decision. There are only exceptions if the mother’s life or health is in danger.
Abortions providers can incur penalties of no less than $100,000 and may lose their professional license for performing the procedure.
Similarly, in Idaho, prior to the law, abortions had been banned after six weeks. The new law makes it a felony to perform an abortion in almost all circumstances.
However, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday against part of the ban after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit saying the ban violated a federal law guaranteeing access to emergency medical care at Medicare-funded hospitals.
“It’s not about the bygone constitutional right to an abortion,” Judge B. Lynn Winmill of the Federal District Court in Idaho wrote. “The court is called upon to address a far more modest issue — whether Idaho’s criminal abortion statute conflicts with a small but important corner of federal legislation. It does.”
North Dakota had a near-total abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest or if the life of the mother is in danger, which was temporarily blocked in court last month after the state’s sole abortion clinic, the Red River Women’s Clinic located in Fargo, sued.
A hearing Friday will decide whether the injunction will be extended while the case proceeds through court or if it will go into effect.
During this time, the Red River Women’s Clinic has moved its abortion services across state lines to Moorhead, Minnesota, about five minutes away from Fargo.
“Regardless of whether it goes into effect, or the 2023 North Dakota legislature is going to pass even something more restrictive, yes, we’re here and we’re providing services,” Tammi Kromenaker, director of Red River Women’s Clinic, told ABC News. “Access to abortion has essentially not changed for patients who have to travel, you know, to us, but it’s the principle of the thing, knowing that abortion is illegal in their state.”
She said a week ago she spoke to a patient in North Dakota who thought she wouldn’t even be able to access services.
“I spoke to a patient from North Dakota who said, ‘Oh, my God, did I miss it? Did I miss my chance?’ were her literal words,” Kromenaker said. “And I said, ‘No, we are here. We’re moving to Moorhead; we’ll see you there.’ And she just was so relieved because she literally thought she missed the opportunity to have an abortion.”
In addition to patients thinking that they can’t access services provided by the clinic, there are physical barriers too.
“The Fargo clinic is literally five minutes away from the Moorhead clinic, but for some patients, they had to drive three, four or five hours one way just to get to Fargo,” Kromenaker said. ‘That’s already a really big challenge to many patients who have to come from the western part of the state. You know, take time off from work, pay for gas, arrange child care.”
She added, “We live in a part of the country where winter is very challenging for travel. I remember a time in this last winter when there was such a bad snowstorm that every Interstate in the state was closed down. The patients literally could not get here.”
Additionally, Oklahoma was already enforcing laws banning abortion, but the latest ban adds further penalties.
Senate Bill 612, signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt makes performing abortion a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $100,000.
The only exception under the law is if the mother’s life is in danger.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
Much has been made of Pete Davidson‘s allure with the women of Hollywood, but he’s managed to attract one very hard-to-get male star — for his new comedy series Bupkis, that is.
Oscar winner Joe Pesci — who of late only, and rarely, works if it’s for his Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese — has signed onto the comedy show, which has been described as a Curb Your Enthusiasm-like look at Davidson’s life.
Officially, the streaming service calls Bupkis, which also stars Sopranos Emmy winner Edie Falco as Pete’s mom, “a heightened, fictionalized version of Pete Davidson’s real life.”
It’s not known who Pesci will play, but he is being billed as a series regular.
Incidentally, it will be the first time Pesci plays for the small screen since a short-lived ABC cop dramedy from 1985 called Half-Nelson.
(WASHINGTON) — The judge considering the release of the affidavit used to support the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Thursday ordered a redacted version made public by noon on Friday.
It was unclear whether the Justice Department would appeal.
Earlier Thursday, the Justice Department submitted its proposed redactions to the affidavit.
In his order, Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said that after reviewing DOJ’s memorandum and proposed redactions he believes the government has met its burden of showing a compelling reason and good cause to seal the requested portions of the affidavit because “disclosure would reveal the identities of witnesses, law enforcement agents, and uncharged parties, the investigation’s strategy, direction, scope, sources, and methods, and grand jury information…”
He says that the government has also met its burden in showing that its proposed redactions “are narrowly tailored to serve the Government’s legitimate interest in the integrity of the ongoing investigation and are the least onerous alternative to sealing the entire Affidavit.”
He gave DOJ until noon Friday to file in the public docket a version of the affidavit containing the redactions sent Thursday.
Reinhart had given department officials a noon deadline Thursday to submit proposed redactions under seal as well as a legal memorandum explaining their justifications for the information that they believe should be kept hidden from public view. Reinhart had said he was not inclined to keep the full affidavit sealed, saying he believes there are portions of it that could presumably be unsealed.
The government argued in court last week that the redactions they believe would be necessary to protect the integrity of their ongoing criminal investigation would essentially render the document “meaningless.”
A coalition of media organizations, including ABC News, has urged for release of the affidavit even with redactions — citing the need to further inform the public in light of the historic nature of the search of a former president’s residence.
Jay Bratt, the head of DOJ’s counterintelligence division, said “there would be nothing of substance” adding that the government is “very concerned about the safety of the witnesses” and the impact releasing the affidavit could have on other witnesses.
“It doesn’t serve the media’s interest to give them something that is meaningless,” Bratt said.
Bratt argued there is information in the document that could easily identify witnesses based on the descriptions of events that only certain people would have knowledge about.
Reinhart said in a Monday filing that he might ultimately side with the government.
“I cannot say at this point that partial redactions will be so extensive that they will result in a meaningless disclosure, but I may ultimately reach that conclusion after hearing further from the Government,” he said.
Judge Reinhart said that he believes the government has met “its burden of showing good cause/a compelling interest that overrides any public interest in unsealing the full contents of the Affidavit.”
It was thought the Justice Department would likely seek to immediately appeal any decision that would release portions of the affidavit they are not comfortable releasing.
While former President Trump and his allies have publicly called for the release of the full affidavit, his legal team has made no such efforts in court since the Aug. 8 search, including as part of their motion filed Monday before a separate federal judge calling for the appointment of a special master to review materials seized by the FBI.
Instead, Trump’s lawyers requested federal Judge Aileen Cannon to issue an order directing investigators to halt their review of the materials taken from Mar-a-Lago pending appointment of a special master, return any personal materials swept up in the search, and provide a more detailed receipt of items that were seized.
The filing, which was riddled with falsehoods, misrepresentations and blatant references to a possible announcement of Trump’s plans to again run for the presidency in 2024, appeared to be met with confusion by Judge Cannon.
On Tuesday, Judge Cannon, a Trump appointee, issued an order requesting Trump’s team enter a supplemental filing by Friday with a line-item list of basic information not included in their original motion.
(WASHINGTON) — Two Florida residents have pleaded guilty to stealing the diary of Ashley Biden, President Joe Biden’s youngest daughter, and then selling it to right-wing activist group Project Veritas, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Aimee Harris, 40, and Robert Kurlander, 58, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property involving the theft of personal belongings of an immediate family member of a then-former government official for taking several items belonging to Ashley Biden in September 2020. The charge carries a maximum of five years in prison.
Kurlander has also agreed to cooperate with the government.
Though Ashley Biden, 41, is not named in the court documents, a source familiar with the case confirmed they were her belongings.
“Harris and Kurlander stole personal property from an immediate family member of a candidate for national political office,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “They sold the property to an organization in New York for $40,000 and even returned to take more of the victim’s property when asked to do so.”
Biden had stored a handwritten journal containing highly personal entries, tax records, a digital storage card containing private family photographs and a cellphone, among other things, in a private residence in Delray Beach, Florida, where Harris was also staying.
After she stole Biden’s items, she contacted Kurlander and they got in touch with a representative from Project Veritas. They met with the Veritas employee in New York City shortly after they made contract with them, the DOJ said.
“During that meeting, Harris described the circumstances of how she had obtained the property, and provided the property to the Organization,” court documents say. “After the meeting, and at the Organization’s request, HARRIS and KURLANDER returned to Florida to obtain more of the Victim’s property in order to provide it to the Organization.”
They were paid $20,000 each by Project Veritas after providing more of Biden’s personal belongings, according to the DOJ.
In a statement Thursday, Project Veritas said, “Project Veritas’ news gathering was ethical and legal. A journalist’s lawful receipt of material later alleged to be stolen is routine, commonplace, and protected by the First Amendment.”
After the pair went to the house in Florida to steal more of the information, Kurklander sent a text to Harris, saying they expected as much as $100,000 from Project Veritas for the additional possessions.
“They are in a sketchy business and here they are taking what’s literally a stolen diary and info … and trying to make a story that will ruin [the Victim’s] life and try and effect the election. [The Victim] can easily be thinking all her stuff is there and not concerned about it. … we have to tread even more carefully and that stuff needs to be gone through by us and if anything worthwhile it needs to be turned over and MUST be out of that house,” the text message said according to court documents.
Harris acquired Ashley Biden’s property after she was invited to live there shortly after Ashley moved out. Biden stored her stuff at the property, according to the DOJ.
The duo also allegedly tried to sell the stolen property at a fundraiser benefiting “Candidate-2,” which is believed to be former President Donald Trump. Harris and Kurklander “attended the fundraiser with the intent of showing the Victim’s stolen property to a campaign representative of Candidate-2, hoping that the political campaign would purchase it.”
The campaign representative declined to purchase the information.
“A representative of Candidate-2’s political campaign conveyed to AIMEE HARRIS and ROBERT KURLANDER, the defendants, that the campaign was not interested in purchasing the property and advised HARRIS and KURLANDER to provide the items to the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the court documents said.
Their friendly rivalry continues. Rod Stewartposted a video of himself onstage doing his best Elton John impression while wearing blinged-out sunglasses and pretending to play piano while making a goofy face. The imitation was all in good fun, though, with Rod captioning the post, “Still love you, Elt.”
Does Jennifer Lopez pick her backup dancers based on their astrological sign? That’s what Glee alum Heather Morrisrevealed on an episode of the podcast Just Sayin’ with Justin Martindale. Heather recalled an instance where she auditioned for J.Lo and the singer asked any dancer who was a Virgo to raise their hand – they were subsequently asked to leave!
John Legend is bringing his talents to MasterClass. The singer’s class on songwriting is available now on the e-learning program. John’s eighth studio album, Legend, drops September 9.
Sam Smith is gearing up to release a new banger with Kim Petras. The two posted a TikTok of them doing a choreographed dance to the new track as the lyrics flash across the screen. No word on when the song will be released but Sam teased it’s “coming soon.”
The 2012 compilation Holidays Rule, featuring yuletide-themed tunes from Paul McCartney and a variety of other artists, will be released on vinyl for the first time next month in honor of its 10th anniversary.
The two-LP package, which is pressed on translucent-red vinyl, will be available September 30 and can be preordered now. A limited-edition clear, red and green splatter vinyl variant is available exclusively at CraftRecordings.com.
Holidays Rule is a 17-track collection that includes various musicians putting their spin on seasonal standards. McCartney contributed a rendition of “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” while indie rockers The Shins put their spin on McCartney’s own holiday classic, “Wonderful Christmas Time.”
Other artists who are featured on Holidays Rule include New Orleans soul legend Irma Thomas, Rufus Wainwright, fun. and The Head and the Heart.
Here’s the full Holidays Rule track list:
Side A
fun. — “Sleigh Ride”
The Shins — “Wonderful Christmas Time”
Rufus Wainwright featuring Sharon Van Etten — “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
Paul McCartney — “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”
Side B
Black Prairie feat. Sallie Ford — “(Everybody’s Waitin’ for) The Man with the Bag”
The Civil Wars — “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
Calexico — “Green Grows the Holly”
AgesandAges — “We Need a Little Christmas”
Side C
Holly Golightly — “That’s What I Want for Christmas”
Irma Thomas with Preservation Hall Jazz Band — “May Ev’ry Day Be Christmas”
Heartless Bastards — “Blue Christmas”
Eleanor Friedberger — “Santa, Bring My Baby Back (to Me)”
Fruit Bats — “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”
Side D
Y La Bamba — “Señor Santa (Mister Santa)”
Punch Brothers — “O Come O Come, Emmanuel”
The Head and the Heart — “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”
Andrew Bird — “Auld Lang Syne”
A famous superfan got his wish: It was officially announced Thursday that The Walking Dead‘s Jeffrey Dean Morgan will be joining Amazon’s hit The Boys for its fourth season.
The show’s official Twitter feed dropped big news Thursday, noting, “Chuffed to welcome @JDMorgan to The Boys S4. Can’t confirm if he’s gettin’ any tights, though.”
The reference was to a meme photo of JDM talking about going on the show at some point, the caption quoting him saying, “Get me some tights. I’m ready for some tights.”
For his part, Morgan tweeted he’s “SO DAMN STOKED!” to come aboard, and thanked both Amazon Studios and AMC for working around his schedule for The Walking Dead spin-off, Isle of the Dead.
Morgan has been trying to make this happen since 2020, reaching out on Twitter to Eric Kripke, the executive producer of both The Boys and of Supernatural, the long-running CW series in which Morgan starred as the dad to Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles‘ characters.
Morgan noted then he’d join The Boys “in a heartbeat!”
Fast-forward two years and Ackles made his unforgettable entrance into The Boys universe in this past third season, playing Soldier Boy, a boozing, womanizing, super-powerful supe who is essentially Captain America’s flip side.
Earlier this year, he and Kripke plotted to Variety how they’d love to reunite all of Supernatural‘s Winchester clan on the Emmy-nominated show.
Also weighing in on the news was Karl Urban, The Boys‘ Billy Butcher, who noted of JDM’s participation in season 4: “Mind blown. Can not wait.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Aug 25, 4:27 PM EDT
All reactors at power plant shut down for 1st time in history
All of the reactors at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where shelling has been ongoing, have been shut down for the first time in the plant’s history, Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator Energoatom reported.
Zaporizhzhia — the largest nuclear power plant in Europe — has six reactors, two of which are active, according to Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator, Energoatom. At 12:12 p.m. local time, the last operating line providing power to the plant was disconnected due to hostilities in the area, and as a result all six reactors were disconnected from the grid for 17 minutes, Energoatom said.
At 12:29 p.m. local time the overhead line was restored and reactors Nos. 5 and 6 start operating again.
At 2:14 p.m. local time, the overhead line was disconnected again, shutting down reactor No. 6 and leaving only reactor No. 5 operating. Work is underway to reconnect No. 6 to the grid.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the temporary shut down further shows “the urgent need for an IAEA expert mission to travel to the facility.”
If external power is lost there’s not active circulation of the water that cools the reactor and that could lead to a reactor meltdown. However, the plant “remained connected to a 330 kV line from the nearby thermal power facility that can provide back-up electricity if needed,” the IAEA said in a statement. “As a result of the cuts in the 750 kV power line, the ZNPP’s two operating reactor units were disconnected from the electricity grid and their emergency protection systems were triggered, while all safety systems remained operational.”
“There was no information immediately available on the direct cause of the power cuts,” the IAEA said. “The six-reactor ZNPP normally has four external power lines, but three of them were lost earlier during the conflict. The IAEA remains in close contact with Ukraine and will provide updated information as soon as it becomes available.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Thursday, “The world must understand what a threat this is: If the diesel generators hadn’t turned on, if the automation and our staff of the plant had not reacted after the blackout, then we would already be forced to overcome the consequences of the radiation accident. Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster.”
He called on the IAEA and other international organizations to act faster, “because every minute the Russian troops stay at the nuclear power plant is a risk of a global radiation disaster.”
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou, Fidel Pavlenko and Natalia Shumskaia
Aug 25, 2:17 PM EDT
Biden, Zelenskyy discuss weapons assistance, nuclear plant during phone call
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about weapons assistance and concerns over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in their phone call on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Regarding Zaporizhzhia, “We have said Russia should agree to demilitarize the zone around the plant and agree to allow an International Atomic Energy Agency visit as soon as possible,” Jean-Pierre said. “This is something that did come up in a conversation.”
Zelenskyy tweeted a photo of his phone call with Biden, and said he thanked him “for the unwavering U.S. support for Ukrainian people — security and financial.”
Zelenskyy said he and Biden “discussed Ukraine’s further steps on our path to the victory over the aggressor and importance of holding Russia accountable for war crimes.”
Biden also tweeted a photo of the call, and said he congratulated Ukraine on its Independence Day, which was on Wednesday.
“I know it is a bittersweet anniversary, but I made it clear that the United States would continue to support Ukraine and its people as they fight to defend their sovereignty,” Biden wrote.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Aug 25, 11:47 AM EDT
All reactors at power plant shut down for first time in history
All of the reactors at Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, where shelling has been ongoing, have been shut down for the first time in the plant’s history, Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator Energoatom reported.
Zaporizhzhya — the largest nuclear power plant in Europe — has six reactors, two of which are active, according to Ukraine’s state nuclear regulator, Energoatom. At 12:12 p.m. local time, the last operating line providing power to the plant was disconnected due to hostilities in the area, and as a result all six reactors were disconnected from the grid for 17 minutes, Energoatom said.
At 12:29 p.m. local time the overhead line was restored and reactors Nos. 5 and 6 start operating again.
At 2:14 p.m. local time, the overhead line was disconnected again, shutting down reactor No. 6 and leaving only reactor No. 5 operating. Work is underway to reconnect No. 6 to the grid.
Aug 24, 4:56 PM EDT
21 killed in Russian missile strike on train station
Twenty-one people were killed and another 22 were injured in a Russian missile strike on a train station in Chaplyne, in the central Ukraine region of Dnipropetrovsk, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou and Max Uzol
Aug 24, 2:55 PM EDT
Russia may hold sham referenda in occupied Ukrainian territory: White House
The White House said the U.S. believes Russia could hold “sham referenda” in occupied Ukrainian territory within days or weeks.
White House spokesman John Kirby said last month that Russia was “installing illegitimate proxy officials in the areas of Ukraine that are under its control” who would then arrange “sham referenda” as a precursor to annexation.
Kirby told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. government believes “these referenda could begin in a matter of days or weeks.”
“We have information that Russia continues to prepare to hold these sham referenda in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics,” Kirby said. “We’ve also learned that Russian leadership has instructed officials to begin preparing to hold these sham referenda, particularly in Kharkiv, as well.”
“We expect Russia to try to manipulate the results of these referenda to falsely claim that the Ukrainian people want to join Russia,” he continued. “It will be critical to call out and counter this disinformation in real time.”
“Any claim that the Ukrainian people somehow want to join Russia is simply not true,” Kirby said, citing polling data. It’s clear, he added, that Ukrainians “value and treasure their independence.”
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak on the phone on Thursday, Kirby said.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Aug 24, 1:41 PM EDT
Queen Elizabeth marks Ukrainian Independence Day
Queen Elizabeth released a statement Wednesday marking Ukrainian Independence Day.
“It gives me great pleasure to send Your Excellency and the people of Ukraine my warmest greetings on the celebration of your Independence Day,” she said. “In this most challenging year, I hope that today will be a time for the Ukrainian people, both in Ukraine and around the world, to celebrate their culture, history and identity. May we look to better times in the future.”
Aug 24, 9:13 AM EDT
Biden announces new aid package, congratulates Ukraine on Independence Day
President Joe Biden in a statement Wednesday said he was “proud to announce our biggest tranche of security assistance to date” to Ukraine: “approximately $2.98 billion of weapons and equipment.”
“This will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and radars to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term,” Biden said.
Biden confirmed the money would come through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The USAI money can be spent on contracts with the defense industry to produce new equipment for Ukraine.
Biden in his statement also marked Ukrainian Independence Day, saying, “Ukrainians have inspired the world with their extraordinary courage and dedication to freedom.”
“Today is not only a celebration of the past but a resounding affirmation that Ukraine proudly remains — and will remain — a sovereign and independent nation,” he said.
He continued, “I know this Independence Day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks.”
“Today and every day, we stand with the Ukrainian people to proclaim that the darkness that drives autocracy is no match for the flame of liberty that lights the souls of free people everywhere,” Biden said.
Aug 23, 4:39 PM EDT
2 Zaporizhzhya power plant employees killed in shelling in city of Enerhodar
Two Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant employees were killed on their day off when Russian forces shelled the city of Enerhodar, officials said.
-ABC News’ Yuriy Zaliznyak and Dada Jovanovic
Aug 23, 2:35 PM EDT
US to announce its largest single aid package for Ukraine
The U.S. will announce its largest single aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday, according to two U.S. officials. The package is expected to be valued at roughly $3 billion — though one official told ABC News some changes could be made overnight, and $3 billion is on the higher end of the estimates.
A senior U.S. official told ABC News the package will come from Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds. Unlike presidential drawdown packages, which pull from existing U.S. equipment stocks, the USAI money can be spent on contracts with the defense industry to produce new equipment for Ukraine.
The U.S. has committed about $10.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler and Shannon Crawford
Aug 23, 1:54 PM EDT
Americans urged to leave Ukraine over Russian strikes on civilians
The United States is once again urging its citizens to leave Ukraine amid concerns Russia is ramping up attacks on civilians in the war-torn country.
In a security alert posted Tuesday on its website, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv urged Americans “to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so.”
“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the embassy said in the alert. “Russian strikes in Ukraine pose a continued threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Sources within the State Department said the heightened risk of a Russian strike on highly populated centers is most directly tied to Ukraine’s Independence Day on Wednesday.
“The risks are really high,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ABC News. “We are receiving information that there may be a provocation by the Russian Federation, by the occupiers. Therefore, we do not want large gatherings on such days. The days are beautiful, but … our neighbors are not.”
Aug 23, 9:10 AM EDT
Americans urged to leave Ukraine over Russian strikes on civilians
The United States is once again urging its citizens to leave Ukraine amid concerns Russia is ramping up attacks on civilians in the war-torn country.
In a security alert posted Tuesday on its website, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv urged Americans “to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so.”
“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the embassy said in the alert. “Russian strikes in Ukraine pose a continued threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Aug 22, 10:59 AM EDT
FSB accuses Ukrainian special services of assassinating Darya Dugina
Russia’s FSB is accusing Ukrainian special services of assassinating Darya Dugina, the daughter of Putin ally Alexander Dugina, who was killed by an explosive this weekend.
The FSB said a Ukrainian national arrived in Russia on July 23 with her 12-year-old daughter and rented an apartment in the same Moscow building where Dugina lived, Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti reported. The woman allegedly trailed Dugina for nearly a month and then immediately left for Estonia with her daughter just after this weekend’s bombing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement that Darya Dugina was “a bright, talented person with a real Russian heart – kind, loving, sympathetic and open.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine is working under the assumption that Russian secret services are behind the killing, saying “Ru-propaganda lives in a fictional world.”
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva and Oleksii Shemyskyo
Aug 22, 9:13 AM EDT
Air raid sirens sound across Ukraine
Air raid sirens are sounding across Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russia could launch a “particularly ugly” provocation this week as Ukraine approaches its Independence Day on Wednesday.
In Kyiv, all public events are canceled and government employees have been told to work from home through the week.
In Kramatorsk, public events have been canceled for Tuesday through Thursday and public transportation has been stopped.
Aug 22, 6:16 AM EDT
Explosive under Putin ally’s car was remotely triggered, investigators say
An explosive device planted on the underside of Putin ally Alexander Dugin’s vehicle was remotely triggered, Russian investigators said.
Dugin’s daughter, Daria Dugina, was killed in a blast near Moscow on Saturday.
“A presumed explosive device planted on a Toyota Land Cruiser went off when the car was moving at full speed past Bolshiye Vyazemy in the Odintsovo urban district at about 9 p.m. on August 20, and the car caught fire,” the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement posted to Telegram. “The woman driving the car died instantly. The victim was identified as journalist, political analyst Daria Dugina.”
Alexander and Daria attended a traditional patriotic festival on Saturday afternoon, according to the Odinstovo administration. They’d planned to leave together in the same vehicle, but Daria instead drove alone.
The Russian Investigative Committee’s press service told Interfax that Daria was assassinated.
Detectives established that the bomb was planted on the underside of the driver’s side of the vehicle, the committee said. Russian media outlets had reported that the SUV belonged to Dugin.
“Detectives and specialists from the Main Forensic Department of the Russian Investigative Committee are continuing to examine the incident scene. In particular, a forensic technician examined the charred vehicle before it was taken to a special parking lot,” the Committee said.
Biological, genetic, physical, chemical and explosive examinations have been scheduled, the committee said.
-ABC News’ Anastasia Bagaeva
Aug 21, 3:12 PM EDT
Daughter of Putin ally killed in car bomb; Schiff hopes it wasn’t ‘from Ukraine’
U.S. officials do not know who to blame for the car bomb that killed the daughter of political theorist Alexander Dugin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said during an interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Daria Dugina, a 29-year-old TV commentator, was killed on the Mozhaisk Highway in the outskirts of Moscow on Saturday night by an explosive that had been planted in the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving, Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported.
Alexander Dugin, often referred to as “Putin’s brain,” had just attended “Tradition” cultural festival with his daughter, according to TASS. Russian media outlets reported that the SUV belonged to Dugin.
The Russian Investigative Committee press office told TASS Dugina’s killing was planned and contracted.
Schiff said Sunday that he had not yet been briefed on the killing and that he “couldn’t say” who is behind it, adding that he hoped it was an “internal Russian affair” rather than something “emanating from Ukraine.”
“There are so many factions and internecine warfare within Russian society, within the Russian government,” Schiff said. “Anything is possible.”
Adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office Mikhail Podolyak denied Kyiv was involved in the explosion that killed Dugina during a televised interview on Sunday.
“I emphasize that Ukraine certainly has nothing to do with this, because we are not a criminal state like the Russian Federation, and even less a terrorist state,” Podolyak said.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Patrick Reevell
Aug 20, 2:10 PM EDT
Videos circulating online show smoke over Sevastopol
Videos circulating online show smoke rising over Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea.
The city’s Russian-appointed governor said a drone was struck down and fell through the roof of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Headquarters. Ukraine has not commented on the strike.
-ABC News’ Layla Ferris
Aug 19, 3:31 PM EDT
US to offer new $775M aid package to Ukraine
The U.S. has authorized a new $775 million military aid package for Ukraine, the Department of Defense announced on Friday.
The package will include more High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) ammunition and howitzers, as well as some firsts, including ScanEagle reconnaissance drones and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.
The 15 ScanEagle drones are intended to help Ukraine identify targets and put the HIMARS and howitzers to better use, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
The 40 MRAP vehicles and other mine-clearing equipment will help Ukrainian troops cross dangerous terrain, according to the official.
“We know that Russia has heavily mined areas in parts of southern and eastern Ukraine. We know there’s a significant amount of unexploded ordinance,” the official said.
The new aid package follows a $1 billion package announced on Aug. 8.
AJ and daughter Elliott (Ava) circa 2018 — Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
AJ McLean’s 9-year-old daughter has decided to change her name from Ava to Elliott.
The Backstreet Boys singer’s wife, Rochelle McLean, took to her Instagram Stories Wednesday and explained why, clarifying that it was “not a gender thing.”
“‘Ava’ has changed her name quite a few times since she was about five,” she wrote. “Last year she asked us to start calling her Elliott and it stuck. She wanted something unique that no one else had. (There are so many Ava’s.)”
“I didn’t really see the harm in respecting her desire to be unique,” Rochelle added. “Come to think of it, it’s a little odd that as parents we choose names for people we haven’t even met yet and expect them to forever [identify] as that person! Anyway… so that’s how Ava became Elliott.”
She requested that people “be kind” to her daughter. “She’s just a kid trying to make her way in this crazy world!” she wrote. “I just want her to know she can always be whoever she wants to be.”
AJ and Rochelle first shared their daughter’s chosen name in a back-to-school post this week. They are also parents to 5-year-old daughter Lyric.
