(WASHINGTON) — U.S. citizen Stephen Zabielski has died in Ukraine, the State Department confirmed to ABC News Tuesday morning.
Zabielski was a 52-year-old U.S. Army veteran. His death was first reported by Rolling Stone.
According to an obituary posted online by his family, Zabielski died on May 15 while fighting near a village called Dorozhniank.
“We can confirm the death of U.S. citizen Stephen Zabielski in Ukraine. We have been in touch with the family and have provided all possible consular assistance,” a state department spokesperson told ABC News.
The State Department also said U.S. citizens should not travel to Ukraine because of the ongoing war and due to Russian government security officials singling out U.S. citizens in Ukraine.
Americans in Ukraine should depart immediately if safe to do so, the State Department said.
Willy Joseph Cancel, a 22-year-old former U.S. Marine, was killed in Ukraine in April while fighting aside Ukrainian forces. He was the first American to be reported killed in Ukraine.
Two U.S. citizens have been reportedly captured by Russian soldiers in the conflict zone in Donbas. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he did not know their whereabouts, in a press briefing.
Peskov said they were mercenaries who made attempts on the lives of Russian service members. They are charged with mercenary practices, he said.
“The Geneva Convention absolutely does not apply to them. Their crimes must be investigated, and they must stand trial,” Peskov said. As to whether the two Americans were facing the death penalty, Peskov said, “Yes, we do not rule out anything, because this is a decision to be made by a court, we never comment and, above all, have no right to intervene in court rulings.”
(NEW CASTLE, N.H.) — A New Hampshire lobster fisherman saved three people and two dogs from a burning yacht near New Castle on Saturday.
An investigation is currently underway into what caused the 70-foot yacht to burn and eventually sink, authorities said.
“We don’t know what caused the fire and we probably never will because the boat burned down to the waterline and there is nothing left of the boat,” Sgt. Steve O’Conner of the New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol told WMUR-ABC.
Tom Hadley, from Hollis, New Hampshire, said he had noticed a bit of smoke coming from a yacht he had passed on his small fishing boat, and decided to turn around to offer his help.
The yacht, at the mouth of Little Harbor on the Piscataqua River, had burst into flames by the time Hadley came back to it. He told WMUR that he could see three people and two dogs standing on a platform in the stern of their boat.
Hadley said that they were holding pool noodles, so he yelled for them to jump into the water and then dumped his own lobster traps into the harbor to make room for the rescues.
“At first I hauled a lady on board and then we put the two dogs on board” Hadley told WMUR. “And then a younger man was half in, I hauled him over the side.”
Hadley said he then saw a small fishing boat which he called over to help a third man who was clinging to the side as the heat coming from the boat increased.
“If there were an explosion the thought of being showered with burning fiberglass was not too appealing,” Hadley said.
The three individuals were taken to the dock of the Wentworth Marina before being brought to Portsmouth Hospital, where they were treated, released and reunited with their dogs.
New Hampshire State Police reported that the two dogs were safe and unharmed.
A statement from the New Castle Fire Department only reported one minor injury among the three escaping the fire.
“If you ever think somebody is in distress out there, it doesn’t hurt to cruise on over and check it out to make sure that they’re OK,” Hadley said.
The New Hampshire State Police received a 911 call about the boat fire just after 4 p.m., and was on site within minutes, according to a statement from the department.
According to police, the yacht, “Elusive”, was headed toward the Wentworth Marina went one of the passengers noticed smoke below deck. The three passengers reported to police that the smoke had completely filled the boat within minutes.
Jarrod Tubbs, 33, of Jupiter, Florida, Kitt Watson, 67, and Diane Watson, 57, both of New Canaan, Connecticut — a couple and their first mate — lived on the yacht. As the boat has been completely lost, so have all of their belongings.
“This was just arms are open, come on board, get warm, we’re going to take care of you and it really restored my faith in humanity,” Kitt Watson told WMUR-ABC.
Marine Patrol, New Hampshire fire departments from Newington and Rye, the Kittery Harbormaster, and the Salisbury Fire Department from Massachusetts, assisted at the scene, state police said.
The tide pushed the burning yacht away from the coast, and after efforts by several agencies were unsuccessful, it sank in approximately 75-feet deep water, state police said. Within two hours of the initial 911 call, the boat had been submerged and will not be recovered.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Protection have been monitoring for any excess oil spillage from the sunken yacht.
A spokesperson for the New Hampsire Department of Environmental Protection told ABC News that a sheen of diesel fuel was seen as a result of the incident, but that crews are not aware of any shoreline impacts.
The Kid LAROI went crowd-surfing during his tour stop in Copenhagen. He shared a video of the moment he dove off the stage to his Instagram Stories.
Speaking of touring, Halsey revealed how they get ready before a show. So, if you want to nail Halsey’s stage look, head on over to their Instagram for the About Face makeup tutorial video.
Pitbull celebrated the 11th anniversary of his album Planet Pit, which contained the hits “Give Me Everything,” “Hey Baby,” “International Love” and more. He asked fans on TikTok, “What’s your favorite track?” Planet Pit has sold over 2 million copies in the U.S.
Zedd might not have the best listening skills when it comes to exercising. He revealed, “My trainer told me I need to do more poolups…” — and shared a bunch of photos of him hanging out in the pool with his friends.
Ed Sheeran has created a new, limited tour version of his guitar, which fans can preorder now on SheeranGuitars.com. The instrument was made in celebration of his ongoing Mathematics Tour and has the titles of his past five albums on its fretboard inlays.
Speaking of Ed’s tour, he announced on TikTok that he performed for over 1 million people in the past seven weeks. He told his fans, “I hope each one of you had an amazing time.”
It’s been revealed that Miss Piggy from The Muppets has been sliding into Harry Styles‘ DMs. Her ex, Kermit The Frog, ratted her out to E! News. “She doesn’t slide in. It’s more like a head-on collision,” Kermit deadpanned. He also begged her, “Please stop DMing Harry Styles and asking for backstage passes. His manager is starting to get concerned!”
If you’re hoping to score a TikTok duet with Michael Bublé, you might want to reconsider because he won’t take them seriously. He duetted with two young singers performing “Sway,” but sang off key and goofed off at the end. Michael captioned it, “I fricken love singing these TikTok duets. Inevitably, I ruin them.”
Speaking of TikTok, Barbra Streisand officially joined the app. She made the reveal by posting a snippet of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” synced up to her various album covers. Barbra has since updated her bio to read, “Hello gorgeous!”
Meghan Trainor tapped Pentatonix‘s Scott Hoying to create the choir for her upcoming single “Bad For Me.” The singers teamed up for a parody video that sees Meghan lip-synching Kathy Griffin‘s infamous “I need to talk to a gay person” line. Scott, who is gay, then spins around in his chair. Meghan confirmed on Instagram the song and its music video drops Friday.
Ed Sheeran has created a new, limited tour version of his guitar, which fans can preorder now on SheeranGuitars.com. The instrument was made in celebration of his ongoing Mathematics Tour and has the titles of his past five albums on its fretboard inlays.
Speaking of Ed’s tour, he announced on TikTok that he performed for over 1 million people in the past seven weeks. He told his fans, “I hope each one of you had an amazing time.”
It’s been revealed that Miss Piggy from The Muppets has been sliding into Harry Styles‘ DMs. Her ex, Kermit The Frog, ratted her out to E! News. “She doesn’t slide in. It’s more like a head-on collision,” Kermit deadpanned. He also begged her, “Please stop DMing Harry Styles and asking for backstage passes. His manager is starting to get concerned!”
(LONDON) — Researchers and military figures associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, its nuclear program and its missile-development industry have either died after a series of “mysterious” incidents or were killed in planned assassinations over the past few weeks, according to the country’s local media.
Some officials in Iran and other experts said they believe that the deaths — which are happening amid increasing international tensions over Iran’s nuclear and missile programs — could be linked.
A commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said on Monday that the death of one of the “employees” at the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran was due to “industrial sabotage.”
General Mohammad Reza Hasani-Ahangar, commander of the IRGC-affiliate military university of Imam Hussein, was referring to a May 26 explosion at the facility, in which Ehsan Qadbeigi, an engineer working at one of the research units, was killed. Parchin houses several industrial and research units.
On June 12, Ali Kamani, a junior officer of the IRGC Aerospace Force, died in a car accident in Khomein, a town in central Iran, according to a provincial IRGC statement.
The statement offered condolences to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and tagged Kamani as a “martyr” who worked for the aerospace force of the IRGC.
Within a few hours of that announcement, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported the death of another officer of the aerospace force, Mohammad Abdoos, who was “martyred” while on a “mission” in Semnan, a northern province and home to a space launch center.
Abdoos was also named a “martyr” in the report from Fars News, which is known to be close to the IRGC. The report did not provide an explanation for how he died.
“I think [this series of deaths] can indeed be linked, especially in the case of two deaths on the same day,” Farzin Nadimi, an associate fellow with The Washington Institute, told ABC News. He specializes in security and defense in Iran and the Gulf region.
Explaining the sensitivity of the IRGC units where Kamani used to serve, Nadimi said that the IRGC’s Aerospace Force “operates both ballistic missiles and suicide and armed drones, at what appears to be a logistical base in central Iran which might have been involved in the IRGC’s logistical air bridge to Lebanese Hezbollah.”
Abdoos used to work at the Aerospace Organization of Iran’s Ministry of Defense, which works on the design and development of ballistic and cruise missiles.
“There are a large number of missile development and test centers in Semnan, where he reportedly died ‘in the line of duty,'” Nadimi said.
The two incidents followed another mysterious death of an aerospace engineer. Ayoob Entezari died after allegedly being poisoned, his relatives said, claiming that he had received death threats before he passed away.
Iranian judicial authorities, however, said he had not been a scientist but an ordinary employee of an industrial company and had passed away in a hospital after being sick.
The deaths of the aerospace-related officers happened a few weeks after two other mysterious deaths.
Colonel Ali Esmailzadeh, a commander of the notorious Quds Force, IRGC’s external operations unit, died on May 30 after falling from the roof of his home in Karaj, west of Tehran, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Esmailzadeh was a colleague of Colonel Hassan Sayyad-Khodaei, who was shot dead in his car outside his home in Tehran in broad daylight on May 22.
General Hossein Salami, IRGC’s commander-in-chief, appeared to say that the U.S. and Israel are responsible for Sayyed-Khodaei’s killing, adding that Tehran would get revenge.
“The enemy, from the heart of the White House and Tel Aviv, followed him for months and years, door-to-door and alley-to-alley to kill him… God willing we will take revenge,” he said.
“If those deaths are indeed linked, and of ‘unnatural’ causes, Israel’s Mossad could be one of the main suspects,” Nadimi said.
Nadimi added that “we cannot say anything with total certainty” about who was involved, “as the nature of such works is.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Iran embarked on expanded drone operations against Israel beginning in February 2018 when the Islamic Republic launched a drone from Syria. It tried again in 2021, launching two drones from Iraq earlier in the year.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz has discussed drone threats from Iran many times over the last year. That report detailed how Iran has been training drone operators from the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday warned Iranian proxies that they would pay if they participate in Iran’s plots.
“We are currently witnessing Iranian attempts to attack Israelis in various overseas locations,” Bennet said at his weekly cabinet meeting. “The security services are working to thwart attempted attacks before they are launched. We will continue to strike those who send the terrorists. Our new rule is: Whoever sends — pays.”
The deaths came amid attempts by international officials to save the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, between Iran and world powers.
With the negotiations stalled, Iran’s nuclear capabilities, including its uranium enrichment level, signal the country is the closest its ever been to making a nuclear weapon, experts warn.
Iran’s “stockpile of uranium is now enriched to 60%, close to the roughly 90% weapons — and in a form that can be enriched further,” the International Atomic Energy Agency told ABC News in late May. “It grew from 9.9 kg to 43.1 kg. This number is approximate amount for manufacturing a nuclear explosive device. This possibility cannot be excluded.”
Israel opposes the JCPOA and the negotiations to restore it, saying it is “giving in to Iran’s nuclear blackmail.”
“Iran won’t just keep its nuclear program; from today, they’ll be getting paid for it,” Bennett said in an official message in November, amid talks to resume the deal.
The Islamic Republic, which is under tough economic sanctions, said it is still interested in pursuing talks.
“Iran won’t distance itself from result-oriented talks,” Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Twitter on Friday.
Calling on the U.S. “to be realistic” and to “abandon sanctions lunacy,” Amirabdollahian invited the IAEA to focus on “technical duties” instead of adopting a “politicized approach.”
Tehran accused the IAEA of politicizing its nuclear case and referencing “fake documents” in the verification process of its nuclear program, including what Israel provides to the agency.
Israel has openly boasted about its intelligence operation’s influence on Iran’s nuclear program.
Bennet on May 31 uploaded an extensive stock of secret documents of Iran’s nuclear program and shared the link with public access via his Twitter account, saying, “We got our hands on Iran’s deception plan.”
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price declined to comment June 16 about the possibility of the Iranian deaths being linked. He highlighted the White House’s commitment to its allies, saying, “Iran will never be able to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Tel Aviv has announced that it has embarked on a new policy described as “a turning point in the Israeli strategy vis-à-vis Iran,” which it’s dubbed the “Octopus Doctrine.”
“In the past year, the State of Israel has taken action against the head of the terrorist octopus and not just against the arms as was done in previous decades,” Bennett said earlier this month. “The days of immunity, in which Iran attacks Israel and spreads terrorism via its regional proxies but remains unscathed — are over.”
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi made it clear that Iran is determined to take revenge for the recent deaths.
“I have no doubt that revenge against the criminals for the blood of this martyr is assured,” Raisi said a day after the death of Colonel Sayyad-Khodaei.
The “Iranian regime and especially the IRGC are certainly conducting a major counterintelligence house sweep right now to identify and get rid of any foreign spy,” Nadimi said, emphasizing that “those deaths will not have any effect on Iran’s nuclear or regional policies.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday urged citizens in Turkey to leave “as soon as possible” over threats that Iranian operatives are actively planning attacks on Israelis in Istanbul.
“Following the events of recent weeks in Turkey and after a series of attempts at Iranian terrorist attacks against Israelis who went on vacation in Istanbul, we call on Israelis not to fly to Istanbul and if you have no vital need do not fly to Turkey,” Lapid said on Twitter.
(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) — Suffolk County, New York, police are looking for a man and a young girl who took money for Girl Scout cookies that residents say were never delivered.
Police on Long Island said they received at least 11 reports from people who said they gave money to buy cookies they never received.
During some of the incidents, money was given to the man who was accompanied by the child, while in other cases, the girl was alone, according to police.
Police are investigating the incidents to determine whether they are connected. The incidents occurred between February and May and were reported to police between June 18 and June 20, according to police.
The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County said in a statement that it was working with law enforcement and encouraged victims of the scam to file a police report.
The Girl Scouts also said they will provide cookies to anyone who placed a bogus order, “because nothing is more disappointing than not getting your Girl Scout cookies,” according to the statement.
“The Girl Scout Council of Suffolk County was saddened to learn that somebody would use the inherent goodwill of the Girl Scouts to take money from their neighbors under false pretenses,” the organization said.
The cookie season runs from just before New Year’s to the end of April or early May, the Girl Scout Council said.
“Anyone selling cookies at this point in the year is not representing our council and its efforts,” it added.
Girl Scouts sell cookies during booth sales or will have an order form with the information to be taken. They do not ask for payment upfront, according to the council.
“Anyone recording a sale in a makeshift book and taking money is not accurately representing Girl Scouts of Suffolk County,” the council said.
The woman known as the getaway driver for Eric Holder Jr. — the suspect in Nipsey Hussle‘s murder that happened in Los Angeles three years ago — testified in court Monday. According to Rolling Stone, Bryannita Nicholson, 35, took the witness stand and testified that she unwittingly drove Holder away from the scene after Hussle was gunned down outside of his Marathon Clothing store on March 31, 2019.
Nicholson recalled meeting Holder while working as Lyft driver and described their relationship as casual dating, according to the report. She said the day of Hussle’s death she was directed to the clothing store, where Hussle and Holder had a conversation about “snitching.”
“Did you say I snitched?” Holder asked Hussle, according to her testimony.
“It didn’t sound like he was mad,” Nicholson said, describing Holder’s tone at the time as “loud” but not “aggressive.”
The home health care aide detailed the moments up to and after she heard gunshots. She said Holder started loading a gun while in the car. A short time later, he jumped out and told her not to leave without him. According to Rolling Stone, Nicholson testified she heard multiple gunshots before Holder returned to the car and told her to drive with a “stern” voice.
Nicholson said she drove Holder to Long Beach and that she didn’t learn of Hussle’s killing until later that night.
The murder trial for the slain rapper, born Ermias Asghedom,began last Wednesday with the jury hearing opening statements. Holder was indicted on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
If convicted as charged, Holder faces up to life in prison.
Michael J. Fox is set to receive an honorary Oscar at this year’s Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday.
The actor will be getting the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for the work he’s done for Parkinson’s disease research.
“Michael J. Fox’s tireless advocacy of research on Parkinson’s disease alongside his boundless optimism exemplifies the impact of one person in changing the future for millions,” Academy President David Rubin said in a statement.
Three other individuals are also receiving honorary awards this year for their “indelible contributions to cinema and the world at large”: pioneering filmmaker Euzhan Palcy, songwriter Diane Warren and director Peter Weir.
The 13th Governors Awards will take place Saturday, November 19, in Los Angeles.
