Bob Dylan‘s music catalog from his contributions to the super group the Traveling Wilburys has been acquired by the Primary Wave Music company, Variety revealed in an exclusive report.
According to the outlet, the deal includes Dylan’s “master royalties and neighboring rights royalties” for both of the band’s albums — 1988’s Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 and 1990’s Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 — as well as the 2007 box set The Traveling Wilburys Collection.
Traveling Wilburys initially consisted of Dylan, ex-Beatles guitarist George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne. Orbison died of a heart attack shortly after the release of the debut album, which featured the classic songs “Handle with Care” and “The End of the Line,” and peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200.
The group continued as a quartet and released one more album, Vol. 3, which reached #11 on the Billboard 200. The box set featured both albums, plus bonus tracks, as well as a DVD. Dylan is credited with co-writing all of the Wilburys’ original tunes along with the group’s other members.
During the past two years, Dylan has sold his recorded-music catalog and publishing rights, respectively, to Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, respectively, for nine figures each. As Variety points out, “most people probably did not realize” that the folk-rock legend’s Traveling Wilburys catalog was included in those deals.
Primary Wave Music executive Samantha Rhulen said in a statement, “To acquire even a small portion of Bob Dylan’s work as part of Traveling Wilburys is exciting, to say the least. We’re honored to add this bit of history to our growing music catalog.”
(BURLINGTON, Mass.) — As her alleged would-be kidnapper was set to appear in court, a Massachusetts mother spoke out about the terrifying random roadside attack and was reunited Wednesday with the good Samaritan who stopped to save her.
The suspect, Tyler Healey, 23, was arrested Tuesday after Burlington, Massachusetts, police released security video of what they described as a random attempted abduction that only ended when a passing female motorist intervened and called 911.
The suspect was arraigned Wednesday in Woburn District Court on charges of assault with intent to rape, attempt to commit a crime, assault with intent to commit a felony and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.
During the arraignment, a prosecutor said Healey’s father recognized his son’s brightly colored sneakers and distinctive tattoo from the security video and identified him to police. Healey’s father told authorities his son suffers from mental health issues and was violent at times, the prosecutor said.
A judge ordered Healey to remain in custody pending a hearing next week.
The incident unfolded around 8:20 p.m. Sunday as the victim, 37-year-old Zayra Mendoza, was walking down a street in Burlington. The security video captured the attacker following Mendoza on foot, then quickly closing the gap between them and grabbing her.
The grainy black-and-white footage appears to show the assailant dragging Mendoza and ripping off her top as she tried to fight back.
Ariel Naylor said she was driving by in her SUV when she saw the assault in progress and called 911. Naylor said that when she slammed on her brakes and stopped, the attacker released Mendoza and ran away.
Mendoza and Naylor were reunited on Wednesday morning and in an exclusive interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, Mendoza said of Naylor, “God sent me an angel.”
Naylor said she didn’t hesitate to stop and help.
“I did what any person should do when you see somebody in trouble,” Naylor said.
Naylor applauded Mendoza for fighting and trying to stay in the light of street lamps so she could be seen.
“She knew to get to the light and to get to the side of the road so somebody could help her,” Naylor said. “So she made it possible for me to help her.”
In an earlier interview with ABC affiliate station WCVB in Boston, Mendoza recounted the horrifying ambush.
“When I looked, the man was right on top of me,” Mendoza said following Healey’s arrest in the Boston suburb of Winthrop, 21 miles south of Burlington. “I thought this man is going to rape me, going to kill me.”
Mendoza, speaking in Spanish as her brother interpreted, added, “I was screaming. I was trying to fight him off. I was running out of strength. He was dragging me by one arm.”
Mendoza said she thought of her 9-year-old daughter as she was being dragged off and wondered what would have happened to her had Naylor not stopped.
“Thanks to her, it all came to an end,” Mendoza said.
Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan praised Naylor for intervening and stopping the attack.
“The person who made that call really prevented this from being so much worse,” Ryan said.
Police are continuing to investigate if there are similar incidents involving Healey.
The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a North American tour alongside Jane’s Addiction.
The arena run, dubbed the Spirits on Fire tour, will launch October 2 in Dallas, and will conclude November 19 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Depending on the date, either Meg Myers or pop/metal artist Poppy will also be on the bill.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 13, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit SmashingPumpkins.com.
To celebrate the tour announcement, the Pumpkins are headed to the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles later today to put their handprints in cement at the historic cinema. They’re also performing on CBS’ The Late Late Showwith James Corden Thursday night.
In an Instagram post Tuesday night, the White Stripes/Raconteurs/Dead Weather rocker shared that he’d met the “drivers license” artist earlier that day.
“She’s very cool, very real and very much a lover of music,” White wrote of Rodrigo. “She’s also introducing another set of youth to the love of vinyl records as well. Respect.”
The post is accompanied by photos of the two musicians, as well as a video clip of them hugging.
Rodrigo also shared the photos, adding that White is her “hero of all heroes.”
“Still crying,” she wrote. “Thank u @officialjackwhite for being so kind to ur biggest fangirl.”
Rodrigo just played White’s current hometown of Nashville Tuesday. In addition to playing songs off her hit debut record, SOUR, she also covered No Doubt‘s “Just a Girl” and Avril Lavigne‘s “Complicated.”
White, meanwhile, is set to resume is Supply Chain Issues tour in support of his new solo album Fear of the Dawn May 23 in Irving, Texas.
Olivia: Cindy Ord/Getty Images; Jack: Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Yes, Olivia Rodrigo is a huge Swiftie, but it turns out that the musician she thinks of as her ultimate hero is someone who’s decidedly different from Taylor Swift: rocker Jack White, known for his work with The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, as well as his solo work.
In an Instagram post Tuesday night, White shared that he’d met Olivia, who he called “a talented singer and musician,” earlier that day. He wrote, “She’s very cool, very real and very much a lover of music. She’s also introducing another set of youth to the love of vinyl records as well. Respect.”
The post was accompanied by photos of Jack and Olivia together, as well as a video clip of them hugging.
Olivia also shared the photos, adding that White is her “hero of all heroes.”
“Still crying,” she wrote. “Thank u @officialjackwhite for being so kind to ur biggest fangirl.”
Rodrigo just played White’s current hometown of Nashville Tuesday. In addition to playing songs from her hit debut record, SOUR, she also covered No Doubt‘s “Just a Girl” and Avril Lavigne‘s “Complicated.” Avril joined Olivia onstage in Toronto not long ago to sing the song with her.
White is currently on tour in support of his new solo album, Fear of the Dawn, which Olivia in her post urged her fans to “go listen to.”
Ellen DeGeneres‘ daytime talk show will come full circle when Jennifer Aniston, the very first guest when the show launched in 2003, returns for the final episode on May 26, People reports.
Also helping DeGeneres close out her nearly two-decade long run will be Pink, who wrote the show’s Emmy-winning theme song, and Billie Eilish.
Other guests slated to appear in the shows leading up to the finale include Zac Efron, Kate McKinnon, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Luke Bryan, Kerry Washington, Brad Paisley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Oprah Winfrey, Mila Kunis, and Bruno Mars.
Cousins Sophia Grace and Rosie, who gained popularity after DeGeneres showed their cover of Nicki Minaj‘s “Super Bass” in 2011, will also appear on one of the show’s final episodes.
(WASHINGTON) — Inflation eased slightly last month, according to the latest figures released Wednesday by the Labor Department.
The Consumer Price Index rose 8.3% in April compared to the same time period last year — a drop from the 8.5% increase in March.
Month-to-month, prices were up 0.3% last month compared to March. Increases in prices for shelter, food, airline fares and new vehicles were the largest contributors to the increase, the Labor Department said.
(NEW YORK) — Nearly two years after her son was murdered at home, a New Jersey judge is fighting to get a federal bill passed that would limit access of public officials’ private information.
U.S. District Judge Esther Salas says the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act would be vital in protecting federal judges and justices.
“I think we have to start asking ourselves why are our leaders not passing this law. Why are they not moving it? To my knowledge, there is nothing controversial about protecting judges’ home addresses and our social security numbers,” Salas told ABC News’ Good Morning America Wednesday. “The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act is ready to go. It’s been ready to go for months. It’s narrowly tailored to address this immediate interest, this governmental interest that is vital to democracy.”
The act is named after Salas’ son, Daniel Anderl, who was 20 when he was shot and killed at home on July 19, 2020. A gunman had targeted the family’s home, also critically injuring Salas’ husband, Mark Anderl.
The assailant was identified as Roy Den Hollander, a lawyer who posed as a FedEx delivery driver to carry out what was later determined to be a racially motivated attack. Hollander had allegedly been upset with the way Salas had handled a case he had been involved in and kept a detailed dossier of private information on the judge, including her home address, according to the FBI. The day after the attack, Hollander was found dead in a car from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Daniel’s Law, which “protects the home addresses and telephone numbers of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers from public disclosure,” was signed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in November 2020, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
A similar law, the Supreme Court Police Parity Act, has been introduced at the federal level and the U.S. House is set to vote on the proposal Wednesday. The act passed unanimously in the Senate Monday and would grant Supreme Court justices and their families the same level of security that is given to other government officials in the legislative and executive branches. If it passes in the House, the act would get sent to President Joe Biden’s desk.
The act has gained more support in recent days as protesters have been gathering at the homes of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito, following the leak of a draft opinion last week that indicated the nation’s highest court may overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that made abortion legal in the country.
But for Salas, the Supreme Court Police Parity Act doesn’t go far enough. She said the priority should be on the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act.
“I think of Daniel the moment I opened my eyes in the morning and I think about him every single moment of my life. And you know what? We need to know that we can do our jobs. without fear of retribution, retaliation or death. That is all that judges are asking for,” Salas said.
Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(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 last month launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 11, 7:52 am
Fighting continues between Ukrainian and Russian forces on Snake Island, UK says
Fighting has continued on Ukraine’s Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, “with Russia repeatedly trying to reinforce its exposed garrison located there,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Wednesday in an intelligence update.
“If Russia consolidates its position on Zmiinyi Island with strategic air defence and coastal defence cruise missiles, they could dominate the north-western Black Sea,” the ministry warned.
The island is strategically located, as it provides access to Ukraine’s major port cities, including Odesa, the country’s largest seaport and one of the largest in the Black Sea basin, serving as a major gateway for grain shipments and other key exports.
Ukraine, however, has managed to successfully strike Russian air defenses and resupply vessels with drones, according to the ministry.
“Russia’s resupply vessels have minimum protection in the western Black Sea, following the Russian Navy’s retreat to Crimea after the loss of the Moskva,” the ministry added.
May 11, 6:57 am
Zelenskyy thanks House for aid, as Russia denies responsibility for Ukrainian deaths
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday thanked the U.S. House of Representatives for its approval of a nearly $40 billion package of humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine in a bill passed on Tuesday.
“We are looking forward to the consideration of this important document for us by the Senate,” Zelenskyy wrote in a tweet expressing gratitude to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Joe Biden and “all friends of Ukraine” in the House.
Earlier on Tuesday, two senators unveiled a resolution calling on the Biden administration to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D.-Conn., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.-S.C., said the designation, which could result in further sanctions for Russia, is warranted by Russia’s war on Ukraine and conduct elsewhere under President Vladimir Putin.
“Putin is a thug, and a bully, and he will continue being an increasing threat to Europe and the world unless he is stopped,” Blumenthal said at a press conference, adding, “If there’s anybody who embodies terrorism, totalitarianism and tyranny, it’s Putin.”
The resolution was originally requested by the Ukrainian parliament, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken has so far declined to add Russia to the list of countries — Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria — considered to be state sponsors.
Russia’s Ministry of Health sent the World Health Organization a letter in which it “strongly rejects” its responsibility for the rising death toll in Ukraine.
“The health emergency in Ukraine and neighboring countries is caused by the unconstitutional coup that took place in this country in 2014, and by the subsequent military aggression of the Kyiv regime against the population of Donbass in the period of 2014–2022,” Andrey Plutnitsky, Russia’s envoy to the WHO, wrote in the letter.
Plutnitsky called on WHO member states to pay “special attention” to “the military biological activities undertaken by a number of countries on the territory of Ukraine, which represent a significant danger to the region.”
Members of the Russian military are trying to hide their involvement in some hostilities in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s intelligence service said on Wednesday.
Russian troops, including some from the air and space forces, have demanded that the command keep their involvement in the invasion secret in order to avoid further possible responsibility for war crimes, the Ukrainian intelligence claimed.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that 89 of the 90 M777 Howitzers promised to Ukraine have been handed over to the Ukrainian military.
Of the total count of 184,000 rounds of ammunition committed to Ukraine, “65 percent, so almost 120,000 rounds, are in [Ukraine],” a senior defense official said at a background briefing on Tuesday. The Russians added two battalion tactical groups to their force in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, the official added, bringing the new count of operational Russian BGTs up to 99.
May 10, 11:18 pm
House approves $40 billion in Ukraine aid, sending measure to Senate
The House on Tuesday approved a nearly $40 billion package of humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, the latest tranche of relief to the country the U.S. is aggressively backing in its fight against Russia.
The bill, which was finalized earlier Tuesday and includes nearly $7 billion more funding than requested by the Biden administration, was approved in a 368-57 vote, with all Democrats backing the bill and all opposition coming from Republicans.
With the vote, Congress has now directed more than $50 billion to support Ukraine in the war with Russia. The House voted 36-169 on March 9 on a $13.6 billion package for Ukraine and other key European allies.
The Senate is expected to vote on the measure in the coming days.
The package includes $6 billion to help train, equip and support the Ukrainian armed forces, and more than $9 billion to replenish the U.S. stockpiles of military equipment and ammunition in the U.S. and abroad that have been tapped to re-arm Ukraine.
The measure would also help fund and support U.S. troops stationed in Europe and the operation of a Patriot air defense missile system in Europe, and it includes more than $900 million to support Ukranian refugees with housing, counseling and English language classes, as well as helping process and screen those traveling to the United States.
Additionally, the bill directs the inspector general of the Defense Department to provide a written report to the House and Senate defense committees reviewing the Ukraine program spending within 120 days of the law’s enactment.
May 10, 6:46 pm
State Department calls on Congress to pass additional aid
The State Department is urging Congress to quickly move on passing additional funding for Ukraine, calling the aid “vital” and warning the administration’s other means of financing military support were quickly running out.
“Our assistance to Ukraine has been just as we promised: massive,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during his daily briefing Tuesday. “We have provided $4.5 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine since the start of this administration, some $3.8 billion worth of security assistance since the invasion began. These are supplies — weapons — precisely what Ukraine needs to defend itself.”
But, he said, maintaining that support depends on lawmakers fulfilling the White House’s request for another $40 billion in funding.
“The fact, however, is that right now, our coffers in terms of drawdown funding — they’re dwindling,” he said. “We now have less than $100 million left and we will exhaust those funds within the next week.”
Price said the new tranche of funding would “help our Ukrainian partners and also our NATO allies do precisely what we feel it is imperative that they be positioned to do at this moment.”
Pressed on whether the administration had a limit in mind when it came to sending lethal aid to Ukraine, Price said the focus was on fulfilling its promises to “provide Ukraine with the security assistance it needs to defend itself” and ensuring “our allies — especially our allies on the eastern flank — had what they needed to deter and potentially even respond to Russian aggression.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
May 10, 5:32 pm
Nominee for US ambassador to Ukraine testifies in confirmation hearing
Amid a three-year vacancy and with Ukraine in the grips of a brutal war, the U.S. Senate took its first major step towards confirming an American ambassador to Ukraine on Tuesday with a hearing in its Foreign Relations Committee for President Joe Biden’s nominee, Bridget Brink.
Brink — a veteran diplomat with 25 years of experience and the current U.S. ambassador to Slovakia — acknowledged the great difficulties that would come with the post but said it would be the “honor of a lifetime.”
“We face the biggest threat to peace and security in Europe in decades,” she said during her opening statements. “If confirmed, I pledge to work with you to continue our commitment to a sovereign, democratic and independent Ukraine — free to choose its own future.”
Brink has bipartisan support and her path to confirmation appears to be a smooth one, though Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the ranking member of the committee, foretold “a lot scrutiny from Washington” when it comes to moving the U.S. embassy back to Kyiv and “helping to shepherd U.S. military, humanitarian and financial aid in the right places.”
“I think it’s really important for us to be there in person and present,” Brink responded when questioned on plans to reopen the embassy in Kyiv. “I don’t know exactly how fast we will be able to do this process, but I know we are trying to do it as fast as possible and it is certainly my hope and plan, if confirmed, to be able to start my mission in Kyiv.”
She later added: “It’s necessary for us to be there on the ground.”
The nominee was also asked about the need for the aid package currently working its way through Congress.
“It is incredibly important that the supplemental move fast,” Brink said. “The needs are large.”
Brink also promised to work to assist Ukraine in holding Russia accountable for alleged war crimes.
“We are going to use every tool at our disposal,” she said. “I can tell you it’s a personal priority of mine.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
May 10, 3:23 pm
House expected to vote on nearly $40 billion Ukraine aid package
The House will vote on a new roughly $40 billion Ukraine aid package Tuesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced.
The request includes funding for “critically needed resources, including military aid, support for the Ukrainian economy, and humanitarian assistance for food security to address the worldwide hunger crisis.”
The White House had initially requested $33 billion in assistance for Ukraine, but congressional leaders decided to tack on an additional $7 billion for more military and humanitarian assistance.
“This package, which builds on the robust support already secured by Congress, will be pivotal in helping Ukraine defend not only its nation but democracy for the world. Time is of the essence – and we cannot afford to wait,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues. “With this aid package, America sends a resounding message to the world of our unwavering determination to stand with the courageous people of Ukraine until victory is won.”
The bill is expected to pass in the House, after which it would head to the Senate.
-ABC News’ Mariam Khan
May 10, 3:10 pm
Pelosi, lawmakers to brief Biden on trip to Ukraine
President Joe Biden will host House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress in the Situation Room on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the lawmakers’ recent trip to Ukraine, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Biden previously spoke with Pelosi over the phone about her trip but wanted a more thorough discussion in person, Psaki said.
Expected to attend are: Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.; Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-NY; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass.; and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Mariam Khan
May 10, 2:59 pm
Putin has goals beyond Donbas, US says
Russian President Vladimir Putin “is preparing for prolonged conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas,” according to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
“The next month or two of fighting will be significant as the Russians attempt to reinvigorate their efforts. But even if they are successful, we are not confident that the fight in the Donbas will effectively end the war,” Haines told senators at an Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.
For now, Putin’s goal is to take control of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and encircle Ukrainian forces from the north and south of the Donbas “in order to crush the most capable and well-equipped Ukrainian forces who are fighting to hold the line in the East,” Haines said.
Putin also hopes to “consolidate control of the land bridge Russia has established from Crimea to the Donbas, occupy Kherson, and control the water source for Crimea,” Haines said. The U.S. sees indications his military wants to extend that land bridge to Transnistria in Moldova, she added.
Haines said Russia might be capable of achieving “most” of those goals in the coming months. However, “We believe that they will not be able to extend control over a land bridge that stretches to Transnistria and includes Odessa without launching some form of mobilization. And it is increasingly unlikely that they will be able to establish control over both oblasts and the buffer zone they desire in the coming weeks,” she said.
Sanctions from the West are having a “pretty significant” impact on Russia, according to Haines.
“Among the indicators that one might look at are, for example, the fact that we’re seeing close to about, we predict, approximately 20% inflation in Russia; that we expect that their GDP will fall about 10%, possibly even more over the course of the year,” she said.
The fighting itself has also worn on Russia’s capabilities.
“The ground combat forces have been degraded considerably. It’s going to take them years … to rebuild that,” she said.
But that could drive Putin to other means of exerting force. Haines said, “They may rely more on things like cyber, nuclear, precision, etc. … Putin would probably only authorize the use of nuclear weapons if he perceived an existential threat to the Russian state or regime.”
Haines warned, “The current trend increases the likelihood that President Putin will turn to more drastic means, including imposing martial law, reorienting industrial production, or potentially escalatory military actions to free up the resources needed to achieve his objectives as the conflict drags on, or if he perceives Russia is losing in Ukraine.”
“The most likely flashpoints for escalation in the coming weeks are around increasing Russian attempts to interdict Western security assistance, retaliation for Western economic sanctions or threats to the regime at home. We believe that Moscow continues to use nuclear rhetoric to deter the United States and the West from increasing lethal aid to Ukraine and to respond to public comments that the U.S. and NATO allies that suggest expanded Western goals in the conflict,” she said. “If Putin perceives that the United States is ignoring his threats, he may try to signal to Washington the heightened danger of its support to Ukraine by authorizing another large nuclear exercise involving a major dispersal of mobile intercontinental missiles, heavy bombers, strategic submarines.”
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
May 10, 11:29 am
Russia has lost 8 to 10 generals so far, US believes
The U.S. believes eight to 10 Russian generals have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier told senators on Tuesday at an Armed Services Committee hearing.
This is slightly below the estimate from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which said up to 12 Russian generals have been killed.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
May 10, 8:18 am
Ukrainian police probe over 10,000 cases of suspected war crimes
The national police chief of Ukraine, Gen. Igor Klimenko, told ABC News on Tuesday that his officers are currently investigating 10,800 cases of suspected war crimes across the country, in areas that were previously occupied by Russian forces.
In the Kyiv region alone, police said they have so far recovered 1,262 bodies of slain civilians. The head of Kyiv police, Andriy Nebytov, told ABC News on Tuesday that his officers are currently working to identify 258 of those bodies.
Local police said five bodies were recovered on Monday, including three men who were lying in a mass grave. Police said the men had been shot in the head.
Local officers in the Kyiv region said they have found so many dead bodies of people killed when Russian forces occupied the area that they do not have the capacity to store them all in morgues. Instead, DNA samples will be taken before the bodies are buried while the process of identifying the victims is carried out.
Once the DNA process is complete, the graves of the deceased can be properly marked, according to local police.
French police officers are also in Ukraine to help with the identity process. According to Ukrainian police, technology available to their French counterparts can finish the DNA identification process within 24 hours — something which would normally take Ukrainian police three to four days.
May 10, 6:47 am
Russia paying the price for underestimating Ukrainian resistance, UK says
Russia is paying the price for underestimating Ukrainian resistance, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Tuesday in an intelligence update.
“Russia’s invasion plan is highly likely to have been based on the mistaken assumption that it would encounter limited resistance and would be able to encircle and bypass population centres rapidly,” the ministry said Tuesday in an intelligence update. “This assumption led Russian forces to attempt to carry out the opening phase of the operation with a light, precise approach intended to achieve a rapid victory with minimal cost.”
“This miscalculation led to unsustainable losses and a subsequent reduction in Russia’s operational focus,” the ministry added.
According to the ministry, these “demonstrable operational failings” prevented Russian President Vladimir Putin from announcing significant military success at Monday’s Victory Day parade in Moscow.
Although he showed no signs of backing down, Putin did not make any declarations of war or victory in his annual speech for Victory Day, a national holiday in Russia commemorating the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Instead, he drew parallels between Soviet soldiers battling Nazi troops and the Russian forces fighting now in Ukraine, as he has vowed to “de-Nazify” the former Soviet republic.
“You are fighting for the motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of the Second World War,” Putin said Monday during a military parade in Moscow’s Red Square.
May 10, 6:30 am
US suspends tariffs on Ukrainian steel
The U.S. will temporarily suspend 232 tariffs on Ukrainian steel for one year, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced Monday.
Ukraine’s steel industry is one of the foundations of the country’s economy, employing 1 in 13 Ukrainians, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Some of Ukraine’s largest steel communities have been among those “hardest hit by Putin’s barbarism,” the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a press release, and the steel mill in Mariupol has become a “lasting symbol of Ukraine’s determination to resist Russia’s aggression.”
“Steelworkers are among the world’s most resilient — whether they live in Youngstown or Mariupol,” Raimondo said.
The pledge to slash tariffs “is a signal to the Ukrainian people that we are committed to helping them thrive in the face of Putin’s aggression,” she said, “and that their work will create a stronger Ukraine, both today and in the future.”
Ukraine is currently losing about $170 million every day due to blocked ports and the country’s export potential has fallen by more than half, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmysal said on Monday.
Ukraine also submitted a several-thousand-page questionnaire, the second part of the answers, that must be completed by countries aspiring to join the European Union, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday during his nightly address.
“It usually takes months. But we did everything in a few weeks,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president held talks with EU leaders on Monday and claimed Ukraine could be granted EU candidate status as early as June.
Russia running out of missiles
Russia has used up about half of its existing missiles during its invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Monday. But the Russians still maintain the capacity and a certain supply of components to replenish some of their depleted arsenal, Malyar added.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense also stated in its Monday intelligence update that Russia’s stockpile of precision-guided munitions “has likely been heavily depleted.” Instead, the Russian military is now using “readily available but ageing munitions that are less reliable, less accurate and more easily intercepted.”
Russia will likely struggle to replace the precision weaponry it has already expended, the ministry said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted Monday that he has “never been more certain that Ukraine will win,” adding that Britain will stand “shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Fighting continued on May 9 at the Azovstal steel plant while “some occupiers were walking along the streets” of the surrounding city of Mariupol parading with flags and Ribbons of Saint George, a traditional Russian military symbol, said Petro Andriushchenko, the Mariupol mayor’s advisor. Russian forces on Monday tried to blow up the bridge used to evacuate people from the steel plant, trying to “cut off our defenders from the possibility to exit,” Andriushchenko said.
There are still more than 100 civilians trapped in Azovstal, Pavlo Kyrylenko, who heads the Donetsk military administration, told local media.
(TEL AVIV, Israel) — Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran journalist working for Al Jazeera, was killed Wednesday morning in the West Bank city of Jenin, according to the network and the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Abu Akleh was on assignment covering an overnight Israeli military raid in the city. Exchanges of fire erupted between Palestinian militants and Israeli soldiers, according to the Israeli Defense Forces.
Abu Akleh, who had been wearing a protective vest identifying her as a member of the press, was shot in the head and rushed in critical condition to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the health ministry. She was 51.
The ministry confirmed another Palestinian Journalist, Ali Samodi, was wounded.
Qatar-based Al Jazeera said its reporter was killed by Israeli forces. An IDF spokesman said the military was “investigating the event and looking into the possibility that the journalists were hit by the Palestinian gunmen.”
“The Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty,” the network said in a statement. “Al Jazeera holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of Shireen. It also calls on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their intentional targeting and killing of Shireen.”
Political leaders called for an investigation into the death, with Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, saying that “media workers should never be targeted.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas R. Nides said Abu Akleh was a dual American-Palestinian citizen.
“I encourage a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death and the injury of at least one other journalist today in Jenin,” Nides said on Twitter.
Abu Akleh’s death comes amid a rise in tensions in the West Bank and Israel, where a spate of terrorist attacks this year have sparked renewed fears that the security situation is deteriorating.
An international coalition of journalists, including the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, filed a formal complaint in April at the International Criminal Court accusing Israel of “the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it had “preliminary findings” that indicated “no gunfire was directed at the journalist — however the investigation is ongoing.”
“On the other hand, we have seen footage of indiscriminate shooting by Palestinian terrorists, which is likely to have hit the journalist,” the ministry said. “We will communicate our findings in a clear and transparent manner to our American friends, as well as to the Palestinian Authority.”
Lior Haiat, ministry spokesperson, added, “A free and fair press is fundamental to Israel and all democracies, and as such, journalists must be protected.”
