The rapper and her fiancée, Jesseca Dupart,tied the knot in a fairy tale-like ceremony in Georgia on Tuesday.
Speaking on the significance of the date, Da Brat told People, “We’ve been calling each other twin flames for a while. So this date, 2/22/22, is a significant event. We just didn’t want to miss it because it comes once in a lifetime. It’s relevant. It’s just real significant to our relationship. It signifies angel numbers, and it also is reminiscent of twin flames.”
Among those present at the lavish nuptials were Real Housewives of Atlanta stars Kandi Burruss, Porsha Williams and Eva Marcelle, as well as record producer Jermaine Dupri, who walked Da Drat down the isle. LisaRaye McCoy served as a bridesmaid.
The couple previously revealed their wedding date in September, showing off the date “2.22.22” tattooed on Da Brat’s back. “TWOSDAY 2•22•22,” Dupart captioned the pic, followed by the bride, chapel, and wedding ring emojis and the hashtags #BRATlovesJUDY #weddingdate.
In addition to being newlyweds, the pair are gearing up to welcome their first child together. Earlier this month, Da Brat shared snapshots of her embracing Dupart from behind and making a heart with her hands over her then wife-to-be’s stomach.
“We are EXTENDING the family,” she wrote.
This will be the first child for Da Brat, 47, while Dupart, 39, has three children from previous relationships.
(FRISCO, Texas) — A day after reaching a historic agreement with the U.S. Soccer Federation in their equal pay lawsuit, the U.S. Women’s National Team scored big on the field, beating Iceland on Wednesday to win the SheBelieves Cup.
The U.S. shut out Iceland 5-0 to take home the title. It’s the team’s fifth SheBelieves Cup in seven attempts.
Midfielder Catarina Macario and forward Mallory Pugh each scored two goals for the U.S., with the fifth and final goal coming from midfielder Kristie Mewis in the 88th minute of the match, which was held in Frisco, Texas.
The victory came after the USSF agreed on Tuesday to pay $22 million to the players in the equal pay lawsuit, which will be distributed by the USWNT players and approved by the district court. USSF will also pay an additional $2 million into an account to benefit the USWNT players in their post-career goals and charitable efforts related to women’s and girls’ soccer. Each player will be able to apply for up to $50,000 from this fund, according to the settlement.
The lawsuit, which had been pending since March 2019, was filed by athletes on the world champion U.S. Women’s National Team against USSF on International Women’s Day, for gender discrimination.
(SAN ANTONIO, Texas) — The reward for Lina Sardar Khil, the girl who went missing in San Antonio, Texas, last December has increased to $250,000 as police ask the public for any information regarding Lina’s whereabouts.
Lina turned 4 on Feb. 20.
On Lina’s birthday, the Islamic Center of San Antonio announced that it increased a $120,000 reward for any information on Lina to $200,000. Meanwhile, Crime Stoppers of San Antonio has offered $50,000 for information resulting in the arrest or indictment of a suspect accused of involvement in Lina’s disappearance, bringing the latest total to $250,000.
Pamela Allen, who is representing the Khil family, told ABC News that Lina’s family had held out hope that she would be found to celebrate her fourth birthday at home.
“Her light is missing from her family and community. Our continuous prayer is that she will be back in the arms of those that love her,” Allen said.
Allen is the CEO of Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach, one of the local organizations and nonprofits that has been assisting in the search for Lina.
San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus tweeted on Saturday that there has been “no pause” in the efforts to find Lina.
“SAPD continues to work with the FBI to find Lina Sardar Khil who went missing on Dec 20. The investigation is on-going. Pls report any info no matter how insignificant you may think it is,” he wrote, urging the public to call SAPD Missing Persons Section on 210-207-7660.
San Antonio Police told ABC News on Friday that Lina’s disappearance is still a “missing person investigation.”
Asked if there are any updates on Tuesday, police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Lina was last seen on Dec. 20, 2021 at a park on the 9400 block of Fredericksburg Road in San Antonio between 4:30 p.m. and 5:10 p.m., according to police. The park is near the family’s home at the Villa Del Cabo apartment complex.
Lina’s family is part of an Afghan refugee community in San Antonio. They arrived in the United States in 2019 and speak Pashto.
Lina’s mother, Zarmeena Sardar Khil, is pregnant with her second child. She spoke with FOX 29 in San Antonio through a translator earlier this month.
“We all have the same pain, it doesn’t matter that I am from Afghanistan, I have a different culture, different religion. What we have in common is the pain of motherhood as a human, is the same as all people,” she said.
Lina has brown eyes and straight, brown hair, and was last seen wearing a black jacket, red dress and black shoes, according to police.
Last month, Allen’s organization shared a newly surfaced photo taken by a family member of Lina the day she disappeared in hopes that details about Lina’s jewelry could assist the public in identifying her.
In the photo, which was obtained by ABC News, Lina appears to be wearing blue bangle bracelets on one wrist and gold-toned bangles on the other. She is also wearing small gold earrings and an article around her neck that Allen said is known as the Taweez, which is etched with verses from the Quran and is usually worn for protection.
Police are urging anyone with information regarding Lina or her whereabouts to come forward and contact the missing persons unit in San Antonio at 210-207-7660.
(NEW YORK) — As the United States faces a growing mental health crisis among young people, spurred on by the coronavirus pandemic, a nonprofit organization focused on mental health in schools is increasing its efforts thanks to a $15 million donation from Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
Scott, who has so far donated billions of dollars in her pledge to give the majority of her wealth back to society, gave the $15 million donation earlier this month to the JED Foundation, which works with high schools and colleges across the country.
The money, the largest single donation in the JED Foundation’s history, will allow the foundation to scale its work to reach over 12 million students, according to JED Foundation CEO John MacPhee.
“We’re aiming for large, wide-scale impact across the country and her gift is going to is going to help us get there more quickly,” MacPhee told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “Our goal is to triple the number of students that we are covering.”
Scott’s donation, which is unrestricted, meaning the foundation can use it any way it sees fits, comes at a time of “greater than ever” need amid the pandemic, according to MacPhee
“Students have not been in school and now they’re coming back and the schools are just overwhelmed,” he said. “You could also argue that schools are less equipped to be able to actually provide [mental health] support than they were before COVID-19, so we’re hearing just a tremendous need.”
Washington, D.C., and Idaho have one school psychologist for every 500 students, according to a report released last week by The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of organizations focused on mental health supports in schools. In some states — including West Virginia, Missouri, Texas, Alaska, and Georgia — there is only one school psychologist per over 4,000 students, according to the report.
In the last months of 2021, the U.S. surgeon general warned of a growing mental health crisis among young people, and organizations representing child psychiatrists, pediatricians and children’s hospitals declared a national emergency for youth mental health.
“I’m deeply concerned as a parent and as a doctor that the obstacles this generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate and the impact that’s having on their mental health is devastating,” U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in testimony before senators in December.
As the rates of anxiety and depression among young people increase, schools, where young people spend most of their days, can provide a unique safety net in identifying kids who are struggling and offering support, according to MacPhee.
The JED Foundation focuses on more than just making sure schools have mental health professionals on hand. The goal of the foundation’s efforts, according to MacPhee, is to make mental health awareness and support part of the culture of schools.
“Everyone in the school, everyone in the community has a role to play to support the mental health and well-being of young people,” he said. “It’s a culture of caring where there is really no wrong door, so it is everyone’s responsibility to notice and support someone who might be struggling.”
In New Jersey, the JED Foundation partnered with a high school in need of changing its mental health culture after two alumni died by suicide their freshman year of college.
The high school, Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, New Jersey, sought out the JED Foundation’s help at the urging of a parent, according to Dr. Jessica Verdicchio, the school’s supervisor of wellness and equity.
“We are a pretty high-achieving district and there’s a lot of pressure surrounding college and the kind of college that you go to and a lot of anxiety around academics and academic pressure,” said Verdicchio. “Our school community was not naïve to the fact that we have and have had challenges.”
Verdicchio said the school’s partnership with the JED Foundation came at just the right time.
“We have seen a pretty huge increase of students who are seeking out services even from last year to this year,” she said. “It’s been quite busy, just making sure that our students feel heard and feel supported, but also connecting them to other resources, sometimes outside of school, and having conversations with families and students.”
When the school started working with the JED Foundation last year, it created an interdisciplinary group of students, parents, teachers, administrators and alumni, led focus groups and conducted surveys to identify areas of change, according to Verdicchio.
Over the past year, the school has launched a speaker series for parents on topics including substance abuse and mental health. It has also trained the entire 1,300-member student body in identifying students who are struggling with mental health and knowing what to do about it, according to Verdicchio.
The school now also does quarterly mental health check-ins with each student and follows up to make sure they are connected with a counselor if they are struggling.
In addition, students formed a Wellness Club, which gives them even more of a role and a voice in mental health support at school, according to Verdicchio.
“Our students really like to have their voices heard,” she said. “They have tons of ideas on how we can continue to support the mental health of students, and I love hearing what they feel like works and what doesn’t.”
Verdicchio said that mental health awareness is now a “part of the fabric of our school.”
“With the JED partnership, what it’s allowed us to do is have a very clear vision of how this is supposed to work and make sure that not just pockets of people are trained, but that our whole staff is trained, and that we’re offering parent training and infusing language regarding mental health and how to cope and how to ask for help as part of the fabric of our school,” she said. “It’s allowed our school as a whole to feel supported.”
How to make sure schools support kids’ mental health
One of the “silver linings” of the coronavirus pandemic, according to MacPhee, is that it has sparked a greater conversation around mental health and kids, particularly in schools.
Part of the change comes from parents who should feel empowered to make sure their kids’ school is a healthy environment, according to MacPhee.
Here are four tips from MacPhee on how parents can get involved to support schools:
1. Ask for the schools’ plan to support mental health. “Every school should have a written plan of how they’re supporting students’ mental health and how they’re reducing suicide,” said MacPhee, noting that schools should have plans to improve mental health.
2. Know the mental health resources available at your child’s school, including mental health professionals on staff and trainings available to staff, students and parents, recommends MacPhee. “In addition to the academic support and the college guidance, parents should be asking about mental health supports as well,” he said.
3. Make sure the school administration supports mental health efforts. “The message to school leadership is that this needs to be a priority, and they control its success by making it a priority of the school,” said MacPhee.
4. Ask how parents can get involved. “Mental health should be a focus of the parent teacher association and other parent groups that are in the community,” said MacPhee.
(NEW YORK) — Russia announced early Thursday that military operations have begun in Ukraine, kicking off a long-feared attack on its ex-Soviet neighbor.
After weeks of escalating tensions in the region, Ukraine took steps to brace for a possible Russian invasion, declaring a nationwide state of emergency and calling up 36,000 military reservists. Meanwhile, a number of nations around the world, including the United States, have announced economic sanctions against Russia.
Thursday’s attack followed a fiery, hour-long speech from Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the week, when the leader announced he was recognizing the independence of two Russia-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region: the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In the days leading up to the invasion, U.S. officials estimated that some 190,000 Russian troops and pro-Russian separatist forces were massed near Ukraine’s borders.
Russia has blamed Ukraine for stoking the crisis and reiterated its demands to NATO that Ukraine pledges to never join the transatlantic defense alliance. While the full scope of the military operations was unclear, Putin said in a televised address early Thursday that his “plans do not not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories,” but he also warned outside countries not to interfere.
Here’s how the news is developing Thursday. All times Eastern:
Feb 24, 6:04 am
Russia tells Ukraine it’s ‘never been an enemy’
Russia’s parliament speaker claimed Thursday that the “sole purpose” of the country’s invasion of Ukraine “is to secure peace,” saying “Russia has never been an enemy.”
“I am calling on Ukrainian citizens: We have always deemed you to be a fraternal people. The sole purpose of what our country is doing is to secure peace,” State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said in a statement. “We are asking you to step aside and do not take part in any mobilization campaigns proposed by the Kyiv authorities. They are not independent, all orders come from Washington and Brussels.”
Volodin also urged Ukrainian Armed Forces to lay down their weapons, saying the orders given from Kyiv are criminal and serve the interests of NATO and the United States. He noted that Russia and Ukraine share history, culture and religion.
Feb 24, 5:41 am
Russia attacking Ukraine from north, east, south, Zelenskyy says
Russian forces are attacking Ukraine “from the north, east and south,” according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Our soldiers are heavily fighting, the aggressor suffered heavy losses,” Zelenskyy said in an address to the Ukrainian public from Kyiv on Thursday morning. “We have wounded soldiers.”
He added that the Ukrainian military “is giving and will give weapons to everyone who is able to defend out country.”
The Ukrainian president also announced that his country has “cut diplomatic ties with Russia.”
“Ukraine is defending its freedom,” he said. “Citizens of Russia will choose today their own way. Time for you to come out and protest this war with Ukraine.”
Just hours before Russia launched the early morning invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbor, a senior Pentagon official told ABC News: “You are likely in the last few hours of peace on the European continent for a long time to come. Be careful.”
Feb 24, 4:49 am
Three Ukrainian border guards are first reported deaths from Russian attack
At least three Ukrainian border guards were killed near the southern port city of Skadovsk on Thursday morning after a commandant’s headquarters was shelled by a Russian helicopter, according to Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service.
They are the first reported deaths after Russia launched military operations in Ukraine early Thursday.
An unknown number of personnel were also wounded, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said in a statement on its official Facebook page, noting that the border guards in the area were still fighting.
Feb 24, 3:26 am
EU urges Russia to ‘immediately cease’ attack on Ukraine
Leaders of the European Union are urging Russia to “immediately cease” its attack on Ukraine, saying “such use of force and coercion has no place in the 21st century.”
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s unprecedented military aggression against Ukraine,” European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement Thursday. “By its unprovoked and unjustified military actions, Russia is grossly violating international law and undermining European and global security and stability. We call on Russia to immediately cease the hostilities, withdraw its military from Ukraine and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”
They noted that EU leaders will meet later Thursday “to discuss the crisis and further restrictive measures that will impose massive and severe consequences on Russia for its action.” They said von der Leyen “will outline a further sanctions package being finalized by the European Commission and which the Council will swiftly adopt.”
In on-camera statements Thursday, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, pledged to “adopt a stronger package, the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented.”
Von der Leyen added that the EU “will not let President Putin tear down the security architecture that has given Europe peace and stability over the past decades.”
“Ukraine will prevail,” she said.
Feb 24, 2:41 am
Pro-Russian separatists claim to be taking territories in eastern Ukraine
Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region claimed Thursday that their forces are taking over Ukrainian government-controlled territories amid a Russian invasion.
Ivan Filiponenko, a representative of the military department of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, said in a statement that militia units have begun “artillery preparation and an operation to liberate the temporarily occupied territories.”
Meanwhile, Eduard Basurin, a spokesman for the militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, told Russia’s Interfax news agency that “forces are delivering strikes on positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces along the entire line of contact, using all weapons that are available to them.”
Separatist leaders want to control all of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in Donbas. But they currently only have about a third, with the rest controlled by Ukraine.
Feb 24, 2:03 am
Russia claims to have neutralized some of Ukraine’s military infrastructure
Russia claimed Thursday to have neutralized some of Ukraine’s military infrastructure amid an attack on the country.
“The military infrastructure of air bases of Ukraine’s Armed Forces has been rendered inoperable,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “Air defense systems of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been suppressed.”
The Russian defense ministry further alleged that Ukrainian forces on the border “are offering no resistance to Russian units.”
Meanwhile, a statement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that five Russian planes and a helicopter had been shot down.
“Reports of foreign media on a Russian aircraft allegedly downed on the Ukrainian territory have nothing to do with the reality,” the Russian defense ministry said Thursday.
ABC News could not independently verify the claims on either side.
Feb 24, 1:28 am
State Department suspends consular operations in Lviv
In a new security alert, the State Department said it has suspended its consular operations in Lviv in western Ukraine amid “reports of Russian attacks on targets in a number of major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Mariupol and others.”
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv previously suspended operations on Feb. 12.
“The U.S. government will not be able to evacuate U.S. citizens from Ukraine,” the warning stated.
The State Department advised U.S. citizens to shelter in place and issued instructions on actions to take if a loud explosion is heard or if sirens are activated.
“Further Russian military action can occur at any time without warning. U.S. citizens throughout Ukraine are strongly encouraged to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness,” the warning read. “Know the location of your closest shelter or protected space. In the event of mortar and/or rocket fire, follow the instructions from local authorities and seek shelter immediately. If you feel that your current location is no longer safe, you should carefully assess the potential risks involved in moving to a different location.”
Feb 24, 1:11 am
Russian, Belarusian troops attacking Ukraine from Belarus
Ukraine’s border service said Russian and Belarusian troops are now attacking from Belarus.
Ukraine’s border came under attack from artillery, tanks and small arms around 5 a.m. local time from Russian troops “with the support of Belarus,” the border service said in a statement.
The attack is happening along much of Ukraine’s northeast border, including the Chernigiv and Zhitomirsky regions that are directly north of Kyiv.
There are reports of casualties.
Feb 24, 1:00 am
Ukrainian president declares martial law
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law in the country Thursday, saying Russia has launched an “unjustified, false and cynical invasion.”
“There are strikes on military and other important defense facilities, attacked border units, the situation in the Donbas has degraded,” Zelenskyy said in a statement Thursday morning. “The Armed Forces, all special and law enforcement agencies of the state are on alert. The National Security and Defense Council is working in an emergency mode.”
“Civilian citizens of Ukraine should stay at home,” he added. “Warn your loved ones about what is happening. Take care of those who need help. All thoughts and prayers with our soldiers.”
Martial law allows military authorities to temporarily take over government functions, generally during a time of emergency.
The announcement came as reports of explosions and air raid sirens in cities across Ukraine rolled in and as Russian-controlled separatists, in a breakaway region of eastern Ukraine known as Donbas, say they have launched a full-scale offensive to retake what they claim is their territory there.
Feb 24, 12:44 am
Zelenskyy asks for global response, talks to Biden
In a new video statement denouncing the Russian attacks on his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it’s not only the fate of Ukraine that’s being decided.
“Ukrainians will never give their freedom and independence to anyone. Only we, all citizens of Ukraine, have been determining our future since 1991,” Zelenskyy said. “But now the fate of not only our state is being decided, but also what life in Europe will be like.”
The Ukrainian president stressed the need for a global response, stating that what remains of international law “depends on the world’s honest and just response to this aggression.”
President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy spoke over the phone around midnight ET, when Zelenskyy asked Biden to “call on the leaders of the world to speak out clearly against President Putin’s flagrant aggression and to stand with the people of Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden said he told Zelenskyy that the U.S. condemned the attack, and he also briefed him on the steps the U.S. is taking “to rally international condemnation.”
Biden also reiterated in the statement that he will meet with G-7 leaders Thursday and plans to impose “severe” sanctions on Russia.
“We will continue to provide support and assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” he said.
In the video, Zelenskyy implored citizens to stay home.
“Warn your loved ones about what is happening,” he said. “Take care of those who need help.”
Feb 24, 12:11 am
US senators call for harsher sanctions following Russian attack
Senators on both sides of the aisle are calling on the administration to turn up the pressure on Russia following its attack on Ukraine.
“President Biden has already imposed an initial tranche of sanctions, and it is now time for us to up the pain level for the Russian government,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a statement.
“I urge the Biden administration to respond swiftly and in concert with our allies to impose crushing economic sanctions on Kremlin officials, Russian entities and other actors involved int his attack on Ukraine,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said.
“America and our allies must answer the call to protect freedom by subjecting Putin and Russia to the harshest economic penalties, by expelling them from global institutions, and by committing ourselves to the expansion and modernization of our national defense,” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said.
While a handful of Republicans knocked the administration for not imposing pre-invasion sanctions, those jabs are largely being overwhelmed by calls for unity among NATO allies.
“There is no justification for this assault and I call for the administration to lead the world in a unified response,” Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman said.
Feb 24, 12:00 am
Reports of Russian troops crossing border into Ukraine, ballistic missiles
There are reports that Russian troops have now crossed the border in eastern Ukraine, close to the city of Kharkiv, as explosions in the area continue.
Ukraine’s deputy interior minister, Anton Gerashchenko, told media the troops crossed near Kharkiv. A former senior adviser to Ukraine’s government also confirmed the reports, saying he was informed by the president’s office, while Ukraine’s main newswire agency, UNIAN, has also reported the news.
Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second largest city and is only about 20 miles from the border with Russia. However, it is not next to the separatist-controlled areas.
Ukrainian authorities also said that Kyiv and multiple cities east of it have been stuck by ballistic missiles. Gerashchenko said at least seven cruise missiles or ballistic missiles hit a military aerodrome near Kyiv that is home to fighter jets. It appears that the missiles have largely struck targets on the outskirts of the city so far.
Russia’s defense ministry said it is striking Ukrainian air bases, military infrastructure and air defenses across the country but said it will not target Ukrainian cities themselves.
The ministry said “high-precision” missiles are being used.
Reports of explosions also continue to come in from Odessa, Dnipro and Mariupol.
(NEW YORK) — The housing market has been unforgiving to first-time buyers like Kirstin Harris.
“You have to be so competitive,” she told ABC News. “By the time we even like a house to put in an offer, it’s already gotten an offer that’s been accepted.”
Harris and her family are trying to purchase their first home in Virginia. But like many other buyers nationwide, she’s facing surging prices and bidding wars — fueled by strong demand and a lack of available homes.
“The new inventory that I’m seeing coming on has been increased by about $50,000,” she said.
In a cutthroat and pricey market, aspiring homeowners now face a new challenge: rising interest rates.
At its meeting next month, the Federal Reserve is set to increase borrowing costs by raising interest rates as part of an attempt to cool surging inflation.
“Basically, we have inflation because there’s too much demand in the economy for the available supply,” Brookings Institution senior fellow David Wessel told ABC News. “So the whole point of the Fed is to slow the increase in demand. They want fewer people to borrow and they want people who borrow to borrow less.”
Interest rates have already been rising in anticipation of the Fed’s announcement.
The rate on a 30-year-fixed mortgage spiked above 4 percent this month for the first time in nearly three years. According to consumer financial services company Bankrate, that means someone borrowing $300,000 to buy a home today is paying $143 more every month than in November, when rates were closer to 3 percent.
“It definitely makes it more unaffordable,” Washington, D.C.-based realtor Roger Taylor told ABC News.
Rates are still low by historical standards; a 30-year-fixed mortgage rate was near 5 percent in mid-2018.
But Taylor said first-time homebuyers already overwhelmed by sky-high home prices are trying to lock in a purchase now before rising rates increase up their monthly payments even more.
“We saw that a large number of people started giving us calls in January because of these rate increases,” he said, adding the typically-busy spring housing market “came early.”
Real estate brokerage Redfin reported 55 percent of homes that went under contract in the past month had an accepted offer within two weeks on the market. Taylor said many houses sell in a matter of hours.
“It’s insane,” he said. “Right now inventory is really low and competition is pretty high.”
The intense competition is only making it more difficult for a generation of first-time buyers to get a foothold in the housing market.
Thirty-four-year-old C.J. Reaves moved from Virginia to Georgia when the pandemic hit and his work as a digital live operator went remote, hoping to buy his first home.
“The homes have increased at least 30 to 50 thousand [dollars],” Reaves told ABC News. “I feel like to be comfortable and not live check to check, I think I’m going to move more in a cheaper area and so I can live comfortably.”
He’s now looking for a home in North Carolina.
“I was supposed to go see one home, and I thought that was going to be the home,” he said. “Literally it was gone by the time I sent it to my realtor.”
Reaves added he’s keeping a close watch on how rising rates could affect his monthly payments if he is able to put in an offer.
“You must be paying attention to interest rates, he said. “Or, you know, you could find yourself in a hole.”
(NEW YORK) — In response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize the separatist-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine as “independent” states, President Joe Biden announced sanctions against Russia in an effort to deter it from launching a full-scale invasion into Ukraine.
Biden on Tuesday called Putin’s decision “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine” and warned that the sanctions could grow more severe.
“As Russia contemplates its next move, we have our next move prepared as well,” Biden said. “Russia will pay an even steeper price if it continues its aggression, including additional sanctions.”
Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian state TV that Russia was already “used to” sanctions and that it believes more sanctions would be imposed on Moscow regardless of what it does.
“That our [Western] colleagues are trying to push the blame on Russia for the failure of the Minsk agreements, we also understand,” he said, referring to a truce Ukraine and separatists signed in 2014. “Our European, American, British colleagues won’t stop and won’t calm down as long as they haven’t exhausted their possibilities for the so-called punishment of Russia.”
What are economic sanctions?
Economic sanctions are defined by the Council on Foreign Relations as the withdrawal of customary trade and financial relations for foreign and security policy purposes. The sanctions can be comprehensive, which prohibit economic activity with an entire country, or targeted, which block transactions by and with specific individuals, businesses or groups.
These restrictions are placed on individuals or entities and prevent them from doing business with the country imposing those sanctions. Sanctions put in place by the U.S. government cut off an individual or entities from the American financial system, meaning they can no longer do business in the U.S. and all their assets under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen.
Americans and American businesses are also prohibited from doing business with these institutions, unless authorized by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Sanctions aim to impair the ability of the person or entity from being able to perform basic functions in the international financial system. They are used by the U.S. government depending on foreign policy and national security goals.
What sanctions did the US impose on Russia?
Sanctions were placed on two Russian state-owned financial institutions and five Kremlin-connected elite.
The financial institutions targeted are the Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs, which is known as Vnesheconombank (VEB), and Promsvyazbank Public Joint Stock Company (PSB), along with 42 of their subsidiaries.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, VEB is crucial to Russia’s ability to raise funds, and PSB is critical to Russia’s defense sector. The two institutions and their subsidiaries hold combined assets worth tens of billions of dollars.
“Today’s action constrains Russia’s ability to finance defense-related contracts and raise new funds to finance its campaign against Ukraine,” the Department of Treasury said in a statement Tuesday.
VEB has an asset portfolio of $53 billion, making it one of Russia’s top five financial institutions, according to the Treasury Department. Some of VEB’s sanctioned subsidiaries include banks and other financial firms, electronic component producers and a coal mining group in Russia and three other countries.
It is a servicer of Russia’s sovereign debt, a financier for exports and a funding source for investment projects with a loan portfolio of over $20 billion.
VEB finances Russia’s national economic development, including large-scale projects to develop domestic infrastructure and other industries critical to Russia’s generation of revenue.
PSB, Russia’s eighth-largest bank, was designated by the government to finance the Russian Ministry of Defense and defense sector, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury. It services nearly 70% of Russia’s defense contracts and provides banking and personal finance to Russian military personnel.
Seventeen of PSB’s subsidiaries were also sanctioned, including financial, technology and real estate-related entities.
Influential Russians and their family members who are in Putin’s inner circle and believed to be participating in the Russian regime’s “kleptocracy” — including the chairman and CEO of PSB — were also sanctioned, the Department of Treasury said.
“Today’s actions, taken in coordination with our partners and allies, begin the process of dismantling the Kremlin’s financial network and its ability to fund destabilizing activity in Ukraine and around the world,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said.
“We continue to monitor Russia’s actions and if it further invades Ukraine, the United States will swiftly impose expansive economic sanctions that will have a severe and lasting impact on Russia’s economy,” she said.
Will the sanctions have an effect?
The sanctions put in place were not the most severe option available. They targeted institutions specific to raising funds and Russia’s defense sector, instead of institutions that ordinary Russians use.
“The measures today will have a measured impact on the Russian financial system. VEB is a significant bank, but it’s not the bank that banks everyday Russians. It’s a little more niche,” said Julia Friedlander, a former Treasury Department official who worked on sanctions policy.
She said not putting in place the most severe sanctions right away serve as a tactic.
“The idea is that you can’t blow all your options at once,” Friedlander, who is now a fellow at the Atlantic Council, said. “If you blow all your fire now, then what is Russia’s incentive to hold back?”
Sanctions that could be the most impactful would target Russia’s largest banks — like the state-owned banks that cover more than half of the Russian financial system — and the energy sector, Maria Shagina, a sanctions expert who specializes in Russia and Eastern Europe, told ABC News.
Sanctions on major banks could impact ordinary Russians, Shagina said. Sanctions on the current production of oil and gas could also have an impact, but the U.S. and Europe could also see spikes in prices. If future production is sanctioned, it would be less impactful, Shagina said.
White House officials have said they are considering targeting Russia’s largest banks. Experts told ABC News that hitting those big state-owned banks — Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank and Rosselkhozbank — would mark a major escalation in the United States’ response.
“There’s a lot more banks out there that have a much larger role in the economy,” said Andrew Lohsen, a former officer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
Russia has been preparing for sanctions, he said. Sberbank has reportedly been testing its ability to survive without access to Western software. It also has hundreds of billions in foreign currency reserves and in a national wealth fund.
“The Russian economy has worked to sanction-proof itself since 2014,” Lohsen, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told ABC News. “But at the end of the day, my concern is that Russia will just force its citizens to tighten its belts and will just proceed with this empire building project that it’s set for itself in Ukraine.”
He questioned whether the sanctions put in place will be enough to deter Russia.
“Can anything deter Putin,” he said, “short of return fire?”
H.E.R. is continuing her 2021 Back of My Mind Tour with 19 dates this spring that begin April 8 in Honolulu. Other cities the trek will visit include New Orleans, Denver, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Los Angeles, before it wraps up June 19 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tickets will go on sale Friday, February 25, at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster.com.
“I’ve been so eager to connect with my fans this year, so it’s great to get back on the road,” the 24-year-old entertainer says in a statement. “Being on stage fuels me as a musician and I can’t wait to feel that energy again!”
H.E.R. also will perform at Jazz in the Gardens festival on March 15 near Miami, and she’ll be opening for Coldplay on their 2022 world tour. That trek’s U.S. leg kicks off May 6 in Dallas, and continues through June 14 in Tampa, Florida. The tour then travels to Europe and South America.
Meanwhile, H.E.R. leads all musical artists with six nominations for the NAACP Images Awards, which air Saturday at 8 p.m. on BET. On March 2, she’ll receive the American Express Impact Award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards. The Oscar and Grammy winner is being recognized as “an artist who uses their musical platform to create positive change while advocating on behalf of women in and beyond the music industry.”
H.E.R. has a chance to further add to her trophy room at this year’s Grammy Awards, where she’s nominated for eight honors, including Album of the Year for Back of My Mind, and Song of the Year for “Fight for You.” She’s also diversifying her career with her first major film role, in the new musical version of The Color Purple, also starring Taraji P. Henson and Fantasia.
While the weather may still be chilly and gray, Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park is already looking ahead to summer.
Specifically, the park’s family water park, Splash Country, will be revamped and remodeled when it opens this year. Little Creek Falls, the pool area geared toward the youngest visitors, has been reimagined as a splash pad where babies and toddlers can play. It’ll feature new pop jets, flowers and other colorful attractions; plus, the butterfly shade structures are getting a colorful makeover and some will be used to shade the play area.
Elsewhere, the slides on Bear Mountain Fire Tower are getting a fresh paint job, and The Cascades — a pool area with zero-depth entry for young swimmers — is changing its color to match the waters of the surrounding Smoky Mountains, as opposed to its prior lagoon-like hue.
Other kinds of beautification are also underway at the park, including deep-cleaning initiatives, landscaping, tree trimming and more. All that hard work will pay off come May, when the park opens for the season.
Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman are a power couple when it comes to artistic talent: He’s a superstar country performer and one of the genre’s most skilled guitarists, while she’s an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning actor.
It’s no surprise that the couple’s two daughters, 13-year-old Sunday Rose and 11-year-old Faith Margaret, are already showing aptitude for the arts, too.
Faith is perhaps the most likely to follow in her dad’s musical footsteps, Keith explains. “[She] has a great musical ear,” he says. “I can tell ’cause she’ll hear a melody and go to the little piano and figure it out by singing it and matching the notes and stuff. She’s got a good ear.”
Meanwhile, Sunday’s the film director of the family. “Sunday, I think, has always been interested in filming and making little stories with her little iPad,” Keith continues.
He explains, “Even when she was five, six years old, she liked to film with her iPad. Kids from the neighborhood will come over for play dates, and I tell you, immediately, they will be roped into being in these mini-movies that she makes. They’ve got to learn their parts and everything.”
Like any proud parent, Keith is hoping to encourage both his children to pursue their artistic interests as they get older.
“It would be great if [Sunday] continues [making movies], ’cause I think she’s a storyteller — a good storyteller,” he notes.
Both Sunday and Faith also made their voice acting debuts in The Angry Birds Movie 2, which came out in 2019.
