Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment
Stingwill take part in the 2022 edition of Climate Action Live, an international event that’s being organized by the Peace One Day organization to promote positive action to help the environment.
The event will bring together musicians, actors, environmental activists, business leaders and others for performances, panel discussions and interviews to encourage individuals and organizations to work toward a more sustainable future for the planet while focusing on how peace and climate are interconnected.
The event will begin at 8 a.m. ET on June 21 and will be viewable live on Peace One Day’s Twitter page. Sting will give a performance that will air at 4:10 p.m. ET.
Filmmaker Jeremy Gilley, who founded Peace One Day, says, “The timing of Climate Action Live 21 June is more important this year than ever. Worldwide we’ve seen the devastating effect that conflict over resources manifests so please join the global community and tune into Climate Action Live…and listen to individuals of all ages from across the world as they inform, inspire and engage you towards positive climate action. ‘No Peace — No Climate Action.'”
Gilley founded Peace One Day in 1999 to establish an annual Peace Day that takes place on the same date each year, September 21.
(WASHINGTON) — Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a rare public appearance during the frenzied crush of Supreme Court opinion season, delivered public praise of her colleague Justice Clarence Thomas and gave a pep talk to progressives Thursday as the embattled institution prepares to issue major rulings driven by the court’s conservative majority.
“If it doesn’t kill me, it makes me stronger. That is what adversity does to you,” an upbeat Sotomayor, one of the court’s three liberal justices, told an audience at the American Constitution Society conference in Washington.
In the coming days, the court will issue opinions on abortion, gun rights, immigration, school prayer and climate policy. The justice did not directly address any of the pending cases, or an unprecedented leaked draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito last month that showed the conservative majority ready to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Sotomayor did, however, discuss how infamous and unjust court decisions can later be corrected, citing the Dred Scott case of 1857, which held that enslaved or free black Americans could not be citizens. She noted that it took eight years and a Civil War to rectify, but that ultimately it was overturned.
“We have to have continuing faith in the court system, in our system of government, in our ability — I hope not through war — but through constitutional amendment, to change in legislation, towards lobbying, towards continuing the battle each day to regain the public’s confidence that we as a court, as an institution have not lost our way,” Sotomayor said.
“We as a society, have taken steps some may disagree with. But if we disagree, we will continue to battle to do justice,” she said.
Alito, in his draft opinion in the abortion case, cited the Scott case to justify overturning Roe, arguing that the 1973 landmark opinion was similarly, in his view, wrongly decided from the start.
Sotomayor’s appearance was the first by a member of the court’s liberal wing since the leaked opinion breached a cherished code of trust, upended court operations and stirred new security threats to the justices, including an alleged assassination attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Her remarks also followed public comments by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas last month, each of whom suggested relations among justices and with their clerks have significantly deteriorated amid recent events.
“When you lose that trust, especially in the institution that I’m in, it changes the institution fundamentally,” Thomas said at a conference in May. “You begin to look over your shoulder. It’s like kind of an infidelity that you can explain it, but you can’t undo it.”
Sotomayor heaped praise on Justice Thomas — who has been sharply criticized by Democrats and progressive legal scholars for his positions in controversial cases and for the alleged involvement of his wife, Ginni Thomas, in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Thomas was one of the only justices to dissent from the court’s decision to decline to take up several election-related cases.
“I suspect I have probably disagreed with him more than with any other justice, that we have not joined each other’s opinions more than anybody else,” Sotomayor said, and yet “he is a man who cares deeply about the court as an institution, about the people who work there…”
Thomas has a “very different philosophy of life,” Sotomayor continued, “but I think we share a common understanding about people and kindness towards them. That’s why I can be friends with him and still continue our daily battle over our difference of opinions in cases.”
While many Democrats and progressive activists have been downtrodden about the direction of the Supreme Court with a 6-3 conservative majority — some are demanding dramatic changes to the size and scope of the court — Sotomayor urged optimism and civility in the face of disappointment.
“You can lie down and let the truck run you over. Or, you can…get up and build the barricades,” she told the crowd. “I don’t mean this literally, I mean it figuratively….Look, there are days I get discouraged. There are moments where I am deeply, deeply disappointed. And yes, there have been moments where I’ve stopped and said, ‘Is this worth it anymore?’ And every time I do that, I lick my wounds for a while. Sometimes I cry. And then I say, OK — let’s fight.”
(NEW YORK) — For more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America was a powerful institution aimed at empowering young people to make “ethical and moral choices.” But repeated lawsuits over sex abuse claims scouts say they suffered in scouting and the court-ordered release of decades of internal Boy Scouts of America records cataloguing abuse allegations led to institutional disgrace and bankruptcy.
The century-long-cover-up by The Boy Scouts of America to conceal pedophiles that were in their ranks and how their secret “perversion files” would eventually lead to the financial downfall and bankruptcy of the organization.
ABC News Studios partners with Imagine Documentaries and Vermilion Films to present “Leave No Trace: A Hidden History of The Boy Scouts.” The film examines financial records, court documents and firsthand survivor accounts to dissect a coverup of sexual abuse within the Boy Scouts of America.
After premiering at the Tribeca Festival on June 9, “Leave No Trace” is set to stream on Hulu and in select theaters on Thursday, June 16.
Stream the full story June 16 on Hulu
The Boy Scouts of America responded to ABC News about the film’s release and said they are “deeply sorry for the pain endured by survivors of abuse,” but the organization challenges aspects of the film.
“While there are aspects of the film “Leave No Trace” that mischaracterize the BSA’s policies and actions, rather than challenge these inaccuracies, our focus is on supporting survivors,” the organization told ABC News. It continued, “The BSA welcomes any opportunity for survivors to share their stories as part of the healing process, and we applaud the bravery and resilience of all survivors of past abuse in Scouting.”
The Boy Scouts of America still remains one of the largest youth organizations in the United States and reported approximately 2.1 million youth members and nearly 800,000 adult volunteers in 2019. At its height, the organization served over 5 million youths in 1979.
In 2012, the Boy Scouts of America was forced by a court order in a sexual abuse lawsuit brought by a former scout in Oregon to release over 20,000 pages of documentation of alleged child sexual abuse cases within the organization from 1965 to 1985.
The film investigates how the organization allegedly helped cover up the abuse cases and failed to report the allegations externally to police or other local officials.
In February 2020, the Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to offer “equitable compensation” to victims and their families, according to a press release.
Three months later, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware set a November 2020 deadline for all survivors of sexual abuse to file claims, according to a press release.
More than 82,000 sexual abuse claims were reportedly filed.
Earlier this year, survivors of sex abuse in scouting voted to accept a proposed 2.7 billion dollar settlement from the Boy Scouts of America as part of its reorganization plan. If approved by the bankruptcy court, it would be the largest sex-abuse payout in American history.
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Florida was the first state to advise against vaccinating healthy kids for COVID-19.
Florida was the only state in the U.S. that didn’t preorder any COVID-19 vaccines for young children, federal officials said Thursday.
The Florida Department of Health did not want to be involved in a “convoluted vaccine distribution process,” a representative from the department told ABC News in a statement on Wednesday.
“The Florida Department of Health (Department) has made it clear to the federal government that states do not need to be involved in the convoluted vaccine distribution process, especially when the federal government has a track record of developing inconsistent and unsustainable COVID-19 policies,” the representative said.
In March, the state’s Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, announced Florida would become the first state to officially advise against vaccinating healthy children for COVID-19.
“Already the rates were low. So, we’re kind of scraping at the bottom of the barrel particularly with healthy kids, in terms of actually being able to quantify with any accuracy and any confidence, the infinite potential of benefit,” Ladapo said at the time.
The representative for the state health department reiterated the health department still does not recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for all children.
“It is also no surprise we chose not to participate in distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine when the Department does not recommend it for all children,” the representative wrote.
Doctors will be able to order vaccines as they are needed, the department said. However, the representative noted that there are currently no orders in the Department’s ordering system for the COVID-19 vaccine for these young kids.
On Thursday, the White House quickly pushed back on Florida’s decision not to order any shots for young children.
“By being the only state — this is Florida — not preordering, which means that pediatricians, for example, in Florida will not have immediate ready access to vaccines, some pharmacies and community health centers in the state get access through federal distribution channels, but those options are limited for parents. We encouraged Florida on several occasions to order vaccines … and we will continue to do so,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing on Thursday.
Jean-Pierre said the White House has been working with states for “some time” to ensure that if the vaccines are authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the doses will be “shipped to places like pediatricians and children’s hospitals, places where parents would get health care for their youngest or as quickly as possible.”
With Florida not preordering vaccines, it will make it more difficult for parents to get a hold of vaccines for their young children, Jean-Pierre added.
Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor, concurred, adding that access to the shots will be critical to uptake.
“Vaccines access and confidence are tightly linked. If you make it harder for parents to vaccinate their kids, it will reduce the likelihood they will, especially if on the fence. By not making preorders available to Florida vaccination clinics, you are doing a disservice to so many families who have waited over two years to vaccinate their youngest kids,” Brownstein said.
Issues of equity may also be exacerbated, as some lower-income families may have a harder gaining access to the shots, Brownstein said.
“This rollout was already going to be the most challenging yet, especially with pharmacies playing a more limited role. By removing the state from the ordering equation, you are shifting a cumbersome process to pediatric frontline health care that is already stretched way too thin,” Brownstein added. “More challenging access will unfortunately only serve to exacerbate health disparities. Minority and low-income communities that already have a more challenging time accessing vaccines will have less options available.”
A committee of advisors to the FDA voted on Wednesday to recommend the Moderna vaccine for children under 6, which is a two-dose vaccine, and the Pfizer vaccine for kids under 5, which is a three-dose vaccine.
If FDA leadership chooses to officially authorize the vaccines, the administration can start shipping out vaccines to states. On Friday and Saturday, the CDC’s advisers will meet to review the data on both vaccines for children.
Thus far, states have preordered 3.8 million doses of vaccines for the youngest children, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Two U.S. veterans from Alabama, Andy Huynh, 27, and Alexander Drueke, 39, volunteered to fight alongside the Ukrainian military against Russia, but haven’t been heard from in days.
Family members are desperately waiting for word after two Americans who volunteered to assist Ukrainian forces have gone missing amid unconfirmed reports of their capture. U.S. officials revealed they’re also aware of a third American who has been reported missing during the war.
U.S. lawmakers said Wednesday they have been asked by the families of the former service members from Alabama — Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh — for their help in locating them.
Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said in a statement her office is helping a family locate Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
“Earlier this week, the mother of Alexander Drueke, a Tuscaloosa Army Veteran who volunteered to assist the Ukrainian Army in combating Russia, reached out to my office after losing contact with her son. According to his family, they have not heard from Drueke in several days,” she said in a statement.
Sewell said her office has been in contact with the State Department, the FBI and other members of the Alabama Congressional delegation.
Drueke, an Army veteran, reportedly went to Ukraine in mid-April to volunteer to help train the Ukrainian forces, his mother, Lois “Bunny” Drueke, told “Good Morning America.”
“He wanted to go over and help train the Ukrainian soldiers and show them how to use the equipment that the U.S. has been sending over there for them,” she said.
She said she last heard from her son in a text message on June 8.
“He said that he was going dark for a day or possibly two. And I responded to stay safe, that I loved him and he responded, ‘Yes, ma’am. I love you too,'” she said. “And that was my last communication with him.”
She said he was with Huynh at the time, whom he had met since going to Ukraine, and there are unverified reports that they may have been captured by Russian forces.
Drueke was a chemical operations specialist in the Army Reserve from 2002 to 2014 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of his service, an Army official confirmed to ABC News. He was deployed to Kuwait from December 2004 to December 2005 and to Iraq from November 2008 to July 2009, the official said.
Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., said his office is helping in the search for Huynh, 27, of Trinity, Alabama, after his family reached out to the congressman’s office this week.
“According to Huynh’s family, they have not been in contact with him since June 8, 2022, when he was in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine,” he said in a statement.
Aderholt said his office has reached out to the State Department and FBI to “get any information possible.”
Huynh, a former Marine, spoke to Huntsville, Alabama, ABC affiliate WAAY in early April about his decision to help defend Ukraine.
“I’ve made peace with the decision. I know there’s a potential of me dying. I’m willing to give my life for what I believe is right,” he told the station.
Huynh served in the Marines from 2014 to 2018, reaching the rank of corporal, a Marine Corps spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
He got engaged in March, before he left for Ukraine the following month.
“We just really want him back,” his fiancée, Joy Black, told “Good Morning America” through tears. “He’s got such a big heart. He knew this wasn’t the easy thing, but this was the right thing.”
“Even though not great things have happened I’m still really, really proud of him,” she continued.
White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday afternoon that he “can’t confirm the reports” of two Americans captured in Ukraine.
“We’ll do the best we can to monitor this and see what we can learn about it,” he said. “Obviously, if it’s true, we’ll do everything we can to get them safely back home.”
The State Department also is aware of the “unconfirmed” reports, a spokesperson said.
“We are limited in terms of what we know at the moment,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters Thursday. “We’re closely monitoring the situation, we are in contact with Ukrainian authorities, as well as with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the families of the two reported missing U.S. citizens.”
Price said the State Department had not had any direct communication with Russia concerning the whereabouts of the two men.
“If we feel that such outreach through our embassy in Moscow or otherwise would be productive in terms of finding out more information on the whereabouts of these individuals, we won’t hesitate to do that,” he said, adding that the department had not “seen anything from the Russians indicating that two such individuals are in their custody.”
Price said the department is also aware of a third, unidentified American who reportedly traveled to Ukraine to fight and whose “whereabouts are unknown.”
“Similarly, our understanding was that this individual had traveled to Ukraine to take up arms,” Price said, adding that the person was identified as missing “in recent weeks” and that the State Department was also in contact with their family.
The State Department has warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Ukraine during the war and that Russian security officials could be “singling out” U.S. citizens.
When asked about the two missing Americans in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that he did not have any information about it.
“Perhaps the Defense Ministry has some information, but I don’t,” Peskov said at a press briefing Thursday.
Several Westerners have been taken prisoner during the war, including two men from the United Kingdom who were sentenced to death this month by Russian-backed separatists who accused them of being mercenaries.
ABC News’ Devin Garbitt, Benjamin Stein, Ben Gittleson, Shannon Crawford and Matt Seyler contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday the recall of more than 407,000 over-the-counter pill bottles, citing the products do not meet the child resistance packaging required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA).
Aurohealth recalled nearly 137,300 units of the Walgreens brand Acetaminophen. Consumers can contact Aurohealth for information on how to return the product to their nearest Walgreens store to receive a full refund.
Aurohealth also recalled about 25,660 units of Kroger brand arthritis pain acetaminophen. Time-Cap Labs recalled nearly 209,430 units of Kroger brand aspirin and ibuprofen. Further, Sun Pharma also recalled about 34,660 units of Kroger brand acetaminophen.
Consumers can contact Kroger for information on how to properly dispose of the product and receive a full refund.
The pill bottles have been sold at supermarkets nationwide.
Andy Grammer made one couple’s wedding dreams come true by singing at their ceremony. Andy explained on Instagram that the lovebirds asked him every day on TikTok and he couldn’t say no to their “sweetness, sincerity, playfulness and joy.” He said it was “an honor” to perform at their wedding.
Meghan Trainor teased more of her song “Bad For Me,” revealing it features artist Teddy Swims. She took to Instagram to share more of her single, which is about a toxic relationship, and previewed a portion of Teddy’s verse.
Harry Styles shouted out his old teacher who was at his concert in Manchester, England, reports Manchester Evening News. Harry told Mrs. Vernon, “I just want to thank you for everything in those formative years,” and joked to the audience, “Can you imagine dealing with me when I was 4?” Harry said it meant “a lot” to see his old educator in the crowd and told her, “I’m dedicating this next song to you.”
Kate Bush is delighted the younger generation has fallen in love with her 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” after it was featured on the new season of Stranger Things. She raved on her website, “I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before!” She also thanked the show’s creators because “the track is being discovered by a whole new audience.” Kate’s song is currently in fourth place on the Billboard Hot 100.
John Legend turned the tables on his label by forcing them to do TikTok videos. He went around the office and asked workers what song of his they’re currently jamming to. A marketing manager then leaked the title of one of his new songs, “Honey,” and had to run out of the room. He joked, “I was not forced to make this TikTok.”
Coldplay is the 11th act in history to make over $1 billion in touring revenues, reports Billboard. The group achieved that milestone after finishing their North American leg of the Music of the Spheres tour. Coldplay has been touring almost nonstop for over 20 years, which is why they were able to achieve this ultra-rare feat.
Is Dove Cameron about to pull a Halsey? The “Boyfriend” singer took to TikTok to share a video of her “waiting (im)patiently for my label to give me the go ahead to drop my next single” and teased she should “just leak it anyway.” Dove says her new song, “Breakfast,” will drop on June 24.
John Legend turned the tables on his label by forcing them to do TikTok videos. He went around the office and asked workers what song of his they’re currently jamming to. A marketing manager then leaked the title of one of his new songs, “Honey.” He joked, “I was not forced to make this TikTok.”
Oops, she did it again! Britney Spears deactivated her Instagram for a second time. It is unknown when she’ll return.
Meghan Trainor teased more of her song “Bad For Me,” revealing it features artist Teddy Swims. She took to Instagram to share more of her single, which is about a toxic relationship, and previewed a portion of Teddy’s verse.
Harry Styles shouted out his old teacher who attended his concert in Manchester, England, reports Manchester Evening News. Harry told Mrs. Vernon, “I just want to thank you for everything in those formative years,” and joked to the audience, “Can you imagine dealing with me when I was 4?” Harry said it meant “a lot” to see his old educator in the crowd and told her, “I’m dedicating this next song to you.”
As Christine McVie prepares to release her first solo compilation, Songbird (A Solo Collection), on June 24, the Fleetwood Mac singer/keyboardist has shared some potentially disappointing news regarding her famous band with Rolling Stone.
Fleetwood Mac finished its most recent tour in 2019, with a lineup that featured Crowded House‘s Neil Finn and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell stepping in for Lindsey Buckingham after Buckingham’s much publicized firing from the group in 2018.
Christine tells the magazine, “Those guys were great. We have a great time with them, but we’ve kind of broke up now, so I hardly ever see them.”
Christine adds that Fleetwood Mac no longer exists “as we know it.” Regarding the band’s future, she says, “We might get back together, but I just couldn’t say for sure.”
Christine, who is 78, also notes that she isn’t sure if she wants to tour again.
“I don’t feel physically up for it,” she maintains. “I’m in quite bad health. I’ve got a chronic back problem, which debilitates me. I stand up to play the piano, so I don’t know if I could actually physically do it.”
In addition, Christine says that her ex-husband, Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie, also has “health issues” and isn’t sure if he wants to tour anymore. “You’d have to ask him,” she adds.
If Fleetwood Mac does decide to hit the road again, Christine says she’d like to have Buckingham back in the band.
“He’s the best,” Christine says. “Neil and Mike were such a cheerful couple, but Lindsey was missed.”
Although she says she’s “quite happy to be at home,” Christine won’t completely rule out another Fleetwood Mac tour.
“I’ll just leave it open and say that we might,” she notes.
(EL PASO, Texas) — The U.S. saw the largest number of migrants arrested or encountered along the southern border since Customs and Border Protection began counting numbers of migrants encountered since the year 2000, statistics released by CBP, on Wednesday show.
CBP encountered 239,416 migrants along the southwest land border in May, a 2% increase compared to April, and 25% of those those encountered were previously arrested and deported by CBP.
The past four months, according to CBP statistics, migrant numbers along the southern border have increased steadily over 200,000 each month.
The amount of unaccompanied minors also saw a 20% increase from this month to last.
Drug seizures along the southern border were down in May in double digits, according to CBP.
“Our message to those who would try and gain illegal entry to the United States remains the same – don’t make the dangerous journey only to be sent back,” said CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus in a statement. “As temperatures start to rise in the summer, human smugglers will continue to exploit vulnerable populations and recklessly endanger the lives of migrants for financial gain.”
The numbers come as Title 42 — the Trump administration policy, continued by the Biden administration that expelled migrants along the southern border under the auspices of the pandemic, was ordered to be kept in place by a federal judge in May.
The Justice Department, which handles litigation for the federal government, has appealed the ruling.
“Current restrictions at the U.S. border have not changed: single adults and families encountered at the Southwest Border will continue to be expelled, where appropriate, under Title 42,” Magnus said.
