(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow’s forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 07, 5:21 am
Ukraine’s NATO agenda: ‘Weapons, weapons and weapons’
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba said his country had a “simple” agenda for Thursday’s NATO meeting.
“It has only three items on it. It’s weapons, weapons and weapons,” Kuleba told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
NATO foreign ministers are meeting this week to discuss the situation in Ukraine, including whether to implement new sanctions and supply additional weapons, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who spoke alongside Kuleba.
“So we are providing support, but, at the same time, working hard to prevent the escalation of the conflict,” Stoltenberg said.
Kuleba called on “all allies to put aside their hesitations” in aiding Ukraine.
“We are confident that the best way to help Ukraine now is to provide it with all necessary to contain [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, and to defeat Russian army in Ukraine, in the territory of Ukraine, so that the war does not spill over further,” Kuleba said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to meet with Kuleba on Thursday, according to his office.
“The G7 is committed to holding President Putin to account for his unprovoked war of choice and ensuring he endures a strategic defeat in Ukraine,” Blinken said on Twitter on Thursday.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Dallas 131, Detroit 113
Brooklyn 110, New York 98
Boston 117, Chicago 94
Utah 137, Oklahoma City 101
LA Clippers 113, Phoenix 109
Atlanta 118, Washington 103
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Detroit 3, Winnipeg 1
Washington 4, Tampa Bay 3
St. Louis 4, Seattle 1
Vancouver 5, Vegas 1
Calgary 4, Anaheim 2
(NEW YORK) — Six state attorneys general issued a threat to the National Football League on Wednesday: protect female employees or face a potential investigation.
“Our offices will use the full weight of our authority to investigate and prosecute allegations of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation by employers throughout our states, including at the National Football League,” the attorneys general from New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington wrote in a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “All of this is entirely unacceptable and potentially unlawful.”
The letter was obtained by ABC News.
The letter centers on a story written by the New York Times that it said “described a workplace culture that is overtly hostile to women.”
All but one of the states have an NFL franchise and the state of New York is home to NFL headquarters.
“In New York, where the NFL is headquartered, the Office of the Attorney General has never hesitated to take action to protect employees from sexual harassment and abuse, whether they are entry-level employees of the Weinstein Company or servers and bartenders at Batali-owned restaurants,” the letter says.
In February, a congressional committee heard from former Washington Commanders employees about potential sexual harassments allegations. Tiffani Johnston, a former marketing and events coordinator for the then-Washington Redskins, was allegedly put next to owner Dan Synder at a dinner “not to discuss business, but to allow him, Dan Snyder, to place his hand on my thigh under the table.”
Snyder, in a statement reported by ESPN, apologized for past misconduct by the organization, but denied the new allegations involving himself.
The letter to Goodell says in the aftermath of the Ray Rice scandal in 2014, the NFL promised to improve the culture for women at the NFL, but it said the allegations mentioned in the New York Times account “suggest that you have not.”
Female employees told the New York Times they were “that they were held back and criticized for having an “‘aggressive tone’ — an often unfair stereotype of women, especially women of color, who try to advance in a male dominated workplace.”
“Other women reported that, in a training intended to improve sensitivity on the issue, they were asked to raise their hand to self-identify if they had been victims of domestic violence or knew someone who had,” the letter says. “This is NOT doing better. Anti-discrimination laws in many states, including New York, prohibit employers from subjecting domestic violence victims, as well as women and people of color, to a hostile work environment.”
In a statement, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told ABC News the NFL shares the “commitment of the attorneys general to ensuring that all of our workplaces — including the league office and 32 clubs — are diverse, inclusive and free from discrimination and harassment.”
“We have made great strides over the years in support of that commitment, but acknowledge that we, like many organizations, have more work to do,” McCarthy said in an email. “We look forward to sharing with the attorneys general the policies, practices, protocols, education programs and partnerships we have implemented to act on this commitment and confirm that the league office and our clubs maintain a respectful workplace where all our employees, including women, have an opportunity to thrive.”
He pointed to employee training programs with RISE, GLAAD, Paradigm, The Winters Group and internal affinity groups where employees can interact, learn and support each other within smaller communities like BEN (Black Engagement Network), PIN (Parents Initiative Network) and WIN (Women’s Interactive Network), as examples.
(NEW YORK) — Being infected with COVID-19 raises the risk of developing serious blood clots, a new study suggests.
An international team of researchers from Sweden, the United Kingdom and Finland compared more than 1 million people in Sweden with a confirmed case of the virus between February 2020 and May 2021 to 4 million control patients who tested negative.
They found three to six months after contracting COVID-19, patients were at increased risk of being diagnosed with blood clots in their legs or lungs, according to results published in the journal BMJ on Wednesday.
Specifically, patients had a 4% raised risk of deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot that forms deep in the thigh or the lower leg, up to three months after a COVID-19 infection.
Patients also had a 17% heightened risk of developing a pulmonary embolism, a clot that develops in a blood vessel and travels to a lung artery, up to six months after having the virus.
The team said its results add to a growing body of evidence about the link between COVID-19 and serious blood clots, while adding new information about how long the risk might last.
“The present findings have major policy implications,” the authors wrote, adding that the report “strengthens the importance of vaccination against COVID-19.”
They also said the findings suggest that COVID-19 patients — “especially high-risk patients” — should take anticoagulation medicine, which are medications to help prevent these clots.
During the course of the study period, the team saw 401 cases of DVT among the COVID-19 patients, compared to 267 cases among the negative patients.
Meanwhile, there were 1,761 cases of PE among virus patients in comparison with 171 cases among the control patients.
COVID-19 patients were at higher risk of blood clots if they had underlying conditions, had a severe case of the virus or if they were infected during the first wave of the pandemic in early 2020.
However, there wasn’t just a risk of blood clots. The study also found an increased risk of any kind of bleeding up to two months after a COVID-19 infection.
The team noted there were limitations, including that the study was observational rather than a randomized controlled trial.
Additionally, the researchers recognized that clotting in COVID-19 patients may be underdiagnosed and information about patients’ vaccination status was not available.
Despite the risk of blood clots following COVID-19 infections being well-documented, it’s unknown what biological mechanisms are at play. However, there are theories.
One study from Michigan Medicine and the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute suggested “rogue” antibodies from a COVID-19 infection cause blood cells to lose their anti-clotting properties.
Another study from Yale School of Medicine suggested specific proteins are produced by endothelial cells — cells that line blood vessels — due to inflammation from the virus and lead to blood clots.
“It remains to be established whether SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the risk of venous thromboembolism or bleeding more than it does for respiratory infections, such as influenza, but also whether the period of [anticoagulation medicine] after COVID-19 should be extended,” the authors wrote.
(WASHINGTON) — The House of Representatives has voted to hold Trump White House officials Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas for records and testimony from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The Animals‘ long-out-of-print first four U.S. studio albums — their 1964 self-titled debut, 1965’s The Animals on Tour and Animal Tracks, and 1966’s Animalization — will be released as 180-gram vinyl LPs and expanded CDs on May 20.
In addition, a vinyl bundle will be issued the same day, titled The Animals Mickie Most Years and More, featuring the four LPs, plus a 12-inch vinyl reproduction of the group’s 1963 four-song EP, I Just Wanna Make Love to You.
The Animals’ debut album launched the Newcastle, U.K., band into stardom, thanks to the group’s hit cover of “The House of the Rising Sun,” which topped the U.S. and U.K. singles charts. The album itself peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200.
The Animals on Tour included “I’m Crying,” which reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Animal Tracks boasted three top-40 hits — “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “Bring It On Home to Me” and “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.” Animalization also featured a trio of top-40 singles — “Inside-Looking Out,” “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “See See Rider.”
All of the CD versions of the albums feature at least one bonus track dating from the time each record was recorded or released. The Animals includes an unedited version of the album track “Talkin’ ‘Bout You.” The Animals on Tour has three extra tracks, including a New Year’s spot from the band. Animal Tracks boasts five bonus tunes, among them the non-album hit “It’s My Life” and the single version of “We Gotta Get Out of This Place.” Animalization features three extra tracks, including stereo versions of “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “See See Rider.”
You can pre-order the vinyl reissues and the bundle now at ABKCO.com.
(WASHINGTON) — Following two failed attempts, a new effort got underway on Wednesday to dislodge a 130-ton, fully-loaded cargo ship that has been mired in the mud of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland for more than three weeks.
U.S. Coast Guard officials said two large cranes and two barges were being moved to where the Ever Forward container ship ran aground in shallow water and crews are expected to begin off-loading a portion of the 5,000 cargo containers aboard, hoping that will give the vessel the buoyancy required to free it.
“They’re still staging the equipment so that they can remove the containers. It’s going to take a few days to get that set up,” Petty Officer Cynthia Oldham, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard, told ABC News on Wednesday afternoon.
She said once the cranes and barges are in place, crews could start removing containers by this weekend or early next week.
“Hopefully, it’s going to be wrapped up around April 15, but that, of course, is dependent on a lot of different variables,” Oldham said.
The 1,095-foot ship belongs to Evergreen Marine Corp., the same company that owns the Ever Given cargo ship that got stuck in Egypt’s Suez Canal in March 2021, blocking the world-famous waterway for six days and causing massive delays in global shipping.
The Coast Guard said the Ever Forward is stranded in mud in about 23 feet of water off Downs Park in Pasadena, Maryland, about 20 miles south of Baltimore. The ship is outside of the deep-water shipping channel so it’s not blocking boat traffic on the Chesapeake Bay.
“The ship is grounded from bow to stern,” Oldham said.
Two previous attempts to free the vessel were not successful. Crews tried to move the ship with multiple tugboats, but it wouldn’t budge. Crews have also dredged around the hull of the big boat, but that effort was in vain, too.
The latest plan calls for removing some of the containers, which weigh 8,000 pounds each empty, from both the starboard and port side to maintain the stability of the ship, Oldham said.
“A few hundred containers are expected to be removed, not all of them,” Oldham said.
The refloating situation has gone so bad that the Evergreen Marine has notified anyone with a container on board that they will need to share in the cost of freeing the ship under the law of general average, a principal of maritime law dating back to 1890.
“Evergreen Line urges all cargo interests involved, and joint venture slot users to provide security bonds and necessary documents according to the adjusting rules that govern GA in order to take delivery of cargo after the vessel is freed and arrives at its future ports of discharge,” the company said in a statement released this week.
John Martino of the Annapolis School of Seamanship told ABC affiliate station WMAR in Baltimore that the new plan to free the ship is fraught with danger.
“They have to be careful the order they take the containers off,” said Martino, who visited the ship on Tuesday. “So, they have to make sure everything stays balanced as they go along.”
As a precaution, the Coast Guard is only allowing the work to unload the vessel to occur during daylight hours.
The container vessel ran aground March 13 after leaving the Seagirt marine terminal in Baltimore. The Hong Kong-flagged ship was headed to Norfolk, Virginia, when the mishap occurred.
There were no reports of injuries or damage to the ship or its cargo.
Following the incident, Evergreen immediately activated its emergency response plan and appointed a salvor to conduct underwater inspections of the ship and come up with refloating plan.
Evergreen reported that an inspection showed that no fuel or pollution have leaked from the ship into the Chesapeake Bay.
(BOULDER, Colo.) — Last September, Ryan Christoff found his then 16-year-old daughter barely breathing in their home near Boulder, Colorado.
Little did he know at the time, but his daughter was suffering from an overdose. She had taken a half of a Percocet pill given to her by her then boyfriend not knowing that it was laced with Fentanyl – a synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain and is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin.
“I’m bored in my room,” said Sofia Christoff, who said she had found some “powder” substance. “I crushed it up, took a line. Felt kind of sparkly for two seconds and then I woke up in the hospital.”
Ryan Christoff said he had known that his daughter “smoked a little weed” occasionally, but had no idea that the sophomore had actually been secretly experimenting with a long list of drugs.
“Cocaine, Xanax, Ketamine once. Acid, Shrooms, Adderall,” said Sofia Christoff. “So just pills. Just like everything I could get my hands on.”
During that year, she was suspended from school and her grades fell.
“I felt stupid that I should have known,” said Ryan Christoff. “I just didn’t think she was doing that.”
Sergeant David Cohen of the Lafayette Colorado Police Department was in the vicinity when the frantic 9-1-1 call came in from Sofia Christoff’s father.
Cohen arrived on the scene in minutes as the 9-1-1 dispatcher and started chest compressions. He quickly administered Narcan to an unconscious and barely breating Sofia Christofff. Within seconds, she began gasping for air, according to Cohen. She was taken to the hospital, but was released only hours later.
Cohen said he used his training and experience to recognize the situation.
“I mean, I don’t know if it ever became clear to me until I administered Narcan, and it worked,” said Cohen, who said he also noticed “miscellaneous drug paraphernalia” in the bedroom.
On that day, Sofia Christoff survived. Others who have experienced Fentanyl-linked drug overdoses have not been as lucky.
“I get daily reports of suspected individuals who have passed away as a result of Fentanyl overdoses,” said Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen.
Pazen said bringing awareness to the issue is key.
“Folks think that this might be something else that they’re ingesting. So bringing awareness to this issue that that pill may not be Percocet. That pill may not be Xanax. That that pill may contain Fentanyl and potentially could be deadly is critical.”
Deaths linked to synthetic opioids like Fentanyl have nearly doubled over the past two years, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Additional CDC data revealed that of the more than 100,000 people who died from drug overdoses in a 12 month period ending in October 2021, nearly two-thirds of those deaths are linked to synthetic opioids like Fentanyl.
Fentanyl is cheap to produce and extremely potent, so it is sometimes mixed into other illicit drugs heroin, meth and cocaine and other pain pills like Percocet, Xanax, Vicodin and Oxycontin and can create a lethal combination, according to Pazen.
“It’s so cheap, it’s so easy to move, it’s so addictive for the end user,” Pazen said. “We are going to need everybody coming together as a country, as a state, federal, state, local law enforcement.”
In March, Colorado’s House of Representatives introduced a bill to enact stiffer criminal penalties on those involved with the sale and distribution of Fentanyl.
For Sofia Christoff, she said that buying drugs is as easy as sending the right emoji to a “plug,” a drug dealer who often finds customers on apps like Snapchat.
“I’m looking for a little plug emoji or like a fire emoji or you’re just whatever emoji the normal dealers have,” said Christoff.
“If you know where to go, it’s really easy,” she added.
The use of emojis to connect with drug dealers is not unique to Colorado, but now so common across the country that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency released a cheat sheet for parents and guardians to raise awareness of the emojis commonly used to buy drugs on social media.
“I cannot emphasize enough how deadly this drug is to human life, especially to unsuspecting youth in our community,” said Tatum King, a Homeland Security investigator. “These pills are widely available and often sold for dollars apiece on social media.”
On April 1, Snapchat issued a statement that detailed their efforts to flush out drug-related content and announced steps to curb illegal activity, saying they have “zero tolerance” for the promotion of illegal drugs on its platform.
Sofia Christoff said she carries the weight of her near-death experience everyday.
“’I’m the one that came back like, why me? So I’m just trying to have the mindset that I’m here, and I was a lucky one, and I gotta make it worth it,” said Christoff.
Sofia Christoff is now enjoying her junior year of high school and said she’s looking forward to being back on the field with her softball team next season. Her father is now on a mission to educate other teens and parents on the dangers of drug use and carries Narcan wherever he goes.
“I would want people to see that it can happen to even someone like Sofia, to even their daughter, to even their son,” he said. “Even [to] people you think you know it is the least likely to happen to, it can happen.”
Last month, Ryan Christoff and his now 17-year-old daughter visited the Lafayette Police Department to meet Sergeant David Cohen again, six months after his quick actions saved a life. After both giving him giant hugs of gratitude, Ryan Christoff gave the officer a framed picture of his daughter saying, “that’s her celebrating her birthday which she was only able to experience because of you.”
The Weeknd is heading to Coachella with his “Moth to a Flame” collaborators Swedish House Mafia, taking over for Kanye West, who bowed out on Monday. The music festival unveiled its new lineup Wednesday. The Weeknd will take over the Sunday night performances on April 17 and 24. Harry Styles is also a headliner.
Gwen Stefani says she is “so into” her marriage with Blake Shelton, telling Ellen DeGeneres on her show, “He’s my best friend. He’s so much fun.” She explained Blake wasn’t at the taping because he’s “literally on the tractor right now turning dirt for me.” The “Sweet Escape” singer revealed she’s “planting seeds” in her garden soon, which includes daffodils, tulips, zinnias, wildflowers and more.
Taylor Swift‘s fans want so badly to see her speak and earn her doctorate from New York University, they’re bribing NYU students for their graduation tickets. The student-run blog, The Click, claims some fans are saying they’ll pay $500 a pop. NYU has now barred the sale of graduation tickets, saying students caught breaking the rules will face disciplinary measures, including “delayed issuance of a degree or diploma.”
Speaking of Taylor, pal Camila Cabello called her an “emo queen.” Camila revealed to U.K.’s Hits Radio the artists that took over her playlist, saying she loves “getting in my feels.” The “Bam Bam” singer added she would “love to collab” with Taylor.
Lady Gaga isn’t one to clap back at fans, but she felt this comment warranted a correction. When reminiscing about winning her first Grammy for “Poker Face,” a fan commented, “I miss the person in the picture so much” — a reference to Gaga’s pop era. The House of Gucci star wrote back, along with an upside down smiling emoji, “I’m still here. See you at the Chromatica ball.”
Billie Eilish wasn’t bummed that Happier Than Ever missed out on the Album of the Year Grammy, says winner Jon Batiste. He told Stephen Colbert that, prior to his album We Are being announced as the category’s winner on Sunday, Billie and her brother FINNEAS turned around in their seats and told him, “We really hope you win this one.”
Lady Gaga isn’t one to clap back at fans, but she felt this comment warranted a correction. When reminiscing about winning her first Grammy for “Poker Face,” a fan commented, “I miss the person in the picture so much” — a reference to Gaga’s pop era. The House of Gucci star wrote back, along with an upside down smiling emoji, “I’m still here. See you at the Chromatica ball.”
Gwen Stefani says she is “so into” her marriage with Blake Shelton, telling Ellen DeGenereson her show, “He’s my best friend. He’s so much fun.” She explained Blake wasn’t at the taping because he’s “literally on the tractor right now turning dirt for me.” The “Sweet Escape” singer revealed she’s “planting seeds” in her garden soon, which includes daffodils, tulips, zinnias, wildflowers and more.
Taylor Swift‘s fans are so desperate to see her speak and earn her doctorate from New York University, they’re practically bribing NYU students for their graduation tickets. The student-run blog, The Click, claims some fans are saying they’ll pay $500 a pop. NYU has now barred the sale of graduation tickets, saying students caught breaking the rules will face disciplinary measures, including “delayed issuance of a degree or diploma.”
Speaking of Taylor, pal Camila Cabello called her an “emo queen.” Camila revealed to U.K.’s Hits Radio the artists that took over her playlist, saying she loves “getting in my feels.” The “Bam Bam” singer added she would “love to collab” with Taylor.
