(WASHINGTON) — Congress is set to address security at historically Black colleges and universities in the wake of dozens of high-profile bomb threats.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing Thursday featuring HBCU students alongside FBI and Department of Education officials.
The hearing aims to explore how the government can help to improve campus security and prevent domestic terrorism.
The campuses of at least 36 HBCUs, as well as other universities, have been targeted and at least 18 of these colleges and universities were targeted on Feb. 1 — the first day of Black History Month.
More than one-third of the nation’s 101 historically Black academic institutions have been threatened.
The FBI announced that the threats were being investigated as “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes” and stated that the investigation was of the “highest priority.”
No bombs have been found on any of the campuses. Several persons of interest have been identified, according to the FBI, but no one has been arrested.
These threats came as hate crimes against Black Americans are on the rise, increasing by nearly 50% between 2019 and 2020, according to the FBI.
Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that targeted HBCUs will be eligible for new grant funding for additional campus security tools.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have also met with HBCU leaders on tools they can use to strengthen campus safety.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Charlotte 116, Atlanta 106
Denver 127, Washington 109
Philadelphia 118, Cleveland 114
New York 128, Portland 98
Dallas 113, Brooklyn 111
Phoenix 129, Houston 112
Minnesota 124, LA Lakers 104
San Antonio 122, Oklahoma City 120
Utah 125, Chicago 110
Boston 110, Golden State 88
Milwaukee 135, Sacramento 126
Toronto 103, LA Clippers 100
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Columbus 4, Ottawa 1
Minnesota 4, Boston 2
Calgary 6, New Jersey 3
Tampa Bay 4, Seattle 1
After less than a week behind bars, Jussie Smollett was released from jail Wednesday.
The release comes after an appeals court, in a two-one decision, agreed that the former Empire star should be released on bond pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack.
Smollett’s attorneys had argued that he would have finished the sentence by the time the appeal process was completed and that Smollett could be in danger of physical harm if he remained locked up in Cook County Jail.
Smollett was let out on a personal recognizant bond of $150,000, which did not require him to put any money down, but he agrees to attend court as required.
The actor’s attorneys said the actor broke down when they gave him the news he’d be freed.
“He pushed his hands on the glass and he was, his eyes got teary and I’ve never seen that, because he’s been very strong in there,” said attorney Nenye Uche. “And he said, ‘I nearly lost hope in our constitutional system.'”
Last week, Smollett was sentenced to 30 months of probation for lying to police about staging a hate crime attack against himself in Chicago, with the first 150 days of the sentence in Cook County Jail. He spend a total of six nights in jail before his release.
A jury convicted Smollett in December on five felony counts of disorderly conduct — the charge filed when a person lies to police. He was acquitted on a sixth count.
(ATLANTA) — In the year since a gunman killed eight people at three Atlanta-based Asian-owned or operated spas, family members who lost a loved one say the pain is still fresh.
Robert Peterson, whose mother, Yong Ae Yue, 63, was the last person killed in the shooting spree while she was working at Aromatherapy Spa told ABC’s “Nightline” that he still can’t get that day out of his head, but he continues to push through.
“I have no choice but to heal,” he said.
Peterson and others in the AAPI community said their anguish has only been compounded with the rise in anti-Asian crimes and rhetoric taking place across the country. Advocates said these incidents are becoming a wake-up call to the community to make a stand against racism.
Watch “Nightline’s” full episode on the anniversary of the Atlanta spa shooting Wednesday night at 12:35 a.m. ET on ABC.
On March 16, 2021, Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54, were killed at Young’s Asian Massage near the Atlanta suburb of Woodstock in Cherokee County, police said. Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; and Yue were shot and killed a short time later at Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa in Fulton County, according to police.
Police arrested Robert Aaron Long shortly after the shootings. He claimed he didn’t target his victims based on their race, but instead said he was dealing with sex addiction. Capt. Jay Baker, a spokesperson for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, came under fire after he claimed Long had a “really bad day” during a news conference following his arrest. Baker was soon replaced as the police spokesperson for the case.
Peterson said he was hurt when the authorities downplayed the race of the victims even though six out of the eight people killed were Asian women.
“He got the benefit of the doubt when these victims did not. They were persecuted. They were negatively judged. They were stigmatized,” Peterson said.
Randy Park, Grant’s son, told ABC’s “Nightline” that his mother rarely talked about her job at Gold Spa because of the stigma.
Park, 23, said Grant worked long hours to provide for him and his brother Eric, 21, and always made sure that they were safe. Park said he still misses his mother’s nightly check-ins.
“Around 9 to midnight rolls around, when we would get those calls,” Park told ABC News, “my soul feels just kind of silent, because I know I’m supposed to get that, but I can’t anymore.”
Long pleaded guilty to the four murders that took place in Cherokee County and will serve life in prison. Cherokee County District Attorney Shannon Wallace said that their investigation found no evidence of racial bias.
He is awaiting trial in Fulton County on murder charges, which he plead not guilty to in the fall. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she’d seek the death penalty and hate crime charges against Long.
Even though major cities saw a 261% increase of alleged hate crimes last year, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, very few hate crime charges are handed out by prosecutors. Law enforcement members and prosecutors have said getting key evidence that shows a suspect was motivated by racial bias is difficult.
Peterson said he believes Long has shown bias, and he hopes that prosecutors can find a way to convict him on hate crime charges.
“Before we could end racism, we have to be able to see it. We have to be able to call it out. We have to be able to label it,” he said. “If we don’t, then we allow the perpetrator to get away, absolving himself of accountability and responsibility.”
Peterson isn’t alone in this call for action. The spa murders sparked rallies, protests and calls for actions by lawmakers to crack down on anti-Asian crimes and the perpetrators.
Cam Ashling, the co-founder and chairwoman of the Atlanta-based non-profit Asian American Action Fund, told ABC News that the spa shootings were the tipping point of rising anti-Asian attacks, and many in the community began to rethink their initial reluctance to speak out.
“Asian people are not into, ‘Let’s all shine national media on my tragedy.’ We don’t want our suffering and our tragedy on video forever,” she said. “New immigrants don’t want to have attention on them. They feel like they’re supposed to hide and kind of let it pass.”
She added that Asians are still fighting an uphill battle as more Asian Americans have become targets of assaults and killings.
Last month, Christina Yuna Lee was stabbed to death in her Manhattan apartment after a suspect followed her home, police said. The city has seen other Asian women pushed in subways and assaulted in the street, according to police.
Special agent Jimena Noonan with the FBI’s Newark office has been investigating burglary rings that target Asian businesses and homeowners since 2019. She told ABC News that these types of crimes are also on the rise, adding that criminals are going as far as to stake out their victims’ businesses and homes, watching to see the homeowner is not home before breaking in.
She advised that concerned Asian business owners need to make sure the doors to their homes, businesses and cars are locked, and they should have security cameras installed on their properties.
“In addition to that, I recommend license plate recognition cameras, which help law enforcement tremendously in obtaining a better description of suspect vehicles that are used by these burglaries,” Noonan told ABC News.
In the meantime, elected officials have scrambled to address the rise in anti-Asian harassment and crimes. Last year, President Joe Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law.
The law directs the Justice Department to designate a point person to assist with expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes, provided guidance for state and local law enforcement agencies to establish online reporting of hate crimes in multiple languages and expanded “linguistically appropriate” public education campaigns.
Ashling said the political actions are a good start, but she believes it’s going to take more work before the Asian American community will feel safe. She urged more people to speak out and call on their lawmakers to enact change.
“If you do not get yourself together and become more outspoken and advocate for yourself, your family [and] your community, we will not have a community,” she said.
The Atlanta spa shooting victims’ families said at this point, they have no choice but to carry on and honor the memories of their loved ones.
Park, who said he’s received messages of support from people around the world, said he feels his mother’s spirit is still watching over him and his brother.
“It just feels like she’s basically pushing Eric and I along,” Park said.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Hours after an emotional address to Congress by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where he pleaded for a no-fly zone and more lethal U.S. aid, President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced the U.S. is increasing its supply of missiles, firearms, and now drones to Ukraine in a public display.
The White House has now detailed exactly what weaponry the U.S. is providing — when just weeks ago U.S. officials refused to say.
The message is meant to not only reassure Ukraine of strong U.S. support, but also send a message to Moscow that it will pay a bloody price for its invasion of its neighbor.
“The American people are answering President Zelenskyy’s call for more help, more weapons for Ukraine to defend itself, more tools to fight Russian aggression, and that’s what we’re doing,” Biden said in an address Wednesday.
That increase comes after intense pressure from Kyiv, as well as Washington, where lawmakers of both parties have urged Biden to escalate U.S. military support.
But the president has repeatedly cautioned against crossing certain lines, saying they would lead to “World War III.” Among them, the administration has ruled out implementing a no-fly zone, sending U.S. troops into Ukrainian territory, or having the U.S. directly provide Soviet-era warplanes from NATO allies like Poland.
Instead, Biden said that an initial tranche of $800 million — from the nearly $14 billion Congress approved in humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine — would include 800 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, 100 Switchblade drones, and 9,000 anti-armor missiles, including 2,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles.
The Switchblade drone is the newest form of lethal assistance — a small kamikaze-style drone launched from a tube that can track and attack armored targets.
Ukrainian armed forces have made powerful use of drones in their fight against invading Russian forces already, although some military analysts say the Switchblade is not powerful enough and the U.S. isn’t sending enough of them.
“The Switchblade is a capable system, but has its drawbacks compared to some more modern versions of ‘loitering munitions’… that you can return to base and re-use,” said retired Gen. Robert Abrams, former chief of U.S. Forces Korea and now an ABC News analyst.
To date, Ukraine has received thousands of Javelin missiles from the U.S. and other NATO allies, according to a U.S. official — including approximately 2,600 from the U.S., the White House announced Wednesday.
Javelins were once seen as too escalatory by the Obama administration to provide Ukraine after Russia first invaded its smaller, democratic neighbor in 2014, seizing the Crimean Peninsula and sparking a separatist war in the eastern provinces Donetsk and Luhansk.
Now, the White House is confirming not just the delivery of thousands of them, but of hundreds of Stinger missiles, too — something it wouldn’t confirm it was delivering even days into the war.
Still, there are many who say more must be done, from U.S. lawmakers to Ukrainian officials to leaders of NATO countries in the alliance’s eastern flank.
After meeting Zelenskyy in Kyiv, for example, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the powerful leader of Poland’s ruling party who serves as deputy prime minister, told reporters an international peacekeeping mission should be sent to Ukraine, with the means to defend itself.
U.S. officials have ruled that out, starting with Biden and stretching to include Republican lawmakers.
“[A] NATO no-fly zone seems to be a bridge too far for me and the administration,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
But he added that “there is bipartisan support for sending a package that includes fighter jets and air defense systems to Ukraine immediately so that we can have a Ukrainian no-fly zone manned by Ukrainian pilots and manned by missile systems in the hands of the Ukrainian military.”
The administration is consulting with U.S. allies that have more advanced missile systems than the shoulder-fired Stingers and Javelins that have been provided so far, according to State Department and Pentagon officials. In particular, there are talks to resupply Soviet-era or Russian-made missile systems, they said — such as the S-300 missile battery.
“Those are the systems on which they’re already using, the systems on which they’re already trained and have actually demonstrated great effect already,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters Wednesday.
Only three NATO allies have the S-300 — Greece, Bulgaria, and Slovakia. Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on Wednesday to his Greek counterpart, Dr. Thanos Dokos, including about “international efforts … to ensure Ukraine has the ability to defend itself,” the White House said.
But the Pentagon has rejected an idea from Poland to have Polish Soviet-era warplanes known as MiG-29s transferred to U.S. custody and then passed onto Ukraine, saying a U.S. intelligence assessment warned the move would be seen as too escalatory by the Kremlin.
“The equipment that we provided is defensive, as you know, not offensive, and we see that as being a difference,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.
To some, any lethal U.S. aid may be seen as crossing Putin’s red line after the strongman leader warned the world that countries interfering in his so-called “special military operation” would face “consequences you have never seen.”
U.S. officials have said they’re still encouraging other countries to provide warplanes directly, but lawmakers continue to press the White House to get involved, especially after Zelenskyy’s address.
“Never in the history of warfare have 28 planes meant so much to so many,” said Graham Wednesday.
Ukraine already has a fleet of MiG-29s that the Pentagon has said they are not using often in part because Russia has not dominated the country’s airspace.
In addition, fewer than half of Poland’s planes may be flyable, according to retired Gen. Joseph Ralston, the former commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe. The Soviet-era planes require spare parts from Russia — out of the question in the current conflict — and constant maintenance, although providing their spare parts to the Ukrainians now be helpful, he said.
“The MiG-29 issue has taken on more of a symbolic issue than it is a real-world issue,” Ralston said during an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
While the White House has publicly touted this aid in the midst of pressure to do more, it’s been very tight-lipped about how it is getting into Ukrainian hands. Russia has made clear that the delivery of military aid is a potential “target.”
“Pumping Ukraine with weapons from a number of countries orchestrated by them is not just a dangerous move, but these are actions that turn the corresponding convoys into legitimate targets,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state-run Channel One news agency.
A strike Sunday in western Ukraine, just 10 miles from the Polish border, has brought that risk home, killing 35 people and injuring more than 100.
“We have to act and act quickly. It’s not a matter of weeks, it’s a matter of hours and days,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report from the Pentagon and Trish Turner from Capitol Hill.
Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell has premiered a video for “Siren Song,” a track off his new solo album, Brighten.
The animated clip finds a cartoon version of Cantrell making a long journey across the harsh wilderness, with a supernatural element thrown in, as well.
“I had a great time working with the very talented Nate Merritt and Josh Richman on this video to bring ‘Siren Song’ to life through animation,” Cantrell says. “Nate’s imagery is beautiful and impactful, a perfect visual companion to the music that tells the story I started out with, and travels far beyond it. A true collaborative effort, great work guys.”
You can watch the “Siren Song” video streaming now on YouTube.
Brighten, Cantrell’s first solo album in nearly 20 years, was released last October. Cantrell launches a tour behind the record March 24 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Alice in Chains, meanwhile, will hit the road in August on a tour with Breaking Benjamin and Bush.
(NEW YORK) — Throughout the pandemic, several professional and collegiate sports leagues cancelled major events and seasons, in part to slow the spread of COVID-19, but also due to alarming reports of athletes developing a syndrome called myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — following a COVID-19 infection.
After two years of research, the American College of Cardiology released guidance Tuesday that states the incidence of heart inflammation among athletes after COVID-19 is lower than originally thought, but they still suggest a step-by-step plan to help competitive athletes and weekend warriors alike that will help them safely return to their activities.
“For athletes recovering from COVID-19 with ongoing cardiopulmonary symptoms … further evaluation should be performed before resuming exercise,” the ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway, which was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, states. “For all others who are asymptomatic or with symptoms less suggestive of a cardiopulmonary etiology … additional cardiac testing is not recommended.”
Evolving science
Doctors were performing “very rigorous testing searching for myocarditis” early in the pandemic, Dr. Tamanna Singh, co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Sports Cardiology Center, who was not involved in the new guidance, told ABC News, noting that, at the time, they were worried that the incidence of myocarditis “was going to be much higher than it actually was.”
Back in September 2020, when much was still unknown about COVID-19, researchers at Ohio State University examined 26 athletes following a mild COVID-19 infection that did not require hospitalization. Myocarditis was found in 15% of the athletes, while 30% had developed a scar on their heart, raising a sense of uncertainty surrounding the safety of athletes returning to play following an infection.
“While the data on cardiomyopathy is preliminary and incomplete, the uncertain risk was unacceptable at this time,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren wrote in an August 2020 open letter on the decision to cancel the college conference’s 2020-2021 fall sports season.
But over time, it was discovered that the incidence appears to be much lower than first thought.
“Many conferences, including the Big Ten, were doing cardiac MRIs on every athlete who recovered from COVID, and what they found was that the incidence of serious MRI abnormalities was very low, on the order of 1 to 2%,” said Dr. Nicole Bhave, a cardiologist and echocardiographer at the University of Michigan and a co-chair of the committee that released this new guidance.
Typical rates for myocarditis involvement in athletes is “very low, with rates typically being around 0.6 to 0.7%,” Singh said.
While experts’ understanding of COVID-19 evolves, it is clear that many patients continue to have symptoms, obvious or subtle, following infection. And while not every athlete with COVID-19 will experience myocarditis, it’s dangerous enough to make doctors take notice.
“Myocarditis is a very rare but serious complication of COVID,” Bhave said. “Patients with COVID myocarditis really should be managed at a high-level center [with the proper equipment], because these patients can go south fast.”
Guidance for athletes
The new ACC guidance suggests that it is safe for athletes with no symptoms from COVID-19 to return to exercise three days following self-isolation. For those with mild symptoms not involving the heart or lungs, it is safe to return to exercise once symptoms resolve.
Athletes suffering from persistent chest pain, palpitations or passing out require further cardiac testing. If the findings are concerning for myocarditis, the ACC recommends abstinence from exercise for three to six months.
“We don’t think that a routine MRI is needed for everyone who has had COVID before they start exercising again,” Bhave said.
If an athlete has persistent symptoms, Bhave said, “One of the recommendations that we’re making in the document is that people engage in recumbent exercise, so rather than trying to walk, doing something where they’re actually sitting down, so that orthostatic intolerance [the inability to tolerate quick movements] isn’t a big deal.”
For athletes who experience long-haul COVID-19 symptoms, the recovery process can be frustrating.
“You’re essentially seeing someone who has had a decade and a half, maybe even two decades, of unrestricted sports participation and unlimited exercise capacity who now has severe limitations,” Singh said. “They’re losing not only their physical connection to self, but also their social connection to their community, which can be really mentally devastating.”
Singh and Bhave both said that re-introduction of exercise following infection should be gradual, starting with small amounts and increasing frequency, duration and intensity as tolerated.
“It’s important as physicians to say, ‘Hey, I’m here with you, and I know you’re still not back to where you were. I share your frustration and I’m not going to abandon you,'” Bhave said. “We still have a lot to learn, and I think that’s a message that is very helpful to patients who are feeling frustrated.”
Nicholas P. Kondoleon, M.D., is an internal medicine resident at Cleveland Clinic and a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.
Fan favorite Norman Reedus is “recovering well” after suffering a concussion on the set of The Walking Dead.
That’s the word from his rep, Jeffrey Chassen, who tells Page Six that the actor, who plays Daryl Dixon on the long-running AMC series, suffered a head injury on March 11 on the show’s Georgia set.
Chassen thanked fans for their concern, and noted that Reedus “will return to work soon.”
An AMC source told ABC Audio that the mishap will bump The Walking Dead‘s wrap date by a few days.
It was recently announced that Reedus’ crossbow-wielding survivor will join co-star Melissa McBride, who plays Carol Peletier, in their own as-yet-untitled TWD spin-off.
Britney Spears has vanished from Instagram, with no warning nor explanation. A Wednesday afternoon check of her profile, which boasted 40 million followers, returns a blank page. Britney used her Instagram to speak out against her father, share her thoughts on motherhood and more. Britney’s other socials, like Twitter, are still active at last check.
Ed Sheeran is going Down Under! The “Shivers” singer is taking his Mathematics Tour to Australia and New Zealand starting February 2023. His previous tour in 2018 sold over a million tickets and shattered a record for the highest-grossing tour for the region.
Sara Bareilles is teasing a possible new album. Taking to Instagram to share a photo of her dog wistfully looking outside through a glass door pane, she wrote, “Album cover?” Josh Groban joined Sara’s fans in urging her to do it. Sara’s last studio album was 2019’s Amidst the Chaos.
The Chainsmokers are headlining the Badlands Music Festival, which runs from July 7 through July 17. The “High” artists will take the stage in Calgary, Alberta on July 13 and 14th. Tickets go on sale Thursday, March 17, at 1 p.m. ET on the event’s official website.
Charlie XCX knows exactly who she wants in her next music video — Uncut Gems star Julia Fox. The “Boom Clap” singer replied to a fan asking if the two would collab, to which Charlie responded, “i actually texted someone about the idea of Julia Fox starring as the lead in my next music video. i am obsessed w her. she is legend.”
Miley Cyrus threw it back to 2008 by recently performing her song “Fly on the Wall.” She shared a video of her performing her hit with a full band, but her vocals were muted. Fans are begging for a re-release.
David Byrne will present a special benefit performance called American Utopia Farewell! on March 30, just a few days before his acclaimed stage production, David Byrne’s American Utopia, is scheduled to close at the St. James Theatre on Broadway.
Proceeds raised will benefit the former Talking Heads frontman’s non-profit organization Arbutus, a foundation “dedicated to re-imagining the world through projects that inspire and educate.”
Tickets for the event, which are available now at Eventbrite.com, include seating in the theater’s orchestra section, entry to a post-performance Q&A with Byrne and some special guests, and a gift bag. Those who purchase VIP tickets also will receive a signed copy of David’s new book, A History of the World (in Dingbats), and a vinyl LP of the David Byrne’s American Utopia original cast recording.
In addition, Arbutus has teamed up with social impact platform Propeller to offer fans who donate $5 or more the opportunity to win two premium tickets to the event. You can enter at Propeller.la.
Byrne has two current projects associated with Arbutus — the Reasons to Be Cheerful online magazine, which features stories meant to uplift and and inspire people, and David’s recently announced immersive theater piece Theater of the Mind, which will premiere August 31 in Denver.
“I created American Utopia with the seeds of curiosity and imagination, and those same seeds are why I founded Arbutus,” says Byrne in a statement. “The proceeds from the event on March 30th will allow Arbutus to continue our work at Reasons to be Cheerful and our world premiere of Theater of the Mind, hopefully making the world a little lighter and a little brighter.”
The last performance of David Byrne’s American Utopia is scheduled for April 3. Visit AmericanUtopiaBroadway.com for more information.
