Today is
Saturday April 27, 2024
(LONDON) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with President Xi Jinping of China on Friday following a meeting with Director of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to the U.S. State Department.
Blinken, in his remarks, described the first meeting with Wang Yi as "extensive and constructive."
"The two sides had in-depth, substantive, and constructive discussions about areas of difference as well as areas of cooperation as part of responsibly managing competition between the United States and the PRC," according to Spokesperson Matthew Miller of the U.S. State Department. "The Secretary discussed concerns about PRC support to the Russian defense industrial base, the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, PRC activities in the South China Sea, and the need to avoid further escalation in the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula."
Following up on the Woodside Summit between President Joe Biden and President Xi last November, Blinken and Wang Yi discussed "next steps on a range of commitments made by the two leaders on advancing cooperation on counternarcotics, military-to-military communication, talks on artificial intelligence risks and safety, and facilitating people-to-people exchanges," officials said.
Blinken emphasized that the U.S. will continue to stand up for our interests and values and those of America's allies and partners, including on human rights and economic issues.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. military has begun to build the long-awaited port and causeway off the coast of Gaza that will establish a maritime corridor to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Pentagon said Thursday.
"I can confirm that U.S. military vessels, to include the USNS Benavidez, have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary, told reporters, referring to the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, system floating pier delivery system.
"We are aware of the significant interest in this important effort and will provide much more information in the very near future as we work alongside the international community to rush aid to the people of Gaza," he added.
The Pentagon has estimated that, when operational, the pier would complement the existing land crossings for aid into Gaza and could provide as many as two million meals per day to Gaza.
Satellite photos taken by Planet Lab show construction work that has begun to be built in the land area where the causeway will be moored so trucks loaded with aid can get access inside Gaza.
Marine traffic websites show the USNS Roy Benavidez operating off the coast of Gaza, where it has begun the construction of the floating platform by which supplies will be offloaded from civilian cargo ships. The additional ships that will support the floating pier are en route to Gaza from Crete, Greece, where they had been docked after making a trans-Atlantic voyage to the eastern Mediterranean.
A senior U.S. military official who briefed reporters on Thursday said that the construction of the JLOTS landing platform began on Thursday several miles off the shore of Gaza.
"We are on track to begin delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza from the sea in early May," said the official, who added that once operational the JLOTS pier will be able to handle about 90 trucks a day and then quickly build up to 150 trucks worth of humanitarian aid.
"This additional throughput from the sea represents a significant increase of life-saving aid," the official said.
The plan is that humanitarian assistance from aid agencies will eventually make its way to the JLOTS platform and floating causeway after first being screened, palletized, and prepared for delivery in Cyprus, 200 miles away from Gaza.
The senior U.S. military official explained that the aid would then be unloaded at a floating platform located miles offshore. Then, there will be smaller watercraft each aboard carrying five trucks that will be offloaded onto the floating causeway or pier that will be anchored to the shore, the official said.
Those trucks will drop off their cargo in a secure area for future distribution and constantly repeat that process in a regular back and forth to the floating platform, the official said.
The truck drivers will not be U.S. military personnel or American contractors, the official said, but from an undisclosed country who are not Americans and who will have their own security.
Hundreds of U.S. soldiers and sailors who will build JLOTS and keep it operating will live and sleep aboard the British naval ship Cardigan Bay that will be located miles offshore, the official said.
The Biden administration has repeatedly said that there will be no U.S. "boots on the ground," but that restriction does not apply to other personnel supporting the JLOTS mission who will be working in Israel.
With no U.S. forces on the ground to anchor the floating platform to the beach in Gaza, a U.S. Army engineering unit partnered with a similar IDF unit to train them on how to anchor it to the beach on "day one." That training occurred on an Israeli beach "just up the coast," said the senior military official.
In addition, U.S. military personnel will be working side-by-side with Israeli Defense Forces personnel at a coordination cell established at Hatzor airbase in Ashdod, Israel that is being run by a three-star U.S. general.
Another coordination cell, run by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has been established in Cyprus to organize the logistics of the flow of aid that will be delivered to Gaza through the maritime corridor.
Earlier on Thursday, a mortar attack in the general vicinity of where the pier will be located near Gaza City raised concerns about the security for the JLOTS mission that U.S. officials have long acknowledged will be provided by the Israeli military.
"It's important also to highlight that this occurred before any U.S. forces have started moving anything," said Ryder, who noted that "there is no U.S. equipment per se in this marshaling yard" that will be the future location of distributing aid offloaded via JLOTS.
The senior military official told reporters that the mortar attack has been assessed to have had nothing to do with the JLOTS mission and that security around the location struck will be "far more robust" when it is up and running.
"Force protection is our number one priority," said the senior U.S. military official, who explained that Israel has committed a brigade of thousands of soldiers plus Israeli Navy ships and aircraft flying above that will protect American forces off-shore and the landing and distribution centers ashore.
The official said the U.S. military assesses that the security at the chosen location for the floating platform "is sufficient to support execution of the mission," though any final decision will be left up to the commander of U.S. Central Command.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(LONDON and GAZA) -- In a desperate search for missing loved ones, Gazans have been gathering in the hundreds at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, where emergency workers are on the fifth day of exhuming bodies from mass graves found on the hospital grounds.
"The hospital smells of rotting corpses. I cannot stand here for long," Ahlam Salama, a 43-year-old mother who went to the hospital to find her son, told ABC News.
"We are all mothers here searching for our children," she said, holding back tears and pointing to the other women who had gathered at the hospital.
Salama is among the hundreds of people who have assembled at Nasser Hospital, hoping for news about missing family and friends.
The Hamas-run Civil Defense Service gave a press conference Thursday saying it had recovered 392 bodies from the hospital grounds and had identified three mass grave sites. Officials said they have so far only been able to identify 42% of the bodies.
ABC News has been unable to independently verify these claims, so little is known for certain at this point about the reports of mass graves, including what happened, when it happened and who may be responsible. White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said Tuesday that the reports are "deeply concerning," but that the White House is not in a place to validate them.
When asked, Kirby further said he "wouldn't expect a U.S. investigation" into the reports of mass graves and the alleged involvement of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but added that the White House will speak with their Israeli counterparts about what they know.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Wednesday called the reports of mass graves in Gaza "deeply disturbing," and said that the U.S. has been in touch with the Israeli government on the matter, at multiple levels.
"We want answers. We want to understand exactly what happened. You've seen some public commentary from the IDF on that, but we want to know the specifics of what the circumstances on this were, and we want to see this thoroughly and transparently investigated so that the whole world can have a comprehensive answer and we the United States can have as well," Sullivan said, adding that he could not comment beyond that.
During Thursday's press conference, the Civil Defense said "there are indications of suspicions of carrying out field executions against some of them, or suspicions of physical torture being practiced, and other suspicions of burying a number of them alive."
"We appeal to the secretary-general of the United Nations and international institutions to form an independent international investigation committee to investigate crimes of genocide," a Civil Defense spokesperson said. "We are ready to participate in any impartial or human rights international committees to prove crimes against humanity."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a strong statement Wednesday, denying that it was in any way responsible for the mass graves.
"Any attempt to blame Israel for burying civilians in mass graves is categorically false and a mere example of a disinformation campaign aimed at delegitimizing Israel," the statement said. "Misinformation is circulating regarding a mass grave that was discovered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis [sic]. The grave in question was dug â by Gazans â a few months ago."
The IDF withdrew from Khan Younis in early April. Since then, people have been returning to the area to search for the bodies of loved ones, hoping to give them a proper burial. During the fighting in and around the Nasser Hospital complex, which occurred in January and February, social media videos from the time appeared to show that bodies were immediately buried on the hospital grounds, since it was unsafe to take them to cemeteries during the conflict.
"I am here for the third day looking for my son among these bodies buried in the sand, a scene that makes hearts cry," Salama told ABC News, explaining that her 25-year-old son, Saleh, has been missing since January.
"From that time until now, I know nothing about him, but many told me that he might have been killed by army bullets," she said.
"I told the Civil Defense that I have a son here who is missing. Perhaps they will find him," Salma added, lamenting that she cannot remember what her son was wearing to help identify his body.
"He wears a ring on his finger with a letter on it," Salama explained. "Perhaps I will find him and bury him so that I can know his grave and visit him always."
"I saw the ugliest pictures as if I were in a nightmare. I cannot believe that dozens here have been buried for months and no one knows anything about them and no one tried to save them," Salama said. "I constantly lose consciousness while watching the bodies emerging from the ground. The men here do not stop searching for the dead in the sand."
The IDF stormed Nasser Hospital at the end of February, telling ABC News in a statement Tuesday that "IDF forces conducted a precise and targeted operation against the terrorist organization Hamas in the Nasser Hospital area."
However, Hamas is accusing the IDF of war crimes, saying that some of the exhumed corpses show signs of execution.
"The Israeli army soldiers stripped dozens of patients, displaced persons, and medical personnel naked before executing them in cold blood by firing squad," Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas government's media office, said in a statement released Sunday.
Hamas also called for the International Criminal Court to investigate the IDF's alleged actions. "We call on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate this massacre committed by the occupation army in the Nasser Complex and also the Shifa Complex, in all its details, whether against the headquarters of the two complexes or against the citizens, displaced, and the medical and journalistic personnel inside them," the militant group said in a statement released Sunday.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said he is "horrified by the destruction of Al Nasser Medical Complex and Al Shifa Medical Complex and the reported discovery of mass graves in and around these locations," his spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, told reporters Tuesday.
"He calls for independent, effective, and transparent investigations into the deaths," Shamdasani said.
The U.N. said it has not been able to independently verify the claims being made about the bodies with their hands tied or handcuffed, but called for an international investigation.
"Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators. Hospitals themselves are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime," Shamdasani added.
Similarly, the European Union on Wednesday backed the U.N. call for an independent investigation.
"This is something that forces us to call for an independent investigation of all the suspicions and all the circumstances because indeed it creates the impression that there might have been violations of international human rights committed," EU spokesman Peter Stano said. "That's why it's important to have independent investigation and to ensure accountability."
After intense fighting at both complexes, the IDF largely destroyed both the Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals, two of Gaza's most important medical centers. The IDF maintains Hamas fighters were using the hospitals as command centers and shelters, something medical personnel at both hospitals have denied.
"Some of the bodies were found to be women, elderly, and also wounded, while some were handcuffed and stripped of their clothes, indicating that they were executed with cold blood," Hamas said in its statement.
The Israeli military refuted these claims in the statement given to ABC News, declaring, "The claim that the IDF buried Palestinian bodies is baseless and unfounded," and asserting that it had exhumed bodies while looking for Israeli hostages.
It's been more than six months since Hamas militants entered Israel in a surprise terror attack on Oct. 7, killing over 1,200 people and abducting some 250 hostages, according to Israeli officials. Israel responded with a retaliatory attack against Hamas and has been operating in Gaza since, searching for the estimated 100 remaining hostages. At least 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which says the majority of which were women and children.
The IDF consistently maintains it is acting within the parameters of international law.
"During the IDF's operation in the area of Nasser Hospital, in accordance to the effort to locate hostages and missing persons, corpses buried by Palestinians in the area of Nasser Hospital were examined," the Israeli military statement said.
"The examination was conducted in a careful manner and exclusively in places where intelligence indicated the possible presence of hostages. The examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased. Bodies examined, which did not belong to Israeli hostages, were returned to their place," the statement further said.
ABC News spoke to a grandmother who had been waiting at Nasser Hospital for hours, hoping to hear news of her grandson.
"Since the morning hours, while I have been here, I have not stopped searching with my eyes for my grandson, Salem, the beautiful young man of 20 years old," Raeda Subeih, 60, from Khan Younis, told ABC News.
Subeih said she had been sheltering at the hospital with her family when the Israeli army called on everyone to evacuate. She left, but her grandson stayed, saying he wanted to look after an injured friend.
"His friend told us that the army had arrested many young men in the hospital, including Salem, when he went out in the hospital yard. Since that time, we have not spoken to him. When the army withdrew, I came here to look for him," Subeih said.
Subeih said she had been watching the bodies being exhumed from the ground. "Many bodies were handcuffed. I was looking at them to see if I might find my grandson," she said. "Many skulls here, decomposing bodies. Here, everyone talks about the tragedy we saw."
ABC News' Noah Minnie and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(NEW YORK) -- Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran on Friday, a senior U.S. official told ABC News. The strike followed Iran's April 13 attack, when Tehran sent a volley of more than 300 drones and missiles toward targets in Israel, according to Israeli military officials.
Iran's attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of Gaza.
Here's how the news is developing:
Apr 25, 7:08 PM
US pier in Gaza on track to begin humanitarian assistance in early May
A senior U.S. military official shared an update on the temporary pier intended to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza in a briefing for Pentagon reporters Thursday.
"We are on track to begin delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza from the sea in early May," the military official said.
Once operational, the U.S. expects the pier will be able to handle about 90 trucks a day and then quickly build up to 150 trucks worth of humanitarian aid, the official added.
The official explained how the flow of aid will be transferred via the pier, saying, supplies will be unloaded onto a floating platform located miles off the Gaza shore and then a smaller watercraft carrying five trucks will be offloaded onto the floating pier that will be anchored to the shore.
From there, the trucks will drop off their cargo in a secure area for future distribution and constantly repeat that process, according to the official.
The truck drivers will not be U.S. military personnel but the drivers, from an undisclosed country, will have their own security, according to the official.
Apr 25, 3:16 PM
US begins building pier off coast of Gaza: Pentagon
The U.S. military has begun to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to help deliver humanitarian aid, the Pentagon's top spokesperson confirmed at a press briefing Thursday.
"We are aware of the significant interest in this important effort and will provide much more information in the very near future as we work alongside the international community to rush aid to the people of Gaza," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.
In the wake of a mortar attack in the general vicinity of where the pier is located near Gaza City earlier Thursday, Ryder said the pier and causeway are being built miles offshore and are "nowhere near mortar range."
The incident "in no way delays our efforts to establish the maritime corridor," Ryder said.
The pier should be ready to off-load humanitarian aid from ships by early May, he said.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
Apr 25, 9:34 AM
US, 17 other countries call for immediate release of hostages
President Joe Biden and the leaders of 17 other countries -- Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand and the U.K. -- are calling for the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in a new statement released Thursday.
âThe fate of the hostages and the civilian population in Gaza, who are protected under international law, is of international concern," they said in a statement released Thursday. "We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged cease-fire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities."
"Gazans would be able to return to their homes and their lands with preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions. We strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts in order to bring our people home. We reiterate our call on Hamas to release the hostages, and let us end this crisis so that collectively we can focus our efforts on bringing peace and stability to the region," the statement read.
Apr 25, 7:45 AM
Video of kidnapped son brings 'total mix' of emotions, say parents of Hamas hostage
The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas more than six months ago, felt a "total mix of emotions" when a new video of their son was released on Wednesday.
"First and foremost, just a huge sense of relief and gratitude to both see him and hear him. Something about that multi-sensory was really overwhelming. He's alive," Jon Polin, his father, said in an interview on ABC News' Good Morning America on Thursday. "Assuming this video is current, which we believe it is, he's alive."
A video released on Wednesday on a Hamas-run Telegram channel showed a man who identified himself as Goldberg-Polin, a 24-year-old American who was captured at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7.
In the heavily edited video, the Israeli-American hostage asks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to continue working to secure the release of the hostages.
Rachel Goldberg, his mother, she said on Thursday she couldn't pay attention to the words her son was saying when she first watched the new video.
"I wasn't even listening to the content, I was just hearing my only son's voice. Seeing him move and try to look into his eyes," she said. "Any parent, anyone, anyone who has parents, can imagine after 201 days, more than half a year of doubt and fear and angst and trauma to have that, it was very bittersweet. And it was truly overwhelming."
Goldberg-Polin's parents in a GMA interview in October described their son as a "curious" and a "laid-back person."
Goldberg said at the time that her mantra had become, "Stay strong, survive. Stay strong, survive."
She repeated that mantra on Thursday.
"We love you, stay strong, survive," she said. "And I definitely, you know, more than ever, after seeing him and seeing that he is clearly medically compromised, medically fragile, that is my continued plea to him, to his soul."
Apr 24, 6:25 PM
New video claims to show American hostage in Gaza
A video showing a man who identifies himself as Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 24-year-old American who was captured at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, and made under duress, was released Wednesday on a Hamas-run Telegram channel.
According to the video, his left arm has been amputated at the forearm. Goldberg-Polin suffered a serious injury to that arm before being captured, his parents told ABC News in an interview in Israel just days after the attack. His family said Wednesday they wanted the video and its message published.
In the heavily edited video made under duress, he denounces Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to secure the release of the hostages.
It is unclear when the video was filmed. In the video, he makes reference to a holiday and says he has been held for nearly 200 days.
"Hirsch's cry is the cry of all the abductees - their time is up! The State of Israel has no more time to waste, the abductees must be put first, without them the State of Israel will have no resurrection and no victory. All must be brought home - the living for rehabilitation, the murdered for a dignified burial," a spokesperson for the Hostage Release Center said in a statement Wednesday.
Apr 24, 12:06 PM
Gaza could surpass famine thresholds in six weeks, WFP official says
The World Food Programme warns that famine in the Gaza Strip is getting closer by the day and it could surpass famine thresholds of food insecurity, malnutrition and mortality in six weeks, according to an official.
"We estimate 30% of children below age of two is now acutely malnourished or wasted, and 70% of the population in the north is facing catastrophic hunger. There is reasonable evidence that all three famine thresholds -- food insecurity, malnutrition, mortality -- will be passed in the next six weeks," said Gian Carlo Cirri, the director of the World Food Programme's Geneva office.
"The conflict makes it so difficult and sometimes impossible to reach affected people that as humanitarians we usually don't -- for humanitarian principles, to abide to those principles -- we don't call for ceasefire. On these two contexts, we have no other choice than asking for a ceasefire. This is the only way for us as humanitarians, as World Food Programme, to access these people that are in acute needs," he said.
Apr 23, 5:29 PM
Highest number of trucks since Oct. 7 entered Gaza Tuesday: UNRWA
More than 310 aid trucks entered Gaza Tuesday, the highest number of aid vehicles that have entered Gaza since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
"It needs now to be sustained & further increased," the agency said in a statement.
The UNRWA, which has been critical of the aid effort in Gaza, reiterated its calls for increased access for humanitarian groups to prevent famine in the region.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Apr 23, 3:22 PM
State Department: Time to move past 'counting trucks' in Gaza
Israel has dramatically increased the flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza, allowing on average 200 aid trucks a day, with some days as many as 400 trucks getting through, according to a top U.S. official.
Now, the focus needs to move beyond "counting trucks" and instead look to ensure the right supplies are being distributed throughout Gaza, according to David Satterfield, the State Departmentâs special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues.
"Our first priority was -- because it had to be -- averting famine," Satterfield told reporters on Tuesday. "But we now need to move on beyond that goal to addressing the true needs: sanitation, availability of medicines, availability of potable water, the specialized care required for these vulnerable populations."
The United Nations this week is conducting a more detailed assessment on the needs for the civilian population, Satterfield said.
He said the U.N. needs more trucks that are cleared by the Israeli military to operate inside Gaza. He also said the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel and an additional northern crossing must become accessible.
"Our work is focused every day, every hour, on seeing continuous progress made," he said.
Apr 23, 11:36 AM
Israel responds to report released on UNRWA
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, is claiming that more than 2,135 workers at UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, are members of Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
"Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA so deeply that it is no longer possible to determine where UNRWA ends and where Hamas begins," Erdan said. "Israel calls on the donor countries to refrain from transferring their taxpayers' money to UNRWA-Gaza, as these funds will go to the Hamas terrorist organization, and that violates legislation in the donor countries themselves."
This comes after an independent review of UNRWA released on Monday found the agency had policies in place to back up its principle of neutrality, but also found UNRWA had "serious gaps in implementation," The Associated Press reported. The report made recommendations to improve the agencyâs neutrality.
The report also found that Israel hadnât provided evidence to back up its claim that a significant number of UNRWA employees were members of Hamas or PIJ, the AP said.
Apr 23, 11:33 AM
IDF denies mass grave claims
The Israel Defense Forces has denied accusations from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry that they buried at least 283 bodies in a mass grave near Nasser Hospital in Gaza.
"The claim that the IDF buried Palestinian bodies is baseless and unfounded,â the IDF said in a statement. "During the IDFâs operation in the area of Nasser Hospital, in accordance to the effort to locate hostages and missing persons, corpses buried by Palestinians in the area of Nasser Hospital were examined."
"The examination was conducted in a careful manner and exclusively in places where intelligence indicated the possible presence of hostages," the IDF said. "Bodies examined, which did not belong to Israeli hostages, were returned to their place."
Apr 22, 3:11 PM
Iran calls Israelâs attack 'harassment' that 'caused no damage whatsoever'
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani called Israelâs retaliatory strike against Iran last week "harassment" that has "caused no damage whatsoever."
"In our opinion, this issue is not worthy of addressing," Kanaani said Monday.
Apr 22, 2:58 PM
State Department considers Gaza a 'severe humanitarian crisis'
The State Department has released its annual assessment of human rights across the globe.
The U.S. assessed that Israelis have killed or injured nearly 80,000 Palestinians in Gaza -- accounting for 3% of the population.
The State Department stressed that Israel "must conduct military operations in accordance with international law and take every feasible precaution to protect civilians."
"We continue to urgently raise concerns surrounding the deaths of and injuries to tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, including women, children, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable persons," the U.S. said. "We repeatedly have pressed concerns about Palestinian civiliansâ access to humanitarian assistance, displacement of the majority of the population of Gaza, and the unprecedented number of journalists killed."
The U.S. continues to review allegations that Israel violated international laws of war in Gaza and the West Bank, and part of that review will look into whether U.S. weapons were involved, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference Monday.
Blinken said the process will be fair, whether a country is "an adversary or competitor, a friend or an ally."
-ABC Newsâ Chris Boccia
Apr 22, 5:36 AM
Israeli intelligence chief resigns over Oct. 7
Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, the head of Israelâs Military Intelligence Directorate, has submitted his resignation in the wake of the Oct. 7 surprise terror attack, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday.
"The Chief of the General Staff thanked Major General Aharon Haliva for his 38 years of service in the IDF, during which he made significant contributions to the security of the State of Israel as both a combat soldier and commander," IDF officials said in a post on social media.
Apr 22, 5:19 AM
US drops 50,000 meals over Northern Gaza
The U.S. military on Sunday dropped 50,688 ready-to-eat meals into northern Gaza, Central Command said.
The humanitarian aid, which was dropped from four Air Force aircraft, brings the total U.S. assistance supplied by air to about 1,001 tons, CENTCOM said.
"The DoD humanitarian airdrops contribute to ongoing U.S. and partner-nation government efforts to alleviate human suffering," CENTCOM said on social media. "These airdrops are part of a sustained effort, and we continue to plan follow-on aerial deliveries."
Apr 22, 3:29 AM
Three injured in 'ramming terror attack' in Jerusalem, police say
Three people were "lightly" injured after being struck by a vehicle in a "ramming terror attack," Israeli police said on Monday morning. The two suspects allegedly fled the scene.
The pedestrians were struck at about 8 a.m. on Mordechai Tekhelet Street, police said.
"Immediately afterward, two terrorists emerged from the vehicle armed with 'Carlo' type weapon, and attempted to open fire, unsuccessfully," police said.
Investigators recovered a weapon from the area following the incident, police said.
Apr 21, 6:09 PM
Israeli Defense Minister responds to potential US sanctions on IDF battalion
Israel's Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant held a discussion with IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi regarding the developing report on U.S. intentions to impose sanctions against the IDFâs Netzach Yehuda battalion, an Israeli military unit operating in the West Bank.
"Any attempt to criticize an entire unit casts a heavy shadow on the actions of the IDF, which operates to protect the citizens of Israel," Gallant said in a statement. "Damage to one battalion, affects the entire defense establishment â this is not the right path for partners and friends."
Gallant urged the U.S. not to impose sanctions on the unit.
"Our friends and our enemies are closely watching the ties between Israel and the United States, now more than ever," Gallant said. "I call on the U.S. Administration to withdraw its intention to impose sanctions on the Netzach Yehuda battalion."
Amid reports of possible sanctions, Gallant recently completed a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Earlier today, Minister Gallant also held a discussion with the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew.
Apr 21, 1:38 PM
22 reported dead in strikes on Rafah: Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry
Two strikes were launched on the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing 22 people, including 18 children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
At least one blast occurred at the Al-Shabora refugee camp in Rafah, a spokesperson for the Kuwait Hospital in Rafah told ABC News.
The hospital spokesperson told ABC News doctors were able to rescue an unborn baby whose mother was killed in the blast at Al-Shabora camp. Officials identified the mother as Sabreen Mohamed Al-Sakani.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strikes, telling ABC News, "At the given times, the IDF struck several military targets of the terrorist organizations in Gaza including military compounds, launch posts and armed terrorists."
Apr 21, 11:23 AM
14 'terrorists' killed in dayslong West Bank raid: IDF
Israeli forces have withdrawn after a dayslong raid in the Nur Shams area of the Tulkarm camp in the West Bank left 14 "terrorists" dead, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Israel Border Police forces "completed extensive counterterrorism activity based on IDF and ISA (Israel Security Authority) intelligence in the area of Nur Shams," the IDF said in a statement.
During the raid, which began Friday, "the forces eliminated 14 terrorists in close-quarters combat, apprehended 15 wanted suspects, seized numerous weapons, and destroyed dozens of explosive devices as well as two terror explosives laboratories," according to the IDF statement.
The IDF said all of the terrorists were killed during fire exchanges with Israeli forces.
Since the raid started, nine IDF soldiers and an Israel Border Police officer were "lightly to moderately" injured in the fighting, according to the IDF.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society, the first responder service in the West Bank, also said 14 people were killed as a result of the raid.
Apr 20, 6:05 PM
Netanyahu responds after Blinken says US may impose sanctions on IDF
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the department will be announcing his determinations regarding the Israel Defense Forces under the Leahy Law -- which empowers the secretary of state to withhold funding from units of a foreign military accused of human rights violations -- "in the coming days."
The State Department could announce sanctions against the IDF and withhold aid to the military.
"I think it's fair to say that you'll see results very soon. I've made determinations, you can expect to see them in the days ahead," he told press gathered for G7 meetings.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a statement on X saying sanctions must not be imposed on the IDF.
"In recent weeks, I have been working against the imposition of sanctions on Israeli citizens, including in my conversations with senior American government officials. At a time when our soldiers are fighting the monsters of terror, the intention to impose a sanction on a unit in the IDF is the height of absurdity and a moral low," Netanyahu said Saturday.
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BRENHAM (ABC) – One person was killed and more than a dozen injured after a man allegedly intentionally crashed a stolen semi-truck into a Texas Department of Public Safety office in Brenham on Friday, officials said. A suspect is in custody, authorities said. The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. local time, when the driver rammed a stolen 18-wheeler into a Texas DPS driver’s license office, Brown said. The suspect — identified by authorities as Clenard Parker, 42 — had been informed by the office on Thursday that he was not eligible to renew his commercial driver’s license, authorities said. The suspect then “returned today with intent to harm,” Washington County Judge Mark Keough said in a statement on social media.
Six people were transported to area hospitals, one of whom died from their injuries at the hospital, authorities said. Eight victims were treated at the scene and released. The victims were all inside the building at the time of the crash. It is unclear how many were civilians, authorities said. Footage from the scene showed extensive damage to the Texas DPS office. The Texas Rangers are investigating and there is no further threat to the community, Texas DPS said. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
ByABC News
Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault likened the Celtics’ performance this season to that of a Ferrari.
Boston’s latest victory over the Thunder earned it yet another luxury with the playoffs fast approaching.
Kristaps Porzingis had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks, helping the Celtics power past the Thunder 135-100 on Wednesday night to secure the best record in the NBA and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Boston, which won its 11th consecutive home game, improved to 60-16 on the season to notch its 14th 60-win season in franchise history. The only other franchise with at least 10 such seasons is the Lakers, who have 11, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
“We deserve it. I think it’s possibly going to matter if we follow through with the vision we have for ourselves,” Porzingis said.
The Celtics, who also were led by Jayson Tatum’s 24 points and Jaylen Brown’s 23 points and seven rebounds, trailed for only 62 seconds in the game.
Brown likes the progression the team has been making as the regular season winds down.
“We’re not skipping any steps,” Brown said. “Sixty wins. I think we’re on track. When the playoffs start, it’s back to square one.”
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said the milestone is another achievement his team won’t take for granted. But he also said it isn’t something he wants the Celtics to dwell on.
“It’s very hard to do. We may never be in this position again,” Mazzulla said. “We talked about it as a team. We talked about it before the game, to try to treat this game as the clincher. To kind of put that on ourselves to be able to do that. I think it was important for us to simulate that. … We should enjoy it tonight, and when wake up tomorrow — nobody cares.”
Brown was questionable heading into the game with a sprained left hand. He said he got it examined after Boston’s win at Charlotte on Monday and described it as a sprained ligament.
“I think it’s fine. It’s something I’m not concerned with moving forward,” he said. “But it bothered me a little bit tonight.”
Boston led by as many as 16 in the first half before Oklahoma City cut it to six points in the third quarter. Leading by 10 after three, the Celtics opened the fourth with a 12-4 run to stretch their lead to 105-87.
Josh Giddey led Oklahoma City with 17 points. Luguentz Dort added 15 points. The Thunder finished with 14 turnovers and were just 5-of-24 from beyond the arc.
OKC played without All-Star and leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat for the fourth time in five games with a bruised right quadriceps. Jalen Williams missed his second straight with a sprained left ankle.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
TYLER âEarly voting for the Joint Primary Elections for Smith County residents will run from February 20 through March 1. Voters can cast their ballots at any of the six early voting locations, which include:
First Christian Church – Christian Life Center: 4202 S. Broadway Ave, Tyler
Heritage Building: 1900 Bellwood Road, Tyler
The Hub: 304 E. Ferguson Street, Tyler
Lindaleâs Kinzie Community Center: 912 Mt. Sylvan St., Lindale
Noonday Community Center: 16662 CR 196, Tyler
Whitehouse Methodist Church: 405 W. Main Street, Whitehouse
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(NEW YORK) -- North Korea launched a test flight for a new type of missile, state media outlets said Thursday.
The test on Wednesday was the first for an under-development strategic cruise missile, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Reports named the weapon as a Pulhwasal-3-31 missile.
"The test fire had no negative effect on the security of the neighboring country and is not connected with the situation of the region," the Voice of Korea, a national broadcaster, said in an English-language post.
The launch comes amid growing cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan, with the three countries saying they're sharing real-time updates and analysis on military activity in the region.
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday had called for North Korea to "refrain from further provocative, destabilizing actions and return to diplomacy."
"We are eager to engage in substantive discussions on identifying ways to not just manage military risk but create lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula," Vedant Patel, a spokesperson, said during a press brefing, "as well as our continued stated goal of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
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(NEW YORK) --Â Donald Trump's defamation damages trial is scheduled to resume Thursday after a two-day postponement stemming from a courtroom COVID-19 scare. At issue is whether the former president has to pay writer E. Jean Carroll additional damages for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her allegations of sexual abuse.
Originally scheduled to take three days, the trial is now nearing the end of its second week as Trump prepares to possibly testify and the court grapples with COVID concerns.
Here are five questions as the trial heads toward its conclusion.
What happens if multiple jurors have COVID-19?
If multiple jurors call in sick, Judge Lewis Kaplan will likely face a decision to either continue the trial with fewer jurors or extend the trial's delay until the jurors recover, according to former federal prosecutor Josh Naftalis.
"My expectation with most, if not all, Southern District judges is they would prefer to lose a juror and keep the trial going, than to put it off indefinitely to get back the person who's sick," Naftalis told ABC News.
When Judge Kaplan delayed the trial on Monday, he expressed confidence that the trial would continue through any COVID-related delay.
"This Court functioned all the way through the worst of the COVID pandemic. We conducted over a hundred jury trials right through the lockdowns and everything else," the judge said. "We have gotten through all of that. I'm sure we'll get through all of this too."
How many jurors are needed to render a verdict?
Judge Kaplan initially seated nine jurors to hear the defamation trial; however, a jury of six could still render a verdict, according to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Even though the jury does not include any alternates, having three more jurors than needed gives Kaplan a cushion, according to Nafatlis.
"If you lose a juror, you can keep going as long as you stay with the jury of at least six," Naftalis said.
However, if the jury loses four members, Kaplan would likely be forced to declare a mistrial in the case, according to Naftalis.
Kaplan would then have to empanel a new jury to restart the case. Depending on the availability of Kaplan, the parties, and the jury pool, that process could begin as early as next week.
Does Trump still plan to testify?
Trump arrived at court on Monday with his regular legal team as well as his two criminal defense lawyers, Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles.
"He was planning to testify," defense lawyer Alina Habba told Kaplan Monday before court was adjourned due to health concerns.
What happens if Trump defies the judge on the stand?
If Trump takes the stand, his testimony will be heavily restrained by the judge's pretrial ruling, which determined that -- because a jury last year already found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and then defaming her -- Trump is barred from arguing that he did not sexually abuse Carroll or that he never met her.
The possibility that Trump violates those rules in the presence of the jury could put Kaplan in a tight spot, according to trial lawyer and ABC News contributor Chris Timmons.
"If you go into court and you disrespect the judge in front of the entire courtroom, you're going to be held in contempt or at least get warned that you're on the verge of being held in contempt," Timmons said.
If Trump defies Kaplan's orders, Kaplan could strike the testimony from the record and instruct the jury to disregard it, according to Naftalis.
"He will likely try to direct him as to what's in bounds and out of bounds," Naftalis said. "If Trump continues to ignore ⊠there would likely be a break outside the presence of the jury where he says, 'If you continue to do this, I will just end your testimony.'"
If Trump continues to defy the rules, Kaplan could boot Trump from the courtroom -- something he threatened to do during last week's proceedings when Trump was being disruptive.
"Mr. Trump has the right to be present here. That right can be forfeited and it can be forfeited if he is disruptive, which is what has been reported to me," the judge said last Wednesday after Trump was heard making comments within earshot of the jury. "Mr. Trump, I hope I don't have to consider excluding you from the trial."
"I understand you are probably very eager for me to do that," the judge added, to which Trump threw his up his arms and said, "I would love it, I would love it."
Could the judge hold Trump in contempt?
If Trump repeatedly violates the orders and instructions of the court, Kaplan could hold the former president in contempt and impose monetary sanctions -- but the likelihood that it gets to that point is low, according to Naftalis.
"I think the more likely scenario is the judge says, 'If you're not going to abide by the orders of the court, your testimony is over.' I think that's more likely than getting to, like, full-out sanctions," said Naftalis.
"The judge will interrupt them and strike it, and that will end it there," Naftalis said. "There won't be an opportunity for Trump to sort of go on and give us a soliloquy."
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A "beyond proud" Eva Mendes took to Instagram Wednesday afternoon to clap back at those who once derided her longtime partner Ryan Gosling for taking the role of Ken in Barbie.
The movie has since become a cultural phenomenon and was the highest-grossing movie of 2023 â and the recipient of eight Oscar nominations, including one for Gosling as Best Supporting Actor.
To a screen grab of a 2022 Rolling Stone article titled in part "Ryan Gosling Is Giving Major Cringe as Ken in 'Barbie,'" Mendes said, "So much hate when he took on this role."
She continued, "So many people trying to shame him for doing it. Despite all the #Notmyken ridicule and articles written about him, he created this completely original, hilarious, heartbreaking, now iconic character and took it all the way to Oscars."
Mendes, 49, said of the 43-year-old Gosling, "So beyond proud to be this Ken's Barbie."
Her post got tons of support online â including from Ryan's Barbie co-star, Supporting Actress Oscar nominee America Ferrera.
She praised his "triple somersault performance," adding, "I'm so grateful for the way he showed up with his super stardom, and continues to show up to support all the women in this process!! He is a class act and insanely deserving and talented."
Mendes excitedly responded to that reply in both English and Spanish, calling America a sister and congratulating the "queen" for her own nomination.
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(COLUMBUS, Ohio) -- The Ohio Senate has voted to override Gov. Mike DeWineâs veto against Ohio House Bill 68 in a 23-9 vote. This bill would ban transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming medical care and prevent transgender girls from taking part in girls' and women's sports.
The Ohio House voted to override the veto on Jan. 10.
The bill restricts the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgeries for transgender youth. The bill does not restrict the use of this care on non-transgender youth, and specifically includes an exception for intersex youth with ambiguous or abnormal sex characteristics.
A grandfather clause allows transgender people already receiving care to continue doing so.
Physicians have told ABC News that doctors, families and patients often have many long conversations together to consider age-appropriate individualized approaches to care. This often begins with mental health care, they say.
For youth approaching puberty, puberty blockers are a reversible form of gender-affirming care that allows children to pause puberty and explore their gender identity without the growth of permanent sex characteristics (e.g., breasts, genitalia) that may cause further stress, according to physicians interviewed by ABC News.
Hormone therapy for older teens helps align a patient's physical appearance with their gender identity. Patients are given estrogen or testosterone, and the changes from these medications occur slowly and are partially reversible.
Surgeries on adolescents are rare and only considered on a case-by-case basis, physicians have told ABC News.
DeWine vetoed the bill in December 2023, saying he believed the bill as written would harm transgender youth and impede on families' ability to make decisions after speaking with those who would be impacted by the legislation.
"The decisions that parents are making are not easy decisions," DeWine said in the Dec. 29 press conference. "These tough, tough decisions should not be made by the government. They should not be made by the state of Ohio. They should be made by the people who love these kids the most. And that's the parents, the parents who raised the child, the parents who have seen that child go through agony."
However, he agreed with several concerns highlighted by the legislature.
He proposed rules to regulate gender-affirming care instead that would be less likely to be challenged in court -- including bans on surgeries for minors.
"None of [the families] that I talked to talked about surgery," said DeWine in a Dec. 29 statement. "That's not where they were going in the discussion. And I think that's, frankly, a fallacy that's out there that, you know, this goes right to surgery. It just doesn't. All the children's hospitals say that we don't do surgeries."
At least 21 states have implemented restrictions on access to gender-affirming care, many of which have faced legal challenges.
A law banning gender-affirming care for minors in Arkansas was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge and similar laws have been blocked in Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Texas and Montana while lawsuits are considered.
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DeWine also proposed reporting and data collection on those who receive care to better monitor quality of care, as well as implementing restrictions on "pop-up clinics" that serve the transgender community.
"I truly believe that we can address a number of goals in House Bill 68 by administrative rules that will have likely a better chance of surviving judicial review and being adopted," DeWine said.
Gender-affirming care has been called safe and effective by more than 20 major national medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association. The AMA has said this care can be medically necessary to improve the physical and mental health of transgender people.
Transgender youth are more likely to experience anxiety, depressed mood and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts due to discrimination and gender dysphoria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Research shows hormone therapy can improve the mental health of transgender adolescents and teenagers, a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found.
When asked if he had thoughts on the sports restrictions in the bill, DeWine said he "focused on the part of the bill that I thought affected the most people and the most children by far," referring to the gender-affirming care portion of the bill.
The bill also would ban transgender girls from participating in sports. It would replace the state's current transgender sport participation policies, which require a transgender girl to complete a minimum of one year of hormone treatment or demonstrate that she did not possess physical or physiological advantages over genetic females.
For a transgender male to participate in sports, he currently must demonstrate that his muscle mass developed as a result of testosterone treatment and does not exceed muscle mass typical of adolescent genetic males. Hormone levels are then monitored every three to six months.
However, as Rep. Richard D. Brown pointed out during House debate on the bill, the Ohio Constitution states that "no bill shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title." It is unclear if this will complicate the bill's path forward.
Physicians who provide any gender-affirming medical care for trans youth in Ohio under this law would be "subject to discipline by the applicable professional licensing board" under this legislation.
ABC News' Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.
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(WASHINGTON) --Â Texas Sen. John Cornyn, considered a top contender to succeed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, joined over half of Republicans in the chamber in endorsing Trump following the former president's victory over Nikki Haley in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.
In a reversal, Cornyn in a statement on X called on his party to consolidate support around a single candidate, Trump, after the double-digit win.
"I have seen enough. To beat Biden, Republicans need to unite around a single candidate, and it's clear that President Trump is Republican voters' choice," Cornyn said.
The X statement comes eight months after Cornyn expressed skepticism that Trump could be an effective candidate in a call with Texas reporters.
"I think President Trump's time has passed him by and what's the most important thing to me is we have a candidate who can actually win," Cornyn said in the May call.
Cornyn had changed his tune Wednesday, telling reporters he now likes Trump's chances compared to President Joe Biden's polling.
"I think it's important to unify behind the candidate, and I respect the voter's choice in Iowa and New Hampshire," Cornyn said. "I think you'll see that repeated in South Carolina as well."
Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer also joined the ranks of lawmakers backing Trump.
"It's time for Republicans to unite around President Donald Trump and make Joe Biden a one-term President," Fischer said on X.
More than 100 Republicans in the House of Representatives are backing Trump. That includes all members of the GOP leadership.
Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday night called out members of his party who have yet to endorse the former president.
"It's now past time for the Republican Party to unite around President Trump so we can focus on ending the disastrous Biden presidency and growing our majority in Congress," he said on X.
At least two major players in the Senate continue to hold out on Trump: House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota.
McConnell dodged questions about his decision to withhold an endorsement at the GOP's weekly press conference Tuesday.
"I don't have any announcement to make on the presidential election ⊠And in fact, as you may recall -- I have stayed centrally out of it," McConnell said. "And I have not changed my mind about that. I'll let you know."
Trump previously called for a primary challenger to close McConnell ally Thune, who won re-election anyway in 2022. Like Cornyn, Thune and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who endorsed Trump in early January, are viewed as likely options of successors to McConnell.
Thune endorsed South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott before Scott dropped out of the race.
But Scott threw his support behind Trump shortly before New Hampshire.
Speaking on Trump's behalf at the former president's victory rally post-New Hampshire, Scott delivered remarks reminiscent of Cornyn's statement, calling on his party to come together.
"It's time for the Republican Party to coalesce around our nominee and the next president of the United States, Donald Trump," he said.
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(WASHINGTON) --Â President Joe Biden received a key 2024 endorsement on Wednesday from the United Auto Workers, with the union's president using the occasion to savage Biden's likely general election opponent, Donald Trump.
Shawn Fain announced UAW's support for Biden's reelection bid at their biannual conference in Washington, D.C.
"I know there's some people that want to ignore this election," Fain said. "They don't want to have anything to do with politics. Other people want to argue endlessly about the latest headline or scandal or stupid quote. Elections aren't about just taking your best friend for the job or the candidate who makes you feel good. Elections are about power."
The backing of the Michigan-based UAW, with more than 400,000 members, could give Biden an edge in a key battleground state that has helped determine the last two political elections. He won Michigan by about 150,000 votes in 2020; Trump won it by about 10,000 votes four years earlier.
Biden also won the groupâs endorsement in 2020, and it backed Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016.
But Trump was successful in battlegrounds like Michigan and Ohio in that election cycle in part because of his ability to attract more union support than past GOP candidates: The UAW said at the time it believed one in four of its members likely voted for Trump based on surveys.
"The question is, who do we want in that office to give us the best shot of winning?" Fain said on Wednesday. "Who gives us the best shot of organizing? Who gives us the best shot of negotiating strong contracts? Who gives us the best shot of uniting the working class and winning our fair share once again?"
Biden, who has increasingly been gearing in public to face Trump in the general election, also delivered remarks. He thanked the union for its support and praised members for inspiring the labor movement with its strike last year against the Big Three auto makers.
"Let me just say, I'm honored to have your back and you have mine, that's the deal," Biden said. "It comes down to seeing the world the same way, it's not complicated."
Fain cast the 2024 race as a choice between Biden and Trump and didn't mince words in his criticism of the former president. He specifically took issue with Trump's handling of the union's 2019 strike, arguing that Trump didn't do a "damn thing" while UAW members confronted General Motors at plants across the U.S.
"Donald Trump is a scab," Fain said. "Donald Trump is a billionaire, and that's who he represents. If Donald Trump ever worked in auto plant, he wouldn't be a UAW member -- he'd be a company man trying to squeeze the American worker."
Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Fain's remarks, though Trump has previously dismissed Biden's record on unions.
Last year, Biden joined UAW members striking in Michigan against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis on the picket line in a historic show of support for workers amid their contract negotiations with the auto giants for better wages and conditions.
"If our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it," Fain said on Wednesday.
Biden, who has touted himself as the most "pro-union" president, told members that union workers are central to his economic vision to build the economy from the middle out and bottom up.
"Together, we're proving what I've always believed," Biden said. "Wall Street didn't build America, the middle class built America and unions built the middle class."
He continued, "As long as Iâm president, the working people are gonna get their fair share. ... You deserve it."
Trump, too, visited Michigan last September just a day after Biden to try to woo auto workers and union members. He delivered a speech at a non-unionized plant.
In that speech, Trump repeated his pitch for economic nationalism, calling himself the only candidate who wants to protect American labor -- which was a key pledge in his previous campaigns.
He also attacked Biden for the federal government's environmental regulation push on tailpipe pollution, which would encourage more electric vehicle manufacturing -- while also raising the concerns of auto workers like those in the UAW. Biden has said he wants to invest in the auto industry to spur more electric vehicle use to address climate change.
Trump took a darker view.
"You're all on picket lines and everything, but it doesn't make a damn bit of difference what you get because in two years -- you're all going to be out of business," he said in September. "You're not getting anything. What they're doing to the auto industry in Michigan and throughout the country is absolutely horrible and ridiculous."
ABC News' Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim contributed to this report.
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Prime Video reported Wednesday that the upcoming third season of its hit original series Reacher will be based on Persuader, the seventh book in author Lee Child's bestselling Jack Reacher series.
Child is also an executive producer of the show, starring Alan Ritchson as his hulking hero.
According to Prime Video, in the third installment, "Reacher must go undercover to rescue an informant held by a haunting foe from his past."
Production of the third season is already underway in Toronto. The show was renewed for a third chapter in December, two weeks before the sophomore season debuted on the streamer.
In its announcement, Prime Video also revealed that Maria Sten will return in the third season as Jack Reacher's ally Frances Neagley.
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