“It’s a world problem,” Trump said. “You do need separations in some cases.”
March 12, 2020, 7:59 PM
7 min read
President Trump on Thursday continued to project optimism about the coronavirus crisis a day after his controversial speech to the nation and imposing travel ban on much of Europe, saying that’s “it’s going to work out well for everybody.”
“I think it’s going to work out well for everybody, but it’s a world problem. You do need separations in some cases. You have some areas that are heavily infected and some areas that are not. But we do need separation for a little bit of a time in some cases,” he said during an Oval Office photo op with Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
When questioned about the effectiveness of the new travel restrictions, given that Americans could still bring back the virus under the new ban, he said there will be testing and heavy enforcement of quarantines
“It they are positive … we’re not putting them on planes if it shows positive. But if they are, if they do come here, we’re quarantining. It’s going to be a pretty strong enforcement of quarantine,” Trump said.
Emphasizing the importance of separation, the president said of the pandemic, “The really important thing … it goes away, it’s going away. We want it to go away with very, very few deaths.”
Asked about European Union leaders upset at not being told about the travel restrictions beforehand, the president said he had to move quickly and compared the decision not to consult with Europeans raising taxes on the U.S.
“We had to make a decision, and I didn’t want to take time, it takes a long time to make the individual calls and we are calling. We have spoken to some of them prior to, but we had to move quickly. When they raise taxes on us, they don’t consult us,” Trump said.
Questioned about the negative economic impact from the travel ban, the president said it’s a price worth paying to help blunt the spread of the virus.
“It will be a big impact but it is a bigger impact and it is also a human impact which is more important than financial, when you lose thousands of additional lives,” Trump said.
Later Thursday, the huge losses on Wall Street continued, with the Dow Jones average closing down more than 2,300 points– about a 10% drop.
Trump said it’s “possible” the travel restrictions to Europe would need to be extended but it’s also possible it could end ahead of the 30-day period if things go well.
Asked whether he plans to invoke a national emergency under authorities granted him in the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the president said he will do what he needs to do but wouldn’t reveal if and when he plans to exercise those authorities.
“We have strong emergency powers under the staffer act. I have it memorized practically. If I need to do something I will do it. I have the right to do a lot of things that people don’t know about it,” Trump said.
“Well, I don’t want to say that,” Trump said when asked if he will take any immediate action but said there are some “minor things at this point” that he might act on.
He said there is a possibility that at some point there would be travel restrictions imposed within U.S. boundaries but didn’t elaborate on the hypothetical.
Despite the fact that the figure of infected individuals continues to climb in the U.S. and that the U.S. has lagged in rolling out widespread testing, especially compared to countries such as South Korea, the president insisted that the U.S. is “in great shape.”
“We are in great shape compares to other places. We are in good shape and we want to keep it that way. That’s why I did the ban with respect to Europe,” the president claimed.
Questioned about the case of one emergency doctor who struggled to get a coronavirus test for a patient, the president claimed testing “going very smoothly” and said “we’re very much ahead of everything.”
“This is a brand-new thing that just happened,” Trump said defensively. “Millions are being produced. If you go back and look at the swine flu and what happened with the swine flu, you will see how many people died and how actually nothing was done for such a long period of time as people were dying all over the place. We’re doing it the opposite. We’re very much ahead of everything.”
The president said he would look into the case cited but emphasized that it’s just one case and said there are other examples of efficient testing.
The president and the Irish prime minister did not shake hands in their meeting, Trump said, with the two politicians making light of the awkwardness of not doing so.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Iranian-backed Shia militias were responsible.
March 12, 2020, 6:06 PM
7 min read
Senior Pentagon leaders said Thursday that “all options are on the table” in responding to the recent rocket attack in Iraq that killed two American service members and one British service member.
Speaking to reporters, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Iranian-backed Shia militia groups were behind Wednesday’s attack on Camp Taji, where 14 others were wounded.
“Yesterday’s attack by Iranian-backed Shia militia groups consisted of multiple indirect fires that originated form a stationary platform and was clearly targeting coalition and partner forces on Camp Taji,” Esper said. “But let me be clear, the United States will not tolerate attacks against our people our interests or our allies.”
He continued, “All options are on the table as we work with our partners to bring the perpetrators to justice and maintain deterrence.”
Esper said President Donald Trump was presented with options that the U.S. military could take in response to the attack, adding that the president gave him the authority he needed.
Asked on Thursday whether Iran should expected a response from the U.S., Trump replied, “I’d rather not say.”
“Let’s put it this way, you will see. I can’t say,” Trump said. “I was working on that last night also. They sent a lot of rockets. It hasn’t been fully determined it was Iran.”
He added, “As you know, it was a rebel group but most likely it could be backed by Iran, but we’ll see what the response is.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told reporters that about 30 Katyusha rockets were fired with about 12-18 rockets impacting at Camp Taji. He characterized five of the 14 wounded as “urgent,” and said all of them were a mix of Americans, Brits and Poles — as well as contractors.
Following the attack, U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces found a rocket-rigged truck a few miles from Camp Taji.
“We have a good indication based on forensics where it was fired from, who did the firing, so on and so forth,” Milley said.
Testifying before Capitol Hill on Thursday, the commander of U.S. troops in the Middle East, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, noted that “the Iranian proxy group Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) is the only group known to have previously conducted an indirect fire attack of this scale against U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq.”
KH was found responsible for the December attack on a base in northern Iraq that killed an American contractor. That incident led the U.S. to take military retaliation against the group, carrying out airstrikes on several locations in Iraq and Syria.
Tensions continued to escalate, as demonstrators attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Then on Jan. 2, the U.S. military conducted a strike on Qassem Soleimani, killing the top Iranian general as he left Baghdad International Airport.
The U.S. said he was plotting additional attacks against U.S. personnel and interests in the region. But in a show of force, the Iranians launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at bases in Iraq, where U.S. troops were present, causing traumatic brain injuries to more than 100 American service members.
Speaking about the death on Soleimani in January, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “Judging from the type and intensity of the strike, the regime certainly must now understand what we will do if they ever again pose risk to American lives. If Iran escalates, we will end it on our terms.”
On Thursday, McKenzie added that the newest attack had crossed a line.
“I would believe a red line for the United States is going to be the death of U.S. service members or those of our partners and allies,” McKenzie said on Thursday. “So that’s a red line.”
ABC News’ Mel Madarang contributed to this report.
The Sunday night Democratic debate – the first to feature former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders head-to-head – will now move from Arizona to CNN’s studios in Washington, DC.
The debate will be held at CNN’s studio and will not have a live audience.
Univision anchor Jorge Ramos has decided to no longer moderate the debate because he said he was “in proximity with someone who was in direct contact with a person that tested positive for coronavirus,” the DNC added.
“Ramos and the person he was in contact with are in good health and symptom free,” the DNC said.
Ramos was cleared by medical professionals but made the decision “out of an abundance of caution,” the DNC said.
With at least 1,323 cases in the United States as of Thursday, the U.S. now has the eighth-highest number of cases worldwide.
Meanwhile, amid the ongoing novel coronavirus threat and fears of the virus spreading in the U.S., and as President Trump has temporarily canceled campaign events, his robust reelection ground operation is currently charging forward and still planning to hold nearly 500 events across the country starting Friday.
Trump’s behemoth ground operation, which is a joint effort between the Republican National Committee and the campaign (Trump Victory), has a planned “national week of training” set to begin Friday with events taking place across the country (including states heavily impacted by the virus) —and as of now, the campaign events are moving forward as normal, two Republican sources tell ABC News.
The campaign and RNC did not return ABC News’ request for comment.
Trump Victory’s national week of training, set for March 13th-19th, is scheduled to feature about 470 events across dozens of states including ones seeing multiple cases of the virus like Florida and Colorado, places that have declared a state of emergency.
Many of the events on schedule are Trump Victory Leadership Trainings, which usually feature between 100-200 people looking to become campaign volunteers on the ground in their state. Sometimes the trainings are much larger however.
Other events still scheduled are door knockings, phone banks, and “MAGA meetups,” which are small gatherings of supporters usually to watch a debate or event.
Biden’s campaign announced Wednesday it will be hosting “virtual events” in place of events on the ground in Illinois and Florida.
The campaign is also set to announce a committee aimed at advising the campaign on the health risks during this election cycle to the candidate, staff and supporters.
“The campaign’s top priority is and will continue to be the health and safety of the public,” the campaign said in a statement. “Members of the committee will provide ongoing counsel to the campaign, which will in turn continue to update the public regarding operational decisions.”
Sanders will deliver remarks from Burlington, Vermont Thursday afternoon, his campaign announced on “the health and economic crisis facing this country.”
Sanders has previously indicated that coronavirus is being considered as the campaign plans large rallies and noted that the campaign has checked in with public health officials in Los Angeles and San Jose, Calif., prior to rallies. His campaign has upcoming planned office openings in Pennsylvania and a campaign-sponsored event in the Tampa, Florida area.
Both Biden and Sanders canceled rallies in Cleveland, Ohio Tuesday night.
Wednesday evening, during an Oval Office address, Trump emphasized making the effort to specifically protect older Americans by avoiding non-essential travel in crowded areas and avoiding all medically unnecessary trips to nursing homes.
Following the White House’s lead, the Trump campaign announced on Twitter it is “postponing” next week’s Catholics for Trump event in Milwaukee that was set to feature President Trump.
The Trump campaign has postponed its “Women for Trump” bus tour that was set to kick off Monday in Michigan featuring top surrogates including Mercedes Schlapp, whose husband is the CPAC chairman– a conservative conference where at least one attendee has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Trump campaign confirmed to ABC News.
ABC News’ Averi Harper and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Henry Solis said he was acting in self-defense while attempting to arrest Salome Rodriguez on March 13, 2015, in Pomona, California, for an alleged assault and robbery, according to court documents.
Police at the time of the shooting said Solis and Rodriguez got into an altercation that escalated after Solis pursued the other man on foot and fired multiple shots.
But prosecutors with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said Solis pursued Rodriguez as he walked past him outside an unnamed bar, opened fire and killed Rodriguez, according to a statement issued on Wednesday after the sentencing.
Although Solis was off duty and a probationary officer at the time, he testified in his own defense that he is “on duty 24 hours a day” and even presented his badge during the encounter, according to court documents.
Surveillance video from the street captured portions of the incident and was shown at trial, according to court documents.
A jury found 32-year-old Solis guilty of second-degree murder in February after two days of deliberations.
Solis’ attorney Bradley Brunon was “disappointed” with the verdict, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“Henry Solis is a good person. He spent years serving the country honorably [and] would have made a terrific peace officer,” Brunon said, according to the LA Times. “Unfortunately, this event occurred and derailed his plans. … We felt that the evidence didn’t warrant a murder conviction — perhaps manslaughter on a theory of provocation or imperfect self-defense. [The] jury didn’t agree. Forty to life is a big jolt for anybody, particularly somebody who’s never had a misdeed in his life.”
After the shooting, Solis fled the scene and met up with his father, who drove him to El Paso, Texas, where he crossed the border into Mexico, prosecutors said. His 53-year-old father was convicted by a federal jury in June 2015 for making a false statement to the FBI about Solis’ whereabouts.
Solis was fired by the LAPD while on the run and before he was arrested by Mexican authorities in May 2015.
Rodriguez’s mother and father filed a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Central District of California against Solis, the city of Los Angeles and 50 unidentified people.
The city responded to the lawsuit, saying that it “lacks sufficient information” but noted that Solis’ actions were “reasonable and necessary for self-defense,” according to documents.
Solis failed to appear in court and did not respond to the lawsuit, according to court documents.
The lawsuit was put on pause in January pending the results of the criminal trial.
Financial markets plummeted after Trump announced a travel ban from Europe.
March 12, 2020, 1:57 PM
3 min read
The S&P 500 plunged by more than 7% just after markets opened on Thursday, triggering a temporary “circuit-breaker” trading halt for 15 minutes as the massive coronavirus-induced sell-off wages on.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down by more than 1,690 points, or more than 7%. The Nasdaq fell by more than 7% at the top of Thursday’s trading session.
When trading resumed just before 10 a.m., markets continued to fall.
The sharp sell-off comes after President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday that the U.S. was enacting a ban on certain travel from Europe to the U.S. for the next 30 days and called for a series of stimulus measures to blunt the economic side effects of the virus.
His measures appeared to only heighten investors’ anxiety over the financial impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
“The coronavirus pandemic has taken the stock market into bear market territory and further declines are in the offing as the U.S. effectively hits the ‘Pause’ button on the economy in an effort to curtail spread of the virus,” according to Greg McBride, the chief financial analyst at Bankrate. “Yes, there will be economic disruption and an all-but-certain recession.”
“Markets will undoubtedly overshoot to the downside so it is more important than ever for investors to maintain their long-term perspective,” he added. “Markets will recover sooner, and much faster, than the overall economy and you cannot be sitting on the sidelines when that happens.”
Even before markets opened, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were temporarily halted in premarket trading after plummeting more than the “limit-down” of 5%.
On Wednesday, the Dow entered bear market territory for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.
Passengers were allowed to leave without seeing a doctor.
March 12, 2020, 11:58 AM
4 min read
A passenger on a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Palm Beach, Florida, has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
The plane landed around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. The crew and 114 passengers were stuck on the tarmac for hours as health officials spoke to everyone on board.
Passengers who were near the COVID-19-positive patient were given instructions on monitoring their health over the next few days. They were allowed to leave the airport without seeing a doctor.
“At this time passengers in the vicinity of the positive patient were advised of monitoring procedures,” Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said in a statement.
“The rest of the passengers were released to go home,” and given directions to call the health department with any medical concerns.
Airline workers are now sterilizing the “limited containment area” where the passengers deplaned, which officials said is a separate area from the airport’s main terminals.
At least 127,000 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus globally with at least 4,717 deaths reported. In the U.S., there are at least 1,323 confirmed cases and 38 coronavirus-related deaths.
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday night that he was severely restricting air travel for 30 days from most of Europe as Italy and other countries battle to contain the outbreak. The new regulations begin Friday.
The European Union issued a statement Thursday, saying Trump’s Europe travel ban is wrong and won’t work.
“The coronavirus is a global crisis not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action,” The E.U. said in a statement Thursday. “The European Union disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation. The European Union is taking strong action to limit the spread of the virus.”
Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years on sex crime convictions in New York on Wednesday, following a landmark trial that spotlighted Hollywood power dynamics, predatory sexual violence and complex questions about the nature of consent and coercion.
That sentence includes 20 years for criminal sexual assault in the first degree, which stems from an accusation from former “Project Runway” production assistant Mimi Haley, and three years for rape in the third degree, which stems from an accusation from Jessica Mann, who is now being named by ABC News as she told the district attorney’s office after a verdict was reached she does not object to being named publicly. The sentences are set to run consecutively.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. championed the prosecution’s six key witnesses in a statement following the sentencing.
“We thank the court for imposing a sentence that puts sexual predators and abusive partners in all segments of society on notice,” he said. “We thank the survivors for their remarkable statements today and indescribable courage over the last two years. Harvey Weinstein deployed nothing less than an army of spies to keep them silent. But they refused to be silent, and they were heard. Their words took down a predator and put him behind bars, and gave hope to survivors of sexual violence all across the world.”
Hours after the sentences were handed down, Weinstein was rushed from Rikers Island back to Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital Center with chest pains, according to spokesman Juda Engelmayer.
“He had chest pains and Rikers staff decided for safety to send him back to Bellevue now. He will be evaluated and likely will stay overnight,” Engelmayer said. “We appreciate the care and concern of the Department of Corrections office and staff.”
Weinstein, who declined at trial to take the stand in his own defense, earlier addressed his accusers in court before the judge’s decision in an extraordinary 12-minute statement, given partially while turned in his wheelchair to face the six women who had taken the stand against him, and were now sitting together in the front row of the courtroom. The women — Annabella Sciorra, Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff, Lauren Young and Mann and Haley — were flanked on either side by Vance and prosecutors Joan Illuzzi and Meghan Hast. Actress Rosie Perez, who testified for the prosecution in support of witness Annabella Sciorra, sat beside victims rights attorney Gloria Allred in the second row, whispering to Sciorra.
Surrounded by court officers and defense attorneys, Weinstein spoke directly to his accusers.
“First of all, to all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you,” he said “I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and how there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I think that — I can’t help looking at Jessica and Mimi and hope that something of our old friendship in me could emerge, but I’m sure – like me – they have lawyers who say to them be careful of what you say.”
“I’m not going to say these aren’t great people,” he said. “I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue.”
Weinstein went on to describe his relationships with his accusers as “extramarital affairs,” compared the #MeToo movement to the Hollywood blacklists of suspected communists in the 1950s, and quoted multi-million and billion dollar sums that he said he helped raise for charity over the years. He talked at length about his charity work surrounding 9/11 and 2012’s Hurricane Sandy.
“Ask the guy in Coney Island,” Weinstein said. “Ask the guy in Far Rockaway — when he lost his business and we were able to walk in there and save his business – ask him if he likes me. Ask the captain who was killed in action. I took his children to the Super Bowl and to the Academy Awards because somebody had to do it. I did it with Steve Tisch. There are so many examples of that.”
“There’s so many people, thousands of people, who would say great things about me. We are going through this crisis right now in this country,” Weinstein said, referring to the #MeToo movement. “
Weinstein was “despondent and dejected” as he prepared for sentencing after being convicted earlier this month of sexually assaulting the two women, according to his spokesman Juda Engelmayer.
Minutes earlier, victims Mimi Haley and Jessica Mann had given impassioned victim impact statements that at times drew them to tears.
“I had no reason not to go there,” Haley said of the evening she was sexually assaulted in 2006. “Harvey Weinstein wasn’t a stranger. He knew people I knew. I had no reason to think that even if he made sexual advances towards me and I rejected him, that he wouldn’t respect my rejection. I had no reason to believe that he would force an act of sexual violence on me. But that’s exactly what he did.”
“I believe that when he attacked me that evening, with physical force, with no regard for anything I said, no regard for my cries and protests, my physical resistance, my panic and fear – it scarred me deeply – mentally and emotionally – perhaps irreparably, perhaps forever.”
“What he did not only stripped me off my dignity as a human being and as a woman, but crushed my confidence and faith in my professional future for a long time,” Haley said. “It diminished my confidence and faith in people, and my confidence and faith in myself. I was confused, in distress and in disbelief. It was embarrassing and frankly incredibly hurtful, that this person, who I knew to some degree, but who had also for a long time known someone I loved and trusted, would do this to me.”
Mann focused much of her statement on physiological effects of rape on the human body.
“This rape induced paralysis is a natural response designed to activate under situations such as sexual abuse, or rape,” Mann told Judge Burke. “When the brain assess that flight or fight are not possible, sometimes after using another mechanism called freezing (the state in which those responses are put on hold to assess the situation) the immobility response is activated. Harvey at the time had every advantage over me. Given the immense physical stature of Harvey’s weight, height, and ox like strength – he used that physicality to trap me and prevent me from leaving. That was a powerful assessment that flight was not possible.
“Fight was also not possible,” she continued. “His strength overpowered me trying to leave.”
“Rape paralysis, or immobility is very real in humans. A good visual of this is when animals ‘play dead’ under stress. While they remain flexible, and aware, they are trapped in a survival response until the threat is removed. In people, this response can also be accompanied with fainting or blacking out. Such as what happened to me in a separate rape committed against me by Harvey Weinstein, which you heard in my testimony, as well as Annabella’s testimony. Just like our heart’s without our conscious awareness, it is critical that victims, and the courts understand that the ability to fight during rape can be out of the victims control when this defense response is triggered unconsciously.”
“I ask you to consider the horrors of being rendered immobile by my own biological response, while I had to endure his penis, raping me on his time, as slow as he wanted while he pleasured himself inside my body. I wish I had been able to fight him while he raped me. I could have walked away with a sense of control over my body instead of a deeper shame.”
“Please understand,” she implored Burke, “that to show distress, especially while still in shock, would have been dangerous. I was not about to advertise that I was a weak and wounded prey and attract more potential violence. This is a response we see in nature, and should be of no surprise that hiding weakness is something every human being on this planet exercises.”
‘A serious offense’
Weinstein was facing a minimum of probation and a maximum of four years in prison on the rape conviction, and between five and 25 years on the criminal sexual assault conviction.
In a sentencing recommendation letter to the judge in the case, Manhattan prosecutors detailed 36 “prior bad acts” they said justified an extended prison sentence for Weinstein.
Prosecutors did not recommend a specific sentence in the letter, but contended that it was “totally appropriate” to show through the court’s sentence “that sexual assault, even if perpetrated upon an acquaintance or in a professional setting, is a serious offense worthy of a lengthy prison sentence.”
Defense attorneys were seeking a minimum sentence of five years.
“As an individual with no criminal history having spent no time previously incarcerated, his health concerns, his age, and as famous as he is, a custodial sentence will no doubt prove much more difficult for Mr. Weinstein than most other inmates, which further counsels in favor of a sentence of five years’ imprisonment,” defense attorneys Damon Chernois and Donna Rotunno said in their own letter to the judge.
“With respect to deterrence, counsel will again note that Mr. Weinstein is a first-time offender.”
Attorneys for Weinstein told ABC News they plan to file their appeal of his New York convictions in July, ahead of the next session of the appellate court in September.
What’s next for Weinstein?
After sentencing, Weinstein will be sent to Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill, New York, a maximum-security prison and inmate reception center where New York City inmates get a medical evaluation before being assigned to a state prison facility, according to state corrections officials.
While state corrections officials are responsible for determining where Weinstein will serve out his sentence, those officials can take recommendations from the judge about an inmate with medical problems like Weinstein.
Three of New York state’s 52 correctional facilities — in Fishkill, Bedford Hills and Coxsackie, New York — have residential medical units.
Weinstein is also preparing to defend himself against four felony sexual assault charges filed earlier this year by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. In that case, Weinstein is charged with attacking two women in separate incidents in February 2013 within a day of each other.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that authorities there “has begun the process of extraditing defendant Weinstein to California to face the sexual assault charges that were filed in January.” No arraignment date has yet been set, according to the statement.
If you or someone you know experienced sexual assault and is seeking resources, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
A ceasefire was reached last week to halt the offensive of Syrian strongman Bashar al Assad into the country’s last rebel stronghold, but U.S. officials and Syrian activists warn that the violence is far from over and that Assad, along with allies Russia and Iran, still believes he can reconquer the country by force.
In gripping testimony before the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday, three Syrian activists laid out the unfathomable human toll of Syria’s civil war, just days before it enters its tenth year, and begged the U.S. to take action. For a military defector known by the alias “Caesar,” who exposed Assad’s horrors by smuggling out thousands of photographs, the testimony brought him full circle as he appeared just months after Congress passed a law in his name.
But while he praised that law as “the only ray of hope for the Syrian people in the absence of any military or political solution,” Caesar warned the committee that the killing in Syria continues.
“Killing has increased in the same places and in the same ways and at the hands of the very same criminals,” he said. “And the reason, simply, is that the Assad regime considered the inaction of the international community and the mere statements of condemnation as a green light.”
Caesar testified behind closed doors after an initial appearance in a blue hood to mask his identity. Five years after fleeing his post as a military forensic photographer, sharing with the world his images documenting the regime’s horrific treatment of Syrian civilians, he still hides his identity to protect himself and his loved ones.
So far, the U.S. has done little to stop the push into Idlib beyond voicing opposition to the thrust and support for Syria’s northern neighbor Turkey, which backs and arms Syrian opposition forces and pushed back against Assad’s offensive. U.S. Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey said the U.S. is considering ammunition sales to Turkey, while the State Department announced $108 million in humanitarian assistance.
“When you give us more money, what you are telling us is you will not stop the atrocities and that instead we must purchase more ambulances to transport more injured civilians, order new cranes to lift collapsed concrete crushing entire families, and buy more protective clothing to deal with chemical attacks,” said Raed Saleh, director of the White Helmets, the volunteer emergency rescue force.
“Raising funds to alleviate the suffering does not work any better than giving painkillers to a cancer patient. What is needed is the political will to act to protect civilians,” he added.
In response to democratic protests that started March 15, 2011, in the midst of the Arab Spring, Assad brutally cracked down on dissent, sparking a civil war that mutated into a proxy conflict and gave rise to ISIS and its so-called caliphate. Now, almost nine years to the date, the war is still being fought in Syria’s northwest corner, where Idlib province remains the final holdout of rebels mixed in with jihadist groups, including some with ties to al Qaeda.
Assad’s forces, Russian warplanes, Iranian-backed militias, and other pro-government elements launched an assault on Idlib in December that has forced nearly 960,000 Syrians from their homes, backing nearly four million of them into a slice of the province where a couple hundred thousand people once lived.
Turkey and the rebel forces it supports pushed back, and days of fierce fighting, with thousands killed, finally halted with a ceasefire deal reached last Thursday by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But that agreement kept in place the gains made by Assad’s forces — territory that has been cleared of civilians and crushed by Russian bombs into uninhabitable rubble. Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic told ABC News on Monday that his government did not view that as a concession, while expressing cautious optimism that the ceasefire will hold despite multiple past violations by Assad and Russia because of Turkey’s robust military response to defend Idlib.
“I’m sure that they have a clear idea as to what is going to happen if they do not abide by the ceasefire,” he added.
But Ambassador Jeffrey said the U.S. does not expect the ceasefire to last. After meeting with European Union and NATO officials in Brussels on Tuesday, he said the U.S. welcomed the deal as a “potentially important step,” but made clear, “We don’t believe [Assad and Russia] have any interest in a permanent ceasefire in Idlib. They are out to get a military victory in all of Syria. Our goal is to make it very difficult for them to do that by a variety of diplomatic, military, and other action.”
So far, however, those tools have not yielded results. The U.S. has extensive sanctions on Assad, his top officials, and material support to the regime, including on oil shipments. In the meantime, efforts at the United Nations have been stifled by Russia’s veto power, which it has used approximately two dozen times to protect the Syrian government.
The crux of American leverage is withholding any economic assistance for the massive rebuilding project that will follow the war, with senior U.S. officials making clear the U.S. and other Western countries and institutions will not provide any funding without a political transition. But all together, that hasn’t stopped Assad’s push on Idlib.
In their testimony Wednesday, Caesar, Saleh of the White Helmets, and Omar Alshogre, a democratic protester who spent three years tortured in Syrian prison before being released, urged the U.S. to provide stronger support for Turkey or redouble its diplomatic efforts, but outside the U.N. Security Council.
“Before we think about holding al Assad or Russia, Iran, accountable, we have to stop them because it’s still going on in Syria, people dying everyday. … Torture is unlimited, starvation is horrible, so we have to stop them,” said Alshogre. He recounted his brutal treatment in prison, where his father and brothers died, and the day he faced his execution, only to have the guard instead put a bullet in the back of his friend’s head and let him go free, thanks to a bribe from his mother.
Their testimony left senators nearly speechless, with only a handful willing to ask questions of what the U.S. can do.
“I hope that your testimony and Caesar’s testimony before you pricks the conscience of this nation,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the committee. “These are things that take political will. It is a will that has not been forthcoming from our country, and it’s not unique to this administration either.”
An NBA game will go on at a crowdless stadium; Ivy League makes a big change.
March 11, 2020, 8:51 PM
6 min read
As more people across the United States test positive for the novel coronavirus, the health emergency is forcing changes to major sporting events, from the NCAA to the Ivy League.
Fans banned from NCAA games
Days ahead of the start of March Madness, the NCAA president said fans will be banned from “upcoming championship events, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family” there.
“While I understate how disappointing this is for all fans,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said Wednesday, “my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing.”
Ivy League cancels springs athletics
The Ivy League on Wednesday canceled all games and practices through the rest of this academic year.
“In accordance with the guidance of public health and medical professionals, several Ivy League institutions have announced that students will not return to campus after spring break, and classes will be held virtually during the semester,” the council of presidents said in a statement. “Given this situation, it is not feasible for practice and competition to continue.”
Each school will determine if winter teams and athletes who qualified for postseason play will participate, the council said.
The league also announced it was canceling its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and that the regular season champions will advance to the NCAA tournament.
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The Golden State Warriors then announced that its Thursday night game in San Francisco against the Brooklyn Nets will be played without fans.
“It’s a shock for sure,” Warriors star Steph Curry said Wednesday.
“Everything about our routines is reliant upon that kind of game day energy. Pulling up to the arena, seeing fans outside of Chase [Center] walking around in all the Warrior jerseys, even energy in the building, you can feel it all the way through the locker room, through the tunnel,” Curry said. “The only thing is try to have a conversation about how you raise your level of intensity from the jump because you don’t have that actual adrenaline rush of playing in front of 18,000 people like that.”
“I know once the game starts it will be fairly easy to get into that type of flow,” he added.
All other games and events at San Francisco’s Chase Center (home to the Warriors) through March 21 were canceled or postponed, officials added.
That prompted the Seattle Mariners to say the team is working with MLB “on alternative plans” for games scheduled in Seattle at the end of March.
The San Francisco Giants also made adjustments.
The Giants said they won’t play the March 24 exhibition game set to take place in the city and that the team said it is working on “alternative arrangements.”
ABC News’ Kamari Esquerra contributed to this report.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders are scrambling to finish crafting a bill to address the economic consequences of the novel coronavirus, with a vote possible as soon as Thursday — just before lawmakers recess for 10 days.
“We don’t want to panic, but on the other hand, nor do we want to give any impression that this is not a major, critical health challenge confronting us that we need to handle responsibly,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters in his Capitol Hill office Wednesday morning. “Tomorrow we’re going to be addressing — and I’m sure in the future addressing — the economic consequences to individuals and trying to assure that they don’t fall through the cracks.”
As the number of infected Americans continues to grow exponentially, Hoyer said congressional leaders are still weighing whether to close the U.S. Capitol to the public.
“We haven’t yet come to grips with whether or not we ought to close down the Capitol in terms of visitors, but that certainly is something that we’ll have to consider and that may be a step we need to take,” Hoyer, D-Md., said, acknowledging the alarm created when someone simply coughs. “It’s a step that we would be reluctant to take. You know we are very cognizant of the fact that this is the people’s Capitol, the People’s House … on the other hand, if what we’re doing is providing for a more dangerous or more susceptible environment, then we probably ought to take steps to do that and we’re going to be talking about that.”
He added, “We haven’t reached there yet, but we’re talking about it.”
The effort to address the economic consequences of the virus comes amid continued financial decline — a week after Congress sent the president an $8.3 billion package to address the health issues created by the outbreak.
“We believe that the administration, in particular, the president, minimized the risk, minimized the action that was necessary very early on and that has compounded the challenge that we have as a country,” Hoyer said. “The president continues to express how available testing is, how available intervention is, when in fact, it is not as available as necessary.”
Hoyer could not pinpoint a cost of the emerging bill, as its contents are still coming together, but he surmised “it will be in the billions” and “it will be costly.”
He continued to stress that the virus presents an “emergency” and inaction would be costly absent congressional appropriations.
In response, he said, Democrats are working to craft a bill that includes unemployment insurance — as well as paid sick, family leave and nutrition assistance — and ensures that all the costs of tests for COVID-19 are fully covered. Hoyer said he does not anticipate a payroll tax cut to be included in this bill.
“I think it’s a non-starter,” Hoyer said. “The Republicans have expressed not much enthusiasm for that proposal either. And we first of all, we think it’s unfair.”
Negotiations are not bipartisan or bicameral, as congressional Republicans are not directly involved in writing the bill. It’s unlikely the Senate will approve the bill without amending it, but if House Democrats pass the measure, it could increase political pressure on the president and Republicans while Democrats tout their efforts to constituents through the recess. If the Senate sends the bill back to the House with changes, Hoyer signaled the House could cut its 10-day recess short to return for a final vote on the package.
Senate Democrats on Wednesday outlined their own package that they said is specifically targeted at American workers that could be hit hard by the effects COVID-19 has had on the economy.
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said the help should go to workers — “not political cronies” as he bashed the Trump administration’s proposal for a payroll tax cut that he said would only help big corporations.
“I do believe House will pass some of these more immediate things this week,” Schumer said of the Senate package, that also adds disaster grants, emergency mortgage relief, federal housing support and emergency rental assistance.
Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke briefly Wednesday morning on the phone to discuss proposals for the next legislative response package.
“We’re hopeful that we can be on the same page, because I think the secretary understands there are substantial economic consequences, beyond the immediate health consequences to people who are without means,” Hoyer said.
Following a meeting with Mnuchin on Tuesday, Pelosi said the two met one-on-one to explore “where our common ground was as to how we go forward” in regard to a second tranche of funding to respond to the global outbreak.
“We’ve been very clear on our side — the statement that leader Schumer and I put out on Sunday — is about families first, about everyone having access to the test without charge, with recognizing that people were losing their jobs so we had to talk about unemployment insurance, family and medical leave, and issues that related to food security for our children and for our seniors and for people with disabilities,” she said. “We had big concerns about issues that related to the safety of our health care providers in the workplace that could endanger their health. And the care that they gave to other people.”
Mnuchin told reporters that the administration is working with Congress “to work together on a bipartisan basis to figure out how we can get things done quickly that are going to help the Americans that are most impacted by this, the small and medium sized businesses that are impacted.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s negotiations,” Mnuchin said. “We’re having discussions about various different policies. The president and vice president just had a very good lunch with Republicans. We spoke to them about all the ideas. So I think there’s a lot of interest on a bipartisan basis to get something done quickly.”
