Biden calls for cooperation, faces heckling at State of the Union
In his first State of the Union before a divided Congress, President Joe Biden pushed for bipartisanship while touting strong job growth and a string of legislative achievements.
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Good Morning AmericaSupreme Court fractured over Idaho ban and emergency abortion access
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, for the first time since overruling Roe v. Wade, considered the scope of a state abortion ban and whether a federal law governing emergency care protects access to abortion at hospitals when a woman's health is at risk. Idaho's Defense of Life Act, which took effect in August 2022, prohibits nearly all abortions, with exceptions for reported cases of rape or incest or when "necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman." The Biden administration sued the state, claiming its law conflicts with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) of 1986, which requires emergency room physicians at hospitals that receive Medicare funds to offer "stabilizing treatment" to all patients whose health is in jeopardy.
- ABC News
New search underway tied to Gilgo Beach murder investigation: Sources
Investigators are searching a wooded area in Manorville, New York, as part of the Gilgo Beach murders investigation, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office declined to comment on the specific nature of the search. "The Suffolk County Police Department, the New York Police Department and the New York State Police are working with the District Attorney's Office on an ongoing investigation," the district attorney's office said.
- ABC News
Biden says US to begin sending military equipment to Ukraine within 'hours'
The U.S. will begin sending military equipment to Ukraine within "a few hours" after the passage of a long-stalled foreign aid package, President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday. In remarks from the White House, Biden said he had just signed the $95 billion package. "It was a difficult path [to my desk] and it should have been easier, and it should have gotten there sooner," Biden said of the legislation, which was first requested by the administration last fall and seemed all but dead due to GOP-led opposition in the House before the sudden reversal of Speaker Mike Johnson.
- ABC News
Security plan for Gaza aid workers still unclear with military pier to open soon
The Biden administration's plan to begin operating a pier next month off the Gaza coast to enable millions of humanitarian aid packages a day still faces several unresolved logistical issues, including who will provide security to the United Nations aid workers willing to distribute the supplies, officials say. "The safety and security of our humanitarian partners is the most important thing," Sonali Korde, assistant administer to the State Department's U.S. Agency for International Development, told reporters this week during a briefing on humanitarian efforts in Gaza. President Joe Biden ordered the military in March to build the pier after experts warned Gaza was on the brink of famine.
- Good Morning America
Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi honored with Barbie doll for AAPI Heritage Month
Kristi Yamaguchi's epic 1992 Olympics gold medal moment is now being celebrated in the form of a Barbie, and as a special tribute to AAPI Heritage Month. Mattel has released a new doll in the famed figure skater's likeness that includes a look that's very reminiscent of of what the gold medal Olympian wore during her winning performance in Albertville, France — including her shimmering black and gold embroidered dress, red lipstick, bangs and ponytail. The release is timed for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, recognized in May.
- ABC News
NASA's Voyager 1 sending readable data back to Earth for 1st time in 5 months
After more than five months without contact, NASA has finally reconnected with Voyager 1, the farthest spacecraft from Earth. NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) said Voyager 1 had not been sending readable data back to Earth since Nov. 14, 2023, despite the spacecraft still receiving mission controller commands. In December 2023, the JPL announced the problem was with one of Voyager 1's onboard computers called the flight data subsystem (FDS).
- Good Morning America
Ginger Zee takes a look at how donated clothes are processed: Reporter's Notebook
One is for the place that says we take care of sneakers right, the place that takes undergarments, and the place that takes towels and bedding and says it won't go to the landfill. Like so many of us, when we were growing up, we would donate to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. The rest is sold to sorters and graders or directly to second-hand markets overseas, according to Maxine Bedat, executive director of the New Standard Institute.
- Good Morning America
Steve Carell, John Krasinski have 'The Office' reunion in video for new film 'If'
The film, written and directed by Krasinski, is about a little girl (Cailey Fleming) who can see imaginary friends who have been forgotten by their real-life kids and sets out on a quest to reconnect them. As Krasinski jokes that this is the "fifth take" of their reunion, Carell exits the room to try it again -- this time going over the top and causing Krasinski to do a spit take.
- ABC News
Israel-Gaza live updates: New video claims to show American hostage in Gaza
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.
- Good Morning America
Student protesters begin dismantling some tents as negotiations with Columbia University progress
The student protests -- some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments -- have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University. Schools including Yale University, New York University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and more have launched protests. More than 100 protesters were arrested on April 18 at Columbia University, according to authorities, while others were suspended and removed from campus.
- Good Morning America
US to withdraw troops from Niger after military deal revoked
The United States and Niger are discussing plans to withdraw American troops from the West African nation, ending more than a decade of U.S. military presence in the country. Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed during Tuesday's press briefing that "discussions have begun between the United States and Niger for the orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country." "In the near future, the Department of Defense will provide a small delegation from the Pentagon and U.S. Africa Command to participate in those discussions," Ryder said, adding that the U.S. will continue to work with nations throughout the region to address terror threats.
- ABC News
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont pushes for more financial literacy education in schools
Half of the country now has state laws that require financial literacy for high schoolers, teaching them the ins and outs of balancing a checkbook, opening a bank account and more. Lamont, who pushed for the program in his state last year, spoke with ABC News Live's Linsey Davis Tuesday about the issue. ABC NEWS LIVE: So give us a sense, one year later: Has the requirement made a big difference?
- Good Morning America
Former college and NFL star Reggie Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy reinstated
Former standout college football player and NFL running back Reggie Bush will have his 2005 Heisman Trophy reinstated, according to Bush's attorneys and a statement posted on the Heisman website Wednesday. Bush posted a photo on Instagram with the trophy captioned, "No one can take from you what God has for you." Bush forfeited the trophy in 2010 amid NCAA sanctions against his former school, the University of Southern California.
- Good Morning America
Accident on set of Eddie Murphy film 'The Pickup' injures several crew members
"Good Morning America" confirmed that both Murphy and Palmer were uninjured. "Unfortunately, the sequence did not go as planned and several members of the crew were injured as a result," the spokesperson added. Two crew members were hospitalized and injuries ranged from bumps and bruises to broken bones.
- Good Morning America
Barbers hailed as heroes for rescuing toddler from oncoming traffic
Two barbers in East Hartford, Connecticut are being hailed as heroes after they ran to save a young child who was walking on a street toward traffic on a busy intersection. According to local police, barbers Osvaldo Lugo and Rafael Santana of LookSharp Barbershop were cutting hair when they noticed the child and ran to the toddler's aid. 👏 Today, we want to give a massive shoutout to the quick-thinking and brave duo, Osvaldo Lugo and Rafael Santana of LookSharp Barbershop.
- ABC News
Arizona patients, doctors describe chaos, confusion over 1864 abortion ban
Chaos and confusion have ensued after the Arizona Supreme Court issued a ruling April 9 that a near-total abortion ban from 1864 could go into effect, despite it predating Arizona becoming a state. Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick, the owner of Camelback Family Planning in Phoenix -- the state's busiest abortion provider -- says the clinic has not closed since the state Supreme Court's decision was issued.
- Good Morning America
Traces of bird flu virus found in some milk and pasteurized dairy, FDA says
As federal agencies and state partners continue investigating outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) -- more commonly referred to as bird flu -- the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it discovered fragments of the virus in some samples of milk. In an update from the FDA, the agency said it tested milk samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and found the presence of fragments of the virus, which is not the same as infectious virus and currently poses no increased risk to human health.
- ABC News
Video released of person of interest in fatal shooting of Chicago police Officer Luis Huesca
Hoping for a break in the homicide investigation of Chicago police Officer Luis Huesca, investigators have released security video of a person of interest wanted in the killing. The Chicago Police Department posted a series of surveillance videos of an unidentified man wanted in the fatal shooting early Sunday, in which 30-year-old Huesca's gun and car were taken after he was gunned down while on his way home after work.
- ABC News
Over 4,000 IVF embryos destroyed in 1 shelling at Gaza's largest fertility center, director says
A single explosion resulting from an Israeli shelling in December destroyed more than 5,000 specimens in Gaza's largest and oldest IVF clinic, according to the director of the medical center. An estimate of 4,000 embryos and an additional 1,000 specimens of sperm and unfertilized eggs stored at the Al Basma center in Gaza City were lost, Dr. Bahaeldeen Ghalayini, the founder and director of the clinic, told ABC News. Among these were the embryos of 45-year-old Najwa Abu Hamada.
- Good Morning America
Woman becomes 1st patient to undergo combined heart pump implant and pig kidney transplant
In a first-of-its-kind procedure, a terminally ill patient has become the first person in the world to undergo a gene-edited pig kidney transplant and also have a mechanical heart pump surgically implanted. Surgeons at NYU Langone Health, in New York City, performed the operation in two steps, the first being the implantation of the heart pump. The second took place days later, with the transplant of a genetically modified pig kidney and the pig's thymus gland -- which makes white blood cells to help the immune system fight disease -- to help prevent rejection.