Austrian security forces carried out raids against 72 alleged Islamic extremists this week ahead of the 23th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, citing the potential for copycat violence on the date of the plane hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people.
The raids occurred across the European country on Tuesday, before Wednesday’s anniversary, because the 2001 tragedy remains symbolic for extremists and has inspired copycat attempts, the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence said Thursday in a statement.
Authorities thwarted an attempted attack last year on anniversary at the Vienna central station, and the risk remains high on the date around the world, it said.
Tuesday’s raids came a month after authorities foiled a plot to attack planned Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna which were then canceled. Austrian officials said the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian man, was inspired by the Islamic State group and sought to kill tens of thousands of fans.
The 19-year-old had allegedly uploaded to the internet an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group. Authorities said they also found Islamic State group and al-Qaida material at the home of a second suspect, who is 17.
The actions on Tuesday included raids on several prisons in Austria, as well as interrogations of suspects and seizures of digital devices such as cellphones to look for evidence of radical Islamic propaganda.
Franz Ruf, Austria’s director general for public security, appeared to reference the Taylor Swift plot in the statement, saying the last few weeks have shown the importance of cooperation between security agencies to counter extremism.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner also called for stronger powers for investigators to be able to root out such plots. Currently, Austrian officials often rely on other countries — such as for the Swift concerts, where the CIA discovered the information — because unlike some foreign intelligence services, Austria can’t legally monitor text messages.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is getting its bells back, just in time for the medieval landmark’s reopening following a devastating 2019 fire.
A convoy of trucks bearing eight restored bells — the heaviest of which weighs more than 4 tons — pulled into the huge worksite surrounding the monument Thursday on an island in the Seine River.
They are being blessed in a special ceremony inside the cathedral before being hoisted to hang in its twin towers for the Dec. 8 reopening to the public.
Cathedral Rector Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, wearing a hardhat as he prepared to enter the cathedral and bless the bells, called them `’a sign that the cathedral will again resonate, and that its voice will be heard again. A sign of the call to prayer, and a sign of coming together.”
The bells will be raised one by one and tested out, but they won’t ring in full until the day of the reopening, said Philippe Jost, overseeing the massive Notre Dame reconstruction project. He called the bells’ arrival `’a very beautiful symbol of the cathedral’s rebirth.”
While construction on the cathedral started in the 12th century, the bronze bells damaged in the fire are from the 21st century. They were built according to historical tradition to replace older bells that had become discordant, to mark the monument’s 850th anniversary.
The cathedral’s roof and spire, which collapsed in the fire, have been replaced, and scaffolding is being gradually removed from the site.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is wrapping up a three-nation, Ukraine-focused European tour in Poland after hearing repeated appeals from Ukrainian officials to use western-supplied weaponry for long-range strikes inside Russia.
Blinken travelled to Warsaw on Thursday after spending a day in Kyiv with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during which they pledged to bring the Ukrainian requests to their leaders.
U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are to meet in the United States on Friday amid signs both Washington and London are growing more receptive to allowing the Ukrainians to use their arms to hit targets farther inside Russia than previously okayed.
NATO member Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, has been supportive of the Ukrainians and Blinken is likely to hear further requests for easing weapons-use restrictions from Polish President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.
On Wednesday, Blinken and Lammy announced that the United States and Britain had pledged nearly US$1.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine during their visit to Kyiv. Blinken announced more than US$700 million in humanitarian aid, while Lammy confirmed that his country would provide another US$782 million in assistance and loan guarantees.
Much of the effort was aimed at bolstering the energy grid that Russia has repeatedly pounded ahead of an expected difficult winter.
Ukraine’s wish list is long and non-military assistance is certainly on it, but Ukrainian officials made clear their most important ask is for easing restrictions on where western weapons can be used. Air-raid sirens sounded repeatedly during the visit, causing delays in their schedule and forcing them to cancel a wreath-laying ceremony.
Blinken said he would bring the discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the missiles “back to Washington to brief the president” and that Biden and Starmer will “no doubt” talk about the issue when they meet in Washington.
“As what Russia’s doing has changed as the battlefield has changed, we’ve adapted,” Blinken said at a news conference in Warsaw, speaking alongside Sikorski.
“One of the purposes of my visit to Kyiv yesterday was to hear from our Ukrainian partners what they believe they need now to deal with the current battlefield, including in eastern Ukraine and other parts of the country,” he said. “I can tell you that as we go forward we will do exactly what we have already done, which is we will adjust as necessary … in order to defend against Russian aggression.”
He delivered a similar message in Kyiv a day earlier. In both cases, the language was similar to that which he used in May, shortly before the U.S. green-lit Ukrainian use of U.S. weapons just inside Russian territory.
The diplomatic visit unfolded as Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army bears down on Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and conducts aerial attacks on cities across the country using missiles, glide bombs and drones that claim many civilian casualties.
But relations between Ukraine and its western partners have been increasingly strained by Kyiv’s repeated appeals for the West’s authorization to use long-range weapons from the United States and other allies to strike targets deeper inside Russia.
That issue took on added urgency after Russia’s latest reported acquisition of ballistic missiles from Iran, but western leaders have so far balked at Ukraine’s request, fearing that, if granted, it could escalate the war.
Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire U.S.-provided missiles across the border into Russia in self-defence, but has largely limited the distance they can be fired.
Zelenskyy said he hoped for changes to those limitations.
“Let’s count on some strong decisions, at least,” he said. “For us, it’s very important.”
KYIV – After spending years in what she described as “boring, sedentary” roles in the offices of several Ukrainian companies, Liliia Shulha landed her dream job as a truck driver with Ukraine’s leading retailer, Fozzy Group.
“I always dreamed about big cars. Instead of (playing with) dolls, I drove cars when I was a child,” she told Reuters.
“Now the situation is such that they take people without experience and they train. I was lucky,” said Shulha, 40, wearing a company uniform in front of a large truck.
As the war with Russia drains the labour force, businesses are trying to cover critical shortages by hiring more women in traditionally male-dominated roles and turning to teenagers, students and older workers.
With millions of people, mostly women and children, abroad after fleeing the war, and tens of thousands of men mobilized into the army, the jobs crisis could endanger economic growth and a post-war recovery, analysts say.
Ukraine has lost over a quarter of its workforce since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, central bank data showed.
Nearly 60 per cent of businesses said finding skilled workers was their main challenge, an economy ministry survey of over 3,000 companies showed.
“The situation is indeed critical,” said Tetiana Petruk, chief sustainability officer at steel company Metinvest, one of Ukraine’s largest employers with a workforce of about 45,000. It has about 4,000 vacancies.
“The staff deficit that we feel has an impact on our production,” Petruk told Reuters in an online interview.
“We are not the only ones who feel the staff shortages, all companies in the regions feel that, including our contractors.”
Reuters spoke to representatives of nine Ukrainian companies, from big industrial firms to retail groups and small private entrepreneurs. All said staff shortages and a growing mismatch of skills were big challenges.
Businesses said they were changing recruitment and business practices, automating, rotating existing staff and expanding their job descriptions, re-hiring retirees and offering more benefits, especially for younger workers.
They have also had to increase wages. The average monthly wage is now about 20,000 hryvnias (US$470) compared to about 14,500 a year ago.
“There is a noticeable shift away from gender and age bias in candidate selection as employers adjust criteria to attract needed employees,” said the Kyiv School of Economics. “This trend also extends to entrepreneurship, where the share of female entrepreneurs is growing significantly.”
More women
Male-dominated industries are more affected by staff shortages, the central bank said.
The construction sector, transport, mining and others have all suffered because of military mobilization, for which men aged 25 to 60 are eligible. To keep the economy running, the government provides full or partial deferrals for critical companies.
In the energy and weapons production sectors, 100 per cent of staff are eligible for draft deferral. In some other sectors, firms can retain 50 per cent of male staff. But the process to secure deferral is long and complicated.
As the government toughened mobilization rules this year, the number of men preferring informal employment – allowing them to stay off public data records – grew, some enterprises said.
In the agricultural southern region of Mykolayiv, women are being trained as tractor drivers. Women are also increasingly working as tram and truck drivers, coal miners, security guards and warehouse workers, companies say.
“We are offering training and jobs for women who have minimal experience,” said Lyubov Ukrainets, human resources director at Silpo, part of Fozzy Group.
Including Shulha, the company has six female truck drivers and is more actively recruiting women for other jobs previously dominated by men, including loaders, meat splitters, packers and security guards.
The share of female employees is growing in industries such as steel production. Petruk said female staff accounted for about 30-35 per cent of Metinvest’s workforce and the company now hired women for some underground jobs. Metinvest was unable to provide comparative figures for before the war.
Some other women are unable or unwilling to join the workforce because of a lack of childcare. Shulha, who works 15-day stretches on the road, has moved back in with her parents to ensure care for her 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter.
Young people
Businesses and economists expect labour market challenges to persist. Employers are turning their attention to young people by offering training, job experience and targeted benefit packages.
Metinvest, which previously focused on students, is now increasingly working with professional colleges, Petruk said.
Silpo is more actively hiring teenagers for entry-level jobs in supermarkets and has launched a specialized internship program for students.
Mobile phone operator Vodafone repackaged its youth program, creating an opportunity for about 50 teenagers in 12 cities to get their first job experience.
“We want to offer the first proper experience of the official job to this young audience. Another objective is to build a talent pool,” said Ilona Voloshyna of Vodafone Retail.
“Also we want to understand the youth,” she said in a Vodafone shop in Kyiv as six teenagers consulted with visitors.
The government and foreign partners have launched several programs to help Ukrainians reskill.
“We provide the opportunity for everyone at state expense to obtain a new profession which is in demand on the labour market, or to raise their professional level,” said Tetiana Berezhna, a deputy economy minister.
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to put his nuclear force fully ready for battle with its rivals.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the missiles launched from North Korea’s capital flying 360 kilometres (about 220 miles) before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed officials to ensure the safety of ships and aircraft, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
The reported fight distances suggest the missiles were designed to attack South Korea. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned the launches as a provocation that poses a serious threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The launches were North Korea’s first public weapons firing activities in more than two months. On July 1, North Korea claimed to have tested a new tactical weapon capable of delivering a “super-large” 4.5 ton-class warhead.
In a Monday speech marking his government’s 76th foundation anniversary, Kim said he would redouble efforts to make his nuclear force fully ready for combat with the United States and its allies. Kim made such a pledge saying North Korea faces “a grave threat” because of what he called “the reckless expansion” of a U.S.-led regional military bloc that is now developing into a nuclear-based one.
Kim has made similar vows numerous times, but his latest threat came as outside experts believe North Korea could carry out a nuclear test explosion or long-range missile test-launches ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November to boost its leverage in future dealings with the U.S.
On Sunday, North Korea’s state media published a photo of Kim inspecting a 12-axel vehicle that would be the the country’s biggest missile launch platform. That sparked speculation that the North could be developing a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland.
Recent commercial satellite images indicate that North Korea’s northeastern nuclear test site incurred minor damage from heavy summer rains in recent weeks and that no notable recent work was detected at its tunnels, 38 North, a North Korea-focused website, said an analytical piece published Wednesday.
Thursday’s launches also came after North Korea flew hundreds of huge balloons carrying rubbish toward South Korea for five straight days through Sunday.
Since 2022, North Korea has sharply ramped up its weapons testing activities in part of its efforts to perfect its capabilities to launch strikes on the U.S. and South Korea. The U.S. and South Korea have responded by expanding military drills that North Korea calls invasion rehearsals.
Last month, Kim had still held off from missile tests or other provocative military demonstrations as the United States and South Korea conducted large-scale summertime military exercises. North Korea has previously reacted with other major U.S.-South Korean military training with its own weapons tests.
But prior to the U.S.-South Korean exercises, Kim staged a big ceremony in Pyongyang to mark the delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units and called for a ceaseless expansion of his country’s nuclear program. The Aug. 4 event added to concerns about Kim’s pushes to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the tense border with South Korea.
Alberto Fujimori, whose decade-long presidency began with triumphs righting Peru’s economy and defeating a brutal insurgency only to end in a disgrace of autocratic excess that later sent him to prison, has died. He was 86.
He had been pardoned in December from his convictions for corruption and responsibility for the murder of 25 people. His daughter said in July that he was planning to run for Peru’s presidency for the fourth time in 2026.
The former university president and mathematics professor emerged from obscurity to win Peru’s 1990 elections over writer Mario Vargas Llosa. He took over a country ravaged by runaway inflation and guerrilla violence, mending the economy with bold actions including mass privatizations of state industries. He also defeated fanatical Shining Path rebels, winning him broad-based support.
Fujimori, who governed Peru from 1990 to 2000, was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for being the mastermind behind the slayings of 25 Peruvians while the government fought the Shining Path communist rebels. The accusations against him led to years of legal wrangling.
Life inside a prison built on the outskirts of Peru’s capital, Lima, did not stop Fujimori from seeking political revindication. In July, daughter Keiko announced that he intended to run for the presidency in 2026. He never explained how he would overcome a Peruvian law that bans anyone found guilty of acts of corruption from running for the office of president or vice-president.
A billionaire stepped out for the first private spacewalk Thursday, teaming up with SpaceX on the daring endeavour hundreds of miles above Earth.
Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and his crew waited until their capsule was depressurized before popping open the hatch. Isaacman emerged first, joining a small elite group of spacewalkers who until now had included only professional astronauts from a dozen countries.
“Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world,” said Isaacman.
The commercial spacewalk was the main focus of the five-day flight financed by Isaacman and Elon Musk’s company, and the culmination of years of development geared toward settling Mars and other planets.
All four on board donned SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits to protect themselves from the harsh vacuum. They launched on Tuesday from Florida, rocketing farther from Earth than anyone since NASA’s moonwalkers. The orbit was reduced by half — to 460 miles (740 kilometres) — for the spacewalk.
This first spacewalking test, expected to last about two hours, involved more stretching than walking. The plan called for Isaacman to keep a hand or foot attached to it the whole time as he flexed his arms and legs to see how the new spacesuit would hold up. The hatch sported a walker-like structure for extra support.
After about 15 minutes outside, Isaacman was replaced by SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis to go through the same motions.
Each had 12-foot (3.6-metre) tethers but no intention of unfurling them or dangling at the end unlike what happens at the International Space Station, where astronauts routinely float out to do repairs at a much lower orbit.
More and more wealthy passengers are plunking down huge sums for rides aboard private rockets to experience a few minutes of weightlessness. Other have spent tens of millions to stay in space for days or even weeks. Space experts and risk analysts say it’s inevitable that some will seek the thrill of spacewalking, deemed one of the most dangerous parts of spaceflight after launch and reentry but also the most soul-stirring.
This operation was planned down to the minute with little room for error. Trying out new spacesuits from a spacecraft new to spacewalking added to the risk. So did the fact that the entire capsule was exposed to the vacuum of space.
Scott “Kidd” Poteet, a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot, and SpaceX engineer Anna Menon stayed strapped to their seats to monitor from inside. All four underwent intensive training before the trip.
This image made from a SpaceX video shows the crew of the first private spacewalk led by tech billionaire Jared Isaacman inside the capsule, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (SpaceX via AP)
Isaacman, 41, CEO and founder of the Shift4 credit card-processing company, has declined to disclose how much he invested in the flight. It was the first of three flights in a program he’s dubbed Polaris; this one was called Polaris Dawn. For SpaceX’s inaugural private flight in 2021, he took up contest winners and a cancer survivor.
Until Thursday, only 263 people had conducted a spacewalk, representing 12 countries. The Soviet Union’s Alexei Leonov kicked it off in 1965, followed a few months later by NASA’s Ed White.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
As contract negotiations continue, passengers face potential headaches from cancelled flights and trip disruptions as early as Sunday.
While Air Canada has shared advice for travellers ahead of a possible pilots strike, an airline passenger rights advocate has more tips for Canadians who may be affected.
Gabor Lukacs, president of Air Passenger Rights, an independent non-profit advocacy group in Halifax, advises travellers to avoid cancelling flights themselves so they can hold Air Canada liable for extra expenses. The airline must refund your airfare, in the original form of payment, if you choose not to travel after the airline cancelled your flight, he said.
“So my recommendation to passengers is always to wait until the airline cancels and then you have far more rights,” Lukacs said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday, noting Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, also known as the APPR, apply once the airline cancels flights. “If you cancel as a passenger, then you are at your Air Canada’s mercy as long as they are operating the flight. …
“Whatever the airline’s policy says, that’s what (a) passenger has to follow if you decide to cancel just because you’re chickening out from the travel.”
Pre-emptive cancellations
If the airline pre-emptively cancels flights before a strike, it should be responsible for passengers’ expenses, Lukacs said.
“As long as the pilots have not actually walked off the job, any cancellation that occurs is within Air Canada’s control,” Lukacs said. “(Airlines) are responsible for meals, accommodation and they also have to pay passengers a lump sum compensation up to $1,000 per passenger for these cancellations based on how long (of a) delay the cancellation causes.”
But once the strike officially happens, not including the strike notice, the airline doesn’t owe passengers any lump sum compensation, he said.
Getting refunds
Don’t accept the airline’s refunds of your airfare if your flight is affected by a strike and you still want to travel, Lukacs said.
“What airlines love doing is tell you we’re going to refund your airfare and then you can go and buy yourself a ticket on a different airline,” he said. “But in most cases, that new ticket is going to be way more expensive. So by accepting a refund, the airline may be able to wash its hands from the expense of your new alternate transportation. And under the law, it is the airline which is supposed to buy you a new transportation, not you.”
Collect evidence, such as recording audio conversations, in case of disputes. If the airline refuses to pay for the ticket, then buy the ticket yourself and after you finish travelling, send the bill to the airline, Lukacs said.
“And if they refuse to pay, take them to small claims court,” he said, noting it won’t require big fees, you won’t need a lawyer and the judges will be impartial. “Stand your ground. Don’t be a pushover.”
Rebooking options
If an airline cancels a flight because of a strike, it must always offer you two choices, according to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, or APPR.
One option is to rebook your flight free of charge, whether your destination is in Canada or internationally. If an airline can’t rebook you on one of its flights or through a partner airline, then it must place you on a competitor’s flight.
“Air Canada cannot wash its hands and say, ‘Sorry, we don’t have any flights. It has to take out its corporate credit card and buy you a WestJet or a Porter ticket even in business class if that’s the only thing available.”
Air Passenger Rights recommends consulting other websites.
“It may be beneficial to consult a flight booking website to determine what the next available flights in fact are, as some airlines may try to put you on flights departing many hours or days later, in contravention of their rebooking obligation under the APPR,” Air Passenger Rights says on its website.
A second option is to get a refund in the original form of payment within 30 days of “all unused flight segments and segments that no longer serve any purpose.” As well, you are entitled to complimentary transportation to your point of origin if you are not there already and there’s no longer any point to travel because of the cancellation.
What’s more, you may be compensated for out-of-pocket expenses, such as meals, hotels and lost wages, and inconvenience, for international travel, the group wrote on its website.
Itinerary in Canada
If your destination is entirely within Canada, your only protection during a strike is Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations(opens in a new tab), though you may have additional rights under other legislation. APPR applies to all flights to and from Canada.
According to APPR, a strike of an airline’s employees is considered “outside the carrier’s control,” but the airline must offer you the two options mentioned above.
What if you have an international flight?
If you bought a ticket in Canada but the flight is outside the country, you have additional rights to get your expenses and damages reimbursed under the Carriage by Air Act, Lukacs said.
The situation is different for passengers travelling internationally since they are covered by the Carriage by Air Act(opens in a new tab). The airline will need to compensate passengers for meals, accommodation, lost wages and other expenses, but not the lump sum that applies for Canadian destinations.
“It’s their own pilots and Air Canada is responsible for its own labour affairs,” Lukacs said. “There are several decisions from the European top courts interpreting the law and it’s clear that strikes are part of the normal business in an airline so they have to handle it. … It is not something that is outside their control in the eyes of the international law in Canada.”
Police said 76-year-old Juan Bernal has been charged with misdemeanor assault.
A hate crime investigation has been opened in the alleged attack on the owner of a New York City clothing boutique who says a confrontation erupted last month over a large poster of Vice President Kamala Harris displayed in her window and led to the arrest of a 76-year-old suspect, authorities said Tuesday.
On Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told ABC News it is investigating the incident.
“Our Hate Crimes Unit is investigating the matter and the investigation remains ongoing,” said the spokesperson, adding that the District Attorney’s Office cannot disclose anything about the investigation until after Juan Bernal’s arraignment.
On Monday, the New York City Police Department confirmed to ABC News that the suspect, Juan Bernal of New York City, was arrested on Saturday and charged with assault in the third degree — a class A misdemeanor.
Bernal’s arraignment has been scheduled for Sept. 25, the spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office said.
Reached by phone on Monday, Bernal told ABC News he is in the process of finding an attorney to fight the charges.
“The only story I can tell you [is] everything she said is false. It’s not like that. I’m now trying to get lawyers to help me with this,” Bernal said.
Tanya Young Williams, the owner of Tanya’s Luxury Fashion Boutique on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and alum of the VH1 series “Basketball Wives,” told ABC News the attack unfolded outside her store on Aug. 30. She said she was standing in the doorway of her store around 1:30 p.m. when a man walked by her and then came back after apparently noticing the large poster of the Democratic presidential nominee displayed in her window along with T-shirts supporting Harris’ run for the White House.
“He said, ‘You should have this in your window,'” Williams said of the man who allegedly pointed to his T-shirt touting Harris’ opponent, former President Donald Trump. “I moved toward him to keep him sort of out of the store and said, ‘I’m supporting Kamala.'”
Williams, who opened her store in February, said she initially thought she and the man would engage in friendly banter over the presidential campaign. But then things quickly escalated, she said, when he told her why she and other Black voters should support Trump.
“I knew there was no benefit to engaging him because there was no conversation to be had. Because I would not do that, he spits towards me,” Williams said. “And at that moment, I had a decision to make: Should I knock him the hell out, which I could have, or do I try to get hold of him and call the police.”
She alleged the suspect spat at her again, in her face, and she reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders and told witnesses gathered around them to call the police.
Williams said she became distracted and the man allegedly pushed her, causing her to injure herself when the back of her head hit her door.
As the man backed away, she said she ripped off a piece of his shirt that contained a button reading, “We stand with Israel.” Williams showed ABC News the torn section of clothing and button, which she said the man left behind, and she later showed police officers who responded to the 911 calls reporting the incident.
A New York Police Department spokesperson told ABC News that the department launched an investigation of the alleged crime as an assault in the third degree.
Williams alleged the suspect yelled racial slurs at her, but an NYPD incident report does not mention the racial element alleged by Williams.
Williams said Tuesday that she is “at a loss” as to why the information she relayed to a police officer was not in the incident report. She said she has not yet been interviewed by District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office but plans to urge prosecutors to upgrade the charges against Bernal to a hate crime.
Williams is the ex-wife of former NBA star Jayson Williams, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the 2002 accidental shooting of a limousine driver.
“The outpouring of support from the NYC community and even people driving from NJ, Pennsylvania and Maine to express their anger and support for me has been humbling and greatly appreciated,” Wiliams said Tuesday, adding that political differences are part of the American culture but “physical attacks because of our differences can’t be tolerated.”
Bernal told ABC News he went to the police on Saturday after hearing of the allegations made against him. He declined to speak specifically about what happened in the alleged confrontation, saying that he needed to speak to a lawyer first.
“I went to the police precinct on my own, hopefully for them to listen to my side,” Bernal said. “Nobody came to look for me. I went there. They appreciated that I showed up. But right now I’m trying to get out of this situation.”
On the heels of Tuesday night’s presidential debate, Taylor Swift announced she is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
“Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most. As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country.” she wrote.
She continued: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
Swift signed her post with her name and “Childless Cat Lady.”
This image made from a SpaceX video shows the crew of the first private spacewalk led by tech billionaire Jared Isaacman inside the capsule, Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (SpaceX via AP)
