Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith(WASHINGTON) The diverse group of names from politics to activists and entertainment include Biden’s 2020 Democratic primary opponents and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Vice President Al Gore, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Jim Clyburn, Elizabeth Dole and recent Biden Climate Envoy and former Sec. of State John Kerry.The “grandmother of Juneteenth,” Opal Lee, and Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard who was abducted and brutally killed in 1998 because he was gay will also be honored.Oscar award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh, swimming legend Katie Ledecky, “the most decorated female swimmer in history,” and Dr. Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman to go into space during a nine-day mission on the shuttle Discovery in 1993 will also be awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor.The White House said in a statement that the people who were selected to be honored on Friday have “built teams, coa
pop jop/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) Russian military personnel are operating out of an air base in Niger that is still hosting a small number of American troops, two U.S. officials tell ABC News.One of the officials said the Russian trainers arrived several weeks ago at Niger s "Airport 101" near the capital of Niamey, and do not present an immediate security concern to U.S. troops.The Russian forces are operating out of a hangar at a location far away from U.S. forces and not on any property owned or being used by the United States, the officials said Thursday."The Russians are housed in a separate compound and do not have access to US forces, spaces, or equipment," one official said.Still, the development first reported by Reuters speaks to U.S. concerns that Russia is aggressively trying to gain a foothold in West Africa, and specifically Niger where U.S. troops have been asked to leave after building a remote $150 million counterterrorism drone base in Agadez
A person golfs on the first day of tourism resuming in west Maui, two months after a devastating wildfire, on Oct. 08, 2023 near Lahaina, Hawaii. Mario Tama/Getty Images, FILE(HONOLULU) Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signed a bill into law to give counties more authority to regulate short-term vacation rentals amid the ongoing state housing crisis and aftermath of the Maui wildfires.Now, a day after the bill signing, local advocates from Lāhainā Strong are joining County Maui Mayor Richard Bissen to announce a new policy aimed at regulating and phasing out "thousands of transient vacation rentals that have not gone through the traditional permitting process."It’s time we take a stand to house our people by phasing out illegal short term rentals. Today, alongside Lahaina Strong, Hawai‘i’s Hoteliers and Hotel Labor Unions, we united in support of counties’ authority to phase out Short Term Rentals (STRs). pic.twitter.com/Yy9yFgcQbL Governor Josh Green (@GovJoshGreenMD) Ap
pop jop/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) Russian military personnel are operating out of an air base in Niger that is still hosting a small number of American troops, two U.S. officials tell ABC News.One of the officials said the Russian trainers arrived several weeks ago at Niger s "Airport 101" near the capital of Niamey, and do not present an immediate security concern to U.S. troops.The Russian forces are operating out of a hangar at a location far away from U.S. forces and not on any property owned or being used by the United States, the officials said Thursday."The Russians are housed in a separate compound and do not have access to US forces, spaces, or equipment," one official said.Still, the development first reported by Reuters speaks to U.S. concerns that Russia is aggressively trying to gain a foothold in West Africa, and specifically Niger where U.S. troops have been asked to leave after building a remote $150 million counterterrorism drone base in Agadez
Views divided on Israel-Hamas War. ABC News/Ipsos(WASHINGTON) Nearly four in 10 Americans in a new ABC News Ipsos poll say the United States is doing too much to support Israel in its war with Hamas, up from about three in 10 in January. And more trust former President Donald Trump than President Joe Biden to handle the issue, though few call it critical in their choice of a candidate.With protests raging across U.S. college campuses, views on U.S. policy are fragmented. About a third of Americans say the U.S. is doing too little to help protect Palestinian civilians caught up in the war yet a quarter say it s doing too much. The rest, 38%, see the U.S. effort in this regard as about right. Those results are little changed from January.See PDF for full results.On Israel, there has been a shift: Early this year, 31% said the U.S. was doing too much to support Israel in its war with Hamas, while today 38% say so, up 7 percentage points. Twenty percent see too little U.S. support fo