(WASHINGTON) -- Witnesses testifying at a congressional hearing have accused the U.S. intelligence community of deliberately downplaying dozens of Anomalous Health Incidents (AHIs) affecting U.S. personnel, often referred to as "Havana dyndrome."

"It is my view that the executive branch, particularly at the behest of and manipulation by officials within CIA, is not truthfully reporting what it knows," said Mark Zaid, an attorney representing more than two dozen victims of "Havana syndrome," citing U.S. intelligence that he says he's seen in his work but could not reveal in an unclassified setting.

An assessment released last year by the U.S. intelligence community found it was "very unlikely" that a foreign adversary was behind the cases of the so-called "Havana syndrome" affecting U.S. diplomats, intelligence community members, and Defense Department officials.

Each of the witnesses at Wednesday's Homeland Security subcommittee hearing disputed the intelligence community's claim, citing undisclosed classified intelligence that they say proves their assertion.

Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Greg Edgreen, who ran the Pentagon's investigation into "Havana syndrome," told lawmakers the attacks are likely tied to "directed energy," shot through a kind of futuristic weapon. He said there are "extremely strong" indications that at least some of these incidents were the result of attacks conducted by Russian intelligence.

"Give me 20 minutes in a [secure facility] and I'll convince all of you," Edgreen said.

When asked for comment, a CIA spokesperson referred questions to Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which issued last year's assessment.

ABC News has reached out to the ODNI for comment.

Last March, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a statement that the health events were probably the result of other factors such as "preexisting conditions, conventional illnesses, and environmental factors."

Haines added that the evidence also did not indicate that a "causal mechanism," such as a weapon, or a "unique syndrome" brought on the reported symptoms.

Zaid told the committee he's aware of attacks on U.S. personnel all over the world, including on U.S. soil. Many attacks, he says, were concentrated in Northern Virginia, an area home to many CIA officers.

"There are at least two dozen cases that even the CIA acknowledges they can't explain away by any other alternative factors," Zaid added, referring to a 2022 assessment by the agency that examined roughly 1,000 "Havana syndrome" cases.

Lawmakers on the committee promised to continue to examine these claims and hear more from the witnesses in a classified setting.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, testifying elsewhere on Capitol Hill Wednesday, was asked about compensation for Defense Department personnel who have reported symptoms associated with AHI.

"Will you commit to this committee that the department will work on that and provide the required payments to victims?" asked New Hampshire Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

"Absolutely, senator," Austin said.

The Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) Act of 2021 passed by Congress authorizes government agencies to provide payments to personnel who have suffered brain injuries from hostilities while on assignment.

A U.S. official told ABC News on Wednesday the Department of Defense has "provided medical assessment and/or treatment in the military health care system for more than 200 people" relating to AHI since 2016. But the official wouldn't say how many of those were deemed to have suffered traumatic brain injuries, citing patient privacy rules.

But so far, none has received payments.

"DOD has not made any HAVANA Act payments yet, because we are working to establish implementation guidance for the Department," the official said. "We expect to issue such guidance this summer."

A study published last month by the National Institutes of Health concluded: "There was no significant MRI-detectable evidence of brain injury among the group of participants who experienced AHIs compared with a group of matched control participants."

But the Pentagon might provide compensation to some possibly affected individuals, regardless.

"The implementation guidance will address criteria for determining who qualifies for compensation. We anticipate that MRI results will be one of several factors considered in making the determinations," the official said.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- In his fourth trip to Wisconsin already this year, President Joe Biden on Wednesday, at an intimate campaign event in the swing state, sought out Black voters to speak about the stakes in November.

The event was the first in a series of engagements the campaign has scheduled through the month of May that focus on deepening contacts with what it has deemed to be the core constituencies critical in the 2024 election.

"I got involved in politics because of the African American community," Biden told the mainly Black audience of local supporters and community members in Racine County.

The president, who has faced criticism from key Democrats, including South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, for his lagging polling numbers in the Black community, sought to woo the key demographic in Wisconsin by drawing a sharp contrast with former President Donald Trump.

"Trump means what he says and he says he's gonna get rid of all the stuff that we've done," Biden said.

On a call with reporters, Biden's deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said the campaign is "attempting to earn every vote."

"The general election is just starting to crystallize for voters across the country, and we're taking advantage of the moment to meet them where they are," Fulks said.

Racine Police Chief Art Howell, who introduced Biden at the event called the event "encouraging."

"The folks that were there, were able to really connect with the president on an intimate level. Learn more about his past accomplishments, current agenda and vision moving forward," Howell said.

Biden also touted his administration's policies that have directly affected the Black community, including capping insulin out-of-pocket costs at $35.

In a memo released Wednesday, the campaign argued that Trump has failed the Black community, saying he's supported legislation that cost the state more than 83,000 jobs.

“While Trump and his MAGA allies abandon efforts to reach Black voters, the Biden-Harris campaign has been showing up early and often,” said Wisconsin Director Garren Randolph in the memo. “President Biden and his campaign are committed to meeting voters where they are to earn their vote. That’s a stark contrast to Donald Trump, who has virtually no campaign infrastructure in the state and is driving away voters with his job-killing, extremist agenda.”

On Wednesday the campaign announced a new $14 million paid media investment for May that includes seven-figure investments into African American, Hispanic, and AAPI media.

Wisconsin has special political significance. It's part of the critical "blue wall" in the Midwest that voted Democratic for decades before Trump's candidacy. Biden only won the state over Trump in 2020 by some 20,000 votes. A loss in November would likely be a major blow to his reelection effort.

According to the latest Marquette Law School polling, just 37% of Black voters in Wisconsin say they're "very enthusiastic" about November's presidential election. The coveted group makes up nearly 7% of the state's population, according to the 2020 census and 21% in Milwaukee.

In a recent Washington Post/Ipsos poll, Biden faces additional problems with Black Americans in terms of turnout. The poll found that 62% of Black Americans say they're "absolutely certain to vote," down from 74% in June 2020.

Shanice Jones, who has been out canvassing in Milwaukee for the group Black Leaders Organizing for the Community, or BLOC, said she's "tired" of supporting presidential candidates who she said don't support her community.

"I feel like everybody deserves a chance once they get that chance, but it's up to what you do when you get to office to prove if you deserve another chance. And right now, the way he's going, I really don't feel like he should," she said.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden said Wednesday that American bombs have been used to kill civilians in Gaza and doubled down on his administration's plan to withhold weapons that Israel could use as part of a major invasion of Rafah.

More than a million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city in southern Gaza.

At least 30 people had been killed in Rafah since Tuesday, including women and children, the Al Kuwaiti hospital spokesperson in Rafah told ABC News. More than 33,000 have been killed overall in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

"I know that you have paused, Mr. President, shipments of 2,000 pound U.S. bombs to Israel due to concern that they could be used in any offensive on Rafah. Have those bombs, those powerful 2,000 pound bombs been used to kill civilians in Gaza?" CNN's Erin Burnett asked in the rare major network television interview.

"Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers," Biden answered.

"I made it clear that if they go into Rafah -- they haven't gone in Rafah yet -- if they go into Rafah, I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem," the president said.

"So it's not over your red line yet?" Burnett asked of Israel's current action in Rafah.

"Not yet. But it's -- we've held up the weapons. We've held up the one shipment. It's an old shipment. We've held that up," Biden said.

The White House on Tuesday called the Israeli incursion into Rafah "limited in scope" so far.

Israel on Wednesday appeared to downplay the U.S. withholding the bombs.

"We are responsible for the security interests of the State of Israel, and we are attentive to the interest of the United States in the region," Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

Biden's comments to CNN were the most outspoken he's been to date publicly on how far he's willing to go to curtail U.S. aid to Israel.

Biden said the U.S. will "continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently."

"But it's, it's just wrong. We're not going to -- we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used, that have been used," Biden said.

Burnett also sought to nail down Biden's view of what Israel is doing in Rafah right now, and if he believes that qualifies as a major ground invasion in Rafah that he has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be a major mistake.

"No, they haven't gone into the population centers. What they did is right on the border. And It's causing problems with, right now in terms of -- with Egypt, which I've worked very hard to make sure we have a relationship and help," he said.

"But I've made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet, they're not going to get our support, if in fact they go in these population centers," he added.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday officially triggered a vote on her motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, but within minutes Democrats joined almost all Republicans to overwhelmingly reject her move.

There were audible boos from lawmakers in the chamber as Greene spoke at length about her grievances with Johnson as she called for a vote.

The Georgia congresswoman, flanked by co-sponsor GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, asserted Johnson had "not lived up to a single one" of the promises he made the Republican conference after he was elected to the top post in October.

"By passing the Democrats' agenda and handcuffing the Republicans' ability and influence legislation, our elected Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has aided and abetted the Democrats and the Biden administration in destroying our country," Greene said.

Johnson was on the House floor with his leadership team as Greene read her resolution.

The House quickly moved to hold a vote on a motion to table, or effectively kill, Greene's effort to oust Johnson. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise rose to request the vote on tabling Greene's resolution, which passed with bipartisan support.

The final vote to dismiss Greene's motion was 359-43 with seven lawmakers voting present. Lawmakers cheered when the tally was read out.

Eleven Republicans and 32 Democrats voted against killing Greene's motion.

Johnson joked with reporters after the vote, saying, "it’s just another Wednesday on Capitol Hill."

The speaker called Greene's resolution a "misguided effort," and thanked his colleagues for supporting him.

"Hopefully, this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress. It's regrettable. It's not who we are as Americans and we're better than this. We need to get beyond it," Johnson said.

Greene told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott after the vote that she was not surprised by the vote against her motion to vacate the speaker's chair.

"I think this is exactly what the American people needed to see," she said.

"I didn't run for Congress to come up here and join the uni-party, and the uni-party was on full display today," she added. "As a matter of fact, [the Republican Party] proved they're ready to do everything with the Democrats."

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party's decision to help save Johnson's job was aimed at restoring common sense and quelling chaos in Washington.

"Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene, from plunging the House of Representatives and the country into further chaos is rooted in our commitment to solve problems for everyday Americans in a bipartisan manner," the New York congressman told reporters. "We need more common sense and less chaos in Washington, D.C. Marjorie Taylor Greene and extreme MAGA Republicans are chaos agents."

When asked repeatedly whether Democrats would vote to save Johnson again if further motions to remove him are filed -- or if Democrats would demand concessions from Johnson to do so in the future -- Jeffries said "the vote clearly speaks for itself."

"It was a vote of conscience. It was overwhelming. It was decisive. And we need to move forward as a Congress," he added.

Greene did not answer when asked if she plans on trying to kick out Johnson again.

Former President Donald Trump, who has backed Johnson during his feud with Greene, said in a post on Truth Social that now was not the time to be making motions to vacate.

"If we show DISUNITY, which will be portrayed as CHAOS, it will negatively affect everything! Mike Johnson is a good man who is trying very hard. I also wish certain things were done over the last period of two months, but we will get them done, together," he said.

Nevertheless, Greene said she was thankful for Trump's support.

Greene's move Wednesday was a sudden shift in tactics after she appeared to be backing off her weekslong threat, following back-to-back meetings with Johnson on Monday and Tuesday.

In between meetings, she had given Johnson a list of demands she wanted implemented, which included no more aid to Ukraine and defunding special counsel Jack Smith's office.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- Barron Trump, the youngest child of former President Donald Trump, was chosen as one of Florida's at-large delegates for the Republican National Convention, according to a list of delegates obtained by ABC News.

In response to the news of Barron Trump being selected as one of Florida's at-large delegates to the Republican National Convention, a Trump campaign official told ABC News that the former president's youngest son is "very interested" in the political process.

"Yes, he's on the delegation roster and Barron is very interested in our nation's political process," the campaign official said.

Other Trump family members who have played an active role in Trump's presidential campaign will also serve as at-large delegates, including Trump's older sons, Eric Trump, Don Jr. Trump and his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Trump's youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump.

Eric Trump will serve as delegation chair while Guifoyle serves on the Platform Committee.

The list also includes close allies of the former president who will serve as delegates, including Pam Bondi, Sergio Gor, Steve Witkoff and Ike Perlmutter.

"We are fortunate to have a great group of grassroots leaders, elected officials, and members of the Trump family working together as part of the Florida delegation to the 2024 Republican National Convention," Florida GOP Chair Evan Power said in a statement. "The RPOF is ready for a great convention in Milwaukee, but more importantly, we are excited as we continue to lay the groundwork in Florida for success. Mark my words, we are going to win and we will win big in November!"

NBC was the first to report on Barron Trump being chosen as a delegate.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign on Wednesday responded to a New York Times report that described an incident where the independent candidate claimed a doctor told him that a parasitic worm was found in his brain more than a decade ago.

In a 2012 deposition during a divorce from his second wife, Kennedy revealed that a doctor found a dead parasite in his brain -- one of multiple health conditions Kennedy said may have caused what he described in the deposition as "cognitive problems" he had experienced at the time, according to according to The New York Times.

In a statement, Kennedy spokeswoman Stefanie Spear said the candidate contracted a parasite during his travel as an environmental advocate -- likely when he visited either Africa, South America or Asia.

"The issue was resolved more than 10 years ago, and he is in robust physical and mental health," Spear said. "Questioning Mr. Kennedy's health is a hilarious suggestion, given his competition."

Kennedy, 70, who is working to gain ballot access nationwide, is aiming to run against two of the oldest people to ever run for president: 81-year-old President Joe Biden and the presumptive Republican nominee, 77-year-old former President Donald Trump.

Doctors interviewed by ABC News say that the parasitic brain infection he described could cause a wide range of health problems, but the health impacts can also be relatively limited and short-lived for most people.

These types of infections are more common in lower-income countries, but in the United States they lead to an estimated 2,000 hospitalizations per year, according to the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The parasite was discovered in 2010, when doctors scanning his brain concluded that a cyst there contained the remains of a parasite, Kennedy said, according to the New York Times.

In the deposition, the contents of which ABC News has not independently verified, Kennedy cited a doctor who told Kennedy he believed a parasite had eaten part of his brain before dying. Doctors interviewed by ABC News clarified that these types of parasites don't actually eat brain tissue. Rather, they absorb nutrients passively before dying.

According to doctors interviewed by ABC News, an infection like this could lead to seizures, which could potentially cause short-lived memory problems as Kennedy described, but most patients would mount a full recovery. The health impact would all depend on the specific location of the parasite within the brain, and many other factors related to a person's health history.

However, the parasite is not the only medical issue Kennedy revealed in the deposition, as the Times reported he disclosed he had contracted mercury poisoning, something he attributed to a diet heavy on fish.

This is also plausible, according to doctors interviewed by ABC News. Similarly, mercury poisoning could potentially lead to cognitive issues, but in most cases, those issues are short-lived and a person can make a full recovery.

Spear did not address the poisoning in her statement to ABC News. She also did not respond to a request to share Kennedy's medical records.

Later Wednesday, RFK Jr. tried to make light of the news about the parasitic worm.

"I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate," he posted on X.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- Congressional Republicans on Wednesday claimed their demands led to Washington's Metropolitan Police Department clashing with and removing pro-Palestinian protesters encamped at George Washington University.

Supporters of the protesters, meanwhile, said the city went too far.

Officers used pepper spray on pro-Palestinian protesters after they allegedly refused several orders to end the encampment when police moved in about 3 a.m., D.C. police chief Pam Smith told reporters.

Thirty-three people were arrested, most of whom were charged with unlawful entry, with one being charged with an assault on a police officer, Smith said.

"Our responses to demonstrations are always rooted in public safety," D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters about her decision to send in police to clear the encampment two weeks after it began. 

The police moved in just hours before Bowser, a Democrat, and the city's police chief were called to testify on Capitol Hill -- after GOP lawmakers demanded action.

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee canceled the hearing Wednesday morning after the encampment was cleared.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, who had visited the encampment on Friday, released statements claiming their pressure on city leaders got action.

"This week, Chairman Comer and the Oversight Committee delivered results by compelling Mayor Bowser to order police to clear the weeks-long, pro-Hamas and illegal encampments around George Washington University's campus," Johnson said in a statement.

GWU protesters have said they were calling out the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza since the start of the conflict and have pushed their school's administrators to stop investing in Israel. Local officials have not provided evidence that the protesters expressed support for Hamas.

"I thanked her for finally clearing the trespassers off the GW Campus," Comer said in his statement about speaking with Bowser afterward. 

"It was unfortunate the situation at GW forced the Oversight Committee to act; however it was apparent that the DC police force was not going to do their job," he said.

The school issued a statement saying that University Yard and Kogan Plaza will remain closed until the end of commencement on May 19.

"During this time, given the heightened safety concerns related to the recent illegal demonstrations as well as the ongoing exams, all activities, including activities of free expression on campus, will require reservation through the Division for Student Affairs," GWU said in a statement.

Later Wednesday, protesters and their supporters blasted Comer and Bowser for escalating the situation.

"We should not be here today to tell our mayor not to be complicit in arresting protesters," Nee Nee Taylor, a D.C. activist said.

Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Cori Bush of Missouri also spoke out against the police action.

“Students are protesting all across the country because they believe our government has failed to recognize the common humanity of all people," Bush said.

Republicans had used the GWU protests in the heart of the nation's capital to decry the demonstrations and encampments that have popped up on campuses across the country.

Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton told ABC's This Week co-anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday that he was appalled by some of the things he said protesters had done, referring to a statue of George Washington that he said was defaced with spray paint, stickers, kaffiyeh, and Palestinian flag.

"It is antisemitic and anti-Israeli," Cotton claimed.

Smith, the city's police chief, said that the police had been closely monitoring the situation on campus since the encampment began on April 25 and supported the protester's First Amendment rights, but said police saw "an escalation in the volatility," in the last couple of days.

She alleged a protester pushed a GWU campus officer and grabbed an item from her hand. She also claimed that protesters were probing campus buildings, and gathering "items that could potentially be used for offensive and defensive weapons."

"All of this led to my discussion and conclusion that we needed to change our posture," Smith said.

Jeffery Carroll, Smith's executive chief assistant, alleged that outside demonstrators, including some who were at Columbia University's protest, may have joined the GWU encampment.

Police, however, declined to provide more details of their evidence when asked by reporters.

Carroll said that pepper spray was used on three people in response to assaults on police officers and not used to disperse the group.

"The information I have at this time, it was three individuals … three uses of pepper spray," he said.

A protester, who identified herself only as Lauren, spoke with reporters after she was released from jail later in the day and said there was no need for the police tactics. She said the protesters were engaging in negotiations with school administrators.

She said the protesters would remain steadfast in their calls for the school to listen to their concerns.

"They can Mace us, they can brutalize us, [and] they can pepper spray us, but the movement is here. It is stronger than ever," she said.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden took shots at former President Donald Trump on Wednesday as he traveled to Wisconsin to tout a new multi-billion dollar Microsoft investment at the same site where a Trump administration project failed.

The event in the 2024 election battleground state, billed by the White House as an official stop in his capacity as president, came as Biden ramps up both campaign and official visits across the country while his political rival is largely stuck in a Manhattan courtroom.

"The administration promised a $10 trillion investment by Foxconn to build new manufacturing complex, create 13,000 new jobs. In fact, he came here with your Senator Ron Johnson, literally holding a golden shovel, promising to build the eighth wonder of the world," Biden said, being careful not to use Trump's name, referring to him only as "my predecessor."

Biden instead announced a $3.3 billion investment by Microsoft to build an AI data center at the location in Racine, Wisconsin. The data center will be at the same site that Trump planned for the Taiwanese tech company Foxconn to invest billions of dollars in 2018.

That facility failed to materialize, even after the Biden administration said that local and state governments pumped $500 million in taxpayer dollars into preparing the site.

"Are you kidding me? Look what happened. They dug a hole with those golden shovels, and then they fell into it," Biden continued, trolling Trump.

Biden was referring to a 2018 groundbreaking ceremony that Trump participated in with other officials, all holding gold shovels. Then-President Trump shoveled dirt with the backdrop of the construction lot, tractors, and a large American flag.

"They wasted hundreds of millions of dollars, your state and local tax dollars, and promised a project that never happened," Biden added. "Foxconn turned out to be just that, a con."

Biden promised thousands of new jobs and his remarks were intended to draw a contrast between the Trump administration's economic policies and the current White House approach -- a message he's continued to lean into as he looks to sell his economic accomplishments to the American people ahead of the November election.

"Folks, during the previous administration, my predecessor made promises which he broke more than kept and left a lot of people behind in communities like Racine. On my watch, we make promises and we keep promises. And we leave no one behind," Biden said.

This official stop, in the critical swing state in Wisconsin, will be followed by a campaign event in the state.

Wednesday's Wisconsin speech is just the most recent official event Biden has held in important electoral states. Last week, he was in North Carolina touting new funding to help replace lead pipes across the state and country.

He has also frequented the important swing state of Pennsylvania, for both campaign and official presidential events.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- Former President Donald Trump has praised South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, saying he likes her "a lot" and that she's gone through "rough" days amid controversy of her newly released book.

"She had a rough couple of days. I will say that," Trump said in an interview with Wisconsin's Spectrum News 1 on Tuesday, while declining to say whether she's on his shortlist to be his vice president. Noem is among Trump's close allies whose name has come up as Trump's potential vice presidential hopefuls.

His comments came as Noem continues to face backlash over several anecdotes in her book, No Going Back, which came out Tuesday.

Noem has been harshly criticized for describing how she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog "Cricket" and was forced to admit what she called "errors" in her book including claiming she once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. That description has been removed from the book, according to the publisher.

Asked about Noem's vice presidential chances now, Trump declined to say more.

"I like her a lot," Trump said, adding, "I don't want to comment on anybody on the list."

Noem spent the weekend at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club as hundreds of donors and Republican supporters gathered for a spring retreat hosted by the Republican National Committee. She appeared along with others whose names have been speculated about as possible vice presidential picks, including Sens. Tim Scott, Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance.

The South Dakota Republican governor has been upfront about her desire to be vice president, saying she would accept the offer "in a heartbeat."

At a rally in her home state in September, when she greeted the former president on stage, a graphic popped up on stage reading "TRUMP-NOEM 2024." She also endorsed Trump at the rally.

Trump has boasted about Noem's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as she campaigned for him in early states.

However, her recent efforts to explain the mistakes in her book, as well as a lawsuit stemming from an ad she released promoting an out-of-state dentist, have affected her reputation. Sources have told ABC News that Noem's chances at being selected as Trump's running mate are bleak.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- Getting illicit pills is as easy as ordering food delivery through an app, the Drug Enforcement Administration warned Congress on Tuesday.

"We say all the time that the most dangerous place in the world right now is our homes because everyone has a smartphone, and within two or three … clicks on a smartphone, people are having pills delivered to their front doorstep like Uber Eats, like they get pizza delivered," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told a House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday.

"We're losing 22 Americans, teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, every single week right now" to illegal drug use, Milgram said. "So, this is a national tragedy."

Milgram also noted that the DEA has been waiting for nearly a year for one of their work visas to be approved by the Mexican government so they can send personnel into the country to investigate the drug cartels that are running the illegal operations that are sending illicit pills to the U.S.

"We've been waiting eight months for one visa, and we know the cost of, of what that means for us in terms of our ability to get worked done," Milgram told the subcommittee. "Every year in the United States, we're losing more than 100,000 Americans. So time matters, and I couldn't speak with enough urgency as to how important it is for us to get those 13 agents and intel analysts into the country."

The visas would make it easier for DEA agents and analysts who are investigating drug cartels, she said.

"The men and women of DEA are working nonstop to defeat those cartels," she said. "And we shouldn't ask them to work under difficult circumstances, but they do and they're incredibly effective."

Milgram said the DEA currently has 2,000 active investigations into the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, including money laundering and precursor chemical investigations.

Seven out of ten illicitly made pills contain some form of fentanyl, which is killing thousands of Americans each year, Milgram said. She also noted that last year, the DEA seized 79 million fake pills and 12,000 pounds of powder fentanyl.

Milgram asked Congress for more funds so that the DEA can invest in more resources to stop illicit drugs from entering the U.S.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(CHICAGO) -- In 1968, violence at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, with hundreds of protesters arrested in a police crackdown, upended the party's gathering and soured public opinion in the final months before the presidential election.

Americans had witnessed it all on their TV screens.

Now, more than 50 years later, as college campuses across the United States have erupted into protests over the Israel-Hamas war, some experts say history could repeat itself at this year's DNC convention -- also in Chicago.

While the 1968 protests were against the Vietnam War, activists today are blaming President Joe Biden for his support of Israel's military operations in Gaza -- and some have expressed intentions to disrupt the party's plan to nominate him this summer for a second term.

Back then, opposition to the Vietnam War had gotten so intense that then-President Lyndon B. Johnson withdrew from being considered as the Democrats' nominee, throwing the party into political turmoil.

In 2024, unrest over another war could mean a similar chaotic scene that the party badly wants to avoid as it tries to showcase Biden to voters.

​​"We have been making comparisons to 1968, of course, because, you know, it was a very contentious convention," said Hatem Abudayyeh, the national chair of March on DNC, the group leading the protest effort this summer.

More than 70 organizations attended a daylong conference last month to plan protests leading up to the DNC, Abudayyeh said, with close to 200 organizations and thousand of protesters expected to join in by August.

This spring, protesters at college campuses have demanded their institutions divest themselves from any ties to Israel for its response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, which claimed 1,200 Israeli lives, according to Israeli officials. More than 34,000 Palestinians have died, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

Looking to continue the protests into the summer, some of the same groups are targeting the DNC when more than 5,000 Democratic Party delegates will descend on Chicago.

At a news conference in April, leaders of the Democratic National Convention Committee downplayed the prospect of protests derailing the convention.

"We're trying to create an environment where everyone is welcome. We do protect First Amendment rights. But we also want to reassure you that the people are excited about this convention coming," DNCC Chair Minyon Moore said.

"[The Secret Service is] doing all the right things to protect the citizens of Chicago, but we're also doing -- we hope to do the right things to protect the protesters," Moore said.

The protest groups claim their free speech rights are being violated.

Last week, March on DNC filed for an injunction against the city of Chicago, arguing officials improperly denied issuing permits to hold a pair of protest marches within blocks of the DNC.

Instead of allowing protests "within sight and sound" of the DNC, the group said, the city has instead offered an alternative location four miles away. Abudayyeh of March on DNC argues that the distance keeps them "buried," and that the groups will march "whether they have permits or not."

In a statement to ABC News, the city argued it does not have enough resources to handle the kind of protests the groups want to carry out.

"The City of Chicago has received parade or assembly permit applications from seven groups coinciding with the DNC. All seven permits were denied following review by multiple City departments to identify any potential conflicts, safety issues, and to assess the availability of resources needed to support the gathering," Director of Public Information for Chicago's Department of Transportation Erica Schroeder said in a statement to ABC News.

Nevertheless, Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling assured residents that police are properly trained in "anticipation of large demonstrations."

DNCC Chair Moore told reporters they are "very sensitive to the environment that we're walking into here in Chicago," adding that the committee is coordinating "very closely" with the Secret Service, as well as the mayor's office and the Chicago Police Department.

"We have read the stories, we have seen the stories and we have heard the stories. And we know that protesters are coming. Protesters come every four years," she said.

Avoiding 1968 redux
American University professor Leonard Steinhorn said while there are common threads between now and 1968, there are some clear differences, most notably the American death toll in Vietnam -- where more than 58,000 American service members were killed.

"​​It's hitting any neighborhood where you have relatives who are living in a dystopian, horrific, brutalized moment. It's hitting people in that sense, but it's not hitting people because their kids are going off to war in this country," he said.

At the convention in 1968, the city of Chicago refused permits to the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam and the Youth International Party, denying them a designated space to peacefully protest.

The groups weren't legally able to protest near the convention, which led to a clash between protesters and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's police force. Authorities said 668 protesters were arrested; 110 hospitalized; 425 were treated at temporary hospitals.

The Walker Report, commissioned by President Johnson to look into the violence, called it a "police riot," with many officers using billy clubs, rifle butts, mace and tear gas on the protesters. National Guard troops were called out. The report detailed that the "vast majority of the demonstrators were intent on expressing by peaceful means their dissent."

Former Republican President Richard Nixon tried to harness the unrest to activate what he called the "silent majority," and won a decisive White House victory.

The aftermath of 1968 still looms large over the Democratic Party.

Former President Donald Trump has tried to take advantage. In an interview with a local station in Wisconsin, Trump warned that the Democrats will have a "problem" in Chicago because "they've handled things very poorly."

Steinhorn, the American University professor, surmised that moving the protests this year to a separate location makes logistical sense, but that the city of Chicago must learn from its past "mistake."

"There's sort of a political strategy behind that, which is, where are the cameras going to be? The more you can isolate it and make it a sidebar story that's more helpful," said Steinhorn. "But it's a mistake when you look at the history. If you don't allow peaceful protest and a space to organize, things can get out of control."

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- The Biden administration opted to pause a shipment of some 3,500 bombs to Israel last week because of concerns the weapons could be used in Rafah where more than one million civilians are sheltering "with nowhere else to go," a senior administration official told ABC News.

Other weapon transfers from the U.S. to Israel -- including the sale of Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM kits -- are being closely scrutinized as part of a larger review of U.S. military aid to Israel that began last April, the official said.

The decision to pause the shipment and consider slow-walking others is a major shift in policy for the Biden administration and the first known case of the U.S. denying its close ally military aid since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Asked about the reporting at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin publicly confirmed the U.S. has paused a munitions shipment and that a major Israeli operation in Rafah could change the U.S. calculus on security assistance to Israel.

He's the first senior administration official to confirm the U.S. pause on military aid but he added that no "final determination" has been made.

"We are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah," Austin told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, emphasizing that supplemental funding Congress recently passed is not in jeopardy.

"We've been very clear," he said, "from the very beginning that that Israel shouldn't launch a major attack and Rafah without accounting for and protecting those civilians that are hitting that battlespace. And, again as we have assessed the situation, we paused one shipment of high payload munitions."

At the same time, Austin insisted that the U.S.-Israel alliance is "ironclad."

The Biden administration has been reluctant in the past to withhold weapons from Israel despite policy differences because such contracts are typically years in the making, and withholding aid is unlikely to influence Israeli policy decisions in the near term. At the same time, U.S. officials worried that delaying future weapons shipments could put Israel's defense -- a strategic priority for the U.S. -- at risk.

According to the senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday in order to discuss a sensitive policy decision that hadn't yet been publicly announced, the move came because U.S.-Israeli talks on the humanitarian needs in Rafah "have not fully addressed our concerns."

"As Israeli leaders seemed to approach a decision point on such an operation, we began to carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah," the official said in a written statement provided to ABC News.

More than half of the shipment that was paused last week consisted of 2,000-pound bombs. The remaining 1,700 bombs were 500-pound explosives, the official said.

"We are especially focused on the end-use of the 2,000-pound bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban settings as we have seen in other parts of Gaza," the official told ABC News. "We have not made a final determination on how to proceed with this shipment."

Other cases that remain under review include JDAM kits, which enable precision targeting of bombs.

Several other U.S. officials confirmed the policy decision earlier on Tuesday, the same day Israel began what its officials called a "precise" operation in Rafah. U.S. officials said they did not believe those operations were the beginning of the larger-scale invasion that Israel has been planning for weeks; that timeline remains uncertain, they say.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said operations in Rafah are inevitable and necessary to eliminate Hamas.

The White House declined to discuss specifics at a press briefing, instead pointing to the overall U.S. support for Israel.

"Our commitment to Israel's security remains ironclad," said White House spokesman John Kirby. "We don't, as a matter of course, talk about individual shipments one way or the other. But again, nothing's changed about our commitment to Israel security."

Biden has faced criticism from some Democrats and other voters who say he's not doing enough to stop the mounting death toll of civilians in Gaza. At the same time, support for Israel's operations in Gaza remains strong among Republicans.

On Tuesday, top GOP lawmakers were quick to criticize the delay in arms shipments to Israel that were already approved by Congress.

"This is not the will of Congress," said House Speaker Mike Johnson. "This is an underhanded attempt to withhold aid, without facing accountability. It's undermining what Congress intended."

In a letter to President Joe Biden, Republican Sens. Jodi Ernst and Ted Budd said they were "shocked" and "deeply concerned" about reports that the Biden administration failed to notify Congress before withholding ammunition to Israel.

"If these reports are true, then you have once again broken your promise to an American ally," they said.

According to the senior administration official, all of the shipments under review come from previously appropriated funds and are not sourced from the latest aid bill passed by Congress.

"We are committed to ensuring Israel gets every dollar appropriated in the supplemental," the official said, noting another $827 million in new future weapons and equipment for Israel has been approved through Foreign Military Financing.

Axios first reported on Sunday that a shipment of ammunition from the U.S. to Israel had been held up.

ABC News' Lauren Peller, Shannon K. Crawford, Matthew Seyler, Martha Raddatz, Benjamin Siegel and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's classified documents case has now indefinitely postponed the trial date pending resolution of outstanding pretrial litigation, including disagreements about how the classified information is used during trial.

It comes as Judge Aileen Cannon has continued to delay various deadlines in the case, making it all but certain the case doesn't go to trial before Election Day.

"The Court also determines that finalization of a trial date at this juncture -- before resolution of the myriad and interconnected pre-trial and CIPA issues remaining and forthcoming -- would be imprudent and inconsistent with the Court’s duty to fully and fairly consider the various pending pre-trial motions before the Court, critical CIPA issues, and additional pretrial and trial preparations necessary to present this case to a jury," Cannon wrote in the new order.

"The Court therefore vacates the current May 20, 2024, trial date (and associated calendar call), to be reset by separate order following resolution of the matters before the Court, consistent with Defendants’ right to due process and the public’s interest in the fair and efficient administration of justice," Cannon wrote.

Cannon has set two hearings for May 22 on two motions to dismiss.

Special counsel Jack Smith declined to comment on the delay.

Trump pleaded not guilty last June to a 37-count indictment related to his handling of classified materials. Prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation's defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government's efforts to get the documents back.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- Education Secretary Miguel Cardona faced a barrage of questions on antisemitism and college protests during a more than three-hour hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, but repeatedly condemned all forms of hate.

"Make no mistake, antisemitism is discrimination and is prohibited by Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," Cardona said. "Every student deserves to learn in an environment where they can feel free to be themselves without discrimination or fear, or safety."

Republicans have seized on antisemitism as an election-year issue, claiming the administration isn't doing enough to stop it.

When Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer asked Cardona if he would withhold federal funding, he replied, "if schools refuse to adhere to Title VI -- absolutely."

Cardona pointed to the department's 145 open Title VI investigations -- 100 of which were started after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

He took every opportunity to ask for Congress' help in carrying out the investigations.

"We're asking for a $22 million increase in our [FY 2025] budget," he said, adding, "We need additional investigators to close out these cases and make sure we're providing support for our students."

Cardona said he was appalled by the unrest on some college campuses.

"There should be no place on any campus -- no place in America -- for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students," he said. "There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind."

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., who has been dogged in antisemitism hearings with the presidents of Ivy League schools, grilled Cardona on the encampments at some universities.

"For students who have been told to leave and other protesters in the encampments that are refusing to do so, what is your message to them? Will you tell them to -- as the secretary of education -- that they need to leave?" Kiley asked.

There were also references to both rising antisemitism and Islamophobia from Democrats.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat and one of the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress, said "emotions are running high," arguing that students protesting genocide in Gaza had been alienated from their schools.

"What I'm hearing from [Jewish and Muslim] families is that they're scared," Cardona said. "Children are having to hide symbols of their faith on their way to class so that they are not targeted. That to me -- as a father and educator -- is something that I stand against."

He condemned all violent threats against Muslims and Arabs.

But Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the committee chair, said Cardona's answers didn't meet her bar.

"You unequivocally condemned anyone from saying 'kill all Muslims.'Good for you," Foxx said in her closing remarks. "We all should condemn that. And yet, given multiple opportunities, you wouldn't condemn 'from the river to the sea,' nor would you condemn calls for campuses to eliminate Hillel," referring to the Jewish campus organization.

"How can the Jewish community in this country trust you to combat antisemitism on campus if you have such double standards of antisemitism?" she asked.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) -- Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared on Tuesday to be backing off her threat to force a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson this week, though she signaled that she'll preserve her threat indefinitely -- keeping Johnson on a tight leash as he navigates a one-vote majority in the chamber.

The development comes after Greene and Johnson met on Tuesday afternoon -- their second meeting in as many days. The meetings came after Greene said she would force a vote to remove Johnson from the leadership post this week.

"I will tell you one thing I did say in there: I am so done with words," Greene told reporters on the House steps Tuesday afternoon after the meeting with Johnson. "For me, it is all about actions. And that is all the American people care about."

Ahead of the meeting with Johnson on Tuesday, Greene shared her list of demands for the speaker. Her four requests included a return to the "Hastert Rule," which means no legislation is brought to a vote without the support of the majority of the majority party; no more funding for Ukraine; defund the special counsel's probe into former President Donald Trump; and avoid a government shutdown before the election by passing a continuing resolution to automatically enact a 1% spending cut.

Greene said she is not imposing a deadline for Johnson to comply with her four "suggestions."

"These are not complicated things that we're talking about, and having the majority of Republicans support for bills that are brought to the floor. Yeah, that's very reasonable," Greene said. "It's really simple. It's up to Mike Johnson to be our Republican speaker. And we'll see what he does. And again, it's actions for me."

Greene said she did not provide the speaker with a specific timeline on the demands, but said "it's pretty short."

​​"That's up to Mike Johnson and it can't drag out," she said. "These are things that have to be done."

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, Greene's chief ally in the quest to oust Johnson, said the speaker has been open to the four demands, "but the question is what is he going to do to show that he is moving in that direction."

At the weekly GOP news conference on Tuesday, Johnson didn't rule out Greene's request to defund the special counsel's probe into Trump.

"We're looking very intently at it because I think the problem has reached a crescendo," Johnson said.

Johnson has already passed government funding, aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and even a federal surveillance extension -- meaning that the House is mostly void of must-pass legislation. That gives Johnson the space to advance other Republican-led efforts as the next appropriations battle nears.

Greene has criticized Johnson for working with Democrats on several of those pieces of legislation. Johnson has fought back, saying he's a lifelong Republican, but must do his job to serve the entire House with an extremely thin Republican majority.

The Georgia congresswoman said last week she was moving ahead with her ouster effort despite pushback from many Republicans and a statement from Democrats that they would step in to help save Johnson. Trump has also weighed in on Greene's move to oust Johnson.

Trump spoke privately to Greene over the weekend and urged her to drop her push to oust Johnson, a source close to the president confirmed to ABC News. During their discussion, Trump told Greene that the party needs to be unified, according to the source.

The former president's team has mulled over how best to show support for Johnson. Trump brought Johnson on stage at the RNC spring retreat luncheon over the weekend and praised him "for his leadership and work in the US House," emphasizing "the need for party unity, collaboration, and expanding the GOP's House Majority," according to the campaign.

ABC News' Arthur Jones II and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.