Exit polls 2024: How the gender gap is playing out in key swing states

(WASHINGTON) — The Biden administration on Thursday announced $375 million more in security assistance for Ukraine, which for the first time will include American Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) glide bombs, a U.S. defense official told ABC News.

The bombs, which can be deployed by Ukraine’s new F-16 fighters, have retractable wings that help them reach targets up to 70 miles away. There are several versions of JSOW, but the ones being sent to Ukraine are equipped with cluster munitions, according to the official.

The U.S. will also soon announce more than $2 billion in aid for Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), the official told ABC News on Wednesday. Unlike the $350 million package, which will draw equipment from existing American stockpiles for Ukraine, USAI funds are used for contracts to procure assistance, which can take months or years to materialize. The coming USAI funds will largely go toward restocking Ukraine with munitions, according to the official.

The commitment to send JSOW glide bombs comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the United States to make the case for global support, speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday in New York, with plans to present what he has called his “victory plan” to President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday.

“The plan of victory is strengthening of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said during a sit-down interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts on Monday. “That’s why we’re asking our friends, our allies, to strengthen us. It’s very important.”

Zelenskyy hasn’t publicly shared the details of his victory plan ahead of his upcoming meeting with Biden, but said it includes specific military supply requests, as well as proposals for potential security guarantees for Ukraine after the war. Zelenskyy’s chief of staff this week confirmed that includes Ukraine being invited to join NATO.

A source close to the Ukrainian president told ABC News the plan consists of five key points, four of which are to be implemented now and one after the war is over. The plan also includes specific figures and amounts of military assistance.

Former President Donald Trump said last week that he would “probably” meet with Zelenskyy, but this is no longer expected, according to sources familiar with the matter.

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(WASHINGTON) — An aide to Ohio Sen. JD Vance was informed by a top Springfield, Ohio, official earlier this month that claims about Haitian migrants eating cats and dogs were false but the vice presidential nominee went ahead with spreading the rumor anyway, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by ABC News.

City manager Bryan Heck, in a Sept. 9 phone call, told a Vance staffer the “claims were baseless” when asked if they were true.

A city spokesperson confirmed to ABC News the accuracy of the Wall Street Journal’s reporting about the call.

Still, Vance did not delete a post on X he wrote that same morning asserting “reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.” One day later, former President Donald Trump amplified the claim on the ABC News presidential debate stage with millions of viewers tuned in.

The Vance campaign, in an effort to defend the vice presidential pick, provided the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday with a police report to try to substantiate his claims. But the woman in the report, Anna Kilgore, told the Journal she was mistaken.

ABC News spoke with Kilgore, who lives near downtown Springfield, on Wednesday afternoon. Kilgore said her cat Missy Sassy went missing and they believed their Haitian neighbors were to blame for the disappearance. After filing the police report, Kilgore’s cat returned home safely several days later.

She told ABC News that she apologized to her Haitian neighbors who have lived next door for the past year, and they were very gracious and there seemed to be no hard feelings.

ABC has requested the police report but has not independently obtained it.

When asked what led her to believe her neighbors were behind the cat’s disappearance, Kilgore said, “because of rumors I heard.” When pressed on where she heard those rumors she continued with, “on Facebook and TikTok.”

Kilgore is a Trump-Vance supporter with signs and flags outside of her home. She was also wearing a “Trump 2024” t-shirt while speaking to ABC News.

When asked what she would say to Vance and his campaign, she simply said, “I wish I could take it all back.”

ABC News also asked her if this situation would have any impact on her vote in November, to which she simply said, “No.”

ABC News has reached out to Vance’s campaign for a statement on the Wall Street Journal report but has not yet received a response.

Vance appeared on several talk shows on Sunday where he was pressed about the Springfield controversy, which has led to the community experiencing threats.

He largely defended bringing national attention to the issue of immigration in Springfield. The Ohio town did experience an influx of 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants who are legally authorized to live and work there, and as a result some city resources have been strained. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced measures to expand primary care access, allocate funds for translation services and more.

“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast,” Vance said on CNN.

CNN anchor Dana Bash followed up with Vance about what he said about having to “create stories,” and Vance responded: “It comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents. I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it.”

“I didn’t create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield thanks to Kamala Harris’s policies. Her policies did that,” Vance added.

Harris on Tuesday said it was a “crying shame” what was happening to the Springfield community and criticized Trump and Vance for engaging in “that hateful rhetoric.”

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(PHILADELPHIA) — The Philadelphia district attorney sued Elon Musk and his super PAC on Monday over the billionaire’s controversial $1 million registered voter giveaway.

The lawsuit from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner claims Musk and his America PAC are “running an illegal lottery in Philadelphia (as well as throughout Pennsylvania).”

Musk announced the eighth winner of his super PAC’s $1 million prize in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Saturday and doubled down on his promise to continue offering the money to a registered swing state voter who has signed his petition. He said participants are not required to vote, but the online petition form says one has to be a registered voter to be eligible.

“We’re trying to get attention for this very important petition to support the Constitution. And, it’s like, if we, you know — we need the right to free speech; we need the right to bear arms,” Musk said at the rally.

“So we’re going to be giving out a million dollars every day through Nov. 5,” he continued. “And also, all you have to do is sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment. That’s it. You don’t even have to vote. It’d be nice if you voted, but you don’t have to. And then just basically sign something you already believe in, and you get a test to win a million dollars every day from now through the election.”

Federal law singles out anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting.” The penalty is a fine of no more than $10,000 or a prison sentence as long as 5 years.

When asked for comment, a representative for America PAC pointed ABC News to a post on X announcing Monday’s $1 million giveaway winner, which was published after news of the lawsuit broke. The winner on Monday was from Michigan, according to the post.

The person added it is fair to “infer” the PAC plans to continue handing out the $1 million checks.

The Department of Justice sent a letter to Musk last week warning him the giveaway may violate federal law, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News. The letter from the Election Crimes Branch of the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section was sent to Musk’s PAC, the source said.

Several experts ABC News spoke to in the wake of Musk announcing the giveaway said it occupies a blurry area of law.

“I’ve gone back and forth on it,” Richard Briffault, a professor of legislation at Columbia University Law School, told ABC News. “It clearly violates the spirit of the statute, but it’s not 100% clear to me that it violates the letter of the law.”

Other experts, like Doug Spencer, a professor of election law at the University of Colorado, said “it seems like it really crosses the line.”

ABC News’ Max Zahn contributed to this report.

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