The Guardian/AP Photo

Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who claimed to be the source of reports revealing secret U.S. government surveillance programs, broke his silence today in a defiant statement directed at President Obama, according to the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks.

“On Thursday, President Obama declared before the world that he would not permit any diplomatic ‘wheeling and dealing’ over my case. Yet now it is being reported that after promising not to do so, the President ordered his Vice President to pressure the leaders of nations from which I have requested protection to deny my asylum petitions,” said  a statement attributed to Snowden and distributed by WikiLeaks. “This kind of deception from a world leader is not justice, and neither is the extralegal penalty of exile. These are old, bad tools of political aggression.”

Snowden, believed to have been holed up in the transit area of a Moscow airport for more than a week now, said that by revoking his American passport, the U.S. government has left him “a stateless person.”

Earlier today the U.S. State Department vehemently denied that Snowden was stranded where he was, noting he is still a U.S. citizen, and said that he could be given travel documents to come back to the U.S. to face a “free and fair trial.” Snowden has been charged with a series of espionage-related crimes.

Snowden’s reference to the Vice President presumably refers Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa telling a local television station that Vice President Joe Biden called him Friday and requested the country not grant Snowden political asylum there. Ecuador is reportedly one of 15 countries to have received asylum requests from Snowden, including Russia. Top U.S. officials have previously urged Russia to “expel” Snowden back to the U.S., but Russian President Vladimir Putin said today, before the asylum request was reported, that he could stay in Russia, as long has he stops “his work aimed at damaging our U.S. partners.” A Putin spokesperson had no comment on the asylum request and The New York Times reported earlier today it had not yet been received by Russia’s foreign ministry.

The letter is allegedly the first time the public has heard directly from Snowden since the revealed himself last month as the source of a series of headline-grabbing reports concerning what he called the NSA’s “horrifying” foreign and domestic surveillance programs. Over the weekend, the latest stories based on his information alleged that the U.S. routinely spies on the offices of the European Union.

“In the end the Obama administration is not afraid of whistleblowers like me, [alleged WikiLeaks source] Bradley Manning or [previous NSA whistleblower] Thomas Drake. We are stateless, imprisoned, or powerless,” Snowden said. “No, the Obama administration is afraid of you… an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised – and it should be.”

“I am unbowed in my convictions and impressed at the efforts taken by so many,” he said.

Andrew Ashcraft, 29

Robert Caldwell, 23

Travis Carter, 31

Dustin Deford, 24

Christopher MacKenzie, 30

Eric Marsh, 43

Grant McKee, 21

Sean Misner, 26

Scott Norris, 28

Wade Parker, 22

John Percin, 24

Anthony Rose, 23

Jesse Steed, 36

Joe Thurston, 32

Travis Turbyfill, 27

William Warneke, 25

Clayton Whitted, 28

Kevin Woyjeck, 21

Garret Zuppiger, 27

Jerome Hayes, 48, turned himself in to authorities this morning after police identified him, using nearby surveillance cameras. He is being charged with first degree murder.

The victim, 47-year-old Fred William Turner Jr. of Orlando Fla., called 911 from I-4 to report a vehicle that had been following him from a nearby store. Hayes then reportedly drove beside Turner’s vehicle and flashed a gun. When police arrived to the scene, Turner’s body was found in his car on the side of the road with three fatal bullet wounds. The shoot had fled the scene.

It was originally suspected that this was a result of road rage but Col. Donna Lusczynski stated during a press conference on Monday that it rather was a “case of mistaken identity and being in the wrong place in the wrong time.”

Jerome Hayes is charged with first degree murder in connection to a Florida highway shooting on Saturday

Hayes and an unidentified male allegedly got into an altercation with a male patron at a nearby bar that afternoon. After being ejected from that bar, Hayes and the other man proceeded to wait in the parking lot for that patron to come out, according to police.  They mistook Turner for the other man when he exited a nearby sex store and continued to pursue him onto I-4, where Turner noticed and called the authorities.

“20/20″ is anchored by Elizabeth Vargas and David Muir. David Sloan is senior executive producer and John Green is the executive producer.

 – ABC– 

ABC’s Cokie Roberts to Moderate a Historic Conversation with First Ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush

The 43rd President of the United States George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush will sit down with ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl for their only broadcast television interview during their trip to Africa. They will discuss his post-presidential activities including what has become a cornerstone of his legacy – his development efforts in Africa, specifically to help fight AIDS and malaria and promote women’s health issues.  The interview comes just hours after President Bush’s joint public appearance with President Obama in Africa.

Portions of the interview will be featured Tuesday, July 2 on “World News with Diane Sawyer” and Wednesday, July 3 on “Good Morning America.” The extended interview will air Sunday, July 7 on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” which will be anchored by Jonathan Karl.

In addition, ABC News’ Cokie Roberts will moderate an historic conversation with First Ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush during the opening session of the Bush Institute’s African First Ladies Summit “Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa” on Tuesday, July 2. The Institute says the summit will emphasize how effective investments in women can lead to greater stability and prosperity in African countries. For more on the Bush Center visit BushCenter.org.

One person died and dozens more were hospitalized over the weekend after apparently overdosing on drugs at a Washington State music festival.

The overdoses happened at the Paradiso Festival, a two-day electronic music event held at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Wash.  Michele Wurl, spokeswoman for Quincy Valley Medical Center, said doctors at the facility treated more than 40 people for drug and alcohol related issues in the emergency room over the weekend.

Officials said someone was selling a drug promoted as ecstasy, but it was actually Molly, a powerful form of the synthetic club drug, which often includes traces of other stimulants, ABC News’ Seattle affiliate KOMO reported.

Many of the patients were treated at Quincy Valley Medical Center, while seven of the most serious, including a person who later died, were taken to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee, a hospital spokeswoman said.

At least three people remained in serious but stable condition today, according to the hospital.

“It is not uncommon on a busy concert weekend. It seems this year the numbers are increasing in intensity,” Wurl said. “It’s something we plan for and we gear up for.”

Calls to the Gorge Amphitheater were not immediately returned.

Molly “has seen a surge in interest in the past few years, being celebrated frequently by popular music artists,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

While the drug produces bursts of energy and euphoria, it can also alter body temperature, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and cause confusion, depression and sleep problems.

(Image Credit: Joshua Lewis/KOMO News)

“If he wants to stay here, there is one condition: he has to stop his work aimed at damaging our U.S. partners, no matter how strange this sounds coming from me,” Putin told reporters.

But Putin also qualified his comments, saying that it appears the NSA leaker has no plans to stop his work and therefore should pick a final destination soon.

Snowden has been holed up in Moscow’s Sheremedevo International Airport for over a week, unable to travel after the State Department canceled his passport. He also appears to have few safe places to go, with routes to possible political asylum in Ecuador blocked.

Putin’s comments came amid reports that Snowden had recently applied for political asylum in several countries as his options dwindle, including in Russia.

A Russian immigration official confirmed to ABC News a New York Times report that WikiLeaks member Sarah Harrison, who is traveling with Snowden, came to him with the application late Sunday. Earlier, the Los Angeles Times reported that Snowden handed Russian officials applications for asylum in 15 countries.

Putin, speaking earlier today, stood by his previous refusal to extradite Snowden to the United States.

“Russia never extradites anyone anywhere and is not going to extradite anyone. No one ever extradites anyone to us,” he said, adding that Snowden “is a free man.”

Putin also denied that Snowden was working with Russian intelligence.

“He is not our agent, he is not cooperating with us,” he said.

READ: Officials Say How They Think Snowden Could Hurt the U.S.

A spokesperson for Putin told Russia’s Interfax news agency that he did not have enough information on the asylum request to comment.

I am pleased to announce that Aditi Roy is joining ABC News as a Los Angeles-based correspondent reporting for all our broadcasts and platforms.

For much of the past decade viewers in Philadelphia have watched Aditi anchoring morning and evening newscasts for NBC10.  She has done extensive reporting on education issues, focusing on the impact of violence in urban schools along with innovative approaches to boosting achievement.  Aditi also spent several months in 2011 and 2012 reporting for NBC News broadcasts from Los Angeles.

Her work has been recognized with numerous honors including eight Emmy nominations in categories ranging from “Best Hard News Reporter” to “Best Feature Reporter.”

Aditi’s commitment to education extends well beyond her reporting.  She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in political science from UC Berkeley and Stanford and a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia. Last year she earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.  She is also fluent in Bengali and has studied Spanish.

In addition to her many diplomas, Aditi brings great energy, resourcefulness, and creativity to her work and she will be a strong addition to our powerhouse team in California.

Aditi will be in New York this week and please join me in welcoming her to ABC News.

Ben

Police have released surveillance video from an Oklahoma Walmart of a man who allegedly took a 2-year-old girl from a mother’s shopping cart and held a knife to the child’s throat.

Surveillance cameras at the Midwest City, Okla., Walmart were rolling June 17 when police shot and killed the suspect, Sammie Wallace, in the head at point-blank range and safely returned the toddler to her mother.

In the dramatic video, Wallace, 37, takes the toddler hostage while her mother, Alicia Keating, had her back to the shopping cart. Keating began to scream and pleaded with the suspect to return her daughter.

Keating’s older daughter was also present as the incident unfolded in front of panicked shoppers.

Law enforcement quickly moved in and evacuated the store. Police began more than 30 minutes of negotiations with Wallace and, at one point, even offered him a chair.

“He had a weapon in his hand. A knife-type weapon holding up against the child, threatening the child’s life,” Midwest City Assistant Police Chief Sid Porter said.

Police say Wallace was uncooperative and the situation quickly deteriorated, with the suspect making odd demands. The tipping point came when Wallace started an ominous 60-second countdown with the knife still close to the toddler’s neck.

“When a subject starts telling you that in 60 seconds he’s going to kill a hostage, that’s going to move you right up to the point that you will shoot him and that’s what occurred in this case,” ABC News consultant and former FBI agent Brad Garrett said.

With the situation growing intense, an officer distracted Wallace as Capt. David Huff moved in and fired a single deadly shot at his head.

“Obviously, our goal was to talk him down to get him to release the child,” Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t successful but we were successful in saving this child and the fact is that Capt. Huff’s actions were extremely heroic and he waited till the very last moment.”

The toddler was uninjured in the incident and returned to her mother, who was waiting for her at the front of the store.

                           (Image Credit: Midwest City Police/ABC News)

A high-wire performer with Cirque du Soleil was killed after she fell 50 feet during a performance of “KA” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Acrobat Sarah Guyard, 31, who was an original member of the “KA” cast, fell after a wire suspending her reportedly snapped Saturday night and she died on the way to the hospital.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte issued a statement saying he was heartbroken by the death, and performances of the show have been canceled indefinitely.

“I am heartbroken. I wish to extend my sincerest sympathies to the family. We are all completely devastated,” Laliberte said. “We are reminded with great humility and respect how extraordinary our artists are each and every night. Our focus now is to support each other as a family.”

Cirque du Soleil, one of the most revered acrobatic companies in the world, renowned for its mix of astonishing mid-air feats, fantastic costuming and stage design and mesmerizing music, had never had a performer die in its 30-year history.

An audience member tweeted that a “wire snapped” during the final scene of the show. “Performers were at the highest point on the vertical wall,” the tweeter said.

“Other actors were visibly upset & horrified. Crew members were calm & one by one got the other performers off stage,” the audience member tweeted. “The performer’s screams and groans could be heard from below the stage.”

MGM Resorts International offered its condolences to Guyard and Cirque.

“Our company is deeply saddened by the loss of one of the talented KA artists Saturday night. The thoughts and prayers of our employees are with the performer’s family, the cast of KA, and the entire Cirque family during this difficult time.”