West Virginia lawmakers pass bill allowing religious exemptions for school vaccine requirements

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(NEW YORK) — The West Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill Monday that will eliminate school vaccine requirements for those who claim religious exemptions, but only for some schools.

Last week, the House began considering the bill, known as HB 5105, which proposed eliminating vaccine requirements for public virtual schools that do not take part in extracurricular activities or sports in public school settings. The bill was then expanded to propose “eliminating the vaccine requirements for students of public virtual schools, private schools, or parochial schools unless the student participates in sanctioned athletic events, and creating a religious exemption from vaccine requirements,” and then further amended to specifically allow vaccine exemptions “any child whose parents or guardians present a letter stating that a child cannot be vaccinated for religious reasons.”

It’s unclear if the religious exemption will apply to students attending in-person public schools.

The bill will now head to the Senate for debate and, if it passes in that chamber, to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice for signing into law.

Prior to this bill, West Virginia had no non-medical vaccine exemptions from school vaccine requirements, either for religious or philosophical beliefs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Currently, children in West Virginia are required to receive at least one dose of vaccine for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus, and whooping cough before entering school for the first time in grades K-12. The COVID-19 vaccine is not required to attend school in West Virginia.

If child’s parents or guardian cannot afford or cannot access vaccines, county health departments will provide vaccines for the child, according to West Virginia law.

To receive a medical exemption from vaccination, a physician must have treated or examined the child, and an exemption request from the physician must be submitted to the state Immunization Officer of the Bureau for Public Health.

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said fewer than 0.1% of kindergarten-age students in West Virginia were exempted from vaccines, including measles, mumps and rubella (MMR); diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP); poliovirus (polio); and varicella (chickenpox) for the 2022-23 school year, the lowest exemption rate in the nation.

West Virginia’s strict vaccination laws have also helped improve attendance rates for students and staff, according to the state’s Department of Education.

Delegate Chris Pritt, a sponsor of the bill and a Republican representing Kanawha County, which includes the state capital of Charleston, said the bill allows medical freedom for West Virginians.

“I spoke in favor of a bill to allow more parents to choose whether to vaccinate. [West Virginia] is at the bottom with medical freedom,” he wrote in a post on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter. “Mountaineers will never be free until families are able to make decisions on whether to vaccinate!”

Over the weekend, health officer Dr. Steven Eshenaur of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department wrote an opinion in which he criticized the bill.

“Our forefathers and their families experienced the ravages of measles, mumps, tetanus, polio, and meningitis,” he wrote. “Modern medicine has worked diligently to protect our communities through the development and testing of vaccines that have been proven to be safe and effective.”

“Now, legislators want to turn the clock back nearly 100 years and remove some of the safeguards in our vaccination policies,” Eshenaur continued. “If you are anti-vaccination, you are pro-disease. It’s as simple as that.”

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Scoreboard roundup — 2/26/24

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

INTERLEAGUE
Baltimore 2, Atlanta 1
Toronto 8, Pittsburgh 4
Boston 7, Philadelphia 6
Seattle 2, Cincinnati 0
Kansas City 6, Chi Cubs 0
Cleveland 7, San Diego 4
Oakland 9 Arizona 8
LA Angels 11, San Francisco 9

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Detroit 4, Houston 0
Tampa Bay 8, Baltimore 3
NY Yankees 9, Minnesota 2
Texas 4, Chi White Sox 2

NATIONAL LEAGUE
NY Mets 6, Washington 3
Cincinnati 8, Milwaukee 3
LA Dodgers 9, Colorado 4
St. Louis 1, Miami 1

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Toronto 130, Indiana 122
New York 113, Detroit 111
Brooklyn 111, Memphis 86
Miami 121, Sacramento 110

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Washington 6, Ottawa 3
NY Islanders 3, Dallas 2 (OT)
Edmonton 4, Los Angeles 2
Seattle 4 Boston 3 (SO)

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
North Carolina 75, Miami 71
Baylor 62, TCU 54

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Armed bandits rob migrants crossing border illegally, border patrol chief says

Jason Owens/U.S. Border Patrol

(WASHINGTON) — A group of “armed bandits” near the U.S. southern border attempted to rob migrants crossing illegally, according to U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens.

Owens posted images of a group of migrants in Chula Vista, California, attempting to cross the border on Sunday, only to encounter armed robbers.

“USBP surveillance technology near Chula Vista, CA captured these images of armed bandits robbing several groups as they attempted to enter the country illegally,” Owens said in the post. “Yet another example of the dangers these criminals & smugglers pose to the public, the migrants, and our agents.”

ABC News has reached out to Border Patrol about the incident.

Migrant encounters in the San Diego area, which encompasses Chula Vista, were down in January from November and December of 2023, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Last week, the San Diego sector made over 7,500 apprehensions of migrants from 75 countries, according to Chief Patrol Agent Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel.

President Joe Biden is headed to the border on Thursday, according to a White House official. He is going to Brownsville, Texas.

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Alexei Navalny was raised in preliminary prisoner swap talks before his death: Official

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a rally in support of political prisoners in Prospekt Sakharova Street in Moscow, Sept. 29, 2019. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — After an ally of Alexei Navalny made a bombshell claim that the opposition leader was set to be freed through a prisoner exchange when he died in a Russian penal colony earlier this month, a Western official said his name had, in fact, been raised in discussions about a possible swap — but that those talks were only in early stages.

The official said Navalny came up in conversations between American and German officials about a potential three-country trade including Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin serving a life sentence in Germany, and two wrongfully detained U.S. citizens, but that an offer was never presented to Russia.

The Western official also said it was unclear if Germany would have signed off on the arrangement or whether the proposal would have been appealing to Moscow.

A U.S. official also told ABC News that a prisoner exchange involving Navalny was never extended to the Kremlin.

Maria Pevchikh, a close associate of Navalny, claimed in social media posts on Monday that efforts to secure his freedom in a prisoner swap had been underway for years before he died and that negotiations for a deal involving Krasikov and two Americans were “in the final stages” on the eve of Navalny’s death, which the U.S. has blamed on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who denies involvement.

“The negotiations finally reached the final stage — and then Putin decided that since Krasikov was ready to be given, then he would be given without Navalny. Therefore, he decided to kill him,” Pevchikh alleged in a post on Telegram.

There are two Americans considered by the U.S. to be wrongfully detained in Russia: Paul Whelan, a Marine veteran, and Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter. Both are being held on accusations of espionage that U.S. officials say are fabricated.

While the State Department announced that the U.S. had made Russia an offer for Gershkovich’s and Whelan’s freedom in late 2023, an official said on Monday that Moscow had not seriously engaged on the proposal — casting further doubt on claims made by Pevchikh.

“Our work to try to secure the release of Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan continues,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday.

Miller did not detail ongoing efforts to free Whelan and Gershkovich out of concern that any public statement on the matter could disrupt “the very sensitive work” that was underway. He also declined to comment on Pevchikh’s assertions.

“All I will say about this matter is that we have long called for the release of Alexei Navalny, and that was our position on the matter,” Miller said.

A vocal critic of the Kremlin, Navalny died on Feb. 16 in an Arctic prison, where he had been serving a 19-year sentence for extremism charges that he and his allies said were politically motivated.

The exact cause of his death is still unknown, but the U.S. and other Western nations have said they hold Moscow responsible for his demise and sanctioned Russian prison officials and other entities in response.

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Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil reflects on ‘Superunknown’: “It’s got everything a rock band should bring to an album”

A&M Records

Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil reflects on the band’s hit 1994 album, Superunknown, in an interview with Guitar Player.

Superunknown was Soundgarden’s fourth album and spawned the singles “Black Hole Sun,” “Spoonman,” “The Day I Tried to Live,” “My Wave” and “Fell on Black Days.” It became the band’s first and only #1 album on the Billboard 200, and has been certified six-times Platinum by the RIAA.

“I also have no problem with people who say it’s our best album,” Thayil says. “I particularly like Superunknown, not because of its success and songs like ‘Black Hole Sun’ or ‘Spoonman,’ but because of its ambience and feel. It’s got everything a rock band should bring to an album, namely songwriting and performances.”

“It’s not a dance record on which the producer means something,” he continues. “It’s not a record from the ’60s where you find some singer to actualize the songs you’ve written on piano and you find an arranger to throw other instruments in. This is a rock band, and all the work is done by the rock band.”

While Superunknown was quite successful, Thayil notes that he wishes he could’ve enjoyed that success more at the time. In addition to Thayil going through things in his personal life, Supernknown was released just a month before the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

“My personal life and things involving our colleagues and peers hit their nadir, but our professional life was at its zenith with the record hitting number one and [us] being on the cover of Rolling Stone,” Thayil says. “I know the success should have meant something, but it didn’t budge the meter from everything sucking. I wish we could have had the experience at another time.”

Superunknown will celebrate its 30th anniversary on March 8.

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AJ McLean: “The world would melt down” if Backstreet, *NSYNC and Spice Girls toured together

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The Backstreet Boys are taking some time off in 2024 and Justin Timberlake is doing a solo tour, so Joey Fatone and AJ McLean are keeping themselves busy by doing a joint tour that starts in March. But AJ says he’s still holding out hope that one day their respective groups can tour together.

Asked by Rolling Stone if he, like so many fans, is hoping that *NSYNC will reunite for a tour, AJ says, “Honestly, I am. And there’s been so many talks. Even before Trolls and before them coming together again, there’s been so many years of talks of Backstreet and *NSYNC touring together and a stadium tour.”

“I’m not trying to start a new rumor. But if Backstreet, *NSYNC and Spice Girls did a tour together, the world would melt down,” he adds. “What a great, almost like send-off moment that would be for everyone’s career. And it’s only for the fans, to say one big giant thank you for years and years of being loyal fans to all of us.”

While we all wait for that, though, Joey and AJ will entertain fans by singing each others’ songs, plus songs by other artists they enjoy, like Green Day, Nirvana and even Lady Gaga. They’ve got a live band, and AJ tells Rolling Stone that the show has “got a little bit of everything.”

“It’s got comedy, it’s got heart, it’s got great music,” he says. “It’s got a lot of great interaction with the audience.”

But about that *NSYNC reunion — Joey tells Rolling Stone, “We’re all kind of slowly thinking of what we can do now that this Trolls thing has taken off. It’s a possibility now.”

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On this day in Black history: First Black female lawyer, M. Jackson’s first Grammy, hand stamp patent and more

On this day in Black history, February 27:

— In 1872, Charlotte E. Ray graduated from Howard University Law School, making her the first Black woman to graduate from a law school. Two months later she became the first Black woman to formally practice law in the United States. 

— In 1883, William B. Purvis patented an improvement to the hand stamp that replenished its own ink. He also patented designs for paper bags, the electric railroad and his most notable, the fountain pen.  

— In 1980, Michael Jackson won his first Grammy: Best R&B Vocal Performance for “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough.”

— In 1988, championship figure skater Debi Thomas became the first Black athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, taking home the bronze. 

— In 1993, Whitney Houston‘s “I Will Always Love You” reached its 14th week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became Houston’s 10th #1 entry.

— Happy birthday to Marian Anderson, Sherry D. Harris, Stoney Jackson, Bobby Valentino, Daniel Gibson, Jason Bolden and Rozonda”Chilli” Thomas.

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Dua Lipa’s personal beauty icon may surprise you

Dua Lipa for YSL Beauty, photographed by Élodie Daguin

Dua Lipa has graced the covers of dozens of magazines and worked with some of the most influential fashion designers, photographers and stylists in the business throughout her career. But she says her personal beauty icon is someone a lot closer to home: her mom, Anesa.

Speaking to ELLE about her new role as YSL Beauty’s global makeup ambassador, Dua says, “I’ve always looked through her makeup bag first, before anyone else’s. That was my first introduction to makeup and the way she carried herself. I’ve always looked up to her in terms of style and makeup. She’s my beauty icon.”

In fact, after Dua decided to dye her hair red while making her new album, she tells Vanity Fair, “I … just realized that it’s exactly the same hair color my mom used to dye her hair when I was younger. My mom always had reddish, purpleish, dark autumnal hair.”

While Dua has yet to release the title or track list of her upcoming album, she tells Vanity Fair that she knows what kind of makeup will best capture the spirit of the project.

“Less of everything, because it’s an after-hours album,” she explains. “If you’re going to go out dancing, I think a lipstick and some mascara and just get sweaty. That’s the vibe.”

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Kelsea Ballerini has no plans on going pop: “I’m really happy where I’m at”

Disney/Frank Micelotta

Following the recent extension of her recording contract with Black River Entertainment, Kelsea Ballerini says she’s excited about the future and the creative projects she may be embarking on — whatever that looks like.

“I’m really open,” Kelsea tells ABC Audio. “Whether that be writing another book or whether that be trying my hand in film and TV. Whether that be working more as a writer, I’m really open to all those things that may inspire me.”

While Kelsea hit stardom with her country-pop catalog, she has no plans on ditching country for pop, contrary to rumors.

“I’m not going anywhere. And it always makes me laugh when people are like, ‘She’s going to pop.’ I’m like, ‘No, I’m not,'” says the “Miss Me More” singer. “I really have no intention of doing that. I’m really happy where I’m at.”

Kelsea’s latest project is the Grammy-nominated Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. Her latest full-length studio album is 2022’s SUBJECT TO CHANGE, which spawned the singles “Heartfirst” and “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too).”

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Previously unseen Rolling Stones photos to go on display in London

ABC/ Ida Mae Astute

An exhibit of previously unseen photos of The Rolling Stones is set to open in London on Wednesday.

The Elegantly Waisted exhibit features photos taken by the band’s friend, photographer Tony Sanchez, nicknamed “Spanish Tony.” Tony worked and lived with The Stones during the period in the late ’60s when they were recording Beggars Banquet and the concert film The Rock & Roll Circus. He was also with them when they went into exile in the South of France.

The photos, which were thought to have been lost, were discovered in a loft in South London. They are described as “the most idiosyncratic shots of the band a collector could hope for.”

“I couldn’t be happier to be involved in this project,” Oliver Bayliss, owner & founder of Bayliss Rare Books, shares. “I spent months trawling through Tony’s archive – thousands of negatives and contact sheets – and am blown away by Tony’s unique eye and the quality of these images. Fans and collectors alike are in for a real treat.” 

The exhibit, put on by Bayliss Rare Books and Spanish Tony Media, is happening at the J/M Gallery in Notting Hill from February 28 to March 5. Prints of the 27 photos on display will also be available for purchase starting February 28 on the Bayliss Rare Books website.

The exhibit is the latest exciting news for Rolling Stones fans. Next up, the band is set to release the live album The Rolling Stones Live at The Wiltern on March 8. They will then head out on their Hackney Diamonds tour starting April 28 in Houston, Texas. A complete list of dates can be found at rollingstones.com.

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