(NEW YORK) — Rocket Lab successfully launched an experimental satellite for the United States Space Force on Thursday morning.
The California-based aerospace company returned its Electron rocket to flight from its space launch facility on New Zealand’s Mahia peninsula.
About an hour after a successful liftoff at 2 a.m. ET, the rocket deployed a small research and development satellite, called Monolith, into a 600-kilometer low-Earth orbit.
Monolith, sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, will “explore and demonstrate the use of a deployable sensor, where the sensor’s mass is a substantial fraction of the total mass of the spacecraft, changing the spacecraft’s dynamic properties and testing ability to maintain spacecraft attitude control,” according to Rocket Lab.
“Analysis from the use of a deployable sensor aims to enable the use of smaller satellite buses when building future deployable sensors such as weather satellites, thereby reducing the cost, complexity, and development timelines,” the company said in a statement. “The satellite will also provide a platform to test future space protection capabilities.”
The launch was procured by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Space Test Program and the U.S. Space Force’s Rocket Systems Launch Program, both located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. The mission was named “It’s a Little Chile Up Here” in a nod to New Mexico’s beloved green chile, according to Rocket Lab.
The U.S. Space Force is the newest and smallest branch of the American military, set up in 2019 under former President Donald Trump.
Thursday’s launch was the fourth of the year for Rocket Lab and the 21st involving Electron. It was also the first Electron launch since a failed mission on May 15, in which the rocket was supposed to deploy two Earth-observation satellites for global monitoring firm BlackSky but “experienced an anomaly shortly before stage two ignition,” Rocket Lab later said in a statement.
Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images
(TOKYO) — Each day, ABC News will give you a roundup of key Olympic moments from the day’s events in Tokyo, happening 13 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time. After a 12-month delay, the unprecedented 2020 Summer Olympics is taking place without fans or spectators and under a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sunisa Lee wins gold
Sunisa Lee won the gold medal after a tremendous performance in the individual all-around competition. Lee’s teammate Simone Biles cheered her on from the stands as Lee delivered a strong floor exercise routine to seal the win.
Biles withdrew from the competition Wednesday so she could “focus on her mental health,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement Wednesday. Biles’ replacement in the competition, Jade Carey, finished in 8th place.
Caeleb Dressel wins gold in 100m freestyle, sets Olympic record
U.S. swimmer Caeleb Dressel won his first individual gold medal after a record-setting time of 47.02 seconds in the 100m freestyle. Fellow swimmer Robert Finke took home the gold in the 800m freestyle event, increasing Team USA’s gold medal count to 13.
COVID-19 cases at Tokyo Olympics rise to 198, Tokyo sees record number of cases
There were 24 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 among people at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, including U.S. pole vaulter Sam Kendricks and two other athletes staying in the Olympic village. The total now stands at 198, according to data released by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
The surrounding city of Tokyo reported a record high of 3,865 new cases on Wednesday, a seven-day average increase of 161.9%, according to data released by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
Heat continues to be a factor, tennis matches moved to later afternoon
The heat index hit 99 degrees on Wednesday, causing athletes, including the world’s second-ranked tennis player, Daniil Medvedev, to seek medical attention. The matches were moved from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time to avoid the hottest part of the day, the International Tennis Federation announced in a statement.
Djokovic 2 games away from Golden Slam
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, the top ranked tennis player in the world, is two games away from achieving a Golden Slam after defeating Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-0. A player would have to win all four major events and the Olympics in a calendar year, a triumph only ever attained by Germany’s Steffi Graf.
(NEW YORK) — The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 611,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.1 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 57.6% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC on Tuesday, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission — vaccinated or not — wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.
Here’s how the news is developing Thursday. All times Eastern:
Jul 29, 8:12 am
US now administering over 600,000 shots per day on average
Over 754,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines went into the arms of people across the United States on Wednesday, according to White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar.
That figure includes 498,000 newly vaccinated individuals, Shahpar said, which is the highest daily amount reported since July 1.
The U.S. is now averaging more than 600,000 total shots administered per day, an increase of about 18% compared with last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Jul 29, 7:21 am
Daily case count hits record high in Tokyo amid Olympics
As the 2020 Summer Olympics plays out in Tokyo, the host city saw a record-breaking number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 for the third straight day.
A new all-time high of 3,865 cases were reported on Thursday, up from 3,177 on Wednesday and double the daily count a week ago, according to data from Tokyo’s metropolitan government. The Games, which were postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, are being held under a regional state of emergency and stringent restrictions.
Although Japan has managed to keep its COVID-19 cases and death toll lower than many other countries, its numbers have been on the rise in recent weeks with infections soaring not just in the capital city but across the nation.
“We have never experienced the expansion of the infections of this magnitude,” Japanese chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters Tuesday.
At least 198 confirmed cases have been associated with the Tokyo Olympics. Of those, 24 were reported on Thursday and include three athletes who are staying at the Olympic Village, according to data from the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
Jul 29, 5:41 am
Dozens of cases across US linked to Christian summer camp
At least 75 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 17 U.S. states have been linked to a Christian summer camp in North Carolina, officials said.
The outbreak is associated with campers and staff who attended The Wilds camp near Rosman in North Carolina’s Transylvania County between June 28 and July 17, according to a statement from the local public health department.
The camp, nestled on 1,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, offers sessions for children, adults and families.
Last week, a spokesperson for the camp told Ashevile ABC affiliate WLOS that they had cancelled sessions that week to work on enhancing COVID-19 protocols. Although there was no plan to cancel further sessions, the spokesperson said the camp was working to limit the number of attendees and started asking campers to get tested for COVID-19 before their sessions.
“We’ve been checking our staff, we’ve been doing screenings for everyone who comes onto the campsite and anticipating they’re coming to our campsite healthy,” the spokesperson told WLOS during a telephone interview last week. “And the anticipation is that they would leave healthy as well.”
Jul 29, 1:20 am
FDA approves shelf life extension for J&J vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration has approved another extension to the shelf life of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, from four-and-a-half months to six months, J&J said in a statement late Wednesday.
“The decision is based on data from ongoing stability assessment studies, which have demonstrated the vaccine is stable at six months when refrigerated at temperatures of 36 – 46 degrees Fahrenheit,” J&J said.
Jul 29, 12:38 am
CDC changes testing guidance for vaccinated people
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly updated its guidance on testing for vaccinated people on its website.
While the CDC had previously said vaccinated people did not have to get tested for COVID-19 after being exposed to someone with the virus, unless they had symptoms, that is no longer the case.
The government agency now recommends: “If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you should get tested 3-5 days after your exposure, even if you don’t have symptoms.”
“You should also wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until your test result is negative. You should isolate for 10 days if your test result is positive,” the updated guidance states.
Jul 28, 10:20 pm
Disney World brings back indoor mask requirement for all guests
Masks once again will be required while indoors at Disney World, regardless of vaccination status, the company announced Wednesday, as Florida has quickly become a COVID-19 hotspot.
Starting Friday, face coverings will be required for all guests ages 2 and up while indoors, including upon entering and throughout all attractions.
They are also required while riding Disney transportation.
Masks are still optional in outdoor common areas, the company said.
The theme park had initially dropped its mask requirement for vaccinated guests last month.
The updated rule will also go into effect Friday at Disneyland in California.
(WASHINGTON) — The first Afghans who worked for the U.S. military and diplomatic missions are being evacuated and will arrive in the U.S. late Thursday night or early Friday morning, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that they would arrive “very, very soon,” speaking during a press conference in Kuwait. He confirmed that the U.S. and Kuwait have had diplomatic discussions about hosting another group of Afghans, including during the day’s meetings, but he did not announce an agreement to do so.
These arrivals are the first after President Joe Biden’s pledged to support Afghan interpreters, guides and other contractors who served alongside U.S. troops and diplomats — many of whom now face threats from the Taliban as the militant group gains strength amid the U.S. military withdrawal.
Biden ordered all remaining American forces out of the country by the 20th anniversary this fall of the Sept. 11th attacks, which first brought U.S. troops to Afghanistan to destroy al Qaeda’s operations in the country and topple the Taliban government that gave them sanctuary.
Afghans who worked for the U.S. mission and now face threats for that work are eligible for a special immigrant visa program for them and their families. There are approximately 20,000 Afghans who have applied, plus their family members, according to a State Department spokesperson — although it’s unclear how many of them the administration plans to evacuate.
So far, the administration has announced that some 750 Afghans who have already been approved and cleared security vetting will be brought to the U.S., along with their family members — 2,500 in total. They will be housed and provided temporary services at Fort Lee, a U.S. Army base in central Virginia, for seven to 10 days as they undergo medical exams and finish their application processing.
A second group of some 4,000 Afghan applicants, plus their family members, will also be housed overseas, possibly including at U.S. military installations, according to senior State Department officials. A U.S. official told ABC News the administration has had conversations with Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and several Central Asian countries — Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
But during his visit to Kuwait, Blinken did not announce a new agreement with the U.S. ally to house Afghans there, where there are several U.S. military installations.
Blinken confirmed for the first time that the U.S. and Kuwait are discussing the mission, including in his meetings Thursday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but it seemed they were unable to reach an agreement.
“We’re talking to a number of countries about the possibility of temporarily relocating” Afghans, Blinken told reporters. “That’s one of the issues that came up in our conversations today, but we are very much focused on making good on our obligations.”
(WASHINGTON) — The first Afghans who worked for the U.S. military and diplomatic missions are being evacuated and will arrive in the U.S. late Thursday night or early Friday morning, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that they would arrive “very, very soon,” speaking during a press conference in Kuwait. He confirmed that the U.S. and Kuwait have had diplomatic discussions about hosting another group of Afghans, including during the day’s meetings, but he did not announce an agreement to do so.
These arrivals are the first after President Joe Biden’s pledged to support Afghan interpreters, guides and other contractors who served alongside U.S. troops and diplomats — many of whom now face threats from the Taliban as the militant group gains strength amid the U.S. military withdrawal.
Biden ordered all remaining American forces out of the country by the 20th anniversary this fall of the Sept. 11th attacks, which first brought U.S. troops to Afghanistan to destroy al Qaeda’s operations in the country and topple the Taliban government that gave them sanctuary.
Afghans who worked for the U.S. mission and now face threats for that work are eligible for a special immigrant visa program for them and their families. There are approximately 20,000 Afghans who have applied, plus their family members, according to a State Department spokesperson — although it’s unclear how many of them the administration plans to evacuate.
So far, the administration has announced that some 750 Afghans who have already been approved and cleared security vetting will be brought to the U.S., along with their family members — 2,500 in total. They will be housed and provided temporary services at Fort Lee, a U.S. Army base in central Virginia, for seven to 10 days as they undergo medical exams and finish their application processing.
A second group of some 4,000 Afghan applicants, plus their family members, will also be housed overseas, possibly including at U.S. military installations, according to senior State Department officials. A U.S. official told ABC News the administration has had conversations with Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and several Central Asian countries — Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
But during his visit to Kuwait, Blinken did not announce a new agreement with the U.S. ally to house Afghans there, where there are several U.S. military installations.
Blinken confirmed for the first time that the U.S. and Kuwait are discussing the mission, including in his meetings Thursday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but it seemed they were unable to reach an agreement.
“We’re talking to a number of countries about the possibility of temporarily relocating” Afghans, Blinken told reporters. “That’s one of the issues that came up in our conversations today, but we are very much focused on making good on our obligations.”
(TOKYO) — Sunisa Lee has won gold in the gymnastics all-around at the Tokyo Olympics.
Americans have now won gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around for the last five Olympic Games, starting with Carly Patterson in 2004, Nastia Liukin in 2008, Gabby Douglas in 2012 and Simone Biles in 2016.
Lee went into the all-arounds with a medal already in her pocket, having been part of the U.S. team that won silver Tuesday.
An event initially thought to be a showcase for the all-time great, the all-around field was blown wide open with Simone Biles’ withdrawal.
Each nation is only allowed up to two athletes to compete in the individual gymnastics event. After the qualifying event this past weekend, Biles, who came in first, and Lee were set to be the Americans in the final. Biles’ withdrawal opened up a spot for Jade Carey.
Carey came in ninth in the qualifier overall — rankings that included Biles and a third Russian Olympic Committee gymnast ahead of her.
Lee, meanwhile, came in third behind Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. The difference between Lee’s and Andrade’s scores was 0.23 points; the difference between Carey’s and Andrade’s scores was 1.13.
The Minnesota-based Lee went into the all-arounds with a medal already in her pocket, having been part of the U.S. team that won silver Tuesday.
The first Hmong American Olympian, Lee, 18, reached victory with a strong performance in her signature event, uneven bars, and a strong vault.
Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won silver, bringing home the first gymnastics medal for a Brazilian woman. Angelina Melnikova, a Russian athlete competing under the ROC, won bronze.
An event initially thought to be a showcase for the all-time great, the all-around field was blown wide open with Simone Biles’ withdrawal.
Each nation is only allowed up to two athletes to compete in the individual gymnastics event. After the qualifying event this past weekend, Biles, who came in first, and Lee were set to be the Americans in the final. Biles’ withdrawal opened up a spot for Jade Carey.
Carey ultimately finished the event in eighth place, with a powerful performance on her stronger apparatus, vault, but a fall on beam.
Carey came in ninth in the qualifier overall — rankings that included Biles and a third Russian Olympic Committee gymnast ahead of her.
Lee is a phenom on uneven bars, while Carey is strong on vault. In the qualifier, they both scored over 15 points on those respective apparatuses, accounting for two of the five above-15 scores on any apparatus from any athlete in that event.
After the individual all-around, Lee has qualified to compete in the uneven bars and balance beams event finals, and Carey has qualified for the vault and floor event finals. Carey qualified for the Olympics as an individual, not part of the team competition.
Biles had a misstep on vault at the start of the team competition and withdrew from the rest of competition. USA Gymnastics announced her withdrawal from the all-around event on Wednesday.
“After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health,” USAG said in a statement.
The organization added that Biles “will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week’s individual event finals.”
She was in the stands with the rest of the Team USA gymnasts cheering Lee and Carey on Thursday.
Netflix has stepped up the fight against COVID-19 by requiring actors and other so-called “Zone-A” personnel — those who interact directly with a cast — to be vaccinated for all of its productions.
Deadline reports the move comes after Hollywood unions gave producers the option to require vaccines for such personnel on a “case by case” basis, but Netflix has become the first studio to implement it.
The move was met with mixed responses on social media; WandaVision star Kat Denningreplied right away on Twitter with, “Your move, everyone else!”
While she got hundreds of retweets and many supported it, others replied with comments like “Not legal,” and another griped “Soooo get the shot or don’t have a job? Wow.”
Since production resumed in Hollywood after the pandemic shutdowns, all studios have implemented rigorous COVID-19 protocols. These include frequent testing, and dividing cast and crew into various zones in an effort to shield talent from other members of the crew and eliminate any unnecessary interaction. It also better allows productions to quickly isolate anyone who might test positive.
(WASHINGTON) — After nearly three decades behind bars, Joel Caston is seeking redemption through politics.
The 44-year-old felon, convicted of murder as a teenager, became the newest elected public servant in Washington, D.C., this summer, winning a groundbreaking election for neighborhood commissioner on the city’s southeast side.
“It sounds great to have an official title, I must admit that. However, what it feels like is that now I have to deliver,” Caston told ABC News in an exclusive cell block interview inside D.C. jail. “My constituents spoke by way of voting, and how I have to do great as I promised in my campaign.”
Many of Caston’s constituents are his fellow inmates, who were able to cast ballots in a June local election that has pushed the boundaries of voting rights and racial justice.
D.C. last year joined just Maine and Vermont as the only places in America that allow prisoners to vote. Caston is the first incarcerated American elected to office with votes from incarcerated peers.
“I’ve been locked up 26 years on the fringes of existence,” said inmate Colie Lavar Long, a first-time voter from inside jail. “So, when I actually put — checked that box, and they actually said that he won — this person I voted for — it, like, reaffirmed that, you know, I’m worthy to be back in society.”
Less than 1% of the nation’s estimated 1.8 million incarcerated residents have the right to cast ballots from behind bars, according to The Sentencing Project, a fact that sets the U.S. apart from many other large democracies.
“In most places, you don’t lose your humanity, you don’t lose your civil rights, social rights, political rights when you’re incarcerated,” said Marc Howard, director of the Prisons and Justice Initiative at Georgetown University whose research shows civic engagement in prison can reduce recidivism.
Howard said it’s also a matter of racial justice. One in 16 Black American adults is disenfranchised because of a conviction, a rate 3.7 times higher than among non-Blacks, The Sentencing Project found in a 2020 report.
“If you think about the broader context in history of the struggle for the right to vote in this country, it started out being extremely narrow — white property-owning males — and then gradually was expanded to different groups. But incarcerated people was always a group that was left out of that progression,” Howard said.
Caston’s election is a milestone being celebrated by voting rights advocates in an otherwise challenging time for their cause.
The landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, enacted to eliminate racial discrimination in elections, faces fresh challenges at the U.S. Supreme Court and from Republican-led state legislatures enacting an unprecedented wave of restrictive voting laws.
Efforts by President Joe Biden and Democrats to bolster and expand the law have so far faltered on Capitol Hill.
“Joel is making the impossible possible,” said inmate Ahmaad Nelms, who is serving an 18-month sentence in D.C. jail. “I want him to be the great commissioner he is, man, and show kids that you can be whatever you want to be.”
Caston’s district encompasses a historically black, low-income neighborhood on the far east end of Capitol Hill, including a nearby women’s shelter and luxury apartment complex, neither of which he’s seen or visited.
“A lot of meetings, a lot of engagement, has taken place over Zoom,” Caston said of his campaign and constituent outreach. “So now, as the ANC commissioner, one of the things I do have access to is a computer. I’m Zooming from the inside.”
The commission oversees ground-level issues of neighborhood residents, including liquor license approvals, sidewalk repair and public safety concerns.
“Some people are going to look at this with disdain, but a lot of people are going to think this is a man who is going to take a step in the right direction,” said neighborhood resident and Caston constituent Garrick Thomas.
Nika Hinton, another resident in Caston’s district, applauded the example he is setting for other inmates. “Maybe he’s going to take that experience and share how he got through it and so others won’t have to,” she said.
Caston said he’s out to prove the power of a second chance.
In 1994, it was in the same part of D.C. that as a teenager swept up in a culture of drugs and guns Caston was arrested and later convicted in the shooting death of another young Black man, 18-year-old Rafiq Washington.
“I was heartbroken,” said Delante Uzzle, Caston’s cousin and childhood best friend.
“You could get hurt walking to the store,” Uzzle explained of how unforgiving life on the streets could be at the time. “So, if Joel was fighting, we had to fight. If I was fighting, they had to fight.”
“As a teenager, I was once a drug dealer myself. I was once a gun man myself as a teenager,” Caston said. “And I paid a huge penalty for that, that’s my incarceration.”
D.C. Corrections officials say they believe Caston is fully rehabilitated and a model of redemption.
“I was shocked, but less surprised [that he won election as commissioner],” Uzzle said. “I won’t be surprised if he becomes mayor. That wouldn’t shock me one bit.”
Even the family of the victim in Caston’s crime has given their full endorsement, telling ABC News in a statement: “We believe in forgiveness!!!!!! … and we hope Joel will do good work in the community!!!”
Behind bars, Caston has taught himself Arabic and Mandarin, studies the bible in French and Spanish, created a mentoring program for young inmates and has published a curriculum of books that teaches the basics of investments and savings.
“We want people on the inside thinking like citizens,” he said. “If we can get them thinking this way while they’re in the inside, the overarching goal is that that would be the mind set on the outside. So we change the narrative.”
When he’s released on parole — expected later this year — Caston said he intends to lobby for greater enfranchisement of Americans behind bars even as the idea remains highly controversial.
“It’s called punishment. Punishment for their crime. And it’s unconscionable to me that we’re even debating this,” Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., said earlier this year during floor debate of H.R. 1, House Democrats’ sweeping election reform bill that would have restored the vote to millions of ex-felons. Republicans were universally opposed.
While 21 states automatically return voting rights to incarcerated Americans upon release, 16 withhold the vote through periods of probation or parole, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eleven more suspend the right to vote indefinitely for some crimes.
“It’s absolutely outrageous and indefensible,” said Howard. “Even though they’ve served their time, they paid their debt to society, they’re supposedly having second chances, yet they can’t participate in our democracy.”
Just weeks after the campaign, Caston is already inspiring a new generation of voters who see a stake in politics and public service.
“I think all lives matter, all voices matter, everyone’s voice matters,” Caston said. “And I think that when you look at a story like mine — and oftentimes we would just cast off individuals who are inside of incarcerated spaces and think that he or she does not have a value — I believe that my story demonstrates that, yes, we do have value.”
(FRESNO, Calif.) — It’s 7:51 p.m. on a warm Friday night. Fresno, California, police officer Bret Hutchins and his two partners are checking on a burglary call. The 911 caller reported somebody broke into a garage and they can hear them banging around inside. The officers are having a hard time finding the burglary when their police radios come alive. Dispatch puts out the call of shots fired with a male victim down.
ABC News was riding along on this night. As the officers sprint back to their patrol SUVs, we ask, “What’s going on?” After advising dispatch that he is responding, Hutchins says, “Victim of shooting, let’s go.” We jump in, slamming the patrol doors as Hutchins hits his lights and sirens and we scream off to the growling sound of the Ford Police Interceptor giving what seems like all of its horsepower.
Speeding through the streets of Fresno, onlookers standing to get into clubs watch and take pictures as we zoom by with sirens blaring to the latest act of violence in the city. On the police radio, another responding officer asks, “Did anybody see him get shot?” Dispatch relays that the caller found the man down.
As we pull up to the scene, Hutchins says aloud to himself the license plate numbers of every car pulling out to memorize them in case they could be a suspect fleeing the area who they will need to track down.
We arrive to a victim down, shot multiple times. Medics are still minutes away, so Hutchins and his partners grab medical kits from the back of their patrol vehicles and sprint toward the man who is unconscious and badly bleeding.
“Okay, I have one entry wound right here,” Hutchins tells his partners as they begin CPR. “One, two, three, four, five, six … ” Hutchins counts as he begins doing chest compressions on what would become Fresno’s 42nd murder of 2021. Shell casings litter the area. Who shot the man is unclear in the moment, but a search for a killer would get underway. In the hours that followed, homicide detectives would canvass the area for any tiny amount of evidence.
Like many American cities, Fresno is dealing with a sharp surge in gun crime. Fresno has a population of 525,000. Its population is bigger than Kansas City, Missouri, Pittsburgh or Cleveland, but operates with a fraction of officers of some smaller cities.
“What we’re seeing, yes, is a peak in violent crime,” Paco Balderrama, the city’s new police chief, told ABC News. “And there’s a lot of factors in that.”
Balderrama became the chief of police in Fresno earlier this year after spending much of his career in Oklahoma and in Texas. Since arriving, he has been tasked with figuring out how to reduce the surging violence in his city. The vast majority of the gun violence is related to gangs and the guns are most often illegal.
“I’m talking about people who have been to prison who have no business carrying a gun. Active gang members. People who are intending to hurt somebody in a crime,” Balderrama said.
At a time when many cities have seen their police budgets cut and amid calls to defund the police, Fresno is in a unique position in that it is rapidly trying to hire more officers to battle the crime. The city council and community groups have given support to the idea of bringing on more officers. Fresno is looking to hire 120 new officers in the next 18 months. Part of that effort is making up for attrition but others are additional positions to increase lagging police ranks.
“I think (120 officers) is a goal we can reach. We asked the city council for $125,000 in the budget toward recruiting for a new recruiting video, for billboards, for wraps for some of the cars,” Balderrama said.
He knows the department needs to rapidly increase officer numbers in this time of high crime without lowering standards. Convincing people to become a police officer is a tough task right now due to a year of negative headlines, public perception, and pressure on police, he said.
In the meantime, Balderrama’s department is looking for unique ways to end the violence with current staffing. One of those ideas is a program called Advance Peace or AP. Advance Peace is less than a year old in Fresno, partially funded by the city. Its mission is to interrupt gun violence before it happens.
Members of Advance Peace are sometimes former gang members and are close to the gang community. They get to know young gang members, foster relationships with them and try to give them other ways to get out their anger.
The group focuses on mainly young men who are prone to violence. “Before he commits a gun crime, he’ll call us,” Aaron Foster, who works for Advance Peace, told ABC News. “We try to get out in front of it.”
Foster lost a son and a daughter to gang violence in Fresno in recent years. Now he works in the community to gain the trust of gang members.
“We know them mostly because we saw them grow up as a kid. When he was in junior high school, we knew this kid would be the next round of shooters,” Foster said.
The staff at Advance Peace say they often get calls from young gang members they are mentoring who say they have just shot somebody and need advice on what to do next. The group will counsel them but, in order to keep their trust and credibility, does not turn them into police. Advance Peace lets police do their investigations without being a source of intelligence. Yet, when members believe there is a gang shooting coming they may tell police they should have units in a certain area beforehand to prevent violence.
Balderrama said he supports Advance Peace as one idea that might help reduce the violence in his city.
“When you build relationships you have influence. If you have no relationships you have no influence,” Balderrama said. “Advance Peace gives us the ability to communicate and give people resources.”
Advance Peace staff member Marcel Woodruff becomes emotional as he shows a shelf of pictures and funeral programs for those victims of gun violence the group has worked with in the past year. The list of names is long.
“There’s nobody else actively seeking shooters who say ‘Hey, I wanna take you to get some Popeye’s Chicken,'” Woodruff said. “It is unique in that we are the only group saying we want those who have been deemed to be the most lethal in our city and want to build a relationship with them because we inherently know they’ve been the most unloved.”
Leaders of Advance Peace say they are constantly defending themselves against critics of the program who believe the city is simply paying gang members to reduce violence. The organization works to justify its existence and relies on its own fundraising to keep much of the program up and running.
Across the country there is a long list of ideas on how to best reduce gun violence during this nationwide surge. California Assemblymember Marc Levine, a Democrat, is working on a bill that would place a 10% tax on guns and 11% tax on ammunition sales in California.
The money from the higher taxes would go toward gun violence prevention programs and is designed, like taxes on cigarettes, to maybe also deter some from buying guns and ammunition if they cost more money.
Levine said the amount of money raised through the gun tax would be substantial and would be put to good use. “These are proven programs to reduce gun violence in our communities. It would raise $100 million annually.”
But critics of Levine’s bill say it would not stop street crime in California cities because much of it is being done with stolen or so-called ghost guns that have been manufactured by an individual rather than a commercial gun manufacturer. Or, critics say, if somebody does want to buy a gun through a store or dealer they will just go to Nevada or Arizona to buy what they want through dealers that are willing to sell.
Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, believes such taxes and other laws punish legal gun owners.
“We have 400 million guns in private possession in America,” Paredes said. “Any focus you put on reducing the number of guns in public is just not going to work. That horse has left the barn.”
Police point out most of the guns they come in contact with are illegally obtained and harsher gun laws likely would not impact how they are bought and sold on the streets. Paredes argues the crime surge the U.S. is experiencing is a result of not enough police on the streets, lenient prosecutors and courts, and mental health issues.
“As long as they continue to look for solutions by controlling guns through laws only affecting law-abiding citizens, because they are the only ones who obey the laws, we are going to see an increase in the violent crime rate and use of firearms in commission of crimes,” Paredes said.
Police say the increasing problem is homemade ghost guns, which are made using parts that can be purchased online or in stores and assembled in a home. They are primarily unregulated, unregistered and untraceable by typical means, police said.
Paredes counters that ghost guns aren’t the problem police and the media make them seem to be and that ghost guns arguments are a way to ignore the bigger mental health problem suffered by those committing violence. “The whole issue of ghost guns are a red herring,” Paredes said. “I believe it’s elected officials deflecting.”
Officer Hutchins in Fresno feels differently, though, as he is racing from call to call. “Lately, it’s been the ghost guns that are the problem,” said Hutchins.
Limiting access to guns being made in secret or illegal guns being passed around under the radar has proven to be tough to fix. Few seem to agree on the problem, let alone a solid solution. Marcel Woodruff at Advance Peace said gun laws won’t fix the street crime problem. He believes it has to be a longer term solution by showing gang members how to live more fulfilling lives so they don’t turn toward shootings to get what they want.
“So if we deal with the violence at the systemic and structural levels that are denying people access to things they need to move through life healthy, then we consequently reduce them using a firearm to make a way for themselves,” said Woodruff.
For now Fresno police remain busy moving from shooting call to shooting call.
This story is part of the series Gun Violence in America by ABC News Radio. Each day this week we’re exploring a different topic, from what we mean when we say “gun violence” – it’s not just mass shootings – to what can be done about it. You can hear an extended version of each report as an episode of the ABC News Radio Specials podcast.
(NEW YORK) — Disney Parks has updated its mask policy for all visitors regardless of vaccine status after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its mask guidance following the surge in COVID infections.
The high-traffic theme parks in Florida and California announced late Wednesday that beginning Friday, July 30, all guests are required to keep masks on while indoors, including when entering all attractions and in Disney buses, monorail and Disney Skyliner.
“We are adapting our health and safety guidelines based on guidance from health and government officials, and will require Cast Members and Guests ages 2 and up, to wear face coverings in all indoor locations at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort,” Disney Parks said in a statement.
The news comes days after the CDC’s call for a return to masks in public, indoor settings due to the transmissibility of the fast-spreading delta variant.
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News
