(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 912,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 64.2% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing Thursday. All times Eastern:
Feb 10, 7:44 am
Prince Charles tests positive for COVID-19 again
Charles, Prince of Wales, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday morning, according to a spokesperson for Clarence House, his official London residence.
The 73-year-old heir apparent to the British throne “is now self-isolating” and “is deeply disappointed not to be able to attend today’s events in Winchester and will look to reschedule his visit as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.
It’s the second time that Charles has contracted COVID-19. He previously tested positive in March 2020, early on in the pandemic before vaccines were available, but he had mild symptoms.
Both the Prince of Wales and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a Clarence House spokesperson has said.
The couple attended a British Asian Trust event at the British Museum in London on Wednesday night, along with hundreds of other guests, including several British politicians such as Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Health Secretary Said Javid. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines, was also in attendance.
Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
(BOULDER, Colo.) — Nearly a year after a gunman opened fire at a King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado, killing 10 people, the grocery store has reopened.
A marching band helped mark Wednesday’s reopening — a joyful yet somber celebration attended by local officials and community members that honored the victims and paid tribute to the first responders of the March 22, 2021, mass shooting.
Instead of a ribbon-cutting, the manager of the Table Mesa King Soopers store and the city’s mayor tied a ribbon together to signal their strength.
“Just like the strength of this knot, we are strong,” King Soopers spokesperson Kelli McGannon told the crowd.
There was also a moment of silence for the workers, shoppers and Boulder police officer killed in the shooting: Denny Stong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Officer Eric Talley, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.
King Soopers officials said they would also be installing a remembrance tree garden on the west side of the store, planting one tree for each victim.
The 10 trees will “remind us of the dark day, the day of evil that occurred here,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis told the crowd, though he noted that the reopening marks a “turning point for the community to move forward.”
“Today is really a symbol of that perseverance. It’s the beginning of a new chapter,” the governor said. “I want to thank everybody whose hard work led to this occasion and wish everybody affected — family members, team members, shoppers — well in the journey of healing that we are all undertaking and for which today is a very important step.”
The store’s manager, Sheri Bosman, gave emotional remarks at the reopening.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. We’ve come a long way in the past year,” she said, getting choked up.
“We were strong in the beginning. We continue to build our strength. We’re stronger than ever,” she continued. “My heart is thankful we are back together with our incredible Table Mesa associates and the South Boulder community.”
The redesign includes a new entry and higher ceilings with more lighting, as well as safety enhancements. The company hasn’t elaborated on those features because it is proprietary information and could pose a risk to share.
Local shoppers came by to support the workers and community and to lay flowers at the site.
“There’s been a lot of grieving and I feel the fact that the store’s open again will give everybody a chance to regroup and celebrate the fact that our spirit is strong,” Michelle Weiner-Davis, a family therapist who shops at the store, told Denver ABC affiliate KMGH-TV.
In the wake of the shooting, King Soopers committed a $1 million donation to the Colorado Healing Fund to help provide mental health services and other financial relief to survivors and others who have been traumatized by the event.
Mental health partners were also on site for the opening, Bosman said.
As the store reopens, the case against the alleged shooter is ongoing. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 22, faces 10 counts of first-degree murder, among other charges, in connection with the shooting. A possible motive has not been released.
In December, a judge ruled that he was incompetent to stand trial and the suspect was ordered to undergo further treatment in the state mental hospital. A hearing has been scheduled for March 15 to review his condition.
(NEW YORK) — Two Oklahoma men were indicted by a federal grand jury after authorities accused them of committing hate crimes in connection with an alleged assault against two people outside of a bar in 2019.
The two-count indictment in the Western District of Oklahoma alleges that Brandon Killian and Devan Johnson “willfully caused bodily injury to two victims” because one of them was a Black man, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
The assaults occurred in the parking lot of a bar in Shawnee, Oklahoma, in June 2019, the Justice Department said in a press release.
If convicted, Killian and Johnson each could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the release.
An attorney for Killian did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. Information for Johnson’s attorney was not immediately available.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 911,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 64.2% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-Fauci says we’re heading out of the ‘full blown pandemic phase’
-US hospitalizations at lowest point since early January
-New York lifts indoor mask mandate effective Thursday
-Massachusetts lifts statewide school mask mandate
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 09, 6:10 pm
Washington state to lift mask mandates
Washington became the latest state Wednesday to announce it will be easing mask requirements.
Gov. Jay Inslee said the state’s outdoor mask mandate will be lifted on Feb. 18, and he will provide a date next week on when the indoor mask mandate will end.
The state health department has required that everyone ages 5 and older wear a mask at indoor public settings, as well as at outdoor events with 500 or more attendees, regardless of vaccination status.
The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases have been declining rapidly in the state.
Feb 09, 4:56 pm
Fauci says we’re heading out of the ‘full blown pandemic phase’
Dr. Anthony told the Financial Times that the U.S. is “heading out of” the “full-blown pandemic phase” and that he hopes masks and other measures can be dropped entirely in the coming months.
“As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of COVID-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated,” Fauci said. “There will also be more people making their own decisions on how they want to deal with the virus.”
“There is no way we are going to eradicate this virus,” Fauci cautioned. “But I hope we are looking at a time when we have enough people vaccinated and enough people with protection from previous infection that the COVID restrictions will soon be a thing of the past.”
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Feb 09, 4:07 pm
Illinois looks to end indoor mask mandate
Illinois plans to lift its indoor mask mandate at the end of month, Gov. JB Pritzker said, citing “hospitalization rates declining faster than any other point in the pandemic.”
“If these trends continue — and we expect them to — then on Monday, Feb. 28, we will lift the indoor mask requirement,” he said Wednesday.
Masks will continue in Illinois schools “subject to pending litigation which impacts a number of schools,” the governor’s office said. “As the CDC reaffirmed just today, masks remain a critical tool to keep schools safe and open.”
The governors of New York and Rhode Island also announced an end to their indoor mask mandates on Wednesday.
Feb 09, 2:01 pm
Rhode Island lifting indoor mask mandate
Rhode Island will lift the statewide indoor mask policy on Friday, Gov. Dan McKee announced.
Rhode Island’s school mask mandate will be extended until March. 4. At that time, school masking policies will be decided by individual school districts.
This comes hours after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York’s indoor mask mandate will end on Thursday.
(NEW YORK) — A man was arrested after he was accused of raping a woman on a United flight.
Police at London’s Heathrow Airport were alerted to “an incident” on an inbound trans-Atlantic flight from Newark, New Jersey, on the morning of Jan. 31.
“Officers met the aircraft on arrival and arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of rape,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement to ABC News. “He has been released under investigation.”
The woman is “being supported by specialist offers and enquiries are ongoing,” officials explained.
United Airlines said their crew “called ahead and notified the local authorities as soon as they became aware of these allegations” adding they “will cooperate with law enforcement on any investigation.”
Both individuals were sitting in the business class cabin and other passengers were sleeping when the alleged rape occurred, according to the Sun.
ABC News’ Sam Sweeney and Mike Trew contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Thousands of public employees from across Puerto Rico took to the streets Wednesday to demand higher salaries and better pensions.
The demonstration followed a protest by teachers on Friday demanding a temporary increase of $1,000 per month for public educators. Gov. Pedro Pierluisi announced this week that funds from the U.S. Department of Education would be used to provide the wage boost.
But at a press conference Monday, Pierluisi raised eyebrows when he said being a teacher, firefighter or any other public employee was not an obligation.
“No one here is forced to be a police officer or a firefighter, but those who decide towards that calling will have to assume that huge responsibility and if for any reason they question if they should continue to do so amid the salary or work conditions, they are not obligated to remain in their role,” said Pierluisi.
The comment caused outrage among many public employees and other residents on the island.
“It’s disrespectful,” Spanish teacher Leny Colón told ABC News. Colón traveled to the protest from Coamo, located about 60 miles away from San Juan. She said she attended the protest because she is a teacher, but also supports other public employees.
“We are here because we have a calling but this calling shouldn’t be punished… this is a community fight,” Colón said.
For Carlos Torres, a teacher from San Juan, the government’s comments were “insensible”.
“If we wouldn’t have pressured him and we wouldn’t have marched Friday he wouldn’t have done anything,” Torres told ABC News, referring to a new temporary salary increase that goes into effect on July 1.
“Our team has made the necessary calculations and has consulted the federal government, and we’ve been able to identify ESSER funds to provide incentives for teachers,” Pierluisi announced in a press release Feb. 7.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) is part of the Education Stabilization budget. Congress allocated $13.2 billion from the $30.7 billion to address the COVID-19 impact on schools across the nation.
Although the raise was praised by many, the wave of negative response from Puerto Ricans in response to the governor’s other comments keeps growing — and the leader says he has nothing to apologize for.
“Apologize for what? I did a lot of comments in solidarity with all the claims being made by the people,” Pierluisi said at a press conference on Tuesday.
As for the dispute over salaries, work conditions and retirement plans, many public employees say they will not stop fighting until they see a change.
“Education, safety and health is very important,” Colón said. “It’s time to make justice for all Puerto Ricans.”
(NEW YORK) — A South Carolina police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after fatally shooting an unarmed man who led her on a high-speed pursuit, authorities said.
The incident began early Sunday, when Hemingway Police Officer Cassandra Dollard, 52, attempted to pull over 46-year-old Robert Langley for “disregarding a stop sign” in Williamsburg County at 1:24 a.m., according to an arrest warrant.
Langley “failed to stop” and a chase ensued, according to the warrant. After allegedly traveling over 100 mph, Langley crashed his car into a ditch in neighboring Georgetown County at around 1:30 a.m., according to the warrant.
Langley attempted to exit the car through the front passenger door and Dollard fired her gun once, striking him in the chest, according to the warrant.
Dollard reportedly told investigators she fired her gun because she was “in fear for her safety,” according to the warrant.
“Dollard stated she did not identify a weapon in Langley’s hands, nor was a weapon recovered at the scene,” South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Special Agent Ashley Jolda said in the arrest warrant affidavit, which noted that Dollard had no authority to arrest Langley outside of Williamsburg County.
Langley was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries, authorities said. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning, the Georgetown County Coroner’s Office said.
Dollard was arrested Wednesday afternoon by SLED agents and booked into the Georgetown County Detention Center. Her bond hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, according to Charleston, South Carolina, ABC affiliate WCIV. It is unclear if she has an attorney.
SLED agents are seeking to conduct interviews with potential witnesses and are collecting evidence as part of their investigation into the shooting, the agency said.
The Hemingway Police Department said following the shooting that it is in “full cooperation with SLED” during the investigation and referred all questions to the agency.
SLED said it is not releasing any additional information on the case at this time.
An attorney for Langley’s family said prosecutors showed them dashcam video of the deadly encounter Wednesday morning.
“We do know that Robert Langley should be alive today,” attorney Bakari Sellers said during a press conference held hours before Dollard’s arrest. “We do know that he was taken from us in a cruel fashion, in an unjust fashion.”
Langley, a father of 10 and a new grandfather, “posed no threat” to the officer, according to Sellers.
“I don’t know if she was having a bad day or what, but murder should not have been on the menu,” Sellers said.
(NEW YORK) — A juror was dismissed Wednesday in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights during the 2020 fatal arrest.
The juror was let go after informing the court he is coping with mental health issues going on with his son.
The panelist — a maintenance and facilities manager and Army veteran — was replaced by one of six alternate jurors. The replacement juror is a man who works at a data company and has two children.
The trial in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota, began on Jan. 24 with opening statements. The prosecution is nearing the end of presenting its evidence in the case against J. Alexander Kueng, 28, Thomas Lane, 38, and Tou Thao, 35.
All three are charged with using the “color of the law,” or their positions as police officers, to deprive Floyd of his civil rights by allegedly showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs when their senior officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on the back of the handcuffed man’s neck for more than nine minutes, ultimately killing him.
Kueng and Thao both face an additional charge alleging they knew Chauvin was kneeling on Floyd’s neck but did nothing to stop him. Lane, who appeared to express concern for Floyd’s well-being during the encounter, does not face the additional charge.
They have all pleaded not guilty.
Chauvin was convicted in Minnesota state court in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.
Chauvin, 45, also pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges stemming from Floyd’s death and the abuse of a 14-year-old boy he bashed in the head with a flashlight in 2017. He admitted in the signed plea agreement with federal prosecutors that he knelt on the back of Floyd’s neck even as Floyd complained he could not breathe, fell unconscious and lost a pulse.
ABC News’ Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.
Survivor Kara Cagle speaks during a news conference to announce a $243-million settlement in the UCLA sex abuse case of former UCLA gynecologist/oncologist James Heaps in Irvine, Calif., Feb. 8, 2022. – Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
(IRVINE, Calif.) — The University of California announced on Tuesday that it reached an agreement to pay $243.6 million to 203 women, settling lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct by former UCLA Health physician James Heaps.
The women filed a lawsuit against the university in California state court, according to UCLA.
“The conduct alleged to have been committed by Heaps is reprehensible and contrary to the university’s values. We express our gratitude to the brave individuals who came forward, and hope this settlement is one step toward providing healing and closure for the plaintiffs involved,” UCLA said in a statement to ABC News.
The settlement comes after the university agreed in December to pay $73 million in the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed by seven women, on behalf of 5,500 women who were patients of the former UCLA gynecologist, court records show.
Heaps faces 21 charges in an ongoing criminal case brought against him in a Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to court records.
In addition to UCLA Health, the University of California’s Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center was also named in the litigation. The university had called for an independent review by a special committee to look into UCLA Health’s as well as the Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center’s responses to allegations of sexual misconduct by medical professionals, according to UCLA.
UCLA Health and the Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center representatives say they have taken substantial action to address the issues alleged in the litigation.
The report was completed and released publicly in June 2020, recommending additional policies and procedures to prevent, identify and address sexual misconduct, all of which are being adopted and implemented, according to UCLA.
“In light of this settlement and these changes at UCLA, we reiterate our ongoing commitment to never tolerate sexual violence or harassment in any form. Allegations of sexual misconduct by any health care provider will be promptly addressed, and appropriate actions will be taken to ensure our patients are safe, protected and respected,” UCLA said in a statement.
“As we move forward, we remain committed to providing top quality care that respects the dignity of every patient, and we remain dedicated to taking all necessary steps to ensure our patients’ well-being and to maintain the public’s confidence and trust,” UCLA said.
(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — A second man charged in a bizarre plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pleaded guilty Wednesday and has agreed to testify for the prosecution at the federal trial of four other defendants.
Kaleb Franks, 27, of Waterford, Michigan, admitted in U.S. District in Grand Rapids that he and other members of the Wolverine Watchmen, a Michigan-based self-styled “militia” group, hatched the plot to abduct Whitmer at her summer home in 2020 because they were upset by the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.
The plot, which allegedly included plans to use semiautomatic assault-type weapons and to bomb a bridge near Whitmer’s vacation home, was foiled by undercover law enforcement officers who infiltrated the group.
“Did any law enforcement officers suggest kidnapping the governor?” U.S. Magistrate Judge Phillip Green asked Franks during Wednesday’s hearing.
Franks replied, “No sir.”
Franks admitted in court that the kidnapping plan originated solely with him and the others charged in the conspiracy.
Lawyers for the other men facing trial in March filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing they were entrapped. The judge rejected that motion.
Franks’ guilty plea comes after another man charged in the case, Ty Garbin, 25, pleaded guilty last year to firearms charges and conspiracy charges of providing material support for terrorists. Garbin was sentenced in August to 75 months in prison.
Garbin is also expected to testify for the prosecution in the upcoming federal trial for Adam Fox, 40, Barry Croft Jr., 45, Daniel Harris, 24, and Brandon Caserta, 33. Eight other men face charges in state court stemming from the kidnap plot.
Franks admitted being deeply involved in the kidnap plot, participating in meetings and training sessions, and surveillance conducted on Whitmer’s vacation home in his signed plea agreement.
After the plot was thwarted, Whitmer alleged in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America that the plan included more than kidnaping her.
“This was a very serious thought-out plot to kill police officers, to bomb our capitol, killing Democrats and Republicans alike, and to kidnap and ultimately put me on trial and kill me as well,” Whitmer said on GMA. “These are the types of things you hear from groups like ISIS. This is not a militia; it is a domestic terror organization.”
