(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 909,000 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 Wednesday. All times Eastern:
Feb 09, 7:55 am
US reported more cases, deaths than any country last week, WHO says
The United States reported the highest number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths from the disease last week out of any country in the world, according to a weekly epidemiological update released Tuesday by the World Health Organization.
More than 1.8 million new cases were reported in the U.S. during the week of Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, a 50% decrease compared to the previous week. Over 14,000 new fatalities were also reported, a 15% decrease, the WHO said.
France had the second-highest number of new cases with more than 1.7 million, a 26% decrease, while India had the second-highest number of new deaths with nearly 8,000, a 69% increase, according to the WHO.
Meanwhile, the global number of new cases during that same period decreased by 17% compared to the previous week, while fatalities increased by 7%, the WHO said.
(WASHINGTON) — The Maryland Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Tuesday over whether Lee Boyd Malvo, the last living D.C.-area sniper, should be given a revised sentence under new federal and state laws that apply to those convicted of crimes as juveniles.
In 2002, Malvo, who was then 17, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison after a sniper spree nearly 20 years ago in which 10 people were killed and another three wounded in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia over a span of 22 days.
In 2009, Malvo pleaded guilty for his role in killing six people in Montgomery County, Maryland, and received six life sentences without the possibility of parole. That same year, Malvo’s co-conspirator, John Allen Muhammad, was executed by lethal injection after being sentenced to death in Virginia.
However, because Malvo committed the crimes as a juvenile in 2002, new laws have given his attorneys fresh arguments to try to gain Malvo’s release.
Kiran Iyer, a lawyer for Malvo, claimed that his client’s age was not considered when he was sentenced to the six life sentences in Maryland in 2006.
Iyer claimed the judge who sentenced Malvo did not take into account Malvo’s immaturity and what the law terms the “diminished capacity” of juvenile offenders.
Malvo’s lawyer argued the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case Miller v. Alabama, which said mandatory life sentences without parole for juvenile offenders is unconstitutional and violates the 8th Amendment, should be applied in Malvo’s case.
Iyer also argued new Maryland laws, including the Juvenile Restoration Act (JUVRA) that lets prisoners convicted as juveniles seek release after serving at least 20 years in prison, should apply. Juvenile offenders imprisoned at least 20 years can now file motion three times to attempt to receive a reduced sentence.
In recent years, lawmakers in Maryland and Virginia have passed similar legislation to abolish sentences of life without parole for crimes committed by juveniles.
Malvo, who is currently serving four life sentences for his conviction in Virginia, could be paroled in that state under new JUVRA laws. However, as things now stand, he’d then have to begin serving his Maryland sentence, needing to wait another 20 years to be considered for JUVRA consideration in Maryland.
On Tuesday, Malvo’s attorney asked the court to consider his sentences in Virginia and Maryland as one, noting, because of his conviction in Virginia, Malvo may never enter Maryland state custody. Iyer asked “for a meaningful opportunity for release from [Malvo’s] Maryland sentences.”
Carrie J. Williams, a Maryland assistant attorney general, attempted to poke holes in Malvo’s appeal to Maryland’s highest court. She argued that under Virginia laws, Malvo will have a meaningful opportunity for release starting later this year in Virginia due to a state law there that allows juvenile offenders to have a parole hearing after 20 years. She added that Maryland and Virginia did not violate the 8th Amendment or the Supreme Court ruling in Miller v. Alabama, because of the way JUVRA laws work.
She also argued that Malvo was nearly 18 when he committed the crime and noted, because of his age and laws at the time of the killings, he isn’t serving life without parole.
Williams told the court, “Mr. Malvo was nearly 18 when he committed these crimes is certainly relevant, it is certainly relevant for consideration when deciding whether he could be appropriately sentenced to life without parole. But in this case, because of JUVRA. He’s not serving life without parole, and in fact, because his sentence should not be considered in the aggregate. And in fact, no one is any longer serving life without parole in Maryland for crimes that they committed as a juvenile.”
She went after Malvo’s attorney’s plea that his sentencing in Maryland and Virginia should aggregate, noting the planning and length of the crimes he committed.
Williams argued “Mr. Malvo had multiple, multiple opportunities to reflect upon each one of his 10 bad decisions and the bad decisions that have not been prosecuted but to which Mr. Malvo has confessed. If Mr. Malvo’s sentences aggregate — if this court holds that Mr. Malvo’s sentences must be considered as one single sentence — it will be close to a per se rule that all juvenile sentences must aggregate. Because it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the where the– argument against aggregation would be stronger.”
(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 908,000 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:
-Daily cases below 300,000 for 1st time this year
-Omicron estimated to account for 96.4% of new cases
-Michigan closes bridge to Canada amid trucker-led protests
-Oregon to lift mask mandates for indoor public spaces, schools by March 31
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 08, 7:32 pm
Boston mayor lays out guidelines to drop vaccine proof requirement
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu outlined her plan to drop the city’s proof of vaccine requirement at indoor businesses including bars, movie theaters and restaurants.
The city must have fewer than 200 COVID-19 hospitalizations a day, 95% of ICU beds need to be free and the community positivity rate must be below 5%, before the requirement is removed, she said.
“The fastest way to help ensure we are relieving pressure on hospital capacity and driving down community positivity is to keep closing gaps with vaccination and boosters,” Wu said in a statement.
There are no immediate plans to end the city’s mask mandate in schools, she added.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Feb 08, 7:20 pm
LA County maintains mask mandate for schools
While California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he will end the statewide mask mandate next week, Los Angeles County health officials said Tuesday they have no immediate plans to drop their mask mandate.
LA County Department of Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer told reporters the county’s decision will be made based on dropping hospitalization numbers or vaccination approval for young children.
The mandate will be dropped when daily hospitalizations drop below 2,500 for seven consecutive days, according to Ferrer. Once this threshold is met, “masking will no longer be required while outdoors at outdoor mega events or an indoor outdoor spaces at childcare and K to 12 schools,” Ferrer said.
Even if that threshold is not met, the mandate could be dropped eight weeks after vaccines are approved for children under 5. Pfizer submitted a request to the Food and Drug Administration to have its vaccine approved for children 6 months to 5 years old. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 15.
Los Angeles County is the second-largest school district in the country, with over 600,000 students.
Feb 08, 1:53 pm
Daily cases below 300,000 for 1st time this year
The U.S. case rate is dropping, down by 63.4% since the peak three weeks ago, according to federal data.
For the first time since December, U.S. daily cases are below 300,000.
However, experts continue to caution that the U.S. isn’t out of the woods. Case levels remain much higher than the nation’s previous surges and the U.S. is still reporting millions of new cases every week. Experts also point out that many Americans taking at-home tests are not submitting their results, and thus, case totals may be higher than reported.
On average, about 13,000 Americans with COVID-19 are being admitted to the hospital each day — a 26.4% drop in the last week, according to federal data.
Emergency department visits with diagnosed COVID-19 cases are also on the decline, down by nearly 60% in the last month, federal data show.
The U.S. death average is at a plateau, with the nation reporting around 2,300 new COVID-19-related deaths each day, according to federal data. That average is significantly lower than last winter when the nation peaked around 3,400 deaths per day.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Feb 08, 11:28 am
Omicron estimated to account for 96.4% of new cases
The presence of the omicron sub-variant, BA.2, is increasing in the U.S., according to new data published by the CDC.
BA.2 was estimated to account for 3.6% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of Feb. 5. BA.2 was projected to account for 1.2% of new cases the week prior.
The original omicron strain, B.1.1.529, still makes up the vast majority of new cases, accounting for an estimated 96.4% of cases in the U.S.
There is still much unknown about the BA.2 variant, but currently it doesn’t appear to demonstrate a more severe illness. There’s also no indication to suggest that BA.2 will further impact the efficacy of vaccines.
The delta variant, which accounted for 99.2% of all new cases just two months ago, is now estimated to account for 0% of new cases.
(NEW YORK) — In North Lawndale, a neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago laden with crime and poverty, Derek Brown, founder of Boxing Out Negativity, has taken the fight against gun violence off the street and into the ring.
His program provides mentorship and a safe space for at-risk youth who are more likely to be swept up into street life.
“I’m a counselor, I’m a teacher, I’m a motivator, I’m whatever our children need,” Brown told ABC News. “Boxing took troubled kids and started programming them. In order to be ‘bad’ here, you have to run at least five miles a day, exercise all day, repeat the same techniques over and over and over until you get it mastered.”
“We’re not just fighting our way inside the ring, we’re fighting our way through life,” Brown continued. “Our everyday objective is to fight for ourselves, our families and friends and communities.”
As a former gang member who transitioned out of street life at 28, Brown, now 45, said he is acutely aware of environmental factors that lead young people down the wrong path.
Trumale Coleman, Brown’s 18-year-old mentee who has been in the boxing program since he was 8, said the lessons on discipline and dedication provided him with the tools to see his higher potential and navigate through an environment where violence is the norm.
“I never even thought I would do boxing. I never even thought I had as much knowledge as he gave me. He [Brown] is not my biological father; he is my spiritual father. I learn more every day, and what he teaches me, I teach everyone else,” Coleman said.
Experts say examining the environment that perpetuates gun violence is key to understanding the latest uptick in communities of color.
Dr. David Ansell, the senior vice president for community health equity at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and author of “The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills,” told ABC News that public health and poverty are directly correlated to high rates of gun violence.
MORE: Lessons from a ‘violence interrupter’ as shootings continue to ravage Chicago
“[West Chicago] has one of the highest COVID death rates in the city; it also has high rates of gun violence. These things are co-prevalent,” Ansell said. “What ties it all together is trauma over time and how people react to various traumas. Some of that trauma gets acted out in behavioral ways, with either mental illness, addiction or violence.”
Chicago Police department data showed that 48 people were killed in shooting homicides in January, ABC station WLS in Chicago reported. That’s a 13% decline compared to January 2021, police said.
There were 219 people shot last month, compared to 241 around the same time last year, the data showed.
“We’re seeing reductions in involvement in gun violence. We’re seeing reductions in victimization rates among the [community-led outreach organizations], all heading in the right direction,” Andrew Papachristos, professor of sociology at Northwestern University and director at the Northwestern Neighborhood & Network Initiative.
“It’s hard to prove,” he said. “It’s especially hard to prove because of the national surge in gun violence we just saw happen in Chicago. But even during COVID, even during this national surge in gun violence, we’re seeing positive direction in street outreach.”
Northwestern Neighborhood & Network Initiative (N3) is a research collective that works with Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research to engage with community organizations and policymakers to address social problems in Chicago. Researchers have been studying the impact of community street outreach programs, and evidence shows that credible messengers — people who grow up in the same neighborhoods they serve — have a promising impact on lowering gun violence.
A 2021 N3 report evaluated the outreach program of Chicago CRED, anti-violence organization that provides mentorship and resources to at-risk youth, to identify how the use of credible messengers impacts gun violence in neighborhoods with high crime rates. The report identified young adults in the program to see how they perceive violence around them and examined how CRED engaged with them.
Early results from the study showed that there was evidence of a reduction in gunshot victimization and violent crime arrests among CRED participants.
“Overall, the number of fatal and non-fatal gunshot injuries across all CRED participants decreased by nearly 50%, and the number of arrests for violent crimes fell 48% in the 18 months following the start of participation in the program,” according to the report.
The average outreach worker in Chicago is a 44-year old Black man who’s been incarcerated, who got involved with gangs and the criminal justice system around the age 13, according to Papachristos. Twenty-five percent of outreach workers are Latino, and about 20% are women, he said, explaining that credible messengers can have a unique impact on the ability to reach disenfranchised members of low-income communities who are often out of reach by law enforcement and city officials.
“When we look at their lived experience, they have long histories of involvement and victimization. They’ve been victimized when they were young. They have a long history of involvement with gangs. They’ve been incarcerated and they largely have lived in the same community their entire life. So they’re quite familiar with what gun violence looks like in their neighborhood. They know the families, they know the people, they know the neighborhoods, they know the parks, they know the stories, and they’re part of those stories,” Papachristos said.
“This is the workforce that is charged with tackling gun violence,” he said, “and in some ways, they are the only workforce that can reach people that are at risk and bring them into these sorts of services.”
He added, “The question is not about, ‘Did they reduce violence by 50 or 60%,’ but rather, ‘How many lives were saved today?'”
Tio Hardiman, executive director of Violence Interrupters Inc, an anti-violence program focused on combating the culture of violence, uses peace circle and conflict resolution trainings to help at-risk youth de-escalate disagreements and avoid deadly retaliation.
“The violence interrupter trainings that I facilitate is very important because we have an opportunity to actually help young men and educate them on how to think on a higher level. That’s why the training is so important. We focus on the do’s and don’ts of conflict resolution and gang mediation,” Hardiman said. “The work of credible messengers is very impactful because it’s about saving lives. Last year, in 2021, Violence Interrupters Inc mediated around 60 conflicts that could have turned deadly.”
For Patricia Hillard, a West Garfield Park outreach worker, violence interruption work is about meeting people where they are.
That means doing outreach work on “Heroin Highway,” a stretch of West Garfield Park battered by the opioid crisis. It’s the same area Hillard said she dwelled when she was addicted to drugs. After years of sobriety, she said she found a new purpose in helping others.
Now a salaried employee with the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, Hillard said that the residents she mentors trusts her, because she was once them.
“I was with them. I was with the drug dealer. I was the person out here running to get drugs. I did it all, and I survived,” Hillard said. “A lot of the guys around here, who are doing the shooting and the sliding, they know me. So I’ve actually been able to intervene with guns drawn.”
Investment in gun violence interruption programs are taking shape in major cities and states around the country.
President Joe Biden showed his support for community-led anti-violence programs during his visit to New York City last Thursday, where he discussed his and Mayor Eric Adams’ plans to tackle gun crimes. Biden’s Build Back Better plan proposes a $5 billion dollar investment in community-led programs, but that legislation remains stalled in Congress.
Papachristos said financial investment in street outreach as a profession could have major implications for the reduction of violence over.
“You can look at any map of any city, and the areas that have the highest levels of homicide also have the highest levels of poverty, dropout rates, low birth weight, exposure to toxins like lead. … It’s not that most poor people are criminals. It’s just that crime tends to concentrate by design in communities that lack resources and opportunities,” Papachristos said. “It’s vital right now more than ever, especially as you’re getting the attention from the White House and the State House, to find out how do we develop this workforce? What tools do they need?”
(NEW YORK) — As New York City gets closer to its goal of returning to a pre-pandemic way of life, elected officials are considering making one emergency order a permanent fixture.
A New York City Council committee held its first hearing Tuesday on a bill requested by Mayor Eric Adams that would change the rules for restaurant outdoor seating permits that would allow for more businesses to provide a sidewalk seating option.
City councilmember Marjorie Velazquez, the bill’s co-sponsor, said during Tuesday’s hearing that thousands of restaurants around the city were able to survive the pandemic because of outdoor dining and argued that the city needed to adapt to help owners stay afloat.
“It’s important we save our small businesses, our restaurants,” she said during the zoning and franchises committee hearing.
However, some residents who have grown concerned over the noise, loss of street space and other trade-offs of sidewalk seating say this is one rule that shouldn’t outlast the emergency order.
Prior to the pandemic, restaurant owners would need to obtain approval from several agencies, pay a fee and go through numerous applications before they received an outdoor dining permit. The outdoor dining area would only be limited to a few feet on the sidewalk.
Roughly 1,400 restaurants, over 1,000 of which were in Manhattan, had outdoor seating permits before the pandemic, according to city records.
In June 2020, former Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an executive order that amended the city’s regulations and allowed struggling restaurants to apply for a permit for outdoor dining options in front of their restaurant, on parking spaces and, in some cases, on a closed off street. The seating area needed to meet several requirements, including a minimum of eight feet of sidewalk space for pedestrians and the removal of chairs and other items when the eatery is closed.
Fees were waived as part of the order, and the city’s Department of Transportation oversaw the temporary program.
Since the Open Restaurants program’s inception, the city has approved over 12,000 permits, 6,000 of which are for restaurants outside of Manhattan, according to data from the city. The program has been renewed several times during the pandemic and is set to expire when the city’s pandemic state of emergency ends.
The new proposed legislation would keep the outdoor dining rules in place permanently but would charge owners a $1,050 initial fee and a $525 annual fee for subsequent years. Once approved, the Department of Transportation would continue to issue guidelines for outdoor dining areas and regulate the businesses.
Several restaurant owners and advocacy groups said the rule change was a long time coming and would be a boon to their economic recoveries.
Loycent “Loy” Gordon, the owner of Neir’s Tavern, a 200-year-old bar in Queens, testified that without outdoor dining, his business would be permanently closed. He encouraged lawmakers to continue offering outdoor dining options to more restaurants.
“We have an opportunity to reimagine a bold and better new way forward. Outdoor dining is the start,” he said.
Not every New Yorker is keen to the idea.
Some opponents who testified at the hearing said the city has failed to enforce some regulations on outdoor dining areas regarding litter and noise, and they claimed that some restaurants are failing to provide ample space for pedestrians and cars.
Jeannine Kiely, the chair of a Manhattan community board, testified that the neighborhoods in her community board’s boundary have 1,000 restaurants with outdoor dining and despite thousands of city warnings for violations, the city has only issued 22 fines on owners and removed four permits.
“In baseball, it’s three strikes and you’re out. Not in New York City with open restaurants,” she said. “The city has a terrible track record.”
City Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez acknowledged during the hearing that the city has had to deal with instances where an outdoor dining area stepped out of its bounds and inconvenienced neighbors, but he reassured attendees that they will take residents into consideration before they fine tune the regulations for a permanent basis.
“We are ready to take your feedback,” he testified.
The bill will have to pass in the zoning and franchises committee before going through a full council vote. Neither vote has been scheduled.
(WINONA, Minn.) — A 17-year-old has been arrested in connection to the search warrant that led to the death of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police officers executing a “no-knock” search warrant.
Locke, who was fatally shot last Wednesday, was not named in the no-knock warrant, according to civil rights attorney Ben Crump. The warrant was executed on behalf of St. Paul police, who were searching for a homicide suspect.
Body camera video showed officers executing the no-knock search warrant and finding Locke, who had been sleeping under a blanket on the couch and holding a gun.
Locke is seen holding a gun as he sits up and was shot less than 10 seconds after officers entered the room, still covered in the blanket.
The suspect, Locke’s 17-year-old cousin, was arrested Monday afternoon in Winona, Minnesota, the St. Paul Police Department said Tuesday.
Officers from the Minneapolis Police Department had been to the apartment where Locke was killed 10 times in the last seven months for 911 calls related to threats, disturbances, narcotic activity, suspicious activity and domestic abuse, according to 911 calls obtained by ABC News.
The most recent 911 calls had been placed for “unknown trouble” on Feb. 1 and a “suspicious person” on Jan. 19, according to police records.
Police had obtained a search warrant for the apartment, which belongs to a family friend of the suspect’s brother, because staff at the apartment building told investigators that the suspect had a key to the unit and because he was present during numerous occasions when officers responded to 911 calls.
In a statement, Crump said the family and their legal team is aware of the arrest, adding that Locke’s cousin was not in the apartment at the time of the shooting.
“All available information confirms that Amir was never a target of that investigation, of those search warrants,” Crump said. “We must remain focused on the fact that Amir was an innocent young man of a raid gone terribly wrong, who is now the latest statistic and victim of the dangerous and intrusive no-knock warrant techniques that must be banned.”
Over the weekend, a caravan of about 50 vehicles drove through Minneapolis demanding justice for Locke, some in front of the home of interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman, demanding that she resign from her post.
The officer who shot Locke, identified by police as Mark Hanneman, was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, in accordance with department policy.
ABC News’ Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.
(ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich.) — The parents of Ethan Crumbley, the teenager accused of fatally shooting four students at a Michigan school, appeared in court on Tuesday for a hearing that will determine whether the two will face trial.
James and Jennifer Crumbley are accused of involuntary manslaughter after allegedly neglecting or failing to recognize warning signs about their son in the months before the shooting.
The prosecution asked District Court Judge Julie Nicholson to restrict communication between James and Jennifer Crumbley. The request came after the two were seen communicating in a court proceeding over Zoom, which the court granted.
Attorneys for the Crumbley parents asked the judge to postpone the hearing so they can further prepare, but the judge denied their motion.
James Crumbley had purchased the gun used in the rampage days before the shooting, according to prosecutors.
Deputies refused to remove the belly-chains from Crumbleys during Tuesday’s hearing due to their “national security status,” one of the deputies told the judge. This came when attorneys for the Crumbleys requested their hands be uncuffed so they could communicate with their attorneys by writing notes.
Kira Pennocki, the owner of a barn where the Crumbleys keep their horses, testified that Jennifer Crumbley had called her son “weird” and said he was “not out doing things like normal kids.”
Pennocki said Jennifer Crumbley told her that her son only had one friend and that he spent a lot of time online or playing games.
The prosecution showed text exchanges between Pennocki and Jennifer Crumbley in the days leading up to the shooting and after the shooting.
“My son ruined so many lives today,” Jennifer Crumbley said in a text to Pennocki on the day of the shooting.
Another witness, Andrew Smith, who worked with Jennifer Crumbley detailed his interactions with her on the day of the shooting.
Their son, Ethan Crumbley, will appear next in court on Feb. 22. Ethan Crumbley was charged with multiple felony charges, including terrorism, in connection with the rampage that killed four students and injured several others on Nov. 30. The 15-year-old was charged as an adult.
(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 905,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 64.1% 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. All times Eastern:
Feb 08, 11:28 am
Omicron estimated to account for 96.4% of new cases
The presence of the omicron sub-variant, BA.2, is increasing in the U.S., according to new data published by the CDC.
BA.2 was estimated to accounted for 3.6% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of Feb. 5. BA.2 was projected to account for 1.2% of new cases the week prior.
The original omicron strain, B.1.1.529, still makes up the vast majority of new cases, accounting for an estimated 96.4% of cases in the U.S.
There is still much unknown about the BA.2 variant, but currently it doesn’t appear to demonstrate a more severe illness. There’s also no indication to suggest that BA.2 will further impact the efficacy of vaccines.
The delta variant, which accounted for 99.2% of all new cases just two months ago, is now estimated to account for 0% of new cases.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos and Eric M. Strauss
Feb 08, 9:30 am
Michigan closes bridge to Canada amid trucker-led protests
An ongoing, trucker-led protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic-related restrictions in Canada spilled over into the United States via the Ambassador Bridge on Monday night, blocking access to one of the world’s largest international suspension bridges.
The protesters hindered traffic at the tolled bridge across the Detroit River, which connects Windsor, Canada, with Detroit, Michigan, at the Canadian-U.S. border. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced via Twitter on Monday night that it had closed the crossing to Canada.
The Windsor Police Service tweeted Tuesday morning that the bridge has reopened to U.S.-bound traffic. Meanwhile, MDOT tweeted an update saying the crossing remains closed on the U.S. side.
Monday marked the 11th straight day of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protests, which began with truckers critical of a new rule that they must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to cross the Canada-U.S. border. The demonstrations have since grown into broader challenges to pandemic-related public health measures and opposition to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Thousands of protesters have occupied the streets of Ottawa and other cities across Canada in support of the movement, paralyzing the capital’s city center with traffic jams, nonstop noise and alleged harassment. Protesters have said they won’t leave until all COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions are lifted nationwide. They are also calling for the removal of Trudeau’s government, even though most of the public health measures were put in place by provincial governments.
The House of Commons of Canada held an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss the demonstrations. In an opening statement, the prime minister said he understands “people are tired” of COVID-19 but that protests are not the answer.
“These pandemic restrictions are not forever,” Trudeau told lawmakers.
While Trudeau’s opponents argued that the country is at a crisis point, the prime minister rejected any notion that Canadians are divided.
“Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates of our peer countries around the world,” he said. “It’s because Canadians trust science. Canadians trust each other to do the right thing.”
Feb 08, 6:54 am
Oregon to lift mask mandates for indoor public spaces, schools by March 31
Oregon will lift general mask requirements for indoor public places no later than March 31, state health officials announced Monday.
According to the Oregon Health Authority, scientists expect that about 400 or fewer people would be hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide by late March, which is the level of hospitalizations Oregon experienced before the highly contagious omicron variant began to spread. Mask mandates for Oregon schools will be lifted on March 31 to give school districts time to prepare.
However, the Oregon Health Authority said the state needs to keep mask requirements in place for now as COVID-19 hospitalizations crest and the health care system struggles to treat high numbers of severely ill patients.
The Oregon Health Authority has filed a new rule with the Oregon Secretary of State to require people to wear masks while indoors in public places. The new rule replaces a temporary one that expired Monday.
State health officials will consider lifting the general indoor mask requirement earlier than March 31 if hospitalizations decline to the levels projected by the end of March sooner than expected. Once the mandates are lifted, employers and businesses may continue to establish their own mask requirements to protect employees and customers, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
(BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C.) — Two inmates who escaped from a Tennessee jail, including one facing murder charges, were killed in a police chase in North Carolina after they allegedly robbed a store and stole a car, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.
Fugitives Tobias Carr, 38, and Timothy Sarver, 45, died in a crash in Brunswick County, North Carolina, following a police chase, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation told ABC News.
A third escapee, Johnny Shane Brown, 50, remained on the run Tuesday.
The three inmates escaped from the Sullivan County Jail in Blountville, Tennessee, on Friday via an air vent and made their getaway possibly in a white Chevrolet Silverado truck. The jail is about 400 miles from where the fatal crash occurred.
Sarver and Tobias, who had been jailed on a second-degree murder charge, allegedly committed an armed robbery at a convenience store in Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, south of Wilmington, early Saturday morning, authorities said. A store clerk told police the robbers tied him up at gunpoint, emptied the cash register and fled with his car, according to ABC affiliate station WWAY in Wilmington.
While the victim was being interviewed by police, he spotted the suspects driving by in his vehicle, setting off the chase by officers from several law enforcement agencies across Onslow, Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties, authorities said.
The fatal crash occurred near Navassa in Brunswick County, police said.
In addition to second-degree murder, Carr was being held at the Sullivan County jail on charges of vandalism and tampering with evidence, according to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. Sarver was being held at the jail on charges of auto theft, identity theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawfully carrying a weapon.
A $5,000 reward was being offered for information leading to the capture of Brown, who was being held at the jail on charges of violating an order of protection, domestic assault and aggravated stalking, according to the sheriff’s office.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Jury selection is set to begin Tuesday in the trial of a former Kentucky police officer who was involved in the botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor.
Brett Hankison’s trial was initially scheduled to begin on Aug. 31, 2021, but was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The trial was later delayed due to an unscheduled surgery and inclement weather.
Hankison is charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into a neighboring apartment while serving a “no-knock” warrant on Taylor’s apartment on March 13, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
“Our hope is that we can pick an impartial jury,” Hankison’s lawyer Stew Mathews told ABC News. “We’re going to both defend [against] the charges in the courtroom.”
No officer has been charged with Taylor’s killing and the decision to charge Hankison with endangering others sparked outrage. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron called Taylor’s death a “tragedy” but said the officers were justified in deciding to shoot.
“Our investigation found that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker, [Taylor’s boyfriend],” Cameron said. “This justification bars us from pursuing charges in Ms. Breonna Taylor’s death.”
Hankison and Louisville Metro Police Department officers Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly fired 32 shots into Taylor’s apartment.
Hankison fired 10 of the shots into Taylor’s apartment. Errant bullets penetrated a wall of the residence and entered a neighboring apartment that was occupied by a child, a man, and a pregnant woman, according to Cameron.
Taylor, a Black 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was fatally shot multiple times during the raid. No drugs were found in her apartment.
Hankison and Cosgrove have both been fired from the force.
Cameron said that none of his shots struck Taylor.
The fatal shooting sparked protests nationwide, as demonstrators demanded action against police brutality and racism in policing.
No-knock warrants, which allow law enforcement officials to enter a private residence without knocking, have since come under scrutiny and have prompted policy changes in states across the country.
The Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Council unanimously passed Breonna’s Law on June 11, 2020, which outlawed “no-knock” warrants and required body cameras be turned on before and after every search.”
